A thought about zerkers...

[Shambler]

We all know that zerkers get a harty damage resistance bonus, thus helping them to dish out more pain before having to run away to the nearest medic, very helpful. But I was thinking, in a game where the only difference between difficulties is the speed, damage out-put and damage resistance of the zeds, shouldn't the damage resistance of the zerker vary depending on the difficulty too?

Suicidal, the zeds are pretty much made to kill you in one or two hits. Fine for all the other classes, they don't have to stand right next a gorefast to kill it but as a zerker you will still die in three or four hits, thus making things a bit tricky. Add the zed's speed bonus to that and to play a zerker on suicidal would be...well... suicidal. Why not just raise the damage resistance boost then? Well, Beginner on the other hand, you can stand around all day taking hits and take very little damage, if at all.

I'm not saying make it so zerkers take the same amount of damage whatever the difficulty. That would remove the point of having difficulty settings all together... but maybe making the transitions a bit more even? Right now the difficulty curve is like a flat line, slowly curving up wards and then spiking into a jagged wall of pain. Varying the damage resistance per difficulty is a possible solution. Thoughts?

 

[nath2009uk]

If you play enough and know how to play as a zerker, you can do it fine. It's suicidal for a reason.

 

[Shambler]

If you play enough and know how to play as a zerker, you can do it fine.

Do you?

I have never seen anyone play as zerker on suicidal and my own attempts either result in instantly getting kicked off the server or a very rapid failure. I can dominate on hard but the difficulty increase is far to much and that is solely down to the amount of damage you take per hit. Why should suicidal only be open to the classes with the stopping power to keep them-self out of danger?

 

[BEEEEEES]

C'mon, even shambler thinks zerker needs help on suicidal. What more proof do you need?

 

[HaTeMe]

I have never seen anyone play as zerker on suicidal and my own attempts either result in instantly getting kicked off the server or a very rapid failure.

Huh, when ever I get bored I always pick zerker on suicidal just because I think it has the best chance of survival (apart from being m14 spammer). Why?
1. Cant be grabbed by clots is a big plus imo because if you do, even a single gorefast can kill you. I cant even count how many times Ive died on suicidal just because a group of clots grapped me and some other bigger enemy finished me.
2. Katana can instakill most enemies, and stun scrakes. Also you can run quickly holding your main weapon, once again a big plus if you have to escape.
3. Lack of money is an issue in suicidal, BUT if you are a lvl 6 zerker you spawn with a chainsaw which you can sell before second wave to buy a katana, and you also spawn with an armor. So, after the first wave the only thing you need money for is repairing the armor.
4. Melee weapons wont run out of ammo or reload.

So, I dare to say he is a very good choice for suicidal if you plan to survive by yourself. Might want to buy a crossbow for fleshpounds tho.

BUUUUUUUT

Dispite of that essay above, I agree with you, berserker should get higher damage resistance so he wouldnt be such an easy target for a group. Husks especially are a big problem for me, because they deal so much damage on suicidal and can attack on any distance :/

 

[Marls]

Not to burst anyones bubbles or anything

I play Berserker on suicidal anywhere from wave 1 - 6, until I can afford a FN Scar with Body armor. Thus switching to Commando the rest of the duration. If I get killed, I may switch back to Bersker depending on how much money I have and if weapons are lost.

It's playable if you know what you doing. But I wont denie it is hard. You can die quite fast still. Despite the 25 % damage resis.

Husks especially are a big problem for me, because they deal so much damage on suicidal and can attack on any distance :/

Agree with you. I've been roasted up countless times by Husks, Sometimes you're just too focused on multiple incoming gores/stalkers/crawlers to concertrate on dodging incoming fireballs. Take your eyes of the gores and they eat you up. On suicidal, the zeds seem to shield the Husks up from direct melee combat.

You know what I mean right ? ^_^

 

[HaTeMe]

You know what I mean right ? ^_^

Yea lol, they always seem to lurk behind masses of smaller zeds so its hard to reach them unless you happen to carry a crossbow or other long range weapon. I find them even more dangerous at times than sirens just because they have almost unlimited range, if theres 2 or 3 chasing you its "BOOM BOOM BOOM" and you are fried.

Btw I still dont get it why this:

:o

is turned into this ""

 

[Undedd Jester]

Yea lol, they always seem to lurk behind masses of smaller zeds so its hard to reach them unless you happen to carry a crossbow or other long range weapon. I find them even more dangerous at times than sirens just because they have almost unlimited range, if theres 2 or 3 chasing you its "BOOM BOOM BOOM" and you are fried"

I find the same. I was never a true Berserker, but I tended to play a katana medic, which functions more or less the same. When I actually switched to Berserker to get up to level 6, I found I was fine dodging damage from crawlers and gorefasts and stuff, and would only take the odd hit every now and again. Even fleshpounds didn't give me TOO much trouble, as a couple of grenades and a flurry of strong attacks was usually enough to take him down with a little team help.

However the Husk makes the Zerkers life hell. The other knocks all chip off armour, but if your good at dodging them your fine. A husk on the other hand easily rips through a good 50% of your armour. This makes you about as formidable as a soggy paper bag.

I'd agree the zerker needs more damage resistance, mostly to aid against the Damage Over Time of the husks fireballs. Hell I'd settle for either improving their armour or giving them an increased fire resistance (although not immunity)

 

[HodlPu]

I play zerker on suicidal, and I do just fine. I usually draw attention away from the rest of the team by standing upfront. I keep the clots, crawlers, and gorefasts busy while they get rid of husks and sirens.

Since I'm in front, the FP usually goes for me first. That's when I run behind the team so they fire spam and wall it from getting to me since the raged FP will not usually attack other members.

 

[Entangler]

I'm not really convinced that the Berserker needs any further damage reduction. The way I see it, the Berserker perk itself is perfectly fine; it's the circumstances around it that are gimping it - the Failsaw, Gorefast Illusionists, that sort of thing. My Berserker ideas (yes, I have ideas for just about everything) focus mostly on diversifying his armoury (and making his weapons useful against Flesh Pounds), but they aren't entirely polished yet, so I'll save them for the moment. Suffice to say in the meantime that I feel - and my plentiful Berserker experience confirms - that modifying the Berserker's perk bonuses is barking up the wrong tree.

 

[biomatter]

I'm not really convinced that the Berserker needs any further damage reduction. The way I see it, the Berserker perk itself is perfectly fine; it's the circumstances around it that are gimping it - the Failsaw, Gorefast Illusionists, that sort of thing. My Berserker ideas (yes, I have ideas for just about everything) focus mostly on diversifying his armoury (and making his weapons useful against Flesh Pounds), but they aren't entirely polished yet, so I'll save them for the moment. Suffice to say in the meantime that I feel - and my plentiful Berserker experience confirms - that modifying the Berserker's perk bonuses is barking up the wrong tree.

Haha, too true. I HATE the Gorefasts' ability to whack you even though it's stunned. Happens for every class, but of course Berzerker's notice it the most. I can't wait for it to be fixed, and it's actually legitimate, as in not a balance change.

 

[brphoenix]

I personally do not have a problem with husks - they are too easy to fool. If you spot one aiming at you, walk one direction. When he shoots, immediately change direction and jump.

But, if he's at mid-range, you just can't dodge him. And if you're in suicidal, he will hit you, and will fry out your vest. And with the shaking image from both fire and damage, you are f'ed if you're surrounded.