Just played against TITANUX, the number-one ranked player on the leaderboards.

It was two rounds of Team Instant action. I beat him once, he beat me once. For some reason, he left a split second before the match ended(the one I beat him in.). I suspect he didn't want to be placed in a rank below anybody. Not very champion-like.

Other than that, I can't say I was very impressed, he used Energy transfer, Stealth enhance, and Mobility enhance. And of course, he spammed melee. All he did was melee. He scored two kills with his FELINE in BOTH matches I faced him in. 2 out of 51.

This severely depressed me. The people we're supposed to look up to are melee-spammers? Pfft.. Ranks can be deceiving.

I totally understand your point of view.
It seems that those who master melee are often very highly ranked. The best players I have played with/against are all more or less melee masters, I also think it's a shame they don't use their guns more often for fabulous take-outs, that would show true skill, something I deeply respect.
Personally, I love to play with more skilled gamers than me, it's challenging and it makes you want to get to the best of your abilities.

Those really good players all seem to use Energy transfer (good when you melee your way through the grounds), stealth enhance (you rarely see them coming) and mobility enhance (no need for "weapon pro" or "rapid fire" when you almost never fire your gun)

I've played against him quite a few times myself, and had the pretty much the same experience as you. He'd beat me one match, i'd beat him the next. This game can be a bit if a lucky dip in my opinion. i can say this though, everytime we got into a medium range fire fight with guns, I came out on top 95% of the time. i could count the number of times he killed me with his gun on one hand, and still have plenty left to jerk off with.

In regards to this whole list thing: I really don't know how you can cut through all the bs in this game and disect the top players into different tiers of skill level. The conection advantage alone makes a huge difference to an outcome of a firefight. Do you spend alot of time in spectating other players??

In this game, and any console shooter for that matter, you can divide the player base skill levels into: poor, average, good, very good. to me it seems like a bit of a wank to have several different tiers of "very good"

The differences in scores/leaderboards amongst the 'very good' is determined, not by difference in skill, but by their quality of connection, how seriously they take the game (ie never taking risks), and their willingness to exploit aspects of the game eg melee switch spamming (something i never knew existed till someone mentioned it in this thread), plus the % of their time they spend playing in organised teams.

Shame on you Crytek for making melee so overpowered.

Most of the people on the list are players I've played with since I started Crysis 2 MP. I learned from them, I observed them, and I compared their skill levels to the average Crysis 2 player. Killcams reveal a great deal to the deceased player.

Also: I consider the lists being less 'different tiers of "very good"' and more along the lines of:
Elites: Exceptional
Worthy: Very good
Dangerous: Good
Soon to be's: Show potential

I take their connections into consideration, but one thing you should know is: I do not base ANY of these opinions on leaderboard ranking and/or scores. These are all based on what I've seen these players do. How flexible they are, their reaction time, and their ability while under pressure. I know, it's detailed. But if you look at the average player being taken by surprise and compare it to any of these fellows I've mentioned, you'll see a noticeable difference.

About their willingness to abuse overpowered weapons: I understand what you mean, a FELINE melee-spammer would certainly score higher than a GAUSS sniper. However, as I said, I do not base these lists on scores I've seen these players get. I base it on how well they play the game itself. Do they use clever ways to get to enemies, do they simply walk around the truck when cornered, or climb over it and jump behind their attackers to counter them? I can say that their weapons and/or abuse of overpowered tactics and weapons does not affect this base instinct. When they're hit from behind, they instantly power jump and turn around, prepared to open fire. This is the case if they're equipped with a MARSHALL, K-VOLT, or FELINE.

Tonight I played against 3 teammembers of a Clan known for their feline melee spammers, so I took a good look at the killcam, and yes, Feline melee switch spamming all the time, almost never using their guns. It was a three against three Team Deathmatch, me and my teammates suffered hard at the start.

After being beaten to death a few times I decided to turn the tide, playing it in a different and unexpected way.
Weapon fire does not cut it with these guys, they come running at you from impossible angles, cloacked, and by the time you hit a few shots, you're already a killcam wannabe thanks to their melee routine.
So I tried something new, forcing them to use their weapons a bit more, but they are hard learners. I equipped myself with a Jackal shotgun, Hammer and C4 (Hell yeah). Armor enhance had to give me an edge with the C4. Whenever I spotted one of them melee spammers in approach, I would serve them some good C4 for dinner. And trust me, they died, a lot! (so did I by the way, but that's a detail)
I bet they are not used to such a strategy, but I had the best fun ever and seriously, I don't care about what they think about my tactics. I'm done with these guys, they ruin the gameplay for everyone else in the MP. They may be good at getting high scores but they have no true skill, they just use their melee routine all the time. I would have loved it if they would have switched to their guns, but no, they didn't...

During the second match, they all left, suddenly, I guess they had seen enough of me for one night.

Not long after that I joined a normal game with good teamplayers on both sides and a very strategy based gameplay. Almost guns only! It had been a while since I enjoyed a Team Deathmatch at that level. It was challenging and interesting, with a variety of snipers and SCAR/SCARAB/FELINE users.
I enjoyed the game with my MIKE and my new weapon of choice, the GRENDEL (with assault scope, ext mag and silencer).


As for the melee, it is ok when it is used well, to give a close range finishing touch to a weakened (and probably confused) target who already met your gun, rather than to bust him up all the way with melee only.

Just to end my remark, I also wish to add that I do not define all elite or exceptionally unbeatable players as melee spammers, I am sure that a majority of them show a great deal of talent and make confrontations particularly interesting (and hard!). Those are the guys I respect, and hope to learn from in the future!

I don't think most of the best players are melee players and frankly I don't have a lot of respect for people who play like that because the truth is it's only highly effective with noobs or lag and they can be beat. Drink a Red Bull, grab a shotgun, run around like a tactical psychopath and shoot those fu**ers while they're still in cloak before they melee you, LOL!

So true. Sadly, most of the players of this game ARE lagging noobs. This gives the melee spammers a huge advantage. That's why, if you look at leaderboard ranks or scores, you see melee spammers are often near the top.

Also: Hi

Wow lol reading all of that was very entertaining.. I see the switch melee has everyone frustrated but listen I'll help u out I'll tell u how to counter these guys.. but u have to use the melee attack as well.. u can't completely stop them without the melee.. I know some of u think the melee is stupid or whatever but use it against these guys.. equip yourself with the Marshall use energy transfer mobility and stealth... set your sensitivity high too and like my bro a3rdson said..run around crazy..the Marshall is a one shot kill in stealth.. play fast never stop moving.. I told u how to do the switch melee so u can use it against them.. stop letting them get the best of you

Thanks for helping out! You're the man