How To Fix Deathslinger (In My Opinion)
I've seen a few of these around recently, and it's made me want to throw my hat in the ring!
So, I'd like to start off with a hardline statement so people know where I'm coming from: None of Deathslinger's changes need to be reverted. There's one I'd like to see amended, but everything about Deathslinger was changed for a reason, and reverting him back to how he was pre-changes is not a net improvement, it's just changing one set of problems for another.
With that in mind, there are a few things I'd look towards changing.
1: Improved camera speed in ADS. I've seen this idea around a lot and I've really warmed to it. Right now, Deathslinger's camera feels like it's submerged in molasses while he's aiming down sights, and I think that could be improved-- not to the point of having no slowdown at all, it's an accepted mechanic in most games with ADS, but just less of one than he has now. Replacing quickscope shots with snap-aim shots is an improvement all around, since the Deathslinger player still needs to commit to aiming and can just compensate for a good juke if they're cracked.
2: Change his Terror Radius to a lullaby. Like I said, none of these changes need to be reverted, but this is the one I'd want to see amended. I understand the logic behind not wanting him to effectively be a stealth killer at range with little investment, but I also think that this concept was balanced with the necessity for a ranged, low movement speed killer to get into range without immediately spooking the survivors with Huntress; revert the terror radius increase, and make up the difference with a lullaby. A quieter one than Huntress's, at least at the furthest edges, but something for aware survivors to pick up on.
3: (Potentially) look at his downtime. Deathslinger isn't the worst around for how long he spends reloading or stunned, but I do still think that his reload mechanic could use a few tweaks. In all honesty, I think I most want this to happen via an addon overhaul that gives him a few to reload his gun when conditions are met, which has been something of a theme for cooldowns in recent addon design. This one is less necessary but it would be a nice QoL change.
Finally, on the topic of making him 115%, I don't mind it but I think the TR change achieves the same goal. If that is on the table, though, it should be at the expense of the TR change-- either he gets to move faster or he gets to move quieter, not both.
All in all, I don't think Deathslinger has been butchered beyond repair. I think with these changes, the clunkiness and slight loss of strength he suffered in his last big change would be addressed enough that he'd be in a pretty healthy spot- insofar as a killer with zero 1v4 capacity can be, anyway.
Comments
Improved camera speed in ADS
Yeah, that's probably most needed one.
Change his Terror Radius to a lullaby
It would be fine if it was something like Trickster's lullaby, which took 5 months for anyone to notice, but if it would be loud enough, then it would be nerf, because you can't get rid of it with perks.
I don't think Deathslinger has been butchered beyond repair.
He is not worst killer in the game, but he feels bad to play as and he is definetly worst ranged killer in the game. Problem is that even with your changes only thing going for him is STBFL, otherwise he just has multiple downsides compare to other ranged killers that make it not worth it. He had four gimmicks and three were removed / nerfed. He needs something new.
Another problem is that Deathslinger can be played only with faking his shots, you just can't fire asap, because anyone can react to it easily and projectile has super small hitbox while you get punished for missed shots a lot. Just from that he is not interesting anymore for most old deathslinger mains.
I don't tend to engage with the "why play [x] when you could play [y]" arguments in any game, because the answer is and will always be "because I prefer [x]".
He was the weakest ranged killer before, I'm not really trying to fix that. This way, his gameplay style is maintained and he's a touch less frustrating for players who just want to play the cool cowboy reeling people in to smack them. If it were about strength, he'd need a giant overhaul.
Though to one of your other points- I was definitely thinking something like Trickster's lullaby. Quieter than Huntress's for sure, it should be present but subtle.
I meant it more like -> your changes can make him more viable for new players, but there is nothing you can do it make him interesting for old deathslinger mains that already gave up on him.
We played him for quick shots and shooting through gaps, we enjoyed that playstyle and that's forever lost. Deathslinger mains that liked to fake shots are still fine with him tho.
shooting through gaps is still possible, but way harder and unreliable
Well, quickshots were a problem, so... I don't really see a way around that. They can't be brought back and if that's all you liked, then I think that's kind of just unfortunately the end of it.
I do think that replacing quickshots with snap-aim shots would be something that'd tempt at least some older Deathslinger players, though. It's still an expression of your skill and it's still rewarding of that skill, after all.