i don't play this crap anymore, but i really would have liked if there were less luck determining factors. bad spawns, no ammo drops, getting shafted on leg stuns/crits, unregistered shots in lag, etc. mercs is mostly a skill game, but when getting down to the nitty gritty of it all, those small things really get in the way of the outcome of a run. and to me, that's just stupid.
While we're on this subject, it's time I gave my thoughts on the luck aspect of this game. To put it simply, I agree with Damaja on the game mainly relying on luck and here's why.
In my opinion, Wesker STARS is the only character that potentially doesn't need any luck in the game and does take the most skill to use over the rest. This would explain why he has the highest scores than the rest on the leader boards. The simple reason why is because his dash bypasses everything, and he has an overall good weapon load out. It's not really the fact that he's OP (even if he may be) but he's simply a character that a player can just play most of the time while not relying on luck all of the time despite certain aspects.
Synester, I remember when you mentioned in a call that having luck in a game like this makes it hard to judge a bad run either because a player was actually "doing bad" as apposed to them just having bad luck. As an example you mentioned that someone could claim to get too many crits in a game
(let's assume they're playing Wesker), and it ultimately has them loose too much time because of the bullet kills or getting Cephalos in the process. Realistically they could have been going for more leg shots prior to those head-shots, but due to the lack of stuns they receive from the luck aspect
(they were probably forced to use extra health and dash enemies that were weakened because of no stuns) they decided to try and go for head shots more often because at least if the game doesn't give you a critical hit, it's a guaranteed stun.
(On Experimental Facility, even head shot stuns are not guaranteed and based on luck, but an every other stage they are)
so someone who doesn't agree with me can say it was the player's fault for relying on head-shots and not shooting the leg more, but that's simply telling them to resort to a worse form of RNG with loosing extra health to dash from no stuns, and they could also be low on health already by doing that earlier and imply have no choice but to try for a more "RNG-Safe" option.
Here's a non Wesker example:
It's clear that any other character besides Wesker STARS 90% of the time will be going for leg stuns to build time. Leg stuns are NEVER guaranteed to happen.
The results you can get from shooting the leg are...
.the enemy grabs their leg for a short time --- stun
.the enemy falls on their knees for a short time --- stun
.the enemy falls on their back --- a less reliable stun unless used correctly to set up multi-kills
.the enemy just flinches - not a stun
The characters are always going for the first two options, because if set up properly that will be a melee. Assume the above results are for REGULAR enemies. Here are your "skill" options if you get the 3rd result.
.you can wait for another enemy (if they are around) and go through the luck process again to try and set them up over the fallen enemy for a multi-kill
.you can wait for the fallen enemy to get up and lead them to another enemy to do the same as the above
If you get the 4th result after all shots are expired before the enemy dies here are your options.
.lead the enemy to another un-weakened enemy and go through the process with the un-weakened enemy to try and set up a multi-kill
.lead the weakened enemy to a timer
(again IF you have one around at the time) and melee them with the timer
.use a flash grenade or a flash round to finish off the enemy
(again, these are not always available)And essentially all of these side options just waste extra time trying to save one melee for 5 seconds when you could have just gotten a viable stun result in the first place.
Now for non-wesker characters, let's say you run into a scripted Cephalo enemy. The basic way to stop this is to shoot them in the leg, and cancel it out right? Chris, Sheva, and Jill HAVE to do this if they want to still actively build time. You are still relying on the game's luck to give you that leg stun you will need to cancel that cephalo; because if you let the Cephalo spawn you will either have to improvise on meleeing it (which still wastes time regardless if it's done correctly or not, and that is also a 50% chance to do it correctly) or you will have to kill it. Wasting more time because of a lost melee.
For a scripted enemy that doesn't stun in the maximum amount of shots you can put into it, here are your melee options:
Chris STARS. can use Nitrogen as a last resort
(Nitrogen is not always available) . after activating the cehpalo, can shoot it multiple times with a machine gun until it rolls on the ground, and with enough shots can stomp it resulting in a melee (Not guaranteed to work, the Cehpalo will usually die before it rolls)
Chris BSAA.can shoot 5 handgun shots to the body of the Cephalo, then from a specific distance shoot it with a shotgun forcing it to the ground, then stomp.
