Perk Design: Rewarding Killers for not Tunneling is better than Punishing Them
I know the idea about rewarding killers for spreading hooks is not new, but I now think it would improve the health of the game substantially. Tunneling is one of the biggest complaints of survivors, and a lot of perks have been created to try and incentivize killers away from it. But most of these perks are given to survivors, for the purpose of punishing killers for tunneling. The three main ones being DS, burrowed time(base kit or not), and off the record. The only perk that rewards killers for spreading hooks is grim embrace. Clearly, there is a current bias toward the stick then the carrot.
The issue is that "survivor tunneling punishment perks" do almost nothing to dissuade killers from tunneling. The reason for this is because the killer does not know who has the anti-tunneling perks until after they have already begun tunneling. And after eating a DS or off the record, what reason does the killer have to stop chasing you? They've already taken the punishment, what reason do they have to stop and waste more time looking for someone else? So the survivor still gets tunneled and doesn't have fun.
Along with this, survivors have, continue to, and will always exploit these perks in ways that were not originally intended to the point they get nerfs and reworks. Old DS? Use it aggressively and jump in a locker. BT? Rather then run away, it encourages survivors to run directly into the killer with the hopes of killer hitting them and getting away with the endurance and speed boost(Whats funny about this is it actually ENCOURAGES the killer to tunnel).
BUT, killers always know what perks they bring, and will adjust their play style and decisions accordingly. Have the killers be the ones actively deciding not to tunnel out the first survivor they hook. The only catch is, these perks need to give GOOD rewards. Getting someone out of the game(especially early) is a massive advantage for the killer, so the rewards for spreading hooks need to be worth it. Sure, many of these perks may not end up the absolute meta, but with some thought and possible synergies, they could be very good. But I'm certain the community could give you guys great suggestions on what might work.
Perk Suggestions:
Grim Embrace: It needs a buff. Especially since survivors can still use this time to heal or hide. And even without tunneling, it is common for survivors to reach a death hook with one survivor not having a single hook. 40 seconds for 4 survivors is simply not enough for the price asked. One suggestion I have is to bump up the time from 40 to 60 seconds. Another is that instead of needing to hook 4 different survivors, why not just 3?
Another idea I had for an entirely new perk is something of a save the best for last clone. After hooking all 4 survivors(and none of the survivors are dead yet) your attack cool down is equivalent to that of 8 stacks of stbfl. You will keep this cooldown for the rest of the trial. (This obviously would not stack with attack cooldown perks).
If you guys have any suggestions for other perk ideas I would love to hear them. Or if you think I'm completely wrong and would like to make your case to a Dev who may see this thread, write that down too.
Comments
Tunnelers are gonna tunnel no matter what
I agree, they need to try the carrot more than the stick.
I’m glad you mention Grim Embrace as that is a prime example of a perk that should get buffed tremendously as it encourages very healthy game play and doesn’t work for unhealthy game play.
They perks that reward fair and fun game play should be the ones to get buffed the most to incentive it.