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!
Dr. Zola
I was thinking much the same - that he should be the Mister Fantastic of the original X-Men. Thank you, and I eagerly await your feedback, good sir!
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.
Best wishes!
As with @HeroBoltsy I LOVE this rework. I would add a few cap management terms to the evasion mechanic, but I am less worried about it because few opponents have so many Buffs that Beast's 3 fury effects (plus Dex precision?) would make his evasion chances insane. If anything, Beast gets his value from having a good evasive mechanic since otherwise he's completely avoidable due to short range Specials. Evasion would give him value as a Defender. A cap of 60% is fair though, and when auto-evasion happens maybe he cools off for a bit.
With what you have, I'd add text to his Studied Target ability during Intellectual to punish Critical Attackers a bit (since this is a staple of Skill class). "For every Critical received or reduced by Beast, he learns his foe's abilities better and readies a Counterstrike for the 10th Critical. If Beast is either Knocked Down or triggers the Counterstrike successfully, he resets the Critical counter to Zero" Counterstrike counts as an evasion then medium dash, so it would start Cool Down on Evasion. It can be dexed, but if it lands it grants Zero power gain.
In honor of his X-Men movie agility intro similarity to Nightcrawler's and their blue fur, instead of just Special Attack prowess, I would grant an Acrobatic aspect to his Bestial and Intellectual modes when NC is on his team: Beast gains Acrobatic power gain reduction, granting 50% less power gain for 15 seconds with Basic hits after his Special Attack ends.
Great job though, just wondering if he should also still have the ability to access a different mode in-fight in addition to pre-fight.
As with @HeroBoltsy I LOVE this rework. I would add a few cap management terms to the evasion mechanic, but I am less worried about it because few opponents have so many Buffs that Beast's 3 fury effects (plus Dex precision?) would make his evasion chances insane. If anything, Beast gets his value from having a good evasive mechanic since otherwise he's completely avoidable due to short range Specials. Evasion would give him value as a Defender. A cap of 60% is fair though, and when auto-evasion happens maybe he cools off for a bit.
With what you have, I'd add text to his Studied Target ability during Intellectual to punish Critical Attackers a bit (since this is a staple of Skill class). "For every Critical received or reduced by Beast, he learns his foe's abilities better and readies a Counterstrike for the 10th Critical. If Beast is either Knocked Down or triggers the Counterstrike successfully, he resets the Critical counter to Zero" Counterstrike counts as an evasion then medium dash, so it would start Cool Down on Evasion. It can be dexed, but if it lands it grants Zero power gain.
In honor of his X-Men movie agility intro similarity to Nightcrawler's and their blue fur, instead of just Special Attack prowess, I would grant an Acrobatic aspect to his Bestial and Intellectual modes when NC is on his team: Beast gains Acrobatic power gain reduction, granting 50% less power gain for 15 seconds with Basic hits after his Special Attack ends.
Great job though, just wondering if he should also still have the ability to access a different mode in-fight in addition to pre-fight.
Thank you very much, good sir.
I definitely plan on capping the Evasion mechanic on Agile Moves to 60%, though I don't think that I'm going to place a cooldown on it. The counterstrike mechanic is interesting, but I fear it may be a bit over the top. It's an automatic attack, and that could potentially cause some issues with interactions that punish you for attacking. It does bring back to mind the notion that I wanted Beast to have an animation change to give him a Heavy Attack that basically is a leaping strike at his opponent; Iron Man Infinity War has a really far-reaching Heavy attack that makes 3 strikes, and I thought it might be appropriate to give Beast a far-reaching leap-attack as a Heavy, and then have him leap back. That felt like it might be too close to the second hit of Special 1, so I didn't make any reference to an animation change, but the thought was there...
I didn't change any of Beast's existing Synergies, which is why I didn't change the Mutant Agenda Synergy, but adding in a secondary synergy with Nightcrawler wouldn't be out of the question. I also thought about a mode-switching mechanic as well, but that would defeat the purpose of choosing a pre-fight ability set, and I thought the pre-fight ability would work better for Beast rather than mode-hopping (especially since his current build switches modes with Special Attacks). Generally speaking, I've never needed Beast to switch modes during a fight, except to put him into the mode that I need for that particular fight if he doesn't start in it already.
I'm holding off Version 1.1 for feedback from @DrZola, but I do appreciate all of the feedback I've received on this build already!
I've seen the feedback from others - glad people like your Beast rework. For me, I'm somewhat less convinced - I think you've got some interesting stuff, but it seems to be all about Evasion. I really don't see much of an offensive upgrade here at all - In fact, you've even removed a major damage boost on his SP3, and the Direct Damage his original Sig ability gave him...
Animal Instincts/Frenzy feedback The idea is okay, but I think you need totally different numbers here: Animal Instincts isn't nearly powerful enough. Given that they're a payoff for getting hit, the Fury buffs are extremely weak. This isn't a champion who hits you like a Mack truck. You're giving Beast a 4% chance to gain an 8% Attack boost (plus a small evade chance alongside it). Compare that to hitting Aegon, who has a 100% chance to gain a 50% Attack boost when he's hit, topping at six buffs (+300% Attack). Or even the 40-50% Fury of ancient champs like Punisher and Winter Soldier. Compared to these guys, Beast's Fury buffs are laughably weak.
Beast can't trigger these buffs - they happen (very infrequently) when he's hit. What value is this to a skilled player? Following through with this line of thought, how often will Frenzy actually happen? Pretty rarely on defense; and essentially never on attack, would be my guess. Imagine you're fighting Black Widow. People complain she evades too much, but realistically how often does she evade three times in a fifteen-second window? That's about as often as Frenzy will trigger.
Let's remember, the increasing evade chance Beast's Furies give him will make it more likely he'll avoid getting struck, and counter the opponent. So having two Fury buffs makes it less likely he'll be hit enough times to trigger a third...
Then when you do get it, Frenzy itself doesn't actually do a lot - it seems to just be stun immunity and no actual damage boost. Is it supposed to actually benefit him? Currently, since it caps his Furies and has the vulnerability to other debuffs built in, it feels more like a weakness than a strength. It needs more. A lot more. Again, consider how this brief 'Frenzy' burst you've given Beast compares to the burst craziness available to recent champs like Mole Man and Sasquatch. Compared to them, this feels much more on a level with Black Bolt's tiny buffs, which he gets as a pyrrhic reward for somebody beating the **** out of him.
Just as a reminder, when comics Beast went into a real Frenzy courtesy of Cassandra Nova, he tore off Wolverine's leg and ate it...
I could make suggestions for how to upscale Frenzy (Attack, plus one or more of Cruelty, Prowess, Power Rate, etc.), but first I think you need to decide what the purpose/function of Frenzy actually is. Is it a benefit? Or a limitation? Is it an occasional burst of massive damage? A surge of Power? A burst of being Unstoppable/Unblockable/Unevadable? Is it something which works on Attack, or only on defense? Is it something that should happen rarely/infrequently/most fights/inevitably? Should it be like Mole Man's avoidable but very dangerous Frenzy? Sasquatch's almost inevitable and impressively dangerous dangerous Wrath?
Once you've decided it's purpose and when you want it to happen, make the numbers reflect it's purpose.
Combat modes: Why not different default modes on Attack and Defense? If you place Beast as a defender, you'll want the defensive benefits vs critical hits, and power control, won't you? So maybe on defense he defaults to Acrobatic, on Attack he defaults to (your preference).
The first two modes are essentially unchanged from what they are now, aside from the addition of an armour break if the opponent is bleed immune, which is good.
I like the idea of a new combat mode, but I'm not sure that this iteration of Intellectual mode is right - what is it for? It's certainly not for damage: In any normal fight, the damage bonus it grants is tiny, compared with the bleed damage he could be doing in the same time in Bestial mode. Each passive/buff adds 2.2% attack, which is pretty weak. Forty seconds into the fight you've acquired a 10% Attack/Block bonus? A bit over three minutes into the fight for a 50% bonus? Give me a bit of Bestial bleed/armour break and the fight will be over much sooner!
If these Studied Target buffs really are buffs (you describe them as passive buffs - I've presumed they're intended to give him the boost to Evade), then clearly Intellectual mode is all about Evasion: by three minutes in, you'll be evading a pretty whopping 66% of all attacks, so I guess that'll feel different! If this is the intention, I find it strange that evasion climbs inexorably in his Intellectual phase, but not at all in his Acrobatic one. It also seems counter-intuitive that he gains both block proficiency and evade at the same time, don't you think?
Intellectual seems like it'll only be helpful in really, really long fights. It's an "Evasion mode for Endgame content" mode. If that's what you want, then fine. But are you going to want to use this mode in the majority of the game? As an alternative, why not have Intellectual be his Utility mode, granting benefits like AAR? Armour/Block penetration? Or Prowess/reduced Power consumption on Specials? Some mechanism to counter his opponents abilities? Beast is supposed to have amazing reflexes and agility - he can regularly catch opponents like Spiderman and Nightcrawler. How about "If the opponent triggers a passive evade, Beast gains a 75% chance to Autoblock for 0.8 seconds. This Autoblock can trigger Parry..." Something (or things) to make him unique, and to make it feel different playing in that mode. A Slow-building passive Evasion/Attack gain just doesn't really seem exciting; it's just a second, slightly-different defensive mode that makes Beast incredibly vulnerable to Mystic opponents (especially as his default mode on defense...).
Other stuff
Daze debuff - I like this a lot. I think it could be just as effective for guaranteed crits, btw. And maybe another benefit to Intellectual mode could be an increased duration/ Miss frequency from Daze debuffs?
Special Attacks - I agree, you need something more; like an Attack boost for every buff on Beast, or debuff in the opponent or something. A longer Daze debuff after an SP3?
Sorry, but that's my thoughts. All in all, I think it's not clear what Beast is supposed to be getting good at here, apart from Evasion. Without a much better damage payoff, Intellectual mode won't do all that much in short fights, nor will it make him a go-to champion for very long fights, I'm afraid. You've got the start of something good; but I don't think you're there yet.
I've seen the feedback from others - glad people like your Beast rework. For me, I'm somewhat less convinced - I think you've got some interesting stuff, but it seems to be all about Evasion. I really don't see much of an offensive upgrade here at all - In fact, you've even removed a major damage boost on his SP3, and the Direct Damage his original Sig ability gave him...
No, this is good. I really appreciate constructive criticism. So, I never felt the damage boost from SP3 was all that good (same for his original Signature Ability), but you're right that I lowballed it here.
Animal Instincts/Frenzy feedback The idea is okay, but I think you need totally different numbers here: Animal Instincts isn't nearly powerful enough. Given that they're a payoff for getting hit, the Fury buffs are extremely weak. This isn't a champion who hits you like a Mack truck. You're giving Beast a 4% chance to gain an 8% Attack boost (plus a small evade chance alongside it). Compare that to hitting Aegon, who has a 100% chance to gain a 50% Attack boost when he's hit, topping at six buffs (+300% Attack). Or even the 40-50% Fury of ancient champs like Punisher and Winter Soldier. Compared to these guys, Beast's Fury buffs are laughably weak.
Beast can't trigger these buffs - they happen (very infrequently) when he's hit. What value is this to a skilled player? Following through with this line of thought, how often will Frenzy actually happen? Pretty rarely on defense; and essentially never on attack, would be my guess. Imagine you're fighting Black Widow. People complain she evades too much, but realistically how often does she evade three times in a fifteen-second window? That's about as often as Frenzy will trigger.
Let's remember, the increasing evade chance Beast's Furies give him will make it more likely he'll avoid getting struck, and counter the opponent. So having two Fury buffs makes it less likely he'll be hit enough times to trigger a third...
Then when you do get it, Frenzy itself doesn't actually do a lot - it seems to just be stun immunity and no actual damage boost. Is it supposed to actually benefit him? Currently, since it caps his Furies and has the vulnerability to other debuffs built in, it feels more like a weakness than a strength. It needs more. A lot more. Again, consider how this brief 'Frenzy' burst you've given Beast compares to the burst craziness available to recent champs like Mole Man and Sasquatch. Compared to them, this feels much more on a level with Black Bolt's tiny buffs, which he gets as a pyrrhic reward for somebody beating the **** out of him.
Just as a reminder, when comics Beast went into a real Frenzy courtesy of Cassandra Nova, he tore off Wolverine's leg and ate it...
You've given me a lot to think about, and I'm going to work on improvements in the next build. Thank you! I always worry about overclocking.
I could make suggestions for how to upscale Frenzy (Attack, plus one or more of Cruelty, Prowess, Power Rate, etc.), but first I think you need to decide what the purpose/function of Frenzy actually is. Is it a benefit? Or a limitation? Is it an occasional burst of massive damage? A surge of Power? A burst of being Unstoppable/Unblockable/Unevadable? Is it something which works on Attack, or only on defense? Is it something that should happen rarely/infrequently/most fights/inevitably? Should it be like Mole Man's avoidable but very dangerous Frenzy? Sasquatch's almost inevitable and impressively dangerous dangerous Wrath?
Once you've decided it's purpose and when you want it to happen, make the numbers reflect it's purpose.
Combat modes: Why not different default modes on Attack and Defense? If you place Beast as a defender, you'll want the defensive benefits vs critical hits, and power control, won't you? So maybe on defense he defaults to Acrobatic, on Attack he defaults to (your preference).
The first two modes are essentially unchanged from what they are now, aside from the addition of an armour break if the opponent is bleed immune, which is good.
I like the idea of a new combat mode, but I'm not sure that this iteration of Intellectual mode is right - what is it for? It's certainly not for damage: In any normal fight, the damage bonus it grants is tiny, compared with the bleed damage he could be doing in the same time in Bestial mode. Each passive/buff adds 2.2% attack, which is pretty weak. Forty seconds into the fight you've acquired a 10% Attack/Block bonus? A bit over three minutes into the fight for a 50% bonus? Give me a bit of Bestial bleed/armour break and the fight will be over much sooner!
If these Studied Target buffs really are buffs (you describe them as passive buffs - I've presumed they're intended to give him the boost to Evade), then clearly Intellectual mode is all about Evasion: by three minutes in, you'll be evading a pretty whopping 66% of all attacks, so I guess that'll feel different! If this is the intention, I find it strange that evasion climbs inexorably in his Intellectual phase, but not at all in his Acrobatic one. It also seems counter-intuitive that he gains both block proficiency and evade at the same time, don't you think?
