SCP-966 - "Sleep Killer" - SCP Suggestion

[Evermore]

SCP-966, nicknamed the "Sleep Killer", is a bootleg 096 lookin' invisi-boi that somehow got into the original SCP:CB. And I love it! Hopefully when I explain how it can integrate into Secret Lab, you can too.

The original Wiki article: http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-966


Overview

The Positives:

• One of the core abilities of 966 is being completely invisible at almost all times through normal vision to any human player. SCPs see you outright however.
  
• SCP-966 has the ability to both walk and run like other Humans by holding the Sprint key. Normal speed has the added benefit of no footstep noice whatsoever.
  
• 966 is tied with 049-2 with speed, moving at human sprint speed while sprinting.
  
• Clicking with the primary mouse button attacks with your claws for heavy damage.
  
• SCP-966 has access to an ability indicated by a circle around their aiming reticle. Clicking alt-fire when your reticle is full allows you to release [REDACTED] waves every 15 seconds!
  
• [REDACTED] waves work at a moderate distance on any visible Human player, serving to temporarily disable their ability to sprint for 3 seconds.
  
• Taking damage is never a good thing, but having lower health increases scratch damage and decreases cooldown of those sweet [REDACTED] beams.

The Negatives:

• As a professional stealth-master, you have 1000 base health. This makes it the lowest health pool out of all the main SCPs aside from 049-2.
  
• Instead of instant kills, you have your long nails to slash at enemies, acting akin to a Zombie's scratch at full health.
  
• Though most cannot see you, MTF-brand scopes can see you at all times when looked through.
  
• Chaos Insurgency smoke grenades get an indirect buff in being able to show your silhouette in the smoky shroud.
  
• Furthermore, taking damage will 'blink' you for a half a second (0.5s), revealing your body with an opaque red.
  
• Blinking also occurs when attacking and using waves for half a second.
  
• Sprinting, while a fast mobility option, is distinctive and can help to give your presence away.
  
• While [REDACTED] beams are super dope, using them will play distinctive sound cues and caught individuals will be notified of their affliction.

The Goal of the SCP in Gameplay

"SCP-966 have proved to be very agile and silent while stalking their victims. ~ A direct quote from the original article.

SCP-966 is an SCP that caters to a common style of play as SCP, stealth. Unlike Peanut or Doctor that compensate their slow speed in direct encounters by flanking around corners and doorways, 966 is much more of an active participant. With both invisibility, sprinting speed and silent walking, passing through doorways past a crowd of Chaos or unsuspicious MTF to get a better position is very possible.


"I feel the need. The need for acceleration!" ~ Dr. Neo Cortex, Crash Tag Team Racing

One main goal is to try and experiment with an SCP that is both fair to combat while also having above average agility to its constituents. In the current roster, the Zombie is the most consistently mobile of the SCPs, with the descending list of Doc/Larry/Observed Peanut and Crybaby being the main options. While Unobserved Peanut and Madbaby are on their own fast, they are conditionally so. Having a consistently mobile SCP class is very likely to be a pace shift and unique in that regard to other SCPs.

The ability to slow targets not only helps itself in counteracting its inferior attacks at full health, but also plays into a supportive roll for other SCPs to capitalize upon, such as 049 or 106 due to their own slower mobility. These pairings I think allows for the other SCPs to be more dynamic in how they play off each other. Like Peanut and Crybaby are a phenomenal doubleteam, 966 and 049 or 106 can make up for their lack of killing power and motility respectively. Hey, some teamwork in a team-based game!


"That Spy ain't on our side!" ~ Dell Conagher (Engineer), TF2

With such boons comes at the cost of self-sufficiency against larger groups of players and MTF that consistently use night-vision. As mentioned above, 966 is a squishy attacker that may have to resort to flanking maneuvers in dire situations and falls in line with most other SCPs (besides 096). However, these quirks are a shared weakness with most other SCPs, just that 966 more beneficial abilities fail to protect itself from these situations and thus put it at a greater disadvantage compared to other SCPs combating this same weakness.


The Part where You Come In

Admittedly, not everything about the concept is finalized. Times, cooldowns, distances and speeds are all up to the discression of the developers of the game, with other aspects like the bonuses/penalties as health decreases also in the air.

I personally like the idea that damage scaling as health decreases can boost the damage to be lethal in a single blow to low health humans, but that would obviously be close to death and charging head-first at even a moderately armored personnel a hazard to your life as to not become 096 v2.

I've also been flip-flopping about the nature of the beam being a single-target, a group target and it being in a visual cone or AoE if it were a group target is still up for grabs. Very likely one of the first two.

A final note is how invisibility would function with the looming overhaul to energy weaponry in the update roadmap, which can still be explained away with the sights being able to see infa-red. If those laser scopes do go completely up and out, then an equip like night vision goggles for extended sight on a battery time limit could be an alternative item one can find.

~~~~

I hope you liked reading this suggestion, it's been an idea I have been entertaining for a little while, and wanted to see where we could take this SCP, if at all, as a more proactive flanking SCP.

Have any issues/questions on mechanics you think weren't fully explained? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear what the community has to offer in feedback. This is by no means professional material as it is more a fanatic rambling into the interwebs, every tip helps!

