Use a weapon with a decent push. I main Veteran, but all of my other Classes are also maxed out and I’ll tell you that knives are not it for Poxbursters on any Class.
Ogryn Cleavers are… fine for it, I suppose - but the Veteran Mk VII and both of the new Ogryn Shovels are top-tier pushing weapons. Seriously, I can push Poxbursters THROUGH enemies with them via a domino effect and it’s saved me so many times.
For Zealot, my advice is to use Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude and dodge after they’ve been stunned and they should explode - if they stay stunned and don’t explode, tag it and hope someone’s paying attention or kill it yourself after CoSF is over. Throwing knives are very good for it.
You can pop Infil when running it with Toughness DR node + iron will to do the same.
Don’t loiter around or camp spawn points, the director loves to pop multiple of them in it if you stay close for too long or will have them sneak up on you from a different spawn.
Double tap shove them, if you’re lucky it’ll push them further than a single push.
It’s fine to shoot them, and sometimes preferrable to letting them get close to the team, just make sure no allies are going for the shove.
If you know a conga line is about to hit but you need to switch targets to shoot something else you can pop a grenade where you expect them to pop the entire line.
Wherever safe, always try to go for the push proactively, don’t wait for it to get close to the team.
Sometimes you gotta be the guy that jumps on the grenade for the team (ie you’re closest) get to it ASAP and go for the push or kill even if it kills you. It’s worth it as long as you’re the only one getting hit vs it getting you and another teammate or the entire team.
Don’t be a killfeed hound, if someone’s closer let them go for the push and back up in case they f@ck up and make sure nothing tries to interrupt him. Otherwise if they’re being a b@tch and backing up too go in and do it yourself.
If they’re about to pop too close to you and can’t dodge back far enough get solid cover between you and it, if you time it right it’ll dive into the opposite side and explode without harming you. Doesn’t matter how sus the cover looks, just get something between you and it, even enemies work. In the latter case you’ll still take DMG, but it’ll be less.
When covering an avenue of approach always focus them over other specials first unless you’re dueling a sniper or a grenadier is about to pop a grenade on your position.
Always tag them even if you’re about to kill them, ALWAYS TAG! If multiple are coming at you, tag one, then the other. Let the team know they’re coming, never lose track of one, or, worse, multiple pox bursters, always know where they are, especially if you can’t get them or go out to get them right away.
Push alone usually doesn’t do the trick, push and backward dodge are the key to avoiding damage from them… or popping them before they get in range.
I don’t use the thrown knives (which is what I’m assuming you’re asking with the last bit), so I’m unsure if those are useful (I somehow doubt it given that they can soak up some damage if you’re not hitting their heads).
Shotguns in DT have a surprisingly decent range, they’re good for staggering enemies at range (except a select few). Lawbringer’s alt has fairly high stagger.
Revolver is a good alternative as well (not the braced revolver), plus revolvers will just let you clear specials and elites in 1-2 shots for most, harder targets will likely take the whole cylinder.
Pairs of bursters are best dealt with at a distance, if you hear multiple bomb ticking noises, don’t engage super hard and keep on overwatch (within reason). Worst case you only kill one and can still push the other, or can push and tank the damage so your team doesn’t have to.
Similarly to that point, if a burster is audible, don’t burn your stamina, use less push heavy combos and blocking strategy to avoid a hard engage until the burster is dealt with.
Kite flames or kill flamer, go for push. If you can’t do either push and dodge, taking some flamer damage isn’t as bad as your whole team getting stripped of toughness.
Knives as in melee? Yes, they’re just as good as all other melees, just throw in a dodge backwards. Throwing knives? They will one shot with a headshot, aim slightly left of center if its facing you, and a little over the head, and you’ll nail em everyone with a little practice.
Very true, mostly just wanted to provide the general idea that adapting your immediate playstyle for an impending issue could save frustration. Many a time have I felt like there was an empty football stadium between us, only to get splash zone tickets to castle bravo.
Don’t trust your teammates.
I have seen people face tanking them too often.
some mess up their pushes and some just blind and deff.
Always go for the push yourself regardless of bursters target, or get away from it, if you are not targeted and have enaugh space.
If it possible to shoot it, better shoot it.
Because at least one of your teammates will.
And they might not see you going for the push fast enough, because of reduced FOV in ADS.
You can also safely blow up bursters through the walls with mele, if it thin enough for your melee reach.
When pushing with knives you run in, push and dodge backwards as you push. Your dodge instance alone is more than enough to get you out of harms way.
You have to watch out for dodging backwards on stairs though, as the momentum and distance can propel you out so far that you can get ledge’d.
Dodging backwards is also the trick to effectively pushing poxbursters on any bad push weapon.
A headshot can onetap them, but it is highly inconsistent. Pushing is generally the correct choice. Unless your teammates are brain damaged and shoot them right in your face. Which these days happens to be the case 90% of the time. So if you spot them early, and the distance is large enough just shoot em. No risk that way.
Stealth bursters, everyone’s favourite enemy.
For melee knives:
There’s a curious interaction, maybe depending on the server, where if you move fast enough, you can push them and dodge out of range before they trigger their arming sequence, and then they fall over without exploding.
Which sadly means they’ll stand up again.
Others have mentioned the interaction with Voice of Command, which obviously also goes for Chorus of Spiritual Fortude: If you have toughness above 100%, and you get hit, that hit can’t harm your health. It allows you, and potentially other teammates, to tank a burster, no side effects.
If you time it right, you could potentially trigger them, then get overshield, or just push them with the ability before backing up and hitting them with a ranged weapon.
You use knives. Skill issue. Real ones use weapons that actually control crowds or kill big enemies like the Shovel or Heavy Eviscerator. They’re also the most versatile weapons in each respective class, whilst all knife builds are the same.
Seriously, if you can’t dodge away from such a generous push with a Heavy Eviscerator, what would you be doing playing a game like this? Knives are such a crutch for certain types of players.