Copied from another post that was too long.
"My proposal is this, make the Predator more dangerous at close range. Nerf the parry (not remove it entirely) by removing the stun and allowing damage to pass through, while also causing a little bit of damage (much less than the current standard knife slash) to the Predator on a successful parry. This way, the player can focus on parrying to stay alive long enough for the fireteam to help, while still contributing at least some damage.
Balance the weapons by altering the speed of attack and changing how much damage breaks through a parry based on the type of weapon. I.E. Wristblades are the fastest but do the least damage and damage pass through (40%) and perhaps can still be stunned on a parry, followed by Elder Sword (slightly slower but more damage gets through parry 45-50%, cannot be stunned), then combi-stick (slower still but longer reach and more damage through parry65-70%, no stun), and finally the War Club (slowest, even slower than now, shorter reach than combistick but longer than sword AND CAN NOT be parried at all.)
Now remember, having some damage pass through on a parry with no stun is still better than no damage at all and having a parry to reduce damage taken AND still dish some back is better than nothing and while you won’t be able to 1v1 a Predator, you’ll be able to reduce your damage and prolong your life hopefully long enough for your team to intervene. It’s a team game after all and the Predator is supposed to be stronger than you. Fireteams have to work together.
That being said, Fireteams also need a way to keep the Predator at bay and force him to engage more carefully, especially with these changes. So maybe looking into increase damage dealt to the Predator at close range. Especially if one player is focused on Parrying.
Obviously it would take a lot of testing to get the number’s right, but if some people want the parry and others don’t, and some think the Pred is too weak and some too powerful, and some that the Pred only has one good weapon, maybe the solution is to give each weapon advantages and disadvantages beyond simple damage buffs and nerfs.
I hope ya’ll can see I’m not trying to unbalance the game, make it easier for the Pred to win, make it harder, etc. I want to see the gameplay open up and create more options and opportunities for both sides. I feel like most of the gameplay runs into tactical dead ends and I think these solutions would open that up a bit. Feel free to agree/disagree, share your thouhts about this post being too damn long. I hope it get the ideas flowing! Cheers."