Sharpshooter, the new Zerker?

[brick_top1982]

Before this patch, before any patch, the Zerker was the perk who was capable of dispatching anything and everything by them selfs. Scrakes and Fleshpounds trembled at the sight of a high level zerker with a chainsaw,(or a katana). There was only a few zeds that really got under the skin of a well trained zerker, and thats of course those damn bugs and sirens.

Now with this new patch, and fixed hit boxes, the sharphooter has now filled those shoes, even better so since he can now fell anything with ease at a safe distance. I found that a handcannon, is more than enough to take out a scrake, even on a six man hard game (mag an half with one, or one mag dual). And when those FPs show their ugly heads, I rip it off their shoulders with a xbow.

I'm not going to get into it with the M14, that damn thing is just.... too....sweet.

RIP zerker, we will miss you(or at least I will, used to be my fav perk)

Note:I never ramboed either, always stayed with the team and helped our way to victory.

 

[Nanostrike]

Sharpshooter is no more powerful than the other classes. A clip from the SCAR to the face or a full mag of AA-12 shells to the brainpan will do about the same as a Crossbow hit.

Generally, all the classes but Firebug were upgraded huge, medic got a revamp in the way healing works (IE: The med darts are awesome and the syringe is slow as molasses now) and the Berserker got crippled. Except for that last part, it's all good...

 

[Svetloste]

Sharpshooter is no more powerful than the other classes. A clip from the SCAR to the face or a full mag of AA-12 shells to the brainpan will do about the same as a Crossbow hit.

Generally, all the classes but Firebug were upgraded huge, medic got a revamp in the way healing works (IE: The med darts are awesome and the syringe is slow as molasses now) and the Berserker got crippled. Except for that last part, it's all good...

Firebug was a assy class anyways... i mean the flamer was nothing more then a minor inconvenience for zeds. I wish they would make the LAW way less though..

 

[Moosecat]

Sharpshooter is no more powerful than the other classes. A clip from the SCAR to the face or a full mag of AA-12 shells to the brainpan will do about the same as a Crossbow hit.

Generally, all the classes but Firebug were upgraded huge, medic got a revamp in the way healing works (IE: The med darts are awesome and the syringe is slow as molasses now) and the Berserker got crippled. Except for that last part, it's all good...

Am I the only one who sees an issue in the balancing department with this?

 

[Man And A Half]

A clip from the SCAR to the face or a full mag of AA-12 shells

SCAR reloads with a mag.

 

[<BC>Skulofsplifs]

Sharpshooter is no more powerful than the other classes. A clip from the SCAR to the face or a full mag of AA-12 shells to the brainpan will do about the same as a Crossbow hit.

Generally, all the classes but Firebug were upgraded huge, medic got a revamp in the way healing works (IE: The med darts are awesome and the syringe is slow as molasses now) and the Berserker got crippled. Except for that last part, it's all good...

Am I the only one who sees an issue with this?

 

[Devil_Inside]

My brother plays as sharpshooter, and he says m14 is overpowered as it has too many mags. He doesn't ever have to switch to his secondary because of that. So I would say that reducing the number of mags a Sharpshooter can carry, will balance the things out.
I would also suggest to turn back on the katana's "hold mouse button to swing" option, as right now it seems inconsistent with the rest of the melee weapons when you have to release the mouse button after every single swing. Reduce the damage instead, or the range.

P.S. I play as a commando,so i guess my comments should be quite objective.
P.S.S I would also want to see grenade-launchers grenades be destroyed by sirenas

 

[Jameh]

I've been able to take down ANYTHING in my way (Fleshpounds included) before the update. 3-4 Xbow bolts to the head, 1 for the Scrake, and everything else got the Handcannon. I don't think I ever started a game that I didn't finish with 200+ kills more than the next person below me.

 

[Jabau]

Sharpshooter is no more powerful than the other classes.

Uhm, I'd have to disagree whole-heartedly. Simply fact is that there is absolutely no need for any other class in the game except SharpShooter. 6Man Suicidals have become child's play for Sharp's, much less easier difficulties.

The Crossbow in anyone hands, let alone a Lv6 SharpShooter's, is an extremely, extremely powerful weapon, and basically a must-have now(although sharp+M14 is just as good). They can 1-Shot Kill anything with ease now, with the Crossbow, and the M14 is just crazy, has amazing damage(granted, not as much as Crossbow) and huge ammo efficiency(much much much better efficiency than the SCAR or AA12).

