Quality of Life Suggestions that would Improve the Game
I don't know a better way to start this than Dead by Daylight needs genuine quality of life features added for the whole game; these features shouldn't necessarily affect gameplay. There are three suggestions I would like to propose, ranging from easy to implement to difficult to implement.
Background
I have played Dead by Daylight for around 6 years now (since Deathslinger) with around 2.8k hours according to Steam. My killer to survivor game ratio is roughly 2:1. With that in mind, I will be mainly talking about killer however these changes are intended to help both sides as survivors could also use this info to help themselves get better at the game. Additionally, changes are intended to help players new and old, even though they might help newer players more.
QoL Suggestion One: Killer Tags
I believe there should be a set of "Tags" in the game to better introduce new killers to the player, whether that killer released in the past or for a PTB. These tags would be a better replacement for the old "Difficulty" rating each killer had, taking the same spot as well.
Things like Stealth, Range Attack, Dash, Information, Status, Mobility, and Swap are some obvious tags I could come up with.
Just to clarify some tags;
- Swap would refer to killers that are able to swap their power like Clown, Nightmare, or Dracula.
- Status is in regards to killers such as Plague, Nemesis, Krasue, etc, but could possibly also apply to killers such as Legion. There could possibly be two tags to include killers that add traditional status conditions (such as Hinderance with Clown) so maybe there should be a Status and Effects tag to separate them.
- The difference between "Dash" and "Mobility" is Chucky would be Dash only while Clown and Xenomorph would be Mobility only.
Each tag could have a line of text explaining what they mean when you hover over it, simple stuff like;
Stealth — This killer's power allows them to hide their terror radius
Change — This killer is able to change their power
Information — This killer's power gives them information on survivors and or their objectives
I could continue but I'm sure you get the picture.
Overall, tags would be a great way to introduce killers to players by giving them a simple idea of what their power would be like.
QoL Suggestion Two: More In-Depth Killer Power / Attributes Info
Have you ever wondered what the cool down is to a specific killer power, only to find out it is not in their description and you have to look it up on wiki.gg? But you are worried you can't even trust it because sometimes the numbers may be wrong! (I have had this happen to me in the past with Ghost Face's power recovery).
There is a lot I want to get into here so please bear with me for a moment; in Dead by Daylight there in the Killer Bio screen which gives you lore on the killer as well as some info regarding their Attributes (speed / terror radius / height) though I believe this screen is other wise underutilized.
I have talked about these topics in the past and I highly suggest checking them out as they have proper examples while going more in depth on the topic (as well as having nice edited images) but I will summarize them here.
@VortexVentamy said:
Without a doubt killer powers are vital to the game, and with that comes teaching the player how that power works. Yes, the power descriptions do work as they do right now but with one simple change they could be made exponentially better.
The main thing I want to focus on are the inconsistencies of power descriptions and what I would like to see on most, if not all killers.
For starters, I actually really like The Skull Merchant's power description.
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/YCCNTD1RDSM4/image.png
This is what I would say is pretty ideal for a power description. Telling you not only what the power does but also the numbers associated within. It gives good info on how long everything lasts from the little things such as how long the immunity scan is, to other important things such as how long the drones are disabled for or even how long the undetectability lasts when a drone is deployed. One should not have to go to the wiki to figure out how long they are undetectable for. Which brings me to the reason why I am writing this...
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/IHBGYKI4RD2X/image.png
Yes, this is a great power description. But I am still lacking some information. The main and important one being; How long does my stealth last? How slow does my crouch make me? Of course, it is not exactly needed. But then why include it with Skull Merchant? Many other killers also lack such information that could be extremely helpful for those interested, most notably being Chucky. It is really unfortunate that I have to figure out how long Hidey-Ho lasts by going all the way to the wiki and finding the time, rather than simply doing it in the game I want to know more about.
Additionally, the power name gets cut off in many power descriptions. I suggest at a certain point, expand horizontally. Such as cutting it in half and making longer left to right rather than sticking vertical.
