đŸ€– New Tank Concept: Maximilien

General Discussion
21

It seems to be mandatory in the current iteration of Talon for its high council members to be able to take care of themselves physically, on top of having some kind of political, corporate or diplomatic power/position.
I’d definitely argue that Maximillien could join the hero roster, being a powerful being in his own right whilst also being more engaged in the financial & directive duties of Talon; just because he can fight doesn’t mean his efforts manipulating actions from behind the scenes lose any weight.

So, ultimately, I’m not a fan of your idea. It seems to use a few too many familiar mechanics in weird ways & while his main blocking ability is cool, it’s maybe also a death sentence, never mind all the logistical problems it could cause your team/yourself. I don’t like the primary fire as a primary fire (that kind of weapon should belong to a Junker if at all, even being an alt fire or ability) or the passive (seems way too particular & almost useless).

Maybe have a tentacle hero who works more with just the tentacles, like a melee-based bruiser or spider-hopping dive tank. I can see now this is way more just your own hero kit that you’ve just added to Maximillien, so maybe work on the actual kit more & really focus it down. The guard blade is a cool idea but again would moreso work with a Junker character based around rusty saw weaponry, rather than a tentacle Omnic.
Try splitting the core ideas there into two new characters & I think you’ll have something much better/refined (a rusty sawblade Junker & an unsettling tentacle Omnic). Also ditch the turrets, make the tentacles spin or something for their ult, area control/denial y’know.

So, here’s a hero kit moreso for actual Maximillien (aiming somewhere in the range of off-tank/main-tank), trying to stay as close to the base idea of him, with a dollop of speculation of course


HP: 300-400 (150-200 Health, 150-200 Shields)
With possibly the smallest hit-box of any tank, he shouldn’t have a huge health pool, but with how he will largely be implementing his abilities, he will need to be able to take some aggression.

Primary Fire: Railgun (3-5 shots per clip?)

Semi-automatic, each shot must be charged (a la Widowmaker/Hanzo).
Instantaneous line projectile, travels through enemies hit, but not shields.
Maximillien’s love for money & power actualises itself in his choice of weaponry; a magnetic coil contained within his arm that allows him to propel gold coins from his fingertips at several times the speed of sound.
“Money is power. Don’t believe me?”

Alternate Fire: Magnetic Grasp

Hold alternate fire to create a magnetic field from Maximillien’s hand that catches incoming projectiles, condensing them into a projectile for Max to shoot back at them by pressing primary fire.
(Think the Return to Sender Vigor from Bioshock Infinite.)
Resource-based a la Defence Matrix/Moira’s Healing.
Will only block certain projectiles/bullets etc.
Say around 3-4 seconds of available charge to catch projectiles, firing them back at enemies doesn’t consume any of the meter. Maybe have the option to fire the projectile linger a second after the magnetic shield has run out.
Or make it have a cooldown & a set duration.
Everything falls under Maximillien’s influence, even those who would dare to harm him are destined to only hurt themselves.
“The house always wins.”

Ability 1 (E): Magnetic Jail
Soft-locks onto enemies at a range (a la Zen’s Discord Orb) in order to be triggered. 8-10 second CD?
Encases an enemy in a magnetic sphere for a short duration (max 3 secs), preventing them from influencing the fight or anyone from interacting with them. The “jailed” target can not be damaged or healed, & can not damage or heal, but they can move; while the orb that contains them itself acts as a barrier to both teams.
OR the “jailed” target is rooted in place but can perform all other actions as normal?
Whether in political strategy, gambling, or combat; Maximillien finds the most pleasure in denying his opponents their agency. To him it is far more enjoyable to watch someone struggle & drown than to simply push them under.
“It matters not that you have the winning hand, if I can prevent you from playing it.”

OR

Ability 1 (E): Magna-Zone
Places a spherical magnetic field that lasts for a sizable duration, slowing enemies in the area (& giving allies a speed boost?)
Re-trigger effect to knock all enemies in area up & away from each other based on their relative position to the centre of the circular effect.
(Think Lux’s Lucent Singularity from LOL.)
Maximillien’s web of influence stretches far & wide; those who oppose him find their progress impeded at every turn, almost as if some invisible force were acting against them.
“All in the pot. Time to show my hand.”

