That could work, but I doubt this would change how easily you avoid threats with a stealth dagger zealot.
zealot talents need a nerf…
and i feel they could nerf swift certainly (this hurts me, as it is the talent I love the most) and shroudfield move bonus.
Charge attack speed is not okay, especially not when you are out of stamina. This for example is not a Zealot thing. No weapons should allow you to run away from every enemy even when out of stamina.
I also think that Knife damage is also overtuned, but IDK if I have patience arguing about that.
This I agree, even if I forgot to said it (good point to remind this).
I do not think cause I compared it on my veteran. But once I am on the zealot, yes it feels monstruous.
But, I think it is linked to all generous bonus you can get for this weapon. At contrary, on the veteran, if we don’t take in consideration critic chances buff that apply to any melee weapon, only serrated blades is useful for this weapon, and still, only if you have mercy killer.
(personal opinion, curious of what others think about that)
I don’t know if it would. Maybe just make it so that the heavy melee attacks don’t make you even faster than when you sprint (or even faster while sprinting). It’s kinda goofy anyways swinging a melee weapon to move faster.
Ooh ooh, ovah heah.
It’s a stupid mechanic imho, and the vet is somehow worse with the 90% reduced aggro for 10s!
P.S. Made worse still by “I have to take smoke 'nades” down that path.
Finally…
Probably should get ahead of the new meta and change this title to zealots and duelling swords
I must admit that this will be the first thing I will test.
As a player with over 1300 hours of gameplay, I’ve noticed certain imbalances between characters. For the Zealot, since the ultimate ability was nerfed, the versatility of melee weapons has become extremely important. Unfortunately, most of the weapons in the Zealot’s arsenal are unsatisfactory. The Thunder Hammer is almost only useful for boss fights, the Great Sword lacks armor-piercing capability, the Chainsword can only deal with heavily armored units in special mode, which is extremely risky on higher difficulties, and the Axe remains inefficient against heavily armored units. The only weapon that can effectively handle all types of enemies with the right skill setup is the Combat Knife. High mobility seems like an added bonus. Many players have recognized this and built their strategies around high mobility, which might not satisfy all team members in certain situations. However, it is undeniable that if pursuing character strength on higher difficulties, the Combat Knife is undoubtedly one of the few options for the Zealot. This doesn’t mean all players using the Combat Knife love this weapon. But there are only few alternatives. This has led to an increase in unconventional playstyles among Zealot players. Zealot players also want a good gaming experience, which I believe is reasonable. Since I mentioned earlier that there are imbalances between characters, I will now discuss my experience with other characters in high-difficulty scenarios.
First, the Veteran: It is undeniable that the Veteran has exceptionally high character strength. Voice of command is a game-changing skill, with additional shields and high stagger often making it a game-saving ace. The Power Sword and Plasma Gun can achieve terrifying kill efficiency against any type of enemy. There is indeed a significant performance gap between players of similar skill levels when playing the Zealot versus the Veteran. Of course, I’m not suggesting that the Veteran needs a nerf. The Veteran’s current strength is very much in line with player expectations. We would prefer to pursue victories under the threat of more enemies while maintaining character strength, rather than having fewer and fewer options due to repeated nerfs. The game features a multitude of high-quality weapon models, with weapon swings and impact feeling top-notch in the game industry, yet their usage rates are low due to balance issues. Players are often forced to choose from only a few powerful weapons, which is quite unfortunate.
Next, the Psyker: This is a character with a low floor and high ceiling. There is a stark difference in performance between new and experienced players. The Psyker’s talents and weapons are very unique and strong after the updates, and I believe the changes have been quite successful. Skilled players can efficiently handle almost any enemy (except bosses) without consuming ammunition, and also have area shields and crowd control abilities. I’ve seen some Psyker players clear the auric maelstorm alone, rather than using a run and run strategy. However, it’s undeniable that the Veteran is stronger in this regard. (Though this somewhat conflicts with the cooperative gameplay concept, expecting excellent teamwork from four randomly matched players is not very realistic.)
As for the Ogryn, I haven’t played it much, so I can’t provide a meaningful evaluation.
Returning to the initial issue: I believe that instead of nerfing the Combat Knife, it would be better to focus on buffing the Zealot’s other weapons so that the Combat Knife is no longer the only option for maximizing overall strength. Players who use high mobility to employ evasion tactics might seek alternatives if the Combat Knife is nerfed, potentially leading to all available weapons being nerfed eventually. Moreover, methods to counter this playstyle through nerfs will inevitably impact other playstyles as well. It would be better to think in the opposite direction: by enhancing other playstyles, you can reduce the excessive advantage of current strategies. Personally, I believe that other playstyles for the Zealot do need some strengthening. This would likely decrease the number of players who rely on evasion tactics to succeed.
I’ve said a lot, and I appreciate everyone who has read this. Friendly discussion is welcome.
Especially since Invocation of Death got rescued from the mediocre tier, and Dueling swords will get this
yum yum yum smells good to me, Thrust come here to papa, I want to skewer 3 mooks on my sword like a shish-kebab
Outside of certain situation (like FoTF 1 attack), seems to me you’re better off attacking more often vs Thrust-trap (/pun) and benefit from an additional blessing. DS has some damn strong blessings and is getting more, OP AF it will be.
For sure. Shred or Riposte or Uncanny Strikes + Relentless strikes ? M1 spam all day.
My problem with knife zealots is when they dont loot anything and speed off acting as if the rest of the team doesnt exist then if you complain and flame them for leaving you surrounded by enemies they tell you its a skill issue. Ive played with countless pc knife zealots that speed off every game and then complain about slow xbox players or slow ogryns as if they arent playing the fastest class with the highest mobility melee weapon in the entire game. If you and your friend are going to speed race a mission you cannot for any reason complain about everyone else when you are the problem. Some of us care about coherency and resources and medi/ammo crates and arent into speed running missions when you dont get any extra money at the end for doing so.
I don’t understand Zealots who do that ; the whole point of all that speed is that you can zoom around opening every single box, shank stuff on the way, and still be back home in time for the big fights.
At least that’s how I like to use it. It saves teammates the trouble of slowly checking every corner and in the end it saves a lot of time.
Don’t you think it would just be easier to slightly adjust the combat knife rather than touching everything else?
I’m fine with people wanting to be fast and agile. But it should be a choice between that and being slow and strong. I would like to see the Combat Knife as the opposite of the Thunder Hammer. By that I mean it should be terrible at the things the Thunder Hammer excels at.
My solution would be to reduce the Combat Knife weak spot and critical damage to Carapace-armored and Unyielding enemies. Especially Unyielding enemies.
Agile + shred could be my way.
But the preco + risposte could also be insane
But shred + riposte could also be the survivor combination (tons of critics)
And uncanny strike is always great.
There are things that can make duelling swords something really strong on zealot. First there is shred. And it is a mobility close to the dagger.
This can make this weapon a pure ciritc dealer.
Tactical axe has shred.
Daggers have preco.
Duelling swords have both…
And rending strike… And now a blessing that increases power.
Hopefully, this weapon suffers from a carapace weakness. Or it would have been a seriously op gun.
Um…
The movement speed deltas that exist in Darktide are completely off the wall. The game almost certainly would have been better with fixed movement speed between weapons.
Bro what.