The Multiplayer previews/Hands-on Thread (Footage inside)

[Chris!(($$))!]

I think there is a possibility for Queen in MP, judging by how they couldn't respond.

I thought they said there would be no Queen in MP. Either way I doubt there will be. There are no classes, and adding in a Queen for the Xenos just would not make much sense. If there is a VIP mode then maybe the Xeno VIP would be a Queen. In Survival there might be a Queen.

[MadassAlex]

There will also be a model for the Alien you play in the single player mode which wasn't included in the demo but it would seem that it isn't your average looking Alien.

Groan.

[Weasel]

Dude, the more I learn about multiplayer the more upset I get. f**king bullshit that the predators start with just wristblades. Way to f**king alienate your fanbase by making the predator start with 1 weapon that isn't even a weapon at all. I don't care how balanced it is, limiting the predator to pick ups, and recharge points that can be destroyed? This is f**king pissing me off.

[randy4321]

is the model going to change the gameplay?? like praetorian? I wonder if pred-alien will be its own usable character, I sure hope so.

[Redlightning]

Dude, the more I learn about multiplayer the more upset I get. f**king bullshit that the predators start with just wristblades. Way to f**king alienate your fanbase by making the predator start with 1 weapon that isn't even a weapon at all. I don't care how balanced it is, limiting the predator to pick ups, and recharge points that can be destroyed? This is f**king pissing me off.

The Alien fans didn't feel so good earlier in development. Feel our pain.  

They still have several months to go, which I figure they'll have everything, or mostly everything sorted out by then.

[Brother]

Last time I checked the game was perfect.

[MadassAlex]

Dude, the more I learn about multiplayer the more upset I get. f**king bullshit that the predators start with just wristblades. Way to f**king alienate your fanbase by making the predator start with 1 weapon that isn't even a weapon at all. I don't care how balanced it is, limiting the predator to pick ups, and recharge points that can be destroyed? This is f**king pissing me off.

Chill out. For one thing, Predators are now more flexible than they've ever been:

- Prejump
- Energy-free cloak
- Ability to keep melee weapons deployed and use them simultaneously to other weapons

Even AvP2, with class weapons turned off, only started the Predator with wristblades and the plasma caster.

I'm interested to hear of the balance mechanics. We've seen Aliens tearing it up now, so there's evidence they're not underpowered, but the question now is: why? All the game design elements revealed to us are telling of the Predator's superiority.  

[Weasel]

Dude, the more I learn about multiplayer the more upset I get. f**king bullshit that the predators start with just wristblades. Way to f**king alienate your fanbase by making the predator start with 1 weapon that isn't even a weapon at all. I don't care how balanced it is, limiting the predator to pick ups, and recharge points that can be destroyed? This is f**king pissing me off.

Chill out. For one thing, Predators are now more flexible than they've ever been:

- Prejump
- Energy-free cloak
- Ability to keep melee weapons deployed and use them simultaneously to other weapons

Even AvP2, with class weapons turned off, only started the Predator with wristblades and the plasma caster.

I'm interested to hear of the balance mechanics. We've seen Aliens tearing it up now, so there's evidence they're not underpowered, but the question now is: why? All the game design elements revealed to us are telling of the Predator's superiority.  

Oh god, a jump ability and the cloak that's so awesome.  I don't care if the wristblades were the most powerful weapon in the game, starting with 1 weapon is utter bullshit. Even the marine gets a pistol. Predator is limited to some large melee brute that has to scrounge for weapons and then when he runs out of energy is f**ked because the recharge boxes can be destroyed. Woo. Unlike alien class which starts with every ability and weapon and the ability to crawl on walls. It's like they limited the marine and predator just for shits and giggles. Making them a joke to play.

[MadassAlex]

Oh god, a jump ability and the cloak that's so awesome.

They are, when you factor in that in AvP1, the cloak was limited by being absolutely useless in multiplayer and in AvP2 it took up energy and was still interrupted by many weapons. This time around, it takes up no energy, can be reapplied very quickly and is almost flawless. Probably the best it's ever been.

