I quite enjoy ZM but it’s really dull when all we have are 4 enemy types that do the same thing - run at you in a straight line. It makes the game almost entirely about kiting and limits teamwork.
I think the ZM devs can take a page out of L4D2’s special infected types and add some elite enemies that force the player to do something different. Here’s a few off the top of my head:
- Rotguard that holds a bullet-resistant shield in the front. Players have to flank them or get into dangerous melee range.
- Nestmaker, a spider that doesn’t chase the players but instead makes cobwebs on chokepoints in the map that get incrementally thicker and slow movement. They enter with a signature creeping sound, so players know when to search for them.
- Bile, a zombie that throws a projectile in a straight line. It’ll be difficult to outrun the projectile, so players have to do more movement than just kiting and prioritize them.
- Direbear, a big infected bear. Come on. It’ll dash and pounce the player over a long distance, so backpedaling against it will be ill-advised.
- Crowscare, a crow that perches atop zombies, bolstering nearby zombies’ health. it will fly away if the pack thins, so you have to focus on whoever it’s sitting ontop of.
- Splatter, a bloated bird that flies low to the ground. It drops acid when it dies, creating zones the player have difficulty crossing.
And of course, all the special infected in the L4D games can be brought over nearly identically. If you have any ideas, post them here so the developers can see them in one place!