Its not so much JUST “death squads”, like Sam, Gesp, Thunder, etc. but just competent shooters in general. If you have decent to above decent players, all using the SAWZ or 1011-12 or minigun or Hammerhead, the combined damage output is insanely overdone. And it doesn’t have to be four, it could be three, or two, or even one. I outdamage 95% of my team in pubs every game. Because I am able to stack damage from my passives, my specs, my perks and my weapon choices, I, as one player, can solo the Predator, and I do. But I am not at the level of those I listed above. I am not death squad material. I’m just a normal player. But now add in another player of my skill level, with the same multiplier stackings. Now it gets harder for the Predator, much harder. Now add a third. See how this becomes almost impossible? And this happens in pubs constantly. If its not just me running solo, I’ll get pair up with another who is better than me and we both end up being the top scores. Sometimes I end up being the fourth in a three-man premade. The game doesn’t predict who you go up against, no, but the damage output and stacking is the problem. This isn’t about measuring “d!cks” (nice edit btw), this is about Illfonic needing to change values, either by keeping the weapon damage the same but increasing Predator health and armor and buffing specific Predator weapons to be on par with the FT damage output, or lowering the damage from the above weapons by at least 20%. Either of these two options would create a much more exciting and challenging experience, allowing for Preds to try different playstyles (including melee) without fear of getting shredded in seconds and forcing FT players to work together AS INTENDED to push back or kill the Predator.
