New Build Feature: "Flex Pick" Categories (Dynamic Shop Logic)

[posties]

Hey everyone,

I'm posties; new to the forums, but i've been playing the game since mid 2025. I know that this forum category may be specifically for Item changes, but i don't see a better place to suggest this so i'm putting it here.

PREFACE: If you came here to read this and complain about how auto-queuing builds "is trash" or affects your mentality and feelings, this isn't the thread for that. This feature can be completely ignored by your playstyle, and won't affect your direct gameplay.
On the other hand, it will help new players understand the basics of changing their item choices during a game, like when to get a defense/heal item, or what movement item to get based on the opposite composition; generally helping the team out by not just following a Lightbringer guide from L>R.

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Flex Pick Category

I’m proposing a new category type called Flex Pick. This feature bridges the gap between a locked-in build and manual shopping, allowing players to pre-plan situational choices and execute them instantly in-game.

The Concept​

The Flex Pick category allows you to group 2-4 items together (e.g., Healing Rite vs. Restorative Locket). Instead of the build system picking one for you or skipping them entirely (like "Optional" categories do), it triggers a quick-choice prompt.

How It Works​

1. The "Flex Pick" Toggle
In the Build Editor, a new checkbox is added to the Category Options.
When selected:

• The category box takes on a unique hue (to distinguish it from Standard and Optional categories).
• Priority Checkboxes appear on the top-left of every item within that category.

2. The In-Game Flow (The Pop-up)When you approach a shop and have enough Souls for the items in your Flex category:

• A small Pop-up Prompt appears (see attached Mockup above).
• You can click the item you need or hit "Skip." This eliminates the need to open the full shop menu and navigate tabs mid-fight or during a rotation.

3. The "Priority" Pre-Selection While on the zip at the start of the match, or waiting for a respawn, you can open your build and check the Priority Box on one item in a Flex category.

• Once a priority item is set, the Pop-up is bypassed.
• The system treats that item as your "Core" for that specific match, auto-buying it the moment you enter shop range.

Why This Matters​

• For New Players: It acts as a guide. Instead of being overwhelmed by the whole shop, the game says: "Hey, you need a heal item. Pick one of these two." It teaches situational itemization without the "analysis paralysis."
• For Competitive/Pro Players: It’s all about efficiency. Being able to look at the enemy team comp during the loading screen, "Priority Check" your counters (like Suppressor or Silence Wave), and never having to manually search for them again saves significant time over the course of a match.

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That's my spiel; I'd love to hear others thoughts on this!

 

[posties]

Quick Note:

The item cost difference between Healing Rite and Restorative Locket was on purpose to demonstrate that you would need to have the "amount of souls" to cover the cost of any item within your Flex Category. So if you have an item that is 800, and one that is 1600, you will need 1600 souls before the Pop-up displays.

Generally, these categories would most likely be used for items that are within the same soul cost.

 

[Fred_]

I'm definitely not the target group for this but I quite like this feature.
As you said it would be great for new players and I think it's a pretty good gateway to manual build picking and even build freestyling.

 

[Dubertron]

Bro, this is almost exactly what I was thinking of too! My idea wasn't as fleshed out as this.. sweet presentation

 

[xenabrai]

I do think you should be able to open that menu before you have enough money to buy everything there; Anytime I've wanted to grab smth from a build L->R and there's a like flex segment sometimes I'll put in the flex items that are 1600-3200 or 3200-6400 and having to wait to pop up that menu would be really annoying as I'd just have to go into the buy menu, get the cheaper item, and then remember to unqueue the flex buy in the queue list. Pretty niche situation that probably doesn't also effect many people but just my thoughts. (Also think there should maybe be like a second checkbox that lets you buy as many times from that flex box until you click skip to show the next flex box? could be helpful for like those builds that seperate items into gun/vital/spirit cause ur suppose to try and hit the 4800 spikes)