I do see that you said "powerful", and I suppose you can say that Demolitions and whatever can produce that much damage, but none of them can match the "Insta-kill" techniques of the SharpShooter, nor can they produce such ammo efficiency and remove any threat that a 'ZED' may produce.

SharpShooters also have plenty of weapons intergraded into their class, most of which they can carry at one time. That only strengthens them, providing alot of ammo at their disposal and non-stop power.

Overall, with the new Headshot system and "fixed" Hitboxes, the SharpShooter has removed any need for other classes.

 

[_COMRADe]

Uhm, I'd have to disagree whole-heartedly. Simply fact is that there is absolutely no need for any other class in the game except SharpShooter. 6Man Suicidals have become child's play for Sharp's, much less easier difficulties.

The Crossbow in anyone hands, let alone a Lv6 SharpShooter's, is an extremely, extremely powerful weapon, and basically a must-have now(although sharp+M14 is just as good). They can 1-Shot Kill anything with ease now, with the Crossbow, and the M14 is just crazy, has amazing damage(granted, not as much as Crossbow) and huge ammo efficiency(much much much better efficiency than the SCAR or AA12).

I do see that you said "powerful", and I suppose you can say that Demolitions and whatever can produce that much damage, but none of them can match the "Insta-kill" techniques of the SharpShooter, nor can they produce such ammo efficiency and remove any threat that a 'ZED' may produce.

SharpShooters also have plenty of weapons intergraded into their class, most of which they can carry at one time. That only strengthens them, providing alot of ammo at their disposal and non-stop power.

Overall, with the new Headshot system and "fixed" Hitboxes, the SharpShooter has removed any need for other classes.

I'd like to see a Sharpie6 solo Hard mode on ANY level. The only problem with that is that the Sharpie is not a self-sustaining class. It cannot heal itself fast, and the limitations begin to mount as the amount of Specs per wave grows. They can STILL be mobbed by sirens, scrakes, fleshpounds, even gorefasts. If you are truly able to beat a Hard game -by yourself- as Sharpie6, that is a testament to your skill. I'm Sharpie6, and I have yet to accomplish that. (Or try, but I digress.)

Each class excels at something. The sharpie's is for quickly taking out distant zeds before they become a problem. As soon as the swarm is in your face, though, you get completely screwed. It's the same with other classes. Let's go through them: The Sup Spec excels at taking out close-range targets, especially with the new AA12, the Demo excels at taking out groups of enemies, the Commando is fantastic at clearing out hallways of the lesser zeds, as well as saving any classes' *** from stalkers, Berzerkers... Well, berzerkers got screwed last update, and you see where I'm going with this.

However, there is one class that will always excel above other classes at eliminating the NEED for other classes: The medic Lvl6. I was playing through Foundry on Hard during the free weekend and found myself with 120+ extra zeds to deal with because my new teammates died in the first few seconds of combat. I was able to stay alive as medic long enough because of my speed, my armor, my ability to quickly heal- and my ability to always be on the move.

..where was I going with this again?

 

[Demonic]

Medic got nerfed. The FP rush can still maul you.

According to the stickied perk info thread...110% Extra damage with a Sharp weapon HS. The commando doesn't even get a damage bonus at lvl 6 (stays at 50%). And the sharps reload faster/have less recoil than the commando at lvl 6?

Wtf? I thought faster reload and reduced recoil were mainly for the commando...

Also, 3000/3600 stalkers 5.5/5.5 mil dmg. FML

 

[Evilsod]

I'd like to see a Sharpie6 solo Hard mode on ANY level.

I accept. West London, Hard, Long, no mutators.

Fleshpounds were a JOKE. All of them dead in 3-5 shots without them ever raging/hitting me.
Scrakes were a JOKE. All of them dead in 3-5 shots without ever hitting me.
Husks were the ONLY problem, getting long range shots in when i was too busy to shoot them.

Lowest health i hit was 45hp with 0 armour on the 10th wave thanks to a particularly annoying Husk and a nasty back attack by a Gorefast+Crawler.

Oh and the Patriarch for some reason died in a single headshot from the Crossbow and got me the Merry Men achievement ^^

 

[9_6]

I'd like to see a Sharpie6 solo Hard mode on ANY level. The only problem with that is that the Sharpie is not a self-sustaining class. It cannot heal itself fast, and the limitations begin to mount as the amount of Specs per wave grows. They can STILL be mobbed by sirens, scrakes, fleshpounds, even gorefasts. If you are truly able to beat a Hard game -by yourself- as Sharpie6, that is a testament to your skill. I'm Sharpie6, and I have yet to accomplish that. (Or try, but I digress.)

