I think the new shield enemies are a great addition to the game, but I’m afraid all the people complaining about them are just going to get the enemy nerfed and then we’ll just end up with another plasma gunner situation.
Fatshark please don’t nerf the new enemy yet, people constantly whine and complain about things before they even try to adapt to them.
Honestly I dont think anyone would want them nerfed if they were just called elites. The fact they are considered chaff means they cant be tagged and arent effected by effects that trigger on elites. So they have the toughness of a elite while not being an elite, its just weird. If they just made them a bit taller (same as shotgunners) and maybe give them shock mauls instead of normal club, then called them elites there would be no issues
my issue is the 0.5x ws mod
They’re great. I am actually surprised at how much I like them. Put them in psykhanium pls!
They’re a fine addition to the game but they need some tweaking, right now their effective hp is nearly that of a bulwark, yet they are more numerous and they cannot be pinged which means you can’t trigger the servo skull noonspheric command on them, and arbites can’t send their dogs to pin. Their hp needs a nerf, or make them drop their shields after one attack. Right now they’re too disruptive, and not in a fun way.
If they were elites it would be a buff to players… also the ping would be a little annoying since they aren’t as impactful as any other elite so not really a good dog/focus fire/awareness target. Idk about the no sphere thing!
I think they are just new, maybe a little beefy, and only actively annoying until you work out the counterplay and adapt.
Put them in the meat grinder 100%
There is no “counterplay”. They have high base hp, and even higher effective hp due to the 0.5 reduction on damage taken on the head (which is the only weakspot you can realistically see while the shield is up). Breaking the shield does nothing other than leave you with an unreasonably spongy enemy to still kill.
Exactly my fear. They probably do need some polish but the community needs to adapt to them before decisions are made about their power level.
Honestly yes, they made horde so much more engaging to fight
There is absolutely counterplay… For instance, there’s additional motivation to help your teammates out when they are pinned by shield wielders. Or reward for a player for getting in behind a horde. Or properly targeting to maximise cleave in a now-mixed horde. Or deciding when to break/circumnavigate a shield enemy/enemies..
Encouraging more co-op organically is welcome! Too bad it came out on the same patch that tanked coherency 
Great enemies. I’ve finally played through all difficulties today and Havoc 30-31 as Skitarii. These two new enemies were completely fine in my opinion. They reward players who bring weapons with more crowd control so you lock them in with stuns. They are basically “the last man standing” horde enemy. You clear the horde and you see 2-3 of them still alive.
Though I think DOTs counter them all the same? Not sure, didn’t play every class yet. But if DOTs are more effective than just fighting them in melee, maybe they need a slight nerf.
I’m a bit afraid the devs will overnerf them, but it’s refreshing seeing a chaff enemy that doesn’t instantly die in auric. It’s cool to get an enemy that’s not a boss or elite, and it still presents some challenge. I didn’t think it was possible outside of Havoc’s 21st hordes.
I tested knife on Skitarii in one of the games and those guys just ate all the attacks without a care in the world, but arc maul, power sword and falchion dealt well with them.