I'm going to do something a little bit different moving forward. Instead of basing my future champion reworks off of maxed-out 4-star Champions, I'm going to begin basing them off of maxed-out 5-stars. The reason that I'm doing this is that 4-stars are no longer relevant in the overall meta and direction of the game.
Having said that, I am presenting my (initial) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 38,409 Attack: 2459 Crit Rate: 342 Crit Damage: 525 Armor: 1035 Block Proficiency: 1789 Energy Resistance: 0 Physical Resistance: 0 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight. Developer's Note: While it's relatively easy to perform the required maneuver to disable Thanos' Indestructible Buff, there's only a narrow window in his opponent can take advantage of its absence. This window shrinks as his Signature Ability level rises, and the buff will automatically re-apply itself if Thanos is not defeated. However, Death will only refuse to claim Thanos so many times before she accepts him into her willing embrace. Infinity Stones: Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
The Mind Stone: If Thanos defeats Vision or Vision (Age of Ultron), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains Immunity to Taunt and Reversed Controls.
The Power Stone: If Thanos defeats Star-Lord or Nova, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains immunity to being Power Drained. Additionally, if he is Power Burned, his opponent takes 125% of the damage that Thanos takes from the Power Burn as direct damage.
The Reality Stone: If Thanos defeats Thor (Classic) or Thor (Jane Foster), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he doubles the duration of any buffs he steals while the Reality Stone is active.
The Soul Stone: If Thanos defeats Gamora, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, every time Thanos is knocked down, he gains a Passive Fury Buff that grants +35% of his Attack rating for 7.0 seconds.
The Space Stone: If Thanos defeats Red Skull or Loki, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, his Basic Attacks cannot Miss or be Evaded.
The Time Stone: If Thanos defeats Doctor Strange or Ant-Man, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, whenever Thanos defeats an opponent while his Time Loop is active, 10% of his maximum Health is restored to him at the end of the fight.
ABILITIES: All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating. Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%. Infinity Gauntlet: Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
Mission 1 - The Mind Stone: Perform 4 intercepts against a dashing opponent. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains Immunity to Taunt and Reversed Controls for the remainder of the fight. Furthermore, his opponent's Defensive Ability Accuracy is reduced to 0% for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 2 - The Power Stone: Successfully avoid taking any damage from 3 consecutive Special Attacks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains a Passive Power Gain Buff that fills his Power Meter to full in 6.5 seconds. This ability is not affected by Ability Accuracy Reduction and prevents Thanos from gaining power from being struck by Special Attacks. This ability cannot be triggered while Thanos is Indestructible or under the protection of an Invulnerability boost.
Mission 3 - The Reality Stone: When the opponent deals more than 125% of their modified Attack value in damage to Thanos, Thanos may activate the Reality Stone by dashing back and holding Block for 1.5 seconds. For the next 8.0 seconds, each successful hit that Thanos makes allows him to steal one Buff at random from his opponent. Stolen Buffs last for 4.5 seconds. If the opponent has no Buffs left to steal, each successful hit instead instantly regenerates 2% of Thanos' maximum Health.
Mission 4 - The Soul Stone: Knock down the opponent with a Heavy Attack or a Special Attack 6 times. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains +2500 Energy Resistance for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 5 - The Space Stone: End 4 Combos with a Light Attack. Once this mission is complete, Thanos cannot be struck by Basic Attacks while dashing backward.
Mission 6 - The Time Stone: Perform 6 Well-Timed Blocks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos uses the Time Stone to create a Time Loop for 5.5 seconds. When the Time Loop expires, all damage that Thanos took is automatically restored, and any Debuffs placed upon him during that time are automatically Purified.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
SYNERGIES:
Beat Up the Universe: with Squirrel Girl, Doctor Doom, M.O.D.O.K., and Mordo: Squirrel Girl: When Tippy-Toe would Purify all non-damaging Debuffs on Squirrel Girl, also Purify 1 damaging Debuff(s). This can only be used once per fight; Doctor Doom: Doctor Doom's Aura of Haazareth lasts an additional 2.0 seconds; M.O.D.O.K., Thanos, Mordo: Gain 10% Attack Rating while fighting Hero Champions. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Display of Strength: with Cull Obsidian: Cull Obsidian:New Mission: Show your Might: Knockout a Champion while the Rout Buff is active. This mission can only be completed once each Quest. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Enemies: with Star-Lord, Hulk, and Spider-Gwen: All Champions gain +155 Critical Rating.
Family: with Gamora and Nebula: All Champions gain +6% Health.
Nemesis: with Deadpool and Deadpool (X-Force): All Champions gain +6% Attack.
Rivals: with Ultron (Classic): All Champions gain +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Toe to Toe: with Captain Marvel (Classic), Captain Marvel (Movie) and Ms. Marvel: Captain Marvel (Classic) and Ms. Marvel: While at full Power Meter, gain +1500 Physical Resistance. After using Special Attack 3, gain a Passive Regeneration Buff that heals 8% of your max Health over 5.0 seconds; Captain Marvel (Movie): While in Binary Ignition, gain an Unstoppable Buff when at 3 Energy Charges or fewer; Thanos: Whenever you gain a Fury Buff, also gain a Cruelty Buff, increasing your Critical Damage Rating by +250. When your Fury Buffs expire, these Cruelty Buffs expire as well. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Trophy Case: with Wolverine (Weapon X), Goldpool and Kang: Wolverine (Weapon X): Start the fight with 5 Rage charges; Goldpool, Thanos, Kang: Start the fight with a Fury Buff, granting 50% of your Base Attack for 15.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This version of Thanos adds in a lot of utility into his base kit. The Special Attacks haven't changed at all, and there's only one new Synergy, but since Thanos gets a ton of useful abilities with his Infinity Gauntlet missions and his Eternal Physiology, I figure he didn't need much else. Before, he only had Fury, Heal Block, and the ability to reduce his opponent's Base Attack. Well, that Base Attack reduction is gone, but he now has Poison Immunity, a bit of Degeneration Resistance, and can add in Taunt Immunity, Immunity to Reversed Controls, a reduction to the enemy's Defensive Ability Accuracy, Invulnerability, Power Gain, Buff Steal, Regeneration, Energy Resistance, the ability to not be struck by Basic Attacks while dodging back, Purify, defense against Power Drain and Power Burn, and the ability for his Basic Attacks to not Miss or be Evaded. Yes, it's a smorgasbord of Abilities, but when you've got all 6 Infinity Stones, you're bound to be able to do quite a bit, most of which on a limited basis.
His retooled Signature Ability plays into the concept that if he defeats specific Champions (bearers of the Infinity Stones), he'll get some abilities just for getting the Stones. I did not want to strip the Ability to have or use the Stones out of his base kit, so there's a bit of narrative discrepancy, but since multiple versions of the same Champion are allowed to exist in the Battlerealm all at once, I just chalk it up to the wacky nature of the Battlerealm.
This rework should handily ensure that Thanos isn't just a trophy Champion. As always, I hope that you enjoy this rebuild, and that Kabam will eventually give these rebuilds a look in the hopes that they may spark some interest in revisiting other older Champions.
Lastly, this process isn't possible without additional eyes and thoughts from the community. Please feel free to review and suggest improvements! I am specifically inviting feedback from contributors like @Magrailothos, @Bajan_Samurai, @DrZola, @Whododo872, and @HeroBoltsy, though I welcome feedback from all.
This is a great rework idea! I love the mechanics of the Infinity Stones. I do have a few questions, though.
First, about the signature ability. I understand how this works when Thanos is on defense, but what about on offense? Would Thanos ever die if he was awakened? Because him being able to die would require the AI to have parry and to use a special attack shortly after. The description also says it’s a “passive indestructible buff” so which one is it? If it is a buff, you could have another way for him to die (Doctor Strange’s auto-nullify or something like that).
My second concern is about the persistent charge Infinity Stones. I like the concept a lot but would have 2 concerns: First, Nova is a very new champion, meaning he would be very difficult to find in a lot of quests. Maybe add replace Ronan as a power stone option. As for the Soul Stone, I think it needs another target. Perhaps Black Widow OG, Hawkeye, or Ronin.
Lastly, with the expiring stones. I worry that all these missions may be too complicated for players to concentrate on more than 2-3 at one time. One partial solution may be to remove the dash back mechanic on the Reality Stone. But I think that because Thanos is a trophy champion, most players playing him would likely be very skilled, to this becomes less of an issue.
@Bodhizen This is a fantastic rework, but I think with a few little changes Thanos could be a real force to be reckoned with. You did a fantastic job on this one!
First, about the signature ability. I understand how this works when Thanos is on defense, but what about on offense? Would Thanos ever die if he was awakened? Because him being able to die would require the AI to have parry and to use a special attack shortly after. The description also says it’s a “passive indestructible buff” so which one is it? If it is a buff, you could have another way for him to die (Doctor Strange’s auto-nullify or something like that).
I hadn't thought as much about Thanos on offense. This is definitely going to require some finagling to work out right. I wanted to incorporate some element of "Death refuses to allow Thanos into her domain" mechanic, but you're right that this is problematic. As for passive Buffs, they function in the same way that active Buffs do, but they're protected from certain interactions.
My second concern is about the persistent charge Infinity Stones. I like the concept a lot but would have 2 concerns: First, Nova is a very new champion, meaning he would be very difficult to find in a lot of quests. Maybe add replace Ronan as a power stone option. As for the Soul Stone, I think it needs another target. Perhaps Black Widow OG, Hawkeye, or Ronin.
The persistent charges are there to identify the fact that you've beaten specific Champions in the quest, so you've got certain effects that persist from fight to fight, much in the same way that Corvus Glaive gets not only Cruelty Buffs after defeating certain types of Champions, but that he gains certain effects (True Strike and Safeguard, for example) that persist from fight to fight. I'm not worried about the "newness" of Nova. The Nova Corps held the Power Stone until Thanos re-acquired it, and it spent more time in Star-Lord's possession than in Ronan's, so that's why those two were chosen. As for the Soul Stone, with regard to Thanos, the only way he acquired it was to sacrifice the one person he loved - Gamora. So... That's the one way to gain its persistent power. It was a deliberate choice to only have one target. If Thanos was a part of a team (I don't count his "children" as anything more than underlings), it would have made thematic sense to have your suggestions included... But they don't mean anything to Thanos.
Lastly, with the expiring stones. I worry that all these missions may be too complicated for players to concentrate on more than 2-3 at one time. One partial solution may be to remove the dash back mechanic on the Reality Stone. But I think that because Thanos is a trophy champion, most players playing him would likely be very skilled, to this becomes less of an issue.
So... The stones don't "expire". Thanos makes temporary use of their powers. The goal here is to ensure that Thanos has options, but that these options don't become easy exploits that make him a seriously unbalanced Champion. The Reality Stone has a pretty powerful effect in both Buff Stealing and Regeneration. I can potentially steal lots of Buffs off of a Venom or Venom the Duck, or potentially regenerate more than 20% of my Health over that 8.0 seconds. Honestly, I think I should reduce it to 5 seconds. All I have to do is to take a big hit. I definitely need to tone this down, not make it easier to access.
@Bodhizen This is a fantastic rework, but I think with a few little changes Thanos could be a real force to be reckoned with. You did a fantastic job on this one!
I am presenting my (second) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 38,409 Attack: 2459 Crit Rate: 342 Crit Damage: 525 Armor: 1035 Block Proficiency: 1789 Energy Resistance: 0 Physical Resistance: 0 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight. When Thanos is an Attacker: This Passive Indestructible Buff can only trigger once per fight when Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, and it lasts for 3.5 seconds. Developer's Note: While it's relatively easy to perform the required maneuver to disable Thanos' Indestructible Buff, there's only a narrow window in his opponent can take advantage of its absence. This window shrinks as his Signature Ability level rises, and the buff will automatically re-apply itself if Thanos is not defeated. However, Death will only refuse to claim Thanos so many times before she accepts him into her willing embrace. Infinity Stones: Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
The Mind Stone: If Thanos defeats Vision or Vision (Age of Ultron), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains Immunity to Taunt and Reversed Controls.
The Power Stone: If Thanos defeats Star-Lord or Nova, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains immunity to being Power Drained. Additionally, if he is Power Burned, his opponent takes 125% of the damage that Thanos takes from the Power Burn as direct damage.
The Reality Stone: If Thanos defeats Thor (Classic) or Thor (Jane Foster), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he doubles the duration of any buffs he steals while the Reality Stone is active.
The Soul Stone: If Thanos defeats Gamora, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, every time Thanos is knocked down, he gains a Passive Fury Buff that grants +35% of his Attack rating for 7.0 seconds.
The Space Stone: If Thanos defeats Red Skull or Loki, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, his Basic Attacks cannot Miss or be Evaded.
The Time Stone: If Thanos defeats Doctor Strange or Ant-Man, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, whenever Thanos defeats an opponent while his Time Loop is active, 10% of his maximum Health is restored to him at the end of the fight.
ABILITIES: All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating. Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%. Infinity Gauntlet: Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
Mission 1 - The Mind Stone: Perform 4 intercepts against a dashing opponent. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains Immunity to Taunt and Reversed Controls for the remainder of the fight. Furthermore, his opponent's Defensive Ability Accuracy is reduced to 0% for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 2 - The Power Stone: Successfully avoid taking any damage from 3 consecutive Special Attacks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains a Passive Power Gain Buff that fills his Power Meter to full in 6.5 seconds. This ability is not affected by Ability Accuracy Reduction and prevents Thanos from gaining power from being struck by Special Attacks. This ability cannot be triggered while Thanos is Indestructible or under the protection of an Invulnerability boost.
Mission 3 - The Reality Stone: When the opponent deals more than 125% of their modified Attack value in damage to Thanos, Thanos may activate the Reality Stone by dashing back and holding Block for 1.5 seconds. For the next 5.0 seconds, each successful hit that Thanos makes allows him to steal one Buff at random from his opponent. Stolen Buffs last for 4.5 seconds. If the opponent has no Buffs left to steal, each successful hit instead instantly regenerates 1.2% of Thanos' maximum Health.
Mission 4 - The Soul Stone: Knock down the opponent with a Heavy Attack or a Special Attack 6 times. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains +2500 Energy Resistance for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 5 - The Space Stone: End 4 Combos with a Light Attack. Once this mission is complete, Thanos cannot be struck by Basic Attacks while dashing backward.
Mission 6 - The Time Stone: Perform 6 Well-Timed Blocks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos uses the Time Stone to create a Time Loop for 3.5 seconds. When the Time Loop expires, all damage that Thanos took is automatically restored, and any Debuffs placed upon him during that time are automatically Purified.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
SYNERGIES:
Beat Up the Universe: with Squirrel Girl, Doctor Doom, M.O.D.O.K., and Mordo: Squirrel Girl: When Tippy-Toe would Purify all non-damaging Debuffs on Squirrel Girl, also Purify 1 damaging Debuff(s). This can only be used once per fight; Doctor Doom: Doctor Doom's Aura of Haazareth lasts an additional 2.0 seconds; M.O.D.O.K., Thanos, Mordo: Gain 10% Attack Rating while fighting Hero Champions. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Display of Strength: with Cull Obsidian: Cull Obsidian:New Mission: Show your Might: Knockout a Champion while the Rout Buff is active. This mission can only be completed once each Quest. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Enemies: with Star-Lord, Hulk, and Spider-Gwen: All Champions gain +155 Critical Rating.
Family: with Gamora and Nebula: All Champions gain +6% Health.
Nemesis: with Deadpool and Deadpool (X-Force): All Champions gain +6% Attack.
