Are ALL Scientists REALLY Overpowered?
The Scientist is an... interesting character class.
He plays the role of the team's healer, with an array of abilities capable of healing himself and/or others.
However, being healer does not restrict him to hiding behind the strongest Zombie on the team, attaching his Heal Beam of Science to them, and following them around for the entire game.
He carries the Goo Blaster, a slow firing, close ranged weapon. While the Goo Blaster does little damage from a distance, it is capable of hitting a massive number of 70 up close.
A Scientist (usually) can't just run up to someone he wants to pick a fight with. Most Plants have more range than him, and they will take him down before he gets close.
However, he has the ability to Warp short distances. This can be used to escape from enemies when in a bad situation, get on top of buildings, and get within range of an enemy to vanquish them (which is what it is usually used for).
Many claim this to be overpowered. After all, the Scientist sports the role of a healer, right?
Well, that is true, but some don't take into account that the Scientist puts himself in danger when he warps up to an enemy, too.
While the Scientist hits massive damage up close, being up close makes him easier to hit as well.
And how about when there are multiple plants together? Most of the time, a Scientist won't be able to handle 2-3 enemies at once.
Sure, he does have two warps, allowing him to use one to get into a fight, and using the other to retreat to heal himself, but he has little to no chance against an multiple foes, or an accurate sniper who can pick him off before he gets close.
If the Scientist can get the drop on his enemies, warping in before they see him coming, he will almost always win the fight. If the enemy sees him coming, there's something they can potentially do about him.
Now that I've talked about the regular Scientist and (most of) his abilities, let's discuss the other Scientist variants.
Marine Biologist being overpowered has been up for debate for a while now. His Dolphin Blaster does not deal as much damage as the Goo Blaster, but it fires significantly faster, making it capable of probably the most damage of all Scientist variants. He goes through his clip faster, so he'll be reloading a lot.
Doctor Toxic is, well... Toxic! His Radiation Blaster does about as much damage as the Marine Biologist's Dolphin Blaster, with the added effect of toxic damage and a slower firing speed. While not the most damaging Scientist from range, Dr. Toxic is capable of some damage outside of point blank.
The Physicist's EMP Frazzle Launcher deals a little less damage than the Goo Blaster, but fires a little faster, with the added effect of dealing electric damage, capable of spreading to nearby Plant foes. Not the strongest Scientist, but definitely not to be taken lightly.
The Astronaut is the very definition of a long ranged Scientist. His fast firing Moon Rock Launcher deals some decent damage from range, and can hit even harder up close if needed. It also carries a lot of ammunition, so he won't have to worry about reloading all too often. If you're looking for a decent Zombie for long range, but also want to contribute some help to your team, look no further than this guy. He was a great variant at first, but now, he's even more incredible.
The Chemist is specifically designed for close range. The Chemical Beaker Blaster (Just called the Beaker Blaster in Garden Warfare 2) has a decent firing rate and damage output, but the catch is that he has literally no range. You'll be picked off by any sniper who has you in their sights. While he can warp in and deal some damage to multiple plants at once with his weapon's rather large AOE, he has since been nerfed multiple times, decreasing his clip size, damage, even his firing rate slightly. He takes little, if any, skill, and is a very terrible Scientist compared to many of the other variants.
The Archaeologist was not always the powerful Scientist he is today, but with a few tweaks here and there with his weapon, the Excavator, he's now a great Scientist I would recommend to anyone. The Excavator deals some okay damage from range and has a decent clip size, but its specialty comes in its the form of its close range. Think of him like... The Chemist with more ammo, faster firing, range, with a little less damage.
The Paleontologist is a menace. While he doesn't hit as hard as most other Scientists, his Dino Blaster carries a decent clip size, deals fire damage, and has splash damage. You could go through all the trouble of warping up close to someone to vanquish someone, risking your own life in the process, or you could stand far, far away from enemies and shoot at them from afar, keeping you out of danger and dealing a whole world of hurt to your targets.
The Zoologist isn't as broken and overpowered as he used to be, but he's still capable of as much damage as before. He's like the Chemist, but better in most situations. In comparison, Porcupine's Revenge has a faster firing rate, with the cost of slightly less damage and range than the (Chemical) Beaker Blaster. His weapon is fully automatic too, so you won't have to worry about pressing the fire button over and over.
The Computer Scientist is the legendary variant of the Scientist, so of course we can expect him to be very powerful. The Code Corrupter, while not as powerful as the Goo Blaster, deals some significant damage and fires relatively fast. Its reload is also very fast, so you won't have to worry much about running out of ammo. His legendary mode, Crunch Mode, restores him to half health (should he be below it when activated), gives him a bit of damage resistance, and allows him to run faster and hit harder. During Crunch Mode, everything turns green. If you're not used to the map (or just Crunch Mode in general), you may find it hard to navigate. Your enemies are highlighted by a lighter green color, so you can tell friend from foe.
As for my thoughts, I mostly think that the Scientist's abilities are overpowered, not their weapons.
But, if you were to ask me... The only overpowered Scientists are the Marine Biologist, Paleontologist, and Zoologist. Marine Biologist deals much more damage than any other Scientist, Paleontologist, being fire variant and having splash damage, and Zoologist, for being pretty much a direct upgrade from the Chemist.
This goes back to one of my previous posts from some time ago about the Chemist.
Chemist isn't overpowered, guys. In fact, he's underpowered now. He's limited to close range. Sure, Zoologist is also limited to close range, but he puts out much more damage faster.
The only reason I can find that others thought (or maybe still think) Chemist was/is overpowered is because he took no skill to use. You didn't have to be accurate to land hits. But that's still no reason to nerf him so much.
He puts himself in so much danger up close, and now lacks the damage he needs to take most foes out before he falls himself.
