It seems obvious that there is a disagreement among players about the balancing of the Predator vs. FT…
Let me ask you: both FT players and Pred players: What game play experience are you looking for?
Seems like a more interesting approach as it is pointless discussing if you argue from a different perspective in terms of wishes for game play experience.
My preference and experience:
I play online so I have not taken into account the positives of social interactions you the reader might have if you are in party of 5 personal friends, and how it may, or may not, affect your play style or game play experience.
As a FT player I feel it should be a challenge getting to the exfil point, all of us.
My loadouts aiding me to kill the NPCs and SURVIVING the Predator’s hunt – killing it if we do really well.
Currently I do not feel that.
Way too often my team and I quickly end up in a straight out fight the Predator, and often blasting it to hell making it run off like a dog with its tail between its legs.
We often get into close encounters (melee distance) with the Predator, and very seldom do I feel the suspense of getting stalked, already anticipating it will run in at some early point frustrated about it being hard to lay down some serious hurt. Another frequent scenario is the Predator’s desperate melee push at the exfil point as it has not been able to do anything else than being run off.
Usually we have a spotter on the team and many of the Predators’ attempts to harass from a distance, or up close if it is really bold, ends up in my team quickly spotting it and running it off only having felt mildly harassed in our progress with the completion of the objectives.
The few experiences I have with time being a suspenseful factor has been being in a team utilizing the time trying to catch up the Predator after having pumped it full of rounds to the brink of death forgetting to prioritize fulfilling objectives searching for the Predator.
I find that it often ends up in running quickly through the objectives as it is just good quick XP and currency, even though it supposedly is meant to be a side thing to the interaction between the FT and the Predator,
As for the “Hunter”/Predator I perceive him as extra prize to be won during the run-through of the objectives, with seldom occasions of an extremely skilled Predator player (I apologize to all the Pred players reading this feeling provoked by it).
I hardly ever feel stressed as many FTs have learned staying together equals a very small chance for a Predator, that be both it trying to stalk or to get a kill or two.
Now… If I felt that the Predator would be able to effectively stalk me, a risk of it fatally harassing the team more often than seldom - and maybe even the whole team if we are not careful, I would get a more fulfilling experience as a FT member.
PLEASE NOTE: I am not saying that Predators should be massively buffed in terms of damage or health, but what I am saying is that I would like to feel that the game play experience was mainly about feeling hunted as a FT member, feeling pressured and desperate to get to the chopper and occasionally manage killing pu*** face – because sometimes “shit happens” (sorry had to use that one ) as the team is good and the Predator plays poorly and not Predator’ish…
Now if FT players are aiming for toe to toe game play with the Predator not fearing it, or and aiming to hunt it, then I feel that being massively trigger happy and blasting monsters is home for game play in another current game. I believe there should be a differentiation more towards PREDATOR: Hunting Grounds - with all the suspense that follows with that.