Swarmers more annoying with every update?

[Chibbity]

I'm not usually one to gripe too much, but it's a constant trend I've noticed.

Is there a reasoning/logic behind this? I'm not sure actively making an enemy more of a PITA to deal with while keeping them low threat, is a good way to make the game more fun?

In the past, they've been made quicker, more numerous, and given a leap attack. Now, they seem to go further with there jump and have more "air time" so that the leap takes them farther and in unexpected directions, causing them to be more likely to disperse, which means dealing with them one by one instead of as a swarm. (Could be a bug even? They seem very "floaty") On top of that I see them travelling with more distance between them on average, reducing the effectiveness of AOE in sweeping them up. They are also fairly constant, with always a few in a given wave to bite your ankles. If I didn't know any better I'd say it almost seems like the dev's are trying to stealth buff the AR by taking away the ability of AOE weapons to neutralize them swiftly.

Yet despite all this, they are not really a threat for the most part. Just an annoyance. What gives? Is this the intent? Does anyone find them enjoyable to engage? If so, why? Thoughts on how they could be improved?

[Icolino]

I didn't said anything because I tought that I was the only one, but I agree 100% with you!
To me they are "Just an annoyance" like you said. They are the only enemy that I sigh when come at me =/

[BROLY 32]

True, I often find myself shooting around in the air to kill them nowadays, they've been changed a bit for sure. Even as driller, they sometimes just jump over my ground fire to go right behind me and bite my cute elven ass.

They're a nuisance for sure but they don't do too much damage so I'm fine with them. Their role is to annoy us and prevent us to focus fire the main targets... And since they do it well, props to them.
My main issue is the Dread's swarmers. They're redish (so quite hard to see imo) and make us waste even more ammo on a fight that already is super ammo consuming.

[Chibbity]

Yeah, I've hated them since day 1 really lol.

Mostly because they do that super annoying Left 4 Dead zombie thing where even when there is only one of them, as soon as they contact your "model" they circle you at light speed, to some random side, or the rear.

Which is likely to make room for other attackers around your "base?" which I get from a coding perspective, but it's super annoying in practice and makes no sense. The larger bugs generally don't do this, if they contact your front they stay at your front.

Lately I'm literally finding myself getting more use out of my Subata than my Flamethrower/Cryo Cannon on Driller when dealing with them, and that can't be right.

[BROLY 32]

Originally posted by Chibbity:

Mostly because they do that super annoying Left 4 Dead zombie thing where even when there is only one of them, as soon as they contact your "model" they circle you at light speed, to some random side, or the rear.

It's not the same on L4D, zombies will always make a noise around half a second before hitting you.
Everything is completely predictable and has counterplay on L4D, not on DRG. But maybe my opinion on this isn't fair since I got way too much game time on left...

[Chibbity]

Originally posted by BROLY 32:

It's not the same on L4D, zombies will always make a noise around half a second before hitting you.
Everything is completely predictable and has counterplay on L4D, not on DRG. But maybe my opinion on this isn't fair since I got way too much game time on left...

Very true, while it annoyed me in L4D it didn't reduce my overall enjoyment of the game as much, as it was just handled better overall; and quickly pushing the zombie away to shoot it was always an option.

I can't remember how many hours I had on L4D back on Xbox360, but I had that achievement for killing a bajillion zombies or however many it was lol. So; a lot. Prolly one of my all time favorites.

[tramantraks]

I have thought this for a while also, but likewise never said anything. I have definitely noticed the floaty-ness. As I see it, the increased mobility of the swarmer decreases their main exploitable weakness. That weakness being the ability to kill many of them at once, I thought. Now, as opposed to applying AOE, I just find myself shooting them directly, or ignoring them outright before then kiting them into groups as large as possible. Maybe that is the player behavior which is desired?

Something irks me about this tiny, vulnerable, pinky, newborn spider being so individualistic. Wouldn't I be able to simply step on this thing with my size 19 steel dwarf boot, regardless of how many zigzags it makes? I would expect such a creature to have an instinctual inclination towards the wave attack.



