Why all the hate for survivalist?

[.triple Cat]

I just solo completed a HoE (boss was Matriarch) solo mission with a lev 17 survivalist why do people say it sucks so much? I also love being able to use melee effectively without being berserker and the speed boost is good for solo too

[Psy]

Nobody's saying it sucks now. It's actually stronger than some of the other perks, given that the recent updates kept buffing Survivalist. Where are you seeing people complain about it being "weak"?

[Ivanna Humpalot]

because OCD people think everything has to be right angles exactly perfect precision specialty BS. Survivalist is awesome....especially now you get to pick your starting weapon

[𝕺𝖌𝖗𝖎𝖒]

People ask for the perk to be buffed constantly so it received buffs, and most people aren't very good at being team oriented players as the perk so the perk gets a bad wrap.

Watch it get buffed again lol.

[Anachronomalous]

It still sucks at efficient takedowns, but TWI decided that's not how they want to balance the game.

[JimmyIowa]

Originally posted by 0u0:

I just solo completed a HoE (boss was Matriarch) solo mission with a lev 17 survivalist why do people say it sucks so much? I also love being able to use melee effectively without being berserker and the speed boost is good for solo too

Survivalist is OP for solo, he doesn't suck in all situations. The issue in a team lobby is that survivalist does lower damage than a specialist perk, in exchange for versatility. However, while versatility is *great* for solo, it's not so important in a team so much, because that's what a team comp of different perks is for. In a team - having a team role and being great at it is better than being okay at everything. In short, survivalist doesn't really pull his weight in a good team comp.

Having said that, I'm not sure there is "hate" for the survivalist perk. There is contempt for players who bring tanky but intentionally lower effectiveness builds into a team lobby because they are compensating for low skill.

[Alien Jetstream]

Hmm, let's start with the idea that having a generalist perk in a team based game with specific PERKS/ROLES is plain stupid.

My problem with survivalist is that it's a very selfish perk. I'd say survivalist is mainly for solo since it offers variety. In multiplayer, however, when you join a team and see a surv, it's hard to tell what role they are filling in the team. I see survivalist as a mediocre role for multiplayer. I personally don't see a reason why anyone would pick survivalist over an specialized perk in a multiplayer game. If the team is missing a med, just go med. If team is missing a large killer, go sharp or slinger. Having a generalist perk is a bit redundant.

The issue is the amount of unnecessary buffs it has received to the point that in a multiplayer match, a survivalist doesn't even need teammates. Survivalist players get carried by weapons and all the buffs the perk has received. Having a perk that can use any weapon in the game kinda takes away the idea of roles and perks weaknesses.

The irony is that whilst survivalist is a mediocre perk, it has been buffed so much to the point it now has no downsides which is pretty lame considering you don't really require much effort/skill/knowledge to play the perk effectively compared to other perks.

[Aya]

Assuming you have a decent medic on your team, a high-damage melee weapon combined with flashbangs can do huge quantities of damage in a short timespan, if not a proper takedown.

[Freekill]

It used to suck REALLY bad, but now it's quite decent, but still has some problems.

The good thing is that Survivalist deals unholy amount of damage with Frostfang, passive reload speed is always on with lever action, M16, and the revolver, and I'm sure there is a some other options that really shine on him, making him really good at adaptation.

The thing is that most of the other classes have a neat choice On-Perk to different playstyles, like Commando and Sharpshooter with the FAL, Gunslingers and Berserkers with the Piranha pistols, Swat with the nailgun bullying Quarterpounds, Firebug with the Helios rifle helping with big zeds takedowns, really, most of the perks are quite versatile right now.

Honestly the only classes that can't move much from their playstyle is Demo and Medic, then a Survivalist could do something different with their guns, BUT, Medic does buff furiously that is very valuable, and Demo does extreme damage that makes a RPG shot worthwhile, while Survivalist can't do those at all.

Oh yeah Swat is quite weak and a Survivalist can swap him easily because he can trash kill with explosives, but that is more a point of Swat being outclassed in general, just like Survivalist.

On solo he great tho.

[AT]

Originally posted by ★Alien Jetstream★:

I personally don't see a reason why anyone would pick survivalist over an specialized perk in a multiplayer game.

Freezethrowers, arc generators, and flashbangs without a SWAT.

Though the survivalist does have something of an 'anti-survival' trait with their heavy armour. SWATs at least can turn it off but survs are stuck with all the downsides and none of the anti-clot upsides.

[Serious]

Issue with survivalist is simple:
It started as useless generalist in a game with specialists.
specialists -> teamplay
Now it's a very solid perk for solo games but with little teamplaysynergy. It almost encourage non-teamplay like gunslingers do.

It started as bad addition in terms of teamplay, and it still is, just in a different way.

[+Tumbz]

Also note that playing solo/offline can be decieving, as players gain resistances, heal bonus and spawn regulations, to accomodate the fact that you're alone.

[Aya]

Originally posted by +Tumbz:

Also note that playing solo/offline can be decieving, as players gain resistances, heal bonus and spawn regulations, to accomodate the fact that you're alone.

Possibly the simplest way to correct this https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2263399756

[.triple Cat]

I don't get why you people are talking about "roles in a team" so much since theres a whole 6 slots in a team and theres like 3 main roles in this game - kill trash, kill large zeds, kill boss.

[.triple Cat]

And also cause it's fun? Don't be such meta slaves lmao

[Aya]

Originally posted by 0u0:

I don't get why you people are talking about "roles in a team" so much since theres a whole 6 slots in a team and theres like 3 main roles in this game - kill trash, kill large zeds, kill boss.

Originally posted by 0u0:

And also cause it's fun? Don't be such meta slaves lmao

TBF, the higher difficulties are where team composition is far more important. I think the ideal comp includes Survivalist (Berserker if DLC is available), Field Medic, Demolitionist, and Commando.

In the case of the Survivalist specifically, you'll likely wanna tool yourself for melee combat w/ the occasional ranged utility.