So this is gonna be controversial (and long, bare with me it’s a complicated issue) but I wanted to throw this out there. So I don’t like the parry. No surprise a lot of players don’t. But some do, and defend it relentlessly. Personally I don’t like it. It’s a 4v1. The 1 is supposed to be stronger than the 4. The 4 are meant to rely on teamwork to survive and should not be able to win a melee 1v1 with the Predator. They should have some tools and we’ve all discussed ideas (parry not stunning Pred, damage being halved instead of negated, etc.) but I wanted to bring up a follow up. If the parry is nerfed/removed/whatever, then the fireteam needs more defense against the Pred just melee rushing. I’m told you can just outrun the Berserker, I’ve yet to test that yet…
Here’s the point. Predator is a hit and run tactician yes? Waiting for that opening, that perfect moment, diving in for the kill and getting out fast. Get rid of the parry or nerf the crap out of it. Make the Predator the clear victor in a melee contest, but increase the damage he receives.
I KNOW it’s already hard to play the Predator. I think the addition of damage falloff would help. But let me share an experience.
My fireteam was down to our last 2 because the other two dildos ran off on their own. We were too far from reinforcements and the Predator already had our location, so we hunkered down in a shack and started taking pop shots at the Predator in the tree above us. She was maybe 20 feet away and my teammate and I were hitting shot after shot to her head and chest with shotguns, unloading a full clip, switching to assault rifles and continuing the attack all while dodging plasma rounds and enemy AI. We were playing really well and she just stood and took it. Didn’t even bother to move or relocate and come at us from a flank. She had already won and was just playing the waiting game. She didn’t run in because she knew if we parried well she’d be toast. But we didn’t have any options. She eventually wittled us down and just hopped down and hit us both with splash from one plasma round.
Now, obviously if you’re down to 2, ya fecked up. You shouldn’t have an easy time. But I think you should have a little more of a chance. However, it shouldn’t be impossible for the Pred. But I do think the fireteam needs something to push her back and punish her from being so ridiculously bold. The same way she punished my idiot teammates who thought they’d just solo Call of Duty the game.
So what am I saying? Well, the Pred can’t withstand concentrated fire from a team of 4, and players can 1v1 a Zerker with a stick if they’re skilled. But 2 players don’t do enough damage to really endanger the Predator even at close range. So again, balancing on all sides. I think both the fireteam and the Pred needs buffs AND nerfs.
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.