It's a balancing class. And, if you get killed everytime and fail to do anything with the Smoker, maybe the problem isn't with his abilities...
lol no. A perfect team of survivors isn't going to colapse by what you're saying the Smoker can do. It's the simple fact that the SMoker needs a clear line of site of the survivors and he has that huge green cloud that stands out in trees. He's simply too easy to spot to be long range. A good team will see him from a mile away and hear his coughing even further. Once he gets out of his hiding place. He dies. Simple. He can't work in a team because the Boomer has to start the ambush. If the Smoker starts the ambush, the whole thing collapses. If the Boomer starts the ambush, he can't attack when there's a horde because he can't grab 'em through the horde. He can't attack as soon as the Boomer hits because that's the point where all survivors can move freely. He's useless. Tell me when the Smoker is as good as you say he is if you think you know more then me, prove it. All you've said was he only works in specific locations. What are these locations? Where are these places where a Smoker will dominate more then a Hunter or Boomer.
I have never said that he dominates more than a Hunter or Boomer, but let me think... 1. NM4 rooftops, pull off roof, insta-incap 2. Pulling a survivor into a witch or alarmed car 3. NM finale, pull survivor off when they get up ladder 4. NM3 Crescendo event, pull survivor off roof the lift leads too 5. NM3, grab survivor right before all others go down to sewers 6. NM1, grab last survivor after all others jump down hole in the house 7. NM2, pull survivor off ledge after they walk up stairs at the crescendo event 8. NM2, pull them out of windows of the offices they enter after crescendo event Just some quick ones all from NM, with just as many in BH. And, if you are even at a slightly high ground, survivors are easy pickin' during a Boomer's horde. Even if you don't pull them all the way towards you, they can't stop the zombies from killing them.
Alright, I'm done. I referred you to eight legitimate spots where the Smoker is useful without glitches,(and no, I was not referring to the glitch in NM5 since it's been patched) and you still refuse to admit that the Smoker is somewhat useful. You are using no logic and offer no room for flexibility or understanding, so I'm done trying to convince you. EDIT: Also, just because a Hunter or Boomer can do the same thing, doesn't make the Smoker useless.
You referred those spots and I countered how a Boomer or Hunter can do the same thing and possibly better then the Smoker can. The only thing the Smoker can do that the Hunter or Boomer can't do is pulling a survivor out of the lift in NM4. That's the only time Smoker is useful. Actually, yes. It does make him useless. He becomes redundant. The Smoker has no depth compared to the Boomer and Hunter. Think about it logicly. What can the Smoker do? He can pull survivors away from the group and stall them for a couple seconds. He can claw them. He can die around a survivor to give an effect which calls nearby infected to attack that person. What are the disadvantages of the Smoker? He's very loud. He needs range. He can be easily seen in all conditions except being Boomered. He's too tall. After a broken tongue, he can't move for a second. If we take a look at these. We see that his third ability is useless because of his need for range. Same with the second one. His first ability is useless due to the fact that he is easily seen and easily heard. And his height make cover for him awkward. Compare this to the Boomer and Hunter. What can the Boomer do? He can puke on the survivors to call all infected in the area and an aditional 10 infected to the puked location. He can Kamikaze the enemy which has the same effect as 1. He can claw the survivors. He has a blow back ability which knocks survivors back an inch when he Kamikazes them. What are his disadvantages. He's big. He's slow. Has low health. He makes a lot of noise. When pushed back, he takes a long time to recover. His slowness, size and noise are minor as he shouldn't be spawning until the last second. Giving the survivors minimal warning. His low health could be advantageous in certain situations as he is a Kamikaze when he needs to be but and it does hinder him when following behind survivors. His last disadvantage is the worst but can be cancelled if he has a Hunter punch his health down. What can the Hunter do? He can pounce the survivors. He can claw the survivors. He can knock survivors back when pouncing. He does double damage after a 10+ pounce. He does double damage when on fire. He does huge damage when he does a 10+ fire pounce. Can wall jump. Hard to see. What are his disadvantages. Makes the loudest amount of noise when pounching. His whole attack can be countered by a simple well timed punch. Slow when readying to pounce. Each one of his double damages require to make him sacrifice something wether it be health or safety or a lot of preparing. Once he's been removed from his target, he's dead. Can you see the problem?