As of the last couple of years, this perk has been at the forefront of my brain regarding the game's design and such, it's just that any real balancing discussions have been superseded by far more pressing matters such as Field Medic, Berserker, etc.
The TL;DR of all of this is that at this current point in time, I don't have a clear vision on how TWI wants the class to be played, what vision they have for it, or what they want to do with it. Hear me out.
So back in the old, old days of Early Access, we had a little patch called the Incinerate 'n' Detonate Update which introduced Firebug and Demo into the game (and Berserker became the monster that it remained for several years, but let's ignore that for now). Firebug was a walking monstrosity and was, at the time, the single strongest force in the entire game. Meanwhile, Demo was mostly pitiful due to a litany of issues:
Firebug got toned down in general and the Microwave Gun was changed so that it no longer gobbled everything despite not having to aim, Demo's weapons all got tweaked, and most importantly, Demo's skill tree got reworked into (mostly) the current version we have today.
While I have to admit the current iteration of Demo is much better on the whole, the current design of Demo is also contentious for different reasons.
For the record: I get a lot of mixed signals in this game when it comes to "intent vs. execution" on different perks. Few of them hit my alarm bells on this front harder than Demo, insofar as actual specialist perks (I'm not counting Survivalist) are concerned. Much of what I perceive about Demo's current incarnation points to it being designed as "the RPG specialist." Take a look at its original redesigned skill tree (see attachment):
What can we infer from this?
And we're supposed to be getting a version of the Sentinel that shoots explosives (and presumably can rage large Zeds, trigger Destroyer of Worlds, etc.) coming down the pipeline! It's no wonder the perk is as much of a mess as it is; the entire design direction of the perk has been a complete 180 from when it was first reworked! As pub games go, the entire point of the perk is to spam the Kaboomstick and whatever other weapon you feel like because there are no rules anymore.
All of this to say: What is the intended principle behind Demo as seen from the devs' perspective today? What can be done to steer players in the direction of using as the originally designed explosive-combo takedown perk it was conceived as?
I have a couple of initial thoughts:
The TL;DR of all of this is that at this current point in time, I don't have a clear vision on how TWI wants the class to be played, what vision they have for it, or what they want to do with it. Hear me out.
So back in the old, old days of Early Access, we had a little patch called the Incinerate 'n' Detonate Update which introduced Firebug and Demo into the game (and Berserker became the monster that it remained for several years, but let's ignore that for now). Firebug was a walking monstrosity and was, at the time, the single strongest force in the entire game. Meanwhile, Demo was mostly pitiful due to a litany of issues:
- On its small list of weapons (which at the time included the HX-25, C4, M79, and RPG), few of them were capable of reliably killing much of anything; starter Demo was considered a liability to the team because it was comparatively that helpless.
- You couldn't pair the M79 with the RPG (which was a deliberate decision).
- The perk had an issue with disappearing projectiles where your shots would literally come out and vanish into thin air.
- I don't even think the RPG got the Scrake damage multiplier until a later patch.
- The skill tree was kind of a mess. This was a running theme with the early access perks, but Demo's was really bad:
- Dynamite exploding on contact was one of the Lv 5 skill tree choices instead of a passive skill, opposite Grenade Supplier (yes, the resupply skill was also originally an active skill choice, not a passive)
- Lv 10 offered a choice between extra explosive resistance or Reactive Armor (yep, that wasn't a passive)
- Lv 15 offered Siren Resistant Rounds vs. Door Traps (yep, those weren't a passive)
- Lv 20 was truly unusual in that it offered extra damage with off-perk weapons vs. extra damage with on-perk weapons. I suppose the intent here was that Off-Perk was meant for RPG/C4/Deagle users, but I honestly can't remember any other perk having an option like this.
- Lv 25 was basically the same option as it remains today--Nuke vs. Concussive Rounds--but the important thing to note is why that distinction was so relevant. Nuke used to utterly waste anything and it was technically the strongest thing in the game. It later got patched with an explosive radius nerf to this, but you can hopefully see why this might be problematic nonetheless.
- The C4 was considered the premier weapon for Demo to master, but here's the thing: C4 (up to today) is the biggest culprit of having hidden mechanics that aren't made apparent to the player. I'm going to be coming back to this because it's one of the main reasons Demo has never quite agreed with pubs in the same way expert players understand the perk.
Firebug got toned down in general and the Microwave Gun was changed so that it no longer gobbled everything despite not having to aim, Demo's weapons all got tweaked, and most importantly, Demo's skill tree got reworked into (mostly) the current version we have today.
While I have to admit the current iteration of Demo is much better on the whole, the current design of Demo is also contentious for different reasons.
For the record: I get a lot of mixed signals in this game when it comes to "intent vs. execution" on different perks. Few of them hit my alarm bells on this front harder than Demo, insofar as actual specialist perks (I'm not counting Survivalist) are concerned. Much of what I perceive about Demo's current incarnation points to it being designed as "the RPG specialist." Take a look at its original redesigned skill tree (see attachment):
What can we infer from this?
- Up until the very recent release of the HRG Medic Missile, it was the perk with the sole honor of having an on-perk weapon--the RPG--with a specifically coded 400% damage bonus against Scrakes while also having a damage type that Fleshpounds are weak against. So anti-large Zed.