From a website about keeping spiders as pets:

Spiderling Dispersement
Many spiders disperse by a method known as ballooning. As the term implies, these little spiders are carried by the wind, much like balloons. To balloon, they raise their rears into the air and release a long strand of silk. Even a slight breeze will catch the strand and carry the lightweight spiderlings hundreds or thousands of feet away -- sometimes miles. Because many spiderlings stay close together until ballooning, and because many groups of spiderlings may be maturing in a small area at the same time, you might see clusters of these tiny travelers all trying to catch the wind in close proximity to each other. Ballooning is often accomplished from a high point....

Social Spiders
Few species of spiders are considered social, but some species live in large family groups. The large clusters of spiders lay out large sheet webs to produce their silken nest. In many cases, these social spiders have a variety of ages present; the youngest spiders tend to be larger in these types of family groups because they benefit from the additional food shared by their older siblings. Some social spiders, including Theridion nigroannulatum, hunt together in pack-like structures....

[Syncourt]

I haven't noticed anything specifically different. I think they do their job perfectly as they are and I don't really feel they should be bunching up any more than they already do. There are opportunities to hit them as a group, but it's just that, an opportunity. I wouldn't say it promotes the AR in any way though, it may be the most ammo efficient weapon for them, but that alone will never be able to sell the AR.

I did notice more leaping in lately. Often leaping in really silly directions, but that might just be them trying to predict my movements. I'm probably changing directions a lot more these days with all the changes too.

I agree they may be a bit too cheeky at leaping over sticky flames to often, though that may be because I never take any extra sticky flame duration, which means that by the time I lay a sticky flame that will burn long enough to get them, I'm already in their leaping range, so they jump over the flame to get to me. Unless I'm in a position where I can place them at the tip of my range.

All the leaping around gives them character IMO. Little bugs bouncing around like that.

[Fuzzy the imperfect]

It's always a laugh to have tiny versions of big things you kill easily attack you. As if they completely lack any sort of self-preservation.

They are dangerous though. They wont kill, but can do some health damage more consistently than easier to hit enemies. They are the attrition enemy.

[MrPurple33]

The Pinkies can be annoying, but I actually Like how they've changed- I usually under estimate them, and when you get that dedicated "Swarm of Swarmers" that surrounds you, you're shields go down, and you have to sprint away and actually concentrate on them

I also feel Like a Gunslinger when I clip 3-5 in a row with the Subata, Burt, or Bulldog

Also cool when a swarmer takes a surprise, giant Leap at your head, and you get the pickaxe kill in mid-air

I almost feel Like we need to have a "Boot" animation just for Literally, Squishing Swarmers- maybe use it to also kick Grunts and such off of Ledges and Platforms climbing up at us

[suetca]

Signed by every word. They feel less 'swarmy' now. Look at this, it just looks silly, some bizarre low-gravity ballet. Also annoys when they split up and attack by one each 5-10 sec.

https://youtu.be/Szy4CGE9Qu0

[gungadin22000]

Swarmers are much cooler now. I love their jolly little leaps, and I feel that it suits their small-and-agile concept a lot better than the more zombie-rush approach of any other enemy.

[BROLY 32]

Wow they can jump right through inhibitor-field generators without getting slowed down one bit ? That's kinda lame, I saw this for the first time today.

[Syncourt]

Originally posted by MrPurple33:

I also feel Like a Gunslinger when I clip 3-5 in a row with the Subata, Burt, or Bulldog

Also cool when a swarmer takes a surprise, giant Leap at your head, and you get the pickaxe kill in mid-air

Yes, its a fun way to make them a bit less predictable too. Imagine how easy they would be to pickaxe or shoot like that if they didn't leap. It just wouldn't give the same feeling anymore.

[Shrinkshooter]

Originally posted by Chibbity:

They are also fairly constant, with always a few in a given wave to bite your ankles.

I'm just coming back after a few months of putting the game down, and I noticed this. They were annoying before, but now they're grit-my-teeth irritating. My first few games I swore there had to be a swarmer spawner somewhere, a nest that needed destroying, but no. It's just a constant, never ending stream of spawners. It doesn't add anything to the game, it just pads the mission time. Killing them isn't fun, dealing with them isn't a challenge, and taking a few seconds every minute to whack a few feels like a huge waste of my overall time.

[Lars Luron]

Honestly I find them more hilarious than dangerous now. They just show up and jump around like idiots, only managing to land a bite every once in a blue moon. They don't really do so much actual *swarming* these days, it seems.