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Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.



Evolve Stage 2


Discord Server

:kingsley: WHY WOULD THEY MAKE A SEQUEL TO EVOLVE?! :kingsley:

THEY DID NOT! Evolve Stage 2 is a remake of Evolve, except its FREE-TO-PLAY!

But evolve sucked, it was awful why would I waste my time on this?

I dunno, cause its free? There are lots of changes to make the game better and there is no more DLC everyone gets all the content. Plus the zero entry cost means there is actually a playerbase.

Alright so what is Evolve Stage 2?

Evolve Stage 2 is an asymmetric competitive multiplayer game. There is only one real game mode entitled "Hunted". The game features two teams, one consists of a single player playing as a spooky monster. There are several variants ranging from highly mobile to lethargic brawler. The other team consists of 4 Hunters. Hunters each have a role: Medic, Support, Tracker and Assault. By working as a team and focussing on their strengths the Hunters end goal is either kill the monster or save the relay.



Alright tell me more about these scary spooky monsters.

Every monster has four abilities. Abilities are basically special attacks, they each have a cooldown and vary by monster. Generally abilities are used to help you kill hunters better but often have secondary uses. The most important thing about monsters is that they have three stages:

Stage 1 - This is the stage the monster starts at. During the character selection screen you will be able to select what monster you like. Then you will be able to select what ability to evolve (this has changed from the original Evolve). Each ability has up to three levels. And to start with you have four points you can distribute. You don't have to skill every ability, so you could just max one ability and skill into another at level 1. Or you could get every ability at level 1. Then you select your perks (more of that below).

Stage 2 - The monster gets more health and armor. The monster also gets three more points to spend in abilities.

Stage 3 - The monster gets even more health and armor. The monster also gets two more points to spend in abilities. At this stage the monster can travel to a key point in the map and attack a power relay to end the game. If the monster doesn't destroy the power relay or kill all the hunters when the match timer hits zero the Hunters win and the monster loses.

Oh and by the way, the monster cannot respawn (but the hunters can more on that below).

Also in addition to the abilities a monster has he can also do a normal attack (generally a swipe), he can jump great distances (has a max of three "Jump charges" that regenerate over time) and can climb most surfaces. He can also become a sneaky ninja monsters which helps him hide and lets him do stealth attacks.



But how does the monster "evolve" (Oh I get it now)

The monster evolves by eating. Yes just like fat goons the monster gets better by consuming substance. The map is scattered with wildlife (pictured above), some weak, some strong, some passive, some aggressive. Most of them are edible once dead though. So the monsters job is to eat those to get big. Once you've consumed enough wildlife you can evolve. Evolution puts you in a cacoon for ~15 seconds, during which you level up your abilities but are completely defenseless. Best to do this in a safe place.

Oh also monsters have armor. Armor automatically regenerates slowly but you can gain it quickly by eating things. Eating things is very important for Monstro.

Oh also also Hunters can be eaten too (Including robots :downs: )



I want to be the thing that hunts the Monsters, tell me about these brave men and women.

Hunters are big strong men (and womyn (and robits))! Like I said above there are four different types of hunters, so lets just jump right in and talk about each class:

Medic - This is your life blood. For god's sake protect your medic. Whatever you were doing, stop it, and protect your loving medic. The medic does what any good medic should do, she/he heals the gently caress out of the team. Medics have a variety of different healing methods, beams, grenades, buoys but they all do the same thing, they heal their team. Medics all have the same ultimate ability, a burst heal that heals themselves and those around them. A good monster will try and kill the medic first, don't let him!

Support - The support is one of the most varied classes. All supports share a burst shield ability that applies shields to himself and everyone around them. This can be huge in saving someone on the brink of death. However many supports kits vary after that. Some can just emphasize damage, some have ability's the overcharge jetpacks, others let all hunters abilities come off cooldown, and some just drop bombs onto monsters. Supports can be very fun and are typically the second hunter a monster will try and murder.

Trapper - A bad trapper isn't a death sentence anymore since the changes to the dome but a good trapper is still worth his weight in gold. The trapper's job is to find and control the monster. All trappers have an ability that globally tracks the monster. This puts the monsters location on everyones compass (Its just a general direction) and allows the trapper to see the outlines of all creatures through walls (including the monster). Most trapper abilities have something to do with locating the monster (tracker gun, sonic alarms) and controlling it (stasis grenade, harpoon gun). Trappers are quite essential in preventing the monster from just free-farming to evolve.