Did you actually beat the hard mode with ANY perk then?
Cause sharpie is pretty much the easiest one to go with if you can aim.
Hell a single crossbow shot makes the patty kneel in hard, solo without even being a sharpshooter.

 

[aesdana]

High level sharpies with m14 - the new katana ninjas.

And I can

 

[DarkFenix]

Um, just the other day I did solo west london suicidal. As level 6 sharpie. It was disgustingly easy using the M14 (crossbow for patty of course). FPs were a joke, 4 shots to the head, off it comes. Scrakes even more so, 3 shots to the head, off it comes. Anything else? One shot kill.

For THREE ROUNDS in the middle I didn't even bother going to the trader because I still had so much ammo and hadn't taken a scratch.

The sharpshooter really is the be-all and end-all of classes now. Before the M14 the sharpie lacked the volume of ammo to really go all out on everything, now the M14 can spray bullets left and right, and still have enough to take down another wave or two.

How to balance it? Simple, cut the M14's ammo, at least by half. perhaps 120 bullets (20 in the mag, 5 spare mags, makes sense) would be better. As it stands I'm constantly in dilemma about what secondary weapon to take, since there is precisely no point in any other sharpie weapon but the M14 when you're using it (so I go for novelty weapons, or go for a full price medic gun for the lulz).

 

[9_6]

Is it just me or does the patty only take 2 headshots from the crossbow in a hard game with 4 players?
Cause that's exactly what just dropped him.
1 shot, kneel, get up, receive second shot, dead.

Also 3 shots off of the m14 take care of scrakes (if you hit the damn head. My allies didn't quite seem to grasp that concept despite all playing sharpie too and mistook that thing for a SCAR or something) and half a mag downs a fleshpound.
Crawlers are pretty much nonexistant because of the precision of hip shots and them going down by 1 body shot and everything else goes down by 2-3 body- or 1 head shot.

Wasn't quite a breeze though, mainly because my 'allies' refused to heal or support me, thought it was a good idea to empty their bullpup/9mm towards fleshpounds and liked to leave me alone all of a sudden with 10 crawlers in my back.
Given those circumstances, it is a wonder I didn't die and I think as any other perk (cept medic, those are walls) I'd have been dead meat.

 

[Nanostrike]

I accept. West London, Hard, Long, no mutators.

Fleshpounds were a JOKE. All of them dead in 3-5 shots without them ever raging/hitting me.
Scrakes were a JOKE. All of them dead in 3-5 shots without ever hitting me.
Husks were the ONLY problem, getting long range shots in when i was too busy to shoot them.

Lowest health i hit was 45hp with 0 armour on the 10th wave thanks to a particularly annoying Husk and a nasty back attack by a Gorefast+Crawler.

Oh and the Patriarch for some reason died in a single headshot from the Crossbow and got me the Merry Men achievement ^^

Yeah, I can do it too, as can many others. The specimen health in solo is so low (solo...so low, get it!?) that a single headshot from the M-14 is devastating, even to Scrakes and FPs. Factor in that the M-14 has a 20-round clip and you have 20 kills per clip, more or less. And with a ton of clips, this means you won't have to use any other gun! Add in the ranged accuracy and the laser sight for close-in...

Most specimens die before they can get anywhere close!

Now, of course, this changes is 6-player hard games, but it's still a very powerful perk. That said, it can't slam the pain down on groups of specimens and it's vulnerable to rushing specimens (THough rushing makes headshots a lot easier in most cases!), so it's not a perfect perk. But damn close!

 

[Dioxin]

Sharpshooter was my first perk to level 5, the sheer efficiency of headshots is immense.

We are aiming for a target considerably smaller than other perks, if we had the additional dmg on headshots removed, would you feel as powerful, I highly doubt it.

We are rewarded for our skill with the headshot, seems fair to me.

 

[9_6]

We are rewarded for our skill with the headshot, seems fair to me.

Nothing wrong with rewarding skill but 300 shots most of which can kill almost all enemies in 1 hit is a bit over the top isn't it?

 

[Devil_Inside]

Nothing wrong with rewarding skill but 300 shots most of which can kill almost all enemies in 1 hit is a bit over the top isn't it?

Agree!