This is going to be an early guide to Pinhead (The Cenobite) and doubling as looking at common concerns as I believe some may be misunderstanding a few parts of Pinhead’s kit. These new thoughts recently crossed my mind even though I have already posted my thoughts on the DLC as a whole. However, I guess it doesn’t hurt to have more things to say.
General Overview: Pinhead is a killer that functions well in many scenarios of the game, having good tracking, game slowdown, map control/mobility, a counter to looping, and the ability to end chases quickly to some extent in all of the mentioned categories, making him a jack of all trades.
The possessed chain attack serves as a skill shot, meaning that practice is required to properly learn to use this attack correctly. Knowing when and where to use the possessed chain attack also plays a large part in your success as Pinhead. Here are some various tips regarding the possessed chain attack:
Do not be afraid to throw out a chain attack even at long range. Doing so can still slow down a survivor and shorten the chase.
Using the chain attack in crowded areas is more likely to fail rather than in open areas.
Successfully landing a chain attack on a survivor BEFORE they vault a window is extra helpful as survivors usually like turning corners right after a vault to continue looping. Capitalize on this habit and chain them beforehand.
Do not be afraid to cancel a Gateway in applicable scenarios. Doing so will give you a shorter cooldown rather than a longer cooldown had you attempted to land a chain hit.
The Lament Configuration (or Chain Hunt) is Pinhead’s passive ability. Its purpose is to help hinder survivors should they leave the box alone for too long, helping you in some situations with chases and can even help you find a survivor instantly if they attempt to open the box. Even if you choose not to teleport, it still takes time for survivors to go to the box and open it to stop the Chain Hunt. Here are some tips regarding the Lament Configuration:
Do not be afraid to teleport to a survivor after downing a survivor. Many players mention how Pinhead’s 4v1 presence is solid and pressuring an additional survivor by immediately engaging in a chase is a perfect way to accomplish this.
If you spot a survivor with the Lament Configuration, immediately begin a chase with them and do your best to down them. Doing so will reward you with free information by showing loud noise notifications of all survivors on the map regardless of range. Think of this like a free Infectious Fright.
Do not rely on the Chain Hunt to win your chases. The Chain Hunt is a passive ability that will not always be there to help you. Instead, think of it as a small buff meant to help you every now and then.
I believe that Pinhead will be a killer that will take time to properly learn to use effectively. Here are a few miscellaneous tips to help out:
Pinhead seems to perform very well in the hands of a player who can predict a survivor's movements.
Only a certain number of killers can do well in the End Game Collapse if the gates are spread out such as Trapper, Hillbilly, Blight, Demogorgon, and Twins. However, Pinhead can also counter spread out gates. By using the Gateway at maximum distance, you can use it to scout out and see if a survivor is at the gate. If they are, attempt to chain them if you are in range and begin to make your way over to them.
The next thing I want to cover are perks. There are a certain amount of perks that are especially helpful on Pinhead.
Knock Out: Often, survivors will begin opening the box right after you down or pick up their teammate in an attempt to pressure you. Pressure them back with Knock Out and wait for them to open the box to immediately begin another chase.
Franklin’s Demise: While Franklin’s can help out with countering normal items, it can also work on survivors carrying the Lament Configuration. By hitting the survivor carrying the Lament Configuration then picking it up yourself, you can immediately begin a Chain Hunt and have more frequent Chain Hunts too.
Aura Reading Perks: Aura Reading Perks such as Barbeque and Chili are very helpful with landing long distance chain hits. Although long distance hits may not be optimal, it is still a good way to catch survivors off guard and to keep them guessing whether you are after them or not.