As for the jump, what's not to like? Its tactical applications are excellent, since most Marines won't even think of looking toward good perch locations.

I don't care if the wristblades were the most powerful weapon in the game, starting with 1 weapon is utter bullshit. Even the marine gets a pistol. Predator is limited to some large melee brute that has to scrounge for weapons and then when he runs out of energy is f**ked because the recharge boxes can be destroyed. Woo.

You aren't f**ked without energy because you have the most health and best melee attack. Not to mention that I doubt Hicks' findings are final, and it sounds like he may have been generalising based on what we've already heard and how the gameplay mechanics were set up.

And if they aren't, I'm personally looking forward to the rush towards the plasma caster locations and the hectic battles that'll ensue...

Unlike alien class which starts with every ability and weapon and the ability to crawl on walls. It's like they limited the marine and predator just for shits and giggles. Making them a joke to play.

The Alien has its own disadvantages:

- No ranged capacity whatsoever
- Low health

Those compound.

[Tomar]

Dude, the more I learn about multiplayer the more upset I get. f**king bullshit that the predators start with just wristblades. Way to f**king alienate your fanbase by making the predator start with 1 weapon that isn't even a weapon at all. I don't care how balanced it is, limiting the predator to pick ups, and recharge points that can be destroyed? This is f**king pissing me off.

Yep, give this man a medal.

However a way to go for the Predator and so much for Rebellion being pro-Predator!

Dude, the more I learn about multiplayer the more upset I get. f**king bullshit that the predators start with just wristblades. Way to f**king alienate your fanbase by making the predator start with 1 weapon that isn't even a weapon at all. I don't care how balanced it is, limiting the predator to pick ups, and recharge points that can be destroyed? This is f**king pissing me off.

Chill out. For one thing, Predators are now more flexible than they've ever been:

- Prejump
- Energy-free cloak
- Ability to keep melee weapons deployed and use them simultaneously to other weapons

Even AvP2, with class weapons turned off, only started the Predator with wristblades and the plasma caster.

I'm interested to hear of the balance mechanics. We've seen Aliens tearing it up now, so there's evidence they're not underpowered, but the question now is: why? All the game design elements revealed to us are telling of the Predator's superiority.  

Oh god, a jump ability and the cloak that's so awesome.  I don't care if the wristblades were the most powerful weapon in the game, starting with 1 weapon is utter bullshit. Even the marine gets a pistol. Predator is limited to some large melee brute that has to scrounge for weapons and then when he runs out of energy is f**ked because the recharge boxes can be destroyed. Woo. Unlike alien class which starts with every ability and weapon and the ability to crawl on walls. It's like they limited the marine and predator just for shits and giggles. Making them a joke to play.

Yes, I feel your pain and even if I was in AvP 2s MP a very good player (to my times I could beat several good players alone ) and decent in AvP 1 its completely unfair to rechange the Predator once more like he was in AvP 1 but just with the difference that he now got even weaker by having no self-reliance anymore with his energy and even being unable to use his cloak anymore cause its not a Predator cloak anymore.

NOTHING that the devs would include or have already included can make those two big disadvantages up (they are vital for a balanced and competitive predator online) with exception of über weapons that kill dozens of enemies with a single shot but I highly doubt that the Predator will have such a thing cause he is not the one who has the high-destruction marine weapons.

Well we all know how Rebellion thinks about the Predator and we have seen that they have misinterpreted the Predator by quite a notch there.

I am sorry for you Weasel as well as for all the other players that want to play the Predator competitivly ... so we have to wait for Monolith to bring this game back to a competitive standard for the Predator and to regain the true Predator hunter feeling .

Oh god, a jump ability and the cloak that's so awesome.

They are, when you factor in that in AvP1, the cloak was limited by being absolutely useless in multiplayer and in AvP2 it took up energy and was still interrupted by many weapons. This time around, it takes up no energy, can be reapplied very quickly and is almost flawless. Probably the best it's ever been.