Ability 2 (Shift): Husk Clones
From Max’s chest bursts a small container that expands outward to unveil 5 mindless Omnics with the same appearance as Maximillien (Husks), that link arms to form a defensive wall similar to Mei’s (not as tall but around the same width) in a horizontal line only.
The initial opening of the container & release of Omnics deals a small amount of damage & knockback to nearby enemies.
Each Omnic body has its own health pool (like Mei’s pillars) & act as physical cover, not as a barrier shield. These Husks should likely only last for a certain amount of time before decaying. There could be gaps between Husks to allow allies to shoot through.
Pressing E while the Husks are in place will detonate them for AoE damage & knockback. (Possible)
Husks are drawn towards Magna-Zone or anyone affected with Magnetic Jail, dependant on which ability seems best suited. (If above used)
This ability could function in a different way so that the Husk line always stays in front of Maximillien at a set distance once summoned rather than leaving them in a set position, allowing him to reposition it, but limited to his own positioning & LOS.
The line could stay static on some kind of vector so that they always stay facing the same direction, but the line moves in relation to Max’s general position, rather than the direction he is looking.
Maximillien is only too aware of the limitations of his kind; it could even be said that he resents them. But that will not prevent him from exploiting those weaknesses for his own gain. Why get his own hands dirty when he has the ability to choose not to?
“And they say money is the root of all evil. No, consciousness ups the ante on that one.”

Passive: Patryoshka
For every Husk that is destroyed by an enemy, Max regenerates a small amount of personal shield health.
(Likely not necessary but could be useful.)
“Gotta spend lives to make a living.”

Ultimate: Polarisation
Transformation Ultimate: 6 secs?
Creates a spherical magnetic field around Max that slows enemies in the area, ending with a repulsive blast at the end of the transformation, knocking enemies away.
Max could get a speed boost during this time, but unsure.
Max can use his other abilities as normal.
Magnetic Jail (if used) gets drawn towards the field instantly.
Magna-Zone (if used) can be reactivated at this time to draw all enemies caught within it towards Maximillien instead of knocking them apart.
Husks caught within the field will circle Max at a distance, knocking enemies around, but detonate when the ultimate ends.
Maximillien keeps his friends close, but draws his enemies in closer & closer until they find their own plans blowing back up in their faces.
“Reflect on your mistakes & accept the hand you are dealt.”

With a combination of ranged damage & multiple kinds of tanking abilities (damage mitigation, area denial, knockback, sustain) I feel his lack of mobility & potentially smaller health pool work as a nice trade-off, along with his smaller hit-box.

Reckon this could work? Obviously he wouldn’t have both E abilities, I’m just not sure which one works best.

22

I had considered giving him drones, but you have to consider that if Blizzard can’t balance Torbjörn’s turret then they wouldn’t be able to balance automated drones either.

uWutAkaiEngarde?
uWutAkaiEngarde?1280×1161

24

How do you feel about my drones? :slight_smile:

25

Good hero name xD
But I got to say, why can’t I find you Overbuff?
Or your profile for that matter?

26

Maximillian seems pretty bland for a character tbh.

27

With all we currently know, yes.
Potentially? Nope xD.

28

With all we currently know, yes.
Potentially? Nope! xD
If you want a genuine discussion on this we can have one :slight_smile: I doubt I’d change your mind easily though ha.

29

I mean there’s no evidence for me to see that’ll make me believe he isn’t bland. His design is quite plain is general. His gameplay could be fun, but I mean it just seems pretty plain.

I’d prefer having the MEKA squad in the game. There’s probably a slight touch of bias, but their designs stand out so much more. They’re all quite different and such and have very appealing designs. Max just looks like Zen went emo and is wearing a suit.