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/ADO8JBMKMSNX/image.png
Probably the greatest offender of a inconsistent power description is Myers. Not only lacking numbers except for Evil Within III, but simply saying things are SLIGHTLY or MODERATELY decreased or increased, a remnant from past description standards. Slightly in this case for Evil Within I is actually zero lunge...
I would say it is important to know when playing Myers for the first time exactly how it is in Evil Within I (how slow he is and short his lunge is)
Modernize old power descriptions. Please. Little changes like these can significantly help new and old players, from simply knowing the time to utilizing the power better when first trying it out. I understand this is probably a low priority but I do think it is needed.
TDLR; modernize old power descriptions by showing their numbers and make them more consistent and pleasant to look at.
@VortexVentamy said:
Introduction
As someone who has been playing Dead by Daylight for a long time, there have been certain bits of information about some killers which I would like to know quickly but remain locked away in the Wiki. The info I mainly want to talk about are movement speed changes in powers.
To start off I should mention that this suggestion is more helpful to newer players rather than those experienced and memorized some numbers, like The Wraith moving at 150% during phasing and The Shape moving at 4.2m/s in Tier 1. In fact, that is why I am making this post: The Shape.
Why talk about this?
Information being clear is always a plus, not only does having accessible information at the ready give newer players an easier understanding of a killer but this also would give more use to the Character Info screen. Additionally, ever since the update to show add on exact values (removing the "Slightly changes" wording), I feel like this is another quality of life that would be greatly appreciated for those who want to know the numbers without needed to go to the Wiki.
The Shape's Info
The Shape's information can be a little confusing, considering that all it tells you is that he moves 4.6m/s (the speed most killers do) but has a terror radius of... 6 meters? Well, at least that is what it used to be before Undetectable was added 3.3.1. This terror radius then increases based on Tiers, however so does his movement speed. However, if the information is talking about his terror radius at Tier 1, why does it say he moves at 4.6m/s? Granted, that is what he will move at eventually, but there is still that disconnect. Here is a simple example of what an updated screen could look like:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/6AGWCTTPDCGI/image.png
While it is not perfect, you can see that the numbers do not seem out of place. While more COULD be done here, this is just a simple info change.
A more precise would show his power icon changing with each change, visually showing that in Tier 1 his terror radius is 6 (or 0 since undetectable) and his movement speed is 4.2m/s. So on with the other information.
How Other Killers Benefit
While I have been mainly talking about Myer's, it could also be noted that other killers could use this information. Killers that have movement speed changes as part of there power could make use of this new system. Take Spirit for example, her movement speed normally is 4.4m/s but during her Phase she moves 7.04m/s (or 176%). While in her power description "moving at a faster rate" may be sufficient, the Attributes tab could be that extra step to knowing how fast you're really going.
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/XPNG4XPUYMLX/image.png
This is a quick rendition of what the screen could look like. I believe there could be a better way of doing it, such as adding specific "In Power" icon of some sort so only one icon is needed for all killers but in these examples I will just be using the killers power itself.
Another example could include Legion, because it states clearly that he gains +0.2m/s per hit in his Power Description, we could do something that looks exactly like this. Or we could also add it here:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/010TOHMX37WG/image.png
The ~ here indicating that it could become 6.0m/s (at 4 hits of Feral Frenzy).
Through these three examples, I think it can be seen as how this could be a nice addition to the Character Info screen.
Counter Argument
While these suggestions may be useless to some, I believe that others would find this useful. However, I guess this info could simply just be written in the power... which honestly would probably be the better suggestion. In fact, to counter my own reason for making this whole thing it would be kind of useless and maybe even MORE confusing for some killers to have this info out there, such as Nurse moving incredibly fast while in Blink, making Nurse technically being the fastest killer (13.33m/s).
Not only that, but not all killers have movement or terror radius changes to their power, such as... well many killers.
Final Statement
While this whole talk may have been trying to talk about how Attributes could use more information, I guess it could just be written in the Power instead. If I had to suggest anything else, it would also show the movement speeds in percent form as well, like this:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6030815/uploads/4UKIJA8VBAL2/image.png
Perhaps this post was useless, mainly complaining about how strange The Shape's Attributes are, which spiraled into a "how many killers could benefit off a Character Info QoL change!"