Rivals: with Ultron (Classic): All Champions gain +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Toe to Toe: with Captain Marvel (Classic), Captain Marvel (Movie) and Ms. Marvel: Captain Marvel (Classic) and Ms. Marvel: While at full Power Meter, gain +1500 Physical Resistance. After using Special Attack 3, gain a Passive Regeneration Buff that heals 8% of your max Health over 5.0 seconds; Captain Marvel (Movie): While in Binary Ignition, gain an Unstoppable Buff when at 3 Energy Charges or fewer; Thanos: Whenever you gain a Fury Buff, also gain a Cruelty Buff, increasing your Critical Damage Rating by +250. When your Fury Buffs expire, these Cruelty Buffs expire as well. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Trophy Case: with Wolverine (Weapon X), Goldpool and Kang: Wolverine (Weapon X): Start the fight with 5 Rage charges; Goldpool, Thanos, Kang: Start the fight with a Fury Buff, granting 50% of your Base Attack for 15.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This version of Thanos is slightly down-tuned from the original rework I posted. The Reality Stone's power has been toned down to ensure that it's not overpowered and easily abusable. Furthermore, his ability to avoid death has been separated out into Defender and Attacker functions to prevent Thanos from being unable to die if he's an Attacker. Many thanks to @Doctor_Strange19 for his help in recognizing some of the flaws in the 1.0 build.
Nice Thanos build, @Bodhizen .Going to review this second build real quick...
- I like the distinction between the Defender and Attacker attributes for the Sig, kind of like Hulkbuster's rework's two modes. A little extra challenge at the end if you're fighting him, but not excessive. - I also think the PC mechanic in the Sig is definitely a nice bonus to have, as long as you see it as just a bonus. I highly doubt that you'll ever collect all 6 PCs in the same quest, but it's a cool addition. I'm going to be honest, I laughed out loud when I saw "defeat Gamora". - Good signature ability in that it adds to the character, perhaps even greatly so, but I don't see it being necessary, which is excellent especially with the trophy nature of Thanos in the game right now. - All the missions seem very doable and rewarding towards skill-based gameplay, except maybe the Reality Stone. Would it have to be 125% Attack dealt in one hit, for clarification? How would nodes like, say, Bane or (I believe it's called) Aspect of Nightmares factor into this? - I also have to wonder how each of the Missions would be represented on screen in a fight. I am currently imagining a counter like Proxima's missions, except six of them, each with their own color for each stone, and the number of required actions inside each counter - I know it's mostly irrelevant for the abilities, but I'm just curious if that was your vision as well or not. - My favorite stone abilities here are Mind, Power, and Time - I can see all of them being rather easy to achieve, for a fairly skilled player, and the rewards are each very useful in their own circumstance. - I believe, perhaps, if Thanos activated Time Loop and ate a SP3, thus triggering his Indestructible from the sig, he could just regenerate the whole thing once the Loop was finished? I like it, feels appropriate for Thanos' power level. - The Heal Block on the Specials is also a nice bit of utility. I kind of wish Thanos' SP3 did a little more than just Heal Block, since it makes the Power Stone a little weaker, but that's just my opinion. - Synergies seem good, nothing overpowered or necessary, but nice to have.
I think this rework is a good, balanced way to better represent Thanos' power level in-game. The rewards for skill based gameplay are both balanced and appropriate for Thanos, and I don't really see any major problems. As always, great work!
The Reality Stone remains a little puzzling to me. It's a bit of a surprise that Thanos has to take a hit to activate it. And can it be activated at any point in the fight thereafter? Or, say, within a window of opportunity?
The Mind Stone seems to give him immunity to Taunt on both it's Mission and it's Persistent Charge. That's different from the other stones - is it intentional? Thanos seemed fairly Taunt-able when he was fighting Sparky in Infinity War.
The Time Stone sounds very like Magik's old Rewind ability. Unless you can bait out an attack in that Timeframe, it's not the most useful ability. On the other hand, if instead of giving him immunity to Taunt, the Mind Stone gave him the ability to cause Taunt (or 'induce panic' like She-Hulk), then those two abilities would work beautifully together. Just a thought...
Finally, the Specials - I'm a little surprised all they do is Heal Block. You've pointed out before when I underdeveloped Daredevil's Special attacks - have you done the same here? No Power Drain? Stun? Armour Break? Go for it - this is the Mad Titan, after all!
- I like the distinction between the Defender and Attacker attributes for the Sig, kind of like Hulkbuster's rework's two modes. A little extra challenge at the end if you're fighting him, but not excessive.
Thank you. That was due to input from @Doctor_Strange19, who rightfully pointed out that it could be really problematic for a defender to take down Thanos.
- I also think the PC mechanic in the Sig is definitely a nice bonus to have, as long as you see it as just a bonus. I highly doubt that you'll ever collect all 6 PCs in the same quest, but it's a cool addition. I'm going to be honest, I laughed out loud when I saw "defeat Gamora".
I definitely see the Signature Ability as a bonus. I wanted the primary use of the Infinity Stones to be in the base kit so that you didn't have to duplicate Thanos in order to see any real utility out of him.
- Good signature ability in that it adds to the character, perhaps even greatly so, but I don't see it being necessary, which is excellent especially with the trophy nature of Thanos in the game right now.
- All the missions seem very doable and rewarding towards skill-based gameplay, except maybe the Reality Stone. Would it have to be 125% Attack dealt in one hit, for clarification? How would nodes like, say, Bane or (I believe it's called) Aspect of Nightmares factor into this?
I definitely wanted the missions to be doable, but not something that are spammable. So, as far as the Reality Stone goes, you have to take the 125% Attack in a single hit. I thought I had specified that earlier, but I can see that I didn't, so a 1.2 version will be coming. Nodes like Bane or Aspect of Nightmares would not factor into the hit at all, as that damage comes from another source.
- I also have to wonder how each of the Missions would be represented on screen in a fight. I am currently imagining a counter like Proxima's missions, except six of them, each with their own color for each stone, and the number of required actions inside each counter - I know it's mostly irrelevant for the abilities, but I'm just curious if that was your vision as well or not.
I am confident that there's enough room to display 6 counters.
- My favorite stone abilities here are Mind, Power, and Time - I can see all of them being rather easy to achieve, for a fairly skilled player, and the rewards are each very useful in their own circumstance.
- I believe, perhaps, if Thanos activated Time Loop and ate a SP3, thus triggering his Indestructible from the sig, he could just regenerate the whole thing once the Loop was finished? I like it, feels appropriate for Thanos' power level.
If you're able to time it right, possibly... Except that it doesn't function if Thanos is Indestructible or using an Invulnerability Boost.
- The Heal Block on the Specials is also a nice bit of utility. I kind of wish Thanos' SP3 did a little more than just Heal Block, since it makes the Power Stone a little weaker, but that's just my opinion.
I didn't change the Specials at all. They are currently set to do exactly what they say here in this rework as well.
I think this rework is a good, balanced way to better represent Thanos' power level in-game. The rewards for skill based gameplay are both balanced and appropriate for Thanos, and I don't really see any major problems. As always, great work!
I appreciate your constructive criticism, good sir!
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
The Reality Stone remains a little puzzling to me. It's a bit of a surprise that Thanos has to take a hit to activate it. And can it be activated at any point in the fight thereafter? Or, say, within a window of opportunity?
I was trying to come up with a good mission to activate the Reality Stone. This is the only mission that is reactive instead of proactive. That way, there's some benefit that you can gain if you don't play perfectly. I am open to suggestions on revising it, though.
The Mind Stone seems to give him immunity to Taunt on both it's Mission and it's Persistent Charge. That's different from the other stones - is it intentional? Thanos seemed fairly Taunt-able when he was fighting Sparky in Infinity War.
It was intentional. It grants immunity for a single fight if you complete the mission, but it grants the immunity for the entire quest if you defeat either version of Vision.
The Time Stone sounds very like Magik's old Rewind ability. Unless you can bait out an attack in that Timeframe, it's not the most useful ability. On the other hand, if instead of giving him immunity to Taunt, the Mind Stone gave him the ability to cause Taunt (or 'induce panic' like She-Hulk), then those two abilities would work beautifully together. Just a thought...
The Time Stone does have a similar ability to Magik's Rewind. I purposefully gave it a short window so as not to overshadow Magik's ability, but it will allow you to tank an SP3 if you time it right (and you survive it, just like Nebula).
Giving the Mind Stone the ability to cause Taunt is an interesting thought. I think that might be a really good change, so it's going to go into the next version. Thank you!
Finally, the Specials - I'm a little surprised all they do is Heal Block. You've pointed out before when I underdeveloped Daredevil's Special attacks - have you done the same here? No Power Drain? Stun? Armour Break? Go for it - this is the Mad Titan, after all!
The Specials were not changed at all because I added in so much in the Infinity Gauntlet Ability. I didn't want to overdo it by adding in more with the Special Attacks. I recognize that Thanos has a smorgasbord of abilities already, so I was loathe to add in more. But, as always, I'm open to suggestion.
Thank you so much, @Magrailothos. I look forward to more feedback from you before I post Version 1.2.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Intercept?
Already using that for the Mind Stone.
How about just if Thanos takes damage from a Special Attack, it removes an indestructible passive. He gets 3 on defense, one on attack.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Intercept?
Already using that for the Mind Stone.
How about just if Thanos takes damage from a Special Attack, it removes an indestructible passive. He gets 3 on defense, one on attack.
That wouldn't work. Thanos couldn't take damage while the Indestructible passive is active. Whiffing Special Attacks would suck as well.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Intercept?
Already using that for the Mind Stone.
How about just if Thanos takes damage from a Special Attack, it removes an indestructible passive. He gets 3 on defense, one on attack.
That wouldn't work. Thanos couldn't take damage while the Indestructible passive is active. Whiffing Special Attacks would suck as well.
No, I mean it's like Killmonger's Indestructible, but with Specials, meaning if Thanos blocks or gets hit by a Special Attack, it removes a Passive.
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
This could become impossible on an Aspect of War/Unblockable Finale/Rage without a specific champ, such as Mordo/Sinister/RG, when the Attacker cannot perform a Well-Timed Block.
This is true, @Notsavage19, though Champions that can Slow the Defender should also do the trick. Do you have any suggestions on how you might change it? I'm thinking that adding in a caveat that it doesn't trigger if Thanos is Unblockable would be appropriate.
Heavy Attack? It leaves a window to get Thanos down. Kind of like Lifecycle without the heal. Triggers 3 times like you said.
I had thought about using a Heavy Attack, but that's a common disabling technique, so I wanted to do something more unique than that.
Intercept?
Already using that for the Mind Stone.
How about just if Thanos takes damage from a Special Attack, it removes an indestructible passive. He gets 3 on defense, one on attack.
That wouldn't work. Thanos couldn't take damage while the Indestructible passive is active. Whiffing Special Attacks would suck as well.
No, I mean it's like Killmonger's Indestructible, but with Specials, meaning if Thanos blocks or gets hit by a Special Attack, it removes a Passive.
I don't particularly care for that, but I appreciate the suggestion.
I am presenting my (second) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 38,409 Attack: 2459 Crit Rate: 342 Crit Damage: 525 Armor: 1035 Block Proficiency: 1789 Energy Resistance: 0 Physical Resistance: 0 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! Every 12.0 seconds throughout the fight, Thanos gains a Deathless Charge. Whenever Thanos blocks an attack, one Deathless Charge is consumed to guarantee that the block is a Perfect Block. Infinity Stones: Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
The Mind Stone: If Thanos defeats Vision or Vision (Age of Ultron), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains Immunity to Reversed Controls.
The Power Stone: If Thanos defeats Star-Lord or Nova, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains immunity to being Power Drained. Additionally, if he is Power Burned, his opponent takes 125% of the damage that Thanos takes from the Power Burn as direct damage.
The Reality Stone: If Thanos defeats Thor (Classic) or Thor (Jane Foster), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he doubles the duration of any buffs he steals while the Reality Stone is active.
The Soul Stone: If Thanos defeats Gamora, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, every time Thanos is knocked down, he gains a Passive Fury Buff that grants +35% of his Attack rating for 7.0 seconds.
The Space Stone: If Thanos defeats Red Skull or Loki, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, his Basic Attacks cannot Miss or be Evaded.
The Time Stone: If Thanos defeats Doctor Strange or Ant-Man, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, whenever Thanos defeats an opponent while his Time Loop is active, 10% of his maximum Health is restored to him at the end of the fight.
ABILITIES: All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating. Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%. Infinity Gauntlet: Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
Mission 1 - The Mind Stone: Perform 4 intercepts against a dashing opponent. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains Immunity to Reversed Controls for the remainder of the fight. He also places a Taunt on his opponent for 4.5 seconds. Taunted opponents have their Attack reduced by X and have a 70% higher chance to activate a Special Attack. Furthermore, his opponent's Defensive Ability Accuracy is reduced to 0% for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 2 - The Power Stone: Successfully avoid taking any damage from 3 consecutive Special Attacks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains a Passive Power Gain Buff that fills his Power Meter to full in 6.5 seconds. This ability is not affected by Ability Accuracy Reduction and prevents Thanos from gaining power from being struck by Special Attacks. This ability cannot be triggered while Thanos is Indestructible or under the protection of an Invulnerability boost.
Mission 3 - The Reality Stone: When the opponent deals more than 125% of their modified Attack value in damage to Thanos in a single hit, Thanos may activate the Reality Stone by dashing back and holding Block for 1.5 seconds. For the next 5.0 seconds, each successful hit that Thanos makes allows him to steal one Buff at random from his opponent. Stolen Buffs last for 4.5 seconds. If the opponent has no Buffs left to steal, each successful hit instead instantly regenerates 1.2% of Thanos' maximum Health.
Mission 4 - The Soul Stone: Knock down the opponent with a Heavy Attack or a Special Attack 6 times. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains +2500 Energy Resistance for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 5 - The Space Stone: End 4 Combos with a Light Attack. Once this mission is complete, Thanos cannot be struck by Basic Attacks while dashing backward.
Mission 6 - The Time Stone: Perform 6 Well-Timed Blocks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos uses the Time Stone to create a Time Loop for 3.5 seconds. When the Time Loop expires, all damage that Thanos took is automatically restored, and any Debuffs placed upon him during that time are automatically Purified.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
This attack activates one of the Infinity Stones at random.
SYNERGIES:
Beat Up the Universe: with Squirrel Girl, Doctor Doom, M.O.D.O.K., and Mordo: Squirrel Girl: When Tippy-Toe would Purify all non-damaging Debuffs on Squirrel Girl, also Purify 1 damaging Debuff(s). This can only be used once per fight; Doctor Doom: Doctor Doom's Aura of Haazareth lasts an additional 2.0 seconds; M.O.D.O.K., Thanos, Mordo: Gain 10% Attack Rating while fighting Hero Champions. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Display of Strength: with Cull Obsidian: Cull Obsidian:New Mission: Show your Might: Knockout a Champion while the Rout Buff is active. This mission can only be completed once each Quest. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Enemies: with Star-Lord, Hulk, and Spider-Gwen: All Champions gain +155 Critical Rating.
Family: with Gamora and Nebula: All Champions gain +6% Health.
Nemesis: with Deadpool and Deadpool (X-Force): All Champions gain +6% Attack.
Rivals: with Ultron (Classic): All Champions gain +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Toe to Toe: with Captain Marvel (Classic), Captain Marvel (Movie) and Ms. Marvel: Captain Marvel (Classic) and Ms. Marvel: While at full Power Meter, gain +1500 Physical Resistance. After using Special Attack 3, gain a Passive Regeneration Buff that heals 8% of your max Health over 5.0 seconds; Captain Marvel (Movie): While in Binary Ignition, gain an Unstoppable Buff when at 3 Energy Charges or fewer; Thanos: Whenever you gain a Fury Buff, also gain a Cruelty Buff, increasing your Critical Damage Rating by +250. When your Fury Buffs expire, these Cruelty Buffs expire as well. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Trophy Case: with Wolverine (Weapon X), Goldpool and Kang: Wolverine (Weapon X): Start the fight with 5 Rage charges; Goldpool, Thanos, Kang: Start the fight with a Fury Buff, granting 50% of your Base Attack for 15.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
The Signature Ability has been revised to prevent Thanos from being virtually unbeatable on specific nodes. There have also been minor tweaks elsewhere, including a tweak to Special Attack 3. Thanks very much to @Notsavage19 and @Magrailothos for their feedback, which has improved this build!
