Gameplay discussion: legendary variants

These have gone through a lot of changes since GW2 launched. They aren't the easiest things to balance as they can't be too good in either mode, or too weak before they get their legendary mode. I'd say that the final verdict on them is mixed. 

The upgrade for the legendary meter isn't that great, although it is more useful against AI enemies than other players.

Disco Chomper is fun to mess about with in the backyard battleground but isn't that great, especially in multiplayer. Requiring you to devour zombies for meter is a problem and makes this character one of the weakest in the games. I do love the disco tune that plays when you get your meter full though.

Iron Citron is great and has some cool visual and audio effects from his main weapon, Iron Mode, and just in general. I've seen a few say he's OP, but not as much as some others. If he does need a nerf it wouldn't be that big of one.

Party Citron is fairly typical of the party characters, and not a lot to add here.

Party Rose has my 2nd favorite party theme, but otherwise seems about normal for a party character.

Party Corn is much like Citron, not a lot to add.

Commando Corn is great and I love how his commando mode changes things up a bit more than the usual party mode. I felt they were trying out new ways to make meter characters when they added him and Scallywag Imp in Frontline Fighters.

Computer Scientist is in that group of variants that includes Marine Biologist, Chemist, and Zoologist and they all feel like they step on each other's toes. This is one reason why some BfN fans seem to be anti-variant. I don't agree, but I do feel that these variants could use some alterations for GW3 to make them stand out from each other more. All that being said, I like these one a lot and as someone who grew up with computers that used CRTs like he has on his back and even programmed on Apple IIE and Commodore 64 computers n high school with those green monitors, his crunch mode brings back memories!

Captain Partyman is my least played party character. Don't dislike him for that, just not a character I play all that much so can't say a lot about him, although his sea shanty theme is good.

Party Imp is my favorite Imp and favorite party character so he gets a lot of play time. That punk/rock theme alone makes me want to play him and use his mech. Love this guy.

Scallywag Imp is great too, and like Commando Corn I feel they were trying to make legendary characters with more individualism instead of just more party characters. Love the mech and how he climbs in the porthole in the back to board it. Him having a fast but short lived meter makes him stand out a bit from the pack.

Toxic Brainz is amazingly good in PvE and in multiplayer he can be nasty, but he's vulnerable at range and not as bad as some make him out to be. That being said, he definitely needs to be nerfed.

Parry Brainz seems fine to me, I don't play him that much. Probably could use a minor nerf, but that would be it.

I still like the upgrade system idea in BfN, but so many upgrades are too good, not good at all, or a bit confusing as to why they exist. Party Time for Peashooter is one of those, 'hmm?' moments. There aren't any meter Peashooters in GW2, although if had meter characters for all the characters that don't, that would be cool for a new game.

@Iron_Guard8I think the plant party characters are a bit better than the zombie ones in terms of balance since they are weaker before the meter but stronger with its unlike party brainz whose an upgrade to stock since he deals the same damage but with an occasional meter boost or party man whose damage is still lower with the meter boost than stock. I usually see party rose and citron the most.

Party imp is fine though.

If disco chomper was as good as him theme and look he'd be a great legendary.

Iron citron doesn't need a nerf but I can understand the pain of fighting one in iron mode.

Toxic Brainz needs a small nerf and he'd be fine.

Zoologist and chemist definetly could use a bit more of a significant difference, maybe buff zoologist to be more like chester who has more ammo? Computers still a good class though with his slighty higher rof than stock but with lower damage.

Commando and Scallywag definetly feel more unique and the mech is really fun even if the primary weapon is just fat deadbeard.

The upgrade system in Bfn feels scatterbrained. Half of them were taken from variants, a quarter of them are unfun to fight like outta fight, and you are usually left wondering why the other quarter even exists with upgrades like speedy or homing peas. There's also the ones that are class specific but don't fit the character at all like party time.

I would like to see each class get a unique legendary variant one day like a sunflower who builds meter by healing.

Our battle will be legendary! These characters have special meters that you can fill up by earning vanquishes on your enemies, and if you fill the bar all the way, you recieve some temporary and beneficial bonuses. This meter will reset whenever you get vanquished, although with most of these characters, if you are revived, you will keep the progress on your legendary meter.

