Why The Zerker nerf was justified.

[Tinman]

Why Berserkers were overpowered and why the nerf was justified:

• You only needed to carry a single weapon (besides the 9mm) and only needed to click repeatedly to do damage
• You did not need to reload a melee weapon
• You therefore did not need someone to cover you while you reloaded your melee weapon
• Your melee weapon therefore did not have ammo, a resource that other classes managed efficiently
• Your ability to level the perk was extremely easy
• Your ability to head-shot zombies at point blank range was not skillful
• You barely needed to 'aim', especially at a head/body that takes 1/4 - 1/2 of your screen
• Your strategy and skill required to be an effective berserker was lower than that of other perks
• You were often found standing in a doorway hacking repeatedly while killing everything in sight
• Your doorway camping technique minimized the total DPS of your group because YOU WERE IN THE WAY!!!
• You often did not give out the money you have accumulated for killing most of a wave
• Your teammates therefore were often ill equipped for handling higher level waves, because of your actions
• You needed to be healed more than any of your team mates
• You often ran when an encounter you cannot solo emerges, leaving your team mates surprised and unprepared
• Your ability to stun and solo high level Zeds was unfair and imbalanced
• You were generally speaking, annoying
• You were the reason the rest of your team died
• You were therefore your own reason why you died

Yes I am aware that there were some 'good' berserkers out there who actually understood the implications of the perk and how it hampers the rest of the team's performance. They were usually the ones handing out cash at the end of a wave as well. Kudos to you. However, as the perk was admittedly quite easy to play, it attracted a lot of bad players and therefore a lot of resentment towards their counter-productive actions.

Personally I think the nerf was fair. To me, the Berserker should be about a hard hitting melee perk that is only effective after a few hits/seconds. After a few seconds of 'rest' (or chainsaw re-windup) you should be able to do it again. Swinging a katana for 15 mins straight is unrealistic, and although this is a game, it should still be balanced to some extent.

 

[Benjamin]

You only needed to carry a single weapon (besides the 9mm) and only needed to click repeatedly to do damage

And this differs from other perks how... ?

Your ability to level the perk was extremely easy

Medic and Sharpshooter are very easy to level, and then I'd say it's between the Firebug/Support Specialist and then finally the commando. Berserker can be levelled about as easily as the first two (however I'm pretty sure I levelled Sharpshooter faster than it).

Your ability to head-shot zombies at point blank range was not skillful

Relevance to anything...? As a Berserker you have to get in close to engage the enemy, there have to be some benefits from putting yourself in danger.

You barely needed to 'aim', especially at a head/body that takes 1/4 - 1/2 of your screen

None of the perks require you to aim particularly well if you are within melee range of your target.

Your strategy and skill required to be an effective berserker was lower than that of other perks

I disagree. As a Berserker you are often running into groups of enemies, of which many can contain numerous crawlers and sirens.

You were often found standing in a doorway hacking repeatedly while killing everything in sight

Generalization. But I agree that it was silly.

Your doorway camping technique minimized the total DPS of your group because YOU WERE IN THE WAY!!!

But how's this relevant if it gets the job done?

You often did not give out the money you have accumulated for killing most of a wave

Generalization. I'd put more blame on Support Specialists as their purchases swallow up money pretty quickly.

Your ability to stun and solo high level Zeds was unfair and imbalanced

Having an advantage over other perks that allow the player to help the team better is unfair?

You were generally speaking, annoying

Generalization.

Your teammates therefore were often ill equipped for handling higher level waves, because of your actions

Nonsense. See above.

You needed to be healed more than any of your team mates

So the Berserker should be made worse because it takes the most damage? Great logic.

You often ran when an encounter you cannot solo emerges, leaving your team mates surprised and unprepared

Generalization.

You were the reason the rest of your team died

Nonsense.

You were therefore your own reason why you died

Nonsense.

Congratulations, you have 1 valid point.

 

[Moosecat]

Beserker required more skill, but less team work than the other classes.

The Crossbow is the ultimate weapon at cheap price of $400.

Those that believe that there's some sort of actual skill in point and click are actually just fooling themselves.

The real skill is in determining the Kill order and executing it properly as to not lose any armor, armor for the beserker is their ammo. The real skill is always securing an escape route and always having a plan. The real skill is knowing at all times where all the crawlers and stalkers are coming from.

Though you can always use a crossbow to one shot every single zed in the entire game. Yea you're right beserkers deserved to get the shaft... who was I kidding?

