solo queue in 2025

[zekron]

For starters i would like to say, i started playing DBD around 2017. The game was much different back then, and while i acknowledge that, after recently coming back to the game i find that solo queue is quite difficult compared to how it used to be. Perks aside, it appears that a lot of killers either were reworked or got significant buffs since I last played in 2019, and it feels like every killer has a "cheese addon" that gives them a significant advantage over survivors who are uncoordinated. For context I rarely played in a SWF during the time i played from 2017-2019 and I can tell a complete difference in how the game is played. Is the game really this punishing to play as survivor without a SWF and voice comms? don't even get me started on this new tokyo ghoul killer, i'd say he's on par with nurse back when she had insane addons. feel free to correct me if i'm wrong, i wouldn't say i have the most experience on this game but i feel i have enough to see that there is a fundamental flaw with the killer/survivor match-up and balance.

[Persica]

I wasn't there at that time but even then I enjoyed watching DBD content and even a bit of comp content even if old comp content was kinda boring but I can give my observation, basically macro > pure chase more and more.

TLDR : BHVR gives more tool / info for survivors to extend the 4v1, decode the gens faster, rotate, and overall better macro... so BHVR has to nerf the chase aspect.

SoloQ is not really more miserable than back then but the way to play the game changed (even less miserable imo). Survivor chase is getting nerfed (killers having strong anti-loops, maps getting smaller, loops getting nerfed...) and competent top tier killers are either a guaranteed short chase, or needing to win a lot of 50/50 to have a decent chase which against veterans top tier killers is more like 90/10 (e.g. spirit, dracula, mastermind). In short, if your opponent is a proficient top tier killer, it's unrealistic to expect a chase as long as a Noob3 chase, usually having a chase long enough for a gen to pop (doubled) is already a W. So the more consistent way is to play safe for as long as possible, then play the weaker tiles at the end and dying on the best spot furthest from gen possible all while ensuring you don't disrupt any gens more than trying to have a long chase.

BHVR are giving tools to increase the macro efficiency of soloQ survivors and decreasing how hard certain macro actions are to perform, the HUD, 60 to 70 seconds hook, can no longer grab rescues, anti-camp mechanic... etc etc
These basically increased exponentially the efficiency of survivors on gens, rotations, rescues, and also how consistent certain action are. Unhooking is not nearly as dangerous and hard to perform as it used to be a few years back for example, BHVR is generally removing theses "cheese" way for killers to completely overthrow a game and making the game more consistent for survivors if that makes sense.

You also have insane perks that you can play in soloQ without massive coordination to extend the 4v1 which wasn't really a thing back in the day. Shoulder the burden and FTP / Second wind are good example. You can basically play a build in soloQ like (FTP / Second wind + Anti tunnel and anti slug or Shoulder the burden + anti-tunnel perk and anti slug) ==> Which is basically, you chase me and ik how to chase safe and macro for teammates to out genrush you and I also have a perk against slugging and tunneling me out of the game and I have anti-tunnel, you don't chase me I can potentially extend the 4v1.

When you have multiple people good at macro in the lobby playing like that with altruistic builds punishing all the best playstyles in soloQ, it's honestly extremely difficult for killers to keep up, they can have only relatively short chases but the 4v1 is extended for so long (perks, bodyblocks, items...), chases are disrupting gens minimally, rotations are so efficient that the killer can't keep up to the gen speed. Of course, survivors playing like that are at least decent and are not the majority but the thing is that now good soloQ survivor can play with builds like that while it was not possible before. Before even if you were good in soloQ you had to bring kindred for example, you were basically limited to 3 perks and with 3 perks slot, which is not a necessity now since you have the HUD, and shoulder the burden wasn't a thing. Tbf, I did play sprint burst + reassurance back in the day and since killers were securing hook stages / camping so much (no blame it was just a super strong strat), but I still feel it was weaker than now by the metric that extending the 4v1 is much easier now than back then.

Now, of course you rarely runs into a soloQ lobbies with 4 people vibing super hard into this mindset with an extremely min maxed altruistic deny every strong playstyles build (personally it only happened once on coal tower with shoulder the burden + deli called pre game chat it was quite smth). But even 1-2 people like that can ruin your game, I still won survivor games with a weak link with super short chases but he got shouldered twice.
The games where I had more success is the games where people played like that with these kind of builds and not games where someone managed to pull a slightly longer chase or flashlights gang... etc etc

You also have to take into account the comp scene is becoming more popular (you can research stats yourself on organizations like DBDLeague, COTF, DBDAsia, and comp streamers, the tendency is on the rise while casual content is stalling, these once casual content creators are also covering comp content and sometime participate in them). For people looking for balancing and competitiveness, the base game is very limited and janky . And watching how these guys play affect how pubs are played on high MMR. A concrete example is this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOvzixpe20M, you also have the spooky loopz POV in his video) popularizing for the masses the whole bodyblocking frenzy strat, I see people doing that often while before no one in pubs was doing that. You also have more and more people dying comp corner in pubs and playing this whole shorter chase but no disrupt gen over juicy chases.

SoloQ survivors are DEFINITIVELY improving in average on macro.

An interesting concrete interesting example is the Japanese server, in JP from what i have seen, survivors are less proficient in chase but their survivors macro is way better than NA-EU, basically everyone gen rush, play safe... etc etc. Basically they are playing for the ultimate macro min maxing and playing for fun is often seen as trolling there. Every pub NA-EU killers that have actually give it a shot on the JP server have said it's way harder to win there even though they are "worse" in chase. It's just to point that a lobby good at macro but worse in chase is scarier to face than a lobbies strong in chase. And BHVR are giving tools that improves survivors macro across the board so they have to balance in other way and they chose to buff the killers chase. (Tbf, I don't even know if they are in average actually worse in chase, most killers saying that is basically on the basis that since they play safe, pre drop... etc, they are worse in chase but eh idk)

It reminds me of an Otzdarva quote which was basically "If everyone played like that (comp players), BHVR would have to make the loops so bad..." or smth along these lines haha.

Now ofc low MMR soloQ is still miserable.

[Persica]

I provide such a response because for a lot of survivors, getting killed fast is not fun and proves it's killer sided. I think it's a logical conclusion by seeing how many survs DC when they don't survive long but it's not how the game is played optimally.

Concerning ghoul I have I think a pretty solid opinion on him and I disagree with some of your statements but I will not even bring him and I don't want to discuss him since on this forum, he, as a subject, is a horse beaten to death so much it bones has become powder.