Melee Charge is a great item, but melee focused builds overall lacks damage scaling options.
Very few characters outside of Abrams seems to make use of melee. Shiv is a recent outlier, but overall there are few exceptions.
I feel like this item could use an extra upgrade that could counter certain matchups or problems.
The issue:
-Melee damage builds don't scale and need to find other avenues for damage scaling in the lategame.
-Exclusive melee builds not being a viable option hurts the sandbox elements of the game.
Examples:
-The three most melee'ish options provided for lategame are Colussus, Phantom Strike and Glass Cannon (big source of weapon dmg, but kind of antithetical to close combat unless your have a lot of barrier)
-Abrams can sometimes run Glass Cannon as niche option on Abrams to just double-tap heroes lategame, as a way to stay relevant.
-Abram players usually just opt to go more green items for lategame, become tanky and waste the enemy team's time by being in their face while his team does the actual damage. Due to lack of scaling options.
-I've personally ran an experimental build on McGinnis with melee stuff, cold front, return fire and phantom strike. It has a good synergy with phantom strike where you immediately wall behind them and you can drop your turret and pummel them for a good 3-5 seconds. Your heal makes it impossible to fight back. However the main problem is always a lack of scaling. It's a great in the early-mid, but scales off completely late-game due to lack of good item options. So you either have to scale your turret or stack up green items like Abrams.
My suggestion:
-Provide a +3000 T3 item upgrade to the item.
Possible additions for added flavor:
-Combine Heavy Melee Cancel (HMC) from Fleetfloot and Heavy Melee Charge into an item that lets you fly through the air. While i do like the HMC tech, i feel like making it more available would be a good addition to the overall game. As very few characters want to invest in both FF+MC item combo, let alone spend both cooldowns.
-Using Melee Charge on an airborne target does a basketball slam dunk on the target. Providing more ways for players to deal with airborne heroes, as well as making an ideal item synergy between Melee Charge and Phantom Strike.
-Punching does a mini-stun or heavy slow. Could be useful for stopping certain abilities. Or for hindering escapes, which is the main crutch of melee focused builds as these characters are often slow but CC focused.
Visuals:
-It could look like a boxing glove.
Problems that may arise:
-Abrams is balanced by being good early and not that strong lategame. Additional late-game options may throw off balance.
-Melee isn't necessarily a fun testament of skill.
Very few characters outside of Abrams seems to make use of melee. Shiv is a recent outlier, but overall there are few exceptions.
I feel like this item could use an extra upgrade that could counter certain matchups or problems.
The issue:
-Melee damage builds don't scale and need to find other avenues for damage scaling in the lategame.
-Exclusive melee builds not being a viable option hurts the sandbox elements of the game.
Examples:
-The three most melee'ish options provided for lategame are Colussus, Phantom Strike and Glass Cannon (big source of weapon dmg, but kind of antithetical to close combat unless your have a lot of barrier)
-Abrams can sometimes run Glass Cannon as niche option on Abrams to just double-tap heroes lategame, as a way to stay relevant.
-Abram players usually just opt to go more green items for lategame, become tanky and waste the enemy team's time by being in their face while his team does the actual damage. Due to lack of scaling options.
-I've personally ran an experimental build on McGinnis with melee stuff, cold front, return fire and phantom strike. It has a good synergy with phantom strike where you immediately wall behind them and you can drop your turret and pummel them for a good 3-5 seconds. Your heal makes it impossible to fight back. However the main problem is always a lack of scaling. It's a great in the early-mid, but scales off completely late-game due to lack of good item options. So you either have to scale your turret or stack up green items like Abrams.
My suggestion:
-Provide a +3000 T3 item upgrade to the item.
Possible additions for added flavor:
-Combine Heavy Melee Cancel (HMC) from Fleetfloot and Heavy Melee Charge into an item that lets you fly through the air. While i do like the HMC tech, i feel like making it more available would be a good addition to the overall game. As very few characters want to invest in both FF+MC item combo, let alone spend both cooldowns.
-Using Melee Charge on an airborne target does a basketball slam dunk on the target. Providing more ways for players to deal with airborne heroes, as well as making an ideal item synergy between Melee Charge and Phantom Strike.
-Punching does a mini-stun or heavy slow. Could be useful for stopping certain abilities. Or for hindering escapes, which is the main crutch of melee focused builds as these characters are often slow but CC focused.
Visuals:
-It could look like a boxing glove.
Problems that may arise:
-Abrams is balanced by being good early and not that strong lategame. Additional late-game options may throw off balance.
-Melee isn't necessarily a fun testament of skill.