Brutal Strength and Bamboozle: For Brutal Strength and Bamboozle, right after you chain a survivor, you may want to vault or break a pallet in hopes of landing a hit, but sometimes, you just can’t land that hit in time. Brutal Strength and Bamboozle can help increase the number of times you can land those last second hits before they get to another safe area. Fire Up can help for the same reasons as Brutal Strength, but it is the on
Fire Up and Agitation: Fire Up can help for the same reasons as Brutal Strength, but it will not be as effective until the late game. However, the primary reason why I suggest Fire Up is because the time where survivors like to open the box is right when you pick up a survivor and Fire Up is the only perk in the game to help decrease the time to pick up a survivor. Combo that with Agitation to hook them in time and you might be able to teleport to the survivor before they can complete the solving.
Finally, I wanted to review some concerns. Some I agree with while others I disagree with.
Concern: “The chains should slow down the survivors longer.”
It depends largely on the amount of time people want the extra time for. The number I’m seeing the most often is .5 seconds. However, it is a little confusing what people specifically mean, so let’s look at both scenarios.
Scenario A: .5 seconds is added to all three chains. This would buff the net slowdown on survivors from 3 seconds to 4.5 seconds.
Scenario B: .5 seconds is added to the total slowdown and is spread across the three chains. This would buff the net slowdown on survivors from 3 seconds to 3.5 seconds.
This is a tricky concern as it would most likely need to be tested. If it turns out that 4.5 seconds is too long, then it would probably be best to then see if 3.5 seconds would work.
Concern: “Pinhead should not collide with his own chains.”
I agree. It seems a little strange that Pinhead can break his own chains especially since it's his own power. Colliding with your chains results in losing time that survivors are slowed by the chains. Removing this could technically add some time needed for the chains, but this would probably need to be tested too.
Concern: “Holding the Lament Configuration hostage needs to have more of a penalty.”
I agree. Currently, survivors are able to hold onto the box and pause the Chain Hunt timer. However, the survivor holding the box suffers from the Oblivious Status Effect and gets attacked by random chains automatically when repairing a generator. While there is somewhat of a penalty currently involved, I feel like something else should be done, but I don’t know what.
Concern: “The uncontrolled chains (the ones from the Chain Hunt) need to be more useful.”
I disagree. As I mentioned before, I believe the uncontrolled chains are meant to serve as a slight amount of assistance to the player controlling Pinhead and not meant to outright win you chases for free. Part of Pinhead’s design revolves around his skill cap and how there is a lot to learn about Pinhead and his power. To further support this, many players are saying that he has potential, but he needs some tweaks. I believe the uncontrolled chains are the part of Pinhead’s power that do not need to be changed, especially since this part of Pinhead’s power is part of his passive ability, not his active ability.
Concern: “What’s the point of playing Pinhead when I can just play another ranged killer such as Huntress or Trickster and damage them with their own projectiles?”
I’ve been seeing this concern (or argument) often and I have two answers:
If you are looking for a reason to play Pinhead instead of Huntress or Trickster strength-wise, then compare what each of them have side by side. Huntress has a better tool to help with ending chases considerably fast, but Pinhead has greater map presence, tracking, and built-in game slowdown. This is what many people like referring to as the 1v1 and 4v1 and as far as I can tell currently, Huntress has a better 1v1, but Pinhead has a better 4v1.
There is no point if you have a certain preference. In other words, whichever killer you find fun to play will be the one you prefer. Fun is subjective and everyone has their own way of interpreting it. Some people define fun as how good a killer is in terms of strength while others determine how fun killers are based on what they find enjoyable to play. In the end, people are going to have their preference. People will prefer Huntress while others will prefer Pinhead.
That’s about all I have to say in terms of the most frequent concerns I’ve noticed as well as the most frequent misunderstandings of Pinhead’s power. It will still take some time to figure out just how strong Pinhead is when he is released and there are a lot of people who believe he is a little weak, but has potential. I want to leave off on this last note: Think about other killers that we had a tough time deciphering how good they would be. For example, I think many people did not know how good the Spirit would be until her full release and updates made to her. It could be the same scenario as Pinhead.
Thanks for reading.
Added: Oct 20 2022, 11:16 AM
Modified: Never edited!
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