Kyle Varos is a soldier and mercenary from earth, who learns he’s actually Blackthorn, an alien prince who needs to free his planet from the Ka’dra’suul empire. He does so in typical 90’s action hero fashion, killing everything that stands in his way with his trusty shotgun.
Mechanically Kyle is an auto-attack focused ranged assassin. His abilities give him several tools to deal with pursuers, making him able to bait other assassins and dispatch them while they give chase.
Passive trait: Double Barrel
Has its own 1 minute cooldown. Any non-heroic ability can be used while on cooldown by consuming this cooldown instead.
The original game was very bare-bones, so it didn’t have anything the player could do that would make a good passive. But this seems like a neat mechanic, and generally fits Kyle’s 90’s action hero style.
Q: Backhand shot
Fires a shotgun blast that deals damage to all enemy targets in a cone.
This looks uninteresting at a glance, because the important thing about this ability is what it doesn’t do. Unlike other abilities, Backhand shot does not require you to stop moving to cast, and it does not make you face the targeted direction, allowing you to fire it at pursuers without being slowed down.
W: Bomb
Places a bomb at your current location that detonates after a second or two, dealing heavy damage to all enemy targets, and yourself, in a short radius.
Bomb is an odd skill because it’s able to deal damage to the caster if they aren’t careful. But it’s high damage output makes it useful for dealing with stationary enemies like mercenary camps or structures, as well as enemy heroes who are in pursuit.
E: Sidestep
Momentarily take cover, becoming immune to ability damage for a short time
A well-timed sidestep allows you do avoid an enemy ability, such as one that would slow or stun you, or even avoid damage from your own bombs if you don’t feel like getting out of the way.
R1: Close air support
Summons a helicopter to Kyle and crashes it in a target location dealing damage to enemies in the area and transporting Kyle. Kyle hangs from a rope ladder the whole ride, and is able to use Backhand Shot and Bomb normally.
Close air support gets Kyle right into the action, and gives him a few free shots to anyone who might need shooting along the way.
R2: The Whole Belt.
Kyle throws his entire belt of bombs at the target area, dealing damage to enemy targets, and himself, in nine overlapping areas of effect centered on the target area, and adding the effects of all alternative bombs you may have chosen with talents.
If you’re using a bomb-focused build, this is the heroic for you. It benefits from all talents that affect your W and provides significant damage on it’s own.
Notable tallents
Note, all bomb variety talents are on different tiers, so it’s possible to select all three of them.
Select Hoverbombs.
Adds an extra button that replaces your Bomb ability with Hoverbomb. Hoverbombs move in the target direction and detonate once the casting location is out of range.
When used with The Whole Belt, three of the bombs will spread out in opposite directions before detonating.
Hoverbombs allow Kyle to use the bomb ability without having to reposition, or give a pursuer less time to get out of the way. They still damage Kyle, so don’t throw them in the direction you’re running.
Select Firebomb
Adds an extra button that replaces your Bomb ability with Firebomb.
Firebombs deal less damage on detonation, but leave a patch of fire that deals damage to enemies who stand in it. And Kyle.
When used with The Whole Belt, three of the bombs will leave patches of fire after detonating.
Firebombs add area denial to Kyle’s tool kit, but they deny that area to Kyle as well so be careful about where you place them.
Select Remote Wasp
Adds an extra button that replaces your bomb with a Remote Wasp.
The remote wasp chases the mouse when active, and detonates when the ability is activated again.
When used with The Whole Belt, three of the bombs will be wasps that chase the nearest hero before detonating.
These are by far the easiest bombs to aim, meaning if you get hit with these you have no one to blame but yourself. In return, they deal less damage than any other bomb.