 

[Jmb301530]

Agreed with poster above me. But I mean I'm sort of glad they nerfed the katana...got rid of those damn katana noobs, but the chainsaw...well they really need to put the old chainsaw back in. I mean sure it's loud and annoying, but for a level 6 zerker to decap a CLOT with a chainsaw, and then be hit by it afterwards? Madness. That thing should be DEAD!

 

[omarfw]

I'm glad they nerfed them also but I think they may have gone a bit too far.

Swinging a katana for 15 mins straight is unrealistic

Gotta get those biceps in shape somehow.

Would you like me to post a video of me swinging a katana for 15 minutes? xD

 

[Tinman]

Congratulations, you have 1 valid point.

Of course I am generalizing. Talking about the odd few good/terrible berserker is not an effective sample size, statistically. However, thanks for your opinion, I'll be sure to contemplate your responses.

 

[Riut]

[*]You only needed to carry a single weapon (besides the 9mm) and only needed to click repeatedly to do damage

Sounds a lot like every other perk, except with berserker you're constantly in danger of taking damage due to how close you have to be to your target to do damage, while you get easy kills as berserker, it's very easy for you to die as well, anyone who's ever had some stalkers sneak up on them because the chainsaw is blocking out the sound they make can attest to this.

[*]You did not need to reload a melee weapon

This is compensated for by having to be point blank just to do damage, when there is a siren guarded by a group of smaller zeds there is no way you can take them out without taking damage. Plus unlike other perks, you can only attack a single enemy at a time, requiring you to strategically move about to avoid damage while doling it out.

[*]You therefore did not need someone to cover you while you reloaded your melee weapon

While you don't need to reload and therefore don't need someone to cover you while you reload, it is untrue that you don't need cover at all, anyone who has tried to take down a scrake will probably have been in the situation where they have took tons of damage from surrounding enemies because your team concentrated on trying to take out the scrake too. Berserkers rely on teamwork just as much as any other perk, the berserker and other perks can work almost symbiotically.

[*]Your melee weapon therefore did not have ammo, a resource that other classes managed efficiently

Health and Armor is your ammo, and it depletes pretty fast from all those small hits you take doing your job.

[*]Your ability to level the perk was extremely easy

Bar commando, berserker took me the longest to level up to max. I don't grind my perks.

[*]Your ability to head-shot zombies at point blank range was not skillful

Headshotting a specimen with a weapon isn't skillful either, it's easy.

[*]You barely needed to 'aim', especially at a head/body that takes 1/4 - 1/2 of your screen

Same point as above, aiming doesn't take skill, dealing with multiple enemies without taking damage takes a larger degree of skill than aiming does. I suppose this is a point that can be viewed multiple ways, I myself find aiming with a gun to be a piece of cake whereas I actually need to think while grinding away at a group of specimens.

[*]Your strategy and skill required to be an effective berserker was lower than that of other perks

Maybe, but the skill required to be an exceptional berserker in the face of suicidal difficulty specimens is greater than that of most other perks.

[*]You were often found standing in a doorway hacking repeatedly while killing everything in sight

Maybe on normal or beginner mode, but that doesn't really work on the harder difficulties, especially at the later waves.

[*]Your doorway camping technique minimized the total DPS of your group because YOU WERE IN THE WAY!!!

Don't blame the player, blame the team. Camping an area with a narrow entrance isn't cool bro. Berserker was pretty much the tank of the team too, taking the damage so you didn't have to, dealing with scrakes, blocking fleshpounds, I found that a team that lacked a berserker usually went down around wave 7-10 on suicidal due to scrakes and ****.

[*]You often did not give out the money you have accumulated for killing most of a wave

Blame the player, not the perk.

[*]Your teammates therefore were often ill equipped for handling higher level waves, because of your actions

Blame the players, not the perk.

[*]You needed to be healed more than any of your team mates

I don't see how this is a point for berserker needing a nerf, to me this seems to be the opposite.

[*]You often ran when an encounter you cannot solo emerges, leaving your team mates surprised and unprepared

Blame the player, not the perk. I stayed until I died to brotect my team.

[*]Your ability to stun and solo high level Zeds was unfair and imbalanced

So you could solo a scrake, big deal, every perk can do that now. So you could solo a fleshpound, big deal, every perk besides firebug could do that pre-patch.