As for the jump, what's not to like? Its tactical applications are excellent, since most Marines won't even think of looking toward good perch locations.

With this answer I see that you have not played AvP 2s MP much especially not considering the Predator Mada**alex. The cloak in AvP 2 in MP was very balanced and I'd dare to say nearly perfect as it was a good blend from the movies canon as well as the games balance! I say this now as a top of the line player! Why you may ask? Very simple, it allowed certain weapons including all melee weapons to be used under cloak and you never decloaked when you were hit unlike what we have seen in AvP (3). Furthermore the Speargun, the weapon of choice for top predator players around the world including me, was THE weapon for hunting at range cause it allowed you to snipe the head and instakill with a LOT of skill involved while at the same time using it as a close quarter weapon if you used tri-shot against aliens but this weapon needed skill cause unlike in AvP 1 the spears of the Speargun in AvP 2s MP had a travel time and you needed to aim a bit in front of your targets to even hit them and you can hopefully imagine how hard this gets if you want to hit a single marine at a range of +40 meters into the head while dodging alien attacks at the same time and trying to bring yourself in perfect position .

Very nicely made by Monolith I need to say and one big reason I liked to play the Predator online which made him in comparison to AvP 1 very competitive and at the same time way more canon!

The cloak in AvP 2s MP is way more canon and even better then the one in AvP (3) will ever be cause there even in a miss you will decloak which will render your a** very vulnerable for any high-powered weapons of the marine let alone that you lack any ranged weapons after every death in MP!

The only good thing the cloak has is that it does not consume energy but I would gladly take this "feature" away for the previous fair play that I remember and which the Predator made competitive on-line in a fast TDM with top players around!

The cloak in AvP (3) (sorry for this now) is utter c**p and the devs should be punished for this actually. However as I care for their game I tell them like for month already (if they ever read this forums) that this should be changed but it seems they do not care what top players say that know how a game should be balanced, especially if they have played the previous titles and showed their mastery!

Anyway I already said that the devs do not care for competitive play so it does not wonder me that no one of them even dares to say word against my posts which shows how wrong I actually am!

Regarding the jump mechanism we still do not know how this will work out in a big match where you will always find enemies in your wake ... so it could be useful but also your ultimate doom but this I will judge in time when I have seen a bit more, however I already now form myself an opinion regarding the new pred "crouch-leap".

I don't care if the wristblades were the most powerful weapon in the game, starting with 1 weapon is utter bullshit. Even the marine gets a pistol. Predator is limited to some large melee brute that has to scrounge for weapons and then when he runs out of energy is f**ked because the recharge boxes can be destroyed. Woo.

You aren't f**ked without energy because you have the most health and best melee attack. Not to mention that I doubt Hicks' findings are final, and it sounds like he may have been generalising based on what we've already heard and how the gameplay mechanics were set up.

And if they aren't, I'm personally looking forward to the rush towards the plasma caster locations and the hectic battles that'll ensue...

And what does this mean if the Predator has the most health and best melee attack?! Do you find this o.k. to give the Predator the most powerful melee attack while the alien is actually the one who should have this?! Well I would disagree here!

A rush towards plasma weapons ... ? ? ? Oh no the game gets worse the more I hear something like this ... sorry its not against you Mada**alex but this sounds like saying that every future top player needs to use a weapon that is not only unreliable (consumes massive amounts of energy and is useless against moving/dodging players cause the shots will inevitably miss against good players), limited (you need to find it and if the energy is away your weapon will be useless so back to the wrists ... ) and simply n00b due to its tracking characteristic and I do not care whether Xhan now says that this is just an attitude either from me personally or simply in general cause this weapon is simply not worth it to kill fast multiple enemies while at the same time being able to withstand as much punishment as possible due to being dodgeable and still "free in movement".

