After playing FT for a while, I feel like I can add my few cents to the topic. I have no intention to start a discussion on whether the Predator or FT is OP/broken or whatsoever. I solely focus on the gameplay experience of the FT and how it could be further improved as a whole.
Let’s start with the way shooting and running feels in this game. To be honest, I do not like it, because it counterplays with other elements of the game and is breaking the immersion. I would like a more realistic approach that is closer to the style of Rainbow Six type of games.
A more realistic approach would mean that your pacing is slower; your stamina for sprinting is less, and obviously, you would be more thoughtful when to use it. The slower pace creates a bigger and more immersive world, because you can not just reach the other side of the map in less than a minute. Thus, it will allow for the use of the intended duration for a match.
Now let’s get to the gunning part. A more difficult and rewarding gunplay should be implemented. The current iteration of gunplay feels like a spray and pray mechanic that is nothing more but spamming the abundant ammount of ammunition you have in this game. Also other games to look at for the style of aiming and shooting are titles like Rainbow Six. Right now it feels too much like an arcade shooter and that is really unrewarding. I would prefer a more difficult way of shooting that offers a high skill ceiling. This means also that you should deal appropriate damage if you know your gunplay / hit your target.
The objectives in the game are not that bad, but they could use a bit more of detail with better working AI. Right now there is no feeling of accomplishment by finishing your objectives. It is just a mandatory chore you want to wrap up quickly in order to exfil rather than looking forward to it. Adding more depth to the objectives will lead to a more rewarding experience. Fighting the Predator should just be another layer of depth in the game. AI should deal more damage but also should take more damage at the same time. Also, the AI needs quite the improvement. They should not run out into the open, spot targets faster, and be a real threat to the player (both Predator and FT).
More unique perks are needed to further improve the gameplay and give us further options to choose from. I would even recommend changing a few perks because they have no value at the moment. Improving perks alongside underlining the class identity would be a big step in the right direction. Right now, classes do not feel that different. Probably each class should only have access to a particular set of weapons, and a set of unique perks for each class should be available. I would also prefer it if there were only one type of class per squad. So people can not stack any classes to abuse specific mechanics, in case there are any.
Let’s get to the point where we fight the Predator. The Predator should be the beast that waits for the sheep to get separated from its flock. Right now, two types of gameplay are very prevalent in the game. One is aggressive FTs that are only hunting the Predator, which is only possible due to the fast movement speed and the inability of the game to reward the FT in a meaningful way for properly doing their objectives. Another type of gameplay for the predator is the slam spamming and combistick rusher. Both styles are the results of the last patch. This playstyle needs to go as it does not represent the nature of the hunting grounds setting. A hunter should not be running guns blazing over the map. We need more unique rewards for tracking, stalking, damaging, and hunting our prey for both sides. Rewarding a Predator for slamming into the middle of a squad and an FT for rushing the Predator should not happen.
I will further update and comment on this post based on my own experience. I hope my feedback is noticed. I also would like to hear some questions/feedback so I can know what I can or should discuss even further.
Thank you for taking the time to read this wall of text.