[*]You were generally speaking, annoying

Blame the player, not the perk.

[*]You were the reason the rest of your team died

Your team was the reason you died, because they didn't watch your back while you dealt with the big guys.

[*]You were therefore your own reason why you died

Your team therefore was the reason why they themselves died, as the big guys made short work of them once you were gone.

 

[Ravnox]

Why Berserkers were overpowered and why the nerf was justified:

• Your ability to level the perk was extremely easy

What level are you? (I'm level 4) If you have any tip to make it easy, let me know. I understand that Commando have it harder as they need to kill Stalkers but I find leveling Berserker really slow. This is mostly due to everyone killing everything at range before I get to it.

As for most of what you said, no offense, but you're criticizing bad player behavior that is true of any "classes". As a Berserker, I try to tank scrake and fp as much as possible to protect my team. I will heal myself. (Seriously, how many players never heal themselves) Other players will be happy to heal me and raise their medic perk as well. Since the last patch, as soon as I can, I carry a grenade launcher. It's a great way to get rid of one too many crawlers and it's a life saver when a teamate is surrounded. (I used to throw a grenade but this is much faster and safer for myself as well)

 

[nath2009uk]

If they never added that uneeded Katana, berserkers wouldn't have got nerfed so much.

 

[Das Bose]

And this differs from other perks how... ?



Medic and Sharpshooter are very easy to level, and then I'd say it's between the Firebug/Support Specialist and then finally the commando. Berserker can be levelled about as easily as the first two (however I'm pretty sure I levelled Sharpshooter faster than it).


Relevance to anything...? As a Berserker you have to get in close to engage the enemy, there have to be some benefits from putting yourself in danger.



None of the perks require you to aim particularly well if you are within melee range of your target.



I disagree. As a Berserker you are often running into groups of enemies, of which many can contain numerous crawlers and sirens.



Generalization. But I agree that it was silly.



But how's this relevant if it gets the job done?



Generalization. I'd put more blame on Support Specialists as their purchases swallow up money pretty quickly.



Having an advantage over other perks that allow the player to help the team better is unfair?



Generalization.



Nonsense. See above.



So the Berserker should be made worse because it takes the most damage? Great logic.



Generalization.



Nonsense.



Nonsense.

Congratulations, you have 1 valid point.

And how many do you have? I always stop reading when people dissect posts to the extent you have because their argument is so weak otherwise.

The OP is bang on the money, the majority of the old zerkers spent the entire round getting in everyone elses way and soaking up all the cash.

Thankfully now a thing of the past

 

[Riut]

And how many do you have? I always stop reading when people dissect posts to the extent you have because their argument is so weak otherwise.

I don't believe he is arguing against the nerf, but against the points the OP uses to justify the nerf.

 

[Das Bose]

I don't believe he is arguing against the nerf, but against the points the OP uses to justify the nerf.

Well he can make himself clear whenever he gets the urge, however the points used by the OP make perfect sense to me.

The point is simple, most of the previous zerkers were always in the way, blocking a door, jumping in front of you and generally being a pita. Now they are all upset because they can't do it so easily anymore which means they are no longer in the doorways 'cheaping it up' at the expense of other players enjoyment.

A good step forward for the game and community as a whole imho.

 

[Benjamin]

And how many do you have?

For what? I'm not arguing for or against the nerf, just countering all the points which most of which (no offense to the OP) I feel were nonsense.

The point is simple, most of the previous zerkers were always in the way, blocking a door, jumping in front of you and generally being a pita.

I have played this game a lot and haven't really noticed that many Berserkers doing as you guys describe, in fact I'm more irritated by the Support Specialist that feels the need to get as many kills as possible and do so in method that really contributes nothing to the team. Constantly being shot by the idiot behind me with a shotgun that feels the need to kill the clot I've just decapitated is annoying, maybe that perk should be nerfed?

All I know is that the Berserker has in the past been a fun perk to play with, and if they've really nerfed it that much (I haven't played yet so I wouldn't know) then it's a step backwards in my opinion. The game should be fun, not tedious.

 

[9_6]

Yay, another zerker hater that actually has no clue how that perk actually plays yet still feels obliged to share his worthless opinion based on seeing other people playing berserker making it seem sooo easy (or not, if they died. Well if they died, how is a nerf justified then?) so a gimp was totally justified yet having never played as a berserker before him/herself.
Shut up

 

[Evilsod]

Well he can make himself clear whenever he gets the urge, however the points used by the OP make perfect sense to me.

