I know I'm not the only one who feels that explosive weapons, primarily those in the assault rifle category, are severely underutilized. I thought up an idea for a character geared towards using explosive weapons. I payed extra attention to certain conventions that might make him too similar to the Gunzerker.
The Character
I had a couple of ideas for the characters presentation. First and foremost was the prospect of a playable loader. I'm sure this idea already turns some people off, but that's I thought up an alternative character as well.
The DISCOMBOBU Loader
Is made up of various parts of EXP, PWR, and GUN loaders, it's AI core was severely damaged to the point of psychotic self awareness. The loader has the psyche of a 1960's drill sergeant and developed a sociopathic obsession with large-scale dismemberment of organic creatures. It found that explosive weapons yielded the most favorable results.
Could make for an interesting type of skin/head style, plus some good dialogue when fighting Hyperion. This is my preferred character style.
The alternative.
The Discombobulator
An unusually large, dimwitted human (comparable in mentality to a Goliath, though not quite as large) who used to be part of the Atlas military. He was discharged and persecuted after his superiors discovered that he forced cadets to drink nitroglycerin and perform jumping-jacks as a form of hazing. He acquired great joy from watching the young cadets coat the barracks with their entrails, and though not specifically intelligent, had an extensive knowledge of explosives.
This character is my second choice. I wanted to distance it from the Goliaths while retaining some of their personality. I don't want people thinking this guy could turn into a "Raging Discombobulator". His attire would consist of old Atlas gear cannibalized and turned into armor (helmets for shoulder armor since he is too big for it) as well as pieces of junk found laying in the wastes.
For a name I just pulled three good sounding possibilities out of thin air. Boscov, Norman, and Powell. I prefer Powell for the loader and Boscov for the human.
The Skill Trees
Action Skill: Christmas Bombings
When active, the current weapon gains +100% fire rate, recoil reduction, magazine size, (minimum magazine of 20) and explosive damage. Gyrojets fly at the speed of normal bullets.
Duration: 30s Cooldown: 45s
Meltdown
Tier 1
+40% Accuracy with explosive weapons
-or-
+50% fire rate
Tier 2
+40% grenade explode radius
-or-
+70% gyrojet flight speed
Tier 3
Going down causes an explosive nova, damage and size increasing with each rank (5 Ranks)
-or-
Weapons require 1 less ammunition to fire (minimum of 1 ammunition) [1 Rank]
-or-
Increases the explosive radius of gyrojets by 2.5 meters (5 Ranks, .5m per rank)
Tier 4
75% chance that critical hit causes a massive explosion that does not damage you
Tier 5
While using action skill with an explosive weapon already equipped you gain +50% damage, fire rate, reload speed, and accuracy.
Tier 6
Every shot fires x2 projectiles (Second projectile has 98 accuracy in relation to the first shot)
The two other skills trees I had in mind were specifically for the action skill, and one based on defense. The defense tree would have certain abilities such as a deployable IED and proximity mines.
More soon...
The Character
I had a couple of ideas for the characters presentation. First and foremost was the prospect of a playable loader. I'm sure this idea already turns some people off, but that's I thought up an alternative character as well.
The DISCOMBOBU Loader
Is made up of various parts of EXP, PWR, and GUN loaders, it's AI core was severely damaged to the point of psychotic self awareness. The loader has the psyche of a 1960's drill sergeant and developed a sociopathic obsession with large-scale dismemberment of organic creatures. It found that explosive weapons yielded the most favorable results.
Could make for an interesting type of skin/head style, plus some good dialogue when fighting Hyperion. This is my preferred character style.
The alternative.
The Discombobulator
An unusually large, dimwitted human (comparable in mentality to a Goliath, though not quite as large) who used to be part of the Atlas military. He was discharged and persecuted after his superiors discovered that he forced cadets to drink nitroglycerin and perform jumping-jacks as a form of hazing. He acquired great joy from watching the young cadets coat the barracks with their entrails, and though not specifically intelligent, had an extensive knowledge of explosives.
This character is my second choice. I wanted to distance it from the Goliaths while retaining some of their personality. I don't want people thinking this guy could turn into a "Raging Discombobulator". His attire would consist of old Atlas gear cannibalized and turned into armor (helmets for shoulder armor since he is too big for it) as well as pieces of junk found laying in the wastes.
For a name I just pulled three good sounding possibilities out of thin air. Boscov, Norman, and Powell. I prefer Powell for the loader and Boscov for the human.
The Skill Trees
Action Skill: Christmas Bombings
When active, the current weapon gains +100% fire rate, recoil reduction, magazine size, (minimum magazine of 20) and explosive damage. Gyrojets fly at the speed of normal bullets.
Duration: 30s Cooldown: 45s
Meltdown
Tier 1
+40% Accuracy with explosive weapons
-or-
+50% fire rate
Tier 2
+40% grenade explode radius
-or-
+70% gyrojet flight speed
Tier 3
Going down causes an explosive nova, damage and size increasing with each rank (5 Ranks)
-or-
Weapons require 1 less ammunition to fire (minimum of 1 ammunition) [1 Rank]
-or-
Increases the explosive radius of gyrojets by 2.5 meters (5 Ranks, .5m per rank)
Tier 4
75% chance that critical hit causes a massive explosion that does not damage you
Tier 5
While using action skill with an explosive weapon already equipped you gain +50% damage, fire rate, reload speed, and accuracy.
Tier 6
Every shot fires x2 projectiles (Second projectile has 98 accuracy in relation to the first shot)
The two other skills trees I had in mind were specifically for the action skill, and one based on defense. The defense tree would have certain abilities such as a deployable IED and proximity mines.
More soon...