Crawling - tunnel access for existing characters!

[A Name]

I think the new tunnels for small heroes are cool! But as it currently stands, they're only really practical for Calico and Rem (who's not even out yet). So, how can we make this new play area interactive for more of the cast?

Crawling
When certain characters approach a vent (or when they slide into one), they are prompted with the option to crawl through using the interact key. Crawling through a vent takes a bar of stamina, and taking damage will prevent crawling for the next five seconds. If you take damage while crawling, you will be momentarily stunned.

The reason behind crawling is that some characters, for thematic or gameplay reasons, should reasonably be able to enter the tunnels. The tunnels are already sized to fit a crouching character, but this barely comes into play. Crawling will also prevent awkward situations where characters like calico will get stuck until their cooldown returns. Characters like Rem will not need to crawl and will be able to go through vents freely.

Who Can Crawl?

• Calico
  • Gameplay
  • As it is, Calico can temporarily get stuck in the tunnels if she leaves Ava. Letting her crawl through in human form prevents this.
  • Fine from a balance perspective and keeps up the pace of the game.
• Mo & Krill
  • Thematic
  • In lore, Mo & Krill are tunnel rats, and are guardians of neutrality in underground trade through... the tunnels. Mo is a mole, which live underground in tunnels. Furthermore, there is no logical reason they can not enter the tunnels with burrow.
  • Being able to enter the tunnels is a powerful addition to Mo's kit. While i'm not sure it's balanced as-is, I feel it would be a fair boon to distribute power away from mo's existing kit. Because Mo is so tanky, having an additional means of escape feels overkill.
• Vyper
  • Thematic
  • She's a slippery slithering snake, an animal known for being able to fit into tight spaces. much like Mo, Vyper's ability to enter the tunnels through vents fits the hero fantasy so well.
  • Unfortunately, I cannot see a way for Vyper being able to enter vents as anything but obnoxious. She's already capable of easy escapes, and making her have access to an exclusive area would exaggerate that. Calico
• Grey Talon
  • Thematic, slight gameplay
  • Grey Talon is a hunter, so it feels right to me that he can crawl through the tunnels to hunt down his prey. His bird already can with great precision.
  • Talon is already considered a weak pick, so allowing him to enter a space where he can't make use of his flight seems fine. You also get fun gameplay moments of launching powerful shots down tight corridors. Also makes flying the owl through tunnels a bit more accessible. (please make it so it doesn't break when touching boxes i beg of you)
• Drifter
  • Thematic, slight gameplay
  • Like Talon, Drifter's fantasy marks him as a predator. Being able to hunt another player through the tunnels would help fulfill that
  • Probably fine balance wise (I'll be honest, I'm running out of steam at this point in the post)
• Viscous
  • Slight thematic
  • Viscous is made out of goo, and with ball, it tracks that he could alter his form to slink through the vents.
  • Slightly weird interactions between viscous ball form and tunnels where it sinks into the ground, as well as between punch and tight spaces. In terms of balance I think viscous would be fine in the tunnels though. rolling around the tunnels is REALLY fun, and splatter bounce is interesting and maybe even practical.

Thus concludes the post. I know a lot of this stuff would be unbalanced but I think discussion is always healthy

 

[TokenNoob]

I just assume therell be a hero that can shrink other heroes, eventually

 

[A Name]

I just assume therell be a hero that can shrink other heroes, eventually

There's shrink ray in street brawl, but i think it should be an innate part of more characters kits.