Idea Archer "Nerf" (Not Removing Its Instakill)

The thing is, even with these addition it would still be very difficult to avoid the instakill due to how fast the arrows move. I see about 80% of archer's arrows heading towards me but I can't move out of the way quick enough.

 

I think something like this is going down the right track. Getting headshotted with no warning is very annoying. Every other Instakill or pseudo-instakill has some sort of indicator. Pyro has the enchanted axe/armor for frenzy, and assassin has to click an item in hand & their hand goes to their sword. With archer it's basically pray that you notice the arrow in time to dodge it or play elf and pray the shield doesn't bug.

 

'Annoying' is an understatement. The fact that you can die instantly, with (usually) no warning at all almost anywhere on most maps, is the OP aspect of Archer and is one of the most unfair mechanics in the game (as it can be very hard to retaliate if you're not Elf, another archer, or perhaps Ninja). It's almost game-breaking if maps aren't specifically designed to accommodate how ridiculous it is. Some very cool maps have had to be removed because, in part, of constant dominance by Archers (Ship Battle, some of the old maps on McPvP) as I'm sure you know.

To remedy this, Archer needs to not have a long ranged instant kill.

This is creative but I don't think it will help much, if at all. There's several reasons for this 1) I like to play CTF with all in-game sounds off (or on extremely low volume) as they're annoying and a distraction when I'm listening to music. I know that's the case for numerous other CTF'ers as well 2) What if there are several arrows coming your way? Does this count for Engineer turret arrows too? Consecutive sounds would be confusing and unhelpful, 3) What @GalaThundR said. You might be good at dodging arrows but plenty of people aren't and a brief audio cue (which may or may not be difficult to hear depending on settings, background noise/other audio cues) is not going to help.

+1 to this idea. But I think it'd be more useful as a cosmetic rather than a way to 'nerf' headshots. All its going to do is make the arrow look cooler before people get headshot.

I'm all for aesthetic polish. But I'm not for this idea -1

If you're going to punish Archers for precision then remove the Punch I because it makes them way to hard to deal with at close range (near impossible to fight an Archer who hits their shots with all that knockback).

 

/shrug

Okay.

You're going to be able to differentiate multiple sounds at once?

That's beside the point. Sure you can survive headshots with audio cues (in certain circumstances) but that's not a reason why they should stay in the game or be nerfed to a much greater extent than they are in this idea.

I don't think "the masses" would be as annoyed if radical changes were undertook that made the meta more fun instead of very weak classes battling very OP ones (as it currently stands with Necro and Elf) which, as I can tell you, is not fun.

I think a lot of people would appreciate it if classes were, generally, easier to use and easier to succeed with via a series of buffs (not anything gamebreaking, just things that are exciting). What's "much harder to sell" imo, are tiny buffs to weak classes that do nothing but alter the window dressing on how much those classes suck, or especially nerfs to said classes. I'm sure you remember the complaints after (a prior series of nerfs) the CTF Holiday Update happened.

I agree but this isn't, imo, the kind of minor tweaks that should be undertaken.

 

True.

I think the exact opposite is the case but that's a different conversation (which has also been repeatedly discussed).

When you put it in that perspective then no, I don't have a problem with any of these changes. They're all pretty harmless (although I do think the particle effect may be better added as a purchase-able cosmetic) even if they're not really what needs to (imo) happen with Archer.

 

but that's what archer's supposed to do. It sucks with melee, so it's goal is to be tough on distance.

 

I'm one of those people who doesn't mind Archer's instakill. I do like the idea of having the arrows on fire so you can see them. There have been many times where I've gotten headshot because I couldn't see the arrow. I knew the Archer was there, and I knew he was shooting at me; I just couldn't see where the arrow was heading.

 

This isn't a bad idea, my only concern is if you get headshot from behind, you're not going to be seeing that. Is that a fair kill? Also where do you draw the line when it sets alight?

 

FINALLY someone who says that xD

 

After reading this, I wondered what would happen if archer could only headshot flag carriers. That'd still end stalemates, but regular people wouldn't have to worry about pesky archers all the time. It would also make sense, since the banner removes your helmet which exposes your head allowing for a "head" shot. I suppose you would have to buff the class in return, but this is all speculation, but I still think it's kind of clever (hopefully it is).

 

Or maybe a particle trail/a way to slow down how quick the arrow moves? Not sure if it's possible though.

 

It is possible to change the velocity of an arrow. Idk if this changes the damage or the distance though.

 

you can change the arrow arcs, but it would be extremely annoying for every player that has learned to play archer. I think there are easier solutions than changing the arrow arc, though it's a possibility

 

Add a cooldown to archers instakill

 

That's actually a pretty good idea. This would keep instakill, but making it less annoying.