Champion Spotlight - Hit-Monkey

Kabam ZibiitKabam Zibiit Posts: 5,287
edited May 2020 in Champion Spotlights


About Hit-Monkey
Ah ah, ook oooh ah ah. Ook eek ah ooooh, oh ah eek eeeeek. Ook ah. Ah ooh ooh, ah ooh ahh ah. Eek eeeeek! Eek ooh, oooooooh ah ahhh. Ook oh, ah ah ooh. Aaack ahhh, eek eek oh! Oh oh, ahh oh ah.

Gwenpool here! It's a good thing I speak Macaque! This dapper little guy was just an ordinary monkey, until his tribe gave sanctuary to an on-the-run assassin. Mercenaries came and killed both the assassin, and the rest of Hit-Monkey's tribe! So Hit-Monkey took up the fallen assassin's weapons and swore vengeance against both those responsible, and all others who call themselves mercenaries.


Hit-Monkey’s Mechanics

    Hit-Monkey is a versatile assassin who can quickly eliminate his targets while bypassing their defenses. The nunchaku he uses for his basic attacks are guaranteed to be Critical Hits, and landing three Critical Hits in a row enables him to switch into one of two combat modes. The first, Assassin’s Cunning, lets him strike evasive Opponents and improves his Bleed damage. The second, Primal Rage, lets him ignore enemy Armor and Resistance, and lets him inflict Distorient. Choose the right mode for the right enemy, and show them who the real superior simian is!

BASE STATS & ABILITIES
   Health  Attack  PI (Max Signature)
 3-Star  5093  570  1946
 4-Star  12771  1429  4891
 5-Star  25606  2865  10640
 6-Star (Rank 3, Level 45)  32995  3692  13690

Character Class: Skill
Basic Abilities: Critical Bleed, Assassin's Cunning, Primal Rage, Disorient, Critical Damage

STRENGTHS:
  • Variety of Damage
  • Hit-Monkey has a number of different ways of dealing solid damage to the opponent. He has Guaranteed Crits on a number of his basic attacks, and can easily trigger Bleed debuffs through his basic combos. He also has access to True Damage for Opponents with high resistances.

  • Fighting #Mercenary Opponents
  • A number of Hit-Monkey’s abilities are improved when fighting #Mercenary Opponents. The most notable change is that rather than being forced to choose between his two combat modes, triggering one mode will automatically also trigger the other one, giving him the benefits of both.

  • Purify Debuffs and Evade attacks
  • In addition to significantly improving his attack opportunities, Hit-Monkey’s two combat modes also provide him with some safety. Assassin’s Cunning will let him Evade an attack that would strike him, and Primal Rage will let him shrug off a Stun or Damaging Debuff.
WEAKNESSES:
  • Bleed Immunity

  • A big component of Hit-Monkey’s damage is Bleed Debuffs and his Critical Bleeds. Opponents who are Bleed Immune will be able to bypass this threat pretty easily.

  • Relies on Critical Hits
  • Hit-Monkey has Guaranteed Critical Hits on his Medium Attacks and his first Light Attack. If his Opponent is someone who punishes Critical Hits (like Mister Sinister), then Hit-Monkey is going to have a very difficult time.

ABILITIES:
The following Stats and Abilities are based on a Rank 5, Level 65, 5-Star Champion


Nunchaku:
  • Hit-Monkey’s nunchaku attacks are guaranteed Critical Hits against Opponents who are not Blocking. He uses them for his first Medium Hit, first Light Hit, and second Medium Hit.
  • Landing 3 Critical Hits in a row deals internal damage to the Opponent and inflicts a Bleed Debuff, dealing +1263.5 Direct Damage over 4.5 second(s).
Developer’s Note: A good strategy when playing Hit-Monkey is to use Medium-Light-Medium combos, rather than the regular 5-hit combo, as all three hits in the shorter combo are Guaranteed Critical Hits, meaning you’ll trigger a Bleed Debuff every combo.

