Weapon Idea: Dual Throwing Axe for Berserker & Firebug

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I held back on registering an account here or providing suggestions for weapons in the recent survey because I didn't have any ideas.

But then I had an idea: flaming throwing axes / hatchets, crossperk for Berserker and Firebug.

The axes can be purchased individually or together like dual pistols. Light and heavy perform how you'd expect -- with dual axes having slightly faster attack rate and the heavy is an overhead dual-axe swing.

They are on fire and do fire DOT like the Ion Thruster.

Using the stab/bash key throws an axe which does melee damage. It will continue its trajectory through small zeds like the seal squeal, or it will hit and fall off of something bigger if it doesn't kill it. In its wake, it leaves a trail of fire. You can throw one axe at a time and you have to pick them up to get them back.

Some other ideas that I passed over: if the flaming isn't cool, electricity or explosion damage could be interesting, but it's harder to imagine in my mind how to balance things. Exploding dual throwing axes? Yeah, maybe not.

Anyway, things I like about this:

- Berserker gets a ranged option that actually feels relevant to the class. As much as I love the frost fang and nail gun, it always feels odd to fire bullets at a zed. Throwing axes with a bit of heft would feel appropriate and the ability to throw one at a time adds a level of variety that isn't present with the current weapon options.
- It's a weapon for firebug that offers parrying and could shake things up for a class whose main operation is just running and gunning (at the feet of zeds). Ammo-free groundfire (like HRG scorcher alt fire) offset by the need to retrieve the axes.

 

[OnionBubs]

See, here's the thing:
This really sounds like a Berserker weapon that just happens to be crossperked with another perk "just because." The big issue with crossperking melee weapons is that only Berserker can use them well (I'm not counting Survivalist because Zerk does everything melee-related better).

This would just be a repeat of the Pulverizer being crossperked on Demo because people clamored for it. It's completely worthless on Demo because Demo gets none of Zerk's damage resistance, extra survivability, speed boosts, melee bonuses, etc...in exchange for slightly bigger blast radius on the heavy attack's explosion. Whee.

Why, as a Firebug--which already has a range advantage on the Berserker, however slight--would I want to take this if I actually wanted to win on anything past Hard? Why would I want to parry on a class that already can put out its own close-range damage to begin with and stagger enemies at close range with Heat Wave? If I wanted to play with anything that involved parrying melee attacks, i'd pick Berserker to begin with.

And what doesn't Firebug have that doesn't already shake things up past the flamethrowers? You have the Spitfires, the Mac10 (even if it sucks, ngl), the HRG M16, the Scorcher (even if it sucks), and the Helios rifle which allow you to play it like a precision class...to a point.