sageu
New member
WHY
Snowball is maybe my favorite spell in Dota, it's so simple but so complex in application. So I got to thinking about what snowball really is, which is an object that goes to a set location (enemy hero) and can bring people other than the caster along. Thinking about it like that, couldn't you say that a taxi does those things also?
LORE
I think Taxi's are also pretty symbolic of the hustle and bustle of the big apple, which I believe rings true for the cursed apple as well, as well as being pretty universal in usage. I think having a taxi driver as a template opens up all sorts of ways the team could swing it. They could be a regular working class joe who's trying to escape poverty with the ritual, a jockey who's soul has become bound to this car, or even just the driver for another hero who's talked them into fighting.
APPEARANCE
Obviously having a car as a hero would break a bunch of systems and would be extremely hard to make work with the amount of air based movement in the game. I think having just a regular old person wearing their work clothes would really let some of the other cast pop. I'm sure you could make the argument that having another person who's essentially just their job would hurt doorman, but I would argue that it would make the twist of doorman's character feel even more impactful.
ABILITY IDEAS
I think the character should be based around snowball, or driving the taxi, and such I've provided some examples for a kit that plays off this.
Anything goes
1 (terrain; true to Dota) - Ice Shards works great in Dota, but in reflavoring to a Taxi Driver there isn't really an obvious equivalent. I think if terrain creation is a must, you could have it be a stop sign that works as a pillar essentially.
1 (kick; car focused) - Walrus Kick may be the most fun part of Tusk's kit, kicking a carry back into fountain is the most fun you can have in Dota IMO. It could be fun to incorporate a weaker version of this into Taxi Driver's base kit. I'm imagining an ability similar to close Shadowraze that always hits a sweetspot infront of you, ideally in melee range. This could be flavored as popping the hood and would put enemies hit behind you a set distance. I think this ability should either have a react-able start up time or a small hitbox, as Kick is an extremely strong repositioning tool.
Drive
As the basis for the character our Snowball equivalent, which I've named Drive, should have the most care put into it and ideally would be the idea which the character is built around.
2 (snowball equivalent; Dota like) - Taxi Driver would set a location, which could be marked by a stop sign visually, and after a short delay would drive toward it. If Stop Sign would be the first ability, this could interact with it maybe allowing turns or driving straight forward and back. The taxi should be summoned immediately, which would make Taxi Driver untargetable, or have high resistances, as he's inside. Allies could enter the taxi by light meleeing it, and would continue to travel along its path. Enemies hit by the Taxi could either be damaged and knocked up, or damaged and knocked out of the way. I could see an argument for having a separation be Taxis that damage enemies and ones that save allies, so the ally enterable one could be tied to an alt cast function, like doorman's cart. (I've provided an image of how this might look)
2 (snowball equivalent; shooter like) - Taxi Driver would instead plan a route out, becoming locked in place as they can move as a ghost for a set time. At the end of this time, the Taxi would instantly start driving forward. Allies could also enter into the taxi with light melee, or maybe allow themselves to be flagged as pickup-able with some sort of reaction to a chat message? As this version requires more planning punishments for getting hit should be greater. I could see this version working similar to gray talon, where the camera becomes locked on the ghost and leaves Taxi Driver vulnerable.
Support Tool
3 (slow; dota tag team equivalent) - Taxi Driver could toggle on an aura that whenever they melee someone, they beep the horn. This would give enemies a slow equivalent to a mini stun and an accuracy penalty. I like this as an equivalent to tag team, but could be hard to balance.
3 (buff; more supportive) - Taxi Driver would let an ally take a hit off their cigarette, giving them a small attack speed and move speed bonus.
Walrus Punch Equivalent
It's impossible to make a spell as cool as Walrus Punch, so I'm not going to try.
Taxi Focused
4 (kidnap) - Taxi Driver would force an enemy, or multiple, into the Taxi. I'd imagine this would be done in the same way Drive is done, either by a location target or a path being moved by the Taxi Driver player.
4 (global reposition for allies) - Taxi Driver could enter into a longform version of Drive, allowing the repositioning of the entire team. This could be too similar to Ivy's ult, which I think is a core issue with it.
4 (free drive) - Taxi Driver would take complete control of the Taxi, allowing it to move essentially anywhere. This could be too similar to Viscous Ult, which again I think is a core issue.
I could see all of the Taxi Focused ult options working as upgrades for Drive and would be interested in what the team could come up with as the ult.
GUN
As Taxi Driver is designed around Tusk, having a short range akin to melee characters would make sense. I would personally prefer something like a revolver, but Abrams may have that slot taken. Ideally it should be something a working class person would have, nothing flashy.