Well if such things ever happen Rebellion really has managed to destroy what Monolith has built up namely a comeptitive predator in MP in the AvP series. They have basically put him back to pre-AvP 2 state.

Unlike alien class which starts with every ability and weapon and the ability to crawl on walls. It's like they limited the marine and predator just for shits and giggles. Making them a joke to play.

The Alien has its own disadvantages:

- No ranged capacity whatsoever
- Low health

Those compound.

Low hp can be interpreted in a broad sense as well as the best health like you said for the predator and we will never find this out if we have no modding tools for AvP (3) where we "see" how much hp those two differ in MP like it was in AvP 2 . This so called low health could just be a 20 hp difference which is not much in a shooter where most weapons will kill you maybe with one to two hits apart from the trophy/execution kills.

Furthermore the Alien now has even the ability to see behind walls, which is quite o.k. for me but also a HUGE advantage it never had in the previous games and I can not imagine how this will work out in the final game cause for this we will need months to find out how this will play out and whether it will be imbalancing ... currently I tend to think that its inbetween imabalanced and balanced play. However just the future will show us this as we did not had such a completely new feature in any of the previous AvP titles.

The only real disadvantage the alien has is that it lacks ranged combat but all the other advantages easily make up for this. This accounts especially if we see that its the only species ingame that has ALL its weapons ALWAYS available due to being a natural weapon and now guys tell me is Rebellion still pro-Predator!?

As if the devs themselves would ever answer my question up there ... .

[Plokoon111]

I hate the design of the alien with the fish tail and the trunk dorsal tubes and fingers, but they look pretty damn cool. But hiding will suck obviously because aliens can see behind walls. And Praetorians = Awesome. Grid alien? Not sure, but I guess if an alien got netted it would make sense.

[Weasel]

They are, when you factor in that in AvP1, the cloak was limited by being absolutely useless in multiplayer and in AvP2 it took up energy and was still interrupted by many weapons. This time around, it takes up no energy, can be reapplied very quickly and is almost flawless. Probably the best it's ever been.

As for the jump, what's not to like? Its tactical applications are excellent, since most Marines won't even think of looking toward good perch locations.

Cool, entirely useless against the alien though, and only works halfway because of the motion tracker. These are cool abilities, but that's not what I'm pissed about. You make it seem like just because predators have a jump ability, cloak and strong melee that it should be compensation for having NO STARTING RANGED WEAPONS for a f**king PREDATOR. Then having to pick up said weapons. Not only that, but when the weapons are depleted they are f**king useless because the energy boxes are either getting camped or already destroyed. Making the pick ups incredibly limited.

You aren't f**ked without energy because you have the most health and best melee attack. Not to mention that I doubt Hicks' findings are final, and it sounds like he may have been generalising based on what we've already heard and how the gameplay mechanics were set up.

And if they aren't, I'm personally looking forward to the rush towards the plasma caster locations and the hectic battles that'll ensue...

Haha, your the only one then.  Having to rush to a weapon that will get camped, or already be taken by another team mate? Oh fun, now not only do I start with 1 weapon, I have to wait on a timed respawn of the weapon to even pick it up. And where are you getting this "best melee attack" deal? Everyone knows that a skilled alien that utilizes good speed and attacks will kill a predator in a melee battle. Otherwise aliens would be entirely useless.

The Alien has its own disadvantages:

- No ranged capacity whatsoever
- Low health

Those compound.

-Fastest
-Wall see hack
-Wall climb
-Leap
-Starting with full arsenal

vs

-Most Health
-1 weapon
-Limited energy
-Jump ability

It's a f**king spit in the face to predator fans that actually like predators for what they are, skilled hunters with future tech. Having pick ups in the game isn't just only an extremely dated formula, but means that the gameplay revolves around the spots that generate the weapons. Aliens get to start with everything, while Marines and Preds have to look for their weapons and constantly be worrying about ammo supply and energy. While the aliens can simply focus on playing the game.

