Xenomorph Rework Concept - To improve the feel of the Xenomorph to play as and against
TL:DR
New Vents allow the Xenomorph to be more stealthy and ability to access tunnels quicker. Double Turret setups are gone, but survivors have more ease when it comes to using them. FACEHUGGERS.
Vents [NEW]
Xenomorph
- In addition to the 7 Control Stations on the map, 6 Ventilation Ports will also spawn within the trial in random locations around the map
- When the Xenomorph exits a Vent, they do not gain Killer Instinct but instead exit silently and gain 15 seconds of Undetectable.
- Undetectable is lost when a Flame Turret begins to burn the Xenomorph
Survivor
- Survivors carrying Flame Turrets, can interact with a Vent to Seal it for a period of time blocking the Xenomorph from Exiting or Entering.
- Flame Turrets used this way can still be place but are unable to be repaired for 30s
- This means that the Flame Turret will not have an active motion sensor or be able to shoot fire at the Xenomorph
- Flame Turrets used this way can still be place but are unable to be repaired for 30s
The idea behind adding the Ventilation Ports is to give the Xenomorph a new way to 1) enter into the tunnels and aid the Xenomorph's ability to be unpredictable in its movements, 2) add some much needed base kit stealth and 3) play more into the Xenomorph's ambush capabilities.
Allowing survivors to seal Vent ports adds a layer of competitive thinking to matches where survivors can lure the Xenomorph to come out Control Stations where they are given warning and are able to react quicker, but in exchange they lose their first line of defence against the Xenomorph during chase. This promotes the survivor to think whether they are better off having aid during the chase or risk being caught off guard by the Xenomorph's approach.
Tunnels and Footsteps [Adjusted]
- Whilst in the Tunnels, all Conspicuous Actions are revealed to the Xenomorph in the form of Footsteps similar to if the survivor is walking
- This would be a similar ability to what Jason has during Omnipresent Evil
- Survivors carrying Flame Turrets have their footsteps hidden
- Whilst in the Tunnels, the Xenomorph is now able to hear Flame Turrets Motion Sensor if they are close enough
Flame Turrets [Adjusted]
Survivors
- Hindered Strength on survivors is reduced
With a reduced Hinder survivors will be able to travel further quicker with a Flame Turret in order to place them in better positions for themselves ahead of chases.
- Survivors are still permanently Exhausted and Incapacitated whilst carrying
- Flame Turrets burning the Xenomorph reveal its aura in White
We still want to reinforce survivors proactively using and placing Flame Turrets rather than using them as a free stealth and information tool.
Xenomorph
- Flame Turrets now have a minimum distance that they can be placed from one another
No more double turret set up
- Motion Tracker Radius reduced from 41m to 32m
- Heat Build up now takes longer to start to dissipate
- Dissipation starts immediately when in the Tunnels
Survivors who do set up Turrets in the correct position have a better chance of burning the Xenomorph out of its Crawler Mode, but the Xenomorph can now go into the Tunnels to reset and continue the chase should they become too burned.
Facehuggers [NEW]
- The Xenomorph slowly builds up a Facehugger Token, tokens recharge after 180 seconds
- Certain actions reduce this time
- E.g. breaking turrets, hooking survivors, etc.
- Certain actions reduce this time
- When entering the Tunnels and having at least 1 token, the Xenomorph can select a Control Station to have a Facehugger exit from there
- The Facehugger will then attempt to seek out a survivor within range of the Control Station
- If a survivor is visible or doing a conspicuous action within range, the Facehugger will then give chase for 30 seconds
- If no survivor is detected, the Facehugger will then return to the Tunnels, refunding a portion of the charge for the next token.
Facehugger Chase
Survivors being chased by a Facehugger can escape chase in a few ways
- Out lasting the timer
- Leading the Facehugger to a Flame Turret
- Stunning the Facehugger
The Facehugger can crawl under dropped pallets, but can be squashed by dropping the pallet.
If the Survivor is unsuccessful in evading the Facehugger, they are then put into an animation and are faced with a series of rapid, difficult skill checks.
Successfully completing the skill checks leaves the survivor unharmed.
Other survivors can interact with the Facehugger when it tries to latch onto a Survivor, hitting it away and killing it.
Unsuccessful skill checks will cause the facehugger to latch onto the Survivor, blocking all movement and interactions from other survivors and the killer for 10 seconds.
If the Survivor is downed by the Xenomorph during a Facehugger Chase, the Facehugger will latch onto the survivor and block interactions with the survivor for 10 seconds.
After a successful latch, the Facehugger will remove itself and the Survivor is given 15 seconds of Elusive and Endurance. The survivor is then put onto a 5-6 minute timer where they must escape the trial by any means.
- This timer is paused if the survivor is being chased, downed or hooked.
When the timer is up, the survivor is killed and a Chestburster emerges from them.
Comments
While I do like these ideas, I think the facehugger needs a bit more.... pressure to speak, also the flame turrets themselves should still not have the ability to detect the Xenomorph when undetectable, bc that's just unfair and a bad design choice because that means stealth perks are still useless
I didn't explain it in the post, but the reason I didn't have the Flame Turrets stop detecting the Xeno is because, how I would imagine it, is the Xeno would use the Facehugger to push someone out of an area and fake out a Flame Turrets motion tracker while the Xeno would approach with its new Vent Undetectable and pincer attack the survivor.
As for the Facehugger pressure, I thought I did quite well. What about the facehugger is lacking in your opinion?
Personally, 5-6 minutes is a LONG LONG time and will probably die or escape by that time, the mechanic should probably be a 1 time use as it would kill them and if they are sacrificed, while affected, the xenomorph could do it again to another Survivor, so yes, I like the idea and mechanic, however, I just thing the time it takes to get value from it is... a bit too lengthy and probably won't even be able to use it all or very much, Also the facehugger, would it be able to implant on its own without the xenomorph downing someone or would they be required too be downed in order for the facehugger to implant the embryo? Because that part isn't specified but also, I think the embyrod Survivor should also cause the motion trackers to go off as well, if the Turrets remain the same when it comes to detecting xeno while undetectable
The Facehugger can catch people on its own, think like a Knight Guard, I wrote it can grab survivors under Facehugger Chase. Downing a survivor just guarantees an implant. 5 minutes is the same length of time as a Pig Trap, but unlike a Pig trap you can't remove it.
Detecting a survivor on the motion tracker would be pretty cool.