Right now the Hunter is very viable in melee as long as he’s smart. I’d still like to see the Zerker health come down a touch. But he also needs something to distinguish his playstyle from the Hunter. Right now he’s just a big dumb rushing hulk.
Change him from a “Rusher” into a “Skirmisher” by lowering his health to be similar to the Hunter and giving him a small recharging energy shield. Now the amount of shield would need to be tested and balanced so that:
-
The Zerker could use the shield to get close. It should be enough to shake off some damage but not enough to just melee spam the whole fireteam. The Hunter can melee, but he has to be careful. Pick an isolated target who has broken off from the team, or engage from a flank. Usually dropping down behind or leaping in and then getting the hell out of there. A shield should let the Zerker still charge in on foot to a single fireteam member, or maybe even two, shrugging off some damage long enough to get in a couple good hits if he’s fighting more than one, or a down/claim if the team member is alone, but not enough to stay in the fight for too long without taking some serious damage. He can get in and bully the fireteam, causing some damage, breaking them up, or even getting a down or claim, but still be vulnerable enough that the fireteam can push him back if they play well.
-
The Zerker could “overcharge” the shield, sacrificing the damage resistance to get a brief damage boost or become immune to parry for a short time. This way he could down a team member faster and avoid parry to really get that “hit and run” feel, but become vulnerable to damage so he can’t just use it for free kills. (If Pred stamina wasn’t tied to melee I’d say this could also cause a stamina drain so it’d be a second before he could just leap away, meaning he’d have to be selective about how he used it.)
-
Again the shield would have to be balanced. It’s about playing tactically. I still have to be careful, because the shield will only take so much punishment, but if I’m smart I can offset some damage long enough to rush in and do a little myself without having to constantly run away to heal. Being too bold means still eating a shit sandwich. Or if I see an opportunity I can risk taking some damage to get that boost and be “un-parriable.”
I feel these changes would allow both the Hunter and Zerker to be effective in melee, while still distinguishing their playstyles and allowing the Zerker to focus more on melee attacks. Besides, the viking “Berserker” wasn’t a “tank”, they were shock troops. Attacking flanks by surprise either in animal skins or bare chested. They didn’t really wear heavy armor. (I get the design is heavy but that could be attributed to the tech required to generate the shield.)
I know the fanboys will hate this because it’s not “cannon” but hey it’s a videogame. And before you cry “It’ll make the Berserker too strong/weak!!!” let’s say just as a hypothetical that this could be perfectly balanced. If it could be balanced and fair, would you enjoy these changes? Personally I’d like to see some Berserker tactics other than, run at the team, swipe away until they eat half my hit points, run away, heal, repeat.