Overall, I love the installation of the new mode. The potential is great!
(resetting key binds/talents for ALL classes is very frustrating FYI)
How does queuing work? I was running around as Kruber in the new hub/den and after a minute waiting to load into a match… I spawned as an elf, which i didn’t set talents for yet, this is brutal!!!
New Players may not realize that every class needs their talents set! This brings up a question of talents in themselves. SHOULD versus have talents for U5? This is a huge advantage, would you add talents for the rats to counter??
Before I get to far into this let me backtrack… the new lobby/den area is amazing for the versus game type. I love it! I suggest having the U5 trapped as prisoners! We should be the rats in this section, its versus!
Additionally, players need to be able to practice all the different types of specials so we can become comfortable before playing. The first 2-10 games are simply learning the mechanics/controls for the rats. Some players will get frustrated and quit after the first few times! Can we have an arena in this new rat den(hub) to figure things out?
About how the rats work… rats need a basic melee! give us a slap to do damage!
- The basic attack mechanic (for rat spawn) needs work… Holding down left click to pounce,rev ratling gun, warp fire, gas bomb is frustrating.
My suggestion? Remove the charge up time completely and have the action happen immediately.
OK RATS!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratling gunner should NOT run out of ammo, the second you get a good position, a good angle, you run out of ammo? what? really? I think a good solution is the longer you shoot the slower you can target/aim to follow heroes. This allows for a fun dynamic with the ratling gunners able the pin corners, and cover fire. Yes I think there should eventually be an overheat meter(maybe equal to the original ratlin gunner for consistency) , but the current duration of fire is too short.
Hunter Assassins should not have to hold to pounce. This is extremely silly. A left click leap! A right click slash, no downtime! The Hunter assassin needs a melee attack. Go back to L4D to examine how the hunter worked, The hunter in L4D was Crouch+Left Click = Pounce. Every time you landed you were in Crouch position, so you could chain pounces until you hit, OR Run away. This created a fun mechanic where the attacking Hunter could get out! Additionally, if the hunter was standing up, they could left click and melee attack. The Assassin rat has 2 warpstone claws, they need to be able to swipe and attack.
Warp Fire Thrower is fun! I’ve only got close a few times to be impactful, but I can see good players being very successful with this rat.
Hook Rat (packmaster) Okay this is where the rubber meets the road. Its very hard for the packmaster to close distance. Yes, players need to get creative, or wait for a horde, but the game doesn’t explain how to grab enemies. Also how do we stand them up on our stick? I would like the hook rat to have the ability to call for the horde. they are a Pack master after all.
Gas Rat Currently the most used, as they are the most difficult to kill. They can lob gas over ledge and section off areas. This is good! The gas damage is not enough to dissuade Heroes from running through but they are very fun. Also How do we charge and overload/suicide into enemies? I would love to be able to throw a bomb and then charge, creating 2 AOE’s.
Currently, The overall feel during matches is the Heroes(U5) are waiting with range to pick-off the rat spawn. This is very fun for heroes! You just get to dumpster on the rats as they try and peek. This is the core issue for the Rat swarm.
Things that need improvement:
- Why did you change emote menu? I would like to annoy the rats by emoting when they die!
- Why did you change ping system? this makes no sense!
- The wind-up/charge time for various weapons seems off/frustrating
- Spawning for the Rats Should be auto assigned. (also include the chaos specials please)
Or at the very least, have the AI be chaos spawned, they seem to do just fine AI controlled during matches
-More Stormvermin, beefy units
Overall, the Heroes need to be slowed down, the Rat Swarm should be cherries on top of the carnage. There simply need to be more stuff for the Heroes to kill. I hope you look at the success rate for heroes and realize the extreme challenge the rat-team has to face.
My Solutions!/Suggestions
Have a pre-match lobby with a hero veto/vote. I am seeing a lot of Ranger bardin/wood elf/ range first characters. This could help keep matches unique.
Have a pre-match map selection.
Have pre-set hero combinations before the match starts, FS get creative! Maybe pair 2 bardins and 2 krubers together for the U5 team, IDK break the mold with this mode!
Allow Rat team to play rat ogre. Some of the most fun moment while playing L4d is being told you are spawning as a boss! Super hype!
More Stormvermin/elites/hordes. the current player base is chewing through these levels! slow them down!
RAT SWARM DIALOGUE…… do i need to say more?? (what would 2 rats even talk about?) How FUN would these conversations be? We do have about 1-2minutes before the heroes can run outside when the game starts…
Chaos Specials? when can we play them? the rotbloods are key to the synergy of the rats…
Hope this helps improve the experience! Thanks for taking time to read it you did!
. How did I not see that is wild!