These characters are hard to get, as they have the Legendary rarity, however these characters are generally direct upgrades to their regular counterparts. 

The only main downside to these characters is that they are hard to obtain, and you will not recieve these characters in the same way that you would receive the other characters. You have to buy Wonderous Packs of Greatness, and only will you rarely get a character piece when you buy these packs.

Disco Chomper: The legendary meter is known as Disco Fever, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully eating 4 enemies without being vanquished. Your Chomp attack deals 30 damage to enemies for each hit (instead of the default 25), however your attack rate is lowered compared to the basic Chomper variant. When you get, you will gain a movement speed boost and attack speed boost for a limited time. 

Commando Corn: The legendary meter is known as Full Commando, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished. You have 20 maximum ammo (instead of the default 45) and you have a slower rate of fire compared to the basic Kernel Corn. Your shots will deal 15 damage to enemies and can deal 2 splash damage, which are each unaffected by distance. When you achieve Full Commando, you will gain a movement speed boost, increased damage, damage reduction from enemy attacks and you will have 50 maximum ammo (instead of 20) for a limited time.

Iron Citron: The legendary meter is known as Iron Mode, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished. Your attack is a single use weapon, meaning that you will need to reload every time you use it. Your shots will deal 15-50 damage and can deal 7-25 splash damage, which each depends on the range from you and the enemy. Any direct hit you inflict on an enemy is a critical hit. You have 250 health (instead of the default 200) as you are an armored variant as well, although you will have lower base movement speed. When you achieve Iron Mode, you will gain a movement speed boost and attack speed boost, you will gain damage reduction from enemy attacks and you will have 5 maximum ammo (instead of 1) for a limited time.

Party Corn: As you are a party legendary variant, your legendary meter is known as Party Time, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished, however shared vanquishes count towards filling the meter. Your shots will deal 6-9 damage, which depends on the range from you and the enemy. When you achieve Party Time, your shots will deal 8-11 damage instead, dependant on range. Party Time will improve the damage of all your attacks and abilities, and your movement speed, by 25%, and you will get some damage reduction as well. These effects last for a limited time!

Party Rose: As you are a party legendary variant, your legendary meter is known as Party Time, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished, however shared vanquishes count towards filling the meter. Your shots will deal 9 damage to enemies, which is unaffected by distance, and your shots can home in on enemies. You have 18 maximum ammo (instead of the default 30). When you achieve Party Time, your shots will deal 11 damage instead, still unaffected by range. Party Time will improve the damage of all your attacks and abilities, and your movement speed, by 25%, and you will get some damage reduction as well. These effects last for a limited time!

Party Citron: As you are a party legendary variant, your legendary meter is known as Party Time, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished, however shared vanquishes count towards filling the meter. You will deal 4-11 damage each time you hit an enemy, which depends on the range from you and the enemy. You can deal 2 splash damage to enemies as well, however this splash radius is really small. When you achieve Party Time, your shots will deal 5-13 damage instead, dependant on range. Party Time will improve the damage of all your attacks and abilities, and your movement speed, by 25%, and you will get some damage reduction as well. These effects last for a limited time!

Computer Scientist: The legendary meter is known as Crunch Mode, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished. Your shots will deal 8-50 damage or 15-54 critical damage, which depends on the range from you and the enemy. When you achieve Crunch Mode, you will gain a damage boost and movement speed boost for a limited time, and while in this state, your view will look like an old computer, which may make it harder to see what you are doing, although enemies will be clearly highlighted to you, so that you can continue to keep track of your enemies.

Scallywag Imp: The legendary meter is known as Yohoho Mode, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 3 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished. Your shots will deal 13 damage or 17 damage when you are close to your enemy. You have a slower rate of fire to make up for the high damage. Your Mech has extra health and has a close-range and a long-range attack, which are similar to the attacks of Captain Deadbeard. When you achieve Yohoho Mode, you will gain a movement speed boost and significant damage reduction for a limited time. It requires a lower amount of vanquishes to trigger this legendary meter, although these effects do not last as long as other legendary meters.

