Improvement suggetsions: Hypermutation and Camoflague

Cee Colon Slash

These two abilities are rarely researched by the khammander because of their questionable value. Here are my suggestions for improving them to a point where they are worth the investment:

<b>Hypermutation</b>

In principal, it is a good upgrade, but the truth is that most players don't take it because once they evolve to a particular life form, they want to keep it. Or more usually, they are evolving to a particular lifeform for a combat role and hypermutation has no direct assault value. Fast evolution to higher life forms is a good perk, but most khammanders will use nutrient mist if you ask them, so it's moot.

Suggestions to make it a more valuable ability for players:
- Add a benefit that when a player dies they get half of their invested PRes back. So if they died as a fade, they get 25 Pres back.
OR
- Remove multi-evolution benefit, and replace with something that just gives them an increased amount of Pres per tick ("efficient res gain" or something).

<b>Camoflague</b>

Also a good upgrade in principal, but it's needed early on in the game and it's rarely researched in its current form. Again, its effect is overlapped by shades, albeit limited by the shade's range.

Suggestions to make it a more valuable ability for players:
- Increase running speed to normal while camoflagued.
OR
- Increase speed of camoflague transition, akin to how celerity happens much more quickly now.
OR
- Allow camoflague ability to operate within observatory scan distance if moving very slowly.
OR
- Increase timeout of camoflague effect when attacking or attacked. That is to say the "half-camoflagued" state lasts longer.

All of these suggestions would operate separately from the current shade effect, which works just fine in its current state. Any improvement in the camoflague ability would be an incentive over just lingering near a shade to get the same effect.

rantology

Dunno about the specifics of how you would implement it - but what if they merged Camouflage and Silence upgrades?


maybe just cut Hypermutation - I've always had trouble finding any kind of useful purpose for it.. even the solutions you propose in the OP would make it go from a useless upgrade to a mediocre one, the static p-res generation increase would be the most useful, and even then it's problematic because it's boring- upgrades should be playstyle modifiers imo, something cool that customizes your combat efficiency. Although I guess it could be used for some interesting strategy for fade rushing or something (though on the other hand an upgrade like that will seriously mess with lifeform timing balance- sort of like nano construct forever destroyed marine build time balance).


edit: derp, chambers mixed up

Cee Colon Slash

As usual rant, I totally agree with your comments.

I think if they did merge camoflague and silence you would have an ability most marines would quickly call OP. :) The question then would be, what would the second shade ability be?

I suggested a while back that a hypermutation replacement would be another movement ability, something that worked for players like the echo function works on the shift: you select a target on the map, and you *ZOINK!* appear there after a X-second delay. People said it worked too much like celerity, but I think it's actually quite different because you can avoid going <i>through</i> trouble spots.

rantology

Feint is the 2nd upgrade .. I dunno, I see camo very rarely used. I guess once (if) they switch over to 1 upgrade per chamber system like ns1 (i.e. only cara or regen, not both) crag hive will be less dominant. Also I think marine early game mobility matches that of the aliens because of sprint and so camo is somewhat at a disadvantaged because there is less time to prepare/walk around with it. You can also see camo with bloom on (or you used to be able to- they need to fix it so you can again).

edit: also last patch they kind of did splice the two- the first attack when coming out of camouflage was always silenced.. thought that was actually kinda cool. They changed it back this patch though :s

Cee Colon Slash

I also see camo very rarely used, and only evolve it when I have gobs of resources to blow. Then, no one ever uses it except on a lark.

Came up with a hypermutation replacement: phantasm. Just take the Hallucination ability off the shade and give it directly to the player. Spend a whack of energy, and get a virtual buddy that mirrors your movements somehow.

One upgrade per chamber? Ergh.

Rise

Hypermutation would work better as a static upgrade purchased either at the hive or purchased as part of a building structure.

It is not only cumbersome to make this an evolution trait you put on before switching roles, then take away once you've got your new form, but it's also completely unnecessary to do it this way. It just doesn't fit because it has no combat role.


A good start to making camo more viable would be to remove the slight increased visibility you have when walking while cloaked.

MisterNubs

I no longer research camo as a Kham after experiencing how just well it works when I was playing a Marine.

And by well, I mean it is complete ###### and I could still see the camo aliens. They were free kills.

I called how mediocre and limited hyper-mutation was going to be before it even made it into the game. I'm not surprised that it is.... mediocre and completely limited. Shocking.

Hyper-mutation would do better if it was a hive selectable upgrade, not attached to any particular chamber. Else, I won't even bat an eye at its removal.

Only way to improve camouflage is to allow full invisibility while moving.

Mr.Greedy

I vote Hypermutation for the useless evolution ever. Who wastes a evolutionslot for this? I want to hear the screams if any khammander upgrade this with first hive :D . Delete this upgrade from the game plz or rework it totally.

AurOn2

hyper is good for gorge-onosers, usualy only, and want to preserve that 10 res.
And Camoflage is generaly awesome. it goes well with silence and sometimes feint, sometimes because it doesnt always work after feign death.

hakenspit

Hypermutaiton could work if;
When you select hypermutation and go fade when you die you can respawn and evolve to fade for half the cost.
So basically hypermutation allows you to respawn as the lifeform you died as for say half of the normal res cost.

Make camo actually work and combine with silence sounds like a good idea...though could result in it being overpowered and end up being the new 1st hive.