Time to kill

[Viral Maze]

Time to kill in games is the time it takes to kill an opposing player, usually in reference to multiplayer games. Pretty much when you start shooting them until when they die.
Some games have low ttk like CoD or CS and others have high ttk like Halo or Gears of War.

When it comes to multiplayer shooters, and even MOBAs like League or the plethora of new ones out there, what do you prefer?

Personally I prefer games with a higher time to kill. It makes the games feel less twitchy, more tactical and actually rewarding where there are situation were a battle between two players can be hard fought.

 

[Dan]

I think it varies from time to time. Both can shine though. Low TTK leaves you more cautious and gives me a bit of anxiety whilst navigating the map but as you said battles are normally over in seconds. High Time to kill games work if the game play mechanics hold a little complexity. I think one of the reasons I love Team Fortress is that it incorporates both.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I feel like high TTK takes more skill, but low TTK is more realistic.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

I like higher TTK. In Splatoon, for example, you can engage an adversary, but once you realize you're in trouble—and if you're fast enough—you can make a strategic retreat. In Devil's Third, that is the case with melee combat, but gun play is pretty unforgiving.

 

[DoomDash]

I think for me it depends on the games style. Games like Quake can have high time to kill if you have a lot of armor and health, dependent on the weapons available. But on the flip side you can have absolutely no armor and extra health and get one shot by a railgun. I think that dynamic can be quite interesting.

Starcraft 2 is another example of a mix of both. On the one side you got things like Marines or Zerglings which absolutely vaporize extremely quickly depending on whats hitting them. This adds a very exciting and fast paced battle that can be decided within seconds. It's actually really cool to watch it, and it leads to these fast paced extremely micro intensive battles that games like League of Legends lack:



But in the same game there are high HP units too, so some units can have a bit more forgiving time for players. To me this is the ideal, you get both!

If I had to pick one though I would go with a slightly higher health pool. Games like CoD are too fast, but I think Battlefield and MAG have just enough health to make things like doing a 180 and killing someone shooting you in the back at least possible. CoD if you get caught in the back you basically are for sure dead (against any competent player), making the game more about map awareness, or lucky timing than AIM skill (IMO).