Introduction:
I’ve actually done a write-up of this before, highlighting a handful of different heroes. Check it out here. There are more heroes out there that I think need saving so that they’re more up to par with the more popular “meta picks”. Diversity will never not be a good thing in the ever volatile PvP environment.
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Fix-It-Felix Jr.:
Felix is currently one of the absolute worst Tanks at the moment, which is a real shame because he is otherwise very charming with his play style. Felix is the most passive Tank there is, with Nicelander Stampede being his only damage source. Not only does this force him to heavily rely on his teammates to fill that void in damage output, his frontline position makes him a prime target for all incoming CC, preventing him from healing. He was given some buffs when Finnick and Merida received their Refresh, but it wasn’t enough to pull Felix out of his unimpressive status. Let’s take a look at his skills and see wha can be done.
Nicelander Stampede:
While the stun is quite a great added effect to go with the damage, it unfortunately doesn’t prove to be effective when the damage is still quite pitiful and the stun is so short that any hero with some Tenacity can just shrug it off. I think the key to make this a more impactful move is to enhance ONE of those two things. Either make it stun longer, or make it do much more damage. Just one of these aspects will be just enough.
Fix It, Felix!:
Just a straightforward single-target healing move. Mickey’s Apprentice Sorcery is actually identical to it, so you know it’s a good move. I think for a character as passive as Felix is, it might be reasonable to give this move an added effect. Felix should also be able to cleanse his target out of a disable when he heals them. This makes Felix more “anti-meta”, allowing him to more confidently face off against high CC teams.
Honey Glow:
Felix blinds all enemies, but only for 4 seconds and also has a very long cool down. Extending the effects to last longer should alleviate this problem while further helping Felix’s survivability. Keeping that long cool down is actually a good thing. The longer it takes for Felix to use this skill again, the more often he can heal.
Rapid Fire Fixin’:
The idea of Felix being able to heal himself more quickly the less HP he has sounds brilliant at first. But then you realize his bonus speed means nothing if Felix is stuck being disabled and completely unable to move. To fix that, this disk should directly DECREASE the effects of disables on Felix. The percentage of which would be parallel to his increased speed. The lower his HP, the sooner he can get out of being disabled, the sooner he can heal himself. This is great because then he doesn’t have to hope for future badges giving him more Tenacity.
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Sulley & Boo:
Poor Sulley. He was once considered a great Tank but he scaled very poorly as levels raised and other heroes were added. He actually sports some very impressive stats, especially his HP. But all that HP don’t mean a thing when he has such absolutely abysmal Armor. Just a few adjustments will help him out tons in the long run though.
Healing Laughter:
This is Sulley’s only way of damage mitigation. Lowering the cool down of this move so he can make use of it more often will greatly improve his survival while still keeping him valuable with his Woody disk.
Scream Power:
Enhancing Sulley’s Skill Power is great, but he needs more to help survive as a Tank. Adding a new effect to Sulley’s Scare is to cause scared targets to do even less damage to Sulley. This artificially patches up Sulley’s lack of Armor while still keeping in theme with the Scare mechanic.
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Calhoun:
Calhoun was once one of the best heroes in the game, but these days she finds herself thoroughly outclassed by other damage dealers. She has a fun revenge mechanic that may allow her to turn the tables, but the timing of it is awkward and often not rewarding. After Merida got her Refresh, Calhoun’s relevance has plummeted. But there are a few simple ways to get her up to par.
Laser Blast:
Calhoun’s active skill is just in a very, very sorry state at the moment. Merida’s “On Target” will do around 5 times more damage than this and that is before Merida gets her “revenge mode” activated! The simplest way to get this move up to par is to drastically increase its damage output. Alternatively, a new added affect can be implemented to justify the low damage. Laser Blast can maybe slow targets, or reduce armour, or maybe cause temporary blindness. Anything is good, really!
Sweet Revenge:
This is the revenge mechanic that’s supposed to give Calhoun the potential to turn things around. This skill only adds more stats every time Calhoun’s allies are KO’d, which isn’t reliable. There are situations where Calhoun was the last one standing, and she can unexpectedly wipe out the remaining enemy team in a single Laser Blast. However, the cost is too high before Calhoun is allowed to have that kind of power. She needs access to this power more flexibly if she can ever hope to compete with the other Normal damage dealers. Maybe can get maximum power after only one fallen ally. Or perhaps when Calhoun’s HP goes below a certain amount, like Merida. Anything really, because she’s essentially fighting with only 3 skills and a passive that may never get the chance to actually provide meaningful impact.
Power of Love:
The disk she gets from Felix is often overlooked in favour of Violet’s disk, and for good reason. Long lasting shields are just more useful. If this disk gives Calhoun even more Basic Damage and Energy gain than before, people might start to take this disk more seriously. Giving her more Basic Damage will never be not useful.
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Kevin Flynn:
Kevin is the quintessential anti-CC hero who’s good for cleansing his team from the disables that are just plaguing the meta. However, his utilities can’t keep up with the constant bombardment of CC, so he ends up being dropped in favour of the other Support heroes who excel at enhancing the team’s offensive presence rather than its defensive potential. Kevin shouldn’t need to improve his team’s damage, but he can certainly improve upon his ability to help his team survive.
Weakest Link:
This move should have a lower cool down. That way, Kevin can heal more frequently or deal damage more often. This really helps his issue of not being able to save his allies in time.
Data Shield:
Again with the long cool downs… cutting that short will help out Kevin immensely. While we’re at it, this Shield should have the added effect of healing his ally while the Shield stays on them. Kevin being able to heal more frequently will put him up to par with Mickey and Miguel.
Admin Privileges:
Have it give more Reality. That’s really it. This Skill otherwise scales so poorly as levels get higher.
Sweet Glitch:
Give this disk more anti-CC properties. A maximum of 20% chance to avoid getting disabled just isn’t enough. This disk should also allow for Kevin’s Data Shield a % chance to cleanse his target from CC if they are already being affected by it!
Old School Diagnostic:
The healing from this disk is a great added utility, but it’s so pitifully low! Even with Kevin’s “improved healing” bonuses, it’s just not enough to make a meaningful difference, and is often unable to keep up with DOT effects. Having this disk provide more healing will go a very long way.
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Violet:
Muck like Kevin, Violet’s defensively oriented brand of support is often overlooked when compared to the hyper-offense utility that is demanded by the Meta. Violet otherwise has high survivability, but that isn’t enough to make her useful to the rest of them team.
Secure Squad:
Violet’s shields are amazingly inferior to Baymax’s at the moment. She will need stronger shields in order to actually compete for a slot in the team. If her shields can at least match that of Baymax’s, then she will be more consistent with her function in protecting the team.
Invisibility:
Violet will benefit greatly is she gets increased Tenacity while she’s invisible. Being able able to break out of CC sooner elevates the value of this self-buff. This allows her to support her team more freely while being only vulnerable to AOE damage.
Shield Roll:
The timing of this move is so bad! The move is bad in many areas; it is a very slow move, and once she commits to it, she cannot provide any support for her team. I’ve had too many instances where I absolutely needed her to provide shields but she instead just rolls away. The pushback is also laughable. She only pushes back a small distance and by the time she recovers from this move, the enemies have repositioned themselves back to where they were. One way of handling this move is to make it so that all attacks are focused on only Violet (the opposite of her Invisibility), protecting her team from all but AOE damage. Otherwise, this move needs to be faster or just better at pushbacks.
Friendship Disks:
Both of her Disks need to provide her more Skill Power.