Dead by Daylight introduces a new feature – but this could backfire badly. Because the new Boon Totems need a lot of fine-tuning.
Although the new Survivor Mikaela Reid is so cute that she will definitely be my new “Main Survivor”, there are some concerns about her abilities. Because she is the first Survivor to bring the “Boon Totems” feature with her. Survivors can then bless totems and gain strong buffs.
Basically, I can understand the thought. If killers can place curses on totems with their perks, why shouldn’t Survivors be able to bestow blessings?
However, the blessing totems have an immensely large advantage: They can be renewed infinitely. If the killer disables a blessing totem, it simply becomes an inactive, dull totem again. This can – according to the current plan without cooldown – be enchanted again by a Survivor immediately.
Cursed totems cannot do that. Once blessed, they are deactivated and removed from the game forever (the exception here is “Curse: Immortal”).
Especially, these new totems clash with the basic design of the game. Because the killer is not only the actual “power role” in the game, but has also become the “stress role” over the years.
Even more stress for killers – Is this the solution?
The killer is fundamentally more powerful – but this is balanced out by the overwhelming number of Survivors. It is hard enough to put 4 Survivors under pressure at the same time to prevent them from quickly repairing generators or ending chases quickly.
Particularly killers who must invest valuable time to use their abilities – like the Trapper, the Witch, the Demogorgon, and in a way also the Plague – simply do not need another task in the game.
Killers already have more than just their hands full trying to put pressure on the Survivors. There is basically no time left to also look for a Boon Totem and kick it – just for it to be reignited shortly afterward.
If a killer invests even 10 seconds searching for and disabling the totem – which naturally takes more or less time – this gives the Survivors four times the amount of time to work on generators, amounting to about half a generator.
Sure, there will be moments when you hang a Survivor and then can kick the totem right next to him. Then you lose very little time.
However, this leads to a new dilemma. Because if the killer then leaves the hooked Survivor, he will be rescued and the totem will simply be reignited.
Another aspect is the strength of these Boon Totems. They extend over a radius of 28 meters – a whopping 2,460 square meters. Additionally, multiple effects can stack on one totem. Alone, Mikaela Reid can ensure that Survivors in this area:
- Can heal themselves without a medkit
- Can heal others at double speed
- Leave no scratch marks
- Never reveal their aura
All of this combined leads to a brand new problem. If the killer notices that a Survivor has 2, 3, or even 4 Boon Perks and thus transforms an area on the map into a paradise for Survivors – what is the decision of a killer who still wants a chance at victory?
Exactly, he will “tunnel” the user of the Boon Perks and want to take him out of the game as quickly as possible. A behavior that has previously been frowned upon but is only encouraged by such perks. Because if a Survivor brings massive buffs for all other Survivors, then killing this character is simply the only logical and efficient decision.
Boon Totems – Just bad or missing fine-tuning?
Yet, I don’t want to completely condemn the totems. I am incredibly excited about Mikaela Reid, as I play both killers and Survivors equally. And I find the idea of a modern witch blessing totems also very interesting and will definitely use the perks.
I just fear that it won’t make the game better as a whole and will contribute to the fact that hardly anyone wants to play killer in the long term.
We have already experienced this several times in the past, before the developers reversed course and reverted controversial changes.
The Boon Totems are predestined to fail spectacularly because they are simply too good.
There are certainly solutions that would make Boon Totems much less annoying right away. Ideas from the community would be:
- After a Boon Totem is disabled by a killer, the Survivor has a long cooldown before they can bless a new totem – about 150-300 seconds.
- Boon Totems disabled by the killer reignite as a cursed totem if the killer carries a disabled cursed perk.
- Negative effects, such as: When a Boon Totem is disabled, the aura of the owner of that totem is revealed for 15 seconds and they cannot interact with generators during that time.
Cursed totems are always a “gamble” for killers, a kind of gambling that can pay off or fail brutally if the totem is blessed early. The same should apply to Boon Totems. They should not become a “free win”, as they can be reignited infinitely.
Or what do you think about this matter? Do you find the Boon Totems in their current form good and sensible? After all, there are many reasons to love and also hate Dead by Daylight …