(Does not always work. It can be fairly consistent, but when you're in a group it's not worth it) Chris Safari. certain handgun bullets plus shotgunning it t the ground will melee it
(again not guaranteed)Jill BSAA. multiple shots with the machine gun will cause the cephalo to roll, and can result in a double knee drop melee if enough shots are connected
(Cephalo is not guaranteed to roll)Jill Battlesuit and Sheva BSAA. both can either spam the cehalo wit hthe machine gun until it rolls for a successful melee, or mix up some sniper shots with it while rolling to Impale or Double Knee Drop
(Not guaranteed, not to mention you are wasting a lot of time with this set up, it's better to kill the Ceph and move on) Sheva Tribal. Nitrogen on the weakened enemy before they take more damage
(Nitrogen will not always be available). A lucky shot with one of the arrows will cause the Cehplo to roll on the ground, a second hit from an arrow will result in a melee with an Impale
(Never guaranteed). Explosive rounds to force the ceph to the ground will result in a melee after significant damage has been done prior
(Explosive rounds are never guaranteed, it also wastes and and is overall unsafe if other enemies are around) -----
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Most of you should already know this information on how to melee cephalos as other characters, but I am simply trying to point out that it's still all luck based. If you happened to get a stun, then you don't have to go through any of those above options. That's lucky. If you didn't and end up going through the above options, you've just entered the second stage of battle against the game's luck. Not only do you have to go through the same process with multiple enemies around you, but you also have to enter a THIRD stage of battle against the cephalo.
Now for those of you who still think it's less Luck based, and more skill, I will tell you what I think is the only proper "skill-based" choices you have when it comes to a scripted cephalo situation.
. choosing when to engage a scripted enemy
(when to start shooting them). choosing which is the best method of dealing with a cephalo if forced to activate them
(test your luck with a melee, or just kill it and move on)Other luck based things I'd like to point out are:
.ammo drops
.herb drops
.grenade drops
.enemy spawns (on some maps)
All things that the player has no control over. Certain aspects will INFLUENCE these things, but it's still overall up to the game to decide whether or not you will get handgun ammo for Wesker STARS; if you will get a nitro drop for Sheva Tribal or Chris STARS; if you will get that scripted long pole enemy in Missile Area at the very start of the run, or near the end to screw you over on the combo only to start all over again; if you will get that one green herb drop so that you can stay alive as Wesker STARS.
Now I'm not saying the game is ALL luck based. There is definitely some skill to it, and things that can be the fault of the player and not blamed on luck itself. Here is a list of basic knowledge that is on the player's skill ability.
. knowing your character and all of their options
. knowing the enemy AI and how it works
. knowing where to be at certain times
. understanding all stages and their spawn points
. knowing when to go for timers
. knowing when to discard ammo and etc for your partner
(another luck-based mechanic I don't feel like going over) . perfecting your angel on enemies for multi-kills when you do get stuns
. not getting hit often
(or at all in some cases). knowing how to handle crowds
. despite luck being a factor, finding the way to still consistently build time with little to no downtime between kills
. As mentioned by Synyster, knowing how to openly notice your own mistakes and learning from them instead of blaming luck 24/7
(Spawns, items drops for teammates, bullet kills, and responsibility for being somewhere at the right time are still factors you have some control over)
The main skill factor in this game is the mentality of the player as well. This game (and all other forms of Mercenaries that do exist out there) will take patience, and more often than not it will be a dice roll game that you will be playing 24/7. In this game you WILL need luck to get the best potential score, but you are still controlling the character behind the controller to test just how well you handle your own luck. With most of you here, the scores show that. They show how most of you handle your luck, or how you somehow turn bad luck in your favor. Wesker STARS scores simply show how hard you are willing to work for your achievement with little luck involved. Look at it however you want, luck is still there and it affects your gameplay one way or another.
I may have left out some parts in my argument because it's really late here, and I'm falling asleep :c I hope I at least showed my point well enough to you all. This is all just my opinion and all of you are free to disagree, but I would still like to know what you think in response.
P.S.
Synyster I spell your name wrong a few times in this post I think. Sorry for that xD