30

I think it is significantly easier to balance summoned minions with a cooldown and a duration than it is to balance a permanent turret, it is effectively low damage, high accuracy burst that can be countered by enemy fire or ultimate usage that can use the game’s AI in order to attack the nearest enemy or proceed to the objective. Turrets mainly suffer from a lack of mobility and a set up time for proper positioning, where summoned minions can just spawn near the character and then move towards the enemy.

Builders suck, summoners I think you could make work.

31

Oh, I kind of meant character & story-wise.
He’s an Omnic in the high council of Talon. Already kind of odd.
How does he feel about Omnics? How does he feel about humans?
How does he feel about what his kind are being used for? Did he suggest it?
He values money, which isn’t something you’d imagine Omnics doing. Does he want to be human?
He seems to have particular personal influence within the current structure of Talon

Is he making a power-grab?
Is he actually trying to bring the organisation down for what they have done to his kind?
Does he actually genuinely care for these people?

There are plenty more questions that Blizzard may never answer, so while I agree that as it stands there’s nothing hugely definite to him; his potential for interesting story-lines far outweighs most of the other extended cast just by the fact of what & who he is.
Sense?

My theoretical concept for Maximillien’s gameplay is above if that’s more your bag. If that’s of any interest or you have any thoughts let me know.
I mean, most Omnics in-world seem to be iterations on the same model, that’s no big deal here (although if Blizzard had tried to make all Omnics different that would be nice but everything would take way longer).
Mind you, he’s actually displaying some quite human traits by dressing up exactly how wealthy humans do. Yeah sure, emo suit Zen, slick mafia Zen, we can call it whatever; I’m not really fussed on visual design, I’d rather an interesting character.

Of course MEKA “stand out” more, they’re Evangelion Power Rangers that could all have hero kits way too similar to existing material to be worth including. Only D.Mon has any character lore worth exploring anyway; as we know next to nothing about any of them.
We genuinely know more about Maximillien than we do about any of the other MEKA pilots & his potential impact on the story also already outweighs any of theirs.

32

I know Overwatch loves ripping off Big Hero 6 but making their main villain a robot is just ridiculous.

Edit: Their = Big Hero 6’s

34

The main villain in Big Hero 6 was a human xD.

Maximillien is also nowhere near “main villain” at this point, just “villain”.

35

Also, this might interest you a bit more then
 :slight_smile:

36

I enjoy this lore.

I really liked that ability and hope to see a character with it one day in Overwatch.

I have issues with this because it seems too easy to use and too annoying to play against. Plus it’s more or less a better Junkrat trap.

It’s alright. I would rather it only flow down and not knockback.

Sounds lile it may be difficult to balance and yo code for the movement, but it is definitely unique.

Sounds good, it adds a good dynamic between destroying or evading drones.

It’s simple and I like it. Specifically, I like that it’s a transformation as right now only D.Va has one.

1 Like
38

Hey thanks man! Particularly glad you liked the lore bite xD.
I’m starting to prefer Magna-Zone to Magnetic Jail myself, maybe MJ could be a projectile rather than a soft-lock? I’d also rather it removes the target’s ability to affect the fight rather than stop their movement, but thought I’d include both options.
Magna-Zone also doesn’t have to do the knockback, it is optional to use :slight_smile: do you like how it interacts with his ultimate?
& yeah I know the Husks would be hard to both balance & code xD that’s definitely something holding the idea back ha! But if they could make it work I bet it’d be fun. :slight_smile:

Ah, Maximillien wouldn’t physically transform, it’s the classification of the type of ultimate it is.
There are actually several transformation style ultimates in-game:
Genji’s DragonBlade, Winston’s Primal Rage, Bastion’s Tank, Soldier’s Tac Visor, Torb’s Molten Core, Brigitte’s Rally, Mercy’s Valkyrie
Basically letting you use all your normal kit, but with some kind of added extra at the same time.
The other two types are Cast-Time (ones that perform a single action within a short time to activate such as Pulse Bomb) & Channelled (ones that perform a single action across a longer period of time such as Whole Hog).
:slight_smile: