Another specimen Idea: The Hydra

[Fedorov]

I'm thinking that to make things harder and more interesting, there should be a bigger specimen: the Hydra, some kind of fleshpound, with higher damage and resistance, but does not enrage... oh, and it should have 3 heads, so no taking them out in 1 shot.

something that once it appears everybody is gonna be like: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

thoughts?

Inspired while listening to this: YouTube - Venom - Flight of the Hydra

 

[HaTeMe]

Hmm I think its a pretty funny idea, a specimen with 3 heads and you have to pop all 3 heads off in order to fully kill it. Maybe make it less powerful every time it loses a head lol.

 

[JohnMajor]

...and if you fail to take off all three heads fast enough, they regrow

 

[HaTeMe]

...and if you fail to take off all three heads fast enough, they regrow

LOOL, awesome idea.

 

[anthracy]

I don't think that a spec with 3 heads would fit with KF

I do like the idea of having to take out 3 critical locations though, no more one shotting the big guys with the xbow.

Perhaps having a specimen with an unusually long 'bleed out' time when you take off its head, and you have to hit it in the heart or some other vulnerable area to drop it.

 

[robdude19]

2-Headed Super Clot!

2-Headed Super Clot!

I don't think that a spec with 3 heads would fit with KF

I do like the idea of having to take out 3 critical locations though, no more one shotting the big guys with the xbow.

Perhaps having a specimen with an unusually long 'bleed out' time when you take off its head, and you have to hit it in the heart or some other vulnerable area to drop it.

It could be really fun battling a hydra-like creature like in Willow. Although the zed should not really BE a hydra (not fitting for KF), it could just have 2 or 3 heads (think: zombie siamese twins!) A 2-headed ogre would be a more appropriate model than a hydra. Bonus points if the zed is more combat effective with each head, e.g. two heads can bite different players or the same player twice as fast as one head.

Perhaps it could grab like a clot, giving a bear hug while the heads chomp away. To support this concept, how bout making it a big 2-headed clot mutant? A super clot! The Patriarch wanted to improve on his lowliest creation...

 

[Benjamin]

I do like the idea of having to take out 3 critical locations though

Same, multiple weakspots would make a specimen more interesting. Especially if doing a certain amount of damage to a weakspot made it unable to use it in its attacks.

 

[Fedorov]

yes, I meant hydra as a generic name, not an actual hydra, as I said, it could or could not be a reptilian enemy... think about the crawler, its not a spider, but it does have similarities with one.

either you try for 3 critical headshots, or everybody throws everything they've got at it until it dies... whatever comes first.

could also make it very weak against fire, to give the firebug a more specific role

 

[IanTheM1]

I love the core concept, but in a different direction - a Zed that breaks down into smaller Zeds as you kill it.

 

[XyzKiller]

I like the idea of the 3 heads...if it is a hydra, make it so it shoots corrosive acid like Fallout3 xD

 

[robdude19]

I like the idea of the 3 heads...if it is a hydra, make it so it shoots corrosive acid like Fallout3 xD

It'd be cool if each head could spit out gobs of bile at different targets, with longer range than the siren but less damage than a point-blank bloat attack. Each head should have the toughness of a husk head, so decaps would require high-powered weapons. The zed should have more body hitpoints than the husk but not be super tough like the scrake (EDIT: headshots would be a long-range option but from close-mid range, where the zed is a threat, it should be easier to kill the zed with body shots, encouraging non-SS weapons). This would be a high-priority target, especially with 3 heads. Bloat bile resistance should apply here so a medic/zerk can draw fire away from teammates, similar to the husk/firebug.

It's hard for me to imagine what it would look like if it has a ranged attack, but a melee biting attack would make sense for a 2-headed ogre style super clot. However, a multiple targeting attack would really only be useful for ranged attacks, so I'm in favor of the mid-range bile spit.

 

[omarfw]

Hmm I think its a pretty funny idea, a specimen with 3 heads and you have to pop all 3 heads off in order to fully kill it. Maybe make it less powerful every time it loses a head lol.

no no. make it MORE powerful with every head you take off.

and technically if it was a hydra the heads would regrow into more heads if you shot them off.

