Okay, maybe this is just me, but after playing over 1,000 hours on this game, I can safely say that Patriarch and Hans account for approximately 70-80% of my losses that have occurred on Boss Waves. Sure, I've lost to one of the other three plenty of times, but I always breathe a sigh of relief if I see that I'm not stuck with one of those original two boneheads. Getting them as the boss is practically a death sentence.
Yes, I know I need to "git gud" and play around cover and such, and I have spent a good deal of time looking up the various strategies for both bosses. However, the one major thing that stands out to me that makes them feel unfair is their melee damage. I'm fine with having to play around their ranged attacks (although those are still borderline overpowered; Patty's rockets or a direct hit from one or two late-stage Hans greandes can insta-kill you, and getting caught out of cover while they're using the chaingun or rifles means you'll get mowed down in a matter of seconds).
I feel like it's not too much to ask that we shave 30% or so off of their melee damage, and maybe tone down the massive knockback a bit, especially on the Patriarch. With such powerful ranged options at their disposal, it seems unfair for them to also sprint SO fast and have such massive melee damage and knockback. Cover is the primary defense against them, but if they get close enough to lunge at you, the knockback can send you flying so far that you have no hope of reaching another piece of cover before it's too late, not to mention that half of your health or more will be gone. Patty can also shoot you with rockets or the chaingun almost IMMEDIATELY after knocking you 50 feet away from your cover, which is just lame.
Add to that the fact that they are the only two bosses that can actually heal themselves - and THREE TIMES at that - and they seemingly have no weakness. If you manage to stop the Patriarch before he heals, which is a toss-up at best, then it's an easy takedown. But if you're playing solo, that's nearly impossible to do. And while Hans is a piece of cake on solo, I think we can all agree that Hans is one of the most - if not THE most - difficult boss on multiplayer. (Why his health pool is so small on solo and becomes so massive on multiplayer is beyond me.)
I just find that it makes the game feel un-fun and unfair/unbalanced sometimes when Hans and Patriarch can one-shot you at range and STILL hit like a freakin' semi truck at melee distance. It's ridiculous that they can hit just as hard or harder than King FP; I mean, he's supposed to be the KING of melee, but he ends up being so much easier due to his lack of any sort of range apart from his laser (which can be easily avoided by simply crouching). Hans is particularly egregious in this area, as his melee damage during his final "red health" stage seems to just get buffed out the wazoo.
The other three bosses are more fun to play against, because I feel like I usually have at least somewhat of a fair chance against them. This is because they mostly have ONE major strength that you have to learn to play around, rather than the THREE that Hans and Patty have (range, melee, AND healing). With King and Abomination, you know that you need to stay out of melee range at all costs. They still have one or two ranged options (laser, barf, and little green crap-dudes), but they have armor or shielding rather than healing, and it's possible to keep them at bay more easily if you can stay one step ahead. Matriarch is kind of the opposite, where her ranged attacks are the biggest threat. But as long as you can kite her around cover to avoid that, you can be pretty sure that you won't suddenly find yourself rag-dolling on the Defeat screen if she DOES manage to land a couple of melee hits.
This was very long-winded, for which I apologize. But:
TLDR: I feel it's not too much to ask for a reasonable nerf to Hans' and Patty's melee damage - somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30% reduction - and maybe at least a slight reduction in their melee knockback. It would feel refreshing to fight them knowing that they have at least one SLIGHT disadvantage, rather than the dread I feel almost every time they show up.
Yes, I know I need to "git gud" and play around cover and such, and I have spent a good deal of time looking up the various strategies for both bosses. However, the one major thing that stands out to me that makes them feel unfair is their melee damage. I'm fine with having to play around their ranged attacks (although those are still borderline overpowered; Patty's rockets or a direct hit from one or two late-stage Hans greandes can insta-kill you, and getting caught out of cover while they're using the chaingun or rifles means you'll get mowed down in a matter of seconds).
I feel like it's not too much to ask that we shave 30% or so off of their melee damage, and maybe tone down the massive knockback a bit, especially on the Patriarch. With such powerful ranged options at their disposal, it seems unfair for them to also sprint SO fast and have such massive melee damage and knockback. Cover is the primary defense against them, but if they get close enough to lunge at you, the knockback can send you flying so far that you have no hope of reaching another piece of cover before it's too late, not to mention that half of your health or more will be gone. Patty can also shoot you with rockets or the chaingun almost IMMEDIATELY after knocking you 50 feet away from your cover, which is just lame.
Add to that the fact that they are the only two bosses that can actually heal themselves - and THREE TIMES at that - and they seemingly have no weakness. If you manage to stop the Patriarch before he heals, which is a toss-up at best, then it's an easy takedown. But if you're playing solo, that's nearly impossible to do. And while Hans is a piece of cake on solo, I think we can all agree that Hans is one of the most - if not THE most - difficult boss on multiplayer. (Why his health pool is so small on solo and becomes so massive on multiplayer is beyond me.)
I just find that it makes the game feel un-fun and unfair/unbalanced sometimes when Hans and Patriarch can one-shot you at range and STILL hit like a freakin' semi truck at melee distance. It's ridiculous that they can hit just as hard or harder than King FP; I mean, he's supposed to be the KING of melee, but he ends up being so much easier due to his lack of any sort of range apart from his laser (which can be easily avoided by simply crouching). Hans is particularly egregious in this area, as his melee damage during his final "red health" stage seems to just get buffed out the wazoo.
The other three bosses are more fun to play against, because I feel like I usually have at least somewhat of a fair chance against them. This is because they mostly have ONE major strength that you have to learn to play around, rather than the THREE that Hans and Patty have (range, melee, AND healing). With King and Abomination, you know that you need to stay out of melee range at all costs. They still have one or two ranged options (laser, barf, and little green crap-dudes), but they have armor or shielding rather than healing, and it's possible to keep them at bay more easily if you can stay one step ahead. Matriarch is kind of the opposite, where her ranged attacks are the biggest threat. But as long as you can kite her around cover to avoid that, you can be pretty sure that you won't suddenly find yourself rag-dolling on the Defeat screen if she DOES manage to land a couple of melee hits.
This was very long-winded, for which I apologize. But:
TLDR: I feel it's not too much to ask for a reasonable nerf to Hans' and Patty's melee damage - somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30% reduction - and maybe at least a slight reduction in their melee knockback. It would feel refreshing to fight them knowing that they have at least one SLIGHT disadvantage, rather than the dread I feel almost every time they show up.