Right now the Stalker is fundamentally the most useless specimen in the game. I honestly cannot fathom what her role is supposed to be. Stalkers spawn from crazy out-of-the-way spots as if to ambush you, but they'll likely just walk directly into your line of fire anyway. Stalkers are faster than Crawlers, but they obviously don't perform even a fraction of the damage or kills that Crawlers can achieve. The Stalker's melee attack is only slightly stronger than Clots, but Clots come in larger numbers, have a grappling ability, and even possess more health. (Seriously!) I won't even go into the Stalker's obscenely drawn out melee attack delay. About the only thing she has going for her is her cloak, but I'm pretty sure anyone who has played knows this hardly manages to fool people. Hence, I have some (relatively minor) suggestion to make the Stalker more useful:
1. For non-Commandos, make the Stalker completely invisible at a distance - Simply put, Stalkers are piss easy to see. There's not enough background noise such as rain, dust, etc. to hide their shimmering figures. Sharpshooters can headshot them easily enough from across the level. Therefore, I suggest for non-Commandos that Stalkers be completely hidden from a distance and only become a visible shadowy figure when within, say, 10 meters. Commandos should still be able to see the shadowy figures from any distance just like now.
2. Allow the Stalker to attack while moving - The July 2nd update that added "random moving attacks" to some specimens to discourage backpeddling/kiting did not apply to the Stalker. Currently the Stalker always has to stand completely still when melee attacking. Even though she's one of the fastest specimens in the game, this weakness combined with the extremely long delay makes her one of the least likely to ever connect with a melee attack. Simple solution: Just give her moving attacks like were given to the Bloat, Gorefast, and Scrake. This shouldn't break balance considering the puny damage the Stalker does (Only 10 on Suicidal).
3. Make her melee attack's screen effect more blinding - If the Stalker actually manages to land a hit, it causes a red screen and scratch mark to appear in the player's view. This is a feature unique to the Stalker. (Only the Bloat's vomit has a similar effect.) However, other than being slightly inconveniencing for a split second, it's virtually pointless. I suggest making this red screen and scratch effect longer and more blinding as if to imply the Stalker is attempting to claw the player's eyes out. This disorientation period would definitely add to the surprise and shock factor that it seems like the Stalker should have.
4. More stealthy behavior - This is probably the most difficult to implement since it requires some AI changes, but I'll mention it anyway. Stalkers aren't particularly effective since they simply charge in a straight line just like every other specimen. In their attempt to make to make a bee line for the players, they're likely to get caught in the crossfire. The cloak doesn't help much when they walk in front of a shotgun blast. I suggest encouraging the Stalkers to stay way from other specimens (i.e. attempt to maintain a minimum area of avoidance, similar to how specimens try to avoid grenades) and, when in close range, try to attack the player from the side or back so they don't unintentionally stumble into gunfire. Stalkers obviously cannot successfully flank the players in every situation, but these minor behavior alterations would go a long way to making the class more effective.
Not only would these changes benefit the class as a whole, but increasing the Stalker's lethality would also help Commandos by making their cloak vision a more valuable skill to the team. Think about it, won't you?
To fulfill a request, I have recorded a video that illustrates many of these problems:
YouTube - Killing Floor - Get Out of Here, Stalkers
1. For non-Commandos, make the Stalker completely invisible at a distance - Simply put, Stalkers are piss easy to see. There's not enough background noise such as rain, dust, etc. to hide their shimmering figures. Sharpshooters can headshot them easily enough from across the level. Therefore, I suggest for non-Commandos that Stalkers be completely hidden from a distance and only become a visible shadowy figure when within, say, 10 meters. Commandos should still be able to see the shadowy figures from any distance just like now.
2. Allow the Stalker to attack while moving - The July 2nd update that added "random moving attacks" to some specimens to discourage backpeddling/kiting did not apply to the Stalker. Currently the Stalker always has to stand completely still when melee attacking. Even though she's one of the fastest specimens in the game, this weakness combined with the extremely long delay makes her one of the least likely to ever connect with a melee attack. Simple solution: Just give her moving attacks like were given to the Bloat, Gorefast, and Scrake. This shouldn't break balance considering the puny damage the Stalker does (Only 10 on Suicidal).
3. Make her melee attack's screen effect more blinding - If the Stalker actually manages to land a hit, it causes a red screen and scratch mark to appear in the player's view. This is a feature unique to the Stalker. (Only the Bloat's vomit has a similar effect.) However, other than being slightly inconveniencing for a split second, it's virtually pointless. I suggest making this red screen and scratch effect longer and more blinding as if to imply the Stalker is attempting to claw the player's eyes out. This disorientation period would definitely add to the surprise and shock factor that it seems like the Stalker should have.
4. More stealthy behavior - This is probably the most difficult to implement since it requires some AI changes, but I'll mention it anyway. Stalkers aren't particularly effective since they simply charge in a straight line just like every other specimen. In their attempt to make to make a bee line for the players, they're likely to get caught in the crossfire. The cloak doesn't help much when they walk in front of a shotgun blast. I suggest encouraging the Stalkers to stay way from other specimens (i.e. attempt to maintain a minimum area of avoidance, similar to how specimens try to avoid grenades) and, when in close range, try to attack the player from the side or back so they don't unintentionally stumble into gunfire. Stalkers obviously cannot successfully flank the players in every situation, but these minor behavior alterations would go a long way to making the class more effective.
Not only would these changes benefit the class as a whole, but increasing the Stalker's lethality would also help Commandos by making their cloak vision a more valuable skill to the team. Think about it, won't you?
To fulfill a request, I have recorded a video that illustrates many of these problems:
YouTube - Killing Floor - Get Out of Here, Stalkers
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