*I should put here that I'm well-aware that I'm likely to get flamed to oblivion over this, but I have to get it off my chest, so please, if you find this stupid, I already know this is likely to be pointless, so there is very little point in telling me. Also, I also get that maybe my set-up isn't the best (kamarin and needle shot=probably not the best combo), but nonetheless*

DEVILITES.

I hate the little hell-spawns.

I shall now go on to list why exactly I hate them, and why exactly I feel they need to be nerfed.

The wiki entry's for these cute balls of death states that they "make for poor warriors". A pretty poor taste in jokes, whoever wrote that. Simply put, these diminutive(running out of non-swear words here, not sure what the rules on that around here are) pests are mine, and I'm going to assume many other's worst nightmares when doing a run. Here are a couple of arguments, which you can scoff at if you are so inclined:

1. Super range: The guys can throw things far. VERY far. So far even, that I can't even see them on screen. Just now for instance, I put my shield down for one second to finish off a murderous cat, and BAM! pitchfork from nowhere to the face. Surely that's a little cruel? admittedly, we can shoot some guns about that far, but that brings me along to my next point.

2. dodging: Jesus, these guys are fast. Even with my piercing damage needle shot (I know, needle shot hah hah) I'll struggle to hit them from anywhere, unless they're cornered by two other knights hacking desperately to avoid a chair to the groin. This makes them extremely hard to kill with guns, meaning you have to rely on swords, and when you're wielding slow things like Kamarin, that just gives them ample time to pull another cabinet out of hammerspace. which again leads into...

3. The charge speed: they're just no way to be ready to counter one of their projectiles. The moment you swing your sword at one of them, another one has already charged and thrown something sharp with a direct hit, making you do a sissy pirouette and (presumably) throw lots of heat everywhere for funsies. This charge speed wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for...

4. Their damage output: This is mainly an armor problem. shadow damage armor is certainly less common then other sets, and while it is available, many of the sets debuff in crucial areas such as fire resistance (Skelly, I'm looking at you here). But combined with above, the fact that they can take maybe 3-5 chunks off your health is extremely worrying, especially when that's all it takes to kill a newly revived knight who couldn't get his shield up quick enough to block a lightning fast blow from off the screen (see what I did there?) Again, this wouldn't be problem if it weren't for...

5. The numbers: SO MANY DEVILITES. SO LITTLE SPACE TO HIDE. Whenever I encounter devilites, they are nearly always in wide open spaces, which unfortunately combines with their dodge roles to allow them to flank, and gang-bang you in mere seconds. The last game I played, in which we had to quit in the 3 strata right before terminal, They were almost literally everywhere at once. There was nowhere to hide.

and one final gripe, 6: Their mystical sucking power: Now, this could just be me and my crappy connection, but I am getting killed all the time by blows that should not have killed. Attacks through sturdy (if only recently brandished) shields, mystical attacks that, after having been narrowly dodge, mysteriously drag you back to your death. This is not just a devillite thing, but they are some of the worst problems I have with it. But again, maybe it's just me and my bad Internet.

Well, that brings an end to the rant section. Now on to the suggestion segment.

Frankly, there are many ways you could nerf these tiny (that's it, out of inventive words. Make up your own to fill this spot. Have fun). In fact, I was surprised to see they seem to get minimal to no changes (except for a reduced dodge rate, which I haven't really noticed, though others might have) in the recent balance update. Surely they deserved it? never-mind, I'll just get on with my suggestions.

Ok, number 1: Nerf their shadow damage. Pretty simple, Pretty obvious, instantly hated by you pessimists because it "takes away the challenge". Let's move on.

number 2: make their attacks easily interrupted: with such a quick charge rate, surely they should have a bane to their power, a crux if you will? like say, being stopped in their attacks by a lot of stuff. Shield bashing, sword/gun hits, etc. Something that means they can only get off their super powerful pitchforks of death when you foolishly neglect them.

number 3: lower the range: I'm all for having some ranged attackers in there (since there are only really 2 i can think of, not including guys that do close and far, re trodes etc.), but can we make them a bit, you know, worse at throwing? like, so we can see them when they actually throw.

number 4: Change the pit-boss role somewhat: Now, the pit boss concept is inspired, and is easily my favorite thing about devilite (maybe the only thing I like about devilites), but the execution of their concept is somewhat problematic. The fact is, players seem to get easily confused on what to kill first, as sometimes you need to kill him first to save hassle (I'll call these guys "bad bosses") and sometimes it's best to leave them to the end ("good bosses"). Problem is, even with the last one, you're most likely to end up with at least one overtimer when the big guy kicks the bucket. Can we change this? first of all, give "bad bosses" a different colour, so we can know instinctively weather to go for them or not, or just get rid off the whole adoring yesmen turning into overtimers; just make them turn into the normal devilites we know and hate.

number 5: Change the Environments: Seriously, giving them that much space to attack is just frustrating. Gun puppies are usually found in narrow bridges (though not always), where you can either hold shoot-outs or go for the kamikaze attack. Could we do something similar for devilites? make it like a western shoot-out or something, where you can take cover behind walls, and so can they. That would be pretty cool, and It would give gunners a nice edge for some floors, which they seem to otherwise lack.

Anyway, that's plenty of typing for now. I suspect I've made a dozen spelling/grammar mistakes, but no matter. Please post your opinions on devilites, any suggests you have, or just simply flame me. Any bump is a good bump. 'Cept for a certain kind of bump, but lets avoid that issue.