Issues with the new Killer Power Descriptions missing important details.
I heavily appreciate the new feature upcoming in the Jason update
that provides a brief description of the killer's power when you press
F1 after the killer is revealed, and I think this will make playing with
newer friends a lot easier, but there are two problems I want to go
over.
Problem 1: This can only be seen once the killer is revealed. This
means that the new player must be in active gameplay to learn about
various killers, there are two solutions I can see to improve this.
Adding each killer page to a new section of the in-game manual would
allow players to read it on their own time, but additionally, the game
already has tips show up on the loading screen for the first 3 times a
survivor plays against a killer. Replacing these tips with the power
description would give new players a proper warning for what they are
about to go up against, but just like the current tips, they would be
disabled after 3 matches against that killer, meaning that experienced
players would not have advanced warning of who the killer is.
Problem 2: Some of the descriptions are rather lacking. These
descriptions should specialize in giving players information that can
not be intuitively understood just from playing against them. Running
through the list, let's start with Trapper's:
While far from the worst instance, Trapper starts off not mentioning
that survivors can rescue other survivors from the traps, which would be
hard to discover if someone doesn't do it to you.
Wraith doesn't mention his snarling, shimmering visibility, or the bell
he rings when cloaking or uncloaking. However, this is a bit more
forgiving as this information is easier to deduce on your own.
Hillbilly doesn't mention his turnrate, neither the fact that it's
restricted during the Chainsaw Sprint or the fact that it's briefly set
really high at the beginning of a sprint. This is information that is
very difficult to learn just from playing against Hillbilly and is vital
to playing against him, making it especially notable that they don't
bring it up at all.
Nurse is mostly fine, the only thing I would add is that she
teleports in a straight line before entering a fatigue with a loud gasp,
because the current verbiage provides no info about how to maneuver
around her teleporting, and a new player might be confused on how to
know when she's done teleporting
Myers is a very small thing, I think they should specify that he
stalks survivors within his line of sight because it makes it clear the
counterplay to Stalker Myers is to break LOS
The fact that no mention is made of the fact that the counterplay
to hag is crouching to avoid the traps is really noteworthy.
Mostly good, I would specify under Madness that they are prevented
from repairing or healing until they snap out of it, but this is very
easy to learn yourself. (On an unrelated note fix his effects being
unsafe for people with epilepsy)
Not a single mention that that it can break pallets or that
bumping on terrain or objects causes him to enter a tantrum that slows
him down. The former can be found out very quickly, but the latter is a
very hard mechanic to learn if you're up against a Cannibal that's
remotely decent at avoiding terrain.
This is all she really needs. The lullaby being related to
distance is very intuitive to learn on your own and the axe throws are
very telegraphed so it shouldn't be too hard for new players to learn.
Freddy's is nearly perfect. The only thing I'd add is that Alarm Clocks make you temporarily invincible to Dream Powers
No real issues with Pig's description
Clown should mention that he has to slow down to reload
eventually, as it would be hard to catch that animation when you are
actively running away from him.
Spirit's should mention that when she is invisible you can hear
the direction she is coming from, but this is easy to find out (Although
I would like to see them deal with the accessibility issue she is)
Huge mistake: Legion's feral slash doesn't explain enough about
the Killer Instinct. It should specify that survivors who are in deep
wound are not detected, and that it detects survivors in lockers. Also
maybe include the description of Deep Wound since it's important to his
power.
It would be nice to specify that infected survivors can spread
their infection through objects or through healing. Also maybe include
the explanation for Broken since it's important.
Specifying that survivors reveal Ghost Face by staring directly at
him would be helpful. Same as Myers, specifying that the stalk occurs
within LOS would also be nice
Specifying that Demogorgon can detect survivors around a portal when the Shred is charged would be nice.
Oni's is solid. On a side note, I appreciate the decision to
replace "put immediately into the Dying State" with "downed" considering
anybody who has played an online multiplayer game before will probably
understand what that means and it's much simpler.
Deathslinger is very intuitive to understand, but I think it would
be nice to include that he does have to reload it, like with Clown.
Pyramid Head should include that crouch-walking can prevent the trail from inflicting you with Torment
Blight should include that he can break pallets with his slams and that it takes longer to recharge after doing so.
Twins should include that crouching avoids being detected by an Idle Victor, and descriptions of the Status Effects
Trickster is fine but I would include that S-Rank stops the laceration meter from decaying.
Including that Nemesis's Tentacle Strike can break pallets would be nice
to include, but it would also be easy to find out on your own about
that. It should include that using a vaccine lets Nemesis detect you for
a short time though.
Pinhead should include the definition of Oblivious since you get it while carrying the Box
Artist should include that a survivor can get in a locker to avoid crows
I think it would be nice to specify that survivors within the range of a
TV will be able to see its aura since that seems like a lot of people
don't realize.
Dredge being able to detect survivors nearby a locker it visits in Nightfall is a major omission.
Including that you're hindered when fully infected and that sprays
reveal your location to the killer for a brief time would be helpful to
include
Not including any information about the Standard is a major flaw
considering it's the counterplay to being pincered. Also including the
specialties of each guard with their icon since you can see it on him.
Including that Claw Traps make you broken would be very helpful.
Singularity's is fine!
Xenomorph's should specify that it can detect survivors and temporarily deactivate turrets near a tunnel when it exits one
Chucky's is fine but it might be nice to specify that you can only see
Chucky's footprints on loops where you'd be able to see a standard size
killer. You can't see the footprints through tall loops.
It would be nice to specify that teleporting to a Hallucination that's in the middle of being dispelled will inflict the survivor with weakness
Vecna One's is pretty good! I feel like it should specify under the
Spellbook that paying attention to his hands allows you to more easily
tell what he's casting before he does it.
Hellfire being able to clip through small obstacles, Wolf Form being
able to track survivors who fast vault, and bat form being able to see
Scratch Marks would all be helpful to include
Houndmaster's should include that other survivors can free a survivor from the dog.
Ghoul's is fine!
It would be nice to explain that going in the AOE of the axe allows him
to track survivors or trigger special effects, even if it's rarely
useful.
"afflicting" survivors with at least Leeched I is an odd statement, it
would be better to say damaging to clarify that it results in damage
when Leeched I or II
The First Vecna's is fine.
Jason's should include the fact that you can avoid being revealed by Jump Scare by crouching
Comments
To steal an idea from myself, I actually think we could move these Killer power descriptions even earlier than the loading screens to the lobby. I don't see an issue with, for first encounters only, you "find some strange notes" near the campfire when the relevant Killer matchmakes with you, clicking on them previews the Killer Power like in this feature.
I particularly like this approach because it puts some control over how long they need to read this information into the new players' hands, rather than being tied to a loading screen or needing to consult them mid-match.