In just about everything short of spying on fob or very long distance hauls, what does base runner do better than acid runner? Less damage, less CC (runner tackle isnt great, but forcing people to resist to stop accumulating burn damage is very helpful when skirmishing)
less health, no armor, more speed but honestly acid runner is still very fast, and stock runner can be so fast sometimes it makes you have to attack predictably to get any use out of it
acid runner can also melt items, and even gets a hero shooter ult (which is really fun)
I dont know if acider should be nerfed or stock buffed, but the difference between two strains of the same species is a little nutty. Praetorian has 4 strains and the best of them are only better situationally at certain things, for example.
Being able to pounce to get that sweet 2-3 extra tackles is pretty fucking good. Makes capping so much better than with acider, which is like, what runner is best at.
The stats are a direct upgrade, and you are also immunized to cheesy 1 hit buckshot PBs. That said, that default runner pounce is deadly. 2 free tackles. 2 free slashes. 2 second cooldown. If a good runner pounces a lone marine, even a good marine player will be hard pressed to avoid the cap, especially if the runner hits the 4 hit stun instead of 5.
I like to stick to default for as long as the backline is available, and switch to acid runner to get acid on unguarded cades during siege. You can also go acid runner for extra armor if you intend to drag off caps during screech rotations.
Eh as a base line runner enjoyer i got to say…yes and no.
Its kind of deceiving, while stat wise Acid runner is straight up better. Like the slightly lesser speed is barely a trade off for how much better the acid runners other stats are. BUT Acid runners are really bad at solo fighting compared to base runner.
Really i just think that many lads just don’t use the base runner right. You can not be greedy or bloodthirsty as a base runner, you must take every action with calculated thought. Issue is… that can be hard when you zooming around at break neck speed with adrenaline coursing through your veins.
The long vision plus the long range pounce is just that good. Like no joke if you are smart and don’t let greed get to you, a good roony will be bane of medics and any marines lagging behind the front. You can even solo groups of 3 marines if you are skilled enough… and even if it doesn’t work out you have all the tools needed to flee.
TL;DR: Base runner is better at solo fighting and hit and run fighting.
Runner: Backline, Capping, Solo, strong against slugs, strong vs scout(as long as they don’t hit you with incend but just dodge smh), zoomed out + speed = claymores eater
Acider: Good Support, Frontline/Sideline, attrition-based warfare, good for opening cades quickly, weak against slugs, weak against scout
They’ve become a lot more rare on the account of acid runners evolving before even hitting the cap, the other issue is just staying alive while relying on hit and run slashes to keep your acid generation active.
The increased risk just isn’t really worth it if you just want to play the game and have fun. You were able to fairly consistently get to 1k acid in about 15 to 20 minutes which isn’t really fun to be on the receiving end of every round so I get why it was nerfed, but you’re now more likely to die so I’d rather evolve and have a more consistent game as a lurker or rav.
Also the 100 acid cost to melt any cade is nifty as an alternative.