Since we know that Falcon, Gambit, punisher 2099 are getting tweaked I decided to come up with my own ideas for how they are changed. Of course feedback is always appreciated and hoping kabam sees this and decides to randomly add them. PUNISHER 2099 Tune up ideas that I wish they would do. Hopefully at least 2 of these in some way 1. Shots from his laser rifle inflict a shock debuff, dealing up to 40% attack over 5 seconds based on stored battery. 2. The regen triggers at 20% health, and the healing potency is increased by 40%. 3. When entering overdrive increases attack by 3360 for 12 seconds, the battery immediately empties when time expires. 4. All specials can not be passively evaded, drain 10% of current battery. 5. Special 2: has a 30% chance from each laser hit to inflict a shock debuff dealing 60% of attack over 8 seconds. 6. Time travelers synergy w/ cable. P2099: after a special 3 inflict a plasma passive dealing 15% of attack for 5 seconds, and is refreshed from hits with the laser rifle. Any shock debuffs on the opponent increase the plasma duration by 1 second, up to 10 seconds. Cable: if cable would gain true strike while the opponent is degenerating gain foresight passive lasting 25 seconds. Giving cable true strike and increases attack and power gain by 15%. 7. Walking arsenals w/ Agent Venom P2099: 25% chance to purify damaging debuffs. Agent venom: all debuffs are passives and gets 1000 increased critical rating when klyntar rage is active. ------------------ GAMBIT Changes I would like to see. Hoping for at least 2 similar to them. 1. Gambit's armor now gives 1212.82 Physical resist & 40% bleed resist. The signature ability changes so the armor is destroyed by armor break instead. 2. Landing a heavy attack now provide Cajun passives which give 12% prowess and 5% attack per passive, maxing at 10 passives. Each passive lasts for 14 seconds. 3. Special attacks now drain 10% of the opponents power for every 5 passives. At 10 passives the opponent is power locked for 7.5 seconds. 4. Special 1: applies a disorient debuff when you have 5 or more passives for 6 seconds. 5. We met before right? Synergy w/ Old man Logan and Wolverine. Gambit: gain an additional 10% bleed resistance and can gain 3 additional passives. Wolverine: gains 35% bleed resistance and 20% regen potency. Old man Logan: Special attack become unstoppable with 8 or more fury buffs, and bleeds become passive bleeds. ----------------- FALCON Changes I would like to see. At least 2 of these changes, or something similar. 1. redwing now applies identified passives reducing the ability accuracy of the opponent by 15% every 7 seconds, while also increasing Falcon's ability accuracy by 5%. stacks up to 4 times. 2. Falcon's signature ability now provides 113.16 to 262.52 critical rating depending on identified passives, additionally provides 333.6 to 480.28 crit damage rating depending on identified passives. While at max identified passives, opponents cannot passively evade. 3. Special 1: the bleed is 28% stronger. if the opponent is bleed immune apply an injury debuff for 5.50 seconds. 4. Special 2: this attack has 288.41 to 822.65 increased critical rating depending on identified passives. 5. Special 3: now provides an armor break debuff reducing armor by 1800 for 12 seconds, an additional 200 armor is reduced for each identified passive. the incinerate debuff is 200% stronger at maxed identified passives. remove all identified passives when incinerate ends. 6. heavy attacks: now provide a concussion debuff reducing ability accuracy by 50% for 8 seconds. 7. passing on the legacy. synergy with Captain America, captain America WWII, and Captain America IW. Falcon: while blocking and attacking with light attacks: has a 20% chance to apply a fatigue debuff reducing critical rating by 333.6 for 12 seconds. Cap America: increase attack rating by 50% if the opponent is fatigued Cap America WWII: special attacks now inflict a weakness debuff reducing attack by 65% for 6 seconds. Cap America IW: blocking now has a 30% chance to be a perfect block. ----------- Again, I would love to hear the communities thoughts on these ideas and if there are any improvements they would adjust.
Well, Kabam have said he's in line for a buff, so I thought I'd quickly re-touch an old design:
Playing with Gambit should be a lot more fun. He's supposed to be cool, flashy, and powerful; if a little overconfident.
His animations are great. Some of the ideas for his character design are good, too; but the overall result is outdated and unexciting.
His Heavy attack already looks like he's throwing a card - let's make that actually happen! Why not? - Domino already does something similar.
This is a 'Tune Up' rather than an 'Overhaul': I also wanted to keep his kinetic charges and prowess buffs differently rewarding (Kinetic charges for precision; Prowess for raw damage); but give him significantly more offensive power, and a bit more utility. He's definitely a burst offense champion with this design; needing to stay defensive to build up his energy before getting offensive with Prowess-boosted Special Attacks.
Gambit (Retuned)
Holding block: Gambit gains kinetic charges as he holds block; at a rate of one charge per 0.3s (plus 0.1s per charge), to a maximum of ten. The timer does not reset when he is struck. This is largely my attempt to describe what already happens with Gambit's timer; which clearly isn't a flat 0.5s as the description states. I've also got rid of the reset, since it goes against the idea of him absorbing some of the energy when he's hit.
Well-timed blocks: To maximise his Kinetic charges, Gambit needs to absorb part of the kinetic energy of Physical Attacks. This reduces the damage by an additional 25% and generates two kinetic charges, to a maximum of twenty. Gambit can benefit from well-timed blocks at any time; but this is the only mechanism for him to gain kinetic charges when at or above ten - holding block won't get him any further at that point
Kinetic charges Each kinetic charge reduces the Power requirement of Special Attacks by 2% and increases Gambit's Block Proficiency by 80. When he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit gains +2% Perfect Block per charge. Whilst he holds them, Gambit's growing kinetic charges help him to absorb a small fraction of the kinetic energy of attacks.
Kinetic charges are lost at the rate of one every three seconds that pass without Gambit holding block. When he is struck by a combo-ending attack, Gambit has a base 20% chance to fold, plus a flat 10% per hit in the combo, losing all kinetic charges. Additionally, if he is affected by a Power Drain or Power Steal effect, this drains all his kinetic charges.
Heavy Attacks: Gambit throws a card at his opponents' feet, knocking them off balance: this attack is a short-range projectile, so it cannot be parried; and it inflicts Energy damage. This attack reduces the ability accuracy of the Stand Your Ground Mastery by 50%. Landing a heavy attack converts all of his kinetic charges into Prowess buffs. If he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit generates a passive Unstoppable effect when chaining a Heavy attack from a combo.
Prowess buffs Gambit can have an absolute maximum of twenty Prowess buffs. Prowess buffs last for ten seconds. Having Prowess buffs does not prevent Gambit from generating new kinetic charges. Prowess buffs affect the damage from his Special Attacks and his Heavy attack projectiles as follows:
Attack is increased by +12% per Prowess buff.
Each Prowess buff converts 10% of any Critical damage to a burst of Direct Energy damage. This activates before defensive abilities that would reduce critical damage.
With ten or more Prowess buffs, these Attacks will not trigger abilities that are triggered on Critical hits.
Passive: Gambit's flak jacket provides 25% Bleed Resistance and 500 Physical Resistance. The jacket breaks after Gambit loses 25% of his max health from Physical damage. The flak jacket is now a bit better at reducing bleed damage and lasts slightly longer; but doesn't get tougher as part of his Sig.
Signature:
Gambit generates Kinetic charges up to 30% faster.
Kinetic charges each grant Gambit +50 Critical Rating and Damage on his Special Attacks.
Prowess buffs last for 50% longer, and additionally increase Special Attack debuff duration by up to 5%
Special Attacks: Gambit's Special Attacks gain +100 block penetration per Kinetic charges or Prowess buff in effect, to a maximum of +1000. If Gambit hits the opponent with a Special Attack that is critical, he consumes all his Kinetic charges. This inflicts a burst of Energy damage equal to 8% of the damage inflicted by the Special Attack, for each kinetic charge consumed. SP1: 70% chance to Stun for 2.5s
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, he also inflicts Armour Break (-600 for seven seconds)
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts a Vulnerability debuff (increases Critical damage by 800 and reduces block proficiency by 40%) for fifteen seconds.
SP2: This thunderous attack is hard to evade, reducing Evade chance by 60%. 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds)
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, this attack inflicts Stun for 3 seconds
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts an Enervate debuff for eight seconds
SP3: 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds), and 90% chance to Enervate for six seconds.
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, then for each five stacks of Prowess he has an 80% chance to inflict an Armour Break (-800 armour for six seconds)
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, then he refreshes them and gains ten kinetic charges when throwing this attack
If he throws a Special-3 with twenty Prowess, Gambit will regain some of his kinetic charges, reducing the Power consumed and setting him on the way to quickly combo his way back to SP1. This should maximise his damage; by combining the effects of armour break, vulnerability, and high crit rate/burst energy damage.
Synergies: Ma Chèrie (Rogue) - Unique synergy):
Any time Gambit gains a Prowess buffs, he has a 33% chance to gain another one.
Rogue's stolen buffs last 30% longer.
Heavy Hitters (Storm, Cyclops, Havok - Unique Synergy Special Attacks gain +300 Block Penetration; or if they are Unblockable, they instead gain +20% Attack.
I am presenting my (second) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 38,409 Attack: 2459 Crit Rate: 342 Crit Damage: 525 Armor: 1035 Block Proficiency: 1789 Energy Resistance: 0 Physical Resistance: 0 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan:Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized! Every 12.0 seconds throughout the fight, Thanos gains a Deathless Charge. Whenever Thanos blocks an attack, one Deathless Charge is consumed to guarantee that the block is a Perfect Block. Infinity Stones: Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
The Mind Stone: If Thanos defeats Vision or Vision (Age of Ultron), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains Immunity to Reversed Controls.
The Power Stone: If Thanos defeats Star-Lord or Nova, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he gains immunity to being Power Drained. Additionally, if he is Power Burned, his opponent takes 125% of the damage that Thanos takes from the Power Burn as direct damage.
The Reality Stone: If Thanos defeats Thor (Classic) or Thor (Jane Foster), he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, he doubles the duration of any buffs he steals while the Reality Stone is active.
The Soul Stone: If Thanos defeats Gamora, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, every time Thanos is knocked down, he gains a Passive Fury Buff that grants +35% of his Attack rating for 7.0 seconds.
The Space Stone: If Thanos defeats Red Skull or Loki, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, his Basic Attacks cannot Miss or be Evaded.
The Time Stone: If Thanos defeats Doctor Strange or Ant-Man, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. For the remainder of the Quest, whenever Thanos defeats an opponent while his Time Loop is active, 10% of his maximum Health is restored to him at the end of the fight.
ABILITIES: All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating. Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%. Infinity Gauntlet: Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
Mission 1 - The Mind Stone: Perform 4 intercepts against a dashing opponent. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains Immunity to Reversed Controls for the remainder of the fight. He also places a Taunt on his opponent for 4.5 seconds. Taunted opponents have their Attack reduced by 40% and have a 70% higher chance to activate a Special Attack. Furthermore, his opponent's Defensive Ability Accuracy is reduced to 0% for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 2 - The Power Stone: Successfully avoid taking any damage from 3 consecutive Special Attacks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains a Passive Power Gain Buff that fills his Power Meter to full in 6.5 seconds. This ability is not affected by Ability Accuracy Reduction and prevents Thanos from gaining power from being struck by Special Attacks. This ability cannot be triggered while Thanos is under the protection of an Invulnerability boost.
Mission 3 - The Reality Stone: When the opponent deals more than 125% of their modified Attack value in damage to Thanos in a single hit, Thanos may activate the Reality Stone by dashing back and holding Block for 1.5 seconds. For the next 5.0 seconds, each successful hit that Thanos makes allows him to steal one Buff at random from his opponent. Stolen Buffs last for 4.5 seconds. If the opponent has no Buffs left to steal, each successful hit instead instantly regenerates 1.2% of Thanos' maximum Health.
Mission 4 - The Soul Stone: Knock down the opponent with a Heavy Attack or a Special Attack 6 times. Once this mission is complete, Thanos gains +2500 Energy Resistance for 12.0 seconds.
Mission 5 - The Space Stone: End 4 Combos with a Light Attack. Once this mission is complete, Thanos cannot be struck by Basic Attacks while dashing backward for 20.0 seconds.
Mission 6 - The Time Stone: Perform 6 Well-Timed Blocks. Once this mission is complete, Thanos uses the Time Stone to create a Time Loop for 3.5 seconds. When the Time Loop expires, all damage that Thanos took is automatically restored, and any Debuffs placed upon him during that time are automatically Purified.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.
This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.
100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
This attack activates one of the Infinity Stones at random.
SYNERGIES:
Beat Up the Universe: with Squirrel Girl, Doctor Doom, M.O.D.O.K., and Mordo: Squirrel Girl: When Tippy-Toe would Purify all non-damaging Debuffs on Squirrel Girl, also Purify 1 damaging Debuff(s). This can only be used once per fight; Doctor Doom: Doctor Doom's Aura of Haazareth lasts an additional 2.0 seconds; M.O.D.O.K., Thanos, Mordo: Gain 10% Attack Rating while fighting Hero Champions. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Display of Strength: with Cull Obsidian: Cull Obsidian:New Mission: Show your Might: Knockout a Champion while the Rout Buff is active. This mission can only be completed once each Quest. Solo: Only affects this Champion and does not stack.
Enemies: with Star-Lord, Hulk, and Spider-Gwen: All Champions gain +155 Critical Rating.
Family: with Gamora and Nebula: All Champions gain +6% Health.
Nemesis: with Deadpool and Deadpool (X-Force): All Champions gain +6% Attack.
Rivals: with Ultron (Classic): All Champions gain +115 Critical Damage Rating.
Toe to Toe: with Captain Marvel (Classic), Captain Marvel (Movie) and Ms. Marvel: Captain Marvel (Classic) and Ms. Marvel: While at full Power Meter, gain +1500 Physical Resistance. After using Special Attack 3, gain a Passive Regeneration Buff that heals 8% of your max Health over 5.0 seconds; Captain Marvel (Movie): While in Binary Ignition, gain an Unstoppable Buff when at 3 Energy Charges or fewer; Thanos: Whenever you gain a Fury Buff, also gain a Cruelty Buff, increasing your Critical Damage Rating by +250. When your Fury Buffs expire, these Cruelty Buffs expire as well. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Trophy Case: with Wolverine (Weapon X), Goldpool and Kang: Wolverine (Weapon X): Start the fight with 5 Rage charges; Goldpool, Thanos, Kang: Start the fight with a Fury Buff, granting 50% of your Base Attack for 15.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Minor tweaks for polishing; Mind Stone, Power Stone, and Space Stone.
Now if only we could get Kabam to implement these changes.
Well, Kabam have said he's in line for a buff, so I thought I'd quickly re-touch an old design:
Playing with Gambit should be a lot more fun. He's supposed to be cool, flashy, and powerful; if a little overconfident.
His animations are great. Some of the ideas for his character design are good, too; but the overall result is outdated and unexciting.
His Heavy attack already looks like he's throwing a card - let's make that actually happen! Why not? - Domino already does something similar.
This is a 'Tune Up' rather than an 'Overhaul': I also wanted to keep his kinetic charges and prowess buffs differently rewarding (Kinetic charges for precision; Prowess for raw damage); but give him significantly more offensive power, and a bit more utility. He's definitely a burst offense champion with this design; needing to stay defensive to build up his energy before getting offensive with Prowess-boosted Special Attacks.
Gambit (Retuned)
Holding block: Gambit gains kinetic charges as he holds block; at a rate of one charge per 0.3s (plus 0.1s per charge), to a maximum of ten. The timer does not reset when he is struck. This is largely my attempt to describe what already happens with Gambit's timer; which clearly isn't a flat 0.5s as the description states. I've also got rid of the reset, since it goes against the idea of him absorbing some of the energy when he's hit.
Well-timed blocks: To maximise his Kinetic charges, Gambit needs to absorb part of the kinetic energy of Physical Attacks. This reduces the damage by an additional 25% and generates two kinetic charges, to a maximum of twenty. Gambit can benefit from well-timed blocks at any time; but this is the only mechanism for him to gain kinetic charges when at or above ten - holding block won't get him any further at that point
Kinetic charges Each kinetic charge reduces the Power requirement of Special Attacks by 2% and increases Gambit's Block Proficiency by 80. When he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit gains +2% Perfect Block per charge. Whilst he holds them, Gambit's growing kinetic charges help him to absorb a small fraction of the kinetic energy of attacks.
Kinetic charges are lost at the rate of one every three seconds that pass without Gambit holding block. When he is struck by a combo-ending attack, Gambit has a base 20% chance to fold, plus a flat 10% per hit in the combo, losing all kinetic charges. Additionally, if he is affected by a Power Drain or Power Steal effect, this drains all his kinetic charges.
Heavy Attacks: Gambit throws a card at his opponents' feet, knocking them off balance: this attack is a short-range projectile, so it cannot be parried; and it inflicts Energy damage. This attack reduces the ability accuracy of the Stand Your Ground Mastery by 50%. Landing a heavy attack converts all of his kinetic charges into Prowess buffs. If he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit generates a passive Unstoppable effect when chaining a Heavy attack from a combo.
Prowess buffs Gambit can have an absolute maximum of twenty Prowess buffs. Prowess buffs last for ten seconds. Having Prowess buffs does not prevent Gambit from generating new kinetic charges. Prowess buffs affect the damage from his Special Attacks and his Heavy attack projectiles as follows:
Attack is increased by +12% per Prowess buff.
Each Prowess buff converts 10% of any Critical damage to a burst of Direct Energy damage. This activates before defensive abilities that would reduce critical damage.
With ten or more Prowess buffs, these Attacks will not trigger abilities that are triggered on Critical hits.
Passive: Gambit's flak jacket provides 25% Bleed Resistance and 500 Physical Resistance. The jacket breaks after Gambit loses 25% of his max health from Physical damage. The flak jacket is now a bit better at reducing bleed damage and lasts slightly longer; but doesn't get tougher as part of his Sig.
Signature:
Gambit generates Kinetic charges up to 30% faster.
Kinetic charges each grant Gambit +50 Critical Rating and Damage on his Special Attacks.
Prowess buffs last for 50% longer, and additionally increase Special Attack debuff duration by up to 5%
Special Attacks: Gambit's Special Attacks gain +100 block penetration per Kinetic charges or Prowess buff in effect, to a maximum of +1000. If Gambit hits the opponent with a Special Attack that is critical, he consumes all his Kinetic charges. This inflicts a burst of Energy damage equal to 8% of the damage inflicted by the Special Attack, for each kinetic charge consumed. SP1: 70% chance to Stun for 2.5s
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, he also inflicts Armour Break (-600 for seven seconds)
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts a Vulnerability debuff (increases Critical damage by 800 and reduces block proficiency by 40%) for fifteen seconds.
SP2: This thunderous attack is hard to evade, reducing Evade chance by 60%. 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds)
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, this attack inflicts Stun for 3 seconds
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts an Enervate debuff for eight seconds
SP3: 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds), and 90% chance to Enervate for six seconds.
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, then for each five stacks of Prowess he has an 80% chance to inflict an Armour Break (-800 armour for six seconds)
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, then he refreshes them and gains ten kinetic charges when throwing this attack
If he throws a Special-3 with twenty Prowess, Gambit will regain some of his kinetic charges, reducing the Power consumed and setting him on the way to quickly combo his way back to SP1. This should maximise his damage; by combining the effects of armour break, vulnerability, and high crit rate/burst energy damage.
Synergies: Ma Chèrie (Rogue) - Unique synergy):
Any time Gambit gains a Prowess buffs, he has a 33% chance to gain another one.
Rogue's stolen buffs last 30% longer.
Heavy Hitters (Storm, Cyclops, Havok - Unique Synergy Special Attacks gain +300 Block Penetration; or if they are Unblockable, they instead gain +20% Attack.
That would help Gambit quite a bit, I think. I like those ideas.
Since he his only getting re-tuned, that probably means that none of his animations will be changed, but I wish he was more fluid and smooth. He could move around more agile like how Ronin and Longshot do, and Gambit is easily as agile as those 2, if not more so. His dash could be like Ronin or Sparky with those quick cartwheels.
I would also love to see his second medium changed as well. It looks too similar to his heavy attack, and one of his more iconic moves, a vaulted kick off his staff, is absent from his animations in this game.
Just those 2 animation changes would give him a more dynamic and acrobatic feel while playing him.
Well, Kabam have said he's in line for a buff, so I thought I'd quickly re-touch an old design:
Playing with Gambit should be a lot more fun. He's supposed to be cool, flashy, and powerful; if a little overconfident.
His animations are great. Some of the ideas for his character design are good, too; but the overall result is outdated and unexciting.
His Heavy attack already looks like he's throwing a card - let's make that actually happen! Why not? - Domino already does something similar.
This is a 'Tune Up' rather than an 'Overhaul': I also wanted to keep his kinetic charges and prowess buffs differently rewarding (Kinetic charges for precision; Prowess for raw damage); but give him significantly more offensive power, and a bit more utility. He's definitely a burst offense champion with this design; needing to stay defensive to build up his energy before getting offensive with Prowess-boosted Special Attacks.
Gambit (Retuned)
Holding block: Gambit gains kinetic charges as he holds block; at a rate of one charge per 0.3s (plus 0.1s per charge), to a maximum of ten. The timer does not reset when he is struck. This is largely my attempt to describe what already happens with Gambit's timer; which clearly isn't a flat 0.5s as the description states. I've also got rid of the reset, since it goes against the idea of him absorbing some of the energy when he's hit.
Well-timed blocks: To maximise his Kinetic charges, Gambit needs to absorb part of the kinetic energy of Physical Attacks. This reduces the damage by an additional 25% and generates two kinetic charges, to a maximum of twenty. Gambit can benefit from well-timed blocks at any time; but this is the only mechanism for him to gain kinetic charges when at or above ten - holding block won't get him any further at that point
Kinetic charges Each kinetic charge reduces the Power requirement of Special Attacks by 2% and increases Gambit's Block Proficiency by 80. When he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit gains +2% Perfect Block per charge. Whilst he holds them, Gambit's growing kinetic charges help him to absorb a small fraction of the kinetic energy of attacks.
Kinetic charges are lost at the rate of one every three seconds that pass without Gambit holding block. When he is struck by a combo-ending attack, Gambit has a base 20% chance to fold, plus a flat 10% per hit in the combo, losing all kinetic charges. Additionally, if he is affected by a Power Drain or Power Steal effect, this drains all his kinetic charges.
Heavy Attacks: Gambit throws a card at his opponents' feet, knocking them off balance: this attack is a short-range projectile, so it cannot be parried; and it inflicts Energy damage. This attack reduces the ability accuracy of the Stand Your Ground Mastery by 50%. Landing a heavy attack converts all of his kinetic charges into Prowess buffs. If he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit generates a passive Unstoppable effect when chaining a Heavy attack from a combo.
Prowess buffs Gambit can have an absolute maximum of twenty Prowess buffs. Prowess buffs last for ten seconds. Having Prowess buffs does not prevent Gambit from generating new kinetic charges. Prowess buffs affect the damage from his Special Attacks and his Heavy attack projectiles as follows:
Attack is increased by +12% per Prowess buff.
Each Prowess buff converts 10% of any Critical damage to a burst of Direct Energy damage. This activates before defensive abilities that would reduce critical damage.
With ten or more Prowess buffs, these Attacks will not trigger abilities that are triggered on Critical hits.
Passive: Gambit's flak jacket provides 25% Bleed Resistance and 500 Physical Resistance. The jacket breaks after Gambit loses 25% of his max health from Physical damage. The flak jacket is now a bit better at reducing bleed damage and lasts slightly longer; but doesn't get tougher as part of his Sig.
Signature:
Gambit generates Kinetic charges up to 30% faster.
Kinetic charges each grant Gambit +50 Critical Rating and Damage on his Special Attacks.
Prowess buffs last for 50% longer, and additionally increase Special Attack debuff duration by up to 5%
Special Attacks: Gambit's Special Attacks gain +100 block penetration per Kinetic charges or Prowess buff in effect, to a maximum of +1000. If Gambit hits the opponent with a Special Attack that is critical, he consumes all his Kinetic charges. This inflicts a burst of Energy damage equal to 8% of the damage inflicted by the Special Attack, for each kinetic charge consumed. SP1: 70% chance to Stun for 2.5s
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, he also inflicts Armour Break (-600 for seven seconds)
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts a Vulnerability debuff (increases Critical damage by 800 and reduces block proficiency by 40%) for fifteen seconds.
SP2: This thunderous attack is hard to evade, reducing Evade chance by 60%. 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds)
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, this attack inflicts Stun for 3 seconds
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts an Enervate debuff for eight seconds
SP3: 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds), and 90% chance to Enervate for six seconds.
If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, then for each five stacks of Prowess he has an 80% chance to inflict an Armour Break (-800 armour for six seconds)
If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, then he refreshes them and gains ten kinetic charges when throwing this attack
If he throws a Special-3 with twenty Prowess, Gambit will regain some of his kinetic charges, reducing the Power consumed and setting him on the way to quickly combo his way back to SP1. This should maximise his damage; by combining the effects of armour break, vulnerability, and high crit rate/burst energy damage.
Synergies: Ma Chèrie (Rogue) - Unique synergy):
Any time Gambit gains a Prowess buffs, he has a 33% chance to gain another one.
Rogue's stolen buffs last 30% longer.
Heavy Hitters (Storm, Cyclops, Havok - Unique Synergy Special Attacks gain +300 Block Penetration; or if they are Unblockable, they instead gain +20% Attack.
I really like what you've proposed here but there are a few things that honestly aren't Gambit-centric abilities that I'd make the following alterations to (plus reign Gambit back in a bit):
1. Gambit charges objects with kinetic energy (he's not traditionally an energy absorber like Bishop or Captain Marvel) so having him use hits-parried to enhance attacks further, and reducing damage of hits-received technically shouldn't be in his kit; however, I would make it so hits-received do not Fold all of his Kinetic Charges, rather, they would convert some of his current charges to Prowess (from 20-60% of them based on Signature Level). This way, he's still more dangerous to hit, gaining prowess even when he does not get to convert his charges using his own Heavy Attack. 2. Now, since we want to play into his impressive smoothness and agility: while Gambit is below his Max count of Kinetic Charges, his retained Ke allows him to roll with impacts and Glance up to 10% of attacks, less 1% per charge held in his Cards up to 10. This ability is 200% more effective against attacks that would trigger Bleed (i.e. 30% chance to Glance) and +100% effective against Critical Hits (i.e. 20% chance to Glance). 3. While above 85% or below 15% Health Gambit uses his Flak jacket to further misdirect opponents' strikes and further enhance his chance to Glance incoming attacks by +30% to +150% (i.e. Max 25% regular hits, 75% Bleed triggering hits, and 50% critical hits) based on Sig - Glancing reduces incoming damage by 10-50% depending on Sig (Synergy with Nightcrawler or Beast could be the basis for showboating Gambit's Agility - 100% chance for the first hit that would Glance to Auto-evade and Counterstrike, inflicting Stun if Gambit held Prowess Charges while counterstriking - ability cool down 20 seconds. Benefit to Nighcrawler would be 100% chance to evade all incoming attacks while his evasion buff is active after a Special; Beast would gain the ability to evade and counter any first strike that would be Critical, deal Bleed, Poison or Incineration, or cause Stun - ability cool down 20 seconds) 4. I would likewise tweak that inability to further charge when he's actively using Prowess. While Gambit has 1 to 12 Prowess, he can continue to build Kinetic Charges, although the concentration needed to hold both requires 0.2 additional seconds per Prowess held instead of 0.1 per Charge held (staying consistent with your descriptor of how he charges: "0.3 seconds plus 0.1 additional second per charge held"). Up to 5 additional Kinetic Charges can be generated in this way while he has 1 or more Prowess. (This would be further enhanced by a Synergy, allowing him to hold up to 19 additional Ke Charges while holding at least 1 Prowess as long as his combined Charges and Prowess does not exceed 20 - I would make this a Gambit/Bishop/Mr. Sinister synergy, since they've all had tenuous interactions with each other). How this works is that while he has less than total 12 Prowess, he can build 5 more Ke Charges, convert them to Prowess and charge 5 Ke again once that new set of 5 converted did not total or exceed 12 Prowess (benefits to Bishop and Mr. Sinister would be 30% enhanced Power Gain for 10 seconds after receiving an energy based hit - ability cool down 10 seconds).
As a Tune Up, I agree that Animation changes are highly unlikely. Number tweaks and adding Buffs that do not alter visual effects are the likely outcomes, but I do like the idea of the thrown card heavy (we can just SAY it is happening even if we don't see it and call it a projectile attack)
While I may have posted some of this before, I wanted to have this be the first of several posts that specifically speaks to missed opportunities with MASSIVE or CLASSIC milestones in some older champions' history. As such this has a relationship with some of the marquee Marvel Comics teams such as the X-Men and Avengers, and can even be expanded to Invaders, Defenders, Guardians of the Galaxy, (incoming Alpha Flight) and more. While not inspired by the Fantastic Four, it was well illustrated by their mechanic of having visual additions to the fights during certain Synergies (Forcefield, Raining Fire, Boulder).
Phoenix Five abilities:
Right off the bat, the big deal about Cyke (NXS) wasn't just the 'Villain' branding or costume change, it was that during that comic run he also ended up as a part of the Phoenix 5. While that did lead to a costume change different to what is in the game, I do not think we need to reflect that to rope in how this would work (especially since it has implications for at least 4 others at well, so we do not need 5 straight up re-skins).
How it works
Via Synergy, as long as at least 3 of the following are present, Cyclops (NXS) (as well as the others) would gain abilities common to Phoenix (Jean Grey version).
Start the fight with 1 Phoenix Force Charge (PFC), add 1 per Heavy Attack up to 6 (Max 10 if 5 members of the Synergy are present)
Lose 1 PFC each second after reaching Max charges. Cannot fall below 1 PFC.
Gain 1 Fury lasting 25 seconds every 10 seconds (1 second faster per each additional PhxF Charge present) up to 10 Fury effects.
Consume 2 to 4 PFCs and up to 4 Fury Buffs during Special Attacks to inflict up to 4 Incineration Debuffs: 1+1 additional per Unique Special Attack launched, and more intense DoT the number of Fury effects consumed
Synergy members include Cyke (NXS), Emma Frost, Namor, Magik, and Colossus (classic or Unstoppable)
If this is deemed as something that would make Emma, Namor, Magik or Colossus too powerful, it is suitable that, as the last of the Phoenix 5 standing, Cyke gets these abilities and the others do not; however, they should get something out of it. A Phoenix glow while launching Sp1 would suffice and deal a quick additional burst of 20% of their attack's damage rating over 1 second as Incineration and activate True Accuracy for 5 seconds after the Sp1 ends.
Considering the detail needed to describe this Synergy, this would probably be better with some of it housed in his ability description, much like Corvus Glaive's missions requiring Proxima or mutants such as X-23 are covered. The rest would explain itself in the Synergy screens section.
Leadership Abilities
As the marquee classic leader of the X-Men, he would have another synergistic descriptor in his Abilities screen as well covering leaders, and granting him attack enhancements with Storm, Cable, Magneto, Havok, (potentially Prof. X if incoming), Black Bolt and Wolverine, since each had classic X-Team leadership runs.
In this case I would simply set up (although if none of the synergy based design are considered, this is my preferred straight up tweak) that hit-counters enhance Cyke's beams' damage output.
How It Works
Each 2 medium attack combo allows Cyke to probe his opponent's defensive capability, letting him know how much of the destructive optic blast he can unleash non-lethally. This enhances his beam attacks by 2% for 10 seconds with a passive Tactical Charge, and the timer is refreshed if he lands another 2 medium combo. He can store up to 5 such passive Tactical Charges.
When Cyclops performs a well timed dash intercepting the opponent, he becomes confident in his ability to be less restrained, indefinitely enhancing his beam's Attack Rating by up to 10% if 5 tactical charges were consumed. If he does not intercept during this time, beam enhancement will expire unless he refreshes them.
If he locks in the tactical chage(s) he becomes able to stack another 1 to 5 Tactical Charges, and lock in up to 10% more indefinite beam enhancement. If Cyke cannot execute an intercept, landing a Heavy Attack will allow him to lock in up to 2 Tactical Charges instead.
Beam enhancement indefinitely can improve Cyke's Special Attack rating up to +360% based on Signature Level and increase Block Penetration by up to +50%.
If Ability Description and Synergy based, if certain of his Leader Synergy members are present he also gains the following Magneto - optic blasts also reduce regenerative abilities by 50% while armor breaks are active Cable - while armor is broken, further Specials are True Accuracy Storm or Havok - inflict Concussion with Armor Breaks Wolverine - enhance critical damage rating while striking an opponent with broken Armor Black Bolt - Sp2 and 3 are capable of inflicting Armor Shatter on opponents who are Armor Break immune (such as Colossus, Thing, Man-Thing?, Dr. Doom) and bypass Tenacity, Purges and Shrug offs from Skill champions. In honor of the OG Leadership Synergy, while the other effects are Solo benefits to Cyke, Black Bolt's would also grant him the ability to Shatter the armor of Armor Break Immune opponents.
Basically these give Cyclops a fairly wide range of team configurations to make him more effective without having it be a base-kit overall enhancement to him while solo. Each also has a built in non-Mutant Class teammate to keep the roster a bit more diverse. Cyke should definitely have an ability to increase damage output with his Specials and a hit counter (based on Medium combos plus Intercepts) would be appropriate, and different enough from a straight hit counter such as Star-Lord's.
Quick preview: Cyke (Blue Team) would have an identical Leadership enhancement to Cyke (NXS) but instead of *Phoenix Five* he would carry a *First Class* setup with Archangel, Beast, Iceman and Phoenix to honor the OG 5 X-Men. I'll build that out separately.
Signature ability: For each focused buff, Karnak gains the following benefits: +331 (up to 756) attack rating. +432 (up to 657) critical rating. Additionally, the time required to become focused is reduced by 2 (up to 4) seconds.
Passive: Rigorous mental training grants Karnak full immunity to inversed control and ability accuracy reduction. Weakness, fatigue and stun debuffs have 50% reduced duration. 15% perfect block chance.
Basic attacks: Medium attacks have a 40% chance to inflict weakness, reducing the opponents attack by 25% for 7 seconds while light attacks have a 30% chance to inflict armour break, reducing the opponents armour rating by 437.5 (maximum of 10) for 9 seconds.
Focused: Every 14 seconds, Karnak gains a passive focused buff with an infinite duration (maximum 4). If the opponent hits him or strikes his block, this timer is reset. Each focused grants new abilities. One focus buff- The opponent suffers 100% reduced glancing ability accuracy. Two focus buffs- Karnak gets 50% additional attack rating, additionally, basic attacks deal true accuracy. Three focus buffs- basic attacks deal true accuracy. Four focus buffs: special attacks deal true accuracy.
Heavy attacks: Reset the duration of all armour break debuffs. Nullify one unstoppable, unblockable, indestructible and fury buff on the opponent. While charging, stun the opponent for 1 second. This ability has a 6 second cooldown.
Special attacks: 25% chance to crit for each focus.
Special one: Paralyzes the opponent for 2 seconds. While this debuff is active, the opponent suffers 35% reduced power rate and ability accuracy. Consumes 30% less power.
Special two: Removes 5 seconds from the focus timer. Gain unblockable for 9 seconds. Place an armour shatter buff on the opponent for 15 seconds, reducing the opponents armour rating by 534 for each armour break removed and reducing the opponents defensive ability accuracy and power rate by 65%.
Mutant reworks seem popular right now, especially with the much anticipated rework of Magneto that's coming up. I was inspired by both the recent Gambit and Cyclops reworks, and so I'm going to do a bit with one, myself. There are a few mutants that deserve a bit of love, and none probably as much as (most of) the original X-Men. Iceman and Angel (Archangel) are great Champions all on their own, but Cyclops, Jean Grey (Phoenix), and Beast are nowhere near as good. So, I present to you a first draft rework of Beast! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: Beast is portrayed as being brilliant, agile, and strong. In Marvel Contest of Champions, Beast just doesn't hold up. He should have some abilities to assist others on his team, which would be a nod to his brilliance as a scientist. He should be one of the most agile opponents that you can face, as that's how he fights in both comic and on-screen appearances, and the guy should hit like a Mack truck. He doesn't do any of that, and he's a bit clunky to use, going back and forth between his Freestyle and Acrobatic forms. As a Raw Damage tagged Champion, his damage output just doesn't hold up.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 33,227 Attack: 2324 Crit Rate: 400 Crit Damage: 525 Armor: 342 Block Proficiency: 2275 Energy Resistance: -195 Physical Resistance: 314 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - Brilliant Researcher:Beast has as much to add to his team as a scientist as he does as a combatant. His research always aids his companions along the way, but when he finds himself alone, he uses his wits to overcome his enemies!
Beast's Offensive Combat Power Rate is increased by 10% for every knocked out Champion on his team.
The Potency and Duration of the Buffs generated by any other Champion on Beast's team is increased by 20.0%. This bonus is doubled for Champions with the X-Men tag.
ABILITIES: Agile Moves (Passive): Beast gains a +3% chance to Evade attacks for each Buff on either Champion. This does not trigger during a Well-Timed Block. Animal Instincts: Whenever Beast is struck, he has a 4% chance to gain a Fury Buff, increasing his Attack by 185.92 for 15.0 seconds. While Beast has 3 or more Fury effects active at any time, he enters a Frenzy. While in Frenzy, Beast becomes Stun immune, but he also cannot gain any Buffs, and all non-damaging Debuffs placed upon him have their Potency and Duration increased by 25%. When his Frenzy ends, it cannot activate again for another 24.0 seconds. Combat Forms (Pre-Fight Ability): Before the fight, choose the Combat Form that will be active for the fight. If no Combat Form is chosen, Intellectual is selected by default. Whenever Beast has a Stun Debuff placed upon him (not counting Stuns from Parrying), his Combat Form is disabled for 10.0 seconds.
Acrobatic: Beast has an 85% chance when receiving Physical Critical Hits to reduce their Critical Damage by 85%. Additionally, the opponent gets 55% less Power when getting hit by Beast.
Bestial: Critical hits have a 60% chance to inflict 1626.8 Bleed damage over 4.0 seconds. Against Bleed-immune opponents, Beast instead has a 60% chance to Armor Break the opponent, removing an opponent's Armor Up and applying 302.12 Armor Rating reduction for 4.0 seconds.
Intellectual: Every 8.5 seconds, Beast gains an Indefinite Passive Studied Target Buff, increasing both his Attack and Block Proficiency by 51. Whenever Beast is struck by a Special Attack, all Studied Target Buffs are disabled for 17.0 seconds.
Special Attacks: The first hit of Beast's Special Attacks inflicts a Daze Debuff that lasts for 6.0 seconds (Max Stacks: 1). Champions affected by a Daze Debuff cannot land Critical Hits (unless they are guaranteed Critical Hits), and their basic attacks have a 12% chance to Miss. Thick Hide (Passive): Beast's thick hide and his fine coat of blue fur makes him resistant to Bleed, Coldsnap, and Frostbite effects, decreasing their Potency and Duration by 65%.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Leaping Attack – Beast uses a freestyle form of combat, striking the opponent with multiple kicks.
This attack has a 100% chance to Stun the opponent for 1.5 seconds.
Special 2 - Acrobatic Kicks – Making full use of his great strength and agility, Beast performs a series of acrobatic kicks to knockdown the opponent.
This attack has a 100% chance to Stun the opponent for 2.5 seconds.
This attack grants Beast an additional +1% chance to Evade attacks for each Buff on either Champion for 12.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Animalistic Instincts – Beast taps into his animalistic instincts and temporarily unleashes a savage attack on unsuspecting opponents
This attack resets the duration of all active Buffs on Beast.
SYNERGIES:
Enemies: with Iron Patriot: All Champions gain +155 Critical Rating.
Friends: with Gambit: All Champions gain +130 Armor Rating.
Masterminds: with Black Panther or Superior Iron Man: All Champions gain +15% Attack once a combo of 15 or more hits is reached.
Mutant Agenda: with Colossus or Nightcrawler: Mutants landed strikes during Special Attacks gain +12% Attack rating.
Original X-Men: with Archangel, Cyclops (Blue Team), Iceman, and Phoenix: If all other Champions in this Synergy are present: Archangel: Well-Timed Blocks reduce all incoming damage to 0. Beast: Whenever Beast knocks his opponent down, they take 5% of Beast's current Attack Rating as Direct Damage for each Buff Beast has active on him. Cyclops (Blue Team): Cyclops starts the fight with a Power Gain Passive, granting him one full bar of Power over 5.0 seconds. Once Cyclops attains one full bar of Power, this Passive expires. Iceman: When Iceman is struck by a Physical Attack, he has a 7% chance to inflict a Coldsnap Debuff on his opponent. Phoenix: Phoenix becomes immune to Taunt Debuffs and Reversed Controls. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This version of Beast adds quite a few features to his kit. He no longer switches between Combat Forms, but can still select them based upon the fight. He's also got a new Combat Form that reflects his ability to study his opponent and learn from their combat tactics. He also has a new synergy that compliments members of the original X-Men team: Angel (in this case, Archangel), Cyclops (Blue Team, as he is the closest in appearance to the original), Iceman, and Jean Grey (in this case, Phoenix). He also grants some benefits to other Champions on his team, which represents his ability to advise and guide his teammates to victory!
Beast gains a new Buff type and a new Debuff type to assist him with both attack and defense, and he occasionally triggers a frenzied condition that is a bit of a drawback, so watch that you don't play too aggressively.
I might end up doing a series of original X-Men reworks (though I probably wouldn't touch Iceman or Archangel except to add in some synergies among the original five), and I might even do a set for the second X-Men Team - Cyclops (I'd use the New Xavier School version for this), Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Wolverine, though I've already written a rework of Storm, and Colossus has been overhauled.
As with all of my reworks, I appreciate additional eyes and thoughts from the community. Please feel free to review and suggest improvements! I am specifically inviting feedback from contributors like @Magrailothos, @Bajan_Samurai, @DrZola, @Whododo872, and @HeroBoltsy, though I welcome feedback from all.
I haven’t absorbed the entirety of the Beast rework, but I like what I see. He should be like the Mr. F of the original X-Men. Also, divergent abilities based on his intellectual/bestial natures makes sense.
Will study more when I have more time but I appreciate the work you’ve put in! If only the game team did the same for the blue furball!
Hooray, a Bodhizen rework! And for Beast, as well, an X-Man who I have fond memories of in-game. Here are my thoughts:
- I love the Signature Ability. Enough to be useful, yet not overpowered. I can definitely see basically every Cosmic getting a huge boost from this, but I'm curious to see if this will tie into any future reworks of the X-Men's First Class (as you mention at the end). - I like Agile Moves, an interesting, fair and innovative way to represent the Beast's agility. I would advise putting a cap on the maximum Evade % though - no specific problematic matchup comes to mind, but I feel as if there may theoretically be some node or champion or combination thereof that would make this Evade approach or even reach 100%. That possibility is a bit daunting and honestly a bit scary, so my suggestion would be cap it off at, say, 60%, just in case. - Animal Instincts seems like a mostly defensive ability. If this was the intention, then I will say that it seems to work as intended - periodically going Stun Immune, but with some benefits afforded to the player while such a state is achieved, and a great deal of control over when Beast may go Stun Immune, looks like a solid defensive ability. I like it. - I like each and every one of the Combat Forms. Intellectual would seem to offer the most value in longer fights, offering a ramp-up and significant survivability. In shorter fights I'd be partial to Bestial Form, and the Bleed/Armor Break combo would be useful for certain nodes (say, Do You Bleed?). Acrobatic Form makes Beast a kind of pseudo-Power Control champion. Each offers its own utility in the same way Stealth Spidey's webs do, as far as I see it, so good job on making distinct yet useful modes for Beast. I might set Acrobatic as the default, since it offers more obvious defensive value than Intellectual, but aside from that I have no complaints. A solid ability. - Daze and Thick Hide each offer an additional bit of utility, which is very nice. I like both as well. - I found the Specials to be a bit underwhelming. Stun is nice, as is the additional Evade chance, but the SP3 seems mostly useless - if it resets only Active Buffs, and (correct me if I am wrong here) Beast's only Active Buffs are his Furies, and said Furies are only gained whilst being struck, then what is the offensive gain of such an ability? And, on defense, when Beast would be gaining Active Buffs to refresh, would a Special 3 not be enough to end the fight in most cases, thus making the ability irrelevant? - Synergies look good. I like the idea of having a full First Class synergy team, though the synergy seems a bit unbalanced to me - Archangel's benefit is excellent for him, as a champion that does a lot of blocking, and Phoenix's benefit is very useful as well, if a bit simpler than I expected. Beast's synergy, if it counts his Studied Target buffs, seems strong as well, but Cyclops' one-time power gain, and Iceman's defensive Coldsnap, don't really seem to be on the same level as the other three benefits. It's a disparity that bothers me. - I am, in hindsight, now curious as to why this kit does not include Prowess in some way, since Special Attack damage is pretty emblematic of the Mutant Class. I acknowledge that there are Mutants, such as Colossus or Omega Red, who do not have Prowess in their kits (so far as I can remember). Yet the use of a Fury, which feels more representative of a Cosmic, in place of a Prowess is something I find myself questioning. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason, but my sense of Class divisions gets the better of me here.
Overall, I actually really like the kit, since it incorporates a) Beast's agility, b) his multiple fighting characteristics, c) his intellect, and d) his place as an original X-Man very well. The main place to improve, in my opinion, would be the Special Attacks - perhaps they can incorporate the Forms in some manner, either amplifying the current Form or using tactics from a different Form, or both? For instance, part of the Special One could be, "If Beast is currently in Acrobatic Mode, the opponent gains no power from being struck by this attack", and maybe the SP2 could read, again in part, "If Beast is not in Bestial Form, each hit has an X% chance to inflict Bleed, dealing X amount of damage over X amount of seconds." The SP3 could perhaps activate all three forms for a limited amount of time. That would be my main suggestion for improvement, but this does seem to be a drastic improvement on his current kit nonetheless. Congratulations on another job well done!
- I love the Signature Ability. Enough to be useful, yet not overpowered. I can definitely see basically every Cosmic getting a huge boost from this, but I'm curious to see if this will tie into any future reworks of the X-Men's First Class (as you mention at the end). - I like Agile Moves, an interesting, fair and innovative way to represent the Beast's agility. I would advise putting a cap on the maximum Evade % though - no specific problematic matchup comes to mind, but I feel as if there may theoretically be some node or champion or combination thereof that would make this Evade approach or even reach 100%. That possibility is a bit daunting and honestly a bit scary, so my suggestion would be cap it off at, say, 60%, just in case.
I thought about that with Agile Moves. You'd have to have a combined total of 34 Buffs to make that happen. That's kind of crazy, but not 100% impossible. I'll admit that I had Champions like Venom in mind when I wrote this, figuring that if your opponent had more Buffs, you'd evade more often. That makes him strong against Venom et. al., but much weaker against Champs like Guardian. 60% is a high, but completely reasonable cap.
- Animal Instincts seems like a mostly defensive ability. If this was the intention, then I will say that it seems to work as intended - periodically going Stun Immune, but with some benefits afforded to the player while such a state is achieved, and a great deal of control over when Beast may go Stun Immune, looks like a solid defensive ability. I like it.
It is. It's also got some slight drawbacks that do require some adjusting, since in editing, I reconfigured some things (Buff wise) which made the drawback less of a drawback than I had originally intended. However, it does make things interesting for War, since he can't proc Buffs while frenzied.
- I like each and every one of the Combat Forms. Intellectual would seem to offer the most value in longer fights, offering a ramp-up and significant survivability. In shorter fights I'd be partial to Bestial Form, and the Bleed/Armor Break combo would be useful for certain nodes (say, Do You Bleed?). Acrobatic Form makes Beast a kind of pseudo-Power Control champion. Each offers its own utility in the same way Stealth Spidey's webs do, as far as I see it, so good job on making distinct yet useful modes for Beast. I might set Acrobatic as the default, since it offers more obvious defensive value than Intellectual, but aside from that I have no complaints. A solid ability.
Acrobatic may be the best default for War, but since Beast prefers to rely on his brains over his brawn, I felt that Intellectual was the way to go. Otherwise, Acrobatic form is unaltered from his original, and Bestial is an updated version of his Freestyle form. I'll think about it.
- I found the Specials to be a bit underwhelming. Stun is nice, as is the additional Evade chance, but the SP3 seems mostly useless - if it resets only Active Buffs, and (correct me if I am wrong here) Beast's only Active Buffs are his Furies, and said Furies are only gained whilst being struck, then what is the offensive gain of such an ability? And, on defense, when Beast would be gaining Active Buffs to refresh, would a Special 3 not be enough to end the fight in most cases, thus making the ability irrelevant?
Here's where I get caught up. I added a lot into his base kit, so I was loathe to overwhelm or overcomplicate the Specials. Please don't forget that they all inflict Daze Debuffs. Special 3 originally also targeted Studied Target Buffs, before I made the whole thing a Pre-Fight Passive. So... The next update will do something far more interesting with Special 3.
- Synergies look good. I like the idea of having a full First Class synergy team, though the synergy seems a bit unbalanced to me - Archangel's benefit is excellent for him, as a champion that does a lot of blocking, and Phoenix's benefit is very useful as well, if a bit simpler than I expected. Beast's synergy, if it counts his Studied Target buffs, seems strong as well, but Cyclops' one-time power gain, and Iceman's defensive Coldsnap, don't really seem to be on the same level as the other three benefits. It's a disparity that bothers me.
I wanted to include effects that would be useful for each member of the Synergy team (without boxing myself in if I rebuilt the other Synergy members). What would you suggest for Cyclops (since his power kit is so basic) and Iceman (that wouldn't be overwhelming with his current power kit)?
- I am, in hindsight, now curious as to why this kit does not include Prowess in some way, since Special Attack damage is pretty emblematic of the Mutant Class. I acknowledge that there are Mutants, such as Colossus or Omega Red, who do not have Prowess in their kits (so far as I can remember). Yet the use of a Fury, which feels more representative of a Cosmic, in place of a Prowess is something I find myself questioning. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason, but my sense of Class divisions gets the better of me here.
Prowess is a (relatively) newer Buff innovation that affects Special Attack damage. I really wanted to keep Beast in a build that can remain viable in raw damage attacks that aren't explicitly reliant on Specials, otherwise he'd be neutered by Power Control Champions. Plus, he gets a pseudo-Prowess effect as an existing Synergy.
Overall, I actually really like the kit, since it incorporates a) Beast's agility, b) his multiple fighting characteristics, c) his intellect, and d) his place as an original X-Man very well. The main place to improve, in my opinion, would be the Special Attacks - perhaps they can incorporate the Forms in some manner, either amplifying the current Form or using tactics from a different Form, or both? For instance, part of the Special One could be, "If Beast is currently in Acrobatic Mode, the opponent gains no power from being struck by this attack", and maybe the SP2 could read, again in part, "If Beast is not in Bestial Form, each hit has an X% chance to inflict Bleed, dealing X amount of damage over X amount of seconds." The SP3 could perhaps activate all three forms for a limited amount of time. That would be my main suggestion for improvement, but this does seem to be a drastic improvement on his current kit nonetheless. Congratulations on another job well done!
Thank you! I'll be sure to credit you in the v1.1 build for your help!
With regard to Specials, I don't want to overload them. Stun + Daze is a pretty nasty setback already, though the Daze won't last much longer than the Stun, so maybe I should extend the duration by a second or two... I do want to keep them simple, so I don't think I'm going to give them different effects based upon combat mode, though it was a good suggestion.
Thank you for all of your assistance on improving this build!
Comments
Having said that, I am presenting my (initial) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 38,409
Attack: 2459
Crit Rate: 342
Crit Damage: 525
Armor: 1035
Block Proficiency: 1789
Energy Resistance: 0
Physical Resistance: 0
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan: Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized!
When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
Developer's Note: While it's relatively easy to perform the required maneuver to disable Thanos' Indestructible Buff, there's only a narrow window in his opponent can take advantage of its absence. This window shrinks as his Signature Ability level rises, and the buff will automatically re-apply itself if Thanos is not defeated. However, Death will only refuse to claim Thanos so many times before she accepts him into her willing embrace.
Infinity Stones:
Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
ABILITIES:
All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating.
Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%.
Infinity Gauntlet:
Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.SYNERGIES:
This version of Thanos adds in a lot of utility into his base kit. The Special Attacks haven't changed at all, and there's only one new Synergy, but since Thanos gets a ton of useful abilities with his Infinity Gauntlet missions and his Eternal Physiology, I figure he didn't need much else. Before, he only had Fury, Heal Block, and the ability to reduce his opponent's Base Attack. Well, that Base Attack reduction is gone, but he now has Poison Immunity, a bit of Degeneration Resistance, and can add in Taunt Immunity, Immunity to Reversed Controls, a reduction to the enemy's Defensive Ability Accuracy, Invulnerability, Power Gain, Buff Steal, Regeneration, Energy Resistance, the ability to not be struck by Basic Attacks while dodging back, Purify, defense against Power Drain and Power Burn, and the ability for his Basic Attacks to not Miss or be Evaded. Yes, it's a smorgasbord of Abilities, but when you've got all 6 Infinity Stones, you're bound to be able to do quite a bit, most of which on a limited basis.
His retooled Signature Ability plays into the concept that if he defeats specific Champions (bearers of the Infinity Stones), he'll get some abilities just for getting the Stones. I did not want to strip the Ability to have or use the Stones out of his base kit, so there's a bit of narrative discrepancy, but since multiple versions of the same Champion are allowed to exist in the Battlerealm all at once, I just chalk it up to the wacky nature of the Battlerealm.
This rework should handily ensure that Thanos isn't just a trophy Champion. As always, I hope that you enjoy this rebuild, and that Kabam will eventually give these rebuilds a look in the hopes that they may spark some interest in revisiting other older Champions.
Lastly, this process isn't possible without additional eyes and thoughts from the community. Please feel free to review and suggest improvements! I am specifically inviting feedback from contributors like @Magrailothos, @Bajan_Samurai, @DrZola, @Whododo872, and @HeroBoltsy, though I welcome feedback from all.
Thanks, and best wishes!
First, about the signature ability. I understand how this works when Thanos is on defense, but what about on offense? Would Thanos ever die if he was awakened? Because him being able to die would require the AI to have parry and to use a special attack shortly after. The description also says it’s a “passive indestructible buff” so which one is it? If it is a buff, you could have another way for him to die (Doctor Strange’s auto-nullify or something like that).
My second concern is about the persistent charge Infinity Stones. I like the concept a lot but would have 2 concerns: First, Nova is a very new champion, meaning he would be very difficult to find in a lot of quests. Maybe add replace Ronan as a power stone option. As for the Soul Stone, I think it needs another target. Perhaps Black Widow OG, Hawkeye, or Ronin.
Lastly, with the expiring stones. I worry that all these missions may be too complicated for players to concentrate on more than 2-3 at one time. One partial solution may be to remove the dash back mechanic on the Reality Stone. But I think that because Thanos is a trophy champion, most players playing him would likely be very skilled, to this becomes less of an issue.
@Bodhizen This is a fantastic rework, but I think with a few little changes Thanos could be a real force to be reckoned with. You did a fantastic job on this one!
I hadn't thought as much about Thanos on offense. This is definitely going to require some finagling to work out right. I wanted to incorporate some element of "Death refuses to allow Thanos into her domain" mechanic, but you're right that this is problematic. As for passive Buffs, they function in the same way that active Buffs do, but they're protected from certain interactions.
The persistent charges are there to identify the fact that you've beaten specific Champions in the quest, so you've got certain effects that persist from fight to fight, much in the same way that Corvus Glaive gets not only Cruelty Buffs after defeating certain types of Champions, but that he gains certain effects (True Strike and Safeguard, for example) that persist from fight to fight. I'm not worried about the "newness" of Nova. The Nova Corps held the Power Stone until Thanos re-acquired it, and it spent more time in Star-Lord's possession than in Ronan's, so that's why those two were chosen. As for the Soul Stone, with regard to Thanos, the only way he acquired it was to sacrifice the one person he loved - Gamora. So... That's the one way to gain its persistent power. It was a deliberate choice to only have one target. If Thanos was a part of a team (I don't count his "children" as anything more than underlings), it would have made thematic sense to have your suggestions included... But they don't mean anything to Thanos.
So... The stones don't "expire". Thanos makes temporary use of their powers. The goal here is to ensure that Thanos has options, but that these options don't become easy exploits that make him a seriously unbalanced Champion. The Reality Stone has a pretty powerful effect in both Buff Stealing and Regeneration. I can potentially steal lots of Buffs off of a Venom or Venom the Duck, or potentially regenerate more than 20% of my Health over that 8.0 seconds. Honestly, I think I should reduce it to 5 seconds. All I have to do is to take a big hit. I definitely need to tone this down, not make it easier to access.
Thank you for your feedback!
I am presenting my (second) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 38,409
Attack: 2459
Crit Rate: 342
Crit Damage: 525
Armor: 1035
Block Proficiency: 1789
Energy Resistance: 0
Physical Resistance: 0
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan: Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized!
When Thanos is a Defender: When Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, he gains an indefinite Passive Indestructible Buff. This Indestructible Buff can be disabled for 3.0 seconds by successfully performing a well-timed block, immediately followed (within 0.5 seconds) by a Special attack. This Indestructible Buff can trigger up to 3 times per fight.
When Thanos is an Attacker: This Passive Indestructible Buff can only trigger once per fight when Thanos is brought to 1% of his maximum Health, and it lasts for 3.5 seconds.
Developer's Note: While it's relatively easy to perform the required maneuver to disable Thanos' Indestructible Buff, there's only a narrow window in his opponent can take advantage of its absence. This window shrinks as his Signature Ability level rises, and the buff will automatically re-apply itself if Thanos is not defeated. However, Death will only refuse to claim Thanos so many times before she accepts him into her willing embrace.
Infinity Stones:
Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
ABILITIES:
All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating.
Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%.
Infinity Gauntlet:
Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.SYNERGIES:
This version of Thanos is slightly down-tuned from the original rework I posted. The Reality Stone's power has been toned down to ensure that it's not overpowered and easily abusable. Furthermore, his ability to avoid death has been separated out into Defender and Attacker functions to prevent Thanos from being unable to die if he's an Attacker. Many thanks to @Doctor_Strange19 for his help in recognizing some of the flaws in the 1.0 build.
Best wishes!
- I like the distinction between the Defender and Attacker attributes for the Sig, kind of like Hulkbuster's rework's two modes. A little extra challenge at the end if you're fighting him, but not excessive.
- I also think the PC mechanic in the Sig is definitely a nice bonus to have, as long as you see it as just a bonus. I highly doubt that you'll ever collect all 6 PCs in the same quest, but it's a cool addition. I'm going to be honest, I laughed out loud when I saw "defeat Gamora".
- Good signature ability in that it adds to the character, perhaps even greatly so, but I don't see it being necessary, which is excellent especially with the trophy nature of Thanos in the game right now.
- All the missions seem very doable and rewarding towards skill-based gameplay, except maybe the Reality Stone. Would it have to be 125% Attack dealt in one hit, for clarification? How would nodes like, say, Bane or (I believe it's called) Aspect of Nightmares factor into this?
- I also have to wonder how each of the Missions would be represented on screen in a fight. I am currently imagining a counter like Proxima's missions, except six of them, each with their own color for each stone, and the number of required actions inside each counter - I know it's mostly irrelevant for the abilities, but I'm just curious if that was your vision as well or not.
- My favorite stone abilities here are Mind, Power, and Time - I can see all of them being rather easy to achieve, for a fairly skilled player, and the rewards are each very useful in their own circumstance.
- I believe, perhaps, if Thanos activated Time Loop and ate a SP3, thus triggering his Indestructible from the sig, he could just regenerate the whole thing once the Loop was finished? I like it, feels appropriate for Thanos' power level.
- The Heal Block on the Specials is also a nice bit of utility. I kind of wish Thanos' SP3 did a little more than just Heal Block, since it makes the Power Stone a little weaker, but that's just my opinion.
- Synergies seem good, nothing overpowered or necessary, but nice to have.
I think this rework is a good, balanced way to better represent Thanos' power level in-game. The rewards for skill based gameplay are both balanced and appropriate for Thanos, and I don't really see any major problems. As always, great work!
The Reality Stone remains a little puzzling to me. It's a bit of a surprise that Thanos has to take a hit to activate it. And can it be activated at any point in the fight thereafter? Or, say, within a window of opportunity?
The Mind Stone seems to give him immunity to Taunt on both it's Mission and it's Persistent Charge. That's different from the other stones - is it intentional? Thanos seemed fairly Taunt-able when he was fighting Sparky in Infinity War.
The Time Stone sounds very like Magik's old Rewind ability. Unless you can bait out an attack in that Timeframe, it's not the most useful ability. On the other hand, if instead of giving him immunity to Taunt, the Mind Stone gave him the ability to cause Taunt (or 'induce panic' like She-Hulk), then those two abilities would work beautifully together. Just a thought...
Finally, the Specials - I'm a little surprised all they do is Heal Block. You've pointed out before when I underdeveloped Daredevil's Special attacks - have you done the same here? No Power Drain? Stun? Armour Break? Go for it - this is the Mad Titan, after all!
Giving the Mind Stone the ability to cause Taunt is an interesting thought. I think that might be a really good change, so it's going to go into the next version. Thank you! The Specials were not changed at all because I added in so much in the Infinity Gauntlet Ability. I didn't want to overdo it by adding in more with the Special Attacks. I recognize that Thanos has a smorgasbord of abilities already, so I was loathe to add in more. But, as always, I'm open to suggestion.
Thank you so much, @Magrailothos. I look forward to more feedback from you before I post Version 1.2.
Best wishes!
I am presenting my (second) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 38,409
Attack: 2459
Crit Rate: 342
Crit Damage: 525
Armor: 1035
Block Proficiency: 1789
Energy Resistance: 0
Physical Resistance: 0
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan: Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized!
Every 12.0 seconds throughout the fight, Thanos gains a Deathless Charge. Whenever Thanos blocks an attack, one Deathless Charge is consumed to guarantee that the block is a Perfect Block.
Infinity Stones:
Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
ABILITIES:
All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating.
Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%.
Infinity Gauntlet:
Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.SYNERGIES:
The Signature Ability has been revised to prevent Thanos from being virtually unbeatable on specific nodes. There have also been minor tweaks elsewhere, including a tweak to Special Attack 3. Thanks very much to @Notsavage19 and @Magrailothos for their feedback, which has improved this build!
Best wishes!
