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VOD: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/457839754
Mid-Chapter 3.1.0 Q&A
News & Announcements
We will be at Gamescom! We will not have a booth, but we will have a presence. This is the first time we'll be going to Europe and we look forward to meeting all of you.
Bill is still coming to the PS4. Do not worry, we are on it! We hope to have him and the rest of the missing content available as soon as possible (in a hotfix if possible).
Q&A
Freddy
Is there a good reason why Freddy starts a trial with his teleport on cooldown?
Spawning next to the killer can be frustrating and feels unfair. Allowing Freddy to teleport to a generator that you spawned next to right away would feel very similar. We decided it was best to avoid this by putting the dream projection on cooldown as soon as the match starts. As always, we'll be monitoring how this plays out and make changes as needed. We are not opposed to the idea, but we also don't feel it is necessary at this time.
Have you considered keeping old Freddy in the game? (with an option to switch between the two)
Since old Freddy was frustrating to play against, this is not something we are looking to do. Additionally, since old and new Freddy are so different, this would require us to support both killers at once. We would rather focus our efforts on one version rather than split our attention between two.
Why did Freddy get dream snares in his base kit instead of dream pallets?
We find dream snares to be more dynamic as they can be placed anywhere in the map. With some skill and thought, snares can be used very effectively in places where pallets cannot be placed. Keeping dream pallets also adds to the unpredictability of dream pallets, since survivors will not know whether you are using snares or pallets right away. This element of surprise benefits pallets more than it would snares.
Will Freddy's snares be adjusted?
We have made some small changes between the PTB and live (placement speed has been increased, and a buffer has been added to snare placement to make them easier to place). While snares may not be as powerful as pallets, they are much more versatile and have their own benefits. We're watching closely to see how people end up using the snares and how they perform, but we aren't planning any changes at the moment. As always, this could change down the line if need be.
Have you thought about reducing Freddy's base speed to make up for his teleport ability?
Since he is limited in where he can teleport (unlike the Nurse) and the survivors get a head start when Freddy teleports, we do not feel like there is a need to reduce his movement speed. When designing the Freddy rework, we tried to avoid any slowdowns as this can feel bad when playing as the killer.
Do you think Windows of Opportunity should show you Freddy's dream pallets?
We have discussed this internally and decided against this for the time being. Windows of Opportunity may help you scout out real pallets and spot the ones that appear when you fall asleep (letting you know that they are fake), but we did not want this to completely negate the pallets.
Are you going to nerf anything in Freddy's kit or dream pallets?
We are not looking to buff or nerf anything about Freddy just yet. We want to monitor how things play out before making any balance changes. We are looking into making some quality of life (QOL) changes internally, but these should not have an effect on balance.
Would you guys consider changing the Z Block add-on's Hemorrhage status effect?
We deliberately avoided using exposed and exhausted for Freddy's add-ons as these would be far too powerful. We believe that Freddy as a whole is in a good place in terms of power and we do not want add-ons to send him over the top, but rather change the way he is played. The Z Block was intended to be used a tracking add-on, not necessarily to make him stronger in a chase. We recognize that the feedback to this add-on has not been very positive so far, but we want to see how people play with it before making any changes.
Maps
Would you create multiple versions of a map for every map in the game like you did for Springwood?
Currently we are only looking to create map variations for licensed realms as the only have one map. Map variations are a way for us to make use of the assets we already have rather than creating all new assets. Additionally, we are restricted in what we can do with some licensed maps and as a result, we cannot create new maps. Variations allow us to add more variety to these realms in spite of licensing constraints.
We are not looking to do this on realms that already have multiple maps as this would be excessive (e.g. if every farm map received 5 variations, that would be a total of 25 maps in the Coldwind Farm realm). By adding more variations to maps with only one or two maps, we can ensure that they will be selected just as frequently as other realms.
Are you guys going to rework all maps to the same level of balance as Springwood?
We hope to bring all maps to the same standards some day, but we want to set expectations realistically. Reworking maps to such a degree takes a significant amount of time. We are going to be making fewer new maps in order to make time to review existing maps.
General
Could you talk about who you're planning on reworking/updating next?
We cannot give dates on when these changes will happen, but we can share some information on which killers we are looking to update. We will be taking a look at the Nurse and her add-ons (primarily her add-ons) and the Doctor. We would also like to review the chainsaw killers, the Shape, and the Pig, and more. Some may receive smaller changes or add-on passes while other may see more significant changes.
Any Legion buffs in the near future?
We are planning on looking into their add-ons in the near future. In particular, we would like to change their status effect add-ons to be on hit rather than when hitting a survivor that already has deep wounds. We do not have an ETA at this time, but we will let you know as soon as we can.
Is Monstrous Shrine a perk that you think could use some balance adjustments?
Definitely. Monstrous Shrine would need something more than number tweaks. We are looking into this, but this is not something that will be changing right now.
Will you do something about Object of Obsession revealing stealth killers?
Yes, we are currently looking into how we deal with stealth killers and how their auras can be revealed as a whole. We'll share more on this when the changes are a little closer to going live.
Would you ever consider removing perk tiers?
This is something that we have seen suggested multiple times and have considered many times, but this is not something we are looking to do right now. We have some changes to the grind on the way already and want to see how they play out first. Additionally, the archives are coming soon and should offer a new way to progress. We are also gradually revisiting perks over time to bring the different tiers of perks closer together so you don't always need the tier 3 perk to get the effect of the perk.
When will the new scores for wiggling and surviving be introduced?
Bloodpoints for wiggling are still on the way and should be available soon. We had concerns with scoring based on survival time and decided not to commit to it at the moment. We are aware that survival score can be difficult to earn and we are looking into other ways to award survival points at the moment.
Did you scrap the idea of making Kindred part of the base kit of all survivors in order to bridge the gap between solo players and SWF?
Upon further review, we decided against giving Kindred to all survivors as a base ability. We are going to be addressing the gap between solo players and SWF groups on a case by case basis. We do have a change coming to the Kindred perk on the way, but we cannot provide an exact date at this time.