Babblers are a fun addition to the Gorge's arsenal since the gorgeous patch. However they seem to lack a bit in usefulness. The only way you can control them is through the pheromoneball that has a short range and is near-impossible to hit a moving marine with without getting shot to pieces. The damage the babblers do is far from great and they give your position away with their squealing.
Now I know that it is possible to attach Babblers to yourself or another life form to protect them, but I can't really see the use here either. The only lifeform you'd really want to protect is an Onos and considering how big an Onos is and how little Babblers it can carry its pretty much ineffective. Babblers have slightly less HP than an uncarapaced Skulk. Meaning that with the fire an Onos draws (for one most of the fire will go past the Babblers due to only about 15% of the Onos' body being covered) and second of all the unlucky Babbler who finds himself in the line of fire dying within half a second.
I think it's time for a change. Perhaps causing Babblers to simply raise the maximum armour of the lifeform in question. As for combat I'd say make Babblers a lot more agressive so that they really swarm Marines on sight, whether they are in direct line of sight or not. Make sure they are relentless, chase the opponent down and keep biting. Also maybe buff their damage a slight bit in the form of a lerk-style poison bite so that they can bypass some armour and retain usefulness in the lategame. Aswell as making the pheromoneball have a longer range and be easier to aim kind of like Spit (although not exactly like it obviously). Maybe also buff their lifespan a bit or give them a Xenocide-like ability when they die, damaging nearby enemies. This would mean that even though defensively the Babblers are still bad, offensively when attached to an Onos and dying due to the fire it draws the Babblers can do extra damage to things around the Onos.
Any thoughts?
Now I know that it is possible to attach Babblers to yourself or another life form to protect them, but I can't really see the use here either. The only lifeform you'd really want to protect is an Onos and considering how big an Onos is and how little Babblers it can carry its pretty much ineffective. Babblers have slightly less HP than an uncarapaced Skulk. Meaning that with the fire an Onos draws (for one most of the fire will go past the Babblers due to only about 15% of the Onos' body being covered) and second of all the unlucky Babbler who finds himself in the line of fire dying within half a second.
I think it's time for a change. Perhaps causing Babblers to simply raise the maximum armour of the lifeform in question. As for combat I'd say make Babblers a lot more agressive so that they really swarm Marines on sight, whether they are in direct line of sight or not. Make sure they are relentless, chase the opponent down and keep biting. Also maybe buff their damage a slight bit in the form of a lerk-style poison bite so that they can bypass some armour and retain usefulness in the lategame. Aswell as making the pheromoneball have a longer range and be easier to aim kind of like Spit (although not exactly like it obviously). Maybe also buff their lifespan a bit or give them a Xenocide-like ability when they die, damaging nearby enemies. This would mean that even though defensively the Babblers are still bad, offensively when attached to an Onos and dying due to the fire it draws the Babblers can do extra damage to things around the Onos.
Any thoughts?