Toxic Brainz: The legendary meter is known as Toxic Overload, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully landing 15 punches on enemies without being vanquished. Your punches will deal 10, 20 and 30 damage respectively if you land the 3-punch combo. Each successful punch will fill your meter, regardless of the damage you deal. Your beam will deal 2-4 damage, which depends on the range from you and the enemy. Dealing damage or getting vanquishes with your beam will not fill your meter, however, so only use it when no enemies are near you. Dealing damage with either of your attacks will inflict the toxic effect on enemies, as you are a toxic character, and you have a toxic aura which will inflict the toxic effect on any enemy that gets close. When you achieve Toxic Overload, you will gain triple damage, a movement speed boost, damage reduction and your toxic aura will have improved range for a limited time.

Party Imp: As you are a party legendary variant, your legendary meter is known as Party Time, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished, however shared vanquishes count towards filling the meter. Your shots will deal 3-6 damage or 4-7 critical damage, which depends on the range from you and the enemy. You have 40 maximum ammo (instead of the default 35). Your Party Mech deals more damage than the regular Mech, dealing 7-11 damage or 8-13 critical damage, based on range, although it overheats faster. When you achieve Party Time, your shots will deal about 1 extra damage each or 2 if close to your enemies. Party Time will improve the damage of all your attacks and abilities, and your movement speed, by 25%, and you will get some damage reduction as well. These effects last for a limited time!

Captain Partyman: As you are a party legendary variant, your legendary meter is known as Party Time, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished, however shared vanquishes count towards filling the meter. Your close-range attack deals 30 damage to any enemy caught in per hit, although it consumes 2 ammo. Your long-range attack deals 20 damage or 24 critical damage, which is unaffected by distance. You have 8 maximum ammo (instead of the default 14). When you achieve Party Time, your close-range attack will deal about 37 damage to enemies, and your long-range attack will deal 25 damage or 30 critical damage. Party Time will improve the damage of all your attacks and abilities, and your movement speed, by 25%, and you will get some damage reduction as well. These effects last for a limited time!

Party Brainz: As you are a party legendary variant, your legendary meter is known as Party Time, which you will trigger and completely fill by successfully earning 5 vanquishes on enemies without being vanquished, however shared vanquishes count towards filling the meter. His attacks deal exactly the same amount of damage as his regular counterpart, making him a direct upgrade. The punches deal 15, 25 and 45 damage, respectively. The beam will deal 1-7 damage, which depends on the range from you and the enemy. When you achieve Party Time, your punches will deal about 19, 30 and 56 damage, respectively, and your beam will deal 1 more damage at closer ranges. Party Time will improve the damage of all your attacks and abilities, and your movement speed, by 25%, and you will get some damage reduction as well. These effects last for a limited time!

Basic Notes

• When I state how many vanquishes, punches or enemies you need to eat to fill up your meter, this only applies to hero enemies. You will only get half a point toward your meter if you vanquish a basic enemy such as a Weed or Browncoat, and you must get the direct vanquish for these enemies. However, these enemies are easier to defeat, so you can vanquish these enemies to fill up your enemies more easily.
• Legendary characters that are not party variants will gain the Super Meter upgrade, reducing the amount of vanquishes, punches or enemies you need to eat to fill up your meter. You should try this upgrade out on the appropriate legendary characters. This upgrade may make no difference if only fighting hero enemies, however you may be able to fill up your meter faster if you attack more basic enemies as well, as that could be the difference and can give you your meter filled up sooner. It may be worth trying out!
• You could try different upgrades that will stack with the legendary meter benefits as well, such as Damage or Speed. This will give you passive increases as you work toward filling up your meter, and once you fill your meter, these upgrade will stack with your meter boosts. Carefully consider which upgrades you want to use on each of your legendary characters!
• Avoid getting vanquished if possible, as this will reset your meter progress entirely. Use cover and your abilities if you need to get out of a fight, or to approach your enemies without taking much damage, and take cover if at low health. If you are vanquished, however, most characters will retain meter progress if revived, so it may be worth waiting for a revive.
• Every character will instantly restore health until they are at half health, if you were under half health before, when you fill your legendary meter. If you are at low health, and you manage to fill your meter with a quick vanquish, you can use this feature as a way to restore and regenerate health more quickly, if feasible.

Finally, a worthy and legendary battle! This will be lots of fun! Our battle will be legendary!