Thanks for ruining Chomper!
He's now pretty much ineffective in his chomping ability. You can't swallow a zombie by chomping them above ground, and even the burrow chomp is rendered all but useless, as nearly every player hops ...
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I was initially of the same opinion, since Chomper was my favourite character in GW2, and my initial impression was that the character had been nerfed in BFN.
However I have come to appreciate that the changes are not all bad. The Grody Goop is actually quite cool because it can immobilise multiple zombies by slowing them down and stopping them from using abilities. It also does a good chunk of damage, softening your target up for a melee attack. I find its animation too subtle however. In GW1 & 2 it was very obvious when you had gooped a zombie.
I didn't participate in the wider community for GW1 or 2, but I gather that a lot of players were fed up with the Chomper being used for suicide missions: burrowing or back chomping when surrounded by zombies, then inevitably being killed whilst digesting. I don't think suicide chomping is inherently bad (it scatters the zombies while they hop around trying to avoid being chomped, and can create a gap in their defensive line), but I can see how it might diminish the enjoyment of other players, in addition to being a tactic that on the whole is not beneficial for the team.
It seems like the changes to the Chomper were an attempt to force players to adopt a less suicidal playing style, and be a team player rather than a kamikaze assassin.
Initially I missed the back chomp, but I'll tell you what I don't miss: trying to do a bite attack and accidentally back chomping your target, essentially committing suicide!
Although I don't use Chomper's ranged weapon (Slobber Shot) very often, it gives the Chomper a means of fighting back against zombies who jump to high ground to avoid being chomped. It also means that the Chomper can participate in boss battle that require a ranged attack, such as shooting the drill in Goopy Gully. In GW1 & 2 it was pretty much mandatory to switch to a ranged a character to participate fully in the end stage of certain maps.
Re: the screen darkening when you take damage. This may be because the character who attacked you has an upgrade that impairs the vision of plants they damage (I forget the name of the upgrade)?
On that screen dampening. I've had that even when in PvE at times. It does look like it's applying the effect of that upgrade, even when it doesn't apply at times.
