The first few matches I played as a Fireteam member, I got slaughtered. As an avid F13 player, I thought this was great, if the matches went by too quickly. Then about a dozen games, after I figured out how to play and levelled up, the Fireteam killed the Predator every single match. And usually so quickly he couldn’t self destruct.
Then I started playing as the Predator. Got my ass handed to me. So did the tutorial more than once, tested all my gear, tried different gear/perk combos, and kept at it, knowing once I found a strategy that worked I’d hold my own.
Except that never happened. The Fireteam spots me easily, tracks me easily, and follows me so damned fast I can never get away to heal. My weapons don’t seem to make a dent, they cut out of the net almost immediately, and the AI enemies are killed so fast their presence does nothing. Half the match, I can’t even find the damned team. But they somehow manage to sneak up on me.
Playing again as the Fireteam, the Predator now feels more like an annoyance while doing a mission rather than a threat. Someone asked me how this compared to F13 and my response was: F13 feels like you’re in a Friday the 13th movie. This feels like you’re playing a random first person shooter with the Predator as a mid-level boss.
As someone said above, this is an ASYMMETRIC game. There shouldn’t be a 50/50 split between the fire team winning and the Predator. It should be more like 30/70. It should feel like a triumph when you’re playing as the Fireteam and kill the Predator. Instead it feels routine.
Now, I do have confidence this will get fixed. People had the same complains about Jason when F13 launched and those were mostly fixed. So I say all this as genuine feedback, with some random thoughts thrown in:
-The Fireteam moves too quickly. When I switch from playing Fireteam to Predator, I should feel the extra speed and agility. I don’t. They feel like they move at the same pace (tree climbing and super leaps aside). Slow the Fireteam down some. This would also make the self-destruct more of a threat.
-AI Enemies should be more of a threat - Right now, they don’t do much except annoy you as the Fireteam. I’d like them to be a threat. It’d be great to even get pinned down by them or have to make an actual strategy to take their base, rather than just be able to run and gun and wipe them all out in a few seconds.
-Predator weapons should be deadlier - It’s both a departure from the films and breaks the mechanic of the Predator being a stealth killer that its weapons don’t do more damage. I see the reasoning behind avoiding one shot kill weapons, but they should come damned close. Especially since…
-Too easy for Fireteam to heal - Medpacs are everywhere, everyone starts with a syringe, and then the very broken reinforcements mechanic makes it damned near impossible to take out a Fireteam comprised of even average players, let alone high levels. Reduce the heals and either do away with the reinforcement mechanic, nerf it, or make it like F13 where ONE dead player comes back as a single badass like Dutch or Carl Weathers or something.
-Matches are too quick - The matches are such fast paced non-stop action on the Fireteam side that the horror half of Predator’s action-horror is non-existent. Maybe adding an extra non-combat checkpoint to complete to every mission? Major recon or something? Or maybe some missions that are more stealth based missions like sniper assassinations, recon, and hostage rescue. Something that gives the Predator a chance to actually stalk the Fireteam.
-Reasons for the Fireteam to separate - This could easily be built into missions. “Two of you will need to hold down the enemy while the other two clear the tunnel,” or “both of these satellite links must be activated at the same time,” or what have you. This would add to the horror as the Predator would have a big opening in this moment.
-Maps Effects - More maps will come, just like F13. And like F13, I’d like to see some weather added. Fog, rain, etc. I’d love the option to play a map at night, and maybe a radically different environment(s) like an urban areas or North American woodland or snowy Siberia. And in these, the environmental effects could help or hinder the Predator in different ways. Cloak is harder to spot at night and sounds are muted in the rain, while snow falls from trees in Northern environments to indicate where the Predator is.
