T2 Weapon - Aerodynamic Ammo

[lucangell]

I don't think I've ever felt as mildly inconvenienced by something in a video game as I have been with The Doorman's weapon, so I took that feeling and used it for something creative.

The item tree that branches from High-Velocity Rounds has always felt weird to me ever since the shop rework. After buying a nice, simple, QoL T1 weapon item, your choices to upgrade it are either for a unique mechanic that eats through your ammo economy and only truly shines on certain heroes and abilities, or a T4 defense piercer that only extremely dedicated gun heroes would buy as a counter to bullet resistance. It feels like a less extreme option is missing to fit in-between the power gap of HVR and its upgrades, and that's what I wanted to come up with.



I envision Aerodynamic Ammo as a go-to for people that want to make a spirit or vitality-focused, build but still want to give their weapon a small boost so it doesn't feel clunky and underwhelming otherwise. Obviously with the focus on bullet velocity, the best heroes to make good use of this would be ones like Kelvin, Viscous, Warden, Sinclair, Dynamo, Grey Talon, and of course, The Doorman my beloved. I could also see Aero Ammo working great as a holdover for gun heroes who want to build into Armor-Piercing Rounds but don't have the souls to buy it or want to buy other items more critical at the current moment. Warden, Vyper, Vindicta, Wraith, and even characters with already high bullet velocity like Seven, McGinnis, Infernus, Haze and Mirage might consider picking this up under those circumstances.

Shout-out to Fred_ for creating the fantastic Deadlock Graphic Designer I used to visualize the item concept, and feel free to discuss and leave feedback on this idea! This is my first time using a forum so it might take a bit for me to check back on any replies, but I really love this game and wanted to try contributing something to it!

 

[AleksiyFlek$$iy]

Personally, I think your item is a bit undervalued. The additional 800 souls do not provide sufficient changes compared to HVR. I would give at least 50% of the bullet speed, but this may be overestimated for heroes who already have a high bullet velocity. Perhaps this should add some high value, which would decrease with distance traveled, just like damage falloff works. How about an additional 80-100 m/s? I may be wrong, but that's my opinion.
Also I think, that Armor-Piecing Rounds should be separate item from velocity item range or have its own.

 

[lucangell]

Perhaps this should add some high value, which would decrease with distance traveled, just like damage falloff works. How about an additional 80-100 m/s?

Are you saying that it should have a flat increase to bullet velocity as well as the percentage increase like Boundless Spirit? Or that the velocity buff it gives bullets should be bigger but decrease the farther the bullet travels?

I like the idea of the former, as the flat buff would make the item more valuable to low bullet velocity heroes given that multiplying their already low base values can only do so much. The latter could also be interesting and would help with mid-range combat, but that's not the most difficult thing to adjust your aim for even on characters like Doorman, and trying to lead your shots as they slow down mid-air seems like it'd be really annoying to deal with.

 

[AleksiyFlek$$iy]

Are you saying that it should have a flat increase to bullet velocity as well as the percentage increase like Boundless Spirit? Or that the velocity buff it gives bullets should be bigger but decrease the farther the bullet travels?

I like the idea of the former, as the flat buff would make the item more valuable to low bullet velocity heroes given that multiplying their already low base values can only do so much. The latter could also be interesting and would help with mid-range combat, but that's not the most difficult thing to adjust your aim for even on characters like Doorman, and trying to lead your shots as they slow down mid-air seems like it'd be really annoying to deal with.

Both. A percentage value exceeding HVB and a decreasing value of flat. For some heroes (especially Paige), the speed of 80-100 m/s that I suggested would already be huge. This can lead to an abuse of the long-range attack strategy. Maybe I'm exaggerating, cause damage fall-off still exists, but I wouldn't want to fight against a sniper Warden.