Blink Chomper

[stormahawk]

Before you shoot this down and call it OP, hear me out.

It should be a purchasable upgrade (50 yellow, 50 blue, 75 red?). It will have 11 range (that's less than a siege tank) and a 20 second cooldown. A good wraith pilot can dodge it. A noob one will die to a non blink chomper. This will allow the slowest unit in game to have an escape plan of some sort and give it opportunity for defense. This will also allow the chomper to get to mineral patches slightly faster.

[Capricis]

That is... An interesting idea... But what is wrong with the Chomper just sticking close to the battlecruiser for defense?

[Olem]

I predict this would lead to the ability being not just used for escape, but as a method of transporting next to an enemy ship and chomping them.

[stormahawk]

I predict this would lead to the ability being not just used for escape, but as a method of transporting next to an enemy ship and chomping them.

That's why the somewhat short range and lengthy cooldown. If the enemy ship is standing still that it gets caught by a chomper, honestly, it probably had it coming. 11 range is more than noticeable distance.

edit: regarding the staying close to BC, that isn't always possible in all situations.

[zakhennahr]

Instead of this, it could be something like an upgrade.

Perhaps 'Catapult Bay' which launches chomper at turbo in a direction the BC is facing. That would get chomper to places, but would still need cover from others getting back.

[DumbMarine]

How are you supposed to kill a chomper that can blink?

[stormahawk]

Instead of this, it could be something like an upgrade.

Perhaps 'Catapult Bay' which launches chomper at turbo in a direction the BC is facing. That would get chomper to places, but would still need cover from others getting back.

Could also make it like a miner ability. Catapult bay will not be too useful for escapes from a tight spot. However, using the miner ability might make it a bit boring since its already in the game. It won't hurt to try to give the chomper blink for one patch and have it be a mid-game priced upgrade. Chompers are pretty easy to dodge, but they are the slowest unit in the game. This results in chompers being under-utilized in many situations due to how slow and vulnerable they are. This is by no means a free ticket to escape but it will give the chomper a little bit of time for backup to get there to help it out.

edit: how do you kill a chomper that can blink?
It blinks a short distance (11) and it has a lengthy cooldown (20 seconds or more depending on how balance is decided). A wraith can easily overtake it in that time. A corvette with some speed upgrades also can overtake the chomper. Unlike the miner, the chomper wont be hurling halfway across the map. All this will do is buy the chomper a few seconds so help can arrive. In a game today I saw a chomper that was almost on top of a friendly BC die because of how slow it was.

[DumbMarine]

11 is not a short range. 11 is like half a screen. But it's not about the range.

A wraith can catch up but a wraith is not going to be able to do 1200 points of damage to something that can move and teleport. Teleporting resets the DPS. And a corvette is going to get chomped if it tries to kill a chomper--- you can't point blank a chomper. I don't see how you are 'supposed' to kill it.

In a game today I saw a chomper that was almost on top of a friendly BC die because of how slow it was.

How fast was the BC moving?

[stormahawk]

How fast was the BC moving?

It was standing still

I am not quite sure how 11 range translates in distance in CC world but it should be enough to get out of shooting range for a few seconds. Also, keep in mind that wraiths do have EMP to keep abilities from being cast. A corvette will not get chomped if it is moving.

[Tempest]

a chomper is a slow moving ship designed to be vulnerable and need battle cruiser escort, not only for safe harvesting but for a short drop distance to the bc, the miner is the evasion ship, the survivalist. The chomper is a much more time effecient ship, the rate at which it brings in minerals is crazy high, as a balance measure to that mineral accumulation it was made to be easier to kill than most ships, which is why it has such gigantic size slow movement speed, yet extremely high hull.

Chomper is well balanced compared to all other small ships and has been given the upgrades to make it even more time effective, i dont see a reason to make it a faster moving survivalist by any means.