Scavenger Rodents

[thatfunkedude]

Scavenger Rodents (3000)​

+3 Ammo +3 Health Regen +3 Spirit Power​

Active (30s): Summon a group of 3 spectral rodents that navigate towards the nearest (<20m) breakable objects and then return back to you with their contents. Duration lasts for 4 seconds, meaning some rats will be able to make multiple trips as they follow you around.​

Item designed for streamlining box collection. Rodents will fetch the drop and return to you, but they move at a speed of ~5m/s meaning the further you run away from them the longer it will take for them to return to you. Enemies can shoot individual rats, killing them and dropping their item in place.

Biggest concern is how much such an item would impact economy. Used correctly it could give players a LOT of free resources over time which would normally require the player to physically run up to a box and break to obtain. If the rats are TOO good at quickly amassing boxes, this item could very quickly become a must-buy due to the passive benefit. It should be designed to reward players who actively seek out box-rich environments but limit how useful it is as an item spammed passively while doing other activities.

 

[haydn]

Autonomous rats collecting and coming back to the player feels a bit complicated, I like it! But it can easily feel too OP or useless depending how its designed/balanced.

I could see a simpler suction/pull AOE that's around the player. It can break boxes, gravitate items. It would still encourage players to engage in the box breaking behavior but streamline the tedious aspects.

Perhaps targeting boxes might detract from primary gameplay, so what if it could be an upgrade to monster rounds? Maybe it could attract all nearby creeps. Friendly creeps aiding you or wiping enemy waves easier by rounding them up.

 

[Vofi]

Maybe there should not be a radius, but a cone with a display on the map. This will require knowledge of the location of the boxes

 

[thatfunkedude]

Maybe there should not be a radius, but a cone with a display on the map. This will require knowledge of the location of the boxes

I like that idea, since it would be a skillshot rather than an effortless cast.