Re: Gameplay discussion: spray variants

Time to spray your shots everywhere now, I suppose! These characters use attacks that have limited range, however these attacks have more range compared to other close range attacks and deal damage to every enemy that is currently caught in it. Most of these attacks are a spray, although there are some different forms of attacks that work in a similar way.

These characters can autofire their attacks and can deal consistent damage to any enemy that is caught in the spray, although the damage compared to other close range attacks are reduced and you will overheat if you fire these attacks for too long.

Power Chomper: You use a spray attack instead of a Chomp, dealing continuous damage to any enemy while caught in it. It will deal 10 damage at a constant rate to enemies while they are caught in it. The spray can deal 6 additional damage to enemies that are nearby but were not caught in your spray, as he is an electric variant character, making him even more useful against enemies that are grouping. If you can catch multiple enemies in your spray at a time, you can improve your damage even further.

Toxic Chomper: You use a spray attack instead of a Chomp, dealing continuous damage to any enemy while caught in it. It will deal 8 damage at a constant rate to enemies while they are caught in it. Whenever you successfully deal damage to an enemy, they will be inflicted with the toxic effect, which will deal 2 damage per second to affected enemies for a few seconds, and affected enemies can spread the toxic effect to their allies if they get too close.

Fire Chomper: You use a spray attack instead of a Chomp, dealing continuous damage to any enemy while caught in it. It will deal 10 damage at a constant rate to enemies while they are caught in it. Whenever you successfully deal damage to an enemy, they will be inflicted with fire damage, which will deal 4 damage per second to affected enemies for 5 seconds (for a total of 20 fire damage). 

Chomp Thing: You use a spray attack instead of a Chomp, dealing continuous damage to any enemy while caught in it. It will deal about 7-8 damage at a constant rate to enemies while they are caught in it. This spray deals damage to enemies at a quicker rate than other spray attacks. This character variant will heal much more quickly and will begin to heal much faster after taking damage, but only has 135 health (instead of the default 175).

Chemist: You use a limited range weapon that has good spread, which deals 35 damage to any enemy caught in it per blast, however you do not have the ability to autofire. This weapon is useful against grouped enemies as you can deal damage to multiple enemies at once. Your attack rate is quite slow, although you can even vanquish tough enemies with relative ease. You have 6 maximum ammo, so try and get a reload in before you engage up close with enemies as you will be vulnerable during this time.

Zoologist: You use a limited range weapon, and it deals frequent damage, which deals 30 damage per hit to any enemy that you hit. The weapon is not that well suited to enemy groups, however you deal damage at a fast rate and can vanquish an enemy quite quickly, especially if they were unaware of your presence before you attacked. You have 6 maximum ammo, so try and reload before you engage your enemies up close as you will be vulnerable during this time.

Roadie Z: You use a limited range weapon that acts like a spray. It shoots out soundwaves which deals continuous damage to any enemies while they are caught in it. It will deal 9 damage at a constant rate to enemies while in its range. Any enemies that are hit by this spray like weapon will have a blurry sort of effect applied to them while taking damage and will be inflicted with some knockback. You have 150 health (instead of the default 125), which is more health than normal for an Engineer. 

Captain Squawk: You use a spray attack as your close range attack, dealing continuous damage to any enemy while they are caught in it. It will deal 7 damage at a constant rate to enemies while caught in it. You have a ranged attack as well, which only has 1 maximum ammo, meaning you will need to reload after every shot. That attack will deal 39 damage for each hit or 46 damage for each critical hit. Dealing damage with either of your attacks will inflict the toxic effect on affected enemies, dealing 2 damage to that enemy per second for a few seconds, and any affected enemies will spread the toxic effect to their allies if they get too close to each other.

Drake Imp's Mech: Only the Drake Imp's Mech has this attack, not the Imp. It has a flamethrower spray attack, dealing continuous damage to any enemy while caught in it. It will deal 13 damage at a constant rate to enemies while caught in it. Successfully dealing damage to an enemy will inflict fire damage on them, although the fire damage works differently with this Mech's attack. It deals 5 damage per second for 4 seconds, which essentially equals the same damage. 

Basic Notes

• You may benefit from using the Overheat upgrade, as all of these character variants, unless you use ammo instead of an overheat system, will overheat if you attack for too long, which could be a problem when you are up close. Use this upgrade to continue pressuring your enemies with your attacks for longer and stop yourself from becoming vulnerable.
• Using the Speed upgrade could benefit these characters, as it improves the movement speed of these characters, allowing you to close the gap between you and enemies more quickly or to chase down fleeing enemies. Do note that it only improves your movement speed, not your attack speed, but it can still be really useful for the characters.
• Getting up close to your enemies can be difficult, so use the map terrain to help you flank or to take cover from enemy attacks. Your abilities may be able to get you close to your enemies as well, so use them well if you are able to. It may be a good time to attack enemies if they are distracted by your allies.
• These characters will become more effective if you can deal damage to multiple enemies at once. Most of these characters will have spray attacks which can deal damage to any amount  of enemies caught in the spray, so aiming for grouped enemies will improve your damage and effectiveness.
• Your spray attacks generally have good spread, so you might want to move around while attacking to evade some enemy attacks, and you should find it easy to track your enemies and continue moving around them while continuing to deal damage.

Spray characters can be difficult to get use out of, but they have the potential to deal plenty of damage!