Eiwynn, the Curator
Super Short Summary: A support lancer based around the idea of a powerful Orb that you launch around to deal damage to enemies and heal allies. The Orb can be attached to enemies, allies or yourself, or just left out on the map. Accordingly, proper positioning is crucial to maximize benefit from the Orb — the same way Nev has to position in advance for her return rings. I think this is easily the most complicated concept I’ve designed, and it might be a bit of a challenge to describe the abilities efficiently in tooltips. Hope those of you who appreciate the more technical aspects of the game enjoy it, though!
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Eiwynn, the Curator
Affiliation: Helio Corps
Role: Support
Hit Points: 150
Lore: Eiwynn takes care of Helio’s Curios, a bunch of cool technological gizmos and rare stuff from the Atlas universe (ancient relics? Reactor-imbued stuff? Who knows!). And, of course, a bunch of Heli-Orbs. One particular Heli-Orb (a deep blue-purple sphere that seems like it has starlight inside it that Eiwynn has dubbed the “Astral Orb” or “Astra”) has taken a fancy to Eiwynn, and the two have become a team. Eiwynn uses Astra to aid those around her and defend herself, sometimes even sending Astra out to others — but Astra has separation anxiety, and returns to Eiwynn as soon as she can.
The Orb
(I’ll generally be referring to Astra as “the Orb” since that’s how I initially wrote it.)
The Orb starts the game attached to you. At the beginning of each turn, if the Orb is attached to you, gain 10 shields during Prep Phase. If, on a given turn, the Orb is NOT attached to you (whether on the map somewhere or attached to someone else) AND you do NOT move it that turn, the Orb will automatically return to you during Blast Phase, dealing 10 indirect damage to enemies in its path (ignores walls and cover). The Orb then attaches to you, and you start the next turn with the Orb attached. Having the Orb “attached” is reflected graphically, either by a shift in color or by some visual indicator, and the Orb follows the position of the lancer it is attached to.
Primary — Astral Orb — Blast Phase — No Cooldown
Shoot the Orb at a target tile up to 7 range (from its current location), dealing 10 damage to enemies hit. Can travel through walls, and ignores cover. The Orb hits roughly a 2-width path (maybe the size of a Nev Catarang). The Orb remains at that location (unattached, floating above the tile somewhat like Rio) until next turn. The Orb grants vision only of the tile beneath it. You cannot target a location more than 10 units from Eiwynn’s position (meaning if the Orb is really far, you may not be able to use your primary, but the Orb will then return to you). Gain 5 energy per enemy hit.
Mods:
Orbliterate (2 points) (default) — deal an additional 2 damage to enemies hit by the Orb when using this ability.
Blue Giant (2 points) — Increase the width that the Orb hits by about 1. (Astra appears slightly more blue if this mod is taken.)
Starlight (3 points) — the Orb Energizes allies it passes through until end of next turn.
Harmony (1 point) — gain 5 energy on use, but do not gain energy from hitting enemies with this ability.
Light Speed (3 points) — gain Haste this turn.
2 — Astraffix — Blast Phase — Cooldown 2
Shoot the Orb in a line from its current location; the line is 7 distance unless an ally or enemy is hit before that. (You do not need to be within any particular range of the Orb to use this.) The line is also blocked by walls. If the Orb hits an ally or enemy in its path, it attaches to that target, dealing 20 damage if it is an enemy and restoring 20 health if it is an ally. Eiwynn counts as an ally for this purpose, but not if the Orb was already attached to her. If no target is hit, the Orb travels the maximum 7 distance and stays on the tile reached (like Nev’s Catarang). If the Orb attaches to an enemy, Reveal it while the Orb is attached. If the Orb is attached to an ally, the ally gains 10 shields during any subsequent Prep Phase (same as Eiwynn herself would). Gain 10 energy on hit.
Mods:
Corona (2 points) (default) — if the Orb is attached to an ally (not Eiwynn), the ally gains 10 additional shields during Prep Phase.
Orbital Collision (2 points) — increase the damage dealt and health restored by this ability by 4.
Infusion (3 points) — if the Orb is attached to an ally, it gains Might during Prep Phase. If the Orb is attached to an enemy, it is Weakened during the subsequent Prep Phase.
Magnetic (3 points) — if attached to an ally, the Orb will remain attached to the ally until you move it manually (but if you are too far to use your primary, the Orb will return to you during Blast Phase). If attached to an enemy, the Orb will remain attached for an additional turn before it returns automatically (if you do not manually move it). (The enemy remains Revealed.)
Whiff (1 point) — if you do not hit a target, reduce the cooldown by 1.
3 — Aether Aura — Prep Phase — Cooldown 3
Shield yourself or a target ally for 40. If you shield an ally, gain 10 shields yourself. If you shield an ally that has the Orb attached, gain an additional 10 shields. (If you target yourself, you still gain only 40 shields even if you have the Orb.) If the Orb passes through the targeted ally (i.e. in returning to you this turn), heal that ally for 20. (If you were the target of Aether Aura, you do not heal yourself.) Gain 12 energy on use.
Mods:
Aether Flux (2 points) (default) — if the Orb is attached to any friendly lancer, that lancer gains 10 shields (regardless of where they are).
Gravitate (3 points) — during Blast Phase, the Orb moves and attaches to the targeted ally, dealing 10 damage to enemies in its path and healing the ally for 10. The ally begins next turn with the Orb attached. (If the Orb was already on the targeted ally, it does not move, but they are still healed for 10.)
Aether Restoration (2 points) — if the Orb returns to you this turn, it heals other friendly targets (i.e. other than the Aether Aura target, which would already be healed for 20) that it passes through for 10 (includes you).
Energy Sap (1 point) — gain 2 energy each time the target takes direct damage this turn. If the target is an ally (not you) and it has the Orb attached, the target also gains 1 energy each time it takes direct damage this turn.
4 — Blast Phase — Heliosphere — Cooldown 4
Create a sphere of solar wind (2+1 area, size of the area damaged by Helio ult) centered around the Orb, dealing 20 damage to enemies inside it and healing allies for 10. The Heliosphere lasts 2 turns and moves with the Orb. Gain 8 energy each time an enemy is damaged by the Heliosphere.
Mods:
Stellar Storm (2 points) (default) — increase the damage by 2 and the healing by 1.
Thick Atmosphere (1 point) — when the sphere is created, Slow enemies adjacent to the Orb until end of turn.
Cosmic Rays (3 points) — enemies damaