I have been a Crypto main since he came out in season 3 so I am definitely biased and you should all keep this in mind. That being said, I write this out of love for what the character could be and not out of bitterness (I think) despite the fears I have when reading the patch notes for season 6.
I have always believed that Crypto could go one of two ways depending on how Respawn decided to develop his abilities. Of course, it was always a given that his abilities would change with the never-ending quest for perfect balance in an asymmetrical Battle Royale. However, I firmly believe they went the wrong way with the upcoming update. Crypto, in my mind, is meant to be careful but decisive. He is able to gather information in order to determine where, when and how to strike. His EMP was the embodiment of this decisiveness: You either time it right or your teammates pay the price. I have seen few Crypto players but I felt that they always fell in one of two categories.
The first path, I would describe as the "party pooper," which relies on a flexible close quarters playstyle where Crypto rarely if ever stays in his drone for longer than 5/10 seconds. He uses its abilities sporadically and only places his drone in the air when the enemy is too busy to shoot it down (i.e. Your team is already firing at them) and otherwise hides it strategically so that he can push with his team, rather than constantly lag behind. His EMP is used as the 'coup de grace', where good timing is rewarded with certain death for the enemy and bad coordination results in disaster more often then not. It is a high risk/high reward strategy which relies on using the EMP as the opener to every fight.
The second path is what I call the "flight simulator," a playstyle centered around Crypto rigidly flying his drone and using its abilities while actively engaged in flying it. I will not lie to you, I dislike the latter and firmly believe that Respawn has taken a strong step towards locking players out of the ability to play the former.
Crypto is still a great bunker buster, but what good is that ability when your teammates cannot breach the door to exploit the stun which follows the EMP, a window which only lasts a couple seconds. The added abilities relating to Respawn beacons and Survey beacons reward a passive approach to the game and will make Crypto the ultimate rat. Teams will pick him for this ability rather than for his usefulness in a firefight, and that is a direction I fear for the character. I firmly believe his pick rate will go up next season, but it will be for his ability to play the cockroach and survive the nuclear winter by hiding under and rock.
I will not pretend to disagree with the fact that there was too much synergy in the Wraith/Revenant/Crypto combo and that it was too difficult to deal with such a combo - but there were so many better ways to deal with this combo than the way in which is has been done. In the few hours since the patch, I have thought of the following solution which I believe would have solved the issue at hand without penalizing Crypto players which were already clamoring for more flexibility for the character.
- EMP damage no longer counts towards EVO upgrades
- EMP does not damage Crypto's shields
- EMP stuns allies and Crypto only when they do not have shields (This would prevent the abuse of the Revenant/Crypto Combo and would prevent using the EMP as an Oh Sh*t button - Crypto is about being prepared after all)
- Alternate interact button (The one used to recall the drone while it is in the air) deploys the drone without forcing Crypto to log into it when the drone has been recalled.
- EMP destroys Lifeline drones and Revenant totems (This would allow Cryptos to punish foolish teams who push recklessly because they have the totem activated)
- (Not sure about this one but added it anyway) Add a UI element which tells Crypto at all times how many squads are within drone range
- Remove all the newly added Rat abilities.
The recent change to the EMP is a crippling blow to the character's ability to influence a firefight, and rewards passive griefing/padding EVOs through EMPs rather than active participation in the shootout. I am not pretending that I have all the answers, and there are certainly flaws I have overlooked in what I have thought up but I cannot help but feel like it would have taken the game in a better direction than what is currently planned.
Anyway, please realize that I write this out of love for the game and not out of spite. My deepest thanks for Respawn for the last two years of amazing content and for what is, without a doubt, the best Battle Royale out there. I will wait and see how Crypto plays in the next season but thought I would share my concerns on here anyway.
