Hello everyone! This is my submission for the CDC #11, Pint-Sized Palooza. Thread found here: CDC #11 - Pint-Sized Palooza
Kelsey Steelspark is a Stealth-ish melee assassin who lacks the on-demand crowd control or burst damage of most Stealth assassins, but makes up for it by being able to set up traps and having increased scouting potential. By setting up for a fight ahead of time, she can provide powerful area denial and harass enemies with damage and disruption; however, she is weaker when she has to fight on her enemies’ terms, with less damage and tools outside of Stealth.
Statistics:
Health: 1,872 (+4% per level)
Regen: 3.90 (+4% per level)
Mana: 500 (+10 per level)
Regen: 3.00 (+0.098 per level)
Atk Speed: 1.15 per second
Atk Range: Melee
Damage: 134 (+4% per level)
Trait: Covert Ops
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Cost: N/A
Kelsey enters a hidden state after a 1.25 second delay, which is interrupted and placed on cooldown if she takes damage during this time. During Covert Ops, Kelsey cannot use basic attacks and her basic abilities are replaced. While there are no enemy heroes within 9 units of her or while she is within 3.5 units of a wall, she is also rendered Invisible. Casting Proximity Charge or Tripwire will reduce this to Stealth for 3 seconds. If Kelsey takes any damage during Covert Ops, its effects end and she becomes Stealthed for 1.25 seconds, which is broken by Kelsey taking damage, basic attacking, or casting any abilities.Covert Ops cannot be cast within 1 second of taking or dealing damage.
Comments
Covert Ops is core to Kelsey’s playstyle, as it distinguishes her normal combat abilities from her ambush/trap abilities. It works very similar to Valeera’s Stealth, but is supposed to be a lot less combat oriented; as a result, Kelsey has increased Stealth potential while active (allowing for more risk-free scouting of the enemy team) but is a lot harder to activate (avoiding the escape potential of Valeera’s Stealth).
Q: Shiv
Cooldown: 7 seconds
Cost: 35 Mana
Kelsey stabs a target enemy in melee range with a dagger, dealing 66 (+4% per level) damage to them and marking them. If Kelsey stays within a close range of the marked target for 1.5 seconds, Shiv is replaced with Twist the Blade for one cast.Q (Covert Ops): Silent Takedown
Cooldown: N/A
Cost: 45 Mana
After a 0.75 second channel, Kelsey exits Covert Ops and quickly dashes to a target enemy. She then performs a crippling attack on the them, dealing 88 (+4% per level) damage, Slowing their movement speed by 50% decaying over 1 second, and marking them. If Kelsey stays within close range of the marked target for 1.5 seconds, Shiv is replaced with Twist the Blade for one cast.Casting Silent Takedown places Shiv on a 4 second cooldown.
Q (alternate): Twist the Blade
Cooldown: N/A
Cost: N/A
Kelsey performs a painful finishing attack on a target enemy in melee range marked by Shiv or Silent Takedown, dealing 176 (+4% per level) damage to them and Stunning them for 0.75 seconds.
Comments
Shiv is Kelsey’s most basic damage tool as a very underwhelming melee “nuke”, with low damage and effectiveness discouraging her from being aggressive like most heroes. However, it can chain into Twist the Blade in certain situations to provide more damage and crowd control. Ideally, this will work very well for Kelsey when an enemy falls into her ambush, but will discourage her from jumping enemies in their territory like Valeera and Zeratul tend to do.
Silent Takedown also exists as Kelsey’s only engage tool. Unlike Valeera, only one of her Stealth abilities is an opener, and also unlike Valeera, she doesn’t initiate with hard crowd control. The Slow is intended to help set up Twist the Blade later on.
W: Explosive Charge
Cooldown: 9 seconds
Cost: 40 Mana
Kelsey throws an explosive charge at a target location that lingers for 0.75 seconds. If an enemy comes into contact with the charge, it explodes prematurely, dealing 146 (+4% per level) damage to enemies in a very small area. If the charge’s duration expires, it fully arms and detonates, dealing 219 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies in a large area around it.W (Covert Ops): Proximity Charge
3 Charges
Cooldown: 7 seconds per charge
Cost: 30 Mana
Kelsey sets up an explosive charge at a target location that arms after a 1.5 second delay. If placed on the ground, its detonation area is a medium circle around it; if placed on a wall, its detonation area is a wide line facing away from the wall. Proximity Charges are Stealthed until an enemy enters the detonation area, at which point the charge beeps and becomes visible; if they fail to get out of the detonation area within 0.75 seconds, it explodes, dealing 183 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies in the area.Proximity Charges must be placed at least 3 units apart, and only 6 can be active on the map at any time.
