You see the issue… you cant bAlance a 4 v 1 game
What would you nerf in FT?
Yeah and you arent supposed to. The “Monster” is supposed to be stronger than the FT individually, but weaker than them on a 1v4 level.
Now thats where this game actually presents some interesting gameplay beyond other asyms
You could feasibly balance predator to be able to be killed in a 1v1, while still keeping him strong enough to 1v4, by buffing all of his tools.
Edit
Which is what the devs were clearly going for when the game was first released, but they just got it very wrong and PC players learned to exploit preds tools very quickly.
So we remove the exploits, Echo the audio, improve the cloak and allow pred to remain invisible while mobile, we give his plasma caster back the ability to 1 shot down. we rework predators classes so that the berzerker who needs stamina has the most stamina, and the scout who needs longer leaps and faster speed gets what he needs. We give the squishiest predator access to all of the gear so he can us that to his advantage
Then the best tool of all, we give pred the stealth kill, allowing a good pred to sneak into enemies and kill them ruthlessly, putting the fireteam down a player, whilst also temporarily buffing the predator to induce fear and cause the team to run.
All he needs is old plasma caster and the snipers wont face check as much
So… I’m allowed to fight back but never allowed to win? Basically, my purpose in the game is to be nothing more than a walking XP bonus, provide entertainment value as I struggle in vain to survive…nope. I paid the same amount as everyone else for this game, and if it bleeds we can kill it. Some people just haven’t learned to take Ls, there is always going to be that skilled player whether FT or Predator that has near 100% success rate, there are always going to be those coordinated teams that push back. There’s also a wealth of uncoordinated Fireteams you can either toy with or decimate in under 2mins… The games really good at the moment, we are learning to adapt to the recent changes but still Pred mains want more🙄 Jesus, it’s only a couple more weeks until the next DLC so let’s see what illfonic have planned before adding more complications.
Just my 2 cents, don’t have a seizure ok.
I wouldn’t nerf the FT their ammo the amount of healthpacks and what they can carry has already been nerfed. You should be able to chase down a Predator otherwise any half decent one will just dominate because he can go in get put in 2nd wind and just heal back up and do it all over again.
The idea is really quite the opposite. Yes the map control moves into the predators favor, but fireteam can still absolutely wreck his shit if he isnt patient. That is the point.
Sorry to say this, but if you balance a game off of its worst players, the game wont ever be balanced.
Im not saying that the game isnt in a decent limbo right now, but I strongly dislike the game we have right now where other than the scout, predator can run in and melee the shit out of most fireteams and its over disgustingly fast. I want to change that. Thats the point of all of this.
Yes its coming from a predator main,
but its also coming from about 1/3 of my playtime overall being fireteam and feeling the frustration other players feel.
its not fun to lose because my dumb ass teamates ran off.
So by making predator 1v1able you are technically buffing FT significantly too because they only have to kill him once.
And one more thing. having no reinforcements will mean that more fireteam players will be in queue constantly because they will be ejected from the game upon death and be starting a new one instead of waiting to respawn. So that will be extremely healthy for the game as the playerbase tones down again (which it most likely will)
Edit
Though this did just make me think that with the extended map time, predator will have plenty of time to spend waiting for second wind to recharge, so I might put into the rework to actually increase the timer on that recharge
edit 2
Another thing that I wanted to put out there, is that people were saying wait for the first dlc 2 weeks ago, and a month from now they will be telling me to wait for the 3rd dlc. So yeah, I think its better to rebalance the game now, so that they can then focus on new maps and dlc balancing wont be as hard.
This is the vast majority of the playerbase though and most game’s do have to balance around the casuals otherwise the population dies. Especially with how the matchmaking puts any levels together. I can’t imagine people would want to play fireteam to be a punching bag every game just waiting for the pred to crouch walk around and stab someone with an invicible stealth kill in the back in the middle of some complex minigame.
Right and you could argue that the changes benefit the casuals as much as the harcores
casuals now can maintain stealth as predator much better which is great
fireteam can now solo predator in a 1v1 engagement potentially meaning you dont have to rely on your teamates in a pub.
edit
and best of all, Harcores can no longer sound whore so hard and be pretty much unstoppable
That defeats the whole point of an asymmetrical game does it not? If you can beat the monster/killer in a 1v1 then what’s the point in it being 1v4? You’re supposed to work as a team and escape. Not kill the killer, let alone in a 1v1.
OP, I 100 agree with you number one!! I stopped playing the game until number one is fixex
Well unfortunately this game, being able to kill each other actually presents a very weird assymetrical experience.
Because now most of the playerbase is bloodthirsty and wants to win.
Keep in mind when I say you can kill the predator, I mean that you can second wind him yoursefl.
My changes ensured that you cant chase him very effectively anymore, But you can fight back especially if he exposes himself really hard.
Which buys you time, because with longer second wind recharge times, and match times, predator will want to hang back and observe while he regenerates his second wind/health
He wont be forced to rush anymore after he is second winded just to try and keep up the pressure.
and as fireteam, knowing hes somewhere but not knowing exactly where/when he will strike, would build on the atmosphere of the game greatly.
