How is the Tail Attack, in this state, a 'balanced' ability?

I'll have to refer back to my previous post:

If the Tail Attack is no better than something like Demo's Shred, with an equivalent telegraph and cooldown for missed attacks... why would there need to be a counter mechanism like Turrets?

Why would it matter if Turrets were reworked, if survivors never needed to use Turrets anyway, because they can just dodge the Tail Attack like you could dodge a Shred?

Counters like Turrets, as well as Singularity's EMP,s or Dredges Locks, are tools given to survivors that allow the killer to have a more impactful and stronger power. Without Locks on lockers, Dredge would be too efficient at teleporting, and would need their base teleport speed reduced to compensate. With Lockers, you provide Survivors with a tool to counter the teleports, thus allowing the killers base power to be more effective and introducing a different element of skill expression to survivors, instead of relying purely on chase ability, you allow them to outplay the killer with strategy by locking the correct locker.

This is why the Tail Attack is as strong as it is. Survivors have a tool to reduce the killers power uptime and slow them down in a chase. With less than 100% power uptime, that power, Tail Attack, is afforded greater strength and impact in a chase. Survivors have the responsibility to counter it through strategy, placing Turrets in a good position, rather than chase ability.

No, you can dodge it if your smart and the Xeno makes some mistakes. Same with demo, Nemesis, Pyramid head, Huntress etc....

If you just run in a straight line and don't look behind you, yes you will get hit and downed very fast.

I've had survivors delay me a lot.

You will go down as survivor yes. But that the point of the game. You are supposed to go down eventually. Your job is to delay the killer as much as possible.

If there's an easily executable counter, then the killer isn't dangerous.

'Don't get shot' and 'Don't get teleported to' are not easy counters.

Those are both easy to do. Or just run erratically. Or bait the hatchets. And she's only gonna catch up with you if you dont drop the pallet before she's bloodlusting. That takes a while with Huntress as she's a 110 killer. You'd have gone around the loop enough times by then to drop the pallet on her by surprise as she might expect another loop.

This is also fair counterplay as the killer at any time can decide to respect the pallet and chuck a hatchet.

To argue your points....

1. It is not a mediocre attack, you're giving it a biological ranged gun, bolt-action.
2. Turrets should still be used to pull it out of stealth and it's crouch stance. Why bother having stealth specialty killers or only handful of killers default crouch, when for example.. Ghostface for suffers from a 3.x m/s reduction when he moves crouched. The Xeno gets it free at full speed.
3. The Alien has the strengths of 3+ killers combined. Onryo, Michael Meyers, Deathslinger. It can camouflage, (black), stealth crouch, cross map travel, gen pressure and chase ability.... As a matter of fact... "It is the perfect killing machine" ( - Michael Fassbender in Alien:Covenant).

If not nerf the tail whip, buff the turret. Give survivors a reasonable counter-measure. Every killer has a weakness. The Xeno does not. The current option is a well-lit candle that I have to go pick-up at Yankee Candle and then decide where I want it in my room. Do I go with Sea Breeze or maybe Autumn Spiced Apple?

The same way MFT is apparently balanced which is why it's still unchanged. The ability itself is fine, what needs to be toned down is his movespeed when you miss. It puts him at 2.1 for 3 seconds, it should be 1.5/1.6 for 3 seconds instead.

You pretend like you're going to drop the pallet, she draws the hatchet, then you just keep running and she has to cancel. Even if you never drop the pallet at all, she's a 110% Killer, and it will be grueling for her to catch up.

Why is everyone going, "wow there's no reason to play Deathslinger, Xeno can do the same thing except without any reload", when Deathslinger has a range of 18m and Xeno has a range of 4.8m, and Deathslinger has a much higher viewpoint and causes deep wound? The two aren't even remotely comparable.

You were saying?

I firmly recommend a video on Youtube from Naymeti called "looping the new Alien Killer with no perks".

Quite a funny and educational watch!

1, xeno didn't drag his hitboxes at all (you can still strafe when hitting)

2, those hits were on prediction and it can be seen by meg not dodging anything 2nd time in that clip.