tortoise-chan
New member
This could replace Slork's wall cling but it could also just be its own thing. For brevity's sake I'll refer to the ability as if it's Slork's.
[Anchor Throw]
Slork throws a heavy anchor on a chain, dealing damage and brief knockback to enemies struck by it. Upon landing, the anchor embeds itself in the ground and/or latches to mantleable ledges. (Possibly including normally unreachable 'ledges' at the top of the play space, to allow clinging to high walls?) While the anchor is attached, Slork is connected to it by a chain that prevents him from moving further than a certain distance away from it, neither by his own influence, gravity, or even by other heroes' abilities. Slork may recast the ability to pull the anchor back (also dealing damage and knockback), at which time it goes on cooldown.
The knockback is aligned with the anchor's direction of travel. Additionally, when cast or recast in the air, the recoil of throwing/pulling the anchor accelerates Slork in the opposite direction. (They brace against the recoil when grounded). The damage can be spirit, bullet, or melee damage depending on the rest of the hero's kit, of course.
I quite like this idea because of the varied potential for movement and counterplay. Since an anchor is quite heavy, I imagine the animations would be a bit unwieldy, which would help balance the fact that when used properly, any acceleration can make for sick movment (see: Shiv). Chaining yourself to a specific spot is also an interesting form of counterplay to forced movement. Rather than simply becoming immune, you also must sacrifice your own ability to reposition. Being unable to immediately pull the anchor back could make this drawback more tangible, if necessary.
The big problem with this idea is the chain. Should it have a fixed length, or should the length be determined at the time the anchor lands? Billy's chains clip through the environment, but if Slork is going to hang from ledges it should probably collide with the environment, which I know would be troublesome. A fully physically simulated chain would be far too much detail, yet moving around a corner while "anchored" would be a frequent interaction that should feel physically accurate and natural. Still, the idea is so cool that I wanted to share it. Maybe you all can make something of it.
[Anchor Throw]
Slork throws a heavy anchor on a chain, dealing damage and brief knockback to enemies struck by it. Upon landing, the anchor embeds itself in the ground and/or latches to mantleable ledges. (Possibly including normally unreachable 'ledges' at the top of the play space, to allow clinging to high walls?) While the anchor is attached, Slork is connected to it by a chain that prevents him from moving further than a certain distance away from it, neither by his own influence, gravity, or even by other heroes' abilities. Slork may recast the ability to pull the anchor back (also dealing damage and knockback), at which time it goes on cooldown.
The knockback is aligned with the anchor's direction of travel. Additionally, when cast or recast in the air, the recoil of throwing/pulling the anchor accelerates Slork in the opposite direction. (They brace against the recoil when grounded). The damage can be spirit, bullet, or melee damage depending on the rest of the hero's kit, of course.
I quite like this idea because of the varied potential for movement and counterplay. Since an anchor is quite heavy, I imagine the animations would be a bit unwieldy, which would help balance the fact that when used properly, any acceleration can make for sick movment (see: Shiv). Chaining yourself to a specific spot is also an interesting form of counterplay to forced movement. Rather than simply becoming immune, you also must sacrifice your own ability to reposition. Being unable to immediately pull the anchor back could make this drawback more tangible, if necessary.
The big problem with this idea is the chain. Should it have a fixed length, or should the length be determined at the time the anchor lands? Billy's chains clip through the environment, but if Slork is going to hang from ledges it should probably collide with the environment, which I know would be troublesome. A fully physically simulated chain would be far too much detail, yet moving around a corner while "anchored" would be a frequent interaction that should feel physically accurate and natural. Still, the idea is so cool that I wanted to share it. Maybe you all can make something of it.
