Thoughts on Myk

[pliant spear]

Love this game to death, already in my list of favorites of all time and I’ve had it for two days. I thought though since I have the opportunity here to give my thoughts on the things that rub me the wrong way, or make me a little less excited to be playing the game.

The first thing that comes to mind is Myk. Myk is a beautiful little boy with a very special ability. His specialty is he gets to start with the SMG every round. This gun, is weak at a distance, and strong up close. It's mid range is slightly worse than of the default pistol. When he is able to get into close range, I would posit that he is much stronger than most other characters on the cast. This is not inherently a problem though, since this game is all about a variety of playstyles. If you have a playstyle you like, you should be able to make a deck around getting it to work. The problem for me lies within how easy it is for this playstyle to be enabled. If an effective playstyle is easy to enable consistently, it is going to be strong.

With this established, let us examine Myk. For Myk to be enabled, he needs to be close range. To start, on 2/4 maps this is already complete. Theatre and Trucks are small enough that this is already done for him if he wants it to be done. On Subway, there is enough cover and varying ways to access and drop from high ground to vary your positioning that allow you to be able to secure close combat without taking to much poke if you plan your approach with intent. Rooftops is the only map I would say you need a card synergy to be able to clear the mid-section in order to truly enable him without half healthing yourself. So, we have 3/4 maps that this strategy is easily enabled without any card synergies. To me this feels slightly problematic, for if at a baseline at the beginning of a map, if a single character is already far better off than the others based on the map, this is an asymmetry that bothers me. (To be continued)

It feels incredibly debilitating for when I spawn and within 3 seconds myk is already on top of me vastly out damaging me. And this goes both ways. When I approach myk with this playstyle, I feel like any other character is outclassed, so I am not under the impression that this is just my scewed perspective on the receiving end of things.

Now, on to some foreseeable counter arguments that I think are valid and how I think Myk still violates some relevant principles. First, is the fact that the opponent can adapt. This is a game of adaptation, and that is by FAR my favorite part about it gameplay wise. On rooftops this is quite easy, and I think he is very balanced on it. However on the other three, I think keeping him at a longer range on any other map is quite difficult to pull of consistently. But this isn't a tac shooter. We have more than positioning, its a card game. And I agree, with mines, boomsticks, speed adjustments, and so much more you can either keep yourself at a range or put yourself in a position to match him in close range. My problem again returns to consistency. This is a best of 5 game. As certain situations pop up, you use cards to put yourself in a better position to deal with it. However, I think it is pretty uncommon that you have the specific cards required to counter the same situation three out of five rounds. Usually, I lose capability to keep Myk off me after one, maybe two rounds. The rate he is able to consistently able to enable himself outpaces that of which I am able to disable him. In short, I think it is too difficult to adapt to his playstyle, or at least FAR harder than it is for any other character which is not an asymmetry that I think is good for a character based game, cause I think we all want our favorite little critter to be equally capable.

Next, one might point to the tiger who also has a unique playstyle, and they may ask why I am not discussing this character. For one, it is because I haven't played against him, since he is currently unaccessable. However, I would like to say also that melee is a world of difference from close range. I predict it would be much easier to keep the tiger from gettting to melee range, than Myk from getting to your general proximity. So, I do not believe the Tiger holds relevance.

What about the bear? He has a very strong ability in some situations. The key word is some. I think he is less often enabled and therefore not a problem

Then, I think all the other characters just have slight buffs that generally help them, rather than enable a different base playstyle that is unlike that of what you see with the default pistol. So, I think they are all balanced because you simply pick which stat or bonus you want to have a bit more, and you can lean on that a bit more. Therefore, I don't think any of them can be used to counter the points I have raised.

To generalize my problem in a single mental image, think you get queued into two Myks onto trucks. Does your heart not drop as you realize in a matter of seconds you're going to be panic spraying as there are two handsome birds in front of you and a quickly emptying health bar. This could EASILY just be a me thing, but I feel like there really is an asymmetry here that doesn't feel balanced, at least at the baseline of character balance.

