Character Attributes
Thresh's comments in BLACK
Kenn's comments in BLUE
Character Attributes and Payload
Kenn:
What I found interesting in Blood II multiplayer was the way they handled weapon selection. Since you only have 10 slots, you actually have to create some kind of profile before you start playing (or choose one of the presets) and select which 10 weapons out of the 17 you want to use. Spawn into a game and you have all of those weapons, albeit with little or no ammo. The game then becomes a rush to pick up ammunition for the guns you're carrying. This is an interesting twist on the "spawn, find weapons, die, repeat" scenario we've all become accustomed to, but honestly, I'm not sure if it's the best. While there are a few weapons which are just about useless in battle (the Bug-Spray comes to mind), not being able to dynamically adjust your game was one of the big drawbacks I wasn't down with. Why couldn't they have implemented the "limited inventory" system used in Single player mode? Dropping guns to make room for others is a novel approach that could have made for a number of interesting strategies and tactics, and leaving it out is a big mistake.

Choose your settings wisely
Thresh:
Ditto. In my opinion, this is certainly the case. The 10-weapon limit might have been better alleviated if it were possible to change your settings between spawns, but it looks like you're stuck with whatever you first choose when you connect to the server.
It's not all bad though. One interesting feature of Blood II's player profiles is the ability to customize your character's attributes, somewhat like distributing points in an RPG. You can mix and match points between Strength, Resistance, Speed, and Focus. The first three are pretty obvious. Focus determines your mana-generating abilities - more focus allows you to regain mana faster, and have a higher maximum. Low focus means you'd better stick to guns.
Kenn:
What I liked was the difference the settings actually made. Setting my speed to 1 slowed me down to a Half-Life crawl, while 5 allowed me to blaze through the level at lightning speeds. A Focus setting of 1 limited me to 100 mana, with a recharge rate of about 2 mana per second. A 5 raises the bar to 500, and it recharges at 10 per second or so. I can see a number of players tweaking their settings intently, and mixing and matching their weapons payload to match. Players with awesome aim can max out their strength and resistance, barreling through opposition to force the kill. More strategic or quick-thinking players can use increased speed to their advantage. This variety in gameplay is unheard of in a fps, and it's barring the uncovering of a standard "super-character," can add a lot to Bloodbath.
Furious Bloodbaths