Intellectual seems like it'll only be helpful in really, really long fights. It's an "Evasion mode for Endgame content" mode. If that's what you want, then fine. But are you going to want to use this mode in the majority of the game? As an alternative, why not have Intellectual be his Utility mode, granting benefits like AAR? Armour/Block penetration? Or Prowess/reduced Power consumption on Specials? Some mechanism to counter his opponents abilities? Beast is supposed to have amazing reflexes and agility - he can regularly catch opponents like Spiderman and Nightcrawler. How about "If the opponent triggers a passive evade, Beast gains a 75% chance to Autoblock for 0.8 seconds. This Autoblock can trigger Parry..." Something (or things) to make him unique, and to make it feel different playing in that mode. A Slow-building passive Evasion/Attack gain just doesn't really seem exciting; it's just a second, slightly-different defensive mode that makes Beast incredibly vulnerable to Mystic opponents (especially as his default mode on defense...).
Other stuff
Daze debuff - I like this a lot. I think it could be just as effective for guaranteed crits, btw. And maybe another benefit to Intellectual mode could be an increased duration/ Miss frequency from Daze debuffs?
Special Attacks - I agree, you need something more; like an Attack boost for every buff on Beast, or debuff in the opponent or something. A longer Daze debuff after an SP3?
Sorry, but that's my thoughts. All in all, I think it's not clear what Beast is supposed to be getting good at here, apart from Evasion. Without a much better damage payoff, Intellectual mode won't do all that much in short fights, nor will it make him a go-to champion for very long fights, I'm afraid. You've got the start of something good; but I don't think you're there yet.
Best wishes! Mags.
No need to apologize. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
I've seen the feedback from others - glad people like your Beast rework. For me, I'm somewhat less convinced - I think you've got some interesting stuff, but it seems to be all about Evasion. I really don't see much of an offensive upgrade here at all - In fact, you've even removed a major damage boost on his SP3, and the Direct Damage his original Sig ability gave him...
No, this is good. I really appreciate constructive criticism. So, I never felt the damage boost from SP3 was all that good (same for his original Signature Ability), but you're right that I lowballed it here.
Animal Instincts/Frenzy feedback The idea is okay, but I think you need totally different numbers here: Animal Instincts isn't nearly powerful enough. Given that they're a payoff for getting hit, the Fury buffs are extremely weak. This isn't a champion who hits you like a Mack truck. You're giving Beast a 4% chance to gain an 8% Attack boost (plus a small evade chance alongside it). Compare that to hitting Aegon, who has a 100% chance to gain a 50% Attack boost when he's hit, topping at six buffs (+300% Attack). Or even the 40-50% Fury of ancient champs like Punisher and Winter Soldier. Compared to these guys, Beast's Fury buffs are laughably weak.
Beast can't trigger these buffs - they happen (very infrequently) when he's hit. What value is this to a skilled player? Following through with this line of thought, how often will Frenzy actually happen? Pretty rarely on defense; and essentially never on attack, would be my guess. Imagine you're fighting Black Widow. People complain she evades too much, but realistically how often does she evade three times in a fifteen-second window? That's about as often as Frenzy will trigger.
Let's remember, the increasing evade chance Beast's Furies give him will make it more likely he'll avoid getting struck, and counter the opponent. So having two Fury buffs makes it less likely he'll be hit enough times to trigger a third...
Then when you do get it, Frenzy itself doesn't actually do a lot - it seems to just be stun immunity and no actual damage boost. Is it supposed to actually benefit him? Currently, since it caps his Furies and has the vulnerability to other debuffs built in, it feels more like a weakness than a strength. It needs more. A lot more. Again, consider how this brief 'Frenzy' burst you've given Beast compares to the burst craziness available to recent champs like Mole Man and Sasquatch. Compared to them, this feels much more on a level with Black Bolt's tiny buffs, which he gets as a pyrrhic reward for somebody beating the **** out of him.
Just as a reminder, when comics Beast went into a real Frenzy courtesy of Cassandra Nova, he tore off Wolverine's leg and ate it...
You've given me a lot to think about, and I'm going to work on improvements in the next build. Thank you! I always worry about overclocking.
I could make suggestions for how to upscale Frenzy (Attack, plus one or more of Cruelty, Prowess, Power Rate, etc.), but first I think you need to decide what the purpose/function of Frenzy actually is. Is it a benefit? Or a limitation? Is it an occasional burst of massive damage? A surge of Power? A burst of being Unstoppable/Unblockable/Unevadable? Is it something which works on Attack, or only on defense? Is it something that should happen rarely/infrequently/most fights/inevitably? Should it be like Mole Man's avoidable but very dangerous Frenzy? Sasquatch's almost inevitable and impressively dangerous dangerous Wrath?
Once you've decided it's purpose and when you want it to happen, make the numbers reflect it's purpose.
Combat modes: Why not different default modes on Attack and Defense? If you place Beast as a defender, you'll want the defensive benefits vs critical hits, and power control, won't you? So maybe on defense he defaults to Acrobatic, on Attack he defaults to (your preference).
The first two modes are essentially unchanged from what they are now, aside from the addition of an armour break if the opponent is bleed immune, which is good.
I like the idea of a new combat mode, but I'm not sure that this iteration of Intellectual mode is right - what is it for? It's certainly not for damage: In any normal fight, the damage bonus it grants is tiny, compared with the bleed damage he could be doing in the same time in Bestial mode. Each passive/buff adds 2.2% attack, which is pretty weak. Forty seconds into the fight you've acquired a 10% Attack/Block bonus? A bit over three minutes into the fight for a 50% bonus? Give me a bit of Bestial bleed/armour break and the fight will be over much sooner!
If these Studied Target buffs really are buffs (you describe them as passive buffs - I've presumed they're intended to give him the boost to Evade), then clearly Intellectual mode is all about Evasion: by three minutes in, you'll be evading a pretty whopping 66% of all attacks, so I guess that'll feel different! If this is the intention, I find it strange that evasion climbs inexorably in his Intellectual phase, but not at all in his Acrobatic one. It also seems counter-intuitive that he gains both block proficiency and evade at the same time, don't you think?
Intellectual seems like it'll only be helpful in really, really long fights. It's an "Evasion mode for Endgame content" mode. If that's what you want, then fine. But are you going to want to use this mode in the majority of the game? As an alternative, why not have Intellectual be his Utility mode, granting benefits like AAR? Armour/Block penetration? Or Prowess/reduced Power consumption on Specials? Some mechanism to counter his opponents abilities? Beast is supposed to have amazing reflexes and agility - he can regularly catch opponents like Spiderman and Nightcrawler. How about "If the opponent triggers a passive evade, Beast gains a 75% chance to Autoblock for 0.8 seconds. This Autoblock can trigger Parry..." Something (or things) to make him unique, and to make it feel different playing in that mode. A Slow-building passive Evasion/Attack gain just doesn't really seem exciting; it's just a second, slightly-different defensive mode that makes Beast incredibly vulnerable to Mystic opponents (especially as his default mode on defense...).
Other stuff
Daze debuff - I like this a lot. I think it could be just as effective for guaranteed crits, btw. And maybe another benefit to Intellectual mode could be an increased duration/ Miss frequency from Daze debuffs?
Special Attacks - I agree, you need something more; like an Attack boost for every buff on Beast, or debuff in the opponent or something. A longer Daze debuff after an SP3?
Sorry, but that's my thoughts. All in all, I think it's not clear what Beast is supposed to be getting good at here, apart from Evasion. Without a much better damage payoff, Intellectual mode won't do all that much in short fights, nor will it make him a go-to champion for very long fights, I'm afraid. You've got the start of something good; but I don't think you're there yet.
Best wishes! Mags.
No need to apologize. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
Seriously, I wish I could listen as graciously as you can. It's rare! I know my first instinct is to be defensive.
I’d love to see a Netflix daredevil buff. He is pretty much suffering from iron fist syndrome where he has an armour break and a precision and that’s about it. He doesn’t even have the ability to nullify which makes him even worse than iron fist. He has a 15 percent chance to evade projectiles but that’s pathetic, and can even mess u up when playing against certain characters. He does counter invisible champs, but because his damage is so trash I’d rather go with any other solid damage dealer at that point.
Gonna have to disagree with you on your point that there is no need to buff old champs. KABAM has made it their mission statement that they want champion diversity in all aspects of the game. This will never happen if there are champs as useless as iron fist/ x force Deadpool/ khan/ Groot etc... The whole idea that champs will one day “go outta style because they’re old therefore be rendered useless” shouldn’t be the direction the game should be taking and shouldn’t be something you’re okay with.
Xforce deadpool,kamala khan,groot, to alliance war attack, till then, they are not meta characters and are not worth r5 5* vs better champs in respective class
And even if they did get buffs..how will they stack up? They will need to be equal or better in terms of what they will bring to the table.
For example what does buffing kamala khan or using her have over champions like hyperion,corvus,medusa? If she ever did get a buff..will she be any better? Willl she be a champion worthy to r5 5*?
And yea they are used for diversity for defense. Faced a 6* duped deadpool xforce via @DoolieRay defense for
“diversity defense”
Thats where he will be used for.
R u going to ignore the fact that by buffing colossus they actually made him one of the best characters in the game? It’s not useless to buff characters as hulkbuster and colossus as notable examples used to suck but are actually really solid now and have pieces of utility other characters do not have. So it actually will make a difference so long as kabam think about good design for buffing characters in game.
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 and Debuffs 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 (Max: 60% Evade chance). This does not trigger during a Well-Timed Block. Animal Instincts: Whenever Beast is struck, he has a 40% chance to gain a Fury Buff, increasing his Attack by 60% for 15.0 seconds (Max: 300% Increase). While Beast has 3 or more Fury effects active at any time, he enters a Frenzy. While in Frenzy, Beast becomes Stun Immune and his Power Gain Rate is increased by 50%, 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 6.0 seconds, Beast's opponent gains an Studied Target Counter. For each Studied Target Counter that Beast possesses, his opponent's Ability Accuracy is decreased by 8%. For every 15 Studied Target Counters Beast has, his opponent's Defensive Power Gain Rate is reduced by 10%. Whenever Beast is struck by a Special Attack, all Studied Target Counters are disabled for 18.0 seconds, during which time, Beast cannot gain any additional Counters.
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.
Each hit of this attack Regenerates 3% of Beast's maximum Health.
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 deals an additional 348.6 Direct Damage to his opponent for each Debuff both Beast and his opponent have when the attack is activated.
This attack inflicts a Daze Debuff that lasts for 15.0 seconds.
SYNERGIES:
Blue Mutants: with Archangel, Nightcrawler, or Storm (Pyramid X): All Champions in this Synergy deal an additional 2.5% damage on Basic Attacks for every member of the Synergy present. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate 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 (including Passives) Beast has on him. Cyclops (Blue Team): Special Attack 1 cannot be Evaded unless the attack is also Unblockable. Iceman: When Iceman is struck by a Physical Attack, he has an 11% 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.
So, a few updates to uptune Beast and give him more utility in his Intellectual mode, with many thanks to @HeroBoltsy, @Bajan_Samurai, and @Magrailothos for their feedback on the build! The Special Attacks have a bit more kick to them, and the Original X-Men Synergy has been uptuned as well.
Animal Instincts: Whenever Beast is struck, he has a 40% chance to gain a Fury Buff, increasing his Attack by 60% for 15.0 seconds (Max: 300% Increase). While Beast has 3 or more Fury effects active at any time, he enters a Frenzy. While in Frenzy, Beast becomes Stun Immune and his Power Gain Rate is increased by 50%, 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.
Now that's more like it, my friend! That's a guy who's a bit more trouble in defense!
Intellectual: Every 6.0 seconds, Beast's opponent gains an Studied Target Counter. For each Studied Target Counter that Beast possesses, his opponent's Ability Accuracy is decreased by 8%. For every 15 Studied Target Counters Beast has, his opponent's Defensive Power Gain Rate is reduced by 10%. Whenever Beast is struck by a Special Attack, all Studied Target Counters are disabled for 18.0 seconds, during which time, Beast cannot gain any additional Counters.
That's good - he's even potentially able to reduce ability accuracy if it was over 100%?
We may now be at risk of overcooking him - any cap on this? Or maybe it could be less effective vs an opponent like Mystic? (Like how BW is less effective vs mutants - except I don't think Tech makes sense for Beast. As a pure scientist, Beast never gets to grips with magic)
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.
Each hit of this attack Regenerates 3% of Beast's maximum Health.
I like what you've done with the Special Attacks. Nice reintroduction of his regeneration.
A suggestion for Thick Hide: why not increase the potency reduction to 75%, but lose the duration reduction. It's (overall) slightly less effective that way against intense DoT, but gives more time to benefit from Willpower from mild to moderate debuffs.
This champion sounds much more versatile, and more interesting to play - great stuff!
Animal Instincts: Whenever Beast is struck, he has a 40% chance to gain a Fury Buff, increasing his Attack by 60% for 15.0 seconds (Max: 300% Increase). While Beast has 3 or more Fury effects active at any time, he enters a Frenzy. While in Frenzy, Beast becomes Stun Immune and his Power Gain Rate is increased by 50%, 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.
Now that's more like it, my friend! That's a guy who's a bit more trouble in defense!
Thank you, good sir. I appreciate your feedback very much.
Intellectual: Every 6.0 seconds, Beast's opponent gains an Studied Target Counter. For each Studied Target Counter that Beast possesses, his opponent's Ability Accuracy is decreased by 8%. For every 15 Studied Target Counters Beast has, his opponent's Defensive Power Gain Rate is reduced by 10%. Whenever Beast is struck by a Special Attack, all Studied Target Counters are disabled for 18.0 seconds, during which time, Beast cannot gain any additional Counters.
That's good - he's even potentially able to reduce ability accuracy if it was over 100%?