Comments
Explosive Charge is a simple damage tool for Kelsey out of Stealth. It’s not very effective when used as a direct nuke, and enemies can consider this and play around it by triggering the charge before its full detonation. The stronger explosion when the charge’s duration expires encourages Kelsey to consider its positioning carefully.
Proximity Charge is Kelsey’s primary tool for setting up traps from Covert Ops. Enemies will have a chance to avoid the charges before they’re set off, so they’re more interactive than Abathur mines, but well placed Proximity Charges can put a lot of pressure on enemies and either zone them out of an area or weaken them as they approach, especially since they’re more effective placed on walls than the open ground.
E: Grappling Wire
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Cost: 50 Mana
Kelsey launches a grappling wire to a target location, and after a 0.25 second delay, rapidly pulls herself to it. If Grappling Wire targets a wall, Kelsey will vault to the other side of the wall instead.Note - the wire’s travel time increases the total delay before Kelsey can pull herself.
E (Covert Ops): Tripwire
Cooldown: 9 seconds
Cost: 40 Mana
Kelsey sets up a tripwire along a target line starting from a wall, specified with vector targeting and arming after a 1.5 second delay. When an enemy walks through a Tripwire, they are pushed 2 units in the direction that they are currently moving in, then have their movement speed Slowed by 90% decaying over 1.5 seconds. Tripwires are Stealthed until an enemy hero is within 3 units of them, and persist for 1.5 seconds after being triggered the first time.Tripwires must be placed at least 6 units apart, and only 3 can be active on the map at any time.
Comments
Grappling Wire is Kelsey’s escape tool, intended to get her out of an ambush gone wrong - or perhaps to get out after a successful ambush when the rest of the enemy team shows up to avenge their fallen ally. It has a long cooldown since mobility is not supposed to be one of Kelsey’s strengths.
Tripwire is a more supportive tool for Kelsey to set up traps for enemies. It does very little if they wander into it without a followup from Kelsey or her team, but can be devastating in certain situations. Again, Tripwires are visible in close range to make them more interactive than Abathur’s mines; however, they can still remain very powerful despite being visible when placed in choke points.
R1: Magnetic Blades
Cooldown: 65 seconds
Cost: 70 Mana
Kelsey throws out a fan of eight evenly-spaced knives controlled by a magnetic device in all directions, each dealing 57 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies they pass through. After travelling 4.5 units, they whirl in place for up to 5 seconds, dealing 19 (+4% per level) damage every 0.25 seconds to enemies in contact with them. Additionally, the knives generate a magnetic field that Roots enemies the first time they walk through them for 0.75 seconds. After their duration runs out or Kelsey recasts Magnetic Blades, the knives fly back to Kelsey, each dealing 57 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies they pass through.Knives in the initial and ending effects deal 50% less damage to enemy heroes if they have already been hit by a knife in the same effect.
Comments
Magnetic Blades is a very teamfight-oriented heroic, with two bursts of damage and zoning in the middle. It’s ideally used to follow up on an ambush to fight the enemy team around an objective, but has also some utility when thrown out whilst escaping.
R2: Advanced Decoy
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Cost: 50 Mana
Kelsey deploys a mechanical decoy with her current remaining Health that moves in a target direction for up to 3 seconds, which appears the same as her to the enemy team. The decoy’s movement can be controlled by recasting Advanced Decoy. While the decoy persists, Kelsey becomes Invisible and Unrevealable, though she cannot basic attack or cast abilities that deal damage during this time. Upon dying or expiring, the decoy detonates, dealing 152 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies in a medium area and Stunning them for 0.5 seconds.
Comments
Advanced Decoy is a heroic with two main goals. First, it’s a good escape tool; if Kelsey is caught out of position, the decoy can bait enemies away while Kelsey escapes with the powerful Stealth. Second, it has some functionality to bait enemies into an ambush, since the decoy is able to be directed and ends with a moderate damage and Stun.
Talents
Tier 1 | Level 1
- Deathblow X11 Goggles - (Active Talent, 14 second cooldown) Kelsey activates her goggles’ infrared view, Revealing a long and thin cone in a target direction for 1.5 seconds. (Passive) Kelsey’s goggles are able to quickly identify her enemies’ weak points, reducing the delay of Twist the Blade to 1 second for both Shiv and Silent Takedown.
