So having caught a number of players out of position in the latest closed beta weekend, I am suggesting that the secondary knife stab, including the one button stab, are given the ability to hold and charge. Knifing in first person shooters is often seen as a humiliation kind of kill. However Dirty Bomb does not manage to really put a knife kill on that level due to the frustrations and inconsistency with the melee weapons in general. Just because you get into a good position where your enemy is blind to you, does not mean you are going to be able to knife them because the lack of 1 swing knife kills gives the enemy player the opportunity to react and move. This often makes using a heavier/slower Merc to knife a lighter/faster Merc, really janky,
At the same time, getting killed by the current knife is a frustrating experience also. In order to make the knife useful, being stabbed slows you down. That combined with the fast nature of Dirty Bomb and small collision boxes for players, being knifed often turns into a few seconds of panic where even seeing your enemy becomes a challenge.
I understand that 1 swing knife is looked down upon, I myself have played enough CoD in the past to know how frustrating a panic knife can be, even if it is just when it comes from back stabs only. What I suggest is that when you charge your knife you remain silent but are slowed. On releasing the swing, your Merc roars with a volume relating to the charge of the swing. This should help alert players nearby and prevent the 3 - 4 man backstab sprees we see in games like CoD and TF2. Also, the charge mechanic would make knifing multiple enemies that much harder in general.
What this would allow is the back stabbing and well timed forward stabbing of enemies that you legitimately deserve to one hit kill. Basically, that sniper behind a wall, the Rhino on the corner and the sawbones on the MG nest. Also, this enables a guaranteed kill when committing back rage on a group of enemies. Since the shotgun is no longer a easy one shot kill on heavier enemies, you can often find yourself dead before or shortly after killing the first enemy in a real back rage attempt if the enemy are paying attention. That guaranteed kill keeps extra ammo in the weapon and reduces enemy count by 1.
I fail to see a good reason why this should not be added.
If I really try to find a reason I suppose it comes down to potential TK and the odd section of map where a rhino holding a cricket bat fully charged on a corner could be a little OP.
Cheers,