Assault - Assault is big man, assault crush monster! Pretty straight forward they shoot (or punch) the monsters. They're whole deal is damage. They all share a defense matrix ability which prevents them from taking any damage for the duration of the ability. A good assault can end a game quickly. A bad assault... well lets hope you picked some damage dealing supports.

Aside from this Hunters also have a jetpack. The jetpack can be used to fly, but by double tapping jump and holding a direction is can also be used to dodge. Jetpack management is one of the most important aspects of being a good Hunter, and takes practice. Jetpacks are crucial for both fighting and hunting the monster.

I was downed, I died but I'm alive again but now I keep dying?

When a hunter's health gets to zero he is downed; he can use a weak sidearm to deal additional damage but is otherwise defenseless: he cannot move or use abilities. Another player can run to him and pick him up. BUT WAIT! A medic can also heal him from a distance and eventually he will get up on his own. Sometimes that is a way better strategy than running headlong towards the monster to slowly pick up a friend (which gets cancelled if you take damage). If you stay down too long or give up or if the monster goes to town on you, you will die. When you die you can respawn back into the game. The game does wave respawns so if multiple people die they will all come back together. Early in the game you respawn in ~20 seconds. But later in the game its a minute and a half. Also every time you are downed you are penalized for the rest of the game. Your max health is lower. After being downed twice your at max penalty and you will die instantly the next time your health drops to zero, no more downed state just instant full-death. So monsters who take some fights successfully early can cripple a team for the rest of the game.

If all of the Hunters die before anyone respawns, the monster wins.



So what do I do when I find the monster?

THUNDERDOME BABY! In old evolve only the trapper could drop the dome, now everyone can. If you are close enough to the monster you can call in an energy dome to encompass the monster preventing it from escaping and forcing it to fight you. Be careful though this could actually be to his advantage! The dome has a bunch of new mechanics that aren't super obvious but the jist is this: the dome lasts five minutes when activated, but if a hunter is downed, or the monster takes a lot of damage the dome timer is reduced, sometimes a dome will only be up for ~30 seconds or less. The dome goes on cooldown after it expires, meaning you have to wait before you can re-dome the monster.

gently caress I cannot find this monster!

This is a common problem, so common I want to address it in the main post. The monster leaves footprints wherever he goes unless he is stealthing. He can also disturb birds which will ping his position for everyone on the map. Sometimes the natural thing to do is just follow the tracks. But hit tab you dummy, the maps are big fishbowls and the monster will almost always be faster than you. You have to cut him off. Don't completely separate from your team but you really need to try and guess where the monster will be and meet him there. Its not easy, and it takes practice but it is one of the most commonly sited points of frustration.

How do I unlock all these cool things I see?

First off :siren:Don't unlock perks with keys:siren:. Perks are earned over time just through normal play.

Also :siren:Don't buy Bucket:siren:! Bucket is obtained through daily sign in rewards after the fourth day.

OK now as you play you will earn Silver Keys. This is the f2p currency. You use it to unlock classes, and skins (and perks but like I said don't do that unless you really want to). Silver Keys (or SK) are a bit stingy but you will get enough to unlock a class in ~15-20 games. Its not great, but its not terribly restrictive either. I suspect in the future they will make this something you can buy to rake in the cash, right now its only earned through gameplay.

If you want to learn more about the different hunters/monsters you can buy check out the posts below where I will detail every hunter/monster/perk to the best of my ability.

As goes for all posts in this OP, if there is anything wrong, missing, or different than what I have posted please feel free to let me know. This game has a pretty high level of complexity and there is a lot to it and I am trying to address all of it without being overwhelming.

Discord Server

Knifegrab fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Jul 16, 2016

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Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.


When you just need to kill some big bad beast.



Burst Heal (Class ability) - Every medic in the game has a fourth ability called Burst Heal (though the name can vary slightly). This ability heals both the medic, and all hunters around her for a significant chunk of health. (Exact numbers to be figured out).
________________________________________

Caira

Napalm Launcher - Caira can lob napalm grenades at her target. The grenades do a bit of intial damage and then apply a damage over time affect to the target. The grenades do area damage, are projectile and have a considerable arc to them.

Healing Grenade - Using the same projectile system that the napalm grenades do, Caira can instead shoot healing grenades at her teammates. These apply a heal in a large area of affect.

Acceleration Field - Caira has an ability to make her Sanic. She boosts everyones movement speed for a short duration with a long cooldown. This can be really useful for catching up to the monster to dome it.


