Special Weapon Rework Idea: Super Ballzooka

[OnePotWonder]

The patch notes will not distract me from finishing off my new special designs. The Booyah Bomb rework is still being difficult, so today I'll be instead reworking Trizooka by combining it Bloblobber, of all things. Fortunately, this one is very simple compared to the others.

Super Ballzooka

This special switches out the user's main weapon with a large bazooka, its design reminiscent of a gumball machine. The special has 60 frames of startup and a maximum duration of eight seconds, and slows the user's movement speed to 20% slower than a middleweight weapon.

The special can fire up to three shots by default at a maximum fire rate of just under one second per shot. Each shot unleashes a charged ball of ink that flies in an arc away from the user, which can bounce off of terrain twice before expiring, losing almost no speed in the process. (Think 1/3 of a Trizooka shot for size.) Getting hit directly with the ball deals 220 damage, and whenever it contacts terrain, it deals 50 splash damage in a radius around it, and pushes enemies in said radius away from the center. Splatting an enemy with the special while it's active regenerates one of the user's shots.

The special's maximum range, when aimed in a perfect arc, is slightly shorter than E-liter's. Factoring in its bounces, though, that value becomes a lot greater. Its shots deal massive damage to most objects and destroy bombs.

Pretty simple, all things considered. It's basically a carbon copy of Trizooka, except it fires one shot that lands three times rather than three shots that each land one time. It's more skill-expressive and has a longer-term impact on the stage, while inspiring the same terror as its predecessor. This special would sow chaos on the battlefield, horrify the user's enemies, and be perfect as an entry tool for any slayer weapon. Speaking of which, it's time for the example kits:

Splattershot
Burst Bomb + Super Ballzooka

Goo Tuber
Fizzy Bomb + Super Ballzooka

Sloshing Machine
Point Sensor + Super Ballzooka

REEF-LUX 450
Autobomb + Super Ballzooka


Thanks for taking the time to read through this. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated (the splash radius size for the shots is intentionally up for debate, I figure it's a good place to get others' opinions for balance).
Lastly, you ought to know the drill by now; have a wonderful day!

 

[Grushi]

I like this a lot honestly, very fun idea and gets rid of the hitbox jank. "Ballzooka" is a peak name by the way.

 

[solz]

Team of them = pinball machine. Reflux special spam hehe

 

[isaac4]

Out of all the special weapon concepts you've created, I think this has to be my favorite one so far.
Despite Trizooka being a very powerful special, it's also inconsistent and extremely simple in how you can use it. The most the special ever asks of the player is to pop it in a good position but you can also as easily pop it in a bad spot and quickly get three kills.
This idea of combining Blob and Zooka shots together is much more interesting though and would also allow for skill expression in how a player decides to utilize the terrain of the map to bounce their shots.
A maximum of 3 shots would be fine on its own but being able to increase that number through getting kills with the special could incentivize players to think more about how and when they use it.
Having an outside damage radius of 50 is also really good for both the user and their team as it would kill with two indirect hits but if that doesn't end up working, the damage number is still high enough to be followed up on by your teammates.

Sorry if this isn't adding much to the conversation but I really want to express how much I like this special concept.
I especially enjoy the addition of pushing enemy players away with the outside radius, a huge part of that being that it just sounds really funny.
I'm not sure how big the radius should be though. Maybe it could be close to the size of an indirect shot from Inkjet when 2 subs of spu are equipped?

I don't have anything to add on the kits since Machine with Sensor/Super Ballzooka follows the same idea that the devs have been doing with Machine Neo since S1. It makes sense so there's not much else to say about it.

 

[OnePotWonder]

It's truly ironic, the way muse works. I spend weeks on some of these reworks, polishing unfinished ideas as much as possible to get something interesting and balanced. The Re-Spawner took over a month to come to fruition.
Meanwhile, and I kid you not, I came up with Super Ballzooka in about one minute and polished it as I was writing it out. And I also agree it's among my best rework ideas, if not the best one so far, even with the name.

It's the type of frustration that makes you want to laugh out loud. What drives people to madness.
But I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.