Merc Report - Summer's Changing Field Conditions

[Humam2104]

Ok.. you guys nerfed the zerks and medics!! Is it time to buff the SWATs and Survivalists? Maybe some Sharpshooter buffs too?
I think the demo deserves a 20 weight limit like the support or maybe more health? More self-damage resistance?

 

[s5yn3t]

on the whole UI thing,
Can skip trader vote NOT appear while being in a trader pod? Quite annoying when you're buying your stuff and suddenly a menu pops up asking if you want to skip trader or not.

 

[Tygryxx]

Well if for Survivalist, maybe some increased reload speed / increased damage for Freezethrower and Killerwatt?
And i personally would prefer HRG Buckshot to be crossperked on Gunslinger.

 

[flashn00b]

Looking at the nerfs to the Berserker, should I start playing Survivalist with Berserker weapons? Cuz the berserker needed to be as powerful as he is right now to compensate for being a melee class in a game focused primarily around ranged combat.

A friendly reminder that the time it takes for a berserker to engage a zed at his most optimal range is the time it takes for every other perk to shoot that zed dead.

Ideally, I think the best way to handle Zerker would be to nerf his perk skills so as to give more room for new passives. Parry's damage increase seems like something that could be made a passive IMO (could start at 10% at level 0 before increasing to 40% at level 25)

 

[Spoke]

Zerker and medic nerf? It's about time.

Ok.. you guys nerfed the zerks and medics!! Is it time to buff the SWATs and Survivalists? Maybe some Sharpshooter buffs too?
I think the demo deserves a 20 weight limit like the support or maybe more health? More self-damage resistance?

Surv doesn't need buffs, Melee Expert could use some toning down actually.

 

[Uranium_]

I think the developement team see my speedrun on Farmhouse with berserker and thought nobody should end hell on earth in 5min21, can we know more about those nerf or we need wait beta ?

 

[BitmapJOE]

Glad to see that the medic and zerk is getting a nerf and demo did need that extra ammo. The compound bow did need more ammo and I never found a problem with the stun but I guess to get people to use it more with how the projectile works will make it easier for them

 

[Dudmaster]

Always liked the Compound Bow (yes... I'm biased about it. I'll admit.), but never bother using the cryo arrows. Seeing this change might actually give them a use to me now. Being able to kill perhaps a small group of crawlers from a far a little easier maybe. The extra ammo is always welcome.

The Hemogoblin has been constantly getting buffed since it was added. To be honest... I've always seen plenty of people using it. Heck, almost more often than the assault rifle. Haven't really used it much for the past couple years (don't think this change is going to change that for me), but I guess Potato-Potato. Guess we'll have to see.

The Demo and Support skills I don't use, but I know there are people that do. These should be nice compliments for them, but I'm indifferent about it otherwise.

The nerfs for zerk and medic... I usually don't play these perks too often, but I can see the good that can come from this. They would be considered "crutch perks", especially on the higher difficulties. Which could lead to making the other 8 perks irrelevant. Like why run around sluggishly and have to panic reload when I could just run around and beat everything to a pulp without a care in the world? Will be interesting to see how it turns out in the beta.

 

[Hec0v0ules]

People may be tired of the solos of Berserker and Medic, all the players are dead, only these two are alive, and then watch them die slowly or finish the game successfully.
Maybe this improvement can enhance teamwork? I'm not sure. I'll wait for beta to be released.
It's always good to increase ammunition, I agree.

 

[o2xVc3UuXp0NyBihrUnu]

Great news on berserker/medic nerfs. This has been a problem for a long time. Long overdue. Let's see how it gets implemented.

HoE games are plagued by unskilled berserkers (or medics), who join, don't contribute, act selfishly, often to the detriment of the team, cause the team to die and then kite the map for 30 minutes because with all the resistances, speed and health regen they just won't die.

PS I would also like to join the choir condemning the hemoclobber. It's truly a cancer of this game that lets already overpowered from the survivability standpoint perks to stay afloat when they should have died because of their mistakes. Not to mention that it poisons everything and makes it hard to land headshots on panicking zeds.

 

[Sarcy]

As a keen Berserker and occasional Medic I am HIGHLY interested to see how the perks handle.

