TLDR The kids play video games and the vets hang with their familiesdog . <| sep |> I wouldn ' t say solo Hard would be the best metric by which to measure a perk ' s merit . Though it has the means to both dispatch trash with efficiency and hold its own against the bigger specimens , Demolitionist ' s very limited closerange capabilities can get to be quite an issue in the higher difficulties where everything is faster , and keeping everything within effective range will often require either significant kiting or decent backup . The specimens undergo substantial changes during the jump from Hard to Suicidal , and Suicidal and Hell on Earth are very different experiences from Normal and Hard as a result though you are less likely to find competent team players in Hard , so it isn ' t always necessarily easier . Solo has the difficulty neutered a bit to compensate for you being on your lonesome as well halved default maximum enemies on the map at a time , reduced damage , better selfhealing , among other things . As a side note , your difficulty with SWAT stems from its designation as a trashclearing perk lowdamage , high volume weaponry to keep Clots , Crawlers , Stalkers , and Gorefasts off the backs of the heavy hitters so they can direct their focus to the higher value targets . It does , however , have merit against big Zeds in the form of flashbangsa stunned , stationary Fleshpound is significantly easier to deal with than an enraged Fleshpound charging at you with every intent to make you a smear on the ground .