I still feel like more could be done with this Character Info menu, whether it is more info or something else like showing you charms that relate to the killer/survivor, but I guess it does it's job well enough and is pretty alright.
TDLR; Character Info screen could have more information, such as power movement speed changes that are not shown in the power of some killers, or at the very least the percentage translation of movement speed such as 4.6m/s = 115%
Killer Power Revisit:
In the Loadout screen, the power description is fine I guess. However over the years there is a ton of info disregarded for space, important info at that, which is left for both sides of the player base to hunt down in the wiki. I believe the Bio screen needs to be revisited to essentially import the in-depth wiki stats to better teach newer players or remind older players about a killer's power in depth to range or numbers.
If we have a screen dedicated to complex teaching of a power (could even have an "Advance" button to hide the precise numbers as a state between just learning and learning in-depth) then we can decrease the size of killer powers in the loadout so the text can actually fit nicely.
Killer Attributes Revisit:
Currently, attributes describe a killer's Movement Speed, Terror Radius, and Height; however it completely disregards changes to these attributes with a killer's power during a trial. An easy example I can think of is Shape, with essentially three modes with different TR and Speed I feel like that should be shown in his Attributes screen. Additionally, we can further show the movement speed change a killer might have during their power such as Spirit, Lich, and Animatronic.
I have visual examples of how this can be done in the post I linked above.
Overall, both these changes would teach new players about killer powers in depth as well as act as a quick reminder / confirmation on the numbers regarding a killer power (cool down, timers, %, etc).
QoL Suggestion 3: Survivor / Killer Journals
Probably the most bold and time consuming addition to the game which I feel would vastly improve everyone's time playing the game. It is no surprise that this game can be unfriendly towards newer players, with a vast array of killers and perks in the game it can be hard to learn them all. Essentially, Killer Journals (or Survivor Journals) acts as a constant tutorial for players, giving them more tips and tricks the more they play / face a specific killer.
I hope this idea serves as a fun and informative in-lore way to teach players about the killers in Dead by Daylight. Flavor text could be included to give more personality to the killers / survivors that might be writing. I will be referring to this QoL Feature as Killer Journals but it might make more sense to call them Survival Journals as I imagine a survivor is writing this information.
How this system would actually work;
Each time you play or face against a killer, one out of how ever many pages (I imagine a minimum of three across all killers) will unlock and give you a bit of beginner info regarding that killer.
The info will mainly be text but could include a drawing / photo of the power for a better example (say a survivor standing still to avoid Skull Merchant's beam, or a survivor dropping a pallet on Singularity showing that it breaks on his head when he teleports to Slipstreamed survivors).
Let's use Wraith as an example; Wraith is a fairly simple killer so I imagine he might have 2-3 pages worth of information to unlock.
After playing as or against him once, a page would unlock. This page might say "While he may be Cloaked after using Wailing Bell (italics due to being his power name), you can still listen out for his breathing! Additionally, watch out for his shimmer. Note: the farther he is the harder it is to notice him." Then there can be a photo of Wraith walking towards the camera invisible to showcase the shimmer effect with a sticky note saying "The bell is a warning!"
A second page unlock might be something along the lines of "The Wraith gets stunned longer while in cloaked! He may try to avoid pallets because of this, so don't try to waste them!"
A third page could talk about how he is much faster in cloak and right after uncloaking gains a burst of speed.
Some things in here might be obvious, but that is okay! Third page I came up with quick so if you have a better idea feel free to say, but I feel like this is a great example of what Killer Journals have to offer in regards to both survivors and killers. It will help survivors by telling them what to look out for while helping killers know what to think about; in this case getting stunned while in cloaked!
Out of all the suggestions, I believe this one is the best long term as it can include lore, flavor text, and acts as a continuous guide for players. However, it is also the most difficult and would take a long time to implement. But better start something like this sooner than later! Maybe reach out to creators to help form these Journals as they are essentially mini-guides.