We may now be at risk of overcooking him - any cap on this? Or maybe it could be less effective vs an opponent like Mystic? (Like how BW is less effective vs mutants - except I don't think Tech makes sense for Beast. As a pure scientist, Beast never gets to grips with magic)
In 60 seconds, he reduces Ability Accuracy by 80%, but some Champions are immune to Ability Accuracy Reduction, while others have more than 100% Ability Accuracy (Longshot comes to mind as being both against this iteration of Beast.). In short fights (60 seconds or less), an 80% Ability Accuracy Reduction (which can be shut down by whacking him with Specials) is pretty strong. In long fights, he's going to use his superior intellect to give his opponents a lot of headaches since they won't be able to trigger Buffs or place Debuffs on him, even if their Ability Accuracy is boosted. Once they hit 0% Ability Accuracy, there really isn't anything else that this effect does to them, so I don't see it as needing a cap.
As far as Mystics go, I'm not bothered by it. Canonically, Beast dabbled in the use of magic, so this makes sense for him to be able to do.
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.
Each hit of this attack Regenerates 3% of Beast's maximum Health.
I like what you've done with the Special Attacks. Nice reintroduction of his regeneration.
A suggestion for Thick Hide: why not increase the potency reduction to 75%, but lose the duration reduction. It's (overall) slightly less effective that way against intense DoT, but gives more time to benefit from Willpower from mild to moderate debuffs.
This champion sounds much more versatile, and more interesting to play - great stuff!
I think the exchange on his Thick Hide would be a net negative for Beast. The benefit that he would get from Willpower works to his advantage against weaker opponents, but against stronger ones... It does not work out in his favor. I think it's better to keep it the way that it is.
Phoenix is supposed to be an enhanced version of an Omega-level Mutant, but this Champion falls far short of the mark. Since I just proposed an upgrade to Beast (to make him a Beast), and may yet propose an upgrade to Cyclops (who has been recently reworked by others), I figure she's due. She could be so much better... So, I present to you a first draft rework of Phoenix! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: Jean Grey is an Omega-level Mutant whose abilities have been handicapped by Professor Xavier for the safety of Jean and for others. When imbued with the power of the Phoenix Force, she becomes even more powerful, but in Marvel Contest of Champions, she has never been a particularly frightening opponent or awesome addition to your own roster. Her power should be as impressive as Captain Marvel (Movie)'s is, if not greater. Right now, she's got Fury and Incinerate, and those Buffs get consumed by her specials to fuel their damage output. Her Incinerate abilities should be at least as strong as Human Torch's (when he hasn't gone Nova), and she should have strong Telekinetic abilities as Phoenix as well.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 26,216 Attack: 2098 Crit Rate: 738 Crit Damage: 900 Armor: 593 Block Proficiency: 3022 Energy Resistance: 0 Physical Resistance: 0 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - Rite of the Phoenix:
(Passive) Once per fight when the Phoenix would be knocked out, she immediately becomes invulnerable for 2 seconds, and consumes all of her Phoenix Force charges, regaining 524.32 Health per Phoenix Force Charge consumed. If Phoenix has no Phoenix Force Charges, she 1% of her maximum Health instead and passively deals 840 Incinerate damage instantly to her opponent.
ABILITIES: Cosmic Pyrokinesis (Passive): Phoenix's attacks do not make contact and deal Energy Damage instead of Physical. Furthermore, she is immune to Incinerate Debuffs and takes 30% less damage from projectile-based attacks. Phoenix Force (Passive): The Phoenix’s connection to the cosmic Phoenix Force entity is the source of much of her power. Phoenix gains Phoenix Force Charges by Blocking Energy Attacks and whenever an Incinerate or Shock Debuff would be placed upon her. Any Phoenix Force Charges that Phoenix ends a fight with persist between fights. (Max Stacks: 25) When not in Phoenix Form, Phoenix gains a Fury Passive for each Phoenix Force Charge she has, increasing her Attack Rating by 83.92 per Fury Passive. These Precision Passives are all removed when Phoenix enters Phoenix Form. Phoenix cannot have more Fury Passives than she currently has Phoenix Force Charges. Any effect that causes Phoenix to lose Phoenix Force Charges automatically reduces her Fury Passives by an equal amount. When not in Phoenix Form, each Phoenix Force Charge increases Phoenix's Offensive Power Gain Rate by +1%.
Intercepting an opponent's Dash Attack generates an additional Phoenix Force Charge.
When Phoenix has 5 or more Phoenix Force Charges, all of her attacks gain a 100% chance to Incinerate the opponent, dealing 209.8 Energy Damage over 6.0 seconds. This effect also removes Perfect Block Chance and reduces Block Proficiency by 50% while it's active. Furthermore, Heavy Attacks gain a 100% chance to Armor Break, reducing Armor Rating by 700 for 10.0 seconds.
When Phoenix has 10 or more Charges, Dashing back and holding Block for 0.9 seconds activates her Phoenix Form. Phoenix automatically enters Phoenix Form at 25 Phoenix Force Charges.
Phoenix Form (Passive): While in Phoenix Form, Phoenix does not generate any Phoenix Force Charges.
Phoenix gains one Permanent Precision and one Permanent Cruelty Buff, increasing Critical Rating and Damage by 36 each for every Phoenix Force Charge she has. All Precision and Cruelty Buffs are removed when Phoenix Force Charges are at zero.
Whenever Phoenix receives a Taunt Debuff or is under the effect of Reversed Controls, each hit places an Enfeeble Debuff on her opponent, reducing the opponent's Attack Rating by 3%. These Enfeeble Debuffs last until Phoenix's Phoenix Form expires. These Enfeeble Debuffs are placed during the duration of the Taunt Debuff or Reversed Controls, even if Phoenix is Immune to Taunt Debuffs or Reversed Controls.
Whenever Phoenix is struck by a Physical Attack, one Phoenix Force Charge is removed to reduce the damage by 500.
Whenever Phoenix is struck by an Energy Attack, one Phoenix Force Charge is removed to reduce the damage to 0.
Whenever Phoenix hits her opponent, she consumes one Phoenix Force Charge to passively deal 377.64 Incinerate damage instantly. This damage is tripled on a Critical Hit.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Telekinetic Blast – The Phoenix Force is released in a wave of telekinesis, amidst a rush of power!
Gain 3% Power for each Phoenix Force Charge, consuming up to 10 of them.
In Phoenix Form, this attack consumes up to 5 Precision Buffs, increasing Special Damage by 10% per Precision consumed.
Special 2 - Cosmic Firestorm – Cosmic fire, funneled by raw Telekinetic power, into a deadly firestorm.
When not in Phoenix Form, gain 3 additional stacks of Phoenix Force Charges.
In Phoenix Form, this attack consumes up to 5 Cruelty Buffs, increasing Special Damage by 10% per Cruelty consumed.
Special 3 - True Avatar Phoenix – The power of the Phoenix Force unleashed!
When not in Phoenix Form, gain 10 additional stacks of Phoenix Force Charges.
In Phoenix Form, this attack consumes all of the Phoenix’s Phoenix Force Charges, granting an 16% damage bonus per Phoenix Force Charge consumed. At the end of the attack, Phoenix leaves Phoenix Form.
SYNERGIES:
Friends: with Storm: All Champions gain +130 Armor Rating.
Gifted Youngsters: with Iceman: Iceman: Whenever an opponent receives one or more Frostbite charges, they are Power Locked for 3.0 seconds per Frostbite charge. Phoenix: Phoenix begins the fight with 3 Phoenix Force Charges. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
It's Complicated: with Cyclops (Blue Team) or Wolverine: All Champions gain +60 Armor Rating and +3% Power Gain.
Recovering Psyche: with Archangel: Archangel: Whenever a Bleed Debuff fails to apply to his opponent, Archangel instantly regenerates 0.7% of his maximum Health. Phoenix: Phoenix takes an additional 10% less damage from projectile attacks. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Teammates: with Beast or Nightcrawler: All Champions gain +5% Perfect Block Chance.
Teammates: with Gamora: All Champions gain +5% Perfect Block Chance.
Telekinetic Warriors: with Ebony Maw, Emma Frost, Cable, Mister Sinister, or Psylocke: Well-Timed Blocks grant a Prowess Buff that lasts until a Special Attack is used. Each Prowess Buff increases Special Damage by +10%. (Max Stacks: 3) Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
The Early Years: with Cyclops (Blue Team): Cyclops (Blue Team): +20% Power Gain when under the effects of any Debuff. Phoenix: Special Attack 2 Heal Blocks the opponent for 8.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
You Read My Mind: with Beast: Beast: The cooldown for Beast to recover his Studied Target Counters is reduced by 5.0 seconds. Phoenix: When in Phoenix Form, all attacks have a 10% chance to Stun Incinerated targets. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Developer's Note: Emma Frost's Phoenix Force Synergy with Phoenix is altered to the following: Phoenix Force: with Emma Frost: Emma Frost: Whenever Emma would gain one Prowess Passive, she gains two instead. Phoenix: While in Phoenix Form, Phoenix gains one additional Fury Buff any time an Incinerate Debuff would be applied to her. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This version of Phoenix functions a bit more like Captain Marvel, which has the potential to give her more up-time with her Phoenix Force abilities, which are drained with use rather than lasting for a specified amount of time. While her Signature Ability seems to be toned down quite a bit, she can regenerate 50% of her maximum Health if she's full up on Phoenix Force Charges when she's brought to her knees, making it better than Nick Fury's Life Model Decoy (which can only deploy once per Quest). If she doesn't have any Phoenix Force Charges left, she makes a last-ditch effort to stay alive and try to end her opponent first, potentially snatching victory from the jaws of defeat!
She has quite a few new Synergies with the original X-Men as well, and a new Synergy that applies when other telekinetic Champions are on her team. Some Synergies that would have become problematic have been updated for this new build.
She still focuses her damage on Incinerates and building Fury, but she's got a few other tricks up her sleeve, like increased Power Gain, the ability to inflict Enfeeble Debuffs, Immunity to Incineration Debuffs, and taking reduced damage from both Physical and Energy attacks, plus she'll do large amounts of damage in her Phoenix Form due to the increase to Critical Rating and Damage.
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.
Great feedback @Magrailothos and great incorporations @Bodhizen. I do admit I had some of the same reservations about the modes but thought tweaks would come along if ever used.
As with all the X-Men First Class of champions (Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank and Bobby), I strongly believe Jean/Phoenix would better honor her Beyond Omega Class status if that could be better reflected in-game.
I didn't add numbers and base them on a specific Rarity and Rank because at the end of the day, if Kabam would incorporate these they would tune to suit (or we would hope) so I've focused first on 1) what would put her abilities more in control of the Summoner, and 2) the mechanics of what can lock in respectable damage output and other utility. In a follow up build I would repeat this in ability page format, for now this would be a spec sheet for Devs.
Problem
Although she hypothetically hits hard by potentially gaining a ton of furies, and adding Damage Over Time to the mix with Incineration, she's tricky to maintain high damage output unlike the perks of some other Cosmic MVPs. I guess the issue is that she gains so many furies that each needs to be less potent than certain other champs', but the mechanism to keep ahold of them when they're high is a bit too delicate for less precise players.
Recommendations
Instead of Overloading and losing all furies, a simple change would be to start losing 1 Fury or Phoenix Force Charge every 1.5 seconds after Overloading until only 1 PhxF Charge remained. Landing a Heavy while losing charges via Overload consumes all remaining Phoenix Force Charges and Fury Effects and places one Dark Phoenix charge indicating she entered Dark Phoenix Mode. The more Fury Effects she maintained when landing the Triggering Heavy, the more potent and long lasting the Dark Phoenix mode would be (from 10 seconds up to 20). As a Cosmic champ by default, she would lose Phoenix Force Charges or Fury faster facing Mystics (1 per second) and slower facing Techs (1 every 2 seconds) during Overload, instead of every 1.5 seconds.
With the Dark Phoenix mode,
every medium attack inflicts 1 Incineration effect on the opponent dealing appropriate mid potency DoT for Z seconds (Z would = 1 second for every remaining PhxF Charge and Fury she consumed to enter Dark Phoenix Mode).
every well timed block refreshes the duration of existing Incineration debuffs
every Special landed steals Health from the opponent; more Health is Regenerated the more Incineration stacks on the opponent when hit
unlike regular Phoenix mode, Specials do not Power Gain (under regular circumstances) because they cause these Health Gains and there are no regular Phoenix Force Charges or Fury Effects to consume
every Heavy landed adds back 50% of the last time addition set for Dark Phoenix mode (How This Works: if Phoenix originally set 16 seconds for DP duration, the first heavy landed before expiration would add 8 seconds to the timer, the second would add 4 seconds, then 2, then 1, which would be the lowest additional extention)
Dark Phoenix Mode could have a max duration of 39.75 seconds (20+10+5+2.5+1.25+1)
There is no cool off after DP mode ends, but she must build back up to Overload in order to access it again
While in DP mode, Phoenix is Poison and Incineration immune, resistant to Power Control effects, as well as to mental assaults such as Inverted Controls, Taunts or Concussion
Note that while in DP mode, she also counts as a Villain, so any synergies that would have given Villains a boost (or a vulnerability) would take effect
Exiting DP mode reapplies half of the Phoenix Force Charges and Fury Buffs she consumed upon entry of DP mode, allowing her to start building back up to Overload from a higher start point
Synergy Updates,
When paired with any Redheaded teammate (including another rarity of Phoenix) or any member of the Phoenix Five (Cyclops (NXS), Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik or Namor), Phoenix starts the fight in Dark Phoenix Mode lasting 10 seconds (thus being Poison and Incinerate immune, like a Star eating Cosmic champ should be), and subject to all other perks such as 50% time extensions, health regen, etc. Additionally, Phoenix can reactivate DP mode as long as she has at least 1 PFCharge and 1 Fury if ever Poisoned or Incinerated instead of needing to Overload.
[The idea here is to promote the use of attack options such as Cyclops where he otherwise might not seem to add value. This could be the situation where he is given access to the suggested Phoenix 5 rework whereas Emma, Col, Magik and Namor would not unless under the conditions of 3+ Phx5 Synergy members present]
The teammates would be protected from Poison, Incineration and Power Control 3 times, instantly shrugging off any such effects and remaining immune for 5 seconds each time one or more of those debuffs occur (opens them up as Poison lane options in AQ).
Nice to Have Most or all of what was suggested above would be back end coding not requiring new animations; however, it would be a nice addition to give her costume a tweak whenever entering Dark Phoenix Mode with the classic Red & Gold color scheme of Dark Phoenix overlaying her Green & Gold (like how Emma goes Diamond). All else could look the same.