We’ve just had our starting ammo nerfed, the AI had their accuracy buffed and in alot of missions you can’t afford to ignore being overrun by them. So they drain us to near empty because for some reason armoured AI damage resistance is totally random it seems, then the need in supply crates has made it a timer drain running around trying to find the damn things in the hope the Predator player hasn’t blasted them first.
Look at our weapons. 90% of them are useless and can actually handicap your chances if you equip them.
All I see is endless topics demanding FT get this nerfed, FT not be allowed to do this thing or that, the list is endless because there’s always someone who’s had a bad game or is struggling to get wins and suddenly they’re here demanding we get punished for it.
The real problems come from the missions and their structures, the short timer and non-class specific weapon selection. A scout running around with a 50cal and a minigun is possible, but totally unrealistic and should be impossible.
Another problem is this monthly update/DLC content. I’m sure illfonic have planned it carefully so that one month each side gets something, causing a shift in the balance of power. FT got Dutch, suddenly FT success is better than before. Next month I imagine the Alpha Predator will swing the pendulum back towards Predator and so on. I’ve already said in another thread that I agree this isn’t the best approach. I’m just saying it is what it is at the moment, I want to see this play out as intended.
And hopefully, come September when the current roadmap reaches its destination the game will be as balanced as best can possibly be expected. Excess amounts of nerfs and buffs throughout could cause more problems than they actually solve.
But that’s just my opinion, I wanted to share my experiences. I main Fireteam and every game I’ve played recently it’s been challenging to survive, let alone win.
This could just be achieved by reducing audio cues and increasing the amount of objectives, no?
Predator was not completely invisible in the movies so there should always be a shimmer if it’s moving, they just need to work on the cloak so its not a grey blob. Giving him a perfect cloak at any distance for crouch walking is too much.
I didn’t see your edits… I’m not saying each month will be the perfect balance. I’m saying we won’t be able to assess illfonics plans until the whole DLC plan is delivered, and they’ve spaced it over 4 months. Whether that’s the right way to go about it isn’t for me to judge, it’s their game and they want it to succeed so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt to deliver a quality experience not just by the end of it but throughout. I like the power swings, it keeps us constantly guessing and revising our gameplay. But that’s just me, and I’m a weirdo at the best of times😊
I’d like to see each FT member have their own objective…problem is what happens if a player leaves?? Like, Scout should actually be scouting ahead. Recon should be marking targets and points of interest…
Definitely, I agree with this. If you can creep up on me and not be detected by me, AI or my teammates then rightly so you should be able to claim my skull with a stealth kill👍🏼 I’d welcome the added anxiety😊🤣
Yep which is why in my post I believe I did revert all or most of the supply reductions for the fireteam.
I also talked about the AI in general and how we need to get away from AI that are bullet sponges, because it makes them really unsatisfying to kill. I believe weapon effective ranges also have a significant impact on why the AI feel so spongy at times.
FT weapons I havent really gotten to. I dont like the way they nerfed the snipers. or really anything for that matter. it seems very… stupid. I reverted most of the changes I knew of in my post because I want FT weapons to be strong at the ranges they are supposed to be strong at
For ex, nerfing sniper rifle damage in close range was STUPID. The simpler solution is not to nerf the damage, but to remove the CQB scopes. This means yes you can have a sniper rifle, but you cant have anything other than a 4x+ on it. So hitting shots accurately up close is more skill based, rather than lets just make it do less damage at this range.
FT nerfs were not something I set out to do with my post, I dont want the FT to be so weak they arent fun to play as, Thats why I tried to give them every chance to survive. Even solo. But I gave pred more of the map control to kind of balance how strong they will likely be even with preds buffs.
I personally have no issue with using whatever weapon on whatever class. However I think that the mobility stat should be used a bit more. For ex I aint gonna use a minigun on a scout because 2 shots and im outta there. so that might be a good way to incentivise weapons for different classes, by having mobility be a bigger factor.
I think that if they implemented my ideas, the game would be solid enough that it would actually be easier to keep things balanced for both sides even on new releases, because the rest of the game is solid, it will be a lot easier to determine whether something will be too strong or not strong enough.
Thank you very much for your reply though. You arent wrong about really any of it. Ive tried to account for alot of it as best as I can because I know how tough it is out there for the FT right now.
You are correct, but in the first movie the predator could also move so damn slowly that he would be practically invisible but still mobile. (When dutch waits for him and he climbs down the tree trunk behind dutch)
Obviously we cant do this in game, so crouch walking is the next best thing.
and yes increased objectives and reduced audio cues are in my guide already
Nerf the fireteam anymore and you’ll be hunting pigs and NPC’s alone since nobody is going to que as one. The gunplay is already mediocre AT BEST. If you can’t handle fireteams AS THEY ARE I suggest you watch some youtubers and see how they keep winning games.
You really think people like to que as complete fodder unless they are some pro players running 4 man premades? Stop and think for a second.