~~~~

Addendum 1:

• Health has been altered from 1600 to 1000 points.
  
• [REDACTED] waves are now overhauled to have a shorter cooldown and effect time, with increasing effectivity as damage is taken. (30s cd -> 15s cd, 8s effect -> 3s effect ~ 8s effect near death).
  
• "Faster-than-human-sprint sprint speed" was nerfed to normal sprint speed in compensation for more frequent [REDACTED] waves.
  
• Blink feature altered dramatically. Now occurs when using waves and attacks.

[ian]

+1

[Mad Dog]

Good to see a well thought out and lengthy suggestion for once. Though I would like to give some feedback.
For one, he seems too tanky to me. Seeing as he will not be damaged as much as the other SCPs, I would suggest 1000 hp or lower. Otherwise he would become very hard and annoying to kill as squads of MTF cant just hunt down and kill him, and he can escape from combat extremely easily.
Another thing I noticed was his speed. He seems too fast to me. While yes, in the lore they are quick, I would rather a balanced SCP than a lore friendly one. I suggest normal human speeds, as him being faster would be OP as people could not escape him. Anyway, he has his slowing debuff so he doesnt need all that speed.
And about that debuff, eight seconds feels very OP to me judging that most SCPs can kill in a single hit. I feel two seconds with a five to ten second cooldown would be rather balanced, as it would slow fleeing opponents down so you and zombies can pounce upon him.
Other than these minor stat gripes i'm very interested in this SCP idea and hope it gets added

[Evermore]

Originally posted by Sir Ratman:

For one, he seems too tanky to me...
...I suggest normal human speeds, as him being faster would be OP as people could not escape him. Anyway, he has his slowing debuff so he doesnt need all that speed...
... I feel two seconds with a five to ten second cooldown would be rather balanced, as it would slow fleeing opponents down so you and zombies can pounce upon him.
Other than these minor stat gripes i'm very interested in this SCP idea and hope it gets added

Fair enough. I always saw 049's HP as a very detrimental downside to keep him in check, but I never considered that he went down so easily due to that and his presence. 'It's just two 049-2's worth of health!' is a concern for balance and how much longevity it could have in the game (has to compete with 173's bulk or 096's 'offensive is defensive' abilities), but I digress.

I may have had two seperate concepts of a fast character and a supporting character and merged them together at the lore behind 966, but I can see how it could easily get out of hand for sure.

As for having shorter effect and cooldown, I'm splitting the difference with your suggestion. Yes, having longer effect times can be detrimental when with other teammates, especially in early game, but I want to make sure that it doesn't become too spammy. Remember that it does have a sound cue every single time it is used, so having to use it less rather than more at the gain of a single second more from your suggestion I believe would be better for both parties.

[ian]

Originally posted by LegoFan9o5:

Originally posted by Sir Ratman:

... I feel two seconds with a five to ten second cooldown would be rather balanced, as it would slow fleeing opponents down so you and zombies can pounce upon him.
Other than these minor stat gripes i'm very interested in this SCP idea and hope it gets added

As for having shorter effect and cooldown, I'm splitting the difference with your suggestion. Yes, having longer effect times can be detrimental when with other teammates, especially in early game, but I want to make sure that it doesn't become too spammy. Remember that it does have a sound cue every single time it is used, so having to use it less rather than more at the gain of a single second more from your suggestion I believe would be better for both parties.

What if it also made him visible for a few seconds, to balance it out?

[Evermore]

Originally posted by to be continued:

What if it also made him visible for a few seconds, to balance it out?

Maybe? I know that would be a great horror factor for early game (especially when pairing with another SCP), but trying that on a group of either CI or MTF would be suicide.

Maybe instead of several seconds when it uses the slow wave, it will appear for like half a second for every slash and wave instead. That way, your victim can still see where you are generally while crippled themselves, as well as hamper a team with some flak if they are diligent, but not inherently losing your best means of defense in the process.

[ian]

Wait, I just had a thought. What about the microhid? It'd be almost impossible if you don't know where it is and it's invisible.

[Mad Dog]

Originally posted by LegoFan9o5:

Maybe? I know that would be a great horror factor for early game (especially when pairing with another SCP), but trying that on a group of either CI or MTF would be suicide.

Maybe instead of several seconds when it uses the slow wave, it will appear for like half a second for every slash and wave instead. That way, your victim can still see where you are generally while crippled themselves, as well as hamper a team with some flak if they are diligent, but not inherently losing your best means of defense in the process.

I support this wholeheartedly.

[Evermore]

Originally posted by to be continued:

Wait, I just had a thought. What about the microhid? It'd be almost impossible if you don't know where it is and it's invisible.

