Struggle Phase Revamped
General Mechanic
Many people have taken to asking for this to be an automatic phase. This kinda takes the 'struggle' out of struggle. I suggest a new idea I had posted in a previous thread. Essentially it will be tied down to skill checks. One every 5 seconds.
Hitting the skill check keeps you alive. Missing two skill checks in a row will lead to instant sacrifice. Missing a skill check will reduce your bar by 5 seconds. You are losing the struggle between you and the entity. Slipping up is essentially losing to the entity while the key-bind suggestion below is your suicide option.
Great skill checks add 2 1.25 seconds to your bar. If you are great at hitting great skill checks this will increase your timer by a few seconds. This can be a clutch aid in which killers are camping or your team is just needing a bit more time to get to you.
Blood Point: Struggling on the hook generates Struggle BP. Hitting great skill checks award bonus struggle points for the survivor. Failing to hit a skill check will punish your unbroken emblem.
As @Atrushan88 and @Peanits suggested there should still be a way to suicide on the hook. I suggest an activator button like dead-hard. This gives you the option to just let go and accept your fate. While missing two skill checks is more like losing the battle to the entity. Again pleases both natures of the game.
Skill Check and Perk Effect Changers:
Huntress Lullaby: Yes should affect these skill checks. Makes nabbing that totem slightly more important. It would also keep you on your toes if you were hooked and it has five stacks.
Unnerving Presence: Would severely be abused by campers if this was implemented. I can understand maybe a bonus slight reduction to these types of skill checks. Otherwise this should not affect these skill checks.
Deliverance: If you were not able to use it on your first hook state: You can hit a designated button like dead hard. This will cause you to have to succeed 3 difficult skill checks (BNP/DS skill checks) in rapid succession. These skill checks pause your struggle timer and do not count towards losing the battle to the entity. If you hit all three skill checks you are able to get off the hook.This gives you a second chance of being able to use Deliverance... However, you have to work for it. These skill checks will not cause an instant death for missing them.
Spine Chill: Can reduce the frequency of skill checks down to 4.75/4.5/4.25. This would allow you to have more chances to extend your struggle phase. Anything other than the slightest of reduction of these skill checks would be too powerful.
This is Not Happening: Yes it would make the skill check areas bigger. The perk is weak as is so it doesn't make this a terrible change.
Stakeout: Punishes camping and that is alright. The perk is weak as is so it doesn't make this a terrible change.
Doctor Madness: I would have to test to see if this is a fair mechanic. This mechanic is to be a detriment to campers not hinder survivors. However, at the same time counter-weighted by bad-skill-check plays.
Animation Changes:
Suggestion from @Boss and expanded on.
Great Skill Check:
- This will have the entity attempt to stab the survivor and by swift luck they are able to dodge it. Letting them live just a little while longer.
Good Skill Check:
- Can stay the same as is. The concept is the survivor is just barely scraping by fending the entity off. Slowly they are weakening and the entity is just waiting for it.
Missing a Skillcheck:
- The entity goes for a quick jab inward letting the survivor know their death is getting closer another slip up and it is over. Practically just a fraction away from piercing them and completing the sacrifice. This animation will revert if the survivor succeeds the next skill check. (Shows the struggle in an animated way)
If the Deliverance Perk bonus I suggested above is implemented:
- The survivor will unhook themselves. However, during this the entity attempts to take a quick jab inward to complete the sacrifice and the survivor knocks it away just barely.
Unhooking by the Survivor:
- As the unhooked survivor starts to drop to the ground the entity stabs the hook right above there head as they land. Showing the next hook will be their last.
Point Scoring:
Skill checks reward objective points for hitting. It is your objective to stay alive, do gens, and get out. However, the longer you struggle for the more struggle points you gain. If you extend your life by hitting these great skill checks you naturally gain more struggle and objective points.
Benefits
- This mechanic saves your keys lifetime. No more button mashing/macro spam space.
- This mechanic does not really impede either side's game-play. It is mainly a QOL change.
- This mechanic is no longer 'rapidly tap space' a meaningless duty.
- You wouldn't die from lag spikes unless they were so severe that lasted 10 seconds in a clip.
- Adds depth to the game during the struggle phase.
- Punishes camping killers
- Natural buffs to other perks that are not in meta.
Comments
I agree with the rework of the struggle mechanic. We need to change it so it won't be a annoying button mash.
I really love OP's suggestion, it makes it more engaging and could reward points for being on the hook... also makes so many perks more useful in this sort of situation.
Any suggestions you have to add to this thread?
Maybe add some cool visual tells based on the stage of failure/success against the entity they are in, I think this kind of struggling could perhaps void current anti tunnel perks, and make moris more valuable?
maybe the killer can have some sort of interaction with it to decrease the timer but waste their own precious time (Smack them to decrease the timer by 0.5 seconds) IDK, but that'd probably encourage tunnelling...