- The entire left-side tree is designed to burst-damage large Zeds with the multiplicative bonuses.
- Destroyer of Worlds was toned down from "kills everything" to "adds a chokepoint lockdown that will conveniently eliminate trash near the large threat, but not to the degree of being a complete win button on everything."
- Extra Rounds only gives five shots because it was designed with the RPG in mind, and so Demo doesn't become a complete spamfest on other weapons (hence why there's no percent and it's a flat value).
- Fragmentation Rounds has a decreased damage multiplier so players don't kill themselves with splash damage, and so players don't use the skill with the intent of running the RPG as an anti-trash weapon since that wasn't its intended design.
- Shock Trooper and Concussive Rounds in tandem with weapons like the M79 and M32 create an extremely annoying combination where Demos will knock things down repeatedly but not actually kill most of them. Not only does this make Demo terrible at its intended role, but it also makes life harder for most perks in general since Zeds will be flopping everywhere, making them less predictable and harder to shoot, and generally only serves to prime the pump for raged HVTs.
- Mad Bomber has its practical uses and there is genuine discussion on its value in Demo's intended anti-HVT role, but it becomes apparent from seeing it used that it was also designed as a spam-friendly skill.
- The M79 was given a weight reduction because players wanted to spam it with the RPG, despite that making Demo worse at its intended role and usually was only run by players who had no idea what they were doing.
- The Pulverizer exists because players wanted it for fun more than anything, despite it being easily one of Demo's worst options in the game.
- The Seeker Six was IIRC the first weapon to be given to Demo, and was originally so bad that it was considered a throw pick weapon. It has since been buffed multiple times to be "viable, but still not great" and is run by players who enjoy spamming.
- The M16/M203 was added as a self-defense option for Demo with the principle that it couldn't be run with the RPG. It was justifiably bad as you improved at the game and understood Demo's role better.
- The M32 remains a contentious weapon to this day, as unlike in KF1, it's mediocre at everything and is saddled with a long reload time.
- The Seal Squeal, Husk Cannon, HRG Crossboom, HRG Tommy Boom, and ZED MkIII are all very spam-oriented gimmick weapons that are either entirely ineffective against large Zeds or are so situational the opportunity for anti-HVT use might as well not exist.
- Blunderbuss can be useful at anti-HVT work but is largely considered a gimmick weapon.
- The HRG Kaboomstick goes against everything the original version of Demo stood for. On a perk that was designed to be a slow glass cannon disadvantaged at point-blank range in exchange for having a far higher skill floor in not having to aim:
- It offers a flat upgrade in damage over the HX-25
- It reloads effectively as fast as the HX-25
- It offers insane close-range damage while also not hurting the user (which goes against all other weapons on Demo)
- It offers Demo a huge mobility boost in the form of shotgun jumps, with everything that entails
- It is light enough to be carried with the RPG (which was a deliberate design choice) so you can get the easiest burst damage weapon in the game along with another incredibly easy burst-damage weapon that counteracts most of its problems
- It has so much knockback that anything which doesn't immediately die from its volley is guaranteed to stumble, meaning you can spam it at something like Scrakes--which are supposed to be resistant to explosives--for a very safe if not always efficient kill
- It hurts Demo's potential anti-HVT output--to a point--in exchange for making Demo ridiculously easy to play overall
- The Gravity Imploder isn't just bad, it's arguably one of the worst designed weapons in the entire game.
- It's only useful against the lowest of trash, which is opposite Demo's intended role
- Its behavior with regard to repositioning Zeds is extremely hard to predict, if not impossible at times, which is a problem since:
- It can not only obstruct teams, but be an active hindrance by pulling in QPs and such to the rest of the team
- It is a nightmare for anyone running precision perks to play around due to the particle effects, the Zeds warping around unpredictably, and so forth
And we're supposed to be getting a version of the Sentinel that shoots explosives (and presumably can rage large Zeds, trigger Destroyer of Worlds, etc.) coming down the pipeline! It's no wonder the perk is as much of a mess as it is; the entire design direction of the perk has been a complete 180 from when it was first reworked! As pub games go, the entire point of the perk is to spam the Kaboomstick and whatever other weapon you feel like because there are no rules anymore.
All of this to say: What is the intended principle behind Demo as seen from the devs' perspective today? What can be done to steer players in the direction of using as the originally designed explosive-combo takedown perk it was conceived as?
I have a couple of initial thoughts:
- Nerf the Kaboomstick in a manner similar to the Locust. An across-the-board tamp-down. This weapon offers way too much for how easy it is to spam and honestly I can understand why most players run it, in the same way I can see why players run the Healthrower or the Locust on those respective perks.
- Either add some tooltips or store descriptions (easiest to implement) for the C4 to indicate that it loses efficiency when detonated back-to-back. Something like "Horzine safety protocols built into the C4 lessen the payload when multiple charges are detonated in short order", and a loading screen tip that says "As Demolitionist, try to space out your C4 detonations for maximum yield."
- Ditto for the RPG letting players know it is designed to kill Scrakes with headshots akin to a sniper rifle payload.
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