Overall this feature would be a perfect addition to Dead by Daylight, adding charm to learning how to play as / against killers while also feeling rewarded for going against / trying out a new killer regardless of the outcome of the match.
Conclusion
I feel like many players can agree there has been some rough moments this year, however there were also a lot of good moments I feel like we sometimes forget about. One thing I would like to note is how recently there has been some confusion between Quality of Life and Gameplay Changes. Pallet Density is a major gameplay change, not a quality of life feature. Scratch marks, while affecting visuals of gameplay, is a Quality of Life feature as it pertains to accessibility.
Dead By Daylight should focus on proper quality of life features for the game as a whole, such as what I have talked about above. I hope to see some of these possibly show up in a future midchapter, as that is where I feel like they would be best introduced.
In the end, I will enjoy this game as I have been, I just hope more players might enjoy / care for it as much as I have. I wish I had a larger voice to share these opinions and really get feedback on these features but for now I may potentially scream into void with only a chance to be heard. If you are reading this, enjoy your day, and good luck in the fog.
TL:DR
Killer tags to give an expectation to trying a new killer, rework Attributes and add onto Power Descriptions, and look into a mechanic that acts as a continuous tutorial. My words may be ignored and passed by like a leaf in the wind.
Comments
It is so disheartening to pour out ideas into a post only for not one person to see it, I wish there was a separation between Gameplay Suggestions and overall Game Suggestions but I know that isn't necessary.
Hi, I'll give my thoughts on some of this stuff!
I think BHVR giving Killers specific tags for power classification would be useful, though obviously there's a lot of reasonable debate over what they should be. I personally don't think your tags are the best. Eg. I think most people would call "Swap" Killers "Stance" Killers instead, and characters like Clown whose stances are really just a control scheme technicality shouldn't count. Nobody cares when Clown switches bottles, they do care when Oni pulls out the kanabo.
I would split Killers into the following categories personally, with Killers having multiple tags in order of importance:
I think that's 14 in total. As examples of usage, I'd put Huntress down as Ranged - Lethal, but Trickster down as Lethal - Ranged, because Trickster's ability to multihit is proportionally more important and prominent than in Huntress, but Huntress still derives a lot of her power from it. Nemesis I'd put down as Midrange - Status - Snowball, because in order of importance he has Tentacle Strike, Tentacle Strike has to Contaminate before it can Injure, and Tentacle Strike needs mutation tiers to really start getting dangerous. Some Killers like Dracula would probably need 4 tags, but it'd ideally be best to avoid going any higher than that. (I'd put him down as Stance - Dash - Midrange - Traversal)
Some of these are still very hard concepts to adjudicate and condense down to describe each Killer adequately, but that's the rough starting point I'd use. Would be interested to hear other people's differing opinions/execution.
The second suggestion I just agree with, would be nice to get a dedicated Power screen that has a little more accurate info instead of needing to jump to the wiki for most stuff.
The Killer journal idea is similar to one I had a while back, so yes I agree with it! The main difference between my idea and yours is that I suggested giving Survivors the tips before they face the Killer, when they match with them in the lobby- That way, they potentially get a full minute to read up on the Killer if they need it and get some briefing tips, without needing something like a friend to talk them through it. This is similar to how Loading Screen Tips that already exist spoil what Killer you're against, just pushing it back into the lobby screen so it can be more detailed.
I absolutely love the list of tags you provided, its exactly what I would hope for. I'm also glad you mentioned the importance of ordering the tags as I feel like that is important subtle information to give the player, as each killer varies in different areas.
After reading your Killer Notes idea, I really do like it. My only issue is even though it doesn't tell people they are going against that killer, it still technically tells them they will go against that killer and can prep accordingly, especially in SWF. But still I love how it is in line with the lore of the game and gives new players a way to read about each killer before and after facing them in a fun way.
Now thinking about it, loading screens are quite bare usually. I would love a sort of note to appear when loading into a trial with information about the killer they are facing. Maybe a polaroid image or two. Though again the issue comes with how detailed it might be in the limited time of loading…