Generator Reinforcement: A new mechanic to rework toolboxes and some survivor perks
Toolboxes would have significantly more charges, but no longer grant significant increases to repair speed. Strong toolboxes with some addons may have minor repair speed boons, but the primary application of the toolbox would be to apply reinforcement to the generator.
So what is reinforcement?
Reinforcement is basically a "shield" for generator progress. Any regression applied to the generator will damage the reinforcement charges before damaging the generator's actual progress, reducing the effectiveness of generator regression.
Perks could also be buffed or reworked to use this mechanic.
For example:
To make deja vu a better anti 3 gen perk, it makes your repairs also apply some reinforcement when repairing one of the 3 affected generators, making it harder for the killer to control the 3 gen.
Better than new, your repairs apply a small amount of reinforcement while affected by the perk
Comments
Just say you want to delete regression perks. Same thing, less effort.
Sorry, I had to do it 🤣
It's not a bad idea for a new mechanic tho, even if it is obviously and indirect killer nerf. Maybe instead of affect regression it could simply make the generator "harder" and add to the time a killer need to kick it or something like that (if they also implement a meaningful reason to kick a gen as basekit for balance).
Blood Echo and Fearmonger aren't just nerfs or deletion of exhaustion perk with extra steps. This is similar. It doesn't completely counter regression perks either.
I've heard variations of this idea before, but usually it's just a flat shield that outright prevents regression- adding it in as a sort of secondary 'health bar' for regression to chew through is an interesting twist, I like it.
I would be all for this making its way into the game, but I think it'd also have to come alongside a hefty nerf to the current methods of speeding up generator repairs. Most of that does come from toolboxes, but there's a couple perks that would need to also be looked at to ensure survivors can't just blitz through generators with no real tools to deal with it on the killer's side.
I like this idea. It's effectively removing faster gen speeds and reducing regression impact, but only in relation to each other.
Survivors won't be able to rush gens as quickly, which means regression should be more effective.
Except regression would be less effective, so killers won't be so inclined to rely on it.
This could also be used to mostly eliminate the speed boost increase from Great Skillchecks on Generators if they instead applied Reinforcement instead of additional repair progress.
This allowing for more play with Skillchecks with Perks and Items without needing to worry too much about the high-end impact on the potential for more progress.
Though I would suggest allowing the Killer to keep Kicking the Generator until it loses all Reinforcement if they so choose. (Being able to Kick Regressing Generators if it’s currently regressing the Reinforcement)
Would also need to figure out how to represent visually a generator that is regressing while reinforced versus regressing while it’s degrading.
Maybe a regressing Generator that still has reinforcement only sparks intermittently (compared to the constant sparks as it is now), and can be repeatedly Kicked to apply a % chunk to to the reinforcement until it starts to spark constantly and the Kick Interaction is disabled.
The last thing killers need is yet another nerf, there is no reason for it. Killers are weak af already. Some actual buffs are highly needed. You not winning is a skill issue, not a balance issue. The balance is already heavily in your favor in every conceivable way.
edit: nevermind I figured it out
This is such a weird analogy with so many holes that I dunno where to even begin. You're pretending like fearmonger and blood echo delete exhaustion perks? They don't. They're contingent on people staying injured which frankly does not happen since circle of healing was introduced. I'm the only person I've ever seen run this combo because it's not a game winning move duo. It's a "I am very fed up of dead hard" combo. And sometimes I am very very tired of dead hard.
You're proposing a mechanic that obsoletes regression entirely. Look at surge: 8% loss contingent on a survivor going down in 32m of a generator. A tall ask in most maps. An even taller one when you're against survivors that know how to hop in lockers or book it to completed gens before going down. And you're proposing that that perk, with these requirements..... Just do nothing if you proc it? Why the Christ would anyone ever run it? Survivors don't need toolboxes to do gens efficiently. All they really need to do is split up on different gens and they'll pop regardless of what you do unless you're playing an S tier killer with the ability to pressure the entire map. Regression perks mitigate that to a degree. And you're proposing to just take that off the table? It's a hugely lopsided proposition. Progression is easier and faster than regression and if you take regression out of the picture you leave killers with no tools to deal with it.
... The hell are you talking about? I just said as a mechanic I liked the idea if they implemented it in a balanced way, but best of all: I'm a killer main, dude 🤣
Well, hang on- you'd get procs on perks like Jolt before the generators are repaired with a tool like a toolbox, for a start, and depending on how much of a shield you actually get perks like Jolt might even eat through it straight away. To say nothing of this not being a basekit mechanic, it's being proposed as a toolbox rework, which means survivors have to choose to bring toolboxes which they already don't all the time.
You're assuming a lot about how something like this would be implemented. Remember that this is a nerf to toolboxes, because the pitch is that they carry no extra speed, they just provide this shield against regression-- you can't regress a generator that's finished, and so the speed is gonna be a lot stronger than the shield.
There are questions of how best to balance a mechanic like this, which might include select buffs to specific regression perks, but even on its face here it doesn't completely obsolete regression. Even if it did, there are tools for slowing down the game that aren't regression, and if survivors do generators a lot slower (which they would if this change also looks at certain perks), they'll be a lot more impactful.
Fearmonger is negated by letting go of the shift button and counting to 5.
You're right in that the idea is not fully fleshed out and I'm making assumptions. That's fair. Arguing against a thing that may or may not exist and assuming the worst is bad form.
In a subsequent post OP says hitting greats can add fortification as well. Obviously problematic. And what threshold is fair? If it knocks my jolt to 4% then that's not even worth the perk slot. It's a mechanic that negates an entire suite of killer perks. Something integral to the entire role. Running a perk vital to winning the game and just not having it do anything is a hostile user experience. If I down someone, bring them to a scourge hook and am rewarded with a solid 0% regression because a survivor brought a toolbox and held m1, that's gonna feel awful. I'd rather have fast gens that my perks can interact with than invincible gens.
Right, but the devil's advocate counter to your statement there is that regression perks are vital to winning the game because toolboxes and other survivor tools make the generators go too fast for you to accrue any pressure otherwise. If those tools to make the generators much faster are removed, you won't need regression as much, which means it won't be as much of a problem if your regression is less effective.
You'd also still be left with tools to stall generators if you need them that would be wholly unaffected by this change. Corrupt Intervention for early game pressure, and Deadlock and Dead Man's Switch for mid-game pressure just off the top of my head, those perks involve blocking generators, rather than regressing them. Heck, blocking generators is seen as a mostly popular/acceptable way of nerfing Eruption too.
I'd agree with hitting great skill checks adding fortification not being a great idea, though, that could spiral a little too quickly.
If that were true then you should know better.
For liking an interesting mechanic idea and thought it could be cool if they implemented it in a balanced way? Oh no, yeah, I see now my sins against the killer mains brotherhood, I will flagellate myself later 🤣