Then you are clearly ignorant. The points were for the most part, bull****.

Stunning the Scrake is a reason for why it should be nerfed? News flash here, the Sharpshooter could 1 shot that Scrake with his Crossbow from the other end of the map. The zerker has to get through all the Zeds (and hope his allies aren't too stupid to try shooting the Scrake instead of the foes advancing towards him) THEN kill it.

Getting in the way of shots? I'm sorry if the Zerker is stopping you wracking up a huge kill count by preventing you from wasting 4 AA12 shells on a Gorefast from half the map away. No doubt you'd ignore the Crawler heading towards him at that time and instead of gaining 1 kill each, lose both of them.

They were the most viable of complaints, the rest were just lame. Easy to level? Seriously? Sharpshooter is the easier perk to level by a mile, 8500 headshots for max level when proper use of a Pistol gets you a ton of them (and proper use of the M14 gets you even more). The improved headshot reg only makes it easier.

The OP is just raging about Zerkers getting kills for 'nothing' because he can't actually aim.

 

[Yoshilast]

Why Berserkers were overpowered and why the nerf was justified: (lots of type)

I agree, I mean i used to be a Zerker and one the game first game out (3 days after my birthday SCORE!!!) I was kicking butt with a chainsaw I already got to lv3zerker in a few days, took off a Fleshpound's head with a chainsaw got the most kills on my team (not that its a bad thing). But ya it was way overpowered I mean you already run faster than everybody else too . "First one to the trader is deemed kick ***! O wait that would be the zerker O YA!!!" Also I was always ether alone because my teammates are stupid (and out of some cruel prank I am always the last one alive, even without zerker) or because i had the power to be alone. (usually because I'm that good not just from zerker) So ya I think its a good thing although I will miss the Katanas autofire, thats my only complaint, although no big deal SPAM THE CLICKER!!! So ya take it from me I totally agree with this guy and I deem it a fair and reasonable choice from Tripwire.

The OP is just raging about Zerkers getting kills for 'nothing' because he can't actually aim.

Being a Zerker takes aim too ya know , I mean you won't kill a clot if your facing the other direction chainsawing a tree.

 

[Nanostrike]

This stuff coming from anything but a career Berserker doesn't mean a whole lot... I could make a whole topic railing against any other class, but it'd be the same thing: Being jealous of another perk's niche...

Bottom line is that they made Berserker have ZERO edge on other perks, AND less fun to play and that pretty much kills it. Killing a class like that is wrong. Until it's fixed up somehow, myself and a LARGE number of other Berserkers aren't gonna play Zerker anymore, so when the rushing Gorefasts and Scrakes break your lines and wipe the team because a Zerker isn't there, you can thank the "Justified" nerf...

 

[Evilsod]

Being a Zerker takes aim too ya know , I mean you won't kill a clot if your facing the other direction chainsawing a tree.

Then we should nerf the Demoman! He could manage that!

Unfortunately Nano... they would probably get mopped up by quick reactions from a Sharpshooter. M14 takes out a Gorefast completely on any difficulty and body shots make them flinch, Scrakes can't stand up to you much either if your only getting headshots. Depends what the rest of your team is upto. Since unlike other Sharpy weapons the M14 has a huge supply of ammo for its damage.

 

[Pseudointellectual]

Started playing Zerker yesterday. It's a different kind of gameplay but one that still requires skill. Knowing how to manage your health, when to rush and when to retreat, etc. I did notice, though, that being on-hand to stun Scrakes and whatnot made a huge difference. It makes them much easier to deal with.

I did doorway camp but nobody complained.

 

[gusone]

This is a difficult one. I totally agree with the OP on this. The spam slashing door hugging zerkers do my head in epsecially when they are hunting in 2 man packs. I can see exactly where the OP is coming from. It's even worse if they charge on in bunny hopping and making it impossible for us to hit stuff without team killing him which then just causes a World of Emo resulting in a ban for them.

Equally I've played with really good zerkers I didn't even realise were zerkers because they dug in with the lads with a gun and only whipped out the sword when we got a big guy on top of us or we we getting overrun. It's the latter I have some sympathy for.

I'm not a zerker so I leave it to profesional zerkers to decide whether the nerf is too much. Clearly there's a lot of passionate views on this. But spam slashing door hugging is totally unacceptable and really had to be dealt with one way or the other.