In summary, Myk is a very cool character, with a great visual design, voice acting, and general design. However, I feel like his innate ability, on a majority of maps, is overwhelming and outshines that of any of the other characters. It makes for a very debilitating experience that takes away from the most satisfying aspects of the game.

Now, just so it doesn't seem like I'm complaining, I think its important I propose an alternative, that is hopefully easy for the developers to implement without gutting the character both of his personality and mechanic. I think it would be really cool, if you picked Myk you would be given an automatic pistol. This is just a base pistol, but you can hold the shoot button and get an easy max fire rate, which is quite helpful. However this takes away from his spirit and is still underwhelming, so I would say in addition he gets an additional x amount of bonus firerate (I think 20% or something) to all guns. This would make so for both baseline and for other guns he is still getting a pretty cool benefit that will impact how he feels. This would keep his spirit alive, but would keep him from being the current close range titan that he is.

This concludes my apparent essay on Myk. I am curious if anyone will make their way through all of this, and if they do I would love to hear your thoughts. If it is just a me thing, I would like some suggestions on some changes to my mindset or gameplay that would enable to enjoy him as he is. These are obviously just my thoughts and opinions, and I do not think any of this to be fact, and hope someone will care to consider my perspective.

[upper ridge]

As someone who has sunk a lot of playtime with Myk, i can definitely agree with some points, but overall, still seems fairly balanced compared to the other characters. Granted yes, the Brasshopper does deal less damage; but its also: 1) harder to get close to those skilled players 2) the spread on it man is enough to determine win/lose. I’ve had a lot of matches where i could’ve won, but RNG said nope!

Now, rushing with Myk is always fun, but again, there are multiple counters to this, even if he has lesser damage. Katana, shotgun, even sniper! They all could down him in seconds. Movement means a lot in this game, probably above DPS. My biggest counter is probably Gull or Spike due to damage increase.

Maps dont really have a favor here as all maps are fairly sized (except theater imo). Most of it depends on how you play and how you build your deck.

[pliant spear]

These are some good points, specifically that of the rng of the spread. Next time I’m on I’ll make a point of checking the spread of the smg vs the pistol and see if it is enough to withdrawl my position. From a gut feeling, I still feel from experience that his spread hasn’t been enough to stop me or my opponents from shredding a health bar, but we are talking day three of a beta meta analysis here haha. I also agree that there are many many counters to Myk, but unlike myks passive they are used upon use, and then next round you no longer have your counter and he still has his passive. It’s this dynamic that made me want to post this, but even if no changes are made, the points you raised are definitely going to help me, thanks for your thoughts!

[upper ridge]

No worries, bud! I know it can be a lot when a game releases another beta. Somethings can always be patched, changed, and even reworked! If you ever want to try something out, play together, or go head-to-head, add me!

[wanton lagoon]

Myk was the black sheep of past beta and I'm very happy people start picking it up this time. My boy is smol, gets kited like hell and really wants to be close & personal. People that complain about Myk will complain about Mr Tiger when it comes out (sporting the Katana as starter weapon). Myk forgiving mag gets easily outdamaged by the Boira if you place all your shots rights

[edgy birch]

i used to think he was op but since the nerf he got i think he's okay, 2v2 is another world cuz of the decks of all 4 players and im not a 2v2 dweller so its not that of a problem for me, i can agree trucks is too small and he can easily destroy anyone there but as others have said, the recoil/accuracy/spread or whatever u call it has a bigger impact than anything plus having good movement is a good counter too

[pliant spear]

Thank you for your guys’ inputs. As I go through the final day of the beta I’ll keep this all in mind and see how my thoughts on the topic change throughout the day and I’ll see how that’ll change my stance. Hope you guys enjoy your last day of the beta as well

[stable light]

oh boy we got ourself a chatter box