Slim

Leech Gun - Slims Leech gun does decent damage. Its not great, but what it is good for is recharging your burst heal. Land about 3-4 shots from your leech gun and your heal will be brought completely off cooldown. Become the annoying bugman every monster hates.

Spore Cloud Gun - This puts out a large area of spore cloud that messes up the monster. If inside the spore cloud the monster does not see hunter outlines, class, or health.

Healing Drone - This little bug guy will fly to whatever hunter you are pointing him at and after a short delay will begin healing him. Can be used to revive downed hunters. Will only heal after a short delay and if the person is taking now damage.


Val

Armor-Piercing Sniper Rifle - A single shot sniper rifle. Deals pretty impressive damage but has to be reloaded every shot. However it does leave a vulnerability spot on the monster that if your teammates hit deals bonus damage.

Medgun - Play TF2 medic in Evolve! Point your gun at a teammate and hold to start a beam that will heal him over time. Has energy that depletes so eventually it needs to recharge.

Tranquilizer Gun - Three shots per magazine and hitscan. Can ADS for accuracy. If you land a tranq on the monster it will slow him and outline him for all your teammates for a short period of time.


Lazarus

Silenced Sniper Rifle - Does pretty ok damage, but importantly it doesn't give away your position when you damage the monster and also leaves behind weak points your teammates can hit for bonus damage.

Lazarus Device - If a teammate is down, or even completely dead, if you can get to their body this device will resurrect them in one second. Also it negates any downed penalties they may have gotten. Very strong but focuses on a "my team will go down" playstyle.

Personal Cloak - Popping this cloak will make lazarus invisible after a one second delay. If he takes damage he will briefly become visible. In an upcoming patch he will also gain some fairly decent life regen during cloak.



Shield Burst (Class ability) - Every support gets an ability to apply shields to themselves and hunters around them. For most hunters this shield fades over time, but can be great in a pinch to save someones skin.
________________________________________

Hank

Laser Cutter - A laser accurate hitscan weapon that does moderate damage to monsters and can crit.

Shield Projector - A handheld device that applies a shield to whomever hank is targeting. The shield lasts as long as you continue to use it but loses power when it takes damage. Recharges over time after a small delay. Useful for saving someone from death. Can be used on downed hunters.

Orbital Barrage - After a short delay this will call down a barrage of bombs onto a designated area of land. This does not follow the monster but instead is targeted to a fixed point on the ground. The targeted area must be free of obstruction above it. Though this will not hurt Hunters it will disorient them. Deals massive damage to the monster if he stays in the area during the barrage.


Bucket

Guided Missile Launcher - Pretty straight forward, you can fire some missiles and they will target your crosshairs. Just point, click and keep pointing. Deal decent enough damage.

Sentry Guns - You can deploy up to three sentries at a time. Pretty decent damage, try and get the monster to fight near them, they do get bonus's from perks like poison round.

Mechanized Recharge - Another burst like ability but this helps take everyone's class ability off cooldown. Extremely powerful is well coordinated.


Cabot

Rail Cannon - This bad boy can shoot through mother fuckin walls. Its pretty dope. It does have a range on its wall shooting abilities but its nothing to scoff at. Does massive damage but is only one shot per reload.

Damage Amplifier - Target the monster with this device and you will make him take 1.8x damage from everyone else. As the damage occurs this weapons energy will drain eventually needing to be recharged.

Dust Tagging - Call in a radioactive dust cloud. This coats a very large area in dust that if the monster is in (or walks into after) will outline him for the entire team for quite some time.


Sunny

Mini-nuke Grenade Launcher - Fire a single shot mini nuke, that packs a serious punch. Fires in an arc like a grenade launcher.

Jetpack Booster - Point this at an ally and hold down the mouse button. This will give their jetpack an overcharge letting them get out of hairy situations or catch up to the monster. Arguably one of the best abilities in the game.

Shield Drones - Sunny can deploy a shield drone near her at any time. This drone will remain stationary at its deploy position and after a short delay will shield people nearby automatically who need it. Once the shield is depleted the drone will need to recharge before it can help again.



Planetary Scan (Class ability) - Every trapper gets an ability to scan the entire map for the monster. This puts the monsters direction on everyone's compass at the bottom of the screen. In addition for a short period of time the trapper moves faster and can see monster and wildlife silhouettes through walls.
________________________________________


Abe

Custom Shotgun - Abe can dish out some serious damage with this shotgun. Get in close and unload on the beast.