- Ultrasonic Radar - (Active Talent, 24 second cooldown) Kelsey activates a sonar radar, affecting a very large area around her for 3.5 seconds. Enemies within the area that have been moving for at least 1 second since Ultrasonic Radar was cast have their location marked in the fog of war for Kelsey’s team until its effects wear off. (Passive) Explosive Charge and Proximity Charge also Silence enemy heroes that they damage for 0.5 seconds.
- Coppertail Imposter - (Active Talent, 30 second cooldown) Kelsey sets up a mechanical squirrel at a target location, which lasts for up to 25 seconds and grants Kelsey’s team vision of the area around it. The Coppertail Imposter has 149 (+4% per level) Health, and cannot be targeted by any harmful effects as long as no enemy heroes are within 3 units of it. (Passive) Tripwire no longer needs to be placed adjacent to a wall. If it is, the main segment is permanently Stealthed, though points in contact with the wall still lose Stealth as normal.
Tier 2 | Level 4
- Gnomish Dragon Gun - (Active Talent, 28 second cooldown) Kelsey fires a blast of flames from a converted goblin flamethrower in a target direction, dealing 34 (+4% per level) damage to all enemies hit. Additionally, any enemies damaged are lit on fire, dealing 184 (+4% per level) damage to them over 4 seconds. Every time an affected enemy has crowd control applied to them, 0.5 seconds are added to the flames’ duration (adding 46 (+4% per level) damage to the total DoT).
- Hemorrhage - Kelsey’s basic attacks apply 1 stack of Hemorrhage, Shiv applies 3 stacks of Hemorrhage, and Silent Takedown applies 5 stacks of Hemorrhage. Stacks last for up to 6 seconds, their duration is refreshed with repeated applications, and an enemy can be affected by a maximum of 10 stacks. When Kelsey casts Twist the Blade on an enemy, all stacks of Hemorrhage are consumed to deal 24 (+4% per level) damage per stack over 4 seconds.
- Elementium Blasting Powder - Explosive Charge’s full explosion and Proximity Charge weaken all enemies hit for 6 seconds, causing them to take 20% more damage from Kelsey’s basic attacks and abilities.
Tier 3 | Level 7
- Chained Sparks - (Active Talent, 60 second cooldown) Kelsey unleashes a quick burst of lightning in a target direction, which chains to up to 2 nearby enemies if it successfully hits an enemy. All affected enemies take 67 (+4% per level) damage and have their damage output reduced by 25% for 3.25 seconds. Additionally, Kelsey uses an electrostatic condenser to recharge this ability faster; every 5 units she travels and every basic attack she performs reduces its remaining cooldown by 0.5 seconds.
- Gravity Well - (Active Talent, 40 second cooldown) Kelsey places a Gravity Well at a target location that powers on after 0.5 seconds. Any hero who walks into the Gravity Well is launched a moderate distance in the direction they’re moving, though enemy heroes also have their movement speed Slowed by 20% decaying over 1.5 seconds upon landing. After being used once, the Gravity Well lingers for 1.5 seconds before disappearing. If placed while in Covert Ops, the Gravity Well can be used one additional time by an allied hero before it will disappear.
- Rocket Boots - Every time Kelsey casts a non-Covert Ops basic ability, her gnomish rocket boots activate, granting her 15% increased movement speed decaying over 1.5 seconds. If this effect activates 3 times within 6 seconds, the rocket boots will explode, Stunning Kelsey and all nearby enemies for 0.5 seconds while dealing 88 (+4% per level) to any affected enemies.
Tier 4 | Level 10
- Magnetic Blades - See above.
- Advanced Decoy - See above.
Tier 5 | Level 13
- Wormhole Generator - (Active Talent, 120 second cooldown) When used outside of Covert Ops, Kelsey places a wormhole device at a nearby location where it remains indefinitely. Recasting this destroys the old device and places a new one, but can only be done once every 20 seconds and while Wormhole Generator is not on cooldown. When used during Covert Ops, recasting Wormhole Generator will teleport Kelsey to the device after a 2 second delay interrupted by damage and destroy the device, placing it on cooldown. (Passive) Space is distorted in a 6 unit radius around the Wormhole Generator, granting Kelsey 5% increased movement speed and 10% increased basic attack speed while she remains within.
- Extend-o-Knife - After casting a basic ability or active talent, Kelsey’s next basic attack within 3 seconds occurs instantly, deals 50% less damage, and has 1.5 extra range. Extend-o-Knife basic attacks are separate from Kelsey’s normal basic attack timer.