 

[-[SiN]-bswearer]

this is actually one of the best specimen suggestions i've seen so far. a zed with multiple heads sounds very interesting.

i think it would do about the same amount of damage as say a siren or gorefast but could take just as much damage as say a scrake or FP. it having three heads would force it to become a primary target for ss to get dercaps since body shots from the other roles wouldn't kill it. still let them get decapped (like all other zeds) by ss, but this would require more precision shooting from your ss since they'd have to take off more heads and another important target to take care of.

it's attack could be the same as say a three headed siren or bloat, but it might be nicer to have its own unique attack. the three heads idea is genius though.

very impressed by the idea

 

[Wildcolt]

this is actually one of the best specimen suggestions i've seen so far. a zed with multiple heads sounds very interesting.

i think it would do about the same amount of damage as say a siren or gorefast but could take just as much damage as say a scrake or FP. it having three heads would force it to become a primary target for ss to get dercaps since body shots from the other roles wouldn't kill it. still let them get decapped (like all other zeds) by ss, but this would require more precision shooting from your ss since they'd have to take off more heads and another important target to take care of.

it's attack could be the same as say a three headed siren or bloat, but it might be nicer to have its own unique attack. the three heads idea is genius though.

very impressed by the idea

Heck we could even spin it so that it's anti-SS. In the fact that after losing a head the other heads gain more control and thus, less thought processes trading off orders to the body, making it faster/stronger. Since SS is pretty OP right now and assuming they don't fix it by altering weapons/perk abilities, that would be a great way to make their life a living hell.

 

[Sammers]

A regenerating Specimen could be epic trouble for a squad. I say Bring it on.

 

[Zerethon]

Playing with this idea....

"Hydra"

An Experiment in Regeneration, the "Hydra" is a specimen with a pair of armored heads, and in fact, armor covering most of it's body, it appears to be an expansion on the "Chaingunner" experiments, Moving quickly and using it's armor to get into an advantageous position before opening fire

To take it down, is a challenge for even the best of squads, each head takes 2 fairly hefty rounds to remove (One to breech the helmet, One to Harm) and taking it's heads off wont even kill it, the only way to truely stop this monster is to destroy the "Serum" tank on it's back, it contains a strong healing agent like what the patriarch carries, when a head is removed, the serum is capable of actually Regrowing the head (although without armor) and keeping the specimen from death

The idea here would be teamwork, it's not overly dangerous until you piss it off, then it lines up and opens fire on you with a patty-style weaker minigun, it's big, tough, and cant be killed by removing the heads unless you also remove the backpack with the healing agents that keep it alive

Sharpshooters cant easily snipe it, the minigun works like a husk fireball, if it hits you, your ironsights drop and you need to find cover

They are rarer than a Fleshpound, and for potential problems, cannot spawn in solo games, you must have at least 2 players for one to appear

 

[robdude19]

@ Zerethon: Here you're basically talking about a mini-boss, or new boss altogether. Whether this is done as a top-tier specimen or new boss I don't care, I just want it

 

[Johnyfive]

I hate to be a negative Nancy, because it's a very fertile concept to run with, but a "multiple head + boatload of hitpoints" design might take the game in the wrong direction, at least as far as people who don't like 5 SS + 1 XX squads go. On a personal level, I love it, but careful thought should go into the design before we end up with a specimen whose Latin name means, "One more reason to play sharpshooter." Not that I think Twi is going to rip the idea from thread to code, I'm just saying we can't have our cake and eat it too.

 

[robdude19]

I hate to be a negative Nancy, because it's a very fertile concept to run with, but a "multiple head + boatload of hitpoints" design might take the game in the wrong direction, at least as far as people who don't like 5 SS + 1 XX squads go. On a personal level, I love it, but careful thought should go into the design before we end up with a specimen whose Latin name means, "One more reason to play sharpshooter." Not that I think Twi is going to rip the idea from thread to code, I'm just saying we can't have our cake and eat it too.

Hmm, good point. It shouldn't be so tough that you need to shoot the heads to kill the zed, since that would encourage the use of even more M14's, when the original purpose of multiple heads is to prevent one-shotting, thus giving the SS a disadvantage. The zed should rather be EASIER to kill with body shots than shooting all the heads off, which would encourage non-SS weapons. The body toughness should still be enough to make it difficult to kill with M14 body shots from mid-range, probably between the toughness of a husk and scrake.

 

[ANTHEM]

This is single-handedly the best specimen idea I've seen since (not to be self-promoting or anything) my 'Digger' idea which has a specimen that moves underground and grabs your feet, holding you in place (requiring a berserker or melee weapon to kill by arms) or something to that extent. I don't really remember.

Either way, this is PERFECT for the continuation of the story! I mean, the specimen should just start getting odder and more challenging, look at the husk! It's not the hardes thing in the world to kill, but it DOES have a high kill priority and it's pretty painful when they hit you dead on. This thing would just be a beast that could kind of loom over the specimen screaming and shooting bile and **** everywhere. I'd be like "ZOMGLOOKOUT!" and start running at it with my chainsaw.

Really, I love you man.