Her HUD would get the additional Dark Phoenix Mode icon replacing Phoenix Force Charge icons when she switches, but if color scheme changes aren't considered, the icon would serve well enough for players to know when to consider her immune to the various effects (especially knowing if Inverted Controls apply or not for Dexing). Text call outs for her immunities could add a layer of clarity to players though.
Mutant Finishing Touch Much like Phoenix gets a Dark Phoenix icon to signify turning, a UNIQUE and hopefully inspired mechanism can honor Jean's mutant status. After resurrection, instead of being Phoenix, she would be Jean Grey through and through.
This would be signified by a Mutant Icon in place of the Phoenix Force Charge icons and manage the following:
Phoenix resurrects gaining more Health the in one go the more Phoenix charges she absorbed at KO The Mutant icon signifies that all of her class relationships are no longer based on her being Cosmic class, now they're Mutant based As such she gains Class Advantage over Skill, Disadvantage to Tech, loses Advantage over Tech and losing Disadvantages to Mystics As the mutant form of Jean, she no longer gains Fury, cannot reenter Dark Phoenix mode, and cannot regen Health, but her Telekinesis grants her specials Prowess and True Accuracy, and also the ability to Block Unblockable attacks (granted this may tether on overdoing it, but at this point she's lost all other fancy, high damage mechanisms. If anything would go first it would be Prowess, but if kept, the prowess would be stronger based on the number of Furies absorbed during Resurrection)
In Summary, Phoenix gets:
Paced loss of Charges and Fury A chance to convert them to a powerful Dark Phoenix mode and extend that mode Health regen outside of Resurrection A costume color change while switching modes A Hero/Villain attribute change while switching modes A Cosmic/Mutant class change after Resurrecting Prowess, True Accuracy and Enhanced Block after Resurrecting
All of this is managed via Heavy, Medium and Well Timed Blocks. Certainly some could be trimmed off and she still requires a learning curve, but she's still more controlled with this design, Overload becomes a thing to look forward to, and having to build up to Overload keeps the frequency of Dark Phoenix Mode in check so .
Great feedback @Magrailothos and great incorporations @Bodhizen. I do admit I had some of the same reservations about the modes but thought tweaks would come along if ever used.
I recognize that this is a process, and that I'm not going to get it right the first time. Having someone look over my work with a critical eye to say, "Hey, this doesn't seem like it's going to work very well. Have you considered...?" is exactly what I'm looking for when I write these reworks. It's how I work when I'm writing TTRPG materials, too. It's good stuff!
So, don't be shy. If there's something that could be improved upon, let me know.
Great feedback @Magrailothos and great incorporations @Bodhizen. I do admit I had some of the same reservations about the modes but thought tweaks would come along if ever used.
I recognize that this is a process, and that I'm not going to get it right the first time. Having someone look over my work with a critical eye to say, "Hey, this doesn't seem like it's going to work very well. Have you considered...?" is exactly what I'm looking for when I write these reworks. It's how I work when I'm writing TTRPG materials, too. It's good stuff!
So, don't be shy. If there's something that could be improved upon, let me know.
Oh, for sure. I would normally be very frank about what I think works and doesn't work (and try to be very tactful about it). If you ask for a critique I'm sure you're open to hearing the parts people don't think work. Keep it up, @Bodhizen
While not the most powerful mutant in the Marvel Universe, Cyclops is supposed to be an Alpha-level Mutant (which means that he's combat-effective, but can pass for a human pretty much all the time). He's intended to be powerful enough to be able to overload Bishop's ability to absorb energy in seconds. He can tap into a virtually limitless well of power, but in Marvel Contest of Champions, he's pretty weak. So, I present to you a first draft rework of Cyclops (Blue Team)! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION: All of the original X-Men are capable warriors in their own right. As the leader of the original team, Cyclops should be both a powerful enough Champion to tackle most opponents, even if he doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles to make him the most useful Champion in any situation. Well, suffice it to say that Cyclops (both of them, in their current iterations) does not have any bells or whistles. He can shoot some optic blasts, which can Armor Break the opponent, and he can gain additional Critical Rating, but that's pretty much it. So, this rework is intended to give him a little bit more that he can do, which will make him more effective as an attacker, and more dangerous as a defender.
BASE STATISTICS: Hit Points: 31,398 Attack: 2301 Crit Rate: 628 Crit Damage: 738 Armor: 525 Block Proficiency: 3734 Energy Resistance: 0 Physical Resistance: 0 Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - Expertise: As the team leader of the X-Men, Cyclops both teaches and learns from his teammates, increasing their effectiveness in battle.
Beams are calibrated for up to 1476 increased Critical Damage Rating. As long as a Combo of 10 or more hits is maintained, Cyclops' Armor Break effects have 20% increased Duration, and as long as a Combo of 20 or more hits is maintained, Beam Attacks are Unblockable.
For every Mutant on Cyclops' Team (including Cyclops), all attackers gain an Indefinite Passive Prowess, increasing Special Damage by 10%. If Cyclops is the only Champion on his team that is not knocked out, or if he is defending a Node, the Power Gain from his Interdimensional Energies is doubled.
ABILITIES: Heavy Attacks: Cyclops targets the weak points in his opponent's defenses. Heavy Attacks have a 100% chance to inflict an Armor Break Debuff, reducing the opponent's Armor Rating by 759.33 for 9.5 seconds. Interdimensional Energies (Passive): With precise control over inter-dimensional energies, Cyclops gains Power faster at low Power levels. Cyclops Passively generates 2.5% of a Bar of Power each second. When he is above 1 Bar of Power, this is reduced by 0.5%. When he is above 2 Bars of Power, this is reduced by an additional 0.5%. Furthermore, Cyclops takes no damage from Havok's Plasma and Special Attacks, but his Special Attacks cannot damage Havok, either. Well-Timed Blocks: When Cyclops executes a well-timed block, he has a 75% chance to gain a Precision Buff, boosting his Critical Rating by 1130.77 for 6.0 seconds. [Max Stacks: 3] X-Suit (Passive): Cyclops' suit is made of Kevlar armor, which is bulletproof, flame retardant, and resistant to electric shocks and force impacts. Cyclops reduces the damage from Physical Attacks by 20%, and reduces the damage from Incinerate Debuffs, and Shock Debuffs by 50%. While not under the effect of an Armor Break Debuff, Cyclops' X-Suit also reduces the damage from Bleed Debuffs by 90%.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special 1 - Optic Blast – Cyclops uses his Ruby-Quartz visor to focus a beam of energy.
This Special Attack deals Energy Damage and gains 1342.62 Block Penetration.
This Special Attack inflicts a Petrify Debuff, reducing the effectiveness of his opponent's Regeneration and Power Gain Debuffs by 65% for 8.0 seconds. The potency of this Petrify Debuff is doubled against Mister Sinister.
Special 2 - Vigilance – Two rage-fueled punches and a kick daze the opponent long enough for Cylops' Optic Blast to teach them a lesson.
The last hit of this Special Attack deals Energy Damage and gains 2185.71 Block Penetration.
This Special Attack inflicts a Petrify Debuff, reducing the effectiveness of his opponent's Regeneration and Power Gain Debuffs by 65% for 12.0 seconds. The potency of this Petrify Debuff is doubled against Mister Sinister.
Special 3 - Gigawatt Blast – Scott Summers briefly loses control, allowing his Optic Blast to reach gigawatt levels. He'll be the only witness.
This Special Attack deals Energy Damage, and bypasses all Energy Resistance.
If Cyclops has a Combo of 20 or greater when he activates this Special Attack, it deals an additional 5752.5 direct damage for each 20 hits on the Combo Meter.
SYNERGIES:
Blasting Brothers: with Havok: Cyclops and Havok: Special Attacks deal an additional +12% damage. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Future Family: with Cable: Cable: Cable's chance to Regenerate upon reaching a Power threshold is increased by +15%. Cyclops: Whenever Cyclops lands a Critical Hit against his opponent, he gains an Armor Up Passive that increases his Armor Rating by +18% for 10.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Mutant Agenda: with Colossus or Wolverine: Mutants landed strikes during Special Attacks gain +12% Attack rating.
Nemesis: with Magneto and Mister Sinister: All Champions gain +6% Attack rating.
Romance: with Phoenix: All Champions gain +5% Power Gain.
Teammates: with Storm: All Champions gain +5% Perfect Block Chance.
X-Men First Class: with Archangel, Beast, Iceman, or Phoenix: Archangel: Archangel's Critical Rating is increased by +10%. Beast: The duration and potency of Beast's Daze Debuffs are increased by +25%. Cyclops: Cyclops' Beam Attacks passively deal an additional +25% of his Modified Attack Rating as Incinerate Damage instantly. Iceman: Iceman gains Immunity to Incinerate Debuffs. Phoenix: Phoenix's Incinerate Debuffs gain +15% increased Duration and Potency. If all other Champions in this Synergy are present: All members of this Synergy reduce the Duration and Potency of Debuffs placed upon them by 10%. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
In this version of Cyclops, I didn't want to add a lot of tricks to his toolkit and make him a really complex Champion. I just wanted to focus on the things that might make Cyclops dangerous as both an Attacker and as a Defender. To that end, I clarified a few things, like the power gain he has being stronger when he is at low power levels, and how his Special Attacks don't affect Havok (and vice versa). Canonically, he does have a protective suit (which does protect against ballistics, fire, shock, etc...), and I thought that would be a nice way to give Cyclops something special added into his base kit.
While I moved the activation of his Armor Break effects (which are, admittedly weaker, but stackable), I brought in the ability to penetrate the opponent's block, which is going to ultimately be more effective. Now, I recognize that this doesn't do anything for him if he doesn't actually hit his opponent, but then again, what does? So, if the opponent blocks, they're going to take more damage than normal. If they evade, there's not much to do against that (without pulling some massively jerk-move designing), and if they just eat a face full of optic blast... Well... Enjoy the damage. Also the Petrify Debuffs are meant to add a little bit of utility to his Special Attacks, and since his optic blasts are canonically extremely effective against Mister Sinister, he gets to double the effect, which would effectively reverse his regeneration.
A few new Synergies with the original X-Men and his family members (Havok & Cable) are added in, and a branch out with Mister Sinister as a nemesis. Plus, more was added into his Signature Ability to give him an extra boost in both offensive and defensive value. He'll be able to throw off his Special Attacks more often, keeping his opponents on their toes.
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.
Signature ability: All reversed buffs have their potency increased by 20% (up to 40%) for each activated stone, additionally, the opponents non-combat power rate is reduced by 5% (up to 10%) for each debuff.
Passive: +850 attack rating for each active stone.
Persistent charge: At the start of each fight, Thanos activated a random stone. This stone will be carried over to the next fight as a persistent charge until all are collected. Each one provides additional abilities. On the first fight in a quest, Thanos can select a stone through a pre fight ability.
Time stone: Heavy attacks inflict a slow debuff, preventing all evade and unstoppable effects for 15 seconds. Additionally, the opponents combat power rate is reduced by 40%. Thanos regenerates 0.5% of max health every second.
Power stone: Thanos passively gains 15% of a bar of power per second. All basic attacks deal 45% additional energy damage. Heavy attack power steals 25% of the opponent's max power.
Mind stone: Thanos is granted immunity to reversed controls. Medium attacks inflicts concussion, reducing ability accuracy by 50% for 3 seconds.
Reality stone: Every 9 seconds, Thanos is granted a random buff from the following: Fury- +2370 attack rating. Precision- +2850 critical rating. Prowess- +40% special damage. True strike. Power gain- +35% power rate. Armour up- +1200 armour rating. These buffs can not stack and last 20 seconds. Maximum of 4 at one time. Heavy attacks re roll the last gained buff.
Soul stone: When Thanos would die, he is resurrected at 20% health once per fight. Each living teammate increases his critical damage rating by 250.
Space stone: During special attacks, Thanos uses a portal to hit the opponent with a beam of energy from space. This inflicts them with a random damaging debuff, dealing 4500 damage over 14 seconds. If they are immune to the debuff deal 4500 additional energy damage.
Special one: Reverses all debuffs on Thanos to become buffs, each lasting 12 seconds. This duration is increased by 1.5 second for each active stone. Weakness- fury (+800 attack). Exhaustion- cruelty (+400 critical damage rating). Fatigue- precision (+400 critical rating). Armour break- armour up (+600 armour rating). Damaging debuffs- regeneration (1250 health recovery). Power drain- power gain (gain 65% of a bar of power).
Special two: Reverse all buffs on the opponent to become debuffs lasting 14 seconds. Fury- weakness (-950 attack). Cruelty- exhaustion (-500 critical damage rating). Precision- fatigue (-500 critical rating). Armour up- armour break (-1300 armour rating). Regeneration- degeneration (3000 degeneration) Power gain- power drain (lose 85% of a bar of power).
Special three: Reset the duration of all debuffs on the opponent and increase their potency by 75%.
Generally a really nice tune-up. I did a version of Cyke a while back who had effects like Petrify, too; which I attributed to extensive exposure to the Battlerealm's energies. Great minds...
Overall, great - like the clarity on the Passive Power gain, Precision on well-timed block, block penetration on specials (I'd add armour penetration, too) and the big damage boost to his SP3.
Signature Ability - Expertise: As the team leader of the X-Men, Cyclops both teaches and learns from his teammates, increasing their effectiveness in battle.
Beams are calibrated for up to 1476 increased Critical Damage Rating. As long as a Combo of 10 or more hits is maintained, Cyclops' Armor Break effects have 20% increased Duration, and as long as a Combo of 20 or more hits is maintained, Beam Attacks are Unblockable.
For every Mutant on Cyclops' Team (including Cyclops), all attackers gain an Indefinite Passive Prowess, increasing Special Damage by 10%. If Cyclops is the only Champion on his team that is not knocked out, or if he is defending a Node, the Power Gain from his Interdimensional Energies is doubled.
Nice - might limit the Prowess benefits to Mutants; or perhaps 'All non-Tech attackers..." I'd also be tempted to give him the power boost if he's Attacking the final node of a quest. It's not a huge boost anyway, and Cyke is supposed to be a guy who finishes fights...
