The game has an asymmetric quality to the way you progress through it.
At the very beginning when you’re low level, melee is to be avoided.
Your character has too little health for the damages it deal to the marines (note “fore the damages you make” which is important)
On the opposite the fireteam can’t really do a lot of damages from far.
As a result Predator are likely to spam plasmacaster in the open and Marines camp in close places.
I can’t count how many games were just the Predator jumping not even cloaked from trees trying to blast his way from far away or how many games ended with the Predator being killed at the first assault.
Once you reach LVL 40-50, everything goes the other way.
The Berzerker has way too much health and can easily take on 4 people with the combistick.
On the opposite it’s very hard to play from far since the snipers will take you down very quickly.
I understand the complain of people after the Beta saying the Predator doesn’t have enough health (because they started at low level and likely thought they could melee players which is a very bad idea until you acquire the combistick) but once you obtain the combistick (and Berzerker) the games is just not fair the other way.
1v1 is impossible if both party have full health
2v1 is impossible if both party have full health
3v1 is eventually possible if both party have full health but it’s a tough call
4v1 is eventually fair but still easier to pull as the Berzerker than the Marines.
But what I’ve noticed is when it was before the combistick+berzerker games would usually look like this:
1v1 is unlikely win for fireteam but I had games where it happened while the predator and I had both our full health.
2v1 is manageable against the predator, it’s kind of a fair 50/50.
3v1 leaves very little chance to the predator
4v1 is impossible if the fireteam just don’t… go in separate directions
As you can see the tendency completely shift doing a 360.
Now here is a list of things I propose to balance the game:
-Lower the berzerker Health (and probably every Predator health BUT I’ll come back to why later in the post)
-Remove the red outline with the Predator spotted. To be fair, I’ve spammed many time the “spotted” key just to outline the predator from a tree even if I couldn’t see it (but just heard some click, pressed the spotted key multiple times to the tree) and it always worked. From that moment the game became very unfair for the Predator who can’t keep his distance. Also the fact you can see the red outline through walls is unfair and I think it completely kill the Hunter/Hunted relation. It’ll also encourage more people to look at the battleground and take their time.
For now most people rush with the Berzerker and voila. Most don’t even bother with the cloak.
Most of the time I’ve seen people use the Plasmacaster was in combination with beartrap just to take someone from the fire team (two full charge and dead) but they are usually easily spotted and don’t stay in the tree. What change is it becomes a 3v1 and as I’ve stated, with the health the Berzerker have for now it’s a very easy win, even easier if you net one first)
-Make a command so the Predator can do the clicking sound and it’s not auto. The reason is, the Predator always give away its presence. Even if you remove the spot ability, Fireteam will always be aware and reminded constantly where is the Predator which can’t act stealthy because it always giveaway its location. Combine this with the heavy footstep and the Predator can never be unnoticed unless you crouch still cloak (I’ll talk about that later). If you put the clicking sound on a command, that will allow the Predator to make a noise somewhere to get the attention of the Marine and then quickly move to another place using the Predkour system (which as of now is useless beside using the vision scanning to find the location of the fireteam and then move on the ground).
-The Predkour has the ability to become a nice feature, but only if it works for the Predator because right now it plays against him. Let’s resume, for now you make clicking sound, giving away your position, the fireteam can spam the spotted feature and detect you making the cloak useless, the parkour ineffective (it’s much harder to disappear from the trees than on the ground, most players when spotted quickly go to cover on the ground). Unless you plans to use the bow or plasmacaster and spam the sh*t out of it, the system has no purpose once you have located the fireteam (I’ve rarely seen a game where the fireteam sticked together and the Predator used the trees, but I have seen many games having the Predator killed because of the trees).
Keep in mind that the Predator leaves blood, this feature is useless if you can mark on red the Predator. The Predkour is a dangerous feature once you have located the fireteam and you’re too beefy to not take advantage of your health to go strike on the ground the fireteam especially when their snipers can devastates you quickly (8 magazines + silencer + spotted = fried from afar).
If the parkour has to be an ally feature for the Predator, I think 1) the clicking sound should stop being automatic 2) The spotted shouldn’t see through wall and if you really want to keep this feature, decrease the time the Predator stay “spotted” at least because 4 players spotting the predator makes it a hell of a challenge to disappear and strike back again (especially when you do the clicking thing).
Okay, I said earlier a good way to balance would be to bring down the Predator health while a lot of people complained the Predator didn’t have enough?
Well here is what I propose:
-Increase the wristblades damages so it is equal to the combistick/spear as it is now (it’s knife, it’s sharp, it should be deadly).
-Do something with the Elder sword. I don’t know what but do something. It’s between the weak wristblades and the overpowered combistick.
-Decrease the combistick melee BUT have each blow knock for a second the Marines. It doesn’t cut (or at least doesn’t look like it does, the Throwing and finishing mechanic are great and act as they should BUT the melee is wayy to beefy.) It doesn’t make sense that the most powerful melee weapons is also the one with the wider radius and the one with the most options (you can have it melee or range by throwing it) it’s a bit too much. On the contrary, the Elder sword and Wristblades are pretty pathetic to use and don’t offer much.
A Powerful Wristblades is good against a 1v1 which is what Predator players should be pushed to do. Remain stealthy, use the tree (as seen above for the fix) strike quick and disappear. I’m even tempted to say there should be something of a finisher move for every wristblades blow. It kills but needs you to find a fireteam isolated from the rest because of the short range.
The Elder sword I assume would be great against a larger team . A bit less damages than the Wristblades but quicker to strike.
The Combistick should definitely be the third in damages for melee. It’s already an instant kill with throw (I love that mechanic) but it’s too op and makes every other melee weapon useless to have because they are all shorter ranges and deal less damages.
Note that I say they should deal more and less damages but that is relative to the Predator health you substract. Overhaul I think the wristblades and elder sword need a good upgrade at the combistick level and the spear/combistick just need slightly less damages.
Add to this mix the fact the Predator has less health, he’s deadly BUT can’t take on a 4v1 so the player has to be careful how to proceed and the cloak will be his best ally.
AI, please find something to do there. The repetitiveness of having everytime them spawn and rush brainlessly at the fireteam is so boring. We need more variety, like they are only snipers (and this need to be random for every scenario) or they throw a lot of grenades to storm the camp. They need to have more an impact on the fireteam.
Also, using the knife or sound reducer weapon should reward more the players than just not having someone rush to the alarm. For example next wave there could be less spawn (or even none) or more depending of how you’ve dealt with the camp.
To sums up
-Remove Spotted mechanic / or remove red outline through the environment AND reduce the spotted time from the fireteam.
-Makes the Predator clicking sound an option that the player can control and is not forced to take the side-effect
-Keep the Predator cloaked while attacking with Melee, there’s no reasons the cloak should giveaway (and with the reduce health that’ll help)
-Reduce the Predator (especially Berzerker) health.
I’ll update if I think of something.