Stasis Grenade - Abe can throw out three of these at a time. They act like sticky grenades, and can stick to any surface they land on. When the monster walks over them he will be enveloped in a stasis field, significantly slowing his movement speed. This can also just be thrown directly at the monster as there is no arm time.

Tracking Dart Pistol - Arguably Abe's best ability, the tracking dart pistol is a hitscan pistol that applies tracking to the monster. If the monster is hit with a tracking dart, or if the monster consumes wildlife that have been tagged, the monster will appear on everyone's HUD, fully tracking its position no matter what. It does wear off after a while but shooting the monster with another dart resets the timer. A good abe has the monster always tracked as the dome comes down.


Griffin

Gauss SMG - Another standard smg for decent damage dealing. A bit more accurate than most smg's.

Harpoon Gun - HARPOON! Harpoon gun owns, harpoon gun is life. Shoot the monster and keep the button pressed down to hold the monster in place with a harpoon. That means he can't move away from you unless the harpoon is broken (which he does by meleeing it). Super useful for slowing the monster when he is running from a dome.

Sound Spikes - You can deploy three sound spikes at a time and they cover a large area. When the monster walks through an area monitored by sound spikes his location will be transmitted to the whole team. A really powerful tool for tracking the beast.


Maggie

Machine Pistol - Your basic smg-like weapon. Deals decent damage to the monster but fairly inaccurate.

Harpoon Traps - Maggie can deploy up to three automated harpoon traps. If the monster walks close enough to a trap it will automatically harpoon it. However this weapon takes three seconds to arm once deployed.

Pet Trapjaw - Daisy! Maggie's third ability is a passive. However it is a super cute pooch. She will help you find the monster (how I'm not exactly sure). She will also help get downed hunters up by giving them kisses :kimchi:


Crow

Kinetic Long Rifle - His long rifle can fire semi auto to deal a fair bit of damage or can be charged up to punch through the monsters armor and do damage to its health directly.

Stasis Gun - Can be fired semi auto to apply a small slow or charged up for a serious slow on the monster.

Pet Batray - Crow sends out his pet to scout for the monster, he sends him out in a straight line and the batray outlines any wildlife it sees.



Defense Matrix (Class ability) - Every assault gets a defense matrix to protect himself from the monster Activating this ability negates 90% of damage taken. Though this ability last a fairly long time it has a very long cooldown.
________________________________________


Hyde

Flamethrower - Hyde's flamethrower has a relatively short range (though longer than you might think) but deals massive damage. Surprisingly it deals no damage over time.

Minigun - Hyde's minigun is a decent second choice if his flamethrower runs out of juice or if the monster is too far away. This weapon is hitscan and can crit.

Toxic Grenade - This area denial grenade deals massive damage if the monster stays inside of it. Useful for forcing a monster off a downed teammate. Relatively short cooldown.


Markov

Lightning Gun - Markov's lighting gun might be the easiest gun to use in the game. Point it in the general direction of a monster and it will hit, it doesn't need any real accuracy. It is limited in its range and runs out of juice pretty quick though but does pack a punch.

Assault Rifle - Markov's secondary is nothing to scoff at. While not quite as damaging as markov it haw a much better range, and you can ADS with it giving it pinpoint accuracy, incredibly good for damaging down a fleeing mosnter.

Arc Mines - Up to three arc mines can be deployed on the battlefield. They take three seconds to arm but deal massive damage to the monster if it walks over it. Really good for setting up the dome while the monster is hiding scared.


Parnell

Combat Shotgun - A combat shotgun. Pretty self explanatory. It shoots and hurts things up close.

Multifire Rocket Launcher - Can fire a bunch of rockets one after another. High DPS but slow travel time so not the easiest to land.

Super Soldier - Makes Parnell move faster, switch weapons/reload faster, jump higher, and fire his shotgun and rocket launcher much much faster. Lasts a good amount of time but has quite the cooldown.


Torvald

Autofire Shotgun - This shotgun mag dumps, if you fire it, it won't stop autofiring till its dry. Deals massive damage but you have to be right up on the monster.

Shrapnel Grenades - Take it out and lob it at the monster. Deals minor damage but covers the monster in weak points, which you can then hit for bonus damage.

Mortar Cannon - This is torvalds hardest ability. He launches a volley of mortar shells at the targetted destination but they take a bit of time to land and are pretty inaccurate. You have to plan where the monster will be. Deals massive damage.