Snowball is maybe my favorite spell in Dota, it's so simple but so complex in application. So I got to thinking about what snowball really is, which is an object that goes to a set location (enemy hero) and can bring people other than the caster along. Thinking about it like that, couldn't you say that a taxi does those things also?
LORE
I think Taxi's are also pretty symbolic of the hustle and bustle of the big apple, which I believe rings true for the cursed apple as well, as well as being pretty universal in usage. I think having a taxi driver as a template opens up all sorts of ways the team could swing it. They could be a regular working class joe who's trying to escape poverty with the ritual, a jockey who's soul has become bound to this car, or even just the driver for another hero who's talked them into fighting.
APPEARANCE
Obviously having a car as a hero would break a bunch of systems and would be extremely hard to make work with the amount of air based movement in the game. I think having just a regular old person wearing their work clothes would really let some of the other cast pop. I'm sure you could make the argument that having another person who's essentially just their job would hurt doorman, but I would argue that it would make the twist of doorman's character feel even more impactful.
ABILITY IDEAS
I think the character should be based around snowball, or driving the taxi, and such I've provided some examples for a kit that plays off this.
Anything goes
1 (terrain; true to Dota) - Ice Shards works great in Dota, but in reflavoring to a Taxi Driver there isn't really an obvious equivalent. I think if terrain creation is a must, you could have it be a stop sign that works as a pillar essentially.
1 (kick; car focused) - Walrus Kick may be the most fun part of Tusk's kit, kicking a carry back into fountain is the most fun you can have in Dota IMO. It could be fun to incorporate a weaker version of this into Taxi Driver's base kit. I'm imagining an ability similar to close Shadowraze that always hits a sweetspot infront of you, ideally in melee range. This could be flavored as popping the hood and would put enemies hit behind you a set distance. I think this ability should either have a react-able start up time or a small hitbox, as Kick is an extremely strong repositioning tool.
Drive
As the basis for the character our Snowball equivalent, which I've named Drive, should have the most care put into it and ideally would be the idea which the character is built around.
2 (snowball equivalent; Dota like) - Taxi Driver would set a location, which could be marked by a stop sign visually, and after a short delay would drive toward it. If Stop Sign would be the first ability, this could interact with it maybe allowing turns or driving straight forward and back. The taxi should be summoned immediately, which would make Taxi Driver untargetable, or have high resistances, as he's inside. Allies could enter the taxi by light meleeing it, and would continue to travel along its path. Enemies hit by the Taxi could either be damaged and knocked up, or damaged and knocked out of the way. I could see an argument for having a separation be Taxis that damage enemies and ones that save allies, so the ally enterable one could be tied to an alt cast function, like doorman's cart. (I've provided an image of how this might look)
2 (snowball equivalent; shooter like) - Taxi Driver would instead plan a route out, becoming locked in place as they can move as a ghost for a set time. At the end of this time, the Taxi would instantly start driving forward. Allies could also enter into the taxi with light melee, or maybe allow themselves to be flagged as pickup-able with some sort of reaction to a chat message? As this version requires more planning punishments for getting hit should be greater. I could see this version working similar to gray talon, where the camera becomes locked on the ghost and leaves Taxi Driver vulnerable.
Support Tool
3 (slow; dota tag team equivalent) - Taxi Driver could toggle on an aura that whenever they melee someone, they beep the horn. This would give enemies a slow equivalent to a mini stun and an accuracy penalty. I like this as an equivalent to tag team, but could be hard to balance.
3 (buff; more supportive) - Taxi Driver would let an ally take a hit off their cigarette, giving them a small attack speed and move speed bonus.
Walrus Punch Equivalent
It's impossible to make a spell as cool as Walrus Punch, so I'm not going to try.
Taxi Focused
4 (kidnap) - Taxi Driver would force an enemy, or multiple, into the Taxi. I'd imagine this would be done in the same way Drive is done, either by a location target or a path being moved by the Taxi Driver player.
4 (global reposition for allies) - Taxi Driver could enter into a longform version of Drive, allowing the repositioning of the entire team. This could be too similar to Ivy's ult, which I think is a core issue with it.
4 (free drive) - Taxi Driver would take complete control of the Taxi, allowing it to move essentially anywhere. This could be too similar to Viscous Ult, which again I think is a core issue.
I could see all of the Taxi Focused ult options working as upgrades for Drive and would be interested in what the team could come up with as the ult.
GUN
As Taxi Driver is designed around Tusk, having a short range akin to melee characters would make sense. I would personally prefer something like a revolver, but Abrams may have that slot taken. Ideally it should be something a working class person would have, nothing flashy.
