Sand Armadillo Tank

[ServareVitas]

I recently read two interesting fan concepts by two other users pertaining to a 'Golem type' frame that was essentially a new very tough and slow tank and a 'Sand element' frame. I really liked these two ideas and I decided to integrate them into an idea for a drastically different kind of frame that I've been conceptualising for a long time now. 

 

This frame (currently nameless) is essentially a 'sand element' frame that is loosely based upon an armadillo (basically incredibly durable and thick armour on his back). This frame would be different because he would have 2 separate armour values one for his front and sides and another separate value for his back (reflecting his overlapping plates). 

 

'Armadillo frame' would be unique in that he's the strongest and most durable tank but at the same time quite average based upon whether he's being attacked from the back or the front/sides/above. His incredible armour is balanced by the fact that *if* he wants to make use of it he can't shield himself/others *and engage targets* at the same time, he needs to choose whether he wants to fight or be a shield. His separate armour values would be very strong contrasts of each other something like 100/700 front/back meaning from the front he is very much an average frame. 

 

'Armadillo frame' would also be the slowest frame in the game at 0.8 or possibly 0.7 but this would be alleviated by one of his powers "roll out" where he essentially curls into a ball and rolls, increasing his speed considerably, at the obvious expense of sustained power expenditure and inability to use weapons (more details on that shortly). 

 

I've given some thought to the kinds of powers this guy could have and I'm going to list more than 4 partly because I have a lot of ideas and partly because I have problems with some of them in terms of balancing. Power names are simply 'placeholder names' and any suggestions for alternate names are welcomed. 

 

Roll-Out 

 

'Armadillo' curls into a ball and rolls forward at high speed. In this state 'Armadillo' is able to increase his speed considerably. This would be a togglable power and would cost x-amount to initiate and would drain x-amount per second that he continues to roll around. I want this to be very much a utility power to alleviate his incredibly slow speed rather than being an offensive power. Therefore I say that anything in his way can be knocked down and sustain impact damage but that the damage should be fairly mediocre perhaps in the 300 range. This is one of his essential powers that I have always envisaged from the very beginning. 

 

Sandstorm 

 

Basically a crowd-control ability. Reduced accuracy and line-of-sight, temporary weapon jams, perhaps mild damage. I need some thoughts on this because it needs to be fleshed out a bit. Ideas welcome. 

 

Tail-Whip

 

Yes I thought it might be quite cool if he had a tail with a spikey ball on the end.. I'm not really sure if I like the idea or not yet to be perfectly honest. But if he did have one... A tail-whip could be an interesting simple power perhaps for the #1 slot. He basically spins 360 and slams the ground.... Area affect knock down for all targets within a short radius, anyone hit by the tail itself is knocked flying and dealt a sizable amount of impact damage (I'm thinking perhaps 650ish) the same as Rhinos charge but at the same time this power wouldn't always make direct contact and when it did it would only hit 1 or 2 targets directly (outside of the secondary slam part) meaning the generous damage is justifiable and not OP. 

 

Spikey-Launch 

 

This really needs a proper name. Basically I envisaged him perhaps having small thin spikes (like a porcupine) between his armoured plates and that one power could essentially be him curling down into a ball and ejecting needles in all directions. The main problem with this power is that it's very similar to Exacliburs Radial Javelin and therefore if it's going to work it needs some kind of twist that makes it distinctively different enough. 

 

Quicksand 

 

Not a bad working title. Essentially creates a path of quicksand that sucks in and immobilizes enemies that step into it. It's similar to Oberons Hallowed Ground and in another way achieves a similar affect to Vaubans Bastile so again this power would need a lot of tweaking to make it unique. Would the targets be immobilized? Would they just be very slow? Could they be immobilized but able to fire? It needs some thought. 

 

Stalagmite

 

'Armadillo' punches the ground or perhaps digs his claws into the ground. Either way what essentially happens is a lot of stalagmites erupt from the ground rippling out in front of you. Enemies are thrown up into the air. It has a lot of similarities to Frosts Icewave however it would be more crowd-control orientated designed to throw enemies up and stagger them. Damage would be low-moderate perhaps a #2 power.  

 

 

'Armadillo' is a new kind of tank technically the heaviest and slowest but dependent upon how hes used. Given that so much about Armadillo revolves around his unique back armour he needs to be very carefully balanced. I envisage him as a defensive crowd-control tank, his abilities deal damage but it's not his main purpose. 

 

 

[Ace_Kayo]

Neat idea. I like the "Roll-Out", "Sandstorm", "Quicksand", and "Stalagmite" power ideas the most out of the list if I had to pick four.

 

As far as putting more details in some of the powers, I think Sandstorm should do random effects from what you listed (to simulate that some enemies get hit "harder" from it or something). Quicksand, I think, would be unique if it had a slow down AoE that drags enemies in, and the slow down gets worse and worse as they get to the center of it.

[ServareVitas]

Neat idea. I like the "Roll-Out", "Sandstorm", "Quicksand", and "Stalagmite" power ideas the most out of the list if I had to pick four.

 

As far as putting more details in some of the powers, I think Sandstorm should do random effects from what you listed (to simulate that some enemies get hit "harder" from it or something). Quicksand, I think, would be unique if it had a slow down AoE that drags enemies in, and the slow down gets worse and worse as they get to the center of it.

 

Mmm yes I'm thinking this would be a good way for it to work to be honest. The 5 powers I've listed are ideas but I would say they mainly fall into the #1 and #2 categories... I'm really not sure on an ultimate #4 for this guy yet..