T4 Item that upgrades from Backstabber and Slowing Bullets

[Brokendoop]

Currently Slowing Bullets is almost never purchased because of its Spirit equivalent 'Slowing Hex' being an active you can apply instantly and silencing movement abilities for the same price.
Slowing Bullets ends up being a waste of a slot currently as it provides no Damage bonuses and provides very little gun investment as a 1600 item and eventually requiring you to sell it later.

Backstabber has the same investment issues, people buy it because the unique bonuses it provides are good, but for an item that's so unique it having no upgrade is honestly confusing, having to sell it later to free up a slot sucks because it provides very useful stats that only it provides.

I think adding a T4 that combines these items and buffs their effects like my example above is a great way of making these items more widespread and useable.
Especially right now when so many Heroes can play with bad positioning and easily escape due to builds/kits that provide insane amounts of movement speed like Victor, or because they have a 'get out of jail free card' ability built into their kit like Wraith. There needs to be better gun investment counters to such things.

Honestly I wish Deadlock had more items that upgraded from multiple items.

 

[Abandoned]

So you pay 3200 just to combine both items? I don't think anyone would purchase this item.

I also disagree that "selling items" is necessarily bad. In fact, I think it is underexplored: you could offer powerful low tier counter items that you know will inevitably need to be sold. The problem with Slowing Bullets has always just been that the effect is too weak. As you already implicitly pointed out Slowing Hex is purchased to silence movement abilities almost specifically.

 

[micbenso66]

Slowing bullets used to upgrade into a t4 but was removed as a component. The idea behind it, i assume, is to help you chase better as gun build. But, with the new investment system and its weak, and slow to build up, effect is not worth it. As you mentioned.

It should either have no build up at all, or, the slow should be stronger with another effect. Maybe build into silencer and add the slow to silencer.

The slowing bullets could have half of the spirit damage reduction, or a flat spirit power reduction added too it.

That being said, i do like the overall idea of Backstabber upgrading into something. Mabye something unique to backstabber, like the damage now scales with spirit and kills gives some sort of "murder rampage" type bonus. IDk, something like:

"killing a target with backstab bleed on them enrages your blood lust. On kill, you can "smell" enemy heroes through walls within a 3000m radius, gain 2 m/s when moving towards a hero, your next backstab applied will have double the effect. Last for 4 seconds."

This turns it into a chase and clean up item but doesnt last long.