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Stalker idea born out of TF2 of all things...

Undedd Jester

Grizzled Veteran
Oct 31, 2009
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Sheffield, England
Ok ok I know, saying TF2 in these forums is like saying "Anyone fancy a McDonalds" at a weight watchers convention, but bear with me on this :)

For the most part the stalker is considered the least threatening specimen in the game, they are easy to kill, easy to avoid, and do very little damage. The only time they cause a problem is when they gang up in a dark corridor when a player is trying to run for his life, doesn't notice them and gets body blocked in the hallway.

There have bene many suggestions as to how to make them more effective and I think I may have stumbled into a suggestion while playing TF2 today.

Spoiler!


So my suggestion is to make it so the Stalker gets something similar to this bleed effect since it is actually quite intimidating. Plus of course story wise she would typically claws at the eyes of her foes, and would also give more weight to that red slash we get on the screen already. It would mean if she manages to land a hit (which admittedly for experienced players is unlkely, so the 1 step back might have to be looked at as well), then that hit causes a whole world of problems for the players.

I figured it could probably use the same kind of thing as when your low on health, but would cause you to lose Hp every second for 6 seconds, with or without armour. Perhaps no effect on beginner, 1/s on Normal, 2/s on Hard, and 3/ sec on Suicidal and HoE.

Here's a few screenies to hopefully reflect the impact of it :)



Thoughts? :)
 
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So, bleeding for stalkers? I agree to this. Makes them feel more like Rogues to me, if you've played your average MMORPG...

Personally I'd like to see 5/sec bleeding on Suicidal/HoE, so that way it actually hurts.
It would make the Commando aim straight for the Stalker, because 30 damage even after they're dead? Ouch! Keep a Medic nearby... Or make use of the Commando's ability to see, to get them before they reach the team.

How would we go about making the bleed visual, though?
For the first player view, I wouldn't have a clue.

But for everyone else; Why not have the HP bar glow a slight red?
 
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I love this idea, but I suggest that the initial hit damage be brought down a bit, then bleeding can ensue.

(I don't know what it's like to be hit by a stalker... I'm playing commando, or they just get in the way of my shotgun. For this reason, the damage may as well stay as-is.)
 
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As long as it doesn't involve giving them hats I think the source of inspiration doesn't matter :p.

As for what I think...I'd say that stalkers already are actually rather effective from time to time (and quite so), so I wouldn't be calling for any drastic buffs...but a little bleed effect seems called for

PS Postcount Space Odyssey =P
 
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I like the idea of stalkers doing bleed damage, not like their attacks are hard to avoid anyway. Still if you do manage to get hit by one it would be simmilar to a bloat shot where it sticks to you and you take damage for a bit.

I think if this does go into place the damage the stalker does should be straight for the health and her first attack should have some armor loss. Midigation of the bleed damage with armor means no scary stalker. Adding this and kill that invis %#*$&.

Great idea
 
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Give the Stalker a Sneak Attack +2d6.

But seriously, a bleed effect would be quite nice. Bypassing armour would also give the Siren some company in disrupting a fortified team. Maybe some sort of annoying effect to give the team more incentive to have a Commando. For example have a weak (6-12dmg) bleed but it disrupts any attempts to use ironsights or scope each tick.
 
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Bleeding a 'lil doesn't seem like it should prevent you from using iron sights or anything, but a tiny indicator that you're losing some life would be nice. Although I don't really support much of a buff for them, bleeding sounds like a small, fun thing to add (normal/hard, ~6 health loss imo).

And in response to the joke suggestion, do specimens already receive a melee backstab bonus? Gorefasts would be twice as scary with that..
 
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Ok ok I know, saying TF2 in these forums is like saying "Anyone fancy a McDonalds" at a weight watchers convention, but bear with me on this :)

For the most part the stalker is considered the least threatening specimen in the game, they are easy to kill, easy to avoid, and do very little damage. The only time they cause a problem is when they gang up in a dark corridor when a player is trying to run for his life, doesn't notice them and gets body blocked in the hallway.

There have bene many suggestions as to how to make them more effective and I think I may have stumbled into a suggestion while playing TF2 today.

Spoiler!


So my suggestion is to make it so the Stalker gets something similar to this bleed effect since it is actually quite intimidating. Plus of course story wise she would typically claws at the eyes of her foes, and would also give more weight to that red slash we get on the screen already. It would mean if she manages to land a hit (which admittedly for experienced players is unlkely, so the 1 step back might have to be looked at as well), then that hit causes a whole world of problems for the players.

I figured it could probably use the same kind of thing as when your low on health, but would cause you to lose Hp every second for 6 seconds, with or without armour. Perhaps no effect on beginner, 1/s on Normal, 2/s on Hard, and 3/ sec on Suicidal and HoE.

Here's a few screenies to hopefully reflect the impact of it :)



Thoughts? :)

I don't like it. It's not a bad idea, but anything that makes you lose because it screws up your interface/visuals or makes you lose control of your character is a pet peeve of mine.

Nothing gets me madder and makes me quit faster than one unlucky hit from something screwing up my screen to the point it's uncomfortable to play, especially if it results in my death. Sirens are bad enough!


And in response to the joke suggestion, do specimens already receive a melee backstab bonus? Gorefasts would be twice as scary with that..

Not sure, but I think they do. Hence why not watching your back kills you so fast.
 
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I don't like it. It's not a bad idea, but anything that makes you lose because it screws up your interface/visuals or makes you lose control of your character is a pet peeve of mine.
You're not alone on that one. I hate it when instead of my own fault for missing a shot, it's up to random numbers by the game.
 
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I don't like it. It's not a bad idea, but anything that makes you lose because it screws up your interface/visuals or makes you lose control of your character is a pet peeve of mine.

I can agree with this. It's the main reason I hate bloats so much. However, there must be an indicator of some kind. Maybe blood on the edges of the screen could work. It's not as intrusive, yet it still brings bleeding to your attention.
 
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I can agree with this. It's the main reason I hate bloats so much. However, there must be an indicator of some kind. Maybe blood on the edges of the screen could work. It's not as intrusive, yet it still brings bleeding to your attention.

In fairness though, how often do you get hit by a bloat or a stalker? :)

In my case, very rarely. Although if I'm honest, if the stalker attack was fixed I imagine this would be rather annoying, so its a case of how much fear does this create vs. how much frustration it creates :)

I personally imagine that 1 off moment where I lose concentration and get hit by a stalker would give a fantastic mud my trousers moment :rolleyes:
 
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All these people who are saying "Bawww, but I don't like not being able to see! It would get me killed!"

The entire point of it is to enrage you and obscure your vision; an ample punishment for not keeping your eye out for Stalkers. It's not like this idea is forcing you to not be able to see. It's well within your power to annihilate the Stalkers as per usual in order to avoid it.
 
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