Like I've said before, nothing about nerfing actually
improves synergy, but it does come at the expense of the player who enjoys playing solo. I hate seeing simple nerfs and would prefer to see alterations.
Change "Skirmisher" to "Sprint and Recover".
I used to run. At the end of every race, many participants would bend over while catching their breath. Sooooo.... Everything the same about Skirmisher but if the Zerk wants the +2HP recovery, they have to be crouched. The zerk gets the recovery OR the sprint, but not both at any one time.
And since I could only sprint for so long in real life, limit the endurance of the zerk (and all sprinting in KF3). Yes they sprint fast, but not forever, and they need a moment of holding still to recharge their sprint.
And/or change "Skirmisher" to "Morale Boosted".
The Zerk only gets the full power of the speed bonuses if all teammates are alive. If there are 4 players and one goes down, the Zerk's bonuses goes down by 25%. Likewise, the Zerk only gets HP bonuses of +1HP/sec for every teammate they are near. Or maybe they just metabolize healing elixer better, and get a 2% bonus to healing for every living teammate.
And/or change "Vampire" to "Ankle Biter"... again, zerk must be crouched to recover HP, and maybe add a minor damage bonus to attacking legs.
Vampire lore rarely mentions drive-by tactics, so maybe it only works when the zerk is standing still. Or...
Since Vampires typically make a big dramatic production out of playing with their food, a more apt way to earn +4HP is if the zerk hacks up a corpse, rather than landing the killing blow, forcing them to stop and choose between attacking for damage or attacking for food. Because GPU limitations exist, corpses would be in less supply than zeds, making Vampire boosts less common, but still a rather common boon.
Side note: I miss the days when you could disseminate the boss's corpse after it is killed. Bring that back. My therapist agrees.
Another side note: TWI wouldn't have to nerf Skirmisher if Dreadnaught were appealing. Consider that direction, such as making Dreadnaught a tastier option by including the ability to knock zeds back if the Zerk parries a zed while sprinting, turning them into a bull rusher who can clear paths for teammates or push QPs off of a cornered teammate.
Third side note: While it does nothing for KF2, I'd still like to see Nemesis Zeds be added to KF3. These are zeds that particular perks would hate to see coming at them. A zed that can disarm up to two weapons from perks and dual wield them against the team would be detrimental to a melee-heavy perk like the Zerk. Make them fast but weak against bullets. The Zerk's weapons can be recovered from the zed's corpse. Lots more balancing options for TWI in the future.
Team synergy that could be added here would be along the lines of giving shooters a recoil improvement bonus every time they shoot over a crouched Zerk. Zerks get HP from crouching and putting themselves in harm's way while the Sharp or GS can get a cleaner head shot on the incoming tall zeds.
I'm happy for my buddy if they're a badass with any perk, and last man standing scenarios would happen less often if each perk were having fun playing their role, so I'm less concerned with whether or not my ideas fix the LMS issue. Because the people I usually play with are friends in real life, I have no problem with cheering them on and coaching them through it.
But I also have no qualms with people leaving the game if it is a LMS scenario and they don't want to wait to see how it'll turn out. If you have better things to do than watch other people play, then... yeah, stop playing. Or play solo.
As for the Medic...
In a combat situation... hell yeah I want my medic to be speedy. If I'm bleeding out then I want the medic before my Jimmy Johns. And hell no I don't want them burdened with needless armor (see also: want them speedy). I'll be the shield and take the damage so they don't have to or I'll be the offensive threat that kills the zed before it gets to the medic.
Drop the medic's armor to 50, max. Keep the speed. Change the passive healing recharge and potency buffs to work most effectively if the Medic is stationary. Their darts still work better than the average perk in all scenarios, but work exceptionally well when holding still. Or make their weapons recharge faster the longer they go without taking a hit. People want healing? Defend the squishy medic.
Certainly doesn't help they got so many toys to play with, anyone care to explain that away in terms of 'balance'?
Because the devs wanted every perk to have a perk weapon that heals others. What I find silly is the fact that so many of the other perks are largely limited to one class of weapon. That's why so many of the new weapon ideas that were proposed were lackluster. Somebody wants Support to have a new weapon so they proposed another, ordinary, every day shotgun that might as well have been a re-skin of a current option. Boo.
I'd like to see TWI shuffle the deck. Drop perks altogether.