ABILITIES: Heavy Attacks: Cyclops targets the weak points in his opponent's defenses. Heavy Attacks have a 100% chance to inflict an Armor Break Debuff, reducing the opponent's Armor Rating by 759.33 for 9.5 seconds.
This sounds good. Is it a hit or an optic blast. Might need to be a little lower if it's a physical blow - he's not physically comparable to Venom... In an ideal world, I'd love this to be a point blank optic blast that can't be parried...
Cyclops takes no damage from Havok's Plasma and Special Attacks, but his Special Attacks cannot damage Havok, either.
I'd change the details to state that Cyke takes no damage from Havok's Energy attacks and vice versa. That'll actually benefit Cyke against more of Havok's attacks (including Medium and first part of Heavies), but allow Havok and Cyke to do a bit of damage when they kick and punch each other on SP2.
X-Suit (Passive): Cyclops' suit is made of Kevlar armor, which is bulletproof, flame retardant, and resistant to electric shocks and force impacts. Cyclops reduces the damage from Physical Attacks by 20%, and reduces the damage from Incinerate Debuffs, and Shock Debuffs by 50%. While not under the effect of an Armor Break Debuff, Cyclops' X-Suit also reduces the damage from Bleed Debuffs by 90%.
This is the only part of the build I'd be critical of. Sure he wears a suit, but it's not that good! Compare to Gambit's 'unique' 22% bleed resistance. Or the Physical Resistance provided by Gambit's, Punisher's or Night Thrashers armour. Given that it's not a major feature of him in comics, he really ought to wear armour less effective than Punisher and Night Thrasher.
I think you need a flat value of Armour/Physical Resistance akin to Gambit/Punisher (and substantially lower than Night Thrasher), and maybe one kind of partial resistance (30% or so) to Shock or Incinerate or Bleed - not to all three.
Apart from slightly overdoing the x-suit, I like this a lot! Liking the SP3 more, the more I think on it.
Do Red Cyclops will get any update, I think he is worst Mutant champ currently. He get single Armour break that to for insane short time which end like flash before you even utilise it. I got 5 * red Cyclops 3 times and also got a 6* is my bad luck. he has nothing to offer.
Generally a really nice tune-up. I did a version of Cyke a while back who had effects like Petrify, too; which I attributed to extensive exposure to the Battlerealm's energies. Great minds...
Overall, great - like the clarity on the Passive Power gain, Precision on well-timed block, block penetration on specials (I'd add armour penetration, too) and the big damage boost to his SP3.
Thank you! I don't want to overdo things with both Block Penetration and Armor Block and Armor Penetration, though. The concept is that you'd want to parry, heavy, and then try to launch a Special quickly thereafter.
Signature Ability - Expertise: As the team leader of the X-Men, Cyclops both teaches and learns from his teammates, increasing their effectiveness in battle.
Beams are calibrated for up to 1476 increased Critical Damage Rating. As long as a Combo of 10 or more hits is maintained, Cyclops' Armor Break effects have 20% increased Duration, and as long as a Combo of 20 or more hits is maintained, Beam Attacks are Unblockable.
For every Mutant on Cyclops' Team (including Cyclops), all attackers gain an Indefinite Passive Prowess, increasing Special Damage by 10%. If Cyclops is the only Champion on his team that is not knocked out, or if he is defending a Node, the Power Gain from his Interdimensional Energies is doubled.
Nice - might limit the Prowess benefits to Mutants; or perhaps 'All non-Tech attackers..." I'd also be tempted to give him the power boost if he's Attacking the final node of a quest. It's not a huge boost anyway, and Cyke is supposed to be a guy who finishes fights...
All non-Tech attackers sounds just right. I'm not sure about the power boost on boss nodes, but I will think it over.
ABILITIES: Heavy Attacks: Cyclops targets the weak points in his opponent's defenses. Heavy Attacks have a 100% chance to inflict an Armor Break Debuff, reducing the opponent's Armor Rating by 759.33 for 9.5 seconds.
This sounds good. Is it a hit or an optic blast. Might need to be a little lower if it's a physical blow - he's not physically comparable to Venom... In an ideal world, I'd love this to be a point blank optic blast that can't be parried...
It is a hit (I didn't specify any animation changes, but that would be an excellent idea to incorporate a close-range optic blast! Something to think about. It was my way of keeping his Armor Break benefit, but toned down because it's no longer a part of his Special Attack mechanic.
Cyclops takes no damage from Havok's Plasma and Special Attacks, but his Special Attacks cannot damage Havok, either.
I'd change the details to state that Cyke takes no damage from Havok's Energy attacks and vice versa. That'll actually benefit Cyke against more of Havok's attacks (including Medium and first part of Heavies), but allow Havok and Cyke to do a bit of damage when they kick and punch each other on SP2.
X-Suit (Passive): Cyclops' suit is made of Kevlar armor, which is bulletproof, flame retardant, and resistant to electric shocks and force impacts. Cyclops reduces the damage from Physical Attacks by 20%, and reduces the damage from Incinerate Debuffs, and Shock Debuffs by 50%. While not under the effect of an Armor Break Debuff, Cyclops' X-Suit also reduces the damage from Bleed Debuffs by 90%.
This is the only part of the build I'd be critical of. Sure he wears a suit, but it's not that good! Compare to Gambit's 'unique' 22% bleed resistance. Or the Physical Resistance provided by Gambit's, Punisher's or Night Thrashers armour. Given that it's not a major feature of him in comics, he really ought to wear armour less effective than Punisher and Night Thrasher.
I think you need a flat value of Armour/Physical Resistance akin to Gambit/Punisher (and substantially lower than Night Thrasher), and maybe one kind of partial resistance (30% or so) to Shock or Incinerate or Bleed - not to all three.
Apart from slightly overdoing the x-suit, I like this a lot! Liking the SP3 more, the more I think on it.
So, here's what I know about his X-Suit.
The current costume of Cyclops is a variation of the basic costume designed by Charles Xavier, the Professor X, to their first and original X-Men. The costume (X-Costume, X-Suit, or X-Uniform) was designed for body protection and ideological identification with the public, marking him as a superhero. Cyclops wears a suit made of Kevlar, which is fire retardant among others defensive properties. The uniform also offers a certain level of resistance to electric shocks, force impacts, and others basic types of attacks.
I figured that his Blue Team Suit would have no reason not to be made out of kevlar (which is generally bulletproof). The rest of it was intended to give him some defensive value in MCOC while still representing what his X-Suit can do for him. He's had this X-Suit (and the benefits that it grants him) in the comics since 2001. I think 19 years is enough to justify it being a part of his comic-book features.
So, I think I'll keep the Bleed Reduction as-is, and I'll keep the resistance to Physical Attacks, Incinerate Debuffs, and Shock Debuffs, but I might play around with the values.
As always, thank you very much for your feedback, @Magrailothos! I'm hoping to see at least one more response before I post a Version 1.1.
I think the rework ideas are spot-on, especially the addition of team-based synergies. That’s something in a collection-style game that should have a significant impact.
I also think the resistance idea is interesting. I’ve never thought of Cyke as resistant to anything, but given that he doesn’t have ice armor or a thick blue hide, it makes sense he would have some protection from the array of weapons and assaults he might encounter as a mutant.
I agree with the non-Tech suggestion from @Magrailothos. Only someone like Mags should have a tech advantage.
One thing I’ve never liked about Blue Cyke is his specials doing armor break damage. In a diminishing returns system, that usually seemed to be of little help.
The idea of a petrify debuff is interesting, but I’m not aware of Cyke having any anti-Regen abilities. One thing to consider is whether or not it makes sense to have a large armor break debuff (or something like it) apply on the first hit and enhance the damage of the subsequent hits of the Sp1 (sort of like the way Red Mags’ Sp3 seems to do in beta).
That would make the Sp1 much more potent, and I’m leery of block penetration and how it gets used in game in general. It’s always felt like a cheap way to get around masteries we unlocked and have to use to play the game.
The idea of a petrify debuff is interesting, but I’m not aware of Cyke having any anti-Regen abilities. One thing to consider is whether or not it makes sense to have a large armor break debuff (or something like it) apply on the first hit and enhance the damage of the subsequent hits of the Sp1 (sort of like the way Red Mags’ Sp3 seems to do in beta).
Didn't think of this till now, but I wonder if a different debuff would work better? Something to reflect the fact his opponents taken a big hit and is now a bit vulnerable?:
Weakness? A bit boring...
Slow? Cyke has demonstrated the ability to push back Blob. Not sure if he ever managed Juggernaut...
Vulnerability (increases Cyke's critical damage, like Stealthy)
Busted (Bursts of damage with each critical hit, like Elsa)
Trauma (smaller bursts of damage with every hit, like Red Guardian)
Busted and Trauma would have the advantage of bypassing resistances, damage caps and abilities like Sinister's regeneration, giving you the opportunity to have them more effective against him (you were never going to reverse his healing anyway I'm afraid - his healing can't go below zero.) Trauma also remains effective if the opponent has critical resistance.
I think the rework ideas are spot-on, especially the addition of team-based synergies. That’s something in a collection-style game that should have a significant impact.
I also think the resistance idea is interesting. I’ve never thought of Cyke as resistant to anything, but given that he doesn’t have ice armor or a thick blue hide, it makes sense he would have some protection from the array of weapons and assaults he might encounter as a mutant.
I agree with the non-Tech suggestion from @Magrailothos. Only someone like Mags should have a tech advantage.
One thing I’ve never liked about Blue Cyke is his specials doing armor break damage. In a diminishing returns system, that usually seemed to be of little help.
The idea of a petrify debuff is interesting, but I’m not aware of Cyke having any anti-Regen abilities. One thing to consider is whether or not it makes sense to have a large armor break debuff (or something like it) apply on the first hit and enhance the damage of the subsequent hits of the Sp1 (sort of like the way Red Mags’ Sp3 seems to do in beta).
That would make the Sp1 much more potent, and I’m leery of block penetration and how it gets used in game in general. It’s always felt like a cheap way to get around masteries we unlocked and have to use to play the game.
The idea of a petrify debuff is interesting, but I’m not aware of Cyke having any anti-Regen abilities. One thing to consider is whether or not it makes sense to have a large armor break debuff (or something like it) apply on the first hit and enhance the damage of the subsequent hits of the Sp1 (sort of like the way Red Mags’ Sp3 seems to do in beta).
Didn't think of this till now, but I wonder if a different debuff would work better? Something to reflect the fact his opponents taken a big hit and is now a bit vulnerable?:
Weakness? A bit boring...
Slow? Cyke has demonstrated the ability to push back Blob. Not sure if he ever managed Juggernaut...
Vulnerability (increases Cyke's critical damage, like Stealthy)
Busted (Bursts of damage with each critical hit, like Elsa)
Trauma (smaller bursts of damage with every hit, like Red Guardian)
Busted and Trauma would have the advantage of bypassing resistances, damage caps and abilities like Sinister's regeneration, giving you the opportunity to have them more effective against him (you were never going to reverse his healing anyway I'm afraid - his healing can't go below zero.) Trauma also remains effective if the opponent has critical resistance.
Thanks for the feedback, @DrZola and @Magrailothos. The block penetration idea is mostly to reflect the fact that his optic blasts are force damage, so your armor wouldn't necessarily protect you from the force of the blast. As for Sinister... Yeah, his regeneration might not go below zero, which is fine, but canonically, Sinister cannot heal from Cyclops' optic blasts, so the goal is for him not to be able to heal when he gets blasted by Cyclops. The Petrify concept is just to make mechanical sense of his optic blasts being pretty powerful and damaging (to the point where they're difficult to regenerate from).
Armor Break has diminishing returns, the more powerful your opponent is. The whole kerfuffle with Guardian & Domino proves this, so giving him the ability to penetrate the opponent's block is not only more advantageous from an in-game perspective, but it also makes a lot of sense in terms of the physics (of a make believe scenario).
As for the other Debuffs... Yes, weakness is boring (and can be inflicted with a Mastery), and he's never been able to really slow down opponents (like the Juggernaut). In trying to keep things simple, I was trying to avoid drawing in newer Debuffs (like Vulnerability, Busted, or Trauma). Vulnerability and Busted could really make Cyclops overwhelming against a lot of foes, since his Well-Timed Blocks grant a Precision Buff already. Not only does that make Cyclops pretty much reliant upon being able to land Critical Hits for his damage output, which nerfs him against Champions that reduce Criticals or simply cannot be Critically Hit, like Ant-Man (with the Glancing mechanic), Captain America (Infinity War), Mister Sinister (which Petrify could nullify), and Man-Thing, but it's been done with lots of other Champions (and I thought that would be boring).
Not a ton of Champions penetrate your block, and those that do so use Disorient (which confers a 50% reduction in block proficiency) or Vulnerability (which usually confers a 50% reduction in block proficiency) Debuff. I didn't want to use a Debuff mechanic here, either, since that would lower Block Proficiency for extended periods of time (not just during the optic blast, unless you pulled a 0.5 second Debuff - or shorter - which is lame) and I didn't want to proc effects that punish you for placing Debuffs on your opponent; he's a pretty simple functioning Champion and I wanted to kind of give him an edge against those sorts of shenanigans. Busted Debuffs actually decrease your vulnerability to Coldsnap and Incinerate Debuffs, and while Busted Debuffs would increase the damage with each critical hit, I felt his best damage dealing should be contained to his optic blasts, not critical hits from punches and kicks. Trauma might make sense... If Cyclops was a Champion that really relied upon physical powers, as opposed to Energy damage from his optic blasts. I suppose his Energy blasts could count as both Physical and Energy damage, but it creates weird interactions with Nodes that punish you for using either Physical Damage (like Psychic Thorns) or against Champions with Energy Resistance (like Bishop).
Please understand that I'm not trying to shut your feedback down... I'm just working through this and explaining my thought processes here.
I don't feel shut down. You listen to feedback better than almost anyone I know.
I think the best answer is a new and unique debuff personally (or Passive, if you prefer). This could do one (not all) of the following:
Reduces healing +/- defensive Power gain
Removes effectiveness of armour and/or critical resistance
Causes burst damage akin to Trauma (every hit)
Increase Susceptibility to Special damage (the same way Vulnerability increases the attackers Crit Damage Rating. This could be an indefinite/stacking effect...)
