Tenks said:
I'm not arguing that a 4 person boom makes your life a ton easier. There is no way to argue against that. Boomer is, by far, the most important SI in any attack. A good or even decent boom can turn the tides of any attack. That is simply a fact. However a decent charge can have similar effects. If a charger grabs one and knocks back two and a hunter pounces on the fourth that will give the hunter free reign for at least 4-5 attacks. That's pretty decent damage.
Booming seems more like a crutch for not-so-great teamwork by the infected. Sure he can make good teamwork absolutely crushing (like I said, he is by far the most important SI) and decent teamwork pretty harmful but in the end L4D2 gives enough options with the increased amount of SI to make many combos viable.
Somewhat off topic since I don't play L4D2 at a high level do hunters still kill people 5 feet away under boomer bile even with good players? It seems like I always try to find the at least one good person on my team and stay near him just for cases like that. Seems like only the idiots on my team can't figure out I just got pounced while boomed. They're too concerned with just swinging their baseball bats at the horde instead of actually accomplishing something.
If you're playing against a good team, boomer is a must if you want to have a successful attack. Unless you're attacking by a ledge, a good team of survivors will take minimal damage from any attack that doesn't involve a good boom. Trying to have a successful attack without a boomer is like trying to have a good offense in football without offensive tackles. If you outmatch your opponents, sure you could conceivably get away with it. But if you face a half-way decent team you stand no chance.
And in reference to your point about chargers being replacements for boomers. They serve a similar purpose in that they can split up a team of survivors with a good charge. But unless you incap the survivors that you knock back, the diversion caused by the charge is only momentary and as I said before, a good team will be able to easily counter such a move.
The boomer acts to:
1. split up a team and cause confusion by summoning a horde. This effect lasts much longer than even the best of charges.
2. disorient any players who are boomed by blocking their vision, thus making it difficult in some cases to see team mates who may need help.
3. through a combination of points one and two, providing long-lasting cover for SI to attack and or split up the party further.
No other SI has this level of power and no other SI is as essential against a good team because of it.
Newb playground FTW! I appreciate a little trial by fire education but it sucks to be trying to learn a game only to get the boot because I am stinking up the place.
