Concept
The idea is of course a shapeshifter but one that isn't as worn out as the werewolf. I also think that the bear aspect would allow for some different abilities that could lead to different roles that Byorn could fit into. The name is a reference Beorn from LOTR but also changes it so that it has a bit of a viking vibe. As for gameplay, you could either go with a stance style hero who would have 6 total abilities and is able to shift forms on some kind of cooldown or it could work like Shiv's rage. You could also have it be an ultimate on long cooldown that only gives you those 3 abilities for a short period of time relative to the cooldown. I think that the ultimate with short up time is more interesting as the ult could still feel potent. The numbers on the abilities are less imporant as I have no clue how to do that, I'm more trying to give the goal of the abilities and explain how they work.
Flavor/Design
Bjorn is a Viking Werebear who was resurrected by the first Maelstrom. He was a member of a brotherhood of lycanthropes who stabbed him in the back or something. He is seeking the patron to resurrect those who betrayed him so that he can personally oversee their punishment. With the runes mentioned in Kelvin's lore Bjorn could some how be related. I envision him to be built a bit more like Baldr from God of War rather than a big dude to contrast with his bear form.
Gun
Bjorn would carry something resembling the "Madsen machine gun" but it would be a flat spread shotgun. I'm thinking like Bandit's primary from Risk of Rain 2. 3-4 pellets per shot that are in a straight line.
Abilities
Passive - Claws: Melee attacks apply a small bleed. Lights apply one stack while Heavies apply 2. The Bleed does 1.5% HP/s for 2 sec against heroes and 3% HP/s for 4 sec against NPCs. The stacks should have separate timers so that you cannot refresh it by continuously meleeing and building a ton of stacks on objectives. This isn't supposed to be shredding anybody. Having none of the damage scale is also important. Parry also applies 2 stacks.
1. Hack'n Slash
Bjorn swings his great axe twice in a flat cone in the direction that he's aiming. Each swipe does light melee + a small amount of spirit that scales of spirit. If a single target is hit by both swings, they also receive a stack of the bleed. This ability should be fast enough that it's hard to dodge but slow enough that you still can dash out of the range if you're ready to. The swipe also should have an aspect of skill as a player drag or accel like in Chivalry or Mordhau.
2. Runic Tonic
Bjorn takes a swig from his flask covered in runes. He gets temporary movement speed, recharges 2 stamina, stamina regen and each element of movement is buffed in a small but noticeable way. For example his dashes and dash-jumps give more speed/distance, jump is higher, and can vault onto a ledge farther away than normal. During this ability he also sees a kind of "scent trail" for any enemy at low health. This general buff to the already intricate movement would reward player skill as somebody who can chain together the slide, dash-jumps, vaults and so on will move real fast.
3. Toss
Bjorn toss the target 8m in any direction after a short cast animation. Can be used to throw allies in or out or to throw enemies. On landing, enemies take spirit damage and movement slow. An upgrade could be that the slow/damage are AoE. If a minion is thrown and hits an enemy it should deal damage.
Ultimate: Transform
Bjorn transforms into a large humanoid bear with damage resistances, low level movement slow resistance, extra move speed and his basic attacks become swipes of his claws. The vibe is similar to Winston from OW's ult but swipes don't knock back enemies. Each swipe does a solid chunk of damage and applies bleed. What would be cool is if Bjorn could also cast his ult on allies in close proximity (under 10m or so) to give them all the stat buffs without transforming himself. So if an ally has a strong initation he could ult them to buff the initiation instead of using it on himself. The swipes should also be parryable but shouldn't stun him when successfully parried. So a skilled enemy in a 1on1 could parry each swipe.
The idea is of course a shapeshifter but one that isn't as worn out as the werewolf. I also think that the bear aspect would allow for some different abilities that could lead to different roles that Byorn could fit into. The name is a reference Beorn from LOTR but also changes it so that it has a bit of a viking vibe. As for gameplay, you could either go with a stance style hero who would have 6 total abilities and is able to shift forms on some kind of cooldown or it could work like Shiv's rage. You could also have it be an ultimate on long cooldown that only gives you those 3 abilities for a short period of time relative to the cooldown. I think that the ultimate with short up time is more interesting as the ult could still feel potent. The numbers on the abilities are less imporant as I have no clue how to do that, I'm more trying to give the goal of the abilities and explain how they work.
Flavor/Design
Bjorn is a Viking Werebear who was resurrected by the first Maelstrom. He was a member of a brotherhood of lycanthropes who stabbed him in the back or something. He is seeking the patron to resurrect those who betrayed him so that he can personally oversee their punishment. With the runes mentioned in Kelvin's lore Bjorn could some how be related. I envision him to be built a bit more like Baldr from God of War rather than a big dude to contrast with his bear form.
Gun
Bjorn would carry something resembling the "Madsen machine gun" but it would be a flat spread shotgun. I'm thinking like Bandit's primary from Risk of Rain 2. 3-4 pellets per shot that are in a straight line.
Abilities
Passive - Claws: Melee attacks apply a small bleed. Lights apply one stack while Heavies apply 2. The Bleed does 1.5% HP/s for 2 sec against heroes and 3% HP/s for 4 sec against NPCs. The stacks should have separate timers so that you cannot refresh it by continuously meleeing and building a ton of stacks on objectives. This isn't supposed to be shredding anybody. Having none of the damage scale is also important. Parry also applies 2 stacks.
1. Hack'n Slash
Bjorn swings his great axe twice in a flat cone in the direction that he's aiming. Each swipe does light melee + a small amount of spirit that scales of spirit. If a single target is hit by both swings, they also receive a stack of the bleed. This ability should be fast enough that it's hard to dodge but slow enough that you still can dash out of the range if you're ready to. The swipe also should have an aspect of skill as a player drag or accel like in Chivalry or Mordhau.
2. Runic Tonic
Bjorn takes a swig from his flask covered in runes. He gets temporary movement speed, recharges 2 stamina, stamina regen and each element of movement is buffed in a small but noticeable way. For example his dashes and dash-jumps give more speed/distance, jump is higher, and can vault onto a ledge farther away than normal. During this ability he also sees a kind of "scent trail" for any enemy at low health. This general buff to the already intricate movement would reward player skill as somebody who can chain together the slide, dash-jumps, vaults and so on will move real fast.
3. Toss
Bjorn toss the target 8m in any direction after a short cast animation. Can be used to throw allies in or out or to throw enemies. On landing, enemies take spirit damage and movement slow. An upgrade could be that the slow/damage are AoE. If a minion is thrown and hits an enemy it should deal damage.
Ultimate: Transform
Bjorn transforms into a large humanoid bear with damage resistances, low level movement slow resistance, extra move speed and his basic attacks become swipes of his claws. The vibe is similar to Winston from OW's ult but swipes don't knock back enemies. Each swipe does a solid chunk of damage and applies bleed. What would be cool is if Bjorn could also cast his ult on allies in close proximity (under 10m or so) to give them all the stat buffs without transforming himself. So if an ally has a strong initation he could ult them to buff the initiation instead of using it on himself. The swipes should also be parryable but shouldn't stun him when successfully parried. So a skilled enemy in a 1on1 could parry each swipe.
