Proposed ideas for a Trapper rework
Disclaimer: Some of these ideas aren't originally mine, as they've been popular suggestions from the community for a while. Many of the other changes have formed around those core ideas. This will also be a very long-winded post, but I'm open to ideas and suggestions that could be better than the ones listed.
The Trapper is often regarded as Dead by Daylight’s flagship character. He’s been around longer than any other killer after all. However, his power remains a relic of the past, and has fallen so far behind the ever-changing landscape of the game that he is widely regarded as the weakest killer. He has been granted minimal changes that have served very little to bring him up to date with the current landscape. These proposed changes will by no means transform him into an S tier killer, or allow him to even come close to competing with the top killers. But I think these additions to him will give him a much better chance of consistent performances, reduce his reliance on killer-sided maps, and stop punishing him for using his own power.
1: Trap reloading
-Traps can now be found in lockers. Interact with a locker to reload your traps to your current maximum capacity.
Similar to Huntress and Trickster, it makes sense to have a resource much more accessible across the map. Some people would argue that it would take away some of trapper’s individuality, but I personally disagree. This will allow Trapper to almost always be within reach of his traps, allowing him to change his lockdown area as the trial progresses, without having to sacrifice generators just to pick up his own power.
2: Trap cycling
-When the maximum number of traps have been placed (8), setting down a new trap will automatically destroy the oldest trap and remove it.
-If a survivor is caught in the oldest bear trap when it is removed, it will count as the survivor being freed by someone else.
Taking some inspiration from Hag and Nightmare, this will further add to Trapper’s efficiency, and give him a lot of desperately needed flexibility as the trial progresses. Regardless of if the trap is active or not, the order will remain the same. This also allows a much wider reset when used in combination of Trapper Sack. In the extremely rare event of a survivor being caught in a trap as it’s cycled through and removed, it should have the same effect as another survivor freeing them automatically. This means the trapper isn’t punished for bad timing, but survivors aren’t overly punished from the purple honing stone item
3: Resetting and picking up
-This should remain unchanged. Whilst this feature will become less necessary overall, it will still remain very important in areas where the traps can be of use, or at key loops.
4: Basement lockdown
-Traps can no longer be placed or reset within a certain radius of a hooked survivor. The radius is larger for basement hooks.
The one strategy that Trappers can use to guarantee wins is to be able to get a basement hook, before completely locking down the entire killer shack. This is a notoriously ‘anti-fun’ strategy that just causes frustration on both sides. Trappers feeling like it’s necessary to do, just to get the upper hand, the hooked survivor essentially being removed from the match there and then, and the other survivors forced into a standoff. With the proposed changes, buffing the trapper would make the lockdown even stronger. So, measures have to be put in place. With this, whilst trapper can preemptively lock down the basement, he cannot maintain it, and is forced to leave a path open for himself to get through. Once the other traps are disabled, he will not be able to reset them until the survivor is unhooked.
5: Breaking free of traps
-Small tweaks should be made so that survivors can’t escape a trap in less time than it takes for the trapper to set the trap.
Pretty self explanatory, whether the first attempt to free yourself is slower, or the RNG chance is tweaked further so the extremes are less likely to happen, more consistency is key here.
6: Makeshift wrap
-This Brown add-on is now basekit, allowing the trapper to walk through his own traps at the cost of disarming them automatically
-When carrying a survivor, walking into a trap will still ensnare him, allowing the survivor to break free
Even now, the Trapper is essentially the only killer who is hindered by his own power. Makeshift wrap is a simple add-on that should really be part of his base kit. It makes no sense that the trap expert would walk into his own traps. However, it makes more sense when struggling with a survivor on his shoulders. Thematically of course, but also mechanically, as it means that there will always be a path to a hook without having to contend with traps first. This will also add a bit more insurance to weaken basement lockdowns.
7: New Brown add-on
-A new add-on to replace Makeshift wrap that grants Trapper a temporary boost/ability when reloading from a locker.
This could range from a short burst of speed, much like the yellow Coffee Grounds add-on, to a mini Darkness Revealed effect. Some killers do have add-on’s that mimic perks, so it could give Trapper a nice little moment of information gathering, to get a sense of where to go with his fresh set of traps.
8: Trapper Sack
-Remove the downside of being unable to pick up bear traps
Depending on how Trapper shapes up with all of these changes, this effect could remain in place. But with the trap recycling, it doesn’t seem to make sense to still have this downside, when this add-on’s power is a lot less impactful compared to before. This add-on will essentially just allow trapper to reload all of his traps and save him a couple of extra trips to a locker.
9: Iridescent Stone
-Either completely overhaul the effect, as the current effect will be obsolete, OR:
-Have the effects be the same, but override the locker effect so that traps once again spawn on the ground and automatically set.
This one is a little tricky. Completely reworking it would make more sense, but requires more work. Retaining the original effect and overriding the new mechanic would be dubious at best, as it may weaken the trapper considerably again, but with a few tweaks, perhaps it could afford an early-game advantage by ambushing survivors before they realise what is happening.
Closing thoughts
With changes such at these, I do truly think trapper has the potential to be a more balanced killer, giving him some much needed consistency in the current era of the game. Trapper will never be a top tier killer, nor should he be. He should be a killer that provides an ample challenge for both sides, with unique interactions, without relying on unfair strategies such as basement lockdowns. As an ex-trapper main, his main appeal for me was finding strategic locations to set down traps, and trying to coax survivors into the web of traps. But in his current state, the simple action of setting up his power almost always meant the sacrifice of roughly 2 generators, giving survivors enough momentum to make it nearly impossible to come back from, without them making a fatal error, or relying on complete lockdowns around a hook. I hope Behaviour will be more open to giving some much needed love to the flagship killer, and bring his power into 2023 and beyond, not a relic of 2016.
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