KF2 Was Better Before The Zed Head-Blocking Mechanic Was Added

Remember the good old days before Zeds had the ability to block their heads?

I just wanted to talk a bit about the Zed head-blocking mechanic that has been in the game for awhile now. For me personally, this change to the game is unnecessary and 'anti-gamer' towards perks that rely on headshots. As a Commando main, I greatly enjoyed the game before zed-blocking was a thing -- now I find the tediousness of losing precious ammo to zed-blocking to be ruining a lot of my enjoyment. The mechanic itself wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't a guaranteed chance of happening whenever a Zed takes damage. In my opinion, it just needs a few tweaks to make it less obnoxious in a game that focuses on being a satisfying bullet-hell shooter.

In its current state, Zeds with blades will always block their heads after taking damage on Sui/HoE. Why is it this way? Were perks like Commando and Sharpshooter too powerful in skilled hands? Before I go further, let me mention that my gripe with headblocking is only with Gorefiends and Bloats. Both are tanky and powerful Zeds already, so why do they have to be more annoying with blocking?

According to the wiki: "Gorefiends can block gunfire. When shot at, Gorefiends will cross their swords in front of their face to block bullets. When blocking, Gorefiends take 20% less damage, and incapacitating effects are 80% less effective. On Suicidal and Hell On Earth, Gorefiends have a very medium chance to block when shot at."

'A very medium chance?' That's funny, last time I shot at any zed with melee weapons (probably over tens of thousands of times now,) they seem to block their heads no matter what.

The cooldown for blocking is ~2 seconds, making it incredibly easy for zeds like Gorefiends to close the distance on a player. For example: if a Gorefiend gets hit by a stray bullet, he will block his head and start sprinting towards a player. For a Commando, Sharpshooter, Medic, or SWAT with early weapons, you have to wait for the Gorefiend to stop blocking so you can shoot his head off. But by the time he gets in range of you, his block is up AGAIN, and he will keep his head safe then proceed to spin-to-win -- without the player ever having a chance to get a clear shot at his head beforehand.

It just confuses me why adding a mechanic that punishes players who are skilled at headshotting was added. Do Demolitions or Firebugs have to play around this mechanic? No. Do players enjoy dying to 5 gorefiends who all block their heads in complete safety, while sprinting at full speed? No. Do players just want to play a shooter game where they can be rewarded for aiming at heads without anti-fun mechanics punishing them for doing so? Yes.

I know it's very possible to quickly decapitate these Zeds before blocking, but that doesn't mean that even the best players can do it 100% of the time. Zeds will get hit by stray bullets, which then prompts them to block before you can decapitate them. Zeds will lift their swords in mobs and protect each other's heads as well by random chance, making big groups of Gorefiends and Gorefasts a sprinting death-ball of blocking metal.

Here are several suggestions to tweaking the zed-blocking mechanic that I think would help make it insanely less 'anti-gamer.'

(Note that I don't want ALL of these changes, I just want to throw out a bunch ideas)

-Zeds will only block when taking head damage
-Zeds will only block when below 70% health
-Zeds move 25% slower when blocking
-Zeds can only block once every 10 seconds
-Zeds will not block if they are within 1 meter of a player
-Zeds will stumble if their blades are shot while blocking
-Players can shoot off Zed's arms

So, if you manage to read through my wall of text -- Thank you for reading! As a closing statement, I just want to say that I adore this game and I am grateful for all the updates Tripwire has given us. I might come off as another complainer, but I truly want to try and help this game be the best that it can be. So what do you think about Zed-Blocking, do you agree or disagree with my post? Let's make it a discussion thread.

KF2 Was Better Before The Zed Head-Blocking Mechanic Was Added