There are many more hunters to add, this list is not yet comprehensive, it will be updated over time.
Image headers provided by the amazing Taiso

Knifegrab fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Jul 25, 2016

Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.
This post is reserved for Monster details. It will be updated soon



Image headers provided by the amazing Taiso

Knifegrab fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Jul 16, 2016

Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.
This post is reserved for Perk information. Updated when possible.



Image headers provided by the amazing Taiso

Knifegrab fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Jul 16, 2016

Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.
This post is reserved for FAQ and tips/tricks. I will add to it asap

FAQ

So what is different about this game from the original?

I never played the original so I will comment on what I have heard but if anyone has anything else to add please feel free to mention it. The original was a mess of season passes and dlc that seemed incredibly greedy and ridiculous. This killed the game more than probably any other decision. The game is now totally free and everyone can play with anyone. The game also is much more fast paced now. The rounds are shorter, the tracker has a new tracking ability to find the monster quicker, and anyone can dome the monster (previous only the trapper could dome him). The dome now centers on the monster as well so you can't really screw up dome placement. The maps have all been reworked as have some classes and monsters. There are a ton of little changes such as the monster no longer having in-combat and out-of-combat stamina regen (he just has one constant regen rate now so take pot shots at will!) but the overall change is the game is faster, it doesn't feel like a constant game of hide and seek, and its more fight focussed.

Why does this game already have such mixed reviews on steam!?

People are dumb. I mean really dumb selfish idiots. Most of the people complaining are people who feel burned by the F2P model because they dropped lots of cash in the original evolve. Other people posting negative reviews got really good at ghosting hunters as a monster in old evolve where it was easy as gently caress to just forever avoid the hunters and never fight. Pretty much people are just scared of change. Really the change is great because the gameplay is much more engaging and the most important part, there is a serious player base now. The complainers would mostly prefer nothing to change than to have anyone to play with, its really bizarre. There are legitimate concerns over balance and gameplay but most of the reviews on steam boil down to "Hurr durr I spent money on this and now its different!"

Pubbies suck! UGH WHERE CAN I PLAY WITH GOOD PLAYERS!?

Discord Server - Though be warned we're not good.

Perks are confusing! You're post above is blank/doesn't go into enough info etc!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=721252371

Tips and Tricks

-Don't always try and get your teammates up! A lot of times the monster will camp a downed hunter. When someone goes down they end up with a skull that fills or empties to show how much "downed health" they have. This skull doesn't start full, but if a medic heals the downed player such that the skull is full he will get himself up, meaning he can be revived at range. This can be way better than risking another hunter getting him up which leaves him vulnerable during the animation!

-Open you map and figure out how you can cut across the map to catch the monster!

-If you are the monster, always be smelling. Smell everything all the time, never stop smelling.

-Let your jet pack recharge. Sometimes the urge to blast your pack when the monster is punching you is strong. But you need to let it charge so you can put actual distance between you and the monster. Sometimes the best thing to do is stay on the ground and take some punches before launching away. Don't forget to use walls to climb with your jetpack without consuming fuel.

-Stop reloading! If you switch away from a weapon that is out of ammo (or just not full) it will eventually reloads itself. Max your dps and switch to your secondary while your primary reloads!

Knifegrab fucked around with this message at 06:57 on Jul 24, 2016

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011
Game is good.

e for content: At the launch of the retail product this game had a labyrinthine, nebulous DLC model and that's a large part of what killed the game so quickly. As a brief recap:


Retail (Founder's):

Assault - Markov, Hyde, Parnell
Support - Hank, Bucket, Cabot
Trapper - Maggie, Griffin, Abe
Medic - Val, Lazarus, Caira
Monster - Goliath, Kraken, Wraith

Apparently you now get alternative versions if the first of each hunter now.

Monster Race edition:

Founder's + Behemoth

Season Pass 1:

Assault - Torvald
Support - Sunny
Trapper - Crow
Medic - Slim

This did NOT include the Behemoth!

Season Pass 2: Yeah, loving two season passes.

Assault - Lennox
Support - Kala
Trapper - Jack
Medic - EMET
Monster - Gorgon



Now all this is on top of LAUNCHING with over $100 of cosmetic DLC. Absolutely none of it provided gameplay benefit (in fact, some of the more garrish color schemes made it more difficult to hide) but when your game looks as if it's asking for another $100 in DLC the minute it drops on to the market it tends to leave a bitter taste in peoples' mouths.

This is in large part why the game died super quickly.

