I'm okay with the warhounds as long as they don't appear in a group.
Two isn't that fun but okay...three is unenjoyable, four is a joke.
But it's nothing but a punishment when several of them appear at the same time with even more human NPCs shooting at you.
The humans are already quite spongy enough but the warhounds can be even tougher at times and they use that to their advantage by ramboing at you.
It's probably possible to deal with that if you're playing in a group but when you're playing solo, you've got a couple of warhounds coming around with the other NPC shooting at you...
so you try to get rid of the warhounds first and you get bullet-ridden by the human NPCs, but if you try to get rid of the humans first you get one-shoted by the sniper warhound or get forced out of cover by the mortar hound and get bullet-ridden again by the NPCs.
They're basically not that fun to fight against.
I can understand them having great accuracy, after all...they aren't human and it'd be strange if those computer brained dogs kept missing.
But I do think their weak-points should be easier to see, their weak-points should have a larger hit area and they should be a bit softer (they feel too bullet spongy right now).
A lot of people say that grenades and EMP grenades / Pulse are a great way to deal with them...and that I do agree.
But the problem is...I mainly use Firewall, so EMP grenades are not a choice and I'm not a big fan of the EMP Pulse either.
(I'm looking forward to the EMP sticky bomb, though!)
1,2,....5 Warhounds aren't an issue for me.
Tier 6 Jammer Pulse with Feedback loop, overall 12 second recharge time on the skill anyway. I can use that skill 2x in a row & then a rapid cooldown for the next two & deal with Warhounds no problem. Like any enemy in the game, they require a specific type of build to make them easy to handle. There's like 7 people in my clan that always invite me to join them in the Federal Bunker when they have to complete it on Invaded, because I can rapidly take out all 5-9 warhounds in the burning vault room within minutes.
On heroic & legendary, the mini-gun warhounds are the most dangerous. They don't hold back in rushing right up to your team or even past them, & that "lucy" move where they can instantly kill anyone when they drop to the ground & 360 shoot, is frustrating. Given this game's style, there's bound to be at least 1-2 types of enemies that will be a nightmare for your character's build/playstyle. Warhounds are a popular "op enemy" because most people don't invest into the gear build area in which makes them a breeze to deal with. This is normal though, there's going to be enemies that prove frustratingly hard for you because your build isn't tailored for them. This is where either teaming up with other players, or having 2-3 builds ready at all times is needed.
As a few people have pointed out. These enemies are easy to deal with even on Heroic+ depending on build/skill you use. Not all builds are universal and most require diversity or change to get some things done. =) It's all about learning your enemies weakness, and going from there.
Bigger issue than most are attributing to it. One annoyance in the game that irritates and frustrates players, and there are many more imho. Increasing the difficulty merely serves to highlight them and make the game less fun.Originally Posted by Malkarne Go to original post
Sure they are easily countered, but it doesn't stop them being annoying. Couple that with all the other annoyances and you have a recipe for a game that just isn't fun.
Increasing the difficulty only serves to highlight these annoyances in the game mechanics. On paper, yes it works, you can counter. And it's challenging. But is it fun? Many on the forums are saying not. Isn't that the most important aspect of a game?
There's some good posts recently that have lists of similar mechanics that are so irritating they make you not want to play.
They just don't fit in the DIvision universe. I would consider them to be some type of bosses in missions/bounties, but that's it. Not fill whole areas with 8 of them (Invaded FEB & Tidal Basin last scene)
PreTU8 it was not a problem since the Merciless was so much effective against them. Hitting the weakpoints might help, but Massive needs to fix the model boxes because sometimes the rounds can't connect even if you're firing directly at them.
I have an unpopular idea. Change the name of them from Warhounds to Warhorses. Before they do their suicidal charges at you, make them buck (like a horse) exposing the underbelly. It could be a huge weak point that, with a powerful enough gun or with a whole squad shooting at the underbelly, could destroy it. Just a thought.Originally Posted by UbiFate Go to original post
I'm split on some responses. Therefore I try to differentiate some scenarios/encounters.
First the three types have different death mechanics, dealing with multiple sniper dogs and their emp-on-death I would consider easier than the other types. The snipers are in my opinion more predictable to handle. The other dogs don't care if one of them goes down.
Second, going against them in open areas like last stage tidal basin versus close areas like federal bunker is also a difference. In my experience the jammer loses it's effectiveness the larger the area gets.
Third, going against dogs only and mix types of enemies makes a difference, target priorization is key. Getting naded by grenadiers, rushed by heavies while dogs running around makes it more difficult too.
Fourth, going against them solo or in a group changes the playstyle, in 3-man groups a single emp duration is often not enough for one dps to take a dog down. Not all players can focus on one target all the time... Line of sight, Target priorization, etc.
Last but not least, you can not always carry emp with you, often times you just need other skills for certain areas/situations, not everyone is demolitionist or survivalist to use the special weapons too.
I still would say their ratio armor/speed/dmg is off.Nonetheless the dogs are manageable no matter if they come alone or in groups, no matter if we agents are solo or in a group. It just needs the knowledge that they come and if playing in groups coordination and "sacrifice" of one player to use jammer and dedicate to the dogs for this area. For me personaly some scenarios - multiple types of dogs, multiple other types of enemies, 4man group - get really confusing and stressing, two of those places are last fight tidal basin and darpa ;-)