Maybe alittle early to talk but... Fades

Shinigaml

Are nerfed bad? Can't bhop too well or maneuver properly without raping their energy pool.
(I'm talking about the naked fade in general. Haven't played them with any upgrades or skills)

What's your take on fades so far. All I see are limping fades gasping for energy lol.

Hopefully they change this by next patch.

PaLaGi

sigh.... we need this post like we need another rushed patch.

Narfwak

Vortex and stab are both very powerful but take quite a bit of practice to utilize to full potential. Stab is pretty late game so it's not going to turn the tide generally, but you can choose to go for vortex fairly early if you secure a fast second hive.

PaLaGi wrote: »

sigh.... we need this post like we need another rushed patch.

Actual discussion of the game and how to adapt to the new features is exactly what this forum could use. Granted, OP could be a bit more descriptive.

Shinigaml

Narfwak wrote: »

Vortex and stab are both very powerful but take quite a bit of practice to utilize to full potential. Stab is pretty late game so it's not going to turn the tide generally, but you can choose to go for vortex fairly early if you secure a fast second hive.

PaLaGi wrote: »

sigh.... we need this post like we need another rushed patch.

Actual discussion of the game and how to adapt to the new features is exactly what this forum could use. Granted, OP could be a bit more descriptive.

Well I haven't used the fade with upgrades or skills yet so I can't judge on that. What I'm talking about is just the fade without any buffs.

Mattk50

vortex was made into such a boring ability. In pubs, in the rare instances we actually got vortex when we could actually use it, vortex was a very powerful tool to push against groups with one or two exos. Run in, vortex the exo, kill the welder, run out, and repeat.

It was never used because of how late in the game the ability came out, not because it was horrible. Well, there was also the res cost. it could probably have used a little buffing, perhaps a longer vortex time.

Zek

The last Vortex was pretty obnoxious to the marines though.

AurOn2

SO i've found that i like silent fades now more than aura fades
Anyone else felt more succers on phantom than with aura these days? Cos you can just tp away if you get low enough anyway.

BentRing

Yes, maybe wait until you at least use upgrades before starting a thread...

The couple of times I've went fade since 252 I didn't have any more trouble with energy than before, but I learned fade on celerity so my energy use has always been below the norm.

CrushaK

Fades had to be nerfed. They had incredibly high mobility without ever running out of energy. The Fadeplosion made it especially bad and it was hard to actually lock a Fade down enough to kill it. They are slower now and have to play more carefully.

I feel like aliens fit more into their roles now. The Fade used to be too much of just a better Skulk with that mobility and was still the lifeform aliens were most relying on, even more than on Onos. The Onos got some nice buffs and fits its role of a tank and breach unit more, thanks to the changed Stomp and Bone Shield and buffed Carapace. It is more desirable now to have not everyone on the team go Fade, I think.

ritualsacrifice

Eh. I don't have much of a problem with the new fade at all. That being said, isn't the point of the fade to be a better skulk? What role does it fill other than that, lol. It's what your base combat unit evolves into to continue to be relevant in the mid to late game.

Blarney_Stone

Fade probably needed to be nerfed but the problem was more about the fact that entire teams could go fade simultaneously than the lifeform itself being too good

Enhance89

ritualsacrifice wrote: »

Eh. I don't have much of a problem with the new fade at all. That being said, isn't the point of the fade to be a better skulk? What role does it fill other than that, lol. It's what your base combat unit evolves into to continue to be relevant in the mid to late game.

The Fade had turned into a God-like skulk for too many players. It was just far too powerful, and I usually don't like the idea of nerfing lifeforms. But this one was more than justified.

Asmodies

No, it really wasn't. Fades are still paper in the face of shotguns which come out from 4-7 minutes, a 50+ res lifeform can still be evenly matched by using an early 20 res weapon that can be recycled. There's no reason to evolve into a higher lifeform other than onos, they're all defensively weak and make people play to preserve the lifeform rather than be aggressive with it like you can a skulk. There's barely any potency you get as a lerk or fade that you don't have access to as a skulk if you're a good player.

Now fade is even slower, easier to hit, does less damage, and has a lower skill floor and higher skill ceiling for nearly no reward.

HeatSurge

So, basically summary of the patch: lerk is OP now, fade is much less OP, onos has a boner (I can't believe boner shield actually made it into the game after discussions a year ago).

Inb4 marine bads on pubs can now shoot fades, but die to lerks so who cares, balance is still 70-30 in favor of aliens because of whip rush, stackular games. But Linux (i.e. NS2 gains 4 more players)!