Dark_Swordmaster fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Jul 15, 2016

Taiso
Feb 20, 2002

Crush them now!
Wow, that really is awful, Stage 2 seems so much better in so many ways.

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011
I should mention that the game was great on launch too, it isn't just now good. But the hyper-aggressive DLC and ridiculous, forced esports angle made it an incredibly unattractive product for most people.

Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.

Dark_Swordmaster posted:

I should mention that the game was great on launch too, it isn't just now good. But the hyper-aggressive DLC and ridiculous, forced esports angle made it an incredibly unattractive product for most people.

The game has changed (evolved?) to be much faster paced from everything I've read. I never played the original, do you think its better now gameplay wise?

Tha_Joker_GAmer
Aug 16, 2006
If you are Assault you need to be using your primary weapon all the time, the biggest mistake I see in new players is that they use their primary weapon then switch to their secondary for 5 loving years, this straight up loses games. Your primary doesn't take that long to reload, switch back to it asap

deep dish peat moss
Jul 27, 2006

Knifegrab posted:

Trapper - A bad trapper isn't a death sentence anymore since the changes to the dome but a good trapper is still worth his weight in gold. The trapper's job is to find and control the monster. All trappers have an ability that globally tracks the monster. This puts the monsters location on everyones compass (Its just a general direction) and allows the trapper to see the outlines of all creatures through walls (including the monster). Most trapper abilities have something to do with locating the monster (tracker gun, sonic alarms) and controlling it (stasis grenade, harpoon gun). Trappers are quite essential in preventing the monster from just free-farming to evolve.

I think they changed it so that only the trapper gets the ping on his compass, the last two games I played (I wasn't trapper) when the trapper would use the ability I would just get the speed boost and not the compass ping.

Tenzarin
Jul 24, 2007
.
Taco Defender
If this game is free, I will be able to get friends to install it because it is free. This game was some fun when it was released there was just a crazy fury on the internet that it only had multplayer mode. I liked all the prehunt talks between the different characters ( GG Overwatch coping lovely failed games!). The games balanced needed major work or that could just be how it seemed because how loving important some classes are to not gently caress up IE The Trapper.

Tenzarin fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Jul 15, 2016

Internet Kraken
Apr 24, 2010

slightly amused

Dark_Swordmaster posted:

I should mention that the game was great on launch too, it isn't just now good. But the hyper-aggressive DLC and ridiculous, forced esports angle made it an incredibly unattractive product for most people.

Yep. I saw this game, thought it looked cool, but the DLC was ridiculous and put me off it completely. I'm still no thrilled by having so much gameplay content locked behind playtime, but I might actually check this out now if its not dead in a month.

deep dish peat moss
Jul 27, 2006

Internet Kraken posted:

Yep. I saw this game, thought it looked cool, but the DLC was ridiculous and put me off it completely. I'm still no thrilled by having so much gameplay content locked behind playtime, but I might actually check this out now if its not dead in a month.

You can pick up an "Evolve Stage 2 Founders Edition" key on a site like G2A for ~$15 or less that will unlock most of the game's content. It gives you a pretty big roster right off the bat, and enough keys to unlock every other character except for two. So, for $15 you just have to pick two characters you don't want. It also unlocks some perks right away, so when you would otherwise unlock them in-game you'll get keys instead, making it a little easier to purchase the remaining two.

e: Actually it's probably three characters you can't unlock but I had unlocked one naturally over my first couple days of playtime before buying the founder's edition.



vvv Yeah you're right, I have no idea what happened in my earlier games

deep dish peat moss fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jul 15, 2016

Tha_Joker_GAmer
Aug 16, 2006

Shakill OReal posted:

I think they changed it so that only the trapper gets the ping on his compass, the last two games I played (I wasn't trapper) when the trapper would use the ability I would just get the speed boost and not the compass ping.

no, everyone gets the ping, but only the trapper sees the outline of the monster and the speed boost.

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011

Knifegrab posted:

The game has changed (evolved?) to be much faster paced from everything I've read. I never played the original, do you think its better now gameplay wise?

It's different. It's MUCH faster now as the tweaks have made it so the hunters are ALWAYS on the monster's rear end and know where he is.

Is it better? Overall, yes. I miss the long, drawn out periods where the monster slips the hunters and it becomes a fun and interesting game of cat and mouse. I've literally had goliaths stop in a bush and pretend to be a boulder and we'd walk right past. Those tense moments of catching a fleeting glance of the monster and rushing to head it off and get a miracle slam dunk dome are gone. The thrill of the hunt is mostly eliminated but apparently the majority of players actually didn't care for the non-action portions of the game.

