Personally, I believe that Demolitions is the most difficult perk to advance. (And, I'm discounting the time spent when my on-again, off-again web access is off. Again.) This belief is based on the fact that, other than grenades, when playing at Level 4 or less, it might not be until Wave 4 or 5 that you can actually afford to purchase some perked weaponry. Of course, to earn any cash to do that, you either must spend some of your precious treasury on a non-perked weapon, or be lucky enough to come upon a spawned weapon. Item spawns at Hard difficulty and above are, of course, rather sparse.
Furthermore, when finally reaching Level 5, while every other perk, save the Medic, is rewarded with a weapon they could conceivably use for the balance of the game, the Demo receives but a single pipe-bomb. Question: Short of selling it for cash, how much mileage can a Demo garner from a single pipe-bomb in the early stages of a match, (especially on a wide-open/outdoor map), versus what, for example, a Commando can receive with a Bullpup, a Sharpshooter with a LAR, or a Firebug with a flamethrower? Those perks are instant, (and ongoing), killing-machines.
I've long been on-record how utterly ridiculous it is on the manner the specimens will blindly ignore every act of violence directed their way, including pipe-bombs, but will scurry away from a thrown grenade. Some players have apparently perfected this anomaly in zed behavior into an art of skillfully misdirecting the specimens, albeit momentarily. Well, that is simply wonderful, and I sincerely applaud their skill. However, this girl would rather use grenades to simply vaporize them, instead.
So, I'd say, at least for the Demo, this particular specimen characteristic needs to go "bye-bye." At
all Demo perk levels. And, at Level 3, the Demo should spawn with
five grenades. (This would be akin to the 'Bug's grenades becoming incendiary at that level.) At level 5, keep the freakin' pipe-bomb. Instead, I want Aze's
Great Big Pouch of Grenades bonus. Or, the M79.
The M4/203's perked price is simply too high. I don't have a particular number in mind, but it needs to come down, and, more than just a little. I can live with the weapon's weight, and the wonky reloading characteristic of it's grenade launcher, but allow me to purchase more grenades; at least 20 or so. And, don't make them too costly.
What is the deal with the ridiculous recoil and resulting muzzle-climb on this thing? The M203 adds at least a kilogram or more of weight forward of the weapon's CG, so why is it acting like a wannabe anti-aircraft weapon? Is this supposed to be a built-in deterrent to the Demo infringing on other perk's responsibilities? If so, that is just plain lame. Is there anyone really afraid that the Demo is going to "run the table" in 6-player Hard or above, with 300 rounds? Really?
Really?
I view the concept of the M4/203 as a combined offensive/defensive weapons system. Currently, the "M4" part of that system is partially broken. Either tame the recoil some, or go to a 3-round burst. (Which is what the M4 is supposed to have to begin with.)
We've had the introduction of what I would describe as a number of "fantasy" weapons into the game. But, I'm not too fond of just making stuff up out of thin air. I was fine with the Husk launcher being made available; after all, if they had it, why couldn't we? (As an aside, and,
quite off-topic, consider the opposite. What would happen if a Husk took a liking to using a Z.E.D. against the survivors?) Some of the suggestions within this thread are a bit too "fantastic" for me to be enthusiastic about them.
The only real-life weapons I can think of that would bridge the gap between the hand-grenade and the M79 for the Demo would be the Knights Armament pistol-grip jammie for the M203, (think: mini-M79), or, a shotgun loaded with the British developed FRAG-12 ammunition. Both have been suggested before, but were never too well received. The KAC/M203 combo would presumably save a bit of weight, and perhaps be less costly, but would otherwise be quite similar to the M79. Let me find a link...
http://www.knightarmco.com/portfoli...3-accessories&features=standalone-steel-stock[url]http://www.knightarmco.com/portfolio/standalone-steel-stock/?cate_cm=military&term=m203-accessories&features=standalone-steel-stock[/URL]
(Note that Knights doesn't produce the launcher, just the stock.)
The FRAG-12 concept would approximate the Trenchgun/Dragon's Breath combo for the Firebug, a now-established precedent. We wouldn't need a new shotgun, (the Trader menu is a mess as it is), just 12 gauge ammunition with an on-perk, mild explosive characteristic.