I've played games with pick ups vs games where you start with the weapons. It then rewards players that know and constantly hover around the respawn areas and make it harder for new players to know whats up so you get retarded team mates that run around with cloak on slashing at everything that moves. I mean, seriously, starting with wristblades and having to find and pick up weapons is the best they could come up with? The "Balance" is limiting predators and marines while letting the aliens have everything? How is this fair? I know you don't give a shit because all you will play is the alien through most of the game, but I think we should get more of well rounded character to play in multi and not just some Juggernaut with wristblades.

[MadassAlex]

Cool, entirely useless against the alien though, and only works halfway because of the motion tracker. These are cool abilities, but that's not what I'm pissed about. You make it seem like just because predators have a jump ability, cloak and strong melee that it should be compensation for having NO STARTING RANGED WEAPONS for a f**king PREDATOR. Then having to pick up said weapons. Not only that, but when the weapons are depleted they are f**king useless because the energy boxes are either getting camped or already destroyed. Making the pick ups incredibly limited.

Energy boxes repair themselves, I believe, and if the area is being camped, it honestly just makes it easier for you to know the enemy's position.

Haha, your the only one then.  Having to rush to a weapon that will get camped, or already be taken by another team mate? Oh fun, now not only do I start with 1 weapon, I have to wait on a timed respawn of the weapon to even pick it up. And where are you getting this "best melee attack" deal? Everyone knows that a skilled alien that utilizes good speed and attacks will kill a predator in a melee battle. Otherwise aliens would be entirely useless.

Rebellion's own word. From the videos we've seen, too, Predators kill Aliens in two light melee attacks.

-Fastest
-Wall see hack
-Wall climb
-Leap
-Starting with full arsenal

vs

-Most Health
-1 weapon
-Limited energy
-Jump ability

And despite this, Predators were topping the games we've seen so far. Also note that most Predator players from the videos we've seen rarely touched any weapon that wasn't the wristblades, despite beginning with all of them.

It's a f**king spit in the face to predator fans that actually like predators for what they are, skilled hunters with future tech. Having pick ups in the game isn't just only an extremely dated formula, but means that the gameplay revolves around the spots that generate the weapons. Aliens get to start with everything, while Marines and Preds have to look for their weapons and constantly be worrying about ammo supply and energy. While the aliens can simply focus on playing the game.

The Marine pulse rifle is likely to be the most flexible weapon in the game and the Marine begins with over 300 rounds of ammo for it.

Besides, you still have future tech - the cloak and mask.

I've played games with pick ups vs games where you start with the weapons. It then rewards players that know and constantly hover around the respawn areas and make it harder for new players to know whats up so you get retarded team mates that run around with cloak on slashing at everything that moves. I mean, seriously, starting with wristblades and having to find and pick up weapons is the best they could come up with? The "Balance" is limiting predators and marines while letting the aliens have everything? How is this fair?

Nothing wrong with Marine pulse rifle. Using anything else is just personal preference, unless it's the smartgun, apparently.

We'll have to see about the spawn zones, but I highly doubt there will only be one caster spawn area on a map. As long as you approach the zones knowing that they'll probably be camped (like any tactically significant area in any game), you can preempt attacks.

I know you don't give a shit because all you will play is the alien through most of the game, but I think we should get more of well rounded character to play in multi and not just some Juggernaut with wristblades.

Actually, I'm looking forward to playing the Predator almost as much as the Alien, which says a lot given I'm not a big fan of the Predator. If anything, in the previous games he resembled playing a human too much and this is the first time that actually using the movies as an example of how to play the Predator will be viable.

If it were down to my decision, I'd have the Predator spawn with his plasma caster, but not having it at spawn isn't the end of the world.

[Tomar]

They are, when you factor in that in AvP1, the cloak was limited by being absolutely useless in multiplayer and in AvP2 it took up energy and was still interrupted by many weapons. This time around, it takes up no energy, can be reapplied very quickly and is almost flawless. Probably the best it's ever been.