I don't really think either is 'OP' per se, although watching ANYONE spam HM-501 grenades is beyond tedious, it's more that the higher difficulties (HoE in particular) make some of the perks less viable than others.
Sure you could say x perk or y ability contribute to the imbalance but honestly the biggest issue is movement speed. In a game where one method of 'increasing difficulty' is making things faster (still dislike how they adjusted the Abomination) then you end up with a situation where being able to evade becomes key to longevity.
Still blows my mind how many Medics don't use the speed boost in HoE but then again that's more to do with selfish players/trash 'Medics'.

In closing, I'd rather the underperforming perks were raised up and not the other way round, guess we'll see soon enough which is the better approach.

 

[Aleflippy]

It's becoming comical to see how many buffs the Hemogoblin already got... I personally thought the weapon was fairly alright lately, but oh well. I personally believe the problem is the opposite of the RPG-7 for the Demolition: it's not a bad weapon per se... it's just that almost every other gun is even better. So instead of buffing the Hemogoblin endlessly, you'd have to nerf everything else instead. Which would be counterproductive in the end. I believe that the issue is simply feature-creep tbh... Every perk ended up with arsenals far too big for their own good. Meaning that people will either latch to the very best of them and never let go. Or mix up a bit of everything from time to time (I tend to do the latter myself).


I'm a bit more enthusiastic regarding the Compound Bow changes. I really thought it was an inconsistent and out-of-place weapon. I do hope it will feel better to use now. Otherwise... Guess I'll stick to the Xbow.

Having even more extra ammo is kinda... Meh, as new skill changes. Even more so considering I pretty much never run dry as a support. It's probably a bit more helpful as a demo, but that perk packs so much punch already that I don't know if it's very smart to remove one of his only weaknesses.

I can't thank you enough for those zerk and medic changes though. I doubt it will suffice, but so late into the game... I doubt a full rework is in the cards. So that's already a wonderful thing to even have access to such tweaks.

As for @Sarcy : you could totally play any given role as a medic... while being faster and more resilient than most perks. He's the real jack-of-all-trades, not the Survivalist. I'm also always in favor of buffing the weaker elements rather than nerfing the good ones. But when you can almost single-handedly overcome everything the game throws at you, a nerf is in order.

 

[Sarcy]

It's becoming comical to see how many buffs the Hemogoblin already got... I personally thought the weapon was fairly alright lately, but oh well. I personally believe the problem is the opposite of the RPG-7 for the Demolition: it's not a bad weapon per se... it's just that almost every other gun is even better. So instead of buffing the Hemogoblin endlessly, you'd have to nerf everything else instead. Which would be counterproductive in the end. I believe that the issue is simply feature-creep tbh... Every perk ended up with arsenals far too big for their own good. Meaning that people will either latch to the very best of them and never let go. Or mix up a bit of everything from time to time (I tend to do the latter myself).


I'm a bit more enthusiastic regarding the Compound Bow changes. I really thought it was an inconsistent and out-of-place weapon. I do hope it will feel better to use now. Otherwise... Guess I'll stick to the Xbow.

Having even more extra ammo is kinda... Meh, as new skill changes. Even more so considering I pretty much never run dry as a support. It's probably a bit more helpful as a demo, but that perk packs so much punch already that I don't know if it's very smart to remove one of his only weaknesses.

I can't thank you enough for those zerk and medic changes though. I doubt it will suffice, but so late into the game... I doubt a full rework is in the cards. So that's already a wonderful thing to even have access to such tweaks.

As for @Sarcy : you could totally play any given role as a medic... while being faster and more resilient than most perks. He's the real jack-of-all-trades, not the Survivalist. I'm also always in favor of buffing the weaker elements rather than nerfing the good ones. But when you can almost single-handedly overcome everything the game throws at you, a nerf is in order.

Regarding movement speed I'd go so far as making Gunslinger's pace the new standard and then either removing any other speed enhancements OR saving it strictly for Hit 'n' Run Berserkers.
That combined with removing all their ranged weaponry and giving it to the Survivalist would make for some really satisfying gameplay shifts.