PUNISHER 2099
Tune up ideas that I wish they would do. Hopefully at least 2 of these in some way
1. Shots from his laser rifle inflict a shock debuff, dealing up to 40% attack over 5 seconds based on stored battery.
2. The regen triggers at 20% health, and the healing potency is increased by 40%.
3. When entering overdrive increases attack by 3360 for 12 seconds, the battery immediately empties when time expires.
4. All specials can not be passively evaded, drain 10% of current battery.
5. Special 2: has a 30% chance from each laser hit to inflict a shock debuff dealing 60% of attack over 8 seconds.
6. Time travelers synergy w/ cable.
P2099: after a special 3 inflict a plasma passive dealing 15% of attack for 5 seconds, and is refreshed from hits with the laser rifle. Any shock debuffs on the opponent increase the plasma duration by 1 second, up to 10 seconds.
Cable: if cable would gain true strike while the opponent is degenerating gain foresight passive lasting 25 seconds. Giving cable true strike and increases attack and power gain by 15%.
7. Walking arsenals w/ Agent Venom
P2099: 25% chance to purify damaging debuffs.
Agent venom: all debuffs are passives and gets 1000 increased critical rating when klyntar rage is active.
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GAMBIT
Changes I would like to see. Hoping for at least 2 similar to them.
1. Gambit's armor now gives 1212.82 Physical resist & 40% bleed resist. The signature ability changes so the armor is destroyed by armor break instead.
2. Landing a heavy attack now provide Cajun passives which give 12% prowess and 5% attack per passive, maxing at 10 passives. Each passive lasts for 14 seconds.
3. Special attacks now drain 10% of the opponents power for every 5 passives. At 10 passives the opponent is power locked for 7.5 seconds.
4. Special 1: applies a disorient debuff when you have 5 or more passives for 6 seconds.
5. We met before right? Synergy w/ Old man Logan and Wolverine.
Gambit: gain an additional 10% bleed resistance and can gain 3 additional passives.
Wolverine: gains 35% bleed resistance and 20% regen potency.
Old man Logan: Special attack become unstoppable with 8 or more fury buffs, and bleeds become passive bleeds.
-----------------
FALCON
Changes I would like to see. At least 2 of these changes, or something similar.
1. redwing now applies identified passives reducing the ability accuracy of the opponent by 15% every 7 seconds, while also increasing Falcon's ability accuracy by 5%. stacks up to 4 times.
2. Falcon's signature ability now provides 113.16 to 262.52 critical rating depending on identified passives, additionally provides 333.6 to 480.28 crit damage rating depending on identified passives. While at max identified passives, opponents cannot passively evade.
3. Special 1: the bleed is 28% stronger. if the opponent is bleed immune apply an injury debuff for 5.50 seconds.
4. Special 2: this attack has 288.41 to 822.65 increased critical rating depending on identified passives.
5. Special 3: now provides an armor break debuff reducing armor by 1800 for 12 seconds, an additional 200 armor is reduced for each identified passive. the incinerate debuff is 200% stronger at maxed identified passives. remove all identified passives when incinerate ends.
6. heavy attacks: now provide a concussion debuff reducing ability accuracy by 50% for 8 seconds.
7. passing on the legacy. synergy with Captain America, captain America WWII, and Captain America IW.
Falcon: while blocking and attacking with light attacks: has a 20% chance to apply a fatigue debuff reducing critical rating by 333.6 for 12 seconds.
Cap America: increase attack rating by 50% if the opponent is fatigued
Cap America WWII: special attacks now inflict a weakness debuff reducing attack by 65% for 6 seconds.
Cap America IW: blocking now has a 30% chance to be a perfect block.
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Again, I would love to hear the communities thoughts on these ideas and if there are any improvements they would adjust.
Playing with Gambit should be a lot more fun. He's supposed to be cool, flashy, and powerful; if a little overconfident.
His animations are great. Some of the ideas for his character design are good, too; but the overall result is outdated and unexciting.
His Heavy attack already looks like he's throwing a card - let's make that actually happen! Why not? - Domino already does something similar.
This is a 'Tune Up' rather than an 'Overhaul': I also wanted to keep his kinetic charges and prowess buffs differently rewarding (Kinetic charges for precision; Prowess for raw damage); but give him significantly more offensive power, and a bit more utility. He's definitely a burst offense champion with this design; needing to stay defensive to build up his energy before getting offensive with Prowess-boosted Special Attacks.
Gambit (Retuned)
Holding block:
Gambit gains kinetic charges as he holds block; at a rate of one charge per 0.3s (plus 0.1s per charge), to a maximum of ten. The timer does not reset when he is struck.
This is largely my attempt to describe what already happens with Gambit's timer; which clearly isn't a flat 0.5s as the description states. I've also got rid of the reset, since it goes against the idea of him absorbing some of the energy when he's hit.
Well-timed blocks:
To maximise his Kinetic charges, Gambit needs to absorb part of the kinetic energy of Physical Attacks. This reduces the damage by an additional 25% and generates two kinetic charges, to a maximum of twenty.
Gambit can benefit from well-timed blocks at any time; but this is the only mechanism for him to gain kinetic charges when at or above ten - holding block won't get him any further at that point
Kinetic charges
Each kinetic charge reduces the Power requirement of Special Attacks by 2% and increases Gambit's Block Proficiency by 80.
When he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit gains +2% Perfect Block per charge.
Whilst he holds them, Gambit's growing kinetic charges help him to absorb a small fraction of the kinetic energy of attacks.
Kinetic charges are lost at the rate of one every three seconds that pass without Gambit holding block. When he is struck by a combo-ending attack, Gambit has a base 20% chance to fold, plus a flat 10% per hit in the combo, losing all kinetic charges. Additionally, if he is affected by a Power Drain or Power Steal effect, this drains all his kinetic charges.
Heavy Attacks: Gambit throws a card at his opponents' feet, knocking them off balance: this attack is a short-range projectile, so it cannot be parried; and it inflicts Energy damage. This attack reduces the ability accuracy of the Stand Your Ground Mastery by 50%. Landing a heavy attack converts all of his kinetic charges into Prowess buffs.
If he has sixteen or more kinetic charges, Gambit generates a passive Unstoppable effect when chaining a Heavy attack from a combo.
Prowess buffs
Gambit can have an absolute maximum of twenty Prowess buffs. Prowess buffs last for ten seconds. Having Prowess buffs does not prevent Gambit from generating new kinetic charges.
Prowess buffs affect the damage from his Special Attacks and his Heavy attack projectiles as follows:
- Attack is increased by +12% per Prowess buff.
- Each Prowess buff converts 10% of any Critical damage to a burst of Direct Energy damage. This activates before defensive abilities that would reduce critical damage.
- With ten or more Prowess buffs, these Attacks will not trigger abilities that are triggered on Critical hits.
Passive:Gambit's flak jacket provides 25% Bleed Resistance and 500 Physical Resistance. The jacket breaks after Gambit loses 25% of his max health from Physical damage.
The flak jacket is now a bit better at reducing bleed damage and lasts slightly longer; but doesn't get tougher as part of his Sig.
Signature:
- Gambit generates Kinetic charges up to 30% faster.
- Kinetic charges each grant Gambit +50 Critical Rating and Damage on his Special Attacks.
- Prowess buffs last for 50% longer, and additionally increase Special Attack debuff duration by up to 5%
Special Attacks:Gambit's Special Attacks gain +100 block penetration per Kinetic charges or Prowess buff in effect, to a maximum of +1000.
If Gambit hits the opponent with a Special Attack that is critical, he consumes all his Kinetic charges. This inflicts a burst of Energy damage equal to 8% of the damage inflicted by the Special Attack, for each kinetic charge consumed.
SP1: 70% chance to Stun for 2.5s
- If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, he also inflicts Armour Break (-600 for seven seconds)
- If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts a Vulnerability debuff (increases Critical damage by 800 and reduces block proficiency by 40%) for fifteen seconds.
SP2: This thunderous attack is hard to evade, reducing Evade chance by 60%. 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds)- If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, this attack inflicts Stun for 3 seconds
- If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, he inflicts an Enervate debuff for eight seconds
SP3: 90% chance for Concussion (-85% Ability Accuracy for 8 seconds), and 90% chance to Enervate for six seconds.- If Gambit has ten or more Prowess buffs, then for each five stacks of Prowess he has an 80% chance to inflict an Armour Break (-800 armour for six seconds)
- If Gambit has twenty Prowess buffs, then he refreshes them and gains ten kinetic charges when throwing this attack
If he throws a Special-3 with twenty Prowess, Gambit will regain some of his kinetic charges, reducing the Power consumed and setting him on the way to quickly combo his way back to SP1. This should maximise his damage; by combining the effects of armour break, vulnerability, and high crit rate/burst energy damage.Synergies:
Ma Chèrie (Rogue) - Unique synergy):
- Any time Gambit gains a Prowess buffs, he has a 33% chance to gain another one.
- Rogue's stolen buffs last 30% longer.
Heavy Hitters (Storm, Cyclops, Havok - Unique SynergySpecial Attacks gain +300 Block Penetration; or if they are Unblockable, they instead gain +20% Attack.
I am presenting my (second) vision for a rework of probably the single greatest villain that has menaced the Marvel universe (particularly in the MCU)... The Mad Titan himself: Thanos! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
Thanos himself is pretty much a cakewalk. His specials are easy to avoid, and he doesn't have great utility. There are "Infinity Stone" versions of him (and node combinations can make any Champion a pain in the tail, but that's more a condition of the nodes than the Champion on them), and I feel that some of that power should be incorporated into his base kit. Thanos should be a monster; not an unbeatable one, but he should be challenging all on his own. If you're one of the Summoners lucky enough to have him on your team, he should also be a viable "end-game content" Champion. This version of Thanos assumes that he has all six Infinity Stones, but he can only use their powers for brief periods of time.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 38,409
Attack: 2459
Crit Rate: 342
Crit Damage: 525
Armor: 1035
Block Proficiency: 1789
Energy Resistance: 0
Physical Resistance: 0
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - The Mad Titan: Thanos may be mad, but his control over the Infinity Stones becomes complete, and his connection to Death is finally realized!
Every 12.0 seconds throughout the fight, Thanos gains a Deathless Charge. Whenever Thanos blocks an attack, one Deathless Charge is consumed to guarantee that the block is a Perfect Block.
Infinity Stones:
Thanos gains power from defeating specific opponents. Whenever he defeats one of these opponents, he gains 1 Persistent Charge. Defeating these opponents can be accomplished in any order, but he can only gain each benefit once per Quest.
ABILITIES:
All Attacks: 11% chance to gain a Fury Buff for 7.0 seconds, granting +1352.45 Attack Rating.
Eternal Physiology: Eternal Physiology provides renders him immune to the effects of Poisons, and reduces the damage of Degeneration effects by 30%.
Infinity Gauntlet:
Thanos' quest to find the Infinity Stones has granted him greater power and control over the Battlerealm, making him a more deadly opponent. He has 6 missions to accomplish to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones. Whenever he completes a mission, he temporarily unlocks the power of the Infinity Stone that corresponds to that mission. When the temporary powers wear off, Thanos must complete the mission again from the start in order to regain that benefit.
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Obliterate – Two rapid and devastating cosmic blasts from the Mad Titan to soften up his opponent..
- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 2 - Terminate – Rage and power combine to launch Thanos' target into the air with mighty concussive blasts.- This attack deals True Damage, ignoring all of the opponent's Armor.
- 100% chance to inflict Heal Block, preventing the target from recovering Health for 7.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Exterminate – With a heavy heart, Thanos prepares to introduce his foe to his one true love.SYNERGIES:
Minor tweaks for polishing; Mind Stone, Power Stone, and Space Stone.
Now if only we could get Kabam to implement these changes.
Best wishes!
Since he his only getting re-tuned, that probably means that none of his animations will be changed, but I wish he was more fluid and smooth. He could move around more agile like how Ronin and Longshot do, and Gambit is easily as agile as those 2, if not more so. His dash could be like Ronin or Sparky with those quick cartwheels.
I would also love to see his second medium changed as well. It looks too similar to his heavy attack, and one of his more iconic moves, a vaulted kick off his staff, is absent from his animations in this game.
Just those 2 animation changes would give him a more dynamic and acrobatic feel while playing him.
1. Gambit charges objects with kinetic energy (he's not traditionally an energy absorber like Bishop or Captain Marvel) so having him use hits-parried to enhance attacks further, and reducing damage of hits-received technically shouldn't be in his kit; however, I would make it so hits-received do not Fold all of his Kinetic Charges, rather, they would convert some of his current charges to Prowess (from 20-60% of them based on Signature Level). This way, he's still more dangerous to hit, gaining prowess even when he does not get to convert his charges using his own Heavy Attack.
2. Now, since we want to play into his impressive smoothness and agility: while Gambit is below his Max count of Kinetic Charges, his retained Ke allows him to roll with impacts and Glance up to 10% of attacks, less 1% per charge held in his Cards up to 10. This ability is 200% more effective against attacks that would trigger Bleed (i.e. 30% chance to Glance) and +100% effective against Critical Hits (i.e. 20% chance to Glance).
3. While above 85% or below 15% Health Gambit uses his Flak jacket to further misdirect opponents' strikes and further enhance his chance to Glance incoming attacks by +30% to +150% (i.e. Max 25% regular hits, 75% Bleed triggering hits, and 50% critical hits) based on Sig - Glancing reduces incoming damage by 10-50% depending on Sig (Synergy with Nightcrawler or Beast could be the basis for showboating Gambit's Agility - 100% chance for the first hit that would Glance to Auto-evade and Counterstrike, inflicting Stun if Gambit held Prowess Charges while counterstriking - ability cool down 20 seconds. Benefit to Nighcrawler would be 100% chance to evade all incoming attacks while his evasion buff is active after a Special; Beast would gain the ability to evade and counter any first strike that would be Critical, deal Bleed, Poison or Incineration, or cause Stun - ability cool down 20 seconds)
4. I would likewise tweak that inability to further charge when he's actively using Prowess. While Gambit has 1 to 12 Prowess, he can continue to build Kinetic Charges, although the concentration needed to hold both requires 0.2 additional seconds per Prowess held instead of 0.1 per Charge held (staying consistent with your descriptor of how he charges: "0.3 seconds plus 0.1 additional second per charge held"). Up to 5 additional Kinetic Charges can be generated in this way while he has 1 or more Prowess. (This would be further enhanced by a Synergy, allowing him to hold up to 19 additional Ke Charges while holding at least 1 Prowess as long as his combined Charges and Prowess does not exceed 20 - I would make this a Gambit/Bishop/Mr. Sinister synergy, since they've all had tenuous interactions with each other). How this works is that while he has less than total 12 Prowess, he can build 5 more Ke Charges, convert them to Prowess and charge 5 Ke again once that new set of 5 converted did not total or exceed 12 Prowess (benefits to Bishop and Mr. Sinister would be 30% enhanced Power Gain for 10 seconds after receiving an energy based hit - ability cool down 10 seconds).
As a Tune Up, I agree that Animation changes are highly unlikely. Number tweaks and adding Buffs that do not alter visual effects are the likely outcomes, but I do like the idea of the thrown card heavy (we can just SAY it is happening even if we don't see it and call it a projectile attack)
Cyclops (New Xavier School)
While I may have posted some of this before, I wanted to have this be the first of several posts that specifically speaks to missed opportunities with MASSIVE or CLASSIC milestones in some older champions' history. As such this has a relationship with some of the marquee Marvel Comics teams such as the X-Men and Avengers, and can even be expanded to Invaders, Defenders, Guardians of the Galaxy, (incoming Alpha Flight) and more. While not inspired by the Fantastic Four, it was well illustrated by their mechanic of having visual additions to the fights during certain Synergies (Forcefield, Raining Fire, Boulder).Phoenix Five abilities:
Right off the bat, the big deal about Cyke (NXS) wasn't just the 'Villain' branding or costume change, it was that during that comic run he also ended up as a part of the Phoenix 5. While that did lead to a costume change different to what is in the game, I do not think we need to reflect that to rope in how this would work (especially since it has implications for at least 4 others at well, so we do not need 5 straight up re-skins).How it works
Via Synergy, as long as at least 3 of the following are present, Cyclops (NXS) (as well as the others) would gain abilities common to Phoenix (Jean Grey version).- Start the fight with 1 Phoenix Force Charge (PFC), add 1 per Heavy Attack up to 6 (Max 10 if 5 members of the Synergy are present)
- Lose 1 PFC each second after reaching Max charges. Cannot fall below 1 PFC.
