The Deathslinger has given killers in Dead by Daylight a lost sense of – power and control. At least, that’s what Cortyn from MeinMMO thinks.
My love for Dead by Daylight is a double-edged sword. What was supposed to serve merely as a substitute for the best game of all time (Evolve – no debate allowed) has captivated me after just a few hours. I have been hooked on Dead by Daylight for several years now and would consider myself “good” at it.
However, the better I became as both a killer and a survivor, the more I realized that the balance of the game is a bit odd.
Killers must hope for survivors’ mistakes
Clearly, survivors cannot injure the killer and are generally the weaker role, but they are in the majority. However, how long a good survivor can hold off an equally skilled killer is just ridiculous in my opinion.
The control of the game’s outcome is largely in the hands of the survivors. If a survivor plays flawlessly, then most killers have little chance. As a killer, you often rely on survivors to make a mistake. If that doesn’t happen, you can play like a fool and often achieve nothing or very little.
I need to capitalize on survivors’ mistakes while playing well myself. Just “playing well” is often not enough when I face experienced survivors who are approximately at the same skill level as I am when I play as a survivor.
toxic behavior – no matter how the match ends
The higher I climb in the ranks month after month, the more toxic the behavior of my opponents becomes. There are really only two types of reactions in the endgame chat once you reach the “red ranks”.
Either all 4 survivors escape, and you get a “GG EZ, Tryhard” as a farewell. Or I kill one to all survivors, at which point I am then told that only noobs use my perks or that the killer is OP or that I camped, tunneled, or cheated.
Sure – sometimes there is a friendly surprise in the endgame chat. But they don’t stay in memory for long.
Especially in matches where you try something new, like a new perk combination or a killer that is not often played yet, these insults in the endgame chat hurt. This is especially true when you have felt “powerless” throughout the match and then see 4 teabagging survivors at the exit gates. In such moments, I wonder why I even play killers who are currently so rare anyway. With such behavior from the survivors, it’s no wonder.
Deathslinger gave me control back
But then came the Deathslinger.
I don’t believe I have mastered the Deathslinger even remotely or am particularly efficient with him. I don’t even think the Deathslinger is a particularly strong killer. But he has given me one thing back:
The feeling of power and control.
This is mainly due to his abilities. While he is slower than other killers, he has a ranged weapon that can fire a spear that then hooks into a survivor.
Shooting a spear at a survivor and pulling them in is incredibly satisfying. Bringing the survivor closer to you while they are forced to look in your direction and desperately trying to destroy the chain connecting us feels great.
This is mainly achieved by having control over the movement of the survivor. You can pull them closer, drag them a few meters, or just slowly approach them while the chain is being drawn in. That feels good. That feels powerful.
Teabaggers are now punished
Especially, the Deathslinger helps me against my problem of “teabagging survivors at the exit gate”. With perks (like “No One Escapes Death” or “Hex: Devour Hope”) and addons for the weapon, it is possible to pull in survivors with the chain and knock them down with one hit.
The number of survivors who wanted to mock me with their flashlight and teabagging exercises at the exit gate makes me happy now. Because if they give me the opportunity to pull them in with the chain, they end up as the idiot who sacrificed their “victory” for a little teabagging. It only gets better when I can perform the brutal Mori animation.
Some of them angrily disconnect despite the fact that there are now penalties for that.
The survivors still often escape me with the Deathslinger, more often than with the Doctor or the Plague. Especially survivors who have learned to rescue the teammate on the chain often ruin my plans. But the Deathslinger is much more fun than the Plague or the Doctor because the feeling of control on the killer’s side is greater.
And that is exactly what Dead by Daylight needed. A killer who makes “being a killer” feel fun again, even if you lose a match.
What are your experiences with the Deathslinger?