 

[Lord Exor]

Mercs,

Those who choose to venture out of Lockharts steam powered rocket first (via an opt-in beta later next week on PC), are going to be experiencing some changing field conditions. Not only will the unique habitat of the moon and the station's own functions offer some gravity altering effects, some weapons and perks have been altered.

First up the arsenal adjustments:
Those of you who are fans of the Compound Bow will find that the cryo arrow explosions now do more damage in a wider area and have an exponential falloff, compared to the linear one before. You’ll also find that you can carry more arrows with you and find more in the field. Mercs will also enjoy the Compound Bow and Crossbow stunning Scrakes more consistently with well aimed headshots!

The Hemogoblin has also been adjusted with slightly increased stats for damage, healing, ammo pool and a slightly reduced reload speed. This should help make the weapon standout more from the current medic choices and help it find its own place in the possible Medic loadouts.

First up the perk adjustments:
Demolitionists out there will soon be able to carry double the amount of bonus rounds from Extra Rounds (level 10). Support mercs will also find that their High Capacity Magazines (level 5) have been increased. These should help make those perk choices more viable to those interested in bringing more rounds to the fight.

Berserkers and Medics will find that things have also changed for them, and several perks skills have been tuned down to help prevent them from overperforming, moreso if the skills were combined, other perk and gameplay options.

Medics should make note that their Armor bonus (passive) and Symbiotic Health (level 5) have been adjusted downward. The goal here is to make them a little less self reliant (or only reliant on a nearby Berserker).

And Berserkers will find the following skills adjusted downward: Damage Resistance (passive), Skirmisher (level 5), Vampire (level 10), Resistance and Parry (both level 15). The team hopes to promote other perk synergies and gameplay options while making sure that the perks here still hold up in their ended roles.

One final segment, UI Improvements:
Mercs that play versus will find that the survivor team now has the same ability to vote to skip trader time that can be found in standard Survival.

As always, we look forward to seeing how these changes play out in the upcoming beta and your feedback once you’ve had a chance to evaluate them yourselves.

Nerfing skill combinations won't make the other skill combinations more desirable, TWI; you're just overall gimping the perks. You should give something to each perk in return to compensate for the loss.

 

[Sarcy]

Anyone else curious why no numbers have been mentioned?

 

[Barot8]

It's a beta. The numbers might be adjusted during beta 2 or after it's over.

 

[Aze]

High Capacity Magazines (Support Level 5) - Further increased magazine sizes

@Yoshiro its current numerical value isn't the issue why this skill is not picked as much as the reload alternative. The reason it's picked less is because it is useless for some weapons (like Boomstick, Doomstick and Buckshot(s)) - the tweak it ACTUALLY needs is to give reloadspeed to the weapons that don't benefit from the magsize bonus. And the same goes for other perks with similar talents.

 

[pie1055]

More buffs for the Hemogoblin? Is that really necessary? I already use it over the other medic weapons after its last round of buffs made it a really good all-rounder, but I haven't played much in the last 6 months so maybe the stats your team is pulling are telling a different story.

I already use it to kill Scrakes on sui easily after the last round of buffs allowed me to pump multiple magazines into their faces so I can't imagine what it'll do with even more damage and reload speed. If I remember correctly it also already one-shots gorefasts to the body. I guess maybe I'll start hunting Fleshpounds? One-shotting Husks and Sirens with headshots?

On medic and zerk changes- finally some nerfs for something overpowered instead of constant power creep. We'll see what kind of impact they have.

 

[Agent Pickles]

Most of these changes are a shrug and a nod. Sounds good enough. I probably won't change my skill choices though.

The zerk and medic can absorb the nerfing just fine, except I agree with @Lord Exor. The nerfing kinda missed the mark if the idea is to promote team play, if only because nothing about nerfing improves synergy while it also reduces survival in solo play. I would rather see the alteration change the way the team interacts, rather than simply punish unwanted behavior.

Balance and teamwork can be strengthened in a variety of ways, so I posted some ideas for KF3 here:
New Cooperative Mechanics for KF3
New Zed Ideas for KF3 (lots of ideas, including each perk receiving a nemesis zed that they can't kill... but I'll need more time to type up my ideas)
New Perk Ideas for KF3 (again, more ideas to be posted soon)