Lerks
MrGunner
Join Date: 2003-01-03 Member: 11757Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2003-01-03 Member: 11757Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">OMG OVERPOWERED</div> What do you guys think about lerks in 3.0 final? Do you think that they should have a crappier flight model and be regulated to sitting in vents sporing, do you think their attacks should be changed to something else(omg spikes), do you think early lerks are worth the res, or do you have any other opinions on them?
Personally I find lerks in 3.0 to be the best lifeform to play as with one small mistake you are instantly dead, and zooming around into groups of marines and taking them out without dying is the most fun I have playing NS.
It has been brought to my attention though that lerking like I do is exploitive as moving really fast is cheating, and that I would never get a single kill if we went back to 2.0 flight model.
Therefore I want to know if this is a common belief among other competetive players, and I want to know what you think could be changed to making the lerk be "less easy" to play. Remember that the lerk is 30 res which slightly more then half the fade cost so making them into completely useless lifeforms is kind of stupid.
Personally I find lerks in 3.0 to be the best lifeform to play as with one small mistake you are instantly dead, and zooming around into groups of marines and taking them out without dying is the most fun I have playing NS.
It has been brought to my attention though that lerking like I do is exploitive as moving really fast is cheating, and that I would never get a single kill if we went back to 2.0 flight model.
Therefore I want to know if this is a common belief among other competetive players, and I want to know what you think could be changed to making the lerk be "less easy" to play. Remember that the lerk is 30 res which slightly more then half the fade cost so making them into completely useless lifeforms is kind of stupid.
Comments
ditto
Other people are not as skilled in the art it seems.
Other people are not as skilled in the art it seems. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sarcasm and parody in one thread. This is like a two for one deal.
But they don't need changing.
I'd like to see the lerk take a little more skill to use properly at the higher levels, but otherwize I think it is one of the better built aliens in 3.0f. Certianly better then the fade or onos.
huh
granted, but high level clans can shoot well. I've taken down enough shotties/hmg cal omega level players as a lerk 1v1... but then I've taken alot of them down as a fade before too... If you aren't too excited about swooping in for the kill, you can get some FRIGGING good shots to unload entire clips of HMG or shotty ammo into nothing before you acctually start biting them, and it doesn't take much skill, it just takes a little patience.
I'm not trying to say that the good lerks aren't alot frigging better then me, I'm just saying compared to the fade or skulk, the lerk learning curve flattens ALOT faster.
The learning curve on basic movement for Lerking is just lower than everything else - but the actual skill involved is pretty damn high. Not only will you die in a split second of indecision, but you have to scout, spot weaknesses and create openings for your team at a breakneck pace - at least if you're trying to be as useful as possible.
Lerk is simply the ultimate poser lifeform. Its really easy to look like a good lerk - because to the single marine they're almost indescernable from sub-par ones.
True. I actually find the new nerfed pancaking worse than the old, since now you THINK that you can kill the lerk since it's a lot easier to track it, but shots won't register <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Also note for the people whining about hitboxes: get.over.it. They are not THAT bad compared to other lifeforms (blinking fades and leaping skulks don't take proper damage either, whine about them instead). I've been knocked out the sky by plenty of people, so I know hitboxes aren't that broken.
Also note for the people whining about hitboxes: get.over.it. They are not THAT bad compared to other lifeforms (blinking fades and leaping skulks don't take proper damage either, whine about them instead). I've been knocked out the sky by plenty of people, so I know hitboxes aren't that broken. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I get the impression from much much lerk play (little buggers are fun as hell to use) that non celerity lerks aren't supposed to enter combat with shotguns/HMGs. With celerity I find myself using grendels strat against heavy weapons, never acctually approaching the target on a straight line, but diving just to its left or something and swerving into it last moment.
Celer lerks are just evil against LMGs, granted this is pub examples, but I have several times went in with my lerk and had a whole LMG clip and pistol clip fired at me, made my kill, and flew off just to knowtice I had taken a total of 20 damage during the conflict. Multiply the LMGs and it really doesn't make a difference unless the lerk makes a mistake.
Seriously Swiftspear, Lerking on random pub server #123 isn't the same as playing competitively no matter how much you think you own. Please stop until you actually know what you're talking about like everyone else on this thread (excluding me). Specifically I've seen Gunner, Adj & Saltz Lerking vs the top Delta clans in the last 2 seasons & doing exceptionally well the majority of the time so I'd take what they say as far as Lerking goes as pretty much the way it is (not saying coris, Golden & Grendel are bad Lerks, I'm just not as familiar with you guys as I am the other 3).
I'd suggest learning how to connect to a server running the CAL-NS config a good place to start Swiftspear.