But overall I'd say that all the changes make it a better game, no matter how much I miss the weird campaign mode.


ALSO: If you want to ever play the original retail version of the game it has a standard Steam beta opt-in for the release version. I do not know if you are required to own the founder's pack for this.


e: OP notes:

The DLC did not split the player base. You could play all maps and with whoever owned whatever, you just couldn't play what you didn't own.

The game has bad reviews because they were too stupid to relaunch as a competely new product page a la Marvel Heroes.

Dark_Swordmaster fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Jul 15, 2016

Tenzarin
Jul 24, 2007
.
Taco Defender

Dark_Swordmaster posted:

Is it better? Overall, yes. I miss the long, drawn out periods where the monster slips the hunters and it becomes a fun and interesting game of cat and mouse. I've literally had goliaths stop in a bush and pretend to be a boulder and we'd walk right past. Those tense moments of catching a fleeting glance of the monster and rushing to head it off and get a miracle slam dunk dome are gone. The thrill of the hunt is mostly eliminated but apparently the majority of players actually didn't care for the non-action portions of the game.

I did this once as a goliath but it was under a cliff and they jumped to the top but never looked down and ran off. They lost me intill I was stage 3 with most of my armor back.

Cheston
Jul 17, 2012

(he's got a good thing going)
I like this game. I think the premise is kind of inherently flawed, because you still either win together (fun), win alone (eh), lose together (eh), or lose alone (eeeeeeh). But this looks+feels like the right way to go after the disaster launch.

Tenzarin posted:

I did this once as a goliath but it was under a cliff and they jumped to the top but never looked down and ran off. They lost me intill I was stage 3 with most of my armor back.

I once leapt down a cliff, climbed most of the way back up while sneaking, held still, and watched the hunters all jet down and past me. (And in maybe my third round of the game, I tried hiding as a bush, had Daisy run up to me, and just kept holding still for a full minute until the Hunters realized Daisy wasn't bugged.) I really loved all of those moments.

Tha_Joker_GAmer
Aug 16, 2006
I'm gonna miss hiding in bushes, didn't always work but it felt hella good when it did.

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


I love me some asymmetric games so I'm gonna have to at least give this a try. How does balance between the monsters and hunters pan out, as a rule?

HMS Boromir
Jul 16, 2011

by Lowtax

Ciaphas posted:

I love me some asymmetric games so I'm gonna have to at least give this a try. How does balance between the monsters and hunters pan out, as a rule?



It's... a bit lopsided in low ranked pub games. Would definitely recommend teaming up with people who communicate and understand basic concepts like "shield the medic", "go where it looks like the monster is going" and "don't try to walk up to a guy and revive him when the monster is within loving you up distance".

I believe goons have been organizing games over mumble.

Lemon-Lime
Aug 6, 2009
I'd love to see them add a monster that's actually two smaller monsters controlled by two players, somewhere down the line. No idea how they'd sort the lobbies out but it would be cool.

ZearothK
Aug 25, 2008

I've lost twice, I've failed twice and I've gotten two dishonorable mentions within 7 weeks. But I keep coming back. I am The Trooper!

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2021


I believe there was a mode with two monsters in the original version.

I was frankly surprised at how much fun I've been having with this game.

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011

Lemon-Lime posted:

I'd love to see them add a monster that's actually two smaller monsters controlled by two players, somewhere down the line. No idea how they'd sort the lobbies out but it would be cool.

Heroes of the Storm manages.


re: Balance

Both sides are calling for the other to be nerfed, very similar to when retail launched. Shortly after that launch TRS released an infographic (or maybe just stats?) showing something like a 49-51 win ratio. Not to say that there aren't some broken things but it's actually far more balanced than low level players would have you believe.

Tha_Joker_GAmer
Aug 16, 2006
you can preserve your win rate by simply leaving games so dont post scoreboards as they mean nothing, thanks

Fresh Shesh Besh
May 15, 2013

Ciaphas posted:

I love me some asymmetric games so I'm gonna have to at least give this a try. How does balance between the monsters and hunters pan out, as a rule?

Starting out, as monster you will stomp hunters ad nauseam and you'll end up with like 98% winrates because hunter players are lovely and disorganized until about mid-level skill tier and then things are balanced. After that, high level play will see your winrate from low-skill reversed. At high skill hunters absolutely thrash monsters.

