Duck spam in combat


(BAMFana) #1

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed a drastic increase in the amount of players who spam duck as a method of dodging during shootouts. The reason is clear enough: By tapping duck quickly and frequently while alternating left and right strafes, the player can juke his model and hitbox in such a way that it is very difficult to track and hit headshots on him. It also makes aiming slightly harder for the player using the duck spam, but not significantly so.

While it’s currently a legitimate way of playing the game, since anyone is free to do it, I think it causes more problems than it’s worth. It’s unintuitive for new players, it makes combat look somewhat ridiculous (bad for spectating if we want competitive play to be taken seriously), and most importantly; it doesn’t really add anything to gameplay. It doesn’t take any skill to perform, it just means players are de facto forced to tap duck a lot during combat.

My solution is simple: Make tapping duck have the same effect on spread as jumping. Or more precisely; the spread should be the same during the transition period between standing up normally and sitting ducked as it is between hitting jump and until landing. This could probably be implemented in such a way that tapping duck once only affects spread very slightly, whilst tapping it multiple times makes the spread huge.

The result of this is that players can’t spam duck during combat to gain an advantage, in the same way that they can’t spam jump during combat to gain an advantage, while it ensures that players who are using duck in the way it is intended (for example to hide behind a wall or make yourself a smaller stationary target) are not affected.


(spookify) #2

Add Prone! Need more skill moves!

There is no skill movement in this game is flat, blaa and boring. Crouching is the only way to f with someone.

Or we can turn it into Euro ET where everyone had an M_Pitch of Zero and spammed heads. Euro ET players hated Prone soooo much it was sooo much then they nerfed it and made the game more boring and aimless.


(BAMFana) #3

Skilled movement is great, and will hopefully be added in some form, but spamming duck isn’t skilled by any defintion of the word.


(stealth6) #4

Ducking is already a risky move: your speed drops, you have to adjust your aim and if your opponent isn’t aiming for your head there’s a chance you just gave him a few free headshots.


(DarkangelUK) #5

Aren’t they trying to make their head hitbox harder to hit? I also believe crouching gives a similar accuracy benefits as ironsight (could be mistaken though)


(rapid_shot) #6

I don’t like the constant ducking either, but I don’t see your transition spread as a viable solution as I think crouching should decrease spread / creep. Lateral sprinting would certainly lessen this, but I think it’s just one of those things we’re going to have to deal with like proners. Another no skill move that we either have to adapt to or just get fooled by it. It’s a no-skill move on their part, but take it as a challenge for you to get better in defending against it.


(BAMFana) #7

It’s perfectly possible to combine the transition spread suggestion with less spread while crouched; and I agree with you that the spread should be lower while crouched. A player who hits crouch once and holds it to sit down and gain higher accuracy will not notice it at all if it is implemented properly.


(shaftz0r) #8

[QUOTE=spookify;471673]Add Prone! Need more skill moves!

There is no skill movement in this game is flat, blaa and boring. Crouching is the only way to f with someone.

Or we can turn it into Euro ET where everyone had an M_Pitch of Zero and spammed heads. Euro ET players hated Prone soooo much it was sooo much then they nerfed it and made the game more boring and aimless.[/QUOTE]

^ this. as a person who has always had crouch bound to mouse 2, im one of those people that “spam” crouch. its a habit ive had for 10+ years. sorrynotsorry


(DarkangelUK) #9

Just confirmed, crouching does reduce spread at the moment.


(shaftz0r) #10

crouching should reduce spread. why wouldnt it? it does drastically slow your movement speed, but you cant sprint strafe anyway in this game


(DarkangelUK) #11

Sorry didn’t read the OP properly, basically he’s upset at users playing pigeon and mashing the duck and jump key like mad. All I say is, slow the game down any more and you’ll have a revolt on your hands :slight_smile:


(Humate) #12

In ETQW it was common to skew the head hitbox in a fight using lean spam, which is why it was disabled in promod.
However duckspam and jump crouching didnt, and often made one an easier target, at least for players that werent mpitching.


(FireWater) #13

I hear what you are saying bam, and I am relatively new here, however I feel that when I am engaging a duck spammer more often than not it appears to. E to their detriment than benefit. Trying to track while not strafing makes it harder to aim for the crouch spammer. I think if the behavior itssf is not the most effective against someone who is moving it will work itssf out naturally


(BAMFana) #14

I’m still not sure if you read the OP properly. I’m not upset (I just don’t think crouch spam serves a legitimate purpose in this game), I never said anything about jumping being a problem (it isn’t since it already has the same restrictions I’m suggesting for crouching), and my suggestion won’t have any effect on the speed of the game.


(Evil-Doer) #15

Let’s make it so when you jump you come to a complete halt and can’t move. Let’s also make it so when you crouch to fast in the fight you drop your primary and have to shoot with your pistol. If you continuously keep crouching to fast you mistakenly drop your pistol and have to use your knife.


(montheponies) #16

To be honest, not really noticed crouch spam and dont really know how you would counter it, given the transition is so short.

The most spammiest technique at the moment, to me, is the jumping shotgunner (esp proxy).


(attack) #17

never noticed crouchspam


(trickykungfu) #18

BAMFana seems like the European inferno… blablabla XD


(INF3RN0) #19

Maybe you should just ragequit more often then


(Dthy) #20

Crouch spam seems hardly effective with the high body damage, you’ll just be placing you head at body height.