On the Gearbox Forums, there is a thread where fans try to predict what other types of heroes will be in the game. Some hope that one of the unknown characters will be a pet-class hero. Recently I have been going over the FAQ about the Gear system in Battleborn. All this research sparked an idea that I think might be cool. Looking up the response of Battleborn’s Creative Director on having a Pet Class didn’t dismiss my theory.
Hehe. I know a Thing. Hehe.
Pet classes (true pet classes) are pretty hard, but…hmm…I think we might have something just for you.
Randy Varnell , Creative Director
At this moment we can only wonder what Randy meant with this comment. Looking at an early artwork of Thorn it looks like she was going to be a Pet Class Hero. But like Randy stated ‘True Pet Classes’ are pretty hard. So, this could indicate that Thorn lost her haunt and became the hero we know today. Managing a Pet in a Moba or micro-managing units with an RTS is a skill. How would this translate to an FPS? Well with Borderlands 2 we got Axton with a stationary turret or Gaige with her DeathTrap. Both spawn a new unit on the playing field that attacks the surrounding enemies. But what if we made this action skill accessible to all the heroes? How you ask well with the Gear system that is in place.
What Gear is in the Box?
What if there is Gear that grants you a little drone that assists you in battle? As Minion Robotics already produces war machines for all the factions, why not have your personal defender? So Gear can randomly spawn with a drone attachment. Instead of the player getting +5% damage you have a drone that deals 5% damage. This way you have something unique and don’t have to worry a lot about balance issues. This is just a simple setup, you might want to take into account that your drone needs to fly towards an opponent in order to deal damage. Because it has to travel you lose potential damage if you just had a +5% damage buff yourself. So you could give the drone a bit more damage output. But what if enemies can destroy the drone and it has a one-minute respawn timer, you as a player would like to have more benefit from your drone. In that case, make the drone even stronger. The risk; your damage buff can be taken out. The reward; is that you have a bigger damage output or even attack multiple targets. A basic Drone AI can already be seen in one of Marquis’ special abilities the Predatory Strike. The Drones that will come with the Gear won’t be as powerful as one of the heroes abilities.
Attack of the Drones
Having just one type of drone would be a bit boring so what if there were drones with each having special abilities?
- Drones that are good at taking down the enemy’s health gauge.
- Drones that are good at taking down the enemy’s shield.
- Drones with a bigger health gauge.
- Vampire Drones that steal health from your opponents to add to your own health gauge.
- Drones that boost your shield.
- Kamikaze Drones that explode on impact when attacking enemies and respawn after ~15 seconds. (attacking biggest threat first)
What do you think of this theory, do you want little drones helping you out? Let me know in the comments below or on social media. Thanks