- Tactical Evisceration Wire - Enemies affected by Tripwire’s Slow take 27 (+4% per level) damage every 0.25 seconds as long as they’re moving. Additionally, Tripwires will re-arm themselves once 4.5 seconds after they disappear.
Tier 6 | Level 16
- Flexweave Underlay - Kelsey receives 15% increased movement speed and 20 Armor while she is Invisible or Stealthed. When Kelsey is affected by a Stun, Root, or Silence, she is automatically Stealthed for 1.75 seconds and the remaining cooldowns of her active talents are reduced by 3 seconds. Can only happen once every 21 seconds.
- Gnomeregan Bonechopper - Twist the Blade grievously injures its target, giving them -10 Armor and reducing all healing they receive by 50% for 2 seconds as well as marking them for 12 seconds. If the target was a hero already marked by Gnomeregan Bonechopper, it instead consumes the mark to increase these effects to -20 Armor and 100% reduced healing received for 3 seconds.
- Adaptive Grenades - Explosive Charge now has the same Mana cost and cooldown as Proximity Charge, and shares charges with it; however, Explosive Charge has a 0.75 second internal cooldown between casts. Explosive Charge and Proximity Charge’s charges refresh 33% faster if Kelsey has not taken or dealt damage in the last 4 seconds.
Tier 7 | Level 20
- Killing Doll - Magnetic Blades’ cooldown is reduced to 40 seconds. When recasting Magnetic Blades, Kelsey can select any location within 6 units of the knives or herself to have them fly there instead.
- Holographic Stabilizers - Advanced Decoy can now basic attack enemies for full damage, and has its duration extended to 60 seconds. However, it will explode 3 seconds after it first takes damage or deals damage. Kelsey only remains Invisible and Unrevealable for the first 3 seconds of its duration.
- Devious Setup - The maximum amount of Proximity Charges and Tripwires that can be on the map at any time is doubled. Tripwire gains an extra charge.
- Khorium Power Core - All of Kelsey’s active talents now cost 35 Mana to use, but their cooldowns are reduced by 50%.
Skins:
Default: Gnomeregan Operative
A senior agent of the Gnomeregan Covert Operatives, Kelsey Steelspark has been fighting for the Alliance cause since the Cataclysm. Though her fighting skills are not impressive, her strategic mind and engineering skills have made her an invaluable asset in securing Alliance presence in Gadgetzan and the war effort in Zuldazar. Now, she brings her talents to the Nexus, setting up the perfect trap for her enemies.
Description: Based on her appearance in World of Warcraft. Black and red metallic armor with high-tech goggles.
Tints:
- Default. Black armor with red highlights, red hair.
- Stormwind. Blue armor with gold highlights, blonde hair.
- Gnomeregan. Purple armor with gold highlights, pink hair.
Legendary: Fae Trickster Kelsey
The wilds of Azeroth are filled with many magical and unusual creatures. Most wish only to defend their ancient homes, but some find great interest in making the lives of mortals miserable…
Description: Based on the World of Warcraft fae sprites introduced in Pandaria, but retains most of her original physique/skeleton. Wears elegant/whimsical styled bark and leaves, with pointed ears and flower crown. Eyes also glow with magic and hair matches to leaf color. Daggers are living wood styled blades matching bark color, explosives are flower buds that bloom with an explosion of magic, tripwires are vines matching leaf color. Uses unique animations for walking/attacking that are more floaty and whimsical, as well as having unique voice lines with an innocent and playful take on murdering people (similar to Brightwing).
Tints:
- Default. Deep green skin, brown bark and green leaves. Magic is green.
- Frost. Light blue skin, white bark and mint green leaves. Magic is icy blue.
- Autumn. Light brown skin, dark brown bark and red/orange/yellow leaves. Magic is yellow.
- Sakura. Normal gnome skin tone, dark brown bark and pink leaves. Magic is pink.
Epic: Neo-Artificer Kelsey
With every new threat that faces Neo-Stormwind, their greatest line of defense has always been their mecha forces. As one of the brightest minds and greatest engineers in the city, Kelsey was responsible for a significant amount of new mecha designs.
Description: Cheesy high-tech sci-fi armor similar to Neo-President Anduin, with holographic visor and a simpler hairstyle. Uses daggers with glowing laser edges. Slightly modified animations, making explosives and wires appear more high-tech. Some modified voicelines.
Tints:
- Default. Silver armor with cyan highlights, blonde hair.
- Forge. Black armor with red highlights, red hair.
- Shadow. Dark grey armor with muted grey highlights, black hair.
- Pilot. Red armor with gold highlights, pink hair.
