[Effort Post] The Great Pretender – Jack of All Trades, Weapon Switcher

[Crovius]

Introduction

Why This Concept?
I’ve always enjoyed “jack of all trades” characters. Heroes who can dabble in many styles, adapt on the fly, and keep opponents guessing. I’m also a big fan of weapon-switching mechanics that let you change your approach mid-fight. I believe many players would enjoy this adaptable, weapon-switching fantasy as well.

What’s Been Done Before?
Other MOBAs have tried weapon-switching heroes, but many miss the true “jack of all trades” spirit. Often, the swaps are merely sidegrades within the same niche: all ranged or all melee weapons. This limits the adaptability and variety that make this concept exciting in the first place.

Why It Matters
A truly adaptable hero opens the door for high skill expression, both in decision-making and mechanical play. They’re thrilling to watch because every encounter is a puzzle and they feel rewarding to play because there’s always another option to try.

Fantasy
The Great Pretender is a daredevil adventurer known worldwide for his flashy exploits and adaptability. Though in reality, he freestyles through everything with little regard for technique or safety. Some explorations of this archetype can be seen in Ezreal (League of Legends) or Reno Jackson (World of Warcraft / Hearthstone): charming, reckless, and unpredictable.

However, to explain the weapon switching in lore, I propose one of these two directions:

Idea 1: Corporate Debt
He signed a shady sponsorship contract without reading the fine print and now has to show off cheap knockoff gear in his adventures. A fun way to explore Deadlock’s corporations while highlighting his improvisational style.

Idea 2: Cursed Treasure Loop
Cursed while claiming a treasure locals warned him about, he’s doomed to endlessly reclaim treasures he lost himself. Could involve tomb guardians or mischievous animal spirits and potentially highlight some lesser known folklore.



Hero Kit

Ability 1: Weapon Toss
The Great Pretender hurls his current weapon in a wide arc, dealing damage to enemies in its path, then immediately equips the next weapon in his rotation. This allows him to adapt mid-fight and keep opponents guessing.

Weapon Rotation:

1. Starting Weapon: Throwing knives / talismans — quick, ranged attacks for mobile harassment.
2. Next Weapon: Shield / Armored Gauntlet — short-range melee with defensive options, adding survivability and close-quarters versatility.
3. Final Weapon: Bow -- longer range, more precise shots for sniping or zoning.

Ability 2: Weapon Recovery (Passive)
Thrown weapons no longer disappear on impact — instead, they remain on the ground. Reclaiming a weapon triggers a unique, weapon-specific effect, reflecting The Great Pretender’s versatility:

• Throwing Knives / paper talismans: Performs a radial slash around himself, dealing damage to nearby enemies.
• Shield / Armored Gauntlet: Grants a fortifying buff, providing barrier or resistance to The Great Pretender and nearby allies.
• Bow: The bow sprouts tiny legs and acts like a mini turret, autonomously harassing enemies for small damage and marking them. If the mark is triggered, The Great Pretender gains a movement speed buff.

Ability 3: Reel In
The Great Pretender hooks himself toward the location of his last thrown weapon. This pull can be cancelled mid-motion by dodging, allowing him to redirect some of his momentum and reposition creatively in fights.


Ultimate: Master of All Trades


The Great Pretender gains both a passive and active effect for each weapon.


Passive – Weapon Meter:
Dealing damage with a weapon fills its meter. Once full, it triggers a temporary weapon-specific bonus for X seconds:

• Knives / Talismans: Gain X% movement speed.
• Shield / Gauntlets: Gain X HP regeneration.
• Bow: Gain X% fire rate.

Active Weapon-Specific Ability:
Each weapon grants a unique active, with separate cooldowns:

• Knives / Talismans: Throw one knife, then a second on recast to lay a wire trap that immobilizes targets for 3 seconds.
• Shield / Gauntlets: Perform a shoulder bash, dealing X damage and briefly knocking back enemies in front of you. After the bash, automatically enter a defensive posture, projecting a shield that blocks projectiles with X HP. Enemies that touch the shield are slowed and take X damage. The posture is cancelled if another action is taken.
• Bow: Charge a shot to deal X damage and mark an enemy. Attacking the marked enemy with a different weapon triggers the mark, granting X% movement speed.

Design goals and notes:

Ability 1:

• Goal: Unlike others, this design gives value to the act of switching weapons itself, incentivizing players to weave weapon swaps into their rotations rather than treating each weapon in isolation.
• Notes:
  • Likely auto-learned at level 1.
  • Weapon order is fixed and loops in the shown sequence.
  • Synergizes with the hero’s fantasy of adaptability and improvisation.
  • Should have a medium cooldown that gets reduced to a low cooldown by the upgrade path

Ability 2:

• Goal: Rewards strategic planning and positioning while reinforcing each weapon’s unique identity. Weapon placement forces meaningful choices — for example, do you throw your shield for damage or position it to maximize team support?
• Notes:
  • Weapons could levitate instead of falling, helping with vertical movement.
  • Radial slash (knives/talismans) might gain a slow as the ability is upgraded.
  • Fortifying buff (shield/gauntlets) could start as a small resistance bonus, with barriers added progressively through upgrades to avoid lane oppression.
  • Bow marks could also be added or improved as part of the upgrade path.
  • The little bow legs could be easily integrated with the fantasy such as the spirit itself being in the bow, therefore showing its animal legs, or a cheap fold out stand if going the corporation route.

Ability 3:

• Goal: Adds a movement option to weapon throws, enhancing mobility while making weapon reclamation effects more reliable and consistent for the player to use.
• Notes:
  • If no thrown weapon is available, a weaker directional dash could be performed instead.
  • Upgrade path could reduce cooldown and later grant a small bonus, like increased weapon damage or spirit.
  • Depending on the fantasy, the pull could be aided by a spirit or a grappling hook, keeping it visually and thematically consistent.

Ultimate:

• Goal: Rewards players for staying on a weapon to maximize its temporary buffs or chaining them in strategic orders. The active abilities give each weapon its own powerful, distinct effect, rounding out their identity and reinforcing adaptive play.
• Notes:
  • Weapon buff duration should be moderate to keep switching valuable.
  • Knife/talisman buff should support mobile gameplay and chasing.
  • Shield/gauntlets buff uses HP regeneration for sustained survivability; direct heals are an alternative for more immediate impact.
  • Bow buff currently increases fire rate; could be replaced with a more interesting effect.

• Active component should have a medium cooldown, reduced by the upgrade path.
• Shared cooldown for all weapon actives could make the choice of which active to use more meaningful, though separate cooldowns remain an option.
• Knife/Talisman – Wire Trap: Design should avoid hard CC, but triggering it carries a high penalty for enemies.
• Shield/Gauntlets – Shoulder Bash + Defensive Posture: Shoulder bash is not high-damage; the defensive posture is the core feature. Projected shield HP should be moderate to avoid poke-fest dominance in teamfights.
• Bow – Charged Shot: Serves as a poking tool and applies the same mark as the turret, enabling synergy with knife/talisman mobility buffs.

Closing thoughts:

Thank you for sticking with me until the end! If you enjoy my concept, feel free to share it on other platforms. And if you happen to be a Deadlock developer, it would be really fun to reference my gaming tag, Crovius, in some way: on his clothing, in the lore, or even in the name of The Great Pretender. Regardless, I would be incredibly happy if my design could be incorporated.