Monkey Scheme, Monkey Do:
  • Landing 3 Critical Hits in a row grants Hit-Monkey a Monkey Scheme. This is unaffected by Ability Accuracy.
  • Blocking or Dodging an attack converts a Monkey Scheme into Assassin’s Cunning, lasting 8 second(s).
  • Attacking or being Struck converts a Monkey Scheme into Primal Rage, lasting 8 second(s).
  • Against #Mercenary Opponents, Monkey Schemes are always converted into both Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage.
  • While Assassin’s Cunning or Primal Rage are active, Monkey Schemes cannot be gained.
Developer’s Note: Monkey Schemes are Hit-Monkey’s main mechanic. After landing 3 Crits in a row, you have the choice between his two different combat modes, Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage. The two modes are useful in different ways, so choose wisely.
While Hit-Monkey excels at 3-hit combos, it’s also entirely possible to trigger a Monkey Scheme using 5-hit combos, since the last hit of the combo will be Critical, and the next two hits of your next combo will trigger a Scheme.

To give you a sense of what this looks like, here’s Hit-Monkey’s starting state:


After landing a Critical Hit, he tracks the hit on the HUD:


Landing 3 Critical Hits will grant you a Monkey Scheme, and Bleed the Opponent:




When Knocked Down:
  • Activate both Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage for 6 second(s).
Developer’s Note: This is Hit-Monkey’s main threat when he’s defending. Knocking him down forces you to content with both his combat modes at once.

On Opponent Evade:
  • Activate Assassin’s Cunning and refresh Primal Rage. This is unaffected by Ability Accuracy, but can’t trigger more than once every 15 second(s).
Developer’s Note: Handy for hitting those sneaky, Evasive Opponents like Spider-Man and Quake.

Assassin’s Cunning - Passive:
  • Prevent the Opponent’s Evade effects.
  • Gain a 60% chance to Evade an incoming Basic Attack while not Blocking. Evading removes Assassin’s Cunning.
  • The Bleed Debuffs from Hit-Monkey’s Nunchaku can be Critical Bleeds, multiplying their Potency by his Critical Damage Multiplier. The chance for a Critical Bleed is equal to his Critical chance.
  • The chance for Critical Bleeds to occur is further increased for every 3 Critical Hits landed in a row during Assassin’s Cunning.
Developer’s Note: In Assassin’s Cunning, you really, really want to be doing 3-hit combos. Each combo you do will Bleed the Opponent, and also increases the chance of triggering Critical Bleeds instead of your regular Bleeds. And if the Opponent would get a hit in, Hit-Monkey has a very good chance to Evade it.

Here’s what Assassin’s Cunning looks like on the HUD:




Primal Rage - Passive:
  • Ignore the Opponent’s Armor and Resistances.
  • Gain a 100% chance to Purify one of each Stun and Damage over Time Debuff on Hit-Monkey when one is gained, or when Primal Rage activates. Purifying removes Primal Rage.
  • Light hits have a 20% chance to Disorient the Opponent, decreasing their Block Proficiency and Defensive Ability Accuracy by 40% for 6 second(s). The chance to Disorient is increased by 2.50% flat for each Hit landed during Primal Rage, up to 45% total.
  • Special Attack hits have the same chance to Disorient, for 3 additional second(s).
Developer’s Note: In Primal Rage, you want to change up your combo style. This mode benefits from landing as many Light Hits as possible, so you ideally want to start your combos with a Medium Attack, followed by 4 Light attacks. You won’t trigger Bleeds as often, but all your hits will ignore the Opponent’s Armor and Resistances, and you’ll easily be able to Distorient them with just your basic attacks.

Here’s what Primal Rage looks like on the HUD:




SPECIAL ATTACKS
Special 1 - Monkey Business - Ah ah, ooh ah ooh. Ooh ooh ahh, oh eek! He says shotguns are more effective when you use your feet.
  • If Assassin’s Cunning is active, this attack has Vigilance and cannot Miss.
  • If Primal Rage is active, this attack is Unblockable.
  • If this attack causes a Miss to fail or it breaks through a Block, refresh Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage, and Hit-Monkey gains Vigilance and Unblockable until Assassin’s Cunning or Primal Rage expires.
Developer’s Note: The goal of this Special Attack is to punish your Opponent for trying to block your attacks or cause them to Miss. Doing this successfully will give you a massive advantage for the remainder of your current combat mode. It’s important to note that successfully punishing the Opponent will always grant you both benefits, so (for example) breaking their block will also grant you Vigilance, even if you weren’t in Assassin’s Cunning to begin with.