- Gain 1 Fury lasting 25 seconds every 10 seconds (1 second faster per each additional PhxF Charge present) up to 10 Fury effects.
- Consume 2 to 4 PFCs and up to 4 Fury Buffs during Special Attacks to inflict up to 4 Incineration Debuffs: 1+1 additional per Unique Special Attack launched, and more intense DoT the number of Fury effects consumed
- Synergy members include Cyke (NXS), Emma Frost, Namor, Magik, and Colossus (classic or Unstoppable)
- If this is deemed as something that would make Emma, Namor, Magik or Colossus too powerful, it is suitable that, as the last of the Phoenix 5 standing, Cyke gets these abilities and the others do not; however, they should get something out of it. A Phoenix glow while launching Sp1 would suffice and deal a quick additional burst of 20% of their attack's damage rating over 1 second as Incineration and activate True Accuracy for 5 seconds after the Sp1 ends.
Considering the detail needed to describe this Synergy, this would probably be better with some of it housed in his ability description, much like Corvus Glaive's missions requiring Proxima or mutants such as X-23 are covered. The rest would explain itself in the Synergy screens section.Leadership Abilities
As the marquee classic leader of the X-Men, he would have another synergistic descriptor in his Abilities screen as well covering leaders, and granting him attack enhancements with Storm, Cable, Magneto, Havok, (potentially Prof. X if incoming), Black Bolt and Wolverine, since each had classic X-Team leadership runs.In this case I would simply set up (although if none of the synergy based design are considered, this is my preferred straight up tweak) that hit-counters enhance Cyke's beams' damage output.
How It Works
Each 2 medium attack combo allows Cyke to probe his opponent's defensive capability, letting him know how much of the destructive optic blast he can unleash non-lethally. This enhances his beam attacks by 2% for 10 seconds with a passive Tactical Charge, and the timer is refreshed if he lands another 2 medium combo. He can store up to 5 such passive Tactical Charges.When Cyclops performs a well timed dash intercepting the opponent, he becomes confident in his ability to be less restrained, indefinitely enhancing his beam's Attack Rating by up to 10% if 5 tactical charges were consumed. If he does not intercept during this time, beam enhancement will expire unless he refreshes them.
If he locks in the tactical chage(s) he becomes able to stack another 1 to 5 Tactical Charges, and lock in up to 10% more indefinite beam enhancement. If Cyke cannot execute an intercept, landing a Heavy Attack will allow him to lock in up to 2 Tactical Charges instead.
Beam enhancement indefinitely can improve Cyke's Special Attack rating up to +360% based on Signature Level and increase Block Penetration by up to +50%.
If Ability Description and Synergy based, if certain of his Leader Synergy members are present he also gains the following
Magneto - optic blasts also reduce regenerative abilities by 50% while armor breaks are active
Cable - while armor is broken, further Specials are True Accuracy
Storm or Havok - inflict Concussion with Armor Breaks
Wolverine - enhance critical damage rating while striking an opponent with broken Armor
Black Bolt - Sp2 and 3 are capable of inflicting Armor Shatter on opponents who are Armor Break immune (such as Colossus, Thing, Man-Thing?, Dr. Doom) and bypass Tenacity, Purges and Shrug offs from Skill champions. In honor of the OG Leadership Synergy, while the other effects are Solo benefits to Cyke, Black Bolt's would also grant him the ability to Shatter the armor of Armor Break Immune opponents.
Basically these give Cyclops a fairly wide range of team configurations to make him more effective without having it be a base-kit overall enhancement to him while solo. Each also has a built in non-Mutant Class teammate to keep the roster a bit more diverse. Cyke should definitely have an ability to increase damage output with his Specials and a hit counter (based on Medium combos plus Intercepts) would be appropriate, and different enough from a straight hit counter such as Star-Lord's.
Quick preview: Cyke (Blue Team) would have an identical Leadership enhancement to Cyke (NXS) but instead of *Phoenix Five* he would carry a *First Class* setup with Archangel, Beast, Iceman and Phoenix to honor the OG 5 X-Men. I'll build that out separately.
Base stats:
Attack rating: 3125.
Health: 27654.
Critical rating: 643.
Critical damage rating: 842.
Armour penetration: 0.
Block penetration: 357.
Critical resistance: 234.
Armour rating: 765.
Block proficiency: 4234.
Signature ability:
For each focused buff, Karnak gains the following benefits:
+331 (up to 756) attack rating.
+432 (up to 657) critical rating.
Additionally, the time required to become focused is reduced by 2 (up to 4) seconds.
Passive:
Rigorous mental training grants Karnak full immunity to inversed control and ability accuracy reduction.
Weakness, fatigue and stun debuffs have 50% reduced duration.
15% perfect block chance.
Basic attacks:
Medium attacks have a 40% chance to inflict weakness, reducing the opponents attack by 25% for 7 seconds while light attacks have a 30% chance to inflict armour break, reducing the opponents armour rating by 437.5 (maximum of 10) for 9 seconds.
Focused:
Every 14 seconds, Karnak gains a passive focused buff with an infinite duration (maximum 4). If the opponent hits him or strikes his block, this timer is reset. Each focused grants new abilities.
One focus buff- The opponent suffers 100% reduced glancing ability accuracy.
Two focus buffs- Karnak gets 50% additional attack rating, additionally, basic attacks deal true accuracy.
Three focus buffs- basic attacks deal true accuracy.
Four focus buffs: special attacks deal true accuracy.
Heavy attacks:
Reset the duration of all armour break debuffs.
Nullify one unstoppable, unblockable, indestructible and fury buff on the opponent.
While charging, stun the opponent for 1 second. This ability has a 6 second cooldown.
Special attacks:
25% chance to crit for each focus.
Special one:
Paralyzes the opponent for 2 seconds. While this debuff is active, the opponent suffers 35% reduced power rate and ability accuracy.
Consumes 30% less power.
Special two:
Removes 5 seconds from the focus timer.
Gain unblockable for 9 seconds.
Place an armour shatter buff on the opponent for 15 seconds, reducing the opponents armour rating by 534 for each armour break removed and reducing the opponents defensive ability accuracy and power rate by 65%.
Special 3:
Gain one focus buff.
Mutant reworks seem popular right now, especially with the much anticipated rework of Magneto that's coming up. I was inspired by both the recent Gambit and Cyclops reworks, and so I'm going to do a bit with one, myself. There are a few mutants that deserve a bit of love, and none probably as much as (most of) the original X-Men. Iceman and Angel (Archangel) are great Champions all on their own, but Cyclops, Jean Grey (Phoenix), and Beast are nowhere near as good. So, I present to you a first draft rework of Beast! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
Beast is portrayed as being brilliant, agile, and strong. In Marvel Contest of Champions, Beast just doesn't hold up. He should have some abilities to assist others on his team, which would be a nod to his brilliance as a scientist. He should be one of the most agile opponents that you can face, as that's how he fights in both comic and on-screen appearances, and the guy should hit like a Mack truck. He doesn't do any of that, and he's a bit clunky to use, going back and forth between his Freestyle and Acrobatic forms. As a Raw Damage tagged Champion, his damage output just doesn't hold up.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 33,227
Attack: 2324
Crit Rate: 400
Crit Damage: 525
Armor: 342
Block Proficiency: 2275
Energy Resistance: -195
Physical Resistance: 314
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - Brilliant Researcher: Beast has as much to add to his team as a scientist as he does as a combatant. His research always aids his companions along the way, but when he finds himself alone, he uses his wits to overcome his enemies!
ABILITIES:
Agile Moves (Passive): Beast gains a +3% chance to Evade attacks for each Buff on either Champion. This does not trigger during a Well-Timed Block.
Animal Instincts: Whenever Beast is struck, he has a 4% chance to gain a Fury Buff, increasing his Attack by 185.92 for 15.0 seconds. While Beast has 3 or more Fury effects active at any time, he enters a Frenzy. While in Frenzy, Beast becomes Stun immune, but he also cannot gain any Buffs, and all non-damaging Debuffs placed upon him have their Potency and Duration increased by 25%. When his Frenzy ends, it cannot activate again for another 24.0 seconds.
Combat Forms (Pre-Fight Ability): Before the fight, choose the Combat Form that will be active for the fight. If no Combat Form is chosen, Intellectual is selected by default. Whenever Beast has a Stun Debuff placed upon him (not counting Stuns from Parrying), his Combat Form is disabled for 10.0 seconds.
- Acrobatic: Beast has an 85% chance when receiving Physical Critical Hits to reduce their Critical Damage by 85%. Additionally, the opponent gets 55% less Power when getting hit by Beast.
- Bestial: Critical hits have a 60% chance to inflict 1626.8 Bleed damage over 4.0 seconds. Against Bleed-immune opponents, Beast instead has a 60% chance to Armor Break the opponent, removing an opponent's Armor Up and applying 302.12 Armor Rating reduction for 4.0 seconds.
- Intellectual: Every 8.5 seconds, Beast gains an Indefinite Passive Studied Target Buff, increasing both his Attack and Block Proficiency by 51. Whenever Beast is struck by a Special Attack, all Studied Target Buffs are disabled for 17.0 seconds.
Special Attacks: The first hit of Beast's Special Attacks inflicts a Daze Debuff that lasts for 6.0 seconds (Max Stacks: 1). Champions affected by a Daze Debuff cannot land Critical Hits (unless they are guaranteed Critical Hits), and their basic attacks have a 12% chance to Miss.Thick Hide (Passive): Beast's thick hide and his fine coat of blue fur makes him resistant to Bleed, Coldsnap, and Frostbite effects, decreasing their Potency and Duration by 65%.
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Leaping Attack – Beast uses a freestyle form of combat, striking the opponent with multiple kicks.
- This attack has a 100% chance to Stun the opponent for 1.5 seconds.
Special 2 - Acrobatic Kicks – Making full use of his great strength and agility, Beast performs a series of acrobatic kicks to knockdown the opponent.- This attack has a 100% chance to Stun the opponent for 2.5 seconds.
- This attack grants Beast an additional +1% chance to Evade attacks for each Buff on either Champion for 12.0 seconds.
Special 3 - Animalistic Instincts – Beast taps into his animalistic instincts and temporarily unleashes a savage attack on unsuspecting opponentsSYNERGIES:
This version of Beast adds quite a few features to his kit. He no longer switches between Combat Forms, but can still select them based upon the fight. He's also got a new Combat Form that reflects his ability to study his opponent and learn from their combat tactics. He also has a new synergy that compliments members of the original X-Men team: Angel (in this case, Archangel), Cyclops (Blue Team, as he is the closest in appearance to the original), Iceman, and Jean Grey (in this case, Phoenix). He also grants some benefits to other Champions on his team, which represents his ability to advise and guide his teammates to victory!
Beast gains a new Buff type and a new Debuff type to assist him with both attack and defense, and he occasionally triggers a frenzied condition that is a bit of a drawback, so watch that you don't play too aggressively.
I might end up doing a series of original X-Men reworks (though I probably wouldn't touch Iceman or Archangel except to add in some synergies among the original five), and I might even do a set for the second X-Men Team - Cyclops (I'd use the New Xavier School version for this), Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Wolverine, though I've already written a rework of Storm, and Colossus has been overhauled.
As with all of my reworks, I appreciate additional eyes and thoughts from the community. Please feel free to review and suggest improvements! I am specifically inviting feedback from contributors like @Magrailothos, @Bajan_Samurai, @DrZola, @Whododo872, and @HeroBoltsy, though I welcome feedback from all.
Best wishes!
Will study more when I have more time but I appreciate the work you’ve put in! If only the game team did the same for the blue furball!
Dr. Zola
- I love the Signature Ability. Enough to be useful, yet not overpowered. I can definitely see basically every Cosmic getting a huge boost from this, but I'm curious to see if this will tie into any future reworks of the X-Men's First Class (as you mention at the end).
- I like Agile Moves, an interesting, fair and innovative way to represent the Beast's agility. I would advise putting a cap on the maximum Evade % though - no specific problematic matchup comes to mind, but I feel as if there may theoretically be some node or champion or combination thereof that would make this Evade approach or even reach 100%. That possibility is a bit daunting and honestly a bit scary, so my suggestion would be cap it off at, say, 60%, just in case.
- Animal Instincts seems like a mostly defensive ability. If this was the intention, then I will say that it seems to work as intended - periodically going Stun Immune, but with some benefits afforded to the player while such a state is achieved, and a great deal of control over when Beast may go Stun Immune, looks like a solid defensive ability. I like it.
- I like each and every one of the Combat Forms. Intellectual would seem to offer the most value in longer fights, offering a ramp-up and significant survivability. In shorter fights I'd be partial to Bestial Form, and the Bleed/Armor Break combo would be useful for certain nodes (say, Do You Bleed?). Acrobatic Form makes Beast a kind of pseudo-Power Control champion. Each offers its own utility in the same way Stealth Spidey's webs do, as far as I see it, so good job on making distinct yet useful modes for Beast. I might set Acrobatic as the default, since it offers more obvious defensive value than Intellectual, but aside from that I have no complaints. A solid ability.
- Daze and Thick Hide each offer an additional bit of utility, which is very nice. I like both as well.
- I found the Specials to be a bit underwhelming. Stun is nice, as is the additional Evade chance, but the SP3 seems mostly useless - if it resets only Active Buffs, and (correct me if I am wrong here) Beast's only Active Buffs are his Furies, and said Furies are only gained whilst being struck, then what is the offensive gain of such an ability? And, on defense, when Beast would be gaining Active Buffs to refresh, would a Special 3 not be enough to end the fight in most cases, thus making the ability irrelevant?
- Synergies look good. I like the idea of having a full First Class synergy team, though the synergy seems a bit unbalanced to me - Archangel's benefit is excellent for him, as a champion that does a lot of blocking, and Phoenix's benefit is very useful as well, if a bit simpler than I expected. Beast's synergy, if it counts his Studied Target buffs, seems strong as well, but Cyclops' one-time power gain, and Iceman's defensive Coldsnap, don't really seem to be on the same level as the other three benefits. It's a disparity that bothers me.
- I am, in hindsight, now curious as to why this kit does not include Prowess in some way, since Special Attack damage is pretty emblematic of the Mutant Class. I acknowledge that there are Mutants, such as Colossus or Omega Red, who do not have Prowess in their kits (so far as I can remember). Yet the use of a Fury, which feels more representative of a Cosmic, in place of a Prowess is something I find myself questioning. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason, but my sense of Class divisions gets the better of me here.
Overall, I actually really like the kit, since it incorporates a) Beast's agility, b) his multiple fighting characteristics, c) his intellect, and d) his place as an original X-Man very well. The main place to improve, in my opinion, would be the Special Attacks - perhaps they can incorporate the Forms in some manner, either amplifying the current Form or using tactics from a different Form, or both? For instance, part of the Special One could be, "If Beast is currently in Acrobatic Mode, the opponent gains no power from being struck by this attack", and maybe the SP2 could read, again in part, "If Beast is not in Bestial Form, each hit has an X% chance to inflict Bleed, dealing X amount of damage over X amount of seconds." The SP3 could perhaps activate all three forms for a limited amount of time. That would be my main suggestion for improvement, but this does seem to be a drastic improvement on his current kit nonetheless. Congratulations on another job well done!
With regard to Specials, I don't want to overload them. Stun + Daze is a pretty nasty setback already, though the Daze won't last much longer than the Stun, so maybe I should extend the duration by a second or two... I do want to keep them simple, so I don't think I'm going to give them different effects based upon combat mode, though it was a good suggestion.
Thank you for all of your assistance on improving this build!
Best wishes!