Seriously Swiftspear, Lerking on random pub server #123 isn't the same as playing competitively no matter how much you think you own. Please stop until you actually know what you're talking about like everyone else on this thread (excluding me). Specifically I've seen Gunner, Adj & Saltz Lerking vs the top Delta clans in the last 2 seasons & doing exceptionally well the majority of the time so I'd take what they say as far as Lerking goes as pretty much the way it is (not saying coris, Golden & Grendel are bad Lerks, I'm just not as familiar with you guys as I am the other 3).
I'd suggest learning how to connect to a server running the CAL-NS config a good place to start Swiftspear. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have played scrims and several pugs thank you very much. The majority of my compeditive experiance has been as a lerk player, and I have also lerked against a few cal delta level players in my time as well (granted it wasn't in a compedtive environment however). I'm not going to pretend I'm at the same level as adj gunner or saltz, but get off your damn high horse already. There is no right of passage that states that being in a cal level clan makes you automatically more knowledgeable then everyone else. You shouldn't have to wonder why you get so little respect in all the pub comunities.
I honestly don't care if you like me or respect me malibu, and I don't care if you understand the issues that were causing me troubles connecting to that game, but it is more then obvious that you have a chip on your shoulder here. I shouldn't have to tell you that random grudges against members of the community aren't going to do you much good.
<span style='color:orange'>TO ALL COMPETITIVE PLAYERS: Although this is a competitive discussion forum, please respect the fact that it is open to ANYONE. Simply saying competitive and public play are different, without attempting to explain WHY, HOW, or with honorable intention is simply unacceptable. Either help out, or dont say anything at all.</span>
PS: Saltz is a horrible lerk dood.
<span style='color:orange'>na·ive or na·ïve
Lacking worldly experience and understanding
Calling someone naive regarding comptetitive play is appropriate. Calling someone a moron is not.</span>
PS: Saltz is a horrible lerk dood. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Like you say it goes both ways. For every idea/comment you have seen a pubber make that totally doesn't work with high skill NS gameplay, I have seen a clanner make thier own suggestion that would destroy lowskill pub gameplay.
No one likes to think about what is going on at the other side of the fence. I may be nub, but I'm trying to understand both sides here.
Yes, the lerk is indeed mighty. One of the reasons I love the lerk is that while it is very much a support class, should the need arise, melee is a viable option (Off Topic: one of my main gripes with the fade is that you're forced into one playstyle, notso with the lerk). Considering the numbers that are stacked against the lerk, it's quite amazing what they are capable of. Throughout my time offensivly lerking I've personally gone toe-to-toe with everything from LA/LMG to JP/HMG and most of the time, come out on top. In fact, I'd even go as far as saying the only thing an expert lerk would be unable to reliably solo is HA (for those wondering, no, I'm not one of those experts).
With res cost taken into consideration, I'd even consider a good lerk to be more valuable than a good fade, mainly by virtue of their versitility. But as for the lerk being over powered; any individual overpowering characteristics that the lerk may have, is well and truly rebuffed by the fact that lerks drop like bricks.
PS: Saltz is a horrible lerk dood. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Unfortunately, I'm forced to disagree with you here. My limited experience of human interaction (psychology degree, extensive leadership training, 6 years customer service, 2 years as lead QA and 7 years of online gaming/clan play) is that what differentiates clanners from normal gamers is that they have the correct skillset and enough free time to play computer games as a serious hobby.
Additionally, they need to be people with the income (or parental backing) to be able to afford to spend so much time on such a pursuit.
They tend to have slightly better situational awareness on average, slightly better fine motor control and plenty of confidence (in their gaming ability). They also tend to be white males, aged 14-21.
You require finely honed reflexes and a broad range of skills to be an NFL nosetackle. That doesn't mean that I'd ask Tim Crumrie's opinon on tactics, even if he did spend years at the top of the game.
On the other hand, Sun Tzu's grasp of tactics and strategy was flawless, but I'm fairly confident that most people could slap the **** out of him in a fight, given that he was an accountant by trade.
You only need to have a quick browse through either the competitive feedback thread in this forum or the Veteran archives to quickly see the hole in your argument. Whilst most people are capable of learning patterns and suitable responses to certain conditions, relatively few people can construct an abstract dynamic model of gameplay in their head and extrapolate from it.
Note 1: Understanding gameplay as a fixed model based on constant values and understanding game balance based on the shifting dynamics of hp/damage/time/res/control/psychology/ergonomics are two quite different things.
Note 2: I am an average Lerk, at best. I would be better, but I don't have a clan, which means I don't get the practice. I don't play in a clan, because;
a) Experience has taught me that I would be recruited for purposes of E-status rather than skill (honorary HAM member <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> )
b) Clans that would recruit me without knowing who I was are generally too noob for me to want to play with.
c) The only decent league is in America
d) I'm making a competitive FPS of my own and I really shouldn't be posting here, let alone clanning.
Stop putting the emphasis on bite kills. It helps, but it's not the first prerequisite of a good lerk IMO.
And yeah, the class is fine.