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Tactics HOE 6 person+ Team composition

Bluntman420

Grizzled Veteran
May 21, 2015
336
22
Los Angeles
The title says it all! Share the team configurations that have led you to success on your 6 person+ HOE games.

For me so far: 1) two firebugs, one medic, two gunslingers, and one commando.
2) two firebugs, one medic, two berserkers, and one commando
3) one medic, one firebug, one commando, one gunslinger, one support, and one survivalist

I don't exactly remember the weapons everyone was using, however, as gunslinger I used the dual .500 magnums with a single desert eagle backup; for berserker, I used only a pulverizer; finally, as a medic I used the med AR and focused mainly on healing people (although I did use the extra 20% damage skill for those just in case moments). For the boss as a medic I used the hemogoblin and for the other games I just switched to sharpshooter and bought an M99 (about the only time I think the M99 is worth the dosh).

I find that the .500 magnums are really one of if not the best weapons the game. The pulverizer is extremely effective to slow down that rush of raged zeds on HoE. Lastly, the med AR's healing ability and recharge rate is still the superior healing choice imo. I don't use the hemogoblin very much but I have benefitted from others using it, it is a great supporting weapon for bleeding out the big zeds.
 
I thought this was an interesting topic actually, surprised more haven't chipped in! Do you think at least 1 firebug is essential for a definite win? Usually, if my regular 'squad' play we'll have 1 zerk (me but i also do commando and SS) 1-2 supports, 1 commando and one SS. Possibly a firebug to that squad though, we find they can often do the same job 2 players can do in holding spots.

My friends are all excellent with medic pistols so we dont need a medic although they are definitely great to have. I find my SS mate stuns big guys with xbow, and i overhand with Zwei into their head , (same tactic when I'm mando except with Scar) until its decapped. Xbow plus Zwei is pretty brutal for taking them down imo :)
 
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callumg1988;n2321509 said:
I thought this was an interesting topic actually, surprised more haven't chipped in! Do you think at least 1 firebug is essential for a definite win? Usually, if my regular 'squad' play we'll have 1 zerk (me but i also do commando and SS) 1-2 supports, 1 commando and one SS. Possibly a firebug to that squad though, we find they can often do the same job 2 players can do in holding spots.

My friends are all excellent with medic pistols so we dont need a medic although they are definitely great to have. I find my SS mate stuns big guys with xbow, and i overhand with Zwei into their head , (same tactic when I'm mando except with Scar) until its decapped. Xbow plus Zwei is pretty brutal for taking them down imo :)

Yeah, I feel that firebug is a pretty critical class right now. Mainly due to the vulnerability to fire that was added to the EDARs and the buff to the microwave gun. What the successful teams I've been on do is keep everything off balance, including the EDARs, therefore we're not constantly getting bombarded. The microwave blast is really helpful as you get charged by the big zeds. Firebug has always been a good trash perk but now I think they're vital to countering the EDARs.

When I play berserker, I either hold the line to prevent a flood of crap and allow superior firepower to have their way or I roam around and knock down bloats, EDAR.

Having a commando to extend zed time has saved my behind more times than I can remember. Granted, sometimes commando doesn't work with the spots, most of the time they work though.

Supports are fairly critical too with their ability to deal damage on big zeds.

A question for you: Outside of the xbow/zwei combo, how are you making SS work? As someone who plays SS a lot, I am finding it increasingly difficult to play on most official maps and I tend to leave it to the end when I buy the M99 for ultimate damage.

EDIT: Forgot to add, demo can really have their way on certain maps and spots.
 
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Yeah every time one of my mates uses one he gets a staggering kill count. Tbh we havent played many 10 wave games since update and i didnt know that about fire and EDAR. Yeah with zerk i generally hover at least a few meters in front of my comrades (will guard doors if possible), mainly as a buffer if big stuff pushes through i can fall back to a line of firepower (usually SS and support) and like you I'll target bloats, and i find with Zwei i can one shot alphas, bloats, Sirens so will (literally) headhunt them if i see them

I actually havent played SS solidly for ages and not in a team with this new update. When i play SS with other SS mate we generally target one thing at a time, i use all left skills except tac reload, so I'm a heavy hitter when crouched and stationary, we drop big guys very quickly when you have two xbows smashing a head. Do you find EDARS hard to knock out with melee? The trappers i seem to be able to smack their heads effectively, but the other EDARs soak up my strikes like its nothing, what do you aim for?

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callumg1988;n2321560 said:
Yeah every time one of my mates uses one he gets a staggering kill count. Tbh we havent played many 10 wave games since update and i didnt know that about fire and EDAR. Yeah with zerk i generally hover at least a few meters in front of my comrades (will guard doors if possible), mainly as a buffer if big stuff pushes through i can fall back to a line of firepower (usually SS and support) and like you I'll target bloats, and i find with Zwei i can one shot alphas, bloats, Sirens so will (literally) headhunt them if i see them

I actually havent played SS solidly for ages and not in a team with this new update. When i play SS with other SS mate we generally target one thing at a time, i use all left skills except tac reload, so I'm a heavy hitter when crouched and stationary, we drop big guys very quickly when you have two xbows smashing a head. Do you find EDARS hard to knock out with melee? The trappers i seem to be able to smack their heads effectively, but the other EDARs soak up my strikes like its nothing, what do you aim for?

Yeah, they're tough. 99% of the time as zerk, I am using the pulverizer which I think has the best knockdown capabilities of all the zerker weapons. You can knock down everything with ease except SC's, QP's, and FP's. What I do is I use it unloaded and use the heavy attack on everything but QP's and FP's. Once in a while I'll use it on a big crowd of zeds. With the pulverizer I aim for the heads mainly as that is the best way to knock them down.

However, if I was to use the zwei or another weapon, I would aim for the body on the EDARs, specifically the torso/chest area, that is their weak spot. The most effective zerk weapon on the EDARs are the static strikers, the heavy static attack is excellent for those damn toasters and it doesn't really matter where you hit them with it. As they say in pokemon, it's "super effective" lol. Their heavy static attack also stuns the big zeds but I find the pulverizer to be more effective (I might just need to use them more).

Edit: I think bash has become more crucial than ever for zerks as parrying requires more timing and is more difficult to execute. Bash does a great job in keeping things off balance.
 
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The most fullproof way seems to be going full zerkers (+medipistols) with maybe a medic in there as well. It's the most reliable way to win as far as I have seen (which is a shame as I prefer holding out to kiting), but with this comp you can just... run away from all your problems and have the most survivability of arguably any class.

Plus it's very resilient to taking losses. If you have 2 firebugs, 2 medics and 2 sharps (for example) and both sharps die... you're in a real pickle. If everyone's a zerk and you lose a couple of guys, no problem.
 
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I usually only play Hell on Earth with friends, and our team usually consists of one Berserker, one Commando, one Support, one Medic, and two Demolitionists as it makes our victories much easier. While we allow ourselves to be flexible with perk choices, the Commando and the Medic are staple perks in our team for obvious reasons (Stalker/Patriarch detection and team healing). We have a much harder time clearing non-boss waves without two Demolitionists, though.
 
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