Special 2 - Barrels of Monkey - Ooh ahh ah ah, ook ooh ah ooh. Ook ah! Ook eek oh ohh. When one gun isn't enough, diversify! It really catches people off guard.
  • If activated immediately after Hit-Monkey lands a Critical Hit, all hits in this attack are guaranteed to be Critical.
  • Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage are paused during this attack.
Developer’s Note: Activating this Special after any of Hit-Monkey’s Guaranteed Critical Hits is an easy way to make the whole Special Attack be Critical. Since there are 7 hits in this attack, doing so means that you’ll trigger lots of Bleeds from Hit-Monkey’s Passive, as well as the benefits from his current combat mode.

Special 3: Macaque Massacre - Ah ah, ook ook ah oh. Ooh eek eeek, ah aack! Ahh ahh eek ooh oh ah! Uh, this one's hard to translate. Basically, 'cool monkeys don't look at explosions.'
  • Gain a Cruelty Buff for 27 second(s), increasing Critical Damage Rating by +1130.77.
  • While this Cruelty is active, striking the Opponent pauses Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage for 0.30 second(s).
Developer’s Note: This Special is most useful in longer fights, where you want to spend longer amounts of time in your combat modes. And of course, the Cruelty is nice for all of his Guaranteed Crits.

Signature Ability - The Monkey, The Myth, The Legend
  • Passive:
  • While the Opponent is above or at 25% Health or is a #Mercenary, Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage last 3.5 second(s) longer.
  • While the Opponent is below 25% Health or is a #Mercenary, Hit-Monkey Passively reduces their Defensive Ability Accuracy by 40%.
Developer’s Note: At the beginning of the fight, this Signature Ability is great for spending more time in your mode of choice. Then when the Opponent is on their last legs, Hit-Monkey amps up the intensity by significantly reducing the chance for them to trigger their defensive abilities. This also combines nicely with the Disorient from Primal Rage.


SYNERGY BONUSES
Not The Face! - Unique - 3-star and up - With Deadpool, Deadpool (X-Force)
  • Hit-Monkey: If any Bleed fails to apply to the Opponent due to an Immunity, Hit-Monkey deals a burst of instant Passive Bleed Damage for 50% of his Attack.
  • Deadpool, Deadpool (X-Force): Special Attack 1 has a 100% chance to Bleed, dealing damage over 6 second(s) equal to 120% of his Attack Rating.
  • Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate Synergies.
Developer’s Note: This synergy won’t help Hit-Monkey against Opponents who are Bleed Immune, since they’ll also be immune to the Passive Bleed. However, it will work against Opponents who are Debuff Immune.


Spider-Monkey - Unique - 3-star and up - With Spider-Man
  • Hit-Monkey: When fighting #Mercenary Opponents, gain the effects of the level 1 Assassin Mastery. If the Assassin Mastery is already acquired, it instead activates when the Opponent is below 25% of their Maximum Health.
  • Spider-Man: The chance for Critical Rate to be increased by Special Attacks is increased by +92% flat. Additionally, his Spider-Sense Evade does not trigger while Blocking.
  • Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate Synergies.

Furry Frenemies - Unique - 4-star and up - With Rocket Raccoon, Squirrel Girl, Beast
  • Hit-Monkey, Rocket Raccoon: Critical Hits have a 30% chance to Armor Break the Opponent for 6 second(s), reducing their Armor Rating by 700.
  • Squirrel Girl, Beast: Activate Combo Shield for 5 second(s) when this Champion would lose their Combo Meter from being struck. This activates only once per fight.
  • Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate Synergies.

No Evil - Unique - 4-star and up - With Daredevil, Hawkeye, Black Bolt
  • Hit-Monkey: The last 3 Hits of each Heavy Attack are Guaranteed Critical Hits.
  • Daredevil: Chance to dodge Projectile attacks is increased by 70% flat.
  • Hawkeye: Arrow strikes are Guaranteed Critical Hits against Bleeding Opponents who are not Blocking.
  • Black Bolt: Critical Rating is increased by 300 for each Buff on Black Bolt.
  • Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate Synergies.