But if you want simplicity (and there's a strong case for that!) why not either: 1 - Have a simple generic effect for Special Attacks 'Beam Attacks that strike the opponent passively heal block them for 1 second' Or 2 - Optic Blasts cause an additional burst of Direct Physical damage equal to xx% of the damage caused.
Either of those would be very effective against Sinister; and possibly others who can heal back or 'cap' large amounts of damage from Specials. The second option would be significantly more powerful if xx was a decent number- it could possibly replace the Critical Rating boost, in his Sig?
I don't feel shut down. You listen to feedback better than almost anyone I know.
I think the best answer is a new and unique debuff personally (or Passive, if you prefer). This could do one (not all) of the following:
Reduces healing +/- defensive Power gain
Removes effectiveness of armour and/or critical resistance
Causes burst damage akin to Trauma (every hit)
Increase Susceptibility to Special damage (the same way Vulnerability increases the attackers Crit Damage Rating. This could be an indefinite/stacking effect...)
But if you want simplicity (and there's a strong case for that!) why not either: 1 - Have a simple generic effect for Special Attacks 'Beam Attacks that strike the opponent passively heal block them for 1 second' Or 2 - Optic Blasts cause an additional burst of Direct Physical damage equal to xx% of the damage caused.
Either of those would be very effective against Sinister; and possibly others who can heal back or 'cap' large amounts of damage from Specials. The second option would be significantly more powerful if xx was a decent number- it could possibly replace the Critical Rating boost, in his Sig?
Go with your favourite!
In thinking about how to deal with Mr. Sinister, the notion that his Special Attacks inflict a Heal Block Debuff that lasts for 1.0 seconds would come across as laughably lame when you consider its utility against other Champs. I was going to do it, but then the thought occurred to me that he doesn't gain anything from this, really, and not expanding the Specials to give him more oomph is a valid criticism (that we've given each other before).
The Debuff is a mechanic with interactions that I'm trying to avoid here (to the benefit of the build), though I do like the effects that you're suggesting. It doesn't really add much to this kit, truth be told, to accomplish the extra damage that I'm going for by reducing the block proficiency of your opponent during the Special Attack (which would be effective against every Champion, not only Mister Sinister). I'm actively trying to work around Armor Break (as it's a mechanic that is also countered by certain Champions and Nodes, plus he's already got it in his kit). Armor Break has diminishing returns, and if there's a Champion out there who should be able to punch you (with his optic blasts) hard despite your Armor, Cyclops is a prime candidate for this ability.
Can you help me to better understand what you don't like about the instantaneous Block Proficiency reduction on his Specials? Once again, thank you for your help in refining this build!
I don’t think there’s much argument in the fact that Iron Fist is one of the worst mystic champs in the game. There is absolutely nothing to this character in terms of his abilities or specials. The specials have no secondary effects, are easily evadable (no defensive utility), and have nothing to them that makes iron fist useful in any realm of the contest. All of his abilities can fit on the screen without having to scroll, not that this is a bad thing, but take a look at exactly what these abilities are. Heavy attacks can nullify 3 specific buffs? When is this ever useful and why is it so specific? 50% chance on crits to armor break? Okay fine. And that’s it. That’s all iron fist is. Even his synergies can’t make him better because all they do is increase armor rating by 130. (Because we all know Iron Fist desperately needs that, lol) The contest has really outgrown Iron Fist and he’s one of those characters that can’t be played anywhere in the game aside for arena points. KABAM has done an amazing job with buffing lackluster characters and I can’t help but feel as though Iron Fist should be one of the next in line. Give Iron Fist some utility and maybe armor shatter as an ability and I’d be over the moon. Just give him anything so that I can use this guy again. What are the forums thoughts on characters from each class that should be buffed?
But is Iron Fist considered "Champion Improvement?" i feel he needs a complete Overhaul, animations and all. He could have weapons, he could have specials unique to him, not knocked off from BW and Vision. His hands could glow more. He needs utility thats relevant to his character.
I read champion improvement like the scheduled Tune Up they are doing for Punisher 2099 later this year. I would rather Iron Fist get the Colosus treatment.
As for the Other classes, id go as follows:
Tech - Iron patriot Cosmic - Ms. Marvel Skill - Karnak Science and Mutant cant think of any
Comments
With what you have, I'd add text to his Studied Target ability during Intellectual to punish Critical Attackers a bit (since this is a staple of Skill class). "For every Critical received or reduced by Beast, he learns his foe's abilities better and readies a Counterstrike for the 10th Critical. If Beast is either Knocked Down or triggers the Counterstrike successfully, he resets the Critical counter to Zero" Counterstrike counts as an evasion then medium dash, so it would start Cool Down on Evasion. It can be dexed, but if it lands it grants Zero power gain.
In honor of his X-Men movie agility intro similarity to Nightcrawler's and their blue fur, instead of just Special Attack prowess, I would grant an Acrobatic aspect to his Bestial and Intellectual modes when NC is on his team: Beast gains Acrobatic power gain reduction, granting 50% less power gain for 15 seconds with Basic hits after his Special Attack ends.
Great job though, just wondering if he should also still have the ability to access a different mode in-fight in addition to pre-fight.
I definitely plan on capping the Evasion mechanic on Agile Moves to 60%, though I don't think that I'm going to place a cooldown on it. The counterstrike mechanic is interesting, but I fear it may be a bit over the top. It's an automatic attack, and that could potentially cause some issues with interactions that punish you for attacking. It does bring back to mind the notion that I wanted Beast to have an animation change to give him a Heavy Attack that basically is a leaping strike at his opponent; Iron Man Infinity War has a really far-reaching Heavy attack that makes 3 strikes, and I thought it might be appropriate to give Beast a far-reaching leap-attack as a Heavy, and then have him leap back. That felt like it might be too close to the second hit of Special 1, so I didn't make any reference to an animation change, but the thought was there...
I didn't change any of Beast's existing Synergies, which is why I didn't change the Mutant Agenda Synergy, but adding in a secondary synergy with Nightcrawler wouldn't be out of the question. I also thought about a mode-switching mechanic as well, but that would defeat the purpose of choosing a pre-fight ability set, and I thought the pre-fight ability would work better for Beast rather than mode-hopping (especially since his current build switches modes with Special Attacks). Generally speaking, I've never needed Beast to switch modes during a fight, except to put him into the mode that I need for that particular fight if he doesn't start in it already.
I'm holding off Version 1.1 for feedback from @DrZola, but I do appreciate all of the feedback I've received on this build already!
Thank you, @HeroBoltsy and @Bajan_Samurai!
I've seen the feedback from others - glad people like your Beast rework. For me, I'm somewhat less convinced - I think you've got some interesting stuff, but it seems to be all about Evasion. I really don't see much of an offensive upgrade here at all - In fact, you've even removed a major damage boost on his SP3, and the Direct Damage his original Sig ability gave him...
Animal Instincts/Frenzy feedback
The idea is okay, but I think you need totally different numbers here: Animal Instincts isn't nearly powerful enough. Given that they're a payoff for getting hit, the Fury buffs are extremely weak. This isn't a champion who hits you like a Mack truck. You're giving Beast a 4% chance to gain an 8% Attack boost (plus a small evade chance alongside it). Compare that to hitting Aegon, who has a 100% chance to gain a 50% Attack boost when he's hit, topping at six buffs (+300% Attack). Or even the 40-50% Fury of ancient champs like Punisher and Winter Soldier. Compared to these guys, Beast's Fury buffs are laughably weak.
Beast can't trigger these buffs - they happen (very infrequently) when he's hit. What value is this to a skilled player?
Following through with this line of thought, how often will Frenzy actually happen? Pretty rarely on defense; and essentially never on attack, would be my guess. Imagine you're fighting Black Widow. People complain she evades too much, but realistically how often does she evade three times in a fifteen-second window? That's about as often as Frenzy will trigger.
Let's remember, the increasing evade chance Beast's Furies give him will make it more likely he'll avoid getting struck, and counter the opponent. So having two Fury buffs makes it less likely he'll be hit enough times to trigger a third...
Then when you do get it, Frenzy itself doesn't actually do a lot - it seems to just be stun immunity and no actual damage boost. Is it supposed to actually benefit him? Currently, since it caps his Furies and has the vulnerability to other debuffs built in, it feels more like a weakness than a strength. It needs more. A lot more. Again, consider how this brief 'Frenzy' burst you've given Beast compares to the burst craziness available to recent champs like Mole Man and Sasquatch. Compared to them, this feels much more on a level with Black Bolt's tiny buffs, which he gets as a pyrrhic reward for somebody beating the **** out of him.
Just as a reminder, when comics Beast went into a real Frenzy courtesy of Cassandra Nova, he tore off Wolverine's leg and ate it...
I could make suggestions for how to upscale Frenzy (Attack, plus one or more of Cruelty, Prowess, Power Rate, etc.), but first I think you need to decide what the purpose/function of Frenzy actually is. Is it a benefit? Or a limitation? Is it an occasional burst of massive damage? A surge of Power? A burst of being Unstoppable/Unblockable/Unevadable?
Is it something which works on Attack, or only on defense? Is it something that should happen rarely/infrequently/most fights/inevitably?
Should it be like Mole Man's avoidable but very dangerous Frenzy? Sasquatch's almost inevitable and impressively dangerous dangerous Wrath?
Once you've decided it's purpose and when you want it to happen, make the numbers reflect it's purpose.
Combat modes:
Why not different default modes on Attack and Defense? If you place Beast as a defender, you'll want the defensive benefits vs critical hits, and power control, won't you? So maybe on defense he defaults to Acrobatic, on Attack he defaults to (your preference).
The first two modes are essentially unchanged from what they are now, aside from the addition of an armour break if the opponent is bleed immune, which is good.
I like the idea of a new combat mode, but I'm not sure that this iteration of Intellectual mode is right - what is it for? It's certainly not for damage: In any normal fight, the damage bonus it grants is tiny, compared with the bleed damage he could be doing in the same time in Bestial mode. Each passive/buff adds 2.2% attack, which is pretty weak. Forty seconds into the fight you've acquired a 10% Attack/Block bonus? A bit over three minutes into the fight for a 50% bonus? Give me a bit of Bestial bleed/armour break and the fight will be over much sooner!
If these Studied Target buffs really are buffs (you describe them as passive buffs - I've presumed they're intended to give him the boost to Evade), then clearly Intellectual mode is all about Evasion: by three minutes in, you'll be evading a pretty whopping 66% of all attacks, so I guess that'll feel different! If this is the intention, I find it strange that evasion climbs inexorably in his Intellectual phase, but not at all in his Acrobatic one. It also seems counter-intuitive that he gains both block proficiency and evade at the same time, don't you think?
Intellectual seems like it'll only be helpful in really, really long fights. It's an "Evasion mode for Endgame content" mode. If that's what you want, then fine. But are you going to want to use this mode in the majority of the game? As an alternative, why not have Intellectual be his Utility mode, granting benefits like AAR? Armour/Block penetration? Or Prowess/reduced Power consumption on Specials? Some mechanism to counter his opponents abilities? Beast is supposed to have amazing reflexes and agility - he can regularly catch opponents like Spiderman and Nightcrawler. How about "If the opponent triggers a passive evade, Beast gains a 75% chance to Autoblock for 0.8 seconds. This Autoblock can trigger Parry..." Something (or things) to make him unique, and to make it feel different playing in that mode.
A Slow-building passive Evasion/Attack gain just doesn't really seem exciting; it's just a second, slightly-different defensive mode that makes Beast incredibly vulnerable to Mystic opponents (especially as his default mode on defense...).
Other stuff
Daze debuff - I like this a lot. I think it could be just as effective for guaranteed crits, btw. And maybe another benefit to Intellectual mode could be an increased duration/ Miss frequency from Daze debuffs?
Special Attacks - I agree, you need something more; like an Attack boost for every buff on Beast, or debuff in the opponent or something. A longer Daze debuff after an SP3?
Sorry, but that's my thoughts. All in all, I think it's not clear what Beast is supposed to be getting good at here, apart from Evasion. Without a much better damage payoff, Intellectual mode won't do all that much in short fights, nor will it make him a go-to champion for very long fights, I'm afraid. You've got the start of something good; but I don't think you're there yet.
Best wishes! Mags.
Yea ill wait for the day someone brings
Xforce deadpool,kamala khan,groot, to alliance war attack, till then, they are not meta characters and are not worth r5 5* vs better champs in respective class
And even if they did get buffs..how will they stack up? They will need to be equal or better in terms of what they will bring to the table.
For example what does buffing kamala khan or using her have over champions like hyperion,corvus,medusa? If she ever did get a buff..will she be any better? Willl she be a champion worthy to r5 5*?
And yea they are used for diversity for defense. Faced a 6* duped deadpool xforce via @DoolieRay defense for
“diversity defense”
Thats where he will be used for.
R u going to ignore the fact that by buffing colossus they actually made him one of the best characters in the game? It’s not useless to buff characters as hulkbuster and colossus as notable examples used to suck but are actually really solid now and have pieces of utility other characters do not have. So it actually will make a difference so long as kabam think about good design for buffing characters in game.
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 (Max: 60% Evade chance). This does not trigger during a Well-Timed Block.
Animal Instincts: Whenever Beast is struck, he has a 40% chance to gain a Fury Buff, increasing his Attack by 60% for 15.0 seconds (Max: 300% Increase). While Beast has 3 or more Fury effects active at any time, he enters a Frenzy. While in Frenzy, Beast becomes Stun Immune and his Power Gain Rate is increased by 50%, 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 6.0 seconds, Beast's opponent gains an Studied Target Counter. For each Studied Target Counter that Beast possesses, his opponent's Ability Accuracy is decreased by 8%. For every 15 Studied Target Counters Beast has, his opponent's Defensive Power Gain Rate is reduced by 10%. Whenever Beast is struck by a Special Attack, all Studied Target Counters are disabled for 18.0 seconds, during which time, Beast cannot gain any additional Counters.
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.
- Each hit of this attack Regenerates 3% of Beast's maximum Health.
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.SYNERGIES:
So, a few updates to uptune Beast and give him more utility in his Intellectual mode, with many thanks to @HeroBoltsy, @Bajan_Samurai, and @Magrailothos for their feedback on the build! The Special Attacks have a bit more kick to them, and the Original X-Men Synergy has been uptuned as well.
Best wishes!