Epic: Lunar Kelsey
Every year, the denizens of Azeroth celebrate the Lunar Festival to honor their ancestors. Kelsey doesn’t have the time to waste on such things, but smuggling explosives as “fireworks” to do sabotage work suits her just fine.
Description: Red and gold festive garb like all of the other Lunar skins, with ornate golden daggers. All explosives are reskinned to fireworks with randomly chosen colors and patterns on particle effects, and tripwires are reskinned to have charms hanging on them.
Tints:
- Default. Red and gold clothes, red hair.
- Noble. Blue and white clothes, blonde hair.
- Mysterious. Green and purple clothes, black hair.
Rare: SI:7 Elite Kelsey
During the escalating war with the Horde, Kelsey cooperated often with Stormwind’s covert operations group, the SI:7. While much lower tech than her usual gear, the SI:7 armor still had its uses.
Description: A more traditional Alliance rogue leather set, based on Mathias Shaw’s armor. Blue and gold armor with some brown leather and simpler goggles.
Tints:
- Default. Blue, gold, and brown armor, red hair.
- Defias. Red, grey, and brown armor, brown hair. Adds a red Defias bandana.
- Agent. Black and dark blue armor, black hair.
Changelog
Week 4
- Reverted the Week 3 changes to how Advanced Decoy is controlled.
- Balance changes based on Week 3 feedback:
- Increased the cooldown of Covert Ops to 12 seconds.
- Reworked the ending delay on Covert Ops to function as a normal Stealth with usual break conditions, and removed the ability to continue using Covert Ops abilities during it.
- Reduced the total knives in Magnetic Blades from 12 → 8, and scaled knife collision damage up proportionally (38 (+4% per level) → 57 (+4% per level)).
- Increased the duration of the Holographic Stabilizers talent from 30 → 60 seconds, but the decoy now automatically detonates 3 seconds after taking or dealing damage for the first time.
- Tweaked some active talents to grant them synergies between each other, based on Week 3 feedback:
- Gravity Well now Slows the movement speed of enemy heroes that choose to use it upon landing, allowing it to extend Gnomish Dragon Gun’s duration.
- Wormhole Generator’s machine component now grants Kelsey minor movement speed and attack speed buffs while she is near it, allowing her to reduce Chained Sparks’ cooldown faster.
- Many nerfs to the Wormhole Generator active talent, based on Week 3 feedback:
- Increased the base cooldown of Wormhole Generator from 70 → 120 seconds.
- Wormhole Generator now has a 20 second cooldown between replacing the machine’s location. This is not reduced by the Khorium Power Core talent.
- Wormhole Generator’s cast range to place the machine reduced to melee range.
- Increased the channel time of Wormhole Generator from 0.75 → 2 seconds, and made it interruptible by damage.
- Added some more skins.
Week 3
- Change to how Advanced Decoy is controlled, including allowing it to detonate early.
- Talent tree changes:
- Replaced Personal Space Amplifier with Chained Sparks and Magnetic Discombobulator with Gravity Well. The new active talents have more support-oriented uses and should no longer cover Kelsey’s weaknesses so strongly.
- Wording changes to Wormhole Generator. Functionality is unchanged.
- Reduced the damage of Extend-o-Knife’s free basic attack from 25% → 50% reduced damage.
- Reworked Tactical Evisceration Wire’s secondary effect to be more generally useful while maintaining some of its intended utility.
- Replaced Electrostatic Condenser (an overly convoluted damage/stun tool) with Flexweave Underlay.
- Added skins.
Week 2
- Simplified Proximity Charge’s detonation mechanics.
- Updated Magnetic Blades’ wording to make more sense.
- Some minor balance changes:
- Reduced the ending delay of Covert Ops from 1.5 → 1.25 seconds.
- Reduced the maximum amount of Proximity Charges on the map at any time to 6.
- Reduced the cooldown of Grappling Wire from 17 → 15 seconds.
- Reduced the Mana cost of Tripwire from 50 → 40 Mana.
- Increased the damage of Advanced Decoy’s detonation from 102 (+4% per level) → 152 (+4% per level).
- More balance changes, but based on Week 1 feedback:
- Increased Shiv’s damage from 44 (+4% per level) → 66 (+4% per level).
- Reworked Silent Takedown’s targeting from a skillshot to a point-and-click.
- Increased Silent Takedown’s damage from 44 (+4% per level) → 88 (+4% per level).
- Increased Twist the Blade’s damage from 88 (+4% per level) → 176 (+4% per level).
- Increased Proximity Charge’s damage from 146 (+4% per level) → 183 (+4% per level).
- Added talents.