As for the jump, what's not to like? Its tactical applications are excellent, since most Marines won't even think of looking toward good perch locations.

Cool, entirely useless against the alien though, and only works halfway because of the motion tracker. These are cool abilities, but that's not what I'm pissed about. You make it seem like just because predators have a jump ability, cloak and strong melee that it should be compensation for having NO STARTING RANGED WEAPONS for a f**king PREDATOR. Then having to pick up said weapons. Not only that, but when the weapons are depleted they are f**king useless because the energy boxes are either getting camped or already destroyed. Making the pick ups incredibly limited.

You aren't f**ked without energy because you have the most health and best melee attack. Not to mention that I doubt Hicks' findings are final, and it sounds like he may have been generalising based on what we've already heard and how the gameplay mechanics were set up.

And if they aren't, I'm personally looking forward to the rush towards the plasma caster locations and the hectic battles that'll ensue...

Haha, your the only one then.  Having to rush to a weapon that will get camped, or already be taken by another team mate? Oh fun, now not only do I start with 1 weapon, I have to wait on a timed respawn of the weapon to even pick it up. And where are you getting this "best melee attack" deal? Everyone knows that a skilled alien that utilizes good speed and attacks will kill a predator in a melee battle. Otherwise aliens would be entirely useless.

The Alien has its own disadvantages:

- No ranged capacity whatsoever
- Low health

Those compound.

-Fastest
-Wall see hack
-Wall climb
-Leap
-Starting with full arsenal

vs

-Most Health
-1 weapon
-Limited energy
-Jump ability

It's a f**king spit in the face to predator fans that actually like predators for what they are, skilled hunters with future tech. Having pick ups in the game isn't just only an extremely dated formula, but means that the gameplay revolves around the spots that generate the weapons. Aliens get to start with everything, while Marines and Preds have to look for their weapons and constantly be worrying about ammo supply and energy. While the aliens can simply focus on playing the game.

I've played games with pick ups vs games where you start with the weapons. It then rewards players that know and constantly hover around the respawn areas and make it harder for new players to know whats up so you get retarded team mates that run around with cloak on slashing at everything that moves. I mean, seriously, starting with wristblades and having to find and pick up weapons is the best they could come up with? The "Balance" is limiting predators and marines while letting the aliens have everything? How is this fair? I know you don't give a shit because all you will play is the alien through most of the game, but I think we should get more of well rounded character to play in multi and not just some Juggernaut with wristblades.

Guys give this man a medal, he knows what he talks about.

Well put there .

By the way I am a top player that plays ALL species to almost near perfection and it will mean something when I say that the Predator is doomed thanks to having Rebellion once more at the helm ... .

The above is not meant as bragging but rather putting out facts that unfortunately show the truth and what Rebellion aims for ... .

Edit: The ideas and changes in particular to the Predator are some of the most stupid ones I have seen in my entire career in MP gaming in this series ... its actually a shame from a dev team from which I expected to have learned from their mistakes and do it this time around better but instead ... however I still do not want that their game s**ks but it will cause they do not tend to realize any of their mistakes they have done or show any signs of trying to repair what they have done to this noble Hunter ... .

Edit2: No slow energy recharge there Eidotemit but rather the sifter back and scrap the rest that is ingame, simply put. Finally take also away the idea of getting "a bit" energy after a trophy kill, this is one of the lamest things I have seen ever and rather destroys realism instead of adding to it and this is not only meant from a Predator perspective!

[Eidotemit]

I think it is stupid that the predator doesn't start off with the caster, that seems like it should be standard. Also, the energy should slowly replenish.

I don't mind pick-ups for other things though, that seems perfectly reasonable. Hell, have a bigger more powerful caster pickup in the map with the initial one being smaller and weaker.

Have the energy stations, and make it so they can be temporarily disabled, but don't make them crucial. A slow energy replenish (slow enough to deter spamming and make sure you energy attacks are reserved), with energy stations that give an instant recharge.