In all seriousness, yes. It is kind of early to talk. It takes at least a couple of weeks for changes, especially that many and that substantial changes to really propagate throughout the game to really pass judgment on ANYTHING. The best thing right now is to play the game, discover what doesn't work anymore, and how to abuse new mechanics to your advantage - and come back after at least 50 hours in this with some opinions. It's WAY too early to knee-jerk into "ermahgerd fade is useless, dual railie OP."

Asmodies

If you... you know, actually play the game you know how potent things are, you can estimate how much a buff or a nerf will affect the game, and it's not even subtle this patch. They both nerfed the aliens across the board, and they buffed marines quite a bit, it's not hard to see how that's going to pan out. Plus it's not even just about balance, a 50+ res lifeform being a lot less effective is very obviously a bad thing, less people are going to play it and it loses its place on the team. Lerk didn't have a place anyway, and its buff isn't even relevant.

zeep

Fade has been nerfed too much. Even bhopping/strafejumping in a straight line slows you down fast, like there's a heavy wind blowing in your face.
Slowing down doing sharp turns, fine. But heck, try to keep Fade bhopping/strafejumping like the Skulk at least. A straight line, skillfully strafejumping should allow you to keep momentum WAY longer.

UWE is destroying more incentives to play different alien classes just to even it out with the linear soldier gameplay. That's the wrong kind of balance and makes me play less NS2 actually.

Kamamura

The last version fades were too powerful, the invincible zig-zagging flies that reduced the game balance to "fades vs shotgun medspam" and nothing else. Now lerk bite feels a bit powerful, but still early to say without playing extensively.

KwisatzHaderach

I really gonna miss the agility and speed of the Fade, it just felt so empowering sweeping the map with 100 km/h. But I do understand the changes. I hardly ever died as a fade, even against a team of good marines, just farming kills like crazy. I have huge difficulties with the new fade, it feels like it's got sticky feet that glue to the ground as soon as it touches it, but I'm positive I will adopt. Overall the aliens lifeforms feel more balanced and in place now.

RabidWeasel

Got used to the new hopping and you're basically invincible if you use vortex properly but it's just not as much fun, it feels so so much more clunky and mechanical. At least the lerk is pretty buffed now but it's going to take me forever to re-learn NS1 style lerking where the aim is to fly straight into someone's ass and bite it off before they realise you're there

_Necro_

• High damage vs players
• high speed in battles coupled with unpredictable movement
• enough health to ignore nearly a full LMG magazine
• high mobility on the map

Pick 3.



Srsly, the fade needed a downside. Not to mention that you simply can't balance a lifeform around being good when played as rambo AND being not overpowered when playing in a team of 3.

Enhance89

Asmodies wrote: »

No, it really wasn't.

I'd agree with you if the evidence didn't suggest otherwise. Each passing day it was getting more and more common to see a fade rocking a 45-5 score or something similar, completely destroying the competition and dominating map control. Again, I typically don't support nerfs that punish players for being really good, but the fade was getting a little too over the top and needed to be handed a setback. One lifeform should not wield that kind of power.

As far as the pres cost is concerned, it doesn't bother me. That's always been the risk you take with evolving.

Rumsey

I actually like the new vortex design. It makes fades seem more like stealthy assassins, while the previous vortex was kind of an oddball ability.

Mavick

zeep wrote: »

Fade has been nerfed too much. Even bhopping/strafejumping in a straight line slows you down fast, like there's a heavy wind blowing in your face.
Slowing down doing sharp turns, fine. But heck, try to keep Fade bhopping/strafejumping like the Skulk at least. A straight line, skillfully strafejumping should allow you to keep momentum WAY longer.

UWE is destroying more incentives to play different alien classes just to even it out with the linear soldier gameplay. That's the wrong kind of balance and makes me play less NS2 actually.

I find the comment about nerfing incentive to play other classes odd considering in the previous build anyone who was playing at all seriously would just go fade. If anything, this patch hugely increased incentive to play other classes.

Know pain

Give it some time it’s not surprising someone is already complaining about fades being nerfed when they were extremely op in the previous patch. Hopefully they fixed it where 2 fades can take on the entire marine team.

d0ped0g

_Necro_ wrote: »

• High damage vs players
• high speed in battles coupled with unpredictable movement
• enough health to ignore nearly a full LMG magazine
• high mobility on the map

Pick 3.



Srsly, the fade needed a downside. Not to mention that you simply can't balance a lifeform around being good when played as rambo AND being not overpowered when playing in a team of 3.

1st, 2nd, and 4th. Now you've got the fade we had in 251.