We may now be at risk of overcooking him - any cap on this? Or maybe it could be less effective vs an opponent like Mystic? (Like how BW is less effective vs mutants - except I don't think Tech makes sense for Beast. As a pure scientist, Beast never gets to grips with magic) I like what you've done with the Special Attacks. Nice reintroduction of his regeneration.
A suggestion for Thick Hide: why not increase the potency reduction to 75%, but lose the duration reduction. It's (overall) slightly less effective that way against intense DoT, but gives more time to benefit from Willpower from mild to moderate debuffs.
This champion sounds much more versatile, and more interesting to play - great stuff!
As far as Mystics go, I'm not bothered by it. Canonically, Beast dabbled in the use of magic, so this makes sense for him to be able to do. I think the exchange on his Thick Hide would be a net negative for Beast. The benefit that he would get from Willpower works to his advantage against weaker opponents, but against stronger ones... It does not work out in his favor. I think it's better to keep it the way that it is.
Thank you once again, and best wishes!
Phoenix is supposed to be an enhanced version of an Omega-level Mutant, but this Champion falls far short of the mark. Since I just proposed an upgrade to Beast (to make him a Beast), and may yet propose an upgrade to Cyclops (who has been recently reworked by others), I figure she's due. She could be so much better... So, I present to you a first draft rework of Phoenix! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
Jean Grey is an Omega-level Mutant whose abilities have been handicapped by Professor Xavier for the safety of Jean and for others. When imbued with the power of the Phoenix Force, she becomes even more powerful, but in Marvel Contest of Champions, she has never been a particularly frightening opponent or awesome addition to your own roster. Her power should be as impressive as Captain Marvel (Movie)'s is, if not greater. Right now, she's got Fury and Incinerate, and those Buffs get consumed by her specials to fuel their damage output. Her Incinerate abilities should be at least as strong as Human Torch's (when he hasn't gone Nova), and she should have strong Telekinetic abilities as Phoenix as well.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 26,216
Attack: 2098
Crit Rate: 738
Crit Damage: 900
Armor: 593
Block Proficiency: 3022
Energy Resistance: 0
Physical Resistance: 0
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - Rite of the Phoenix:
ABILITIES:
Cosmic Pyrokinesis (Passive): Phoenix's attacks do not make contact and deal Energy Damage instead of Physical. Furthermore, she is immune to Incinerate Debuffs and takes 30% less damage from projectile-based attacks.
Phoenix Force (Passive): The Phoenix’s connection to the cosmic Phoenix Force entity is the source of much of her power. Phoenix gains Phoenix Force Charges by Blocking Energy Attacks and whenever an Incinerate or Shock Debuff would be placed upon her. Any Phoenix Force Charges that Phoenix ends a fight with persist between fights. (Max Stacks: 25)
When not in Phoenix Form, Phoenix gains a Fury Passive for each Phoenix Force Charge she has, increasing her Attack Rating by 83.92 per Fury Passive. These Precision Passives are all removed when Phoenix enters Phoenix Form. Phoenix cannot have more Fury Passives than she currently has Phoenix Force Charges. Any effect that causes Phoenix to lose Phoenix Force Charges automatically reduces her Fury Passives by an equal amount.
When not in Phoenix Form, each Phoenix Force Charge increases Phoenix's Offensive Power Gain Rate by +1%.
- Intercepting an opponent's Dash Attack generates an additional Phoenix Force Charge.
- When Phoenix has 5 or more Phoenix Force Charges, all of her attacks gain a 100% chance to Incinerate the opponent, dealing 209.8 Energy Damage over 6.0 seconds. This effect also removes Perfect Block Chance and reduces Block Proficiency by 50% while it's active. Furthermore, Heavy Attacks gain a 100% chance to Armor Break, reducing Armor Rating by 700 for 10.0 seconds.
- When Phoenix has 10 or more Charges, Dashing back and holding Block for 0.9 seconds activates her Phoenix Form. Phoenix automatically enters Phoenix Form at 25 Phoenix Force Charges.
Phoenix Form (Passive): While in Phoenix Form, Phoenix does not generate any Phoenix Force Charges.SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Telekinetic Blast – The Phoenix Force is released in a wave of telekinesis, amidst a rush of power!
- Gain 3% Power for each Phoenix Force Charge, consuming up to 10 of them.
- In Phoenix Form, this attack consumes up to 5 Precision Buffs, increasing Special Damage by 10% per Precision consumed.
Special 2 - Cosmic Firestorm – Cosmic fire, funneled by raw Telekinetic power, into a deadly firestorm.- When not in Phoenix Form, gain 3 additional stacks of Phoenix Force Charges.
- In Phoenix Form, this attack consumes up to 5 Cruelty Buffs, increasing Special Damage by 10% per Cruelty consumed.
Special 3 - True Avatar Phoenix – The power of the Phoenix Force unleashed!SYNERGIES:
- Friends: with Storm: All Champions gain +130 Armor Rating.
- Gifted Youngsters: with Iceman: Iceman: Whenever an opponent receives one or more Frostbite charges, they are Power Locked for 3.0 seconds per Frostbite charge. Phoenix: Phoenix begins the fight with 3 Phoenix Force Charges. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
- It's Complicated: with Cyclops (Blue Team) or Wolverine: All Champions gain +60 Armor Rating and +3% Power Gain.
- Recovering Psyche: with Archangel: Archangel: Whenever a Bleed Debuff fails to apply to his opponent, Archangel instantly regenerates 0.7% of his maximum Health. Phoenix: Phoenix takes an additional 10% less damage from projectile attacks. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
- Teammates: with Beast or Nightcrawler: All Champions gain +5% Perfect Block Chance.
- Teammates: with Gamora: All Champions gain +5% Perfect Block Chance.
- Telekinetic Warriors: with Ebony Maw, Emma Frost, Cable, Mister Sinister, or Psylocke: Well-Timed Blocks grant a Prowess Buff that lasts until a Special Attack is used. Each Prowess Buff increases Special Damage by +10%. (Max Stacks: 3) Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
- The Early Years: with Cyclops (Blue Team): Cyclops (Blue Team): +20% Power Gain when under the effects of any Debuff. Phoenix: Special Attack 2 Heal Blocks the opponent for 8.0 seconds. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
- You Read My Mind: with Beast: Beast: The cooldown for Beast to recover his Studied Target Counters is reduced by 5.0 seconds. Phoenix: When in Phoenix Form, all attacks have a 10% chance to Stun Incinerated targets. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
Developer's Note: Emma Frost's Phoenix Force Synergy with Phoenix is altered to the following:Phoenix Force: with Emma Frost: Emma Frost: Whenever Emma would gain one Prowess Passive, she gains two instead. Phoenix: While in Phoenix Form, Phoenix gains one additional Fury Buff any time an Incinerate Debuff would be applied to her. Unique Synergy: Does not stack with duplicate synergies.
This version of Phoenix functions a bit more like Captain Marvel, which has the potential to give her more up-time with her Phoenix Force abilities, which are drained with use rather than lasting for a specified amount of time. While her Signature Ability seems to be toned down quite a bit, she can regenerate 50% of her maximum Health if she's full up on Phoenix Force Charges when she's brought to her knees, making it better than Nick Fury's Life Model Decoy (which can only deploy once per Quest). If she doesn't have any Phoenix Force Charges left, she makes a last-ditch effort to stay alive and try to end her opponent first, potentially snatching victory from the jaws of defeat!
She has quite a few new Synergies with the original X-Men as well, and a new Synergy that applies when other telekinetic Champions are on her team. Some Synergies that would have become problematic have been updated for this new build.
She still focuses her damage on Incinerates and building Fury, but she's got a few other tricks up her sleeve, like increased Power Gain, the ability to inflict Enfeeble Debuffs, Immunity to Incineration Debuffs, and taking reduced damage from both Physical and Energy attacks, plus she'll do large amounts of damage in her Phoenix Form due to the increase to Critical Rating and Damage.
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!
Phoenix
As with all the X-Men First Class of champions (Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank and Bobby), I strongly believe Jean/Phoenix would better honor her Beyond Omega Class status if that could be better reflected in-game.I didn't add numbers and base them on a specific Rarity and Rank because at the end of the day, if Kabam would incorporate these they would tune to suit (or we would hope) so I've focused first on 1) what would put her abilities more in control of the Summoner, and 2) the mechanics of what can lock in respectable damage output and other utility. In a follow up build I would repeat this in ability page format, for now this would be a spec sheet for Devs.
Problem
Although she hypothetically hits hard by potentially gaining a ton of furies, and adding Damage Over Time to the mix with Incineration, she's tricky to maintain high damage output unlike the perks of some other Cosmic MVPs. I guess the issue is that she gains so many furies that each needs to be less potent than certain other champs', but the mechanism to keep ahold of them when they're high is a bit too delicate for less precise players.Recommendations
Instead of Overloading and losing all furies, a simple change would be to start losing 1 Fury or Phoenix Force Charge every 1.5 seconds after Overloading until only 1 PhxF Charge remained. Landing a Heavy while losing charges via Overload consumes all remaining Phoenix Force Charges and Fury Effects and places one Dark Phoenix charge indicating she entered Dark Phoenix Mode. The more Fury Effects she maintained when landing the Triggering Heavy, the more potent and long lasting the Dark Phoenix mode would be (from 10 seconds up to 20). As a Cosmic champ by default, she would lose Phoenix Force Charges or Fury faster facing Mystics (1 per second) and slower facing Techs (1 every 2 seconds) during Overload, instead of every 1.5 seconds.With the Dark Phoenix mode,
Synergy Updates,
When paired with any Redheaded teammate (including another rarity of Phoenix) or any member of the Phoenix Five (Cyclops (NXS), Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik or Namor), Phoenix starts the fight in Dark Phoenix Mode lasting 10 seconds (thus being Poison and Incinerate immune, like a Star eating Cosmic champ should be), and subject to all other perks such as 50% time extensions, health regen, etc. Additionally, Phoenix can reactivate DP mode as long as she has at least 1 PFCharge and 1 Fury if ever Poisoned or Incinerated instead of needing to Overload.[The idea here is to promote the use of attack options such as Cyclops where he otherwise might not seem to add value. This could be the situation where he is given access to the suggested Phoenix 5 rework whereas Emma, Col, Magik and Namor would not unless under the conditions of 3+ Phx5 Synergy members present]
The teammates would be protected from Poison, Incineration and Power Control 3 times, instantly shrugging off any such effects and remaining immune for 5 seconds each time one or more of those debuffs occur (opens them up as Poison lane options in AQ).
Nice to Have
Most or all of what was suggested above would be back end coding not requiring new animations; however, it would be a nice addition to give her costume a tweak whenever entering Dark Phoenix Mode with the classic Red & Gold color scheme of Dark Phoenix overlaying her Green & Gold (like how Emma goes Diamond). All else could look the same.
Her HUD would get the additional Dark Phoenix Mode icon replacing Phoenix Force Charge icons when she switches, but if color scheme changes aren't considered, the icon would serve well enough for players to know when to consider her immune to the various effects (especially knowing if Inverted Controls apply or not for Dexing). Text call outs for her immunities could add a layer of clarity to players though.
Mutant Finishing Touch
Much like Phoenix gets a Dark Phoenix icon to signify turning, a UNIQUE and hopefully inspired mechanism can honor Jean's mutant status. After resurrection, instead of being Phoenix, she would be Jean Grey through and through.
This would be signified by a Mutant Icon in place of the Phoenix Force Charge icons and manage the following:
Phoenix resurrects gaining more Health the in one go the more Phoenix charges she absorbed at KO
The Mutant icon signifies that all of her class relationships are no longer based on her being Cosmic class, now they're Mutant based
As such she gains Class Advantage over Skill, Disadvantage to Tech, loses Advantage over Tech and losing Disadvantages to Mystics
As the mutant form of Jean, she no longer gains Fury, cannot reenter Dark Phoenix mode, and cannot regen Health, but her Telekinesis grants her specials Prowess and True Accuracy, and also the ability to Block Unblockable attacks (granted this may tether on overdoing it, but at this point she's lost all other fancy, high damage mechanisms. If anything would go first it would be Prowess, but if kept, the prowess would be stronger based on the number of Furies absorbed during Resurrection)
In Summary, Phoenix gets:
Paced loss of Charges and Fury
A chance to convert them to a powerful Dark Phoenix mode and extend that mode
Health regen outside of Resurrection
A costume color change while switching modes
A Hero/Villain attribute change while switching modes
A Cosmic/Mutant class change after Resurrecting
Prowess, True Accuracy and Enhanced Block after Resurrecting
All of this is managed via Heavy, Medium and Well Timed Blocks. Certainly some could be trimmed off and she still requires a learning curve, but she's still more controlled with this design, Overload becomes a thing to look forward to, and having to build up to Overload keeps the frequency of Dark Phoenix Mode in check so .
So, don't be shy. If there's something that could be improved upon, let me know.
-not take damage from frostbite or coldsnap because he’s made of ice.
Ghost Rider
-not take incinerate or poison damage because he’s a burning skeleton.
While not the most powerful mutant in the Marvel Universe, Cyclops is supposed to be an Alpha-level Mutant (which means that he's combat-effective, but can pass for a human pretty much all the time). He's intended to be powerful enough to be able to overload Bishop's ability to absorb energy in seconds. He can tap into a virtually limitless well of power, but in Marvel Contest of Champions, he's pretty weak. So, I present to you a first draft rework of Cyclops (Blue Team)! (Based upon a Rank 5/65 5-Star Champion; Sig Level 200):
JUSTIFICATION:
All of the original X-Men are capable warriors in their own right. As the leader of the original team, Cyclops should be both a powerful enough Champion to tackle most opponents, even if he doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles to make him the most useful Champion in any situation. Well, suffice it to say that Cyclops (both of them, in their current iterations) does not have any bells or whistles. He can shoot some optic blasts, which can Armor Break the opponent, and he can gain additional Critical Rating, but that's pretty much it. So, this rework is intended to give him a little bit more that he can do, which will make him more effective as an attacker, and more dangerous as a defender.
BASE STATISTICS:
Hit Points: 31,398
Attack: 2301
Crit Rate: 628
Crit Damage: 738
Armor: 525
Block Proficiency: 3734
Energy Resistance: 0
Physical Resistance: 0
Crit Resistance: 0
Signature Ability - Expertise:
As the team leader of the X-Men, Cyclops both teaches and learns from his teammates, increasing their effectiveness in battle.