Enemies - 2-star and up - With Black Widow (Deadly Origin), Elektra, Luke Cage, Taskmaster
  • All Champions gain +85/115/155 Critical Rating.

Teammates - 2-star and up - With Old Man Logan, Masacre
  • All Champions gain +3/4/5% Perfect Block Chance.



RECOMMENDED MASTERIES
Deep Wounds
  • Deep Wounds will work wonders for all of the Bleeds that Hit-Monkey triggers from landing 3 Critical Hits in a row. It’ll also further improve the damage from his Critical Bleeds.

Cruelty
  • Hit-Monkey is easily able to land a lot of Critical Hits, thanks to his nunchaku. The Cruelty masteries will boost the damage those Crits inflict.

Assassin
  • While Assassin is always great to have, the Spider-Monkey synergy will improve it even further against #Mercenary opponents.
Post edited by Kabam Zibiit on

Comments

  • StevieManWonderStevieManWonder Posts: 3,272 ★★★★★
    Wow, both these champs look really solid and have great synergies. I've been saving up my shards for the new featured five star for Red Guardian already, so it's really nice to see that there will be at least two more champs I want in it.
  • Scopeotoe987Scopeotoe987 Posts: 1,228 ★★★★
    Gotta say I hope these champs live up to the hype they look great from their abilities.
  • TheInfintyTheInfinty Posts: 1,288 ★★★★
    Looks fairly interesting I think he will be a good introduction to the contest and could be a good defender I like it!
  • Blackpuma157Blackpuma157 Posts: 3 ★
    On Which Day in June come These Champs To MESZ?
  • Lvernon15Lvernon15 Posts: 10,395 ★★★★★
    What is his base crit damage going to be? That’s going to be a defining feature of his viability imo
  • Lvernon15Lvernon15 Posts: 10,395 ★★★★★
    I love all of the you tubers trying to say macaque when they haven’t heard it before lol, lagacy’s pronunciation of it 😂 10/10
  • SavageSavage Posts: 621 ★★★
    BigPoppaCBONE said:

    I'm surprised that Black Bolt synergy is so powerful. He could do some real damage pretty fast with that.

    With Medusa he'll definitely find some use. Basically a Poison Immune Gamora.
  • slackerslacker Posts: 472 ★★★
    manan_44 said:

    The corvus glaive of skill class. This dude must be god tier.

    More likely a critical bleed champ than corvus because he have ability to increase crit damage and hit monkey only way to increase those is sp3. Also his bleed work like domino and you already saw her insane bleed anyway
  • bloodyCainbloodyCain Posts: 910 ★★★
    I doubt he is gonna be another useful champ with amazing damage number.
    A bit of Ronin + Squirrel Girl.

    We will see
  • winterthurwinterthur Posts: 4,899 ★★★★
    So, this Avatar will be flooding the forums?


  • Nk_2565Nk_2565 Posts: 2 ★
    When are these being made available to players?
  • MagrailothosMagrailothos Posts: 3,170 ★★★★★
    edited June 2020
    Kabam Zibiit said:


    When Knocked Down:

    • Activate both Assassin’s Cunning and Primal Rage for 6 second(s).
    Developer’s Note: This is Hit-Monkey’s main threat when he’s defending. Knocking him down forces you to content with both his combat modes at once.

    Primal Rage - Passive:
    • Gain a 100% chance to Purify one of each Stun and Damage over Time Debuff on Hit-Monkey when one is gained, or when Primal Rage activates. Purifying removes Primal Rage.
    I encountered what appears to be a bug when knocking Hit-Monkey down with a Special Attack in MODOK's Island:
    • Fighting him on a Rage node with Awakened Dr Voodoo.
    • Knocked him down with an SP1 (even combo), expecting to get seven or eight stacks of Poison, and see one shrugged off, as detailed in Primal Rage above.
    • All stacks of Poison were removed instead.
    As I read it, he should only have shrugged off one stack of Poison. Is that not correct?

    Is this isn't a bug, then it's a pretty major increase in his ability to deal with debuffs, since it means he will never suffer any DoT debuffs from any Heavy or Special attack, ever!
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