I'd argue that it'd be excess to use a HID for 966. Remember, it only has 2 Zombie's worth of health, using the usual plasma rifle and grenade should be more than enough to take them out.

On top of that, trying to sprint away gives away your position with the distinct footsteps, as well as at equal speed, meaning that if that HID keeps on your tail and your movement is equal or lesser than it, then 966 is pushing up daisies. Stealth walking away however can also be countered by having at least one teammate use their own sights to keep taps on them, or even blink them so the HID lands.

So two routes; it's too weak to waste it on a how HP SCP, there are better fish to fry with it/having a teammate covers your blindspots.

[ian]

Originally posted by LegoFan9o5:

Originally posted by to be continued:

Wait, I just had a thought. What about the microhid? It'd be almost impossible if you don't know where it is and it's invisible.

I'd argue that it'd be excess to use a HID for 966. Remember, it only has 2 Zombie's worth of health, using the usual plasma rifle and grenade should be more than enough to take them out.

On top of that, trying to sprint away gives away your position with the distinct footsteps, as well as at equal speed, meaning that if that HID keeps on your tail and your movement is equal or lesser than it, then 966 is pushing up daisies. Stealth walking away however can also be countered by having at least one teammate use their own sights to keep taps on them, or even blink them so the HID lands.

So two routes; it's too weak to waste it on a how HP SCP, there are better fish to fry with it/having a teammate covers your blindspots.

Good point. I guess everything's fine then.

[The Ghost™]

Can anyone imagine possible team ups with 966 with 079 or 457 or the upcoming 939 ?

[Evermore]

Originally posted by The Ghost™:

Can anyone imagine possible team ups with 966 with 079 or 457 or the upcoming 939 ?

079 - With stealth and 079's abilities to open doors, escaping by opening two doors at a node can help 966 escape persuers. Also can surprise attackers of 079, since their focus is far more on the visible SCP. Furthermore is 966 Sprint speed to keep on pace for a potential attack on 079. Probably one of the better guards besides Larry.

457 - I have no idea how this SCP works in normal gameplay. Assuming it has non-lethal attacks, it can benefit from slow waves. I suspect that 457's ability to grow with fuel may be an eyelander effect for each kill, so having an edge with slowed targets sounds like a good pairing.

939 - Like every other SCP, slower walk speed can help secure kills. Plus, assuming 939 requires multiple bites for a kill, 966 can help chip in damage.

I know that most of these are speculative to how they would interact, but slow waves ate a general utility that helps any killing SCP.

[SimoneX93]

+1

[Space_Mau5e]

Thoughtout, to the point, and well deleivered. +1 I now have something to look at this weekend.

But I do have a little suggestion. Now before I say my suggestion I want you to know that I lean a lot toward lore accurate opinions so my suggestion may not be that balanced for gameplay.

How about 966 can't attack unless his target is affected by [Redacted] waves. You can make the waves affect only 1 player at a time but have a duration of 8s default and 16s when a low health.

Because remember in SCP CB they are docile with the player, not immediately attacking them unless they are in their presence for a long duration of time. This would be more accurate to the lore, as 966 is a stalker. It waits for its prey to succumb to its weak body and then attacks.

[The Ghost™]

Originally posted by LegoFan9o5:

Originally posted by The Ghost™:

Can anyone imagine possible team ups with 966 with 079 or 457 or the upcoming 939 ?

079 - With stealth and 079's abilities to open doors, escaping by opening two doors at a node can help 966 escape persuers. Also can surprise attackers of 079, since their focus is far more on the visible SCP. Furthermore is 966 Sprint speed to keep on pace for a potential attack on 079. Probably one of the better guards besides Larry.

457 - I have no idea how this SCP works in normal gameplay. Assuming it has non-lethal attacks, it can benefit from slow waves. I suspect that 457's ability to grow with fuel may be an eyelander effect for each kill, so having an edge with slowed targets sounds like a good pairing.

939 - Like every other SCP, slower walk speed can help secure kills. Plus, assuming 939 requires multiple bites for a kill, 966 can help chip in damage.

I know that most of these are speculative to how they would interact, but slow waves ate a general utility that helps any killing SCP.

Thanks ma dude

[Mad Dog]

Originally posted by Space_Mau5e:

Thoughtout, to the point, and well deleivered. +1 I now have something to look at this weekend.

But I do have a little suggestion. Now before I say my suggestion I want you to know that I lean a lot toward lore accurate opinions so my suggestion may not be that balanced for gameplay.

How about 966 can't attack unless his target is affected by [Redacted] waves. You can make the waves affect only 1 player at a time but have a duration of 8s default and 16s when a low health.

Because remember in SCP CB they are docile with the player, not immediately attacking them unless they are in their presence for a long duration of time. This would be more accurate to the lore, as 966 is a stalker. It waits for its prey to succumb to its weak body and then attacks.

He'd be very underpowered like this. It would be like making 106 only able to attack the guy who looked at him. It just wouldnt work in this game.