The feature that really needs to be nerfed but no one is talking about.
Pandademic
Join Date: 2013-02-26 Member: 183359Members
Join Date: 2013-02-26 Member: 183359Members
No game should have insta kills. It takes still out of the game, and forces players to return to the respawn timer needlessly. It also ruins any realism the game might be going for, and has ruined so many games for me with costly pres losses that I'm all but done playing this imbalanced game. Yet NS2 has had instant kills as a prominent feature since it's inception (or at least since, Christmas, that's when I got it) and yet the devs have done nothing about it. I've heard plenty of players in game say it serves no purpose, and I agree with them to some extent that it penalizes new players disproportionately to veterans.
Both teams are susceptible to it, but I feel marines are especially vulnerable due to their limited movement capabilities. Skulks can avoid it easily with their wall climb ability, lerks can avoid it altogether if they don't fly too low, but onos, gorges, and fades have absolutely no recourse. One misstep, and they die, instantly. No warning, no second chance. Just death by Natural Causes.
Can we really call it natural? Just because I fall into a pit of darkness doesn't mean guaranteed death. There could be shadowed ledges, a pool of cave water, maybe even marshmallows. You don't know. But the devs lazily threw in invisible death barriers that insta-gib players instead of dealing with these technical issues, and forgoing any semblance of realism.
But I have some solutions.
First, take away the instant death, and make Natural Causes do damage over time instead. That way players can at least be made aware of what is killing them before they die. This will reduce rage, and keep servers full.
Second, why does the invisible Death Barrier of Natural Causes have to be invisible? Just because it's in the name? I humbly suggest we add a texture to give players some warning that that abysmal hole of eternity they are venturing near might pose some danger. My first thought was a big red X, or a red circle with a line across it. But that doesn't quite signal imminent death, so how about a skull and cross bones? Maybe a red skull and cross bones just to be sure they see it.
Third, we need to give marines, gorges, fades, and onos the ability to wall climb. This gives skilled players a higher chance to survive encounters with Natural Causes, but not too much, as any skulk can tell you. I think this is a perfect soft counter that won't affect balance elsewhere in the game. The red skull will be enough for lerks, I think. If they still die to Natural Causes after these changes then they can go back to the rookie servers.
That's all for now. Let me know what you think, new suggestions are welcome!
Both teams are susceptible to it, but I feel marines are especially vulnerable due to their limited movement capabilities. Skulks can avoid it easily with their wall climb ability, lerks can avoid it altogether if they don't fly too low, but onos, gorges, and fades have absolutely no recourse. One misstep, and they die, instantly. No warning, no second chance. Just death by Natural Causes.
Can we really call it natural? Just because I fall into a pit of darkness doesn't mean guaranteed death. There could be shadowed ledges, a pool of cave water, maybe even marshmallows. You don't know. But the devs lazily threw in invisible death barriers that insta-gib players instead of dealing with these technical issues, and forgoing any semblance of realism.
But I have some solutions.
First, take away the instant death, and make Natural Causes do damage over time instead. That way players can at least be made aware of what is killing them before they die. This will reduce rage, and keep servers full.
Second, why does the invisible Death Barrier of Natural Causes have to be invisible? Just because it's in the name? I humbly suggest we add a texture to give players some warning that that abysmal hole of eternity they are venturing near might pose some danger. My first thought was a big red X, or a red circle with a line across it. But that doesn't quite signal imminent death, so how about a skull and cross bones? Maybe a red skull and cross bones just to be sure they see it.
Third, we need to give marines, gorges, fades, and onos the ability to wall climb. This gives skilled players a higher chance to survive encounters with Natural Causes, but not too much, as any skulk can tell you. I think this is a perfect soft counter that won't affect balance elsewhere in the game. The red skull will be enough for lerks, I think. If they still die to Natural Causes after these changes then they can go back to the rookie servers.
That's all for now. Let me know what you think, new suggestions are welcome!
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Off topic: Natural Causes should be changed to Natural Selection. As in "Natural Selection <SKULL> Playername"
Wall climbing onos DO WANT.
well played OP.
And there were countless times when I dived into pit as a skulk to avoid marines shooting at me and natural causes had me before I could reach the wall (and I could reach it within a second).
Simply, the floor should be a little lower than it is now.
* Closed *