Vulture
Class- Fire Support
HP- 130
Speed- 390
(With first ability variation in mind)
Profile-
I’m mostly pitching an ability here. Everything else is secondary, since mercs are generally defined by their ability.
Anti-Materiel Drone
The gist is a fire support ability that prioritizes objectives, can be used indoors and functions until shut down by the enemy, like a turret. I’m not attached to any of the numbers so if you have suggestions for balanced values, that’d be peachy.
Cooldown- 35-50 seconds after destruction. Pick what sounds right to you.
Duration- Infinite
Deploys a hovering drone similar to how Bushwhacker deploys a turret. The drone appears on the ground, then rises until it hits a ceiling or to around twice the height of the EV. The drone, after reaching height, continuously fires small AoE (0.5-1 meter radius) rounds at the nearest EV or generator. The targeting radius for objectives opens conically downwards at ~45 degrees. The drone will stay in the air until the enemy team shoots it down. The rate of damage would be similar to a molotov, but with much higher potential sum.
If no primary/secondary objective building is in view, the drone will attack enemy players below it, with nearly the DPS of Bushwhacker’s turret but with imperfect tracking, allowing faster mercs to get through the drone’s radius relatively unscathed. The drone’s targeting radius against players is slightly tighter. This means you can’t toss it in the Barrier Gen Room at Underground and have a super-buff AoE turret.
The drone has around twice the health of a Bushwhacker turret. I think this is justifiable because it can’t hide in a corner, and makes a big target of itself that can be seen from many angles. A sniper could easily peek-shoot-repeat it to death from a long distance. A concession could be giving it a “weak point,” an area with a headshot multiplier that can only be reached from directly beneath.
Ability Variations
These are all different ways to implement the same ability.
Drone Swarm
Instead of one large drone, three smaller drones are deployed in a “toss out” motion similar to Proxy mines. They circle in the air and fire at objectives first, then players. However, each drone can be destroyed individually, cutting the swarm’s effectiveness. Their flight patterns would become increasingly erratic as they’re destroyed, making them harder to snipe down.
Other stuff I’m considering
[list]
[]The drone(s) moves with the EV if the EV is within its targeting radius when deployed.
[]A reclaim function? It’d be good for those using it for anti-personnel purposes, but I don’t think you should be able to be redeploy such heavy machinery that frequently. Maybe you can reclaim it from directly beneath, and still have 60% CD.[/list]
Ability 2, ammo packs
Same as Arty and Skyhammer.
Weapons-
Primary- KEK-10, Blishlok, Hochfir
Secondary- Simeon .357, Caulden, DE.50
Melee- Beckhill, Stiletto, Cricket Bat
Notes
So, like I said, this is mostly about the ability. I also didn’t provide a whole lot of numbers because I have no idea how an ability like this would turn out. Feel free to suggest values.
[i]Made with @derpypenguinz19 's Mercenary Suggestion Form