Camping - They took away the carrot now here's the stick!
BHVR's changes to the game are addressing camping the wrong way.
Before 6.1.0 we had the carrot:
Barbecue & Chili. This perk used to be the best perk in the game for both killers and survivors. The bloodpoint bonus ensured many killers used it and the information it gave often gave killers a target far from the hook to pursue. It also gave killers a stack counter so they would know how many unique survivors they've hooked. It was a great perk that helped create many healthy and fun games. Many times BBQ wouldn't give a target since survivors can easily hide their auras behind generators, in lockers or within 40m, but it was still something. It wasn't perfect, but it certainly helped. Yes, it is still useful to use BBQ, but without the bloodpoint bonus its usage rate has to have fallen off a cliff.
Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance. Before 6.1.0 this perk gave a notification on the affected generator. This was the best part of this perk because unless the hook was next to the affected generator then the killer had an even better target to harass than BBQ provided; a progressed generator. (When they changed it I wish the made it 10% regression with the notification and no scream, it would still be a great perk but it's synergies with Dead Man's Switch and Merciless Storm would be fine.)
With these 2 changes BHVR eliminated the only 2 reliable information perks that gave the killer a target immediately after hooking a survivor. Often many killers now are faced with having no good leads after hooking a survivor and are faced with the choice of camping or patrolling, at least until new information presents itself. Sometimes they get no information until they spot a rescuer going for the hook which really isn't that good for the game. Then the killer might prevent the unhook altogether or get a trade and then their only lead might be to tunnel. It all can play out in a very unideal way.
Yes, there are other information perks and some of them are very good, but none of them provide that information at the time when it is most useful for the killer; after putting a survivor on the hook when no other survivors are near.
Introducing the stick:
For only $11.99 you can buy your very own stick to beat the killer with! Figuratively speaking.
Reassurance. Now not only do killers not get any information from hooking a survivor, they can be very easily and very harshly punished for defending a hooked survivor! The Reassurance we see on the PTB is of orbital nuclear missile strength camp prevention! It has the power to make what could already be an awful losing situation for a killer even worse!
Calling all bullies, come get your stick!
(BHVR will provide no refunds when they break the stick in 6 months.)
Comments
And? You don't happy that campers will be beaten with a stick or what?
You're implying people didn't camp all the time even with BBQ's bloodpoint bonus and Pain Resonance's notification existing.
Also, Reassurance tells you when it's active, and indicates that someone is within very close proximity to the hook. If you want to continue standing there for another 30 seconds while someone's put themselves in danger to activate a perk, that's your call to make. Maybe go hit them instead of standing in front of the hook like a statue?
While I see what you're saying, the play you're describing above (camping or even really patrolling until you get new information passively) is... bad play?
It's certainly fair to say that killers should have both incentive to leave the hook and punishments for staying at the hook, but they have that. BBQ and kinda-sorta Pain Res may have been the only real options for immediate information, but there are a ton of perks that give some kind of value when you leave the hook. Make Your Choice, Devour Hope, Monstrous Shrine, even stuff like Pop and Eruption (the latter tending to come off cooldown after you hook the survivor you downed to activate it) give you value if you leave the hook. Heck, BBQ didn't have the information changed!
The way I see it, if killers get beaten with the metaphorical stick once Reassurance hits live- I mean, first of all, good? Reassurance doesn't do anything bad or overpowered? But second of all, if they're the kind of player that thinks about their gameplay and builds even a tiny amount, they're going to re-evaluate what they're doing and start looking at the tools that give them value for leaving the hook, or even pick BBQ so they have more info at that point. It's not a bad thing for a perk to punish hard camping, and killers still have plenty of carrots.
I'm not implying people didn't camp all the time even with BBQ's bloodpoint bonus and Pain Resonance's notification existing. Some campers are just going to camp.
I am implying people camped less back then. Some people respond to incentives and information and those have since been removed.
BBQ still gives the same information it did before the 6.1.0 patch. And despite the BP bonus removal, I still see a lot of killers using it. It's still a useful perk, and still gives you information to pursue the next survivor after hooking someone.