He has extra attack damage, true, but does it show ? You still have to deal the exact same amount of hits whether you are playing as a medic or a zerker. I don't see the increase of damage having any noticeable effects.
And I agree, Eviscerator is just useless.
What zerker needs is the removal of movement speed bonus, it only gives him an escape option which shouldn't be present when playing a zerker. You either go all in or not.
Second, he needs hp or resistance of some kind. Resistance would be better since he would be easier to heal. He should start at at least 10 % and go up 5% every 5th level.
Next, he needs an actual damage boost, people at tripwire forums said that his 25% at level 25 is negligible (the amount of hits to kill the enemies stays the same). We need a 75% or 100% damage increase at lvl 25.
Lastly he needs some kind of special mechanic, some stacks that give him buffs the longer he is engaged, hence the name berserker. For every kill within 5 or 6 seconds he could get a stack that gives him some buffs for example.
Movement speed is vital. No class can hold their ground for long in a full game during Hell on Earth and to a lesser extent Suicidal's later waves, so constantly repositioning is key. Remove that from the Berserker and he'll get torn apart no matter the hypothetical resistances he'd receive as compensation. And the sheer notion that a Medic (effectively the lifeline of the team) or a Support (with obscene shotgun damage) should ever bother with melee is ridiculous. Significantly slower attack speed than the Berserker + the Support comparatively speaking also moving like molasses = frequently getting grabbed by Clots, straight-up. You'd be a huge liability to your team if you ever tried to pull those kind of shenanigans; not only for risking death more often, but also for lowering everyone else's survivability.
The damage increase is noticeable when aiming for headshots on the bigger targets, though I wouldn't necessarily disagree that this is probably something the devs could up a notch, be it a numbers boost or a more interesting mechanic like the stacking idea you mentioned. A similar engaging hook for increased durability would also be appreciated. Regardless though, Berserkers aren't
bad. Nowhere near as potent as how they were in Killing Floor 1 (where they were silly), but they're a reliable frontline that can stay in the fight for a long time with a Medic in tow while the Support's primary niche is bursting down high-priority targets. Which he'll never be able to do with a Pulverizer.
How does a Zerker handle the boss?
Seriously. You can't parry his stuff as far as I'm aware, the 'nades do far too much damage, and his speed outclasses you for the grab. If you are on a map where you can switch elevation, then yeah, but still it seems like pure chance on not getting fucked.
You can parry the boss.
Grenades are a threat, but if you stay up close like above the chances of him throwing some are drastically lower. Alternatively you can also
circle him and wear him down with the Eviscerator. Solo'ing him might be tough when he grabs you, since ideally you'll want to pass around a corner immediatedly after the fact to avoid his follow-up attacks and that's easier said than done. Non-issue in team games on the other hand; get grabbed, any decent Medic will throw out a grenade to recover a chunk of armor, back out and repeat once fully healed.
I really wish the medic just started out with the Medic SMG instead. Dunno what they'd have to change with the pistol but it feels so flimsy.
I became drastically more useful to my team when I had the medic SMG round two rather than keeping the pistol till round 3.
Everyone should buy a Medic Pistol because it's all-around great. Little recoil, better at disposing of lesser mooks with headshots than the other pistol, healing darts that even non-Medics can deploy, inexpensive purchase and only 1 weight. If anything, I wish I could sell the other pistol the Medic carries.
