Gun Rot: An Upgrade To Withering Whip

[ydemircinar2604]

Are you sick of being melted down as your opponent simply holds down M1? Are you sick of the gun builds? I sure am!

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Gun Rot
@4,250
Components: Withering Whip
+150 Bullet Shield health
+10 Spirit Power
+10% Movement Slow resist

Active______________________Cooldown: 25s__

____-45%__________ -65%__________12%_______
__Fire Rate________Ammo_____Bullet Resist__
_Reduction______Reduction______Steal_______

Cast Range: 20m____________Duration: 5s____

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With the addition of our new 4 characters the already annoying gun meta has become even worse. Especially with Holliday and Vyper. This has indirectly made Withering Whip an even better item, considering many gun builds rely heavily on fire rate. Characters like Ivy who should be mobile support/utility characters can do more damage than dedicated carries like Haze and Wraith and a McGinnis can pop down two turrets and a heal and stare at you as she melts down your middle walkers.

My item idea aims to combat this unfun meta not by ruining the gun players' fun but by allowing counter itemization. Withering Whip by itself is very good until early-mid game. But because all M1 spam characters have good movement/dodge options (Wraith's TP, Ivy's stone form/stamina/ult, Haze's speed, Yamato's ult, McGinnis's wall) it falls short later on. Having a "gun-shutdown" item that reduces magazine size on top of reducing fire rate would make it so that characters can not just sit under a walker and hold M1 with Intensifying Magazine and Bullet Lifesteal 18 minutes in to just melt down walkers as the 3 people who just boosted there cannot do anything. Even though they arrived when walker still had half health.

Gun Rot aims to be an upgrade of Withering Whip that is much stronger as a defensive tool at the cost of being a slightly worse offensive tool due to reduced casting range. If paired with Slowing Hex (which would be a 6000 soul + 2 slot investment) should be able to shut down any slippery M1 spammer.

I'm not a game designer at the end of the day. This item might be broken if added but the most important request of mine is that the game NEEDS some kind of magazine size debuff to counter play against gun spam. If nothing, add that PLEASE.

 

[nathanieljbrill]

Pretty good design.

 

[Rosgath]

I actually really like this concept. With reducing the mag size they aren't completely shut out from their gun, but they are in much more trouble. This feels like it would fit well.

 

[Mr.Mindish]

I think it's a good idea. You might risk people running this offensively to improve their own gun potential, though. At the price, it might be better to save for Curse or Silencer, but I think it's a solid item with a valuable use
Next major update will probably nerf the gun meta anyways, but this item could still work then with some tweaks.

 

[ydemircinar2604]

I think it's a good idea. You might risk people running this offensively to improve their own gun potential, though. At the price, it might be better to save for Curse or Silencer, but I think it's a solid item with a valuable use
Next major update will probably nerf the gun meta anyways, but this item could still work then with some tweaks.

Would a permanent ammo debuff on the buying player be a good way to counteract this? Maybe a %12 reduction in magazine size?

 

[Firebeard]

I like this item concept and it makes sense. There is currently no counter item to the Titanic+Intensifying Magazine combo that I know of. This proposed item would help that. The 10 spirit power is a good choice because it softens the blow of losing a purple slot for those spirit heavy characters who get bullied by fire rate gun builds the most (like Talon for instance).

I wonder if -45% fire rate and -65% mag size both on the same item is a little too strong, but the numbers could be refined in testing. Plus it only lasts 5 seconds. I would personally trade some effectiveness for a little more duration. Maybe -33%/-50% for 7 seconds.

Good idea, though.

 

[ydemircinar2604]

I like this item concept and it makes sense. There is currently no counter item to the Titanic+Intensifying Magazine combo that I know of. This proposed item would help that. The 10 spirit power is a good choice because it softens the blow of losing a purple slot for those spirit heavy characters who get bullied by fire rate gun builds the most (like Talon for instance).

I wonder if -45% fire rate and -65% mag size both on the same item is a little too strong, but the numbers could be refined in testing. Plus it only lasts 5 seconds. I would personally trade some effectiveness for a little more duration. Maybe -33%/-50% for 7 seconds.

Good idea, though.

Hmm, I was actually worried if 5 seconds was too long and it should also go down along with casting range from Withering Whip.

About the fire rate reduction, I was actually thinking that NOT reducing the fire rate along with the magazine size would make it so that the reload has to happen sooner therefore the window of vulnerability arrives more immediate. That could cause this to be even stronger offensively.