ABILITIES:
Heavy Attacks: Cyclops targets the weak points in his opponent's defenses. Heavy Attacks have a 100% chance to inflict an Armor Break Debuff, reducing the opponent's Armor Rating by 759.33 for 9.5 seconds.
Interdimensional Energies (Passive): With precise control over inter-dimensional energies, Cyclops gains Power faster at low Power levels. Cyclops Passively generates 2.5% of a Bar of Power each second. When he is above 1 Bar of Power, this is reduced by 0.5%. When he is above 2 Bars of Power, this is reduced by an additional 0.5%. Furthermore, Cyclops takes no damage from Havok's Plasma and Special Attacks, but his Special Attacks cannot damage Havok, either.
Well-Timed Blocks: When Cyclops executes a well-timed block, he has a 75% chance to gain a Precision Buff, boosting his Critical Rating by 1130.77 for 6.0 seconds. [Max Stacks: 3]
X-Suit (Passive): Cyclops' suit is made of Kevlar armor, which is bulletproof, flame retardant, and resistant to electric shocks and force impacts. Cyclops reduces the damage from Physical Attacks by 20%, and reduces the damage from Incinerate Debuffs, and Shock Debuffs by 50%. While not under the effect of an Armor Break Debuff, Cyclops' X-Suit also reduces the damage from Bleed Debuffs by 90%.
SPECIAL ATTACKS:
Special 1 - Optic Blast – Cyclops uses his Ruby-Quartz visor to focus a beam of energy.
- This Special Attack deals Energy Damage and gains 1342.62 Block Penetration.
- This Special Attack inflicts a Petrify Debuff, reducing the effectiveness of his opponent's Regeneration and Power Gain Debuffs by 65% for 8.0 seconds. The potency of this Petrify Debuff is doubled against Mister Sinister.
Special 2 - Vigilance – Two rage-fueled punches and a kick daze the opponent long enough for Cylops' Optic Blast to teach them a lesson.- The last hit of this Special Attack deals Energy Damage and gains 2185.71 Block Penetration.
- This Special Attack inflicts a Petrify Debuff, reducing the effectiveness of his opponent's Regeneration and Power Gain Debuffs by 65% for 12.0 seconds. The potency of this Petrify Debuff is doubled against Mister Sinister.
Special 3 - Gigawatt Blast – Scott Summers briefly loses control, allowing his Optic Blast to reach gigawatt levels. He'll be the only witness.SYNERGIES:
In this version of Cyclops, I didn't want to add a lot of tricks to his toolkit and make him a really complex Champion. I just wanted to focus on the things that might make Cyclops dangerous as both an Attacker and as a Defender. To that end, I clarified a few things, like the power gain he has being stronger when he is at low power levels, and how his Special Attacks don't affect Havok (and vice versa). Canonically, he does have a protective suit (which does protect against ballistics, fire, shock, etc...), and I thought that would be a nice way to give Cyclops something special added into his base kit.
While I moved the activation of his Armor Break effects (which are, admittedly weaker, but stackable), I brought in the ability to penetrate the opponent's block, which is going to ultimately be more effective. Now, I recognize that this doesn't do anything for him if he doesn't actually hit his opponent, but then again, what does? So, if the opponent blocks, they're going to take more damage than normal. If they evade, there's not much to do against that (without pulling some massively jerk-move designing), and if they just eat a face full of optic blast... Well... Enjoy the damage. Also the Petrify Debuffs are meant to add a little bit of utility to his Special Attacks, and since his optic blasts are canonically extremely effective against Mister Sinister, he gets to double the effect, which would effectively reverse his regeneration.
A few new Synergies with the original X-Men and his family members (Havok & Cable) are added in, and a branch out with Mister Sinister as a nemesis. Plus, more was added into his Signature Ability to give him an extra boost in both offensive and defensive value. He'll be able to throw off his Special Attacks more often, keeping his opponents on their toes.
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!
Signature ability:
All reversed buffs have their potency increased by 20% (up to 40%) for each activated stone, additionally, the opponents non-combat power rate is reduced by 5% (up to 10%) for each debuff.
Passive:
+850 attack rating for each active stone.
Persistent charge:
At the start of each fight, Thanos activated a random stone. This stone will be carried over to the next fight as a persistent charge until all are collected. Each one provides additional abilities. On the first fight in a quest, Thanos can select a stone through a pre fight ability.
Time stone:
Heavy attacks inflict a slow debuff, preventing all evade and unstoppable effects for 15 seconds. Additionally, the opponents combat power rate is reduced by 40%.
Thanos regenerates 0.5% of max health every second.
Power stone:
Thanos passively gains 15% of a bar of power per second.
All basic attacks deal 45% additional energy damage.
Heavy attack power steals 25% of the opponent's max power.
Mind stone:
Thanos is granted immunity to reversed controls.
Medium attacks inflicts concussion, reducing ability accuracy by 50% for 3 seconds.
Reality stone:
Every 9 seconds, Thanos is granted a random buff from the following:
Fury- +2370 attack rating.
Precision- +2850 critical rating.
Prowess- +40% special damage.
True strike.
Power gain- +35% power rate.
Armour up- +1200 armour rating.
These buffs can not stack and last 20 seconds. Maximum of 4 at one time.
Heavy attacks re roll the last gained buff.
Soul stone:
When Thanos would die, he is resurrected at 20% health once per fight.
Each living teammate increases his critical damage rating by 250.
Space stone:
During special attacks, Thanos uses a portal to hit the opponent with a beam of energy from space. This inflicts them with a random damaging debuff, dealing 4500 damage over 14 seconds. If they are immune to the debuff deal 4500 additional energy damage.
Special one:
Reverses all debuffs on Thanos to become buffs, each lasting 12 seconds. This duration is increased by 1.5 second for each active stone.
Weakness- fury (+800 attack).
Exhaustion- cruelty (+400 critical damage rating).
Fatigue- precision (+400 critical rating).
Armour break- armour up (+600 armour rating).
Damaging debuffs- regeneration (1250 health recovery).
Power drain- power gain (gain 65% of a bar of power).
Special two:
Reverse all buffs on the opponent to become debuffs lasting 14 seconds.
Fury- weakness (-950 attack).
Cruelty- exhaustion (-500 critical damage rating).
Precision- fatigue (-500 critical rating).
Armour up- armour break (-1300 armour rating).
Regeneration- degeneration (3000 degeneration)
Power gain- power drain (lose 85% of a bar of power).
Special three:
Reset the duration of all debuffs on the opponent and increase their potency by 75%.
Overall, great - like the clarity on the Passive Power gain, Precision on well-timed block, block penetration on specials (I'd add armour penetration, too) and the big damage boost to his SP3. Nice - might limit the Prowess benefits to Mutants; or perhaps 'All non-Tech attackers..."
I'd also be tempted to give him the power boost if he's Attacking the final node of a quest. It's not a huge boost anyway, and Cyke is supposed to be a guy who finishes fights... This sounds good. Is it a hit or an optic blast. Might need to be a little lower if it's a physical blow - he's not physically comparable to Venom... In an ideal world, I'd love this to be a point blank optic blast that can't be parried... I'd change the details to state that Cyke takes no damage from Havok's Energy attacks and vice versa. That'll actually benefit Cyke against more of Havok's attacks (including Medium and first part of Heavies), but allow Havok and Cyke to do a bit of damage when they kick and punch each other on SP2. This is the only part of the build I'd be critical of. Sure he wears a suit, but it's not that good! Compare to Gambit's 'unique' 22% bleed resistance. Or the Physical Resistance provided by Gambit's, Punisher's or Night Thrashers armour. Given that it's not a major feature of him in comics, he really ought to wear armour less effective than Punisher and Night Thrasher.
I think you need a flat value of Armour/Physical Resistance akin to Gambit/Punisher (and substantially lower than Night Thrasher), and maybe one kind of partial resistance (30% or so) to Shock or Incinerate or Bleed - not to all three.
Apart from slightly overdoing the x-suit, I like this a lot! Liking the SP3 more, the more I think on it.
So, I think I'll keep the Bleed Reduction as-is, and I'll keep the resistance to Physical Attacks, Incinerate Debuffs, and Shock Debuffs, but I might play around with the values.
As always, thank you very much for your feedback, @Magrailothos! I'm hoping to see at least one more response before I post a Version 1.1.
Best wishes!
I also think the resistance idea is interesting. I’ve never thought of Cyke as resistant to anything, but given that he doesn’t have ice armor or a thick blue hide, it makes sense he would have some protection from the array of weapons and assaults he might encounter as a mutant.
I agree with the non-Tech suggestion from @Magrailothos. Only someone like Mags should have a tech advantage.
One thing I’ve never liked about Blue Cyke is his specials doing armor break damage. In a diminishing returns system, that usually seemed to be of little help.
The idea of a petrify debuff is interesting, but I’m not aware of Cyke having any anti-Regen abilities. One thing to consider is whether or not it makes sense to have a large armor break debuff (or something like it) apply on the first hit and enhance the damage of the subsequent hits of the Sp1 (sort of like the way Red Mags’ Sp3 seems to do in beta).
That would make the Sp1 much more potent, and I’m leery of block penetration and how it gets used in game in general. It’s always felt like a cheap way to get around masteries we unlocked and have to use to play the game.
Great work!
Dr. Zola
- Weakness? A bit boring...
- Slow? Cyke has demonstrated the ability to push back Blob. Not sure if he ever managed Juggernaut...
- Vulnerability (increases Cyke's critical damage, like Stealthy)
- Busted (Bursts of damage with each critical hit, like Elsa)
- Trauma (smaller bursts of damage with every hit, like Red Guardian)
Busted and Trauma would have the advantage of bypassing resistances, damage caps and abilities like Sinister's regeneration, giving you the opportunity to have them more effective against him (you were never going to reverse his healing anyway I'm afraid - his healing can't go below zero.) Trauma also remains effective if the opponent has critical resistance.Armor Break has diminishing returns, the more powerful your opponent is. The whole kerfuffle with Guardian & Domino proves this, so giving him the ability to penetrate the opponent's block is not only more advantageous from an in-game perspective, but it also makes a lot of sense in terms of the physics (of a make believe scenario).
As for the other Debuffs... Yes, weakness is boring (and can be inflicted with a Mastery), and he's never been able to really slow down opponents (like the Juggernaut). In trying to keep things simple, I was trying to avoid drawing in newer Debuffs (like Vulnerability, Busted, or Trauma). Vulnerability and Busted could really make Cyclops overwhelming against a lot of foes, since his Well-Timed Blocks grant a Precision Buff already. Not only does that make Cyclops pretty much reliant upon being able to land Critical Hits for his damage output, which nerfs him against Champions that reduce Criticals or simply cannot be Critically Hit, like Ant-Man (with the Glancing mechanic), Captain America (Infinity War), Mister Sinister (which Petrify could nullify), and Man-Thing, but it's been done with lots of other Champions (and I thought that would be boring).
Not a ton of Champions penetrate your block, and those that do so use Disorient (which confers a 50% reduction in block proficiency) or Vulnerability (which usually confers a 50% reduction in block proficiency) Debuff. I didn't want to use a Debuff mechanic here, either, since that would lower Block Proficiency for extended periods of time (not just during the optic blast, unless you pulled a 0.5 second Debuff - or shorter - which is lame) and I didn't want to proc effects that punish you for placing Debuffs on your opponent; he's a pretty simple functioning Champion and I wanted to kind of give him an edge against those sorts of shenanigans. Busted Debuffs actually decrease your vulnerability to Coldsnap and Incinerate Debuffs, and while Busted Debuffs would increase the damage with each critical hit, I felt his best damage dealing should be contained to his optic blasts, not critical hits from punches and kicks. Trauma might make sense... If Cyclops was a Champion that really relied upon physical powers, as opposed to Energy damage from his optic blasts. I suppose his Energy blasts could count as both Physical and Energy damage, but it creates weird interactions with Nodes that punish you for using either Physical Damage (like Psychic Thorns) or against Champions with Energy Resistance (like Bishop).
Please understand that I'm not trying to shut your feedback down... I'm just working through this and explaining my thought processes here.
So what do you gents think, @Magrailothos and @DrZola?
Best wishes!
I think the best answer is a new and unique debuff personally (or Passive, if you prefer). This could do one (not all) of the following:
- Reduces healing +/- defensive Power gain
- Removes effectiveness of armour and/or critical resistance
- Causes burst damage akin to Trauma (every hit)
- Increase Susceptibility to Special damage (the same way Vulnerability increases the attackers Crit Damage Rating. This could be an indefinite/stacking effect...)
But if you want simplicity (and there's a strong case for that!) why not either:1 - Have a simple generic effect for Special Attacks 'Beam Attacks that strike the opponent passively heal block them for 1 second'
Or
2 - Optic Blasts cause an additional burst of Direct Physical damage equal to xx% of the damage caused.
Either of those would be very effective against Sinister; and possibly others who can heal back or 'cap' large amounts of damage from Specials. The second option would be significantly more powerful if xx was a decent number- it could possibly replace the Critical Rating boost, in his Sig?
Go with your favourite!
The Debuff is a mechanic with interactions that I'm trying to avoid here (to the benefit of the build), though I do like the effects that you're suggesting. It doesn't really add much to this kit, truth be told, to accomplish the extra damage that I'm going for by reducing the block proficiency of your opponent during the Special Attack (which would be effective against every Champion, not only Mister Sinister). I'm actively trying to work around Armor Break (as it's a mechanic that is also countered by certain Champions and Nodes, plus he's already got it in his kit). Armor Break has diminishing returns, and if there's a Champion out there who should be able to punch you (with his optic blasts) hard despite your Armor, Cyclops is a prime candidate for this ability.
Can you help me to better understand what you don't like about the instantaneous Block Proficiency reduction on his Specials? Once again, thank you for your help in refining this build!
I read champion improvement like the scheduled Tune Up they are doing for Punisher 2099 later this year. I would rather Iron Fist get the Colosus treatment.
As for the Other classes, id go as follows:
Tech - Iron patriot
Cosmic - Ms. Marvel
Skill - Karnak
Science and Mutant cant think of any