Crutchsword got nerfed, sure; but that’s just number of charged swings per activation. The real problem is the fact that it has no real downsides:
it has decent mobility.
it has good cleave (can get more but isn’t needed).
it has good singletarget/armor/singlehit(enough to one shot trashmobs on headshots)/cleave damage. Not the single highest damage per hit; but it’s very far from the lowest, while it can also cleave.
it has good attack speed, everything happens quickly/smoothly unlike trashammers(which do not even stagger comboing ragers properly without building power)
it has good stagger(will stagger comboing ragers in one and crusher in two light swings so that requires power cycler, which makes it one of the few weapons that massively rely on rng for blessing).
Activation isn’t a downside. It’s not a bad melee weapon even if not activated(fairly competitive against normal sword, light swings do surprising amount of damage if you’re decent at hitting the head); and it doesn’t take much time if you activate it, it’s quick and can be done while dodging.
The number of swings wasn’t what needed to go(granted, it was powerful; but there are plenty of weapons that can tear through trashmobs, not a lot can stunlock/kill multiple ragers/maulers/even crushers that quickly), the stagger was what needed to go - that’s the secret sauce to crutchsword still being op. There is not a single melee weapon that can do all that, at least not to the same degree as the original mark crutchsword.
TL;DR - it’s okay for brainless vet mains to have an easymode trashmob-killer melee weapon(it’s just a strong weapon if it’s only that; that alone already made it better than almost every zealot weapon), the problem is it trivializes multiple elites or especially mixed horde(since trash mob lets you activate brutal momentum on first/second swing) in melee too - through the potential to stagger everything in front beside mutant…etc.
What needed to happen:
reduce stagger while activated.
increase stagger without activation.
This makes sense(activated cuts through enemy cleanly, unactivated attack gets “stuck” in enemy a bit, allowing the swing to “drag” enemy along).
Build enough power through slaughterer and it might still stagger ragers/crusher).
number of charged swings stays the same.
This will encourage more usage of unactivated attack, and will make the charged attack +rending blessing more relevant. (increases damage of subsequent uncharged swings against armored targets, making crutchsword still relevant at armor damage with a 1 charged + 1-2 uncharged combo)
Even when it’s in the ideal nerfed state, it’s still a far stronger melee weapon for veteran than regular sword simply because it gets far better armor damage/single-hit-damage(often a few strays that makes it into melee die instantly to one swing). And that is more healthy for the game.
“bu…but what do I do in close range” - lol dodge back, press f, and instantly start blasting them with boltgun.
I think you need to listen to the wisened words of Gandalf the 40k (he’s Space Wizard, Harry):
“Many weapons that clap cheeks deserve nerf’d…And some that git the nerf deserve to clap cheeks. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out nerf in armchair game-dev balance judgement.”
~ Gandalf the 40k, probably…
No, I’m not a vet main; I don’t have a ‘main’ as such. All of my characters are level 30 and have been for over six months now. I’ve completed the penances for each class, so the only thing left me for me to do is collect gear.
Since resources aren’t shared, I’m incentivized to complete weeklies on all of my characters. That’s the optimal way (for me) to collect resources for upgrades and T4 blessings. As such, all of my classes get equal playtime, and I enjoy them all.
Players who call for nerfs because they perceive another class/weapon/blessing as too strong come across as misguided at best and spoilsports at worse…
What I prefer to see (and Fatshark has done) is elevate other classes to bring them in line. Case in point, look at the love that Psyker got. It used to be my least enjoyable class to play, now it’s one of my favorites!
Want to make the game better? Add, don’t take away.
Mobility isn’t great actually, also Fatshark in their genious have given veteran really poor stamina regen, which screws up a lot of new players who naturally gravitate towards the “shooty” class.
I won’t even mention some basic features like educating new players about dodge counter or actually displaying its value without mods.
mobility: its unacceptable
standard damage: unacceptable
single target: so, so sub par
no no the problem was the power sword only did one thing right, it lawnmower thru hordes. it was actually realy ass at everything els, the problem was crutch sword players (still to this day evidently) wont use any other weapon to compare too.
the nerf was stil bad, becsue it went from a weapon that only did one thing well, to a weapon that never really dose anything well at all. now we have boat anchors running power sword .holding evryone down.
thay should fix it, because its not like ppl wold stop using it if its bad.
It’s one of those weapons which benefit a lot from Slaughterer. You can defo use it well without Powered strikes, but it still remains what is: a badly designed weapon attached to overpowered special attack.
ya id say that conclusion is dead on. id recommend taking away the charge mechanic, letting it swing clean thrue unamored and flack targets well doing arond 300-400 damg. killing hords outright and tickling any thing like a scab rager or above.