As a high level monster you have to bring your A-game literally every single time because most slip-ups are punished with a straight up loss.

Ignore any debate about which side is OP. Hunters are king. Full stop.

Fresh Shesh Besh fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jul 15, 2016

Lemon-Lime
Aug 6, 2009

Dark_Swordmaster posted:

Heroes of the Storm manages.

The second Cho'Gall player isn't stapled on to the game beyond the capacities of a normal match, it's one of the five players already on the team. I'm suggesting two monsters, controlled by two separate players, which would make the game 4v2.

Tenzarin
Jul 24, 2007
.
Taco Defender
Should be 6 monsters vs 1 human but that human is Stone Cold Steve Austin.

terrorist ambulance
Nov 5, 2009

Liu posted:

you can preserve your win rate by simply leaving games so dont post scoreboards as they mean nothing, thanks

Also, wraith. Especially pre nerf wraith.

KillerQueen
Jul 13, 2010

I demand a Goliath skin that changes leap smash to the people's elbow, the charge into a clothesline, and the rock into a steel chair.

Taiso
Feb 20, 2002

Crush them now!

KillerQueen posted:

I demand a Goliath skin that changes leap smash to the people's elbow, the charge into a clothesline, and the rock into a steel chair.

Fire breath changed to spitting out a beer

Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.

Liu posted:

you can preserve your win rate by simply leaving games so dont post scoreboards as they mean nothing, thanks

This.


Liu posted:

I'm gonna miss hiding in bushes, didn't always work but it felt hella good when it did.

It still works. You get notified when they planetary scan, and assusming they don't have a bucket, you can just let them scan. Wait for it to run out, smell see them coming and hide. I do it all the time. Unless I have a tracker dart in my rear end it is still really affective.

Again if anyone wants to make me any slick image headers for "Hunters" "Monsters" "Medic" "Support" "Trapper" "Assault" and "Perks" that would be great!

deep dish peat moss
Jul 27, 2006

Tenzarin posted:

Should be 6 monsters vs 1 human but that human is Stone Cold Steve Austin.

There are enough balance problems in this game already without bringing in the 3:16

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011
The most important thing for this game is just how loving perfect their logo is.

Knifegrab
Jul 30, 2014

Gadzooks! I'm terrified of this little child who is going to stab me with a knife. I must wrest the knife away from his control and therefore gain the upperhand.
If I buy the founders edition on G2A right now will I still get mad SK?

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011
As a figure for the DLC nonsense I was watching a list on YouTube of the worst season passes and Evolve took the #1 spot. Apparently there was $130 worth of poo poo you DID NOT GET with the season passes. Holy. poo poo.

Internet Kraken
Apr 24, 2010

slightly amused
The DLC was such a mess I can't believe anyone thought it was a good idea. You should never have like half a dozen different versions of your game avaliable for purchase at launch. Ignoring how greedy it is, it just confuses potential customers a ton.

How exactly does the matchmaking work? Can you choose to always be a monster/hunter or is it always random?

Tha_Joker_GAmer
Aug 16, 2006
i select my perks by wildly swinging my mouse around and spam clicking

Dark_Swordmaster
Oct 31, 2011

Internet Kraken posted:

The DLC was such a mess I can't believe anyone thought it was a good idea. You should never have like half a dozen different versions of your game avaliable for purchase at launch. Ignoring how greedy it is, it just confuses potential customers a ton.

How exactly does the matchmaking work? Can you choose to always be a monster/hunter or is it always random?

You set the roles in order of priority, 1-5. In retail when playing with a 4-man premade I literally NEVER saw it throw one of us in as the monster regardless of priority but it seems to be doing that in the Stage 2 release. Hopefully they'll fix that.

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Taiso
Feb 20, 2002

Crush them now!

Knifegrab posted:

Again if anyone wants to make me any slick image headers for "Hunters" "Monsters" "Medic" "Support" "Trapper" "Assault" and "Perks" that would be great!

I gotchu fam
http://imgur.com/a/ju0AI

Internet Kraken posted:

The DLC was such a mess I can't believe anyone thought it was a good idea. You should never have like half a dozen different versions of your game avaliable for purchase at launch. Ignoring how greedy it is, it just confuses potential customers a ton.

How exactly does the matchmaking work? Can you choose to always be a monster/hunter or is it always random?

They had very high expectations due to the E3 buzz (it got so many awards), so I think they were freaking out the game was flopping and doing everything they could to squeeze every nickle they could out of the playerbase.

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