I was reading this post over on Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 forums, and I had this thought:
The Spitter's attack isn't just about breaking a shiva-stack. It's more about punishing the stackers with a series of open-hand slaps to the gonads. Thusly, the survivors will learn not to do that. Ever.
It all has to do with the way the damage model is set up: the spit does one point of damage in the first second, three in the next, five in the third, etc. So, after five seconds of exposure (1+3+5+7+9), you've burned through 25 points of health. Ten seconds would theoretically kill a full-health survivor, but I don't know how long the puddle lasts. Here's a lame attempt at a chart (which won't look right in Internet Explorer):
The Spitter's attack isn't just about breaking a shiva-stack. It's more about punishing the stackers with a series of open-hand slaps to the gonads. Thusly, the survivors will learn not to do that. Ever.
It all has to do with the way the damage model is set up: the spit does one point of damage in the first second, three in the next, five in the third, etc. So, after five seconds of exposure (1+3+5+7+9), you've burned through 25 points of health. Ten seconds would theoretically kill a full-health survivor, but I don't know how long the puddle lasts. Here's a lame attempt at a chart (which won't look right in Internet Explorer):
SECONDS... 1 .. 2 .. 3 .. 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ... 10 DAMAGE.... 1 .. 4 .. 9 .. 16 .. 25 .. 36 .. 49 .. 64 .. 81 .. 100
Dirty. You can watch it all happen here.
You don't shiva stack unless you're swarmed by a horde, or you see one coming. Bottom line: there's a horde, and hordes don't let you move. The commons keep you locked down in that one spot, and the survivors can't break out until most of the zombies are dead. During a crescendo event, a well-aimed loogie during that second swarm could murder a whole team.
As a Smoker, you're going leave the shiva stackers alone: the puddles are generally going to be in corners where they'll be impossible to use. In more open areas, though, you're going to stand right in the middle of that puddle, and drag that straggler into the stank.
As a Boomer, you're going to wait for the stack to start to break out, and then you're going to jump down in front of them. You'll either delay them for another second's worth of damage while they bash you away, or you'll get shot and explode all over them, sending them reeling back into the puddle.
Finally, the Hunter. A 25-point pounce in the spit zone is FTW. That's pounce damage + claw damage + acrid goo damage all in the amount of time it takes for someone to dislodge the hunter from his perch.
There are many situations where the Spitter's attack could operate as a damage buff for the other special infected. If Valve allows damage to stack that way, L4D2 is going to be a lot more difficult than L4D ... especially in versus. If the Spitter appears often enough, a tendency to cluster in tight quarters will be a hell of a liability, and will undoubtedly lead to breathless screeds in the forums about how the Spitter is overpowered.
The big questions now are how long the puddles last, and how long it takes the Spitter to recharge. On the first question, although it's hard to tell when it starts, the video above seems to show a duration of about seven or eight seconds. On the second question, who knows? Maybe she has to suck off a Tank or a couple of Smokers first.
You don't shiva stack unless you're swarmed by a horde, or you see one coming. Bottom line: there's a horde, and hordes don't let you move. The commons keep you locked down in that one spot, and the survivors can't break out until most of the zombies are dead. During a crescendo event, a well-aimed loogie during that second swarm could murder a whole team.
As a Smoker, you're going leave the shiva stackers alone: the puddles are generally going to be in corners where they'll be impossible to use. In more open areas, though, you're going to stand right in the middle of that puddle, and drag that straggler into the stank.
As a Boomer, you're going to wait for the stack to start to break out, and then you're going to jump down in front of them. You'll either delay them for another second's worth of damage while they bash you away, or you'll get shot and explode all over them, sending them reeling back into the puddle.
Finally, the Hunter. A 25-point pounce in the spit zone is FTW. That's pounce damage + claw damage + acrid goo damage all in the amount of time it takes for someone to dislodge the hunter from his perch.
There are many situations where the Spitter's attack could operate as a damage buff for the other special infected. If Valve allows damage to stack that way, L4D2 is going to be a lot more difficult than L4D ... especially in versus. If the Spitter appears often enough, a tendency to cluster in tight quarters will be a hell of a liability, and will undoubtedly lead to breathless screeds in the forums about how the Spitter is overpowered.
The big questions now are how long the puddles last, and how long it takes the Spitter to recharge. On the first question, although it's hard to tell when it starts, the video above seems to show a duration of about seven or eight seconds. On the second question, who knows? Maybe she has to suck off a Tank or a couple of Smokers first.
Wow ...
ReplyDeleteExactly.
wow
and
WOW
which wow?
ReplyDeleteAs I read this its almost as if the Valve should of told the anti-shiva stackers to quit their bitching. But if it does make the game more fun and (dare I say it) more tactical then maybe it is a good thing. Definitely going to be DIRTY. So we will see, but hopefully the L4D2 community doesnt bitch about it. But what kinda of game would it be with out a million and a half bitchers. Look how many people bitched about cod4 and it was a fabulous game, wasnt it? :S So I think we need to pick out some things from the new modern warfare 2 that we can all bitch about so we can be ahead of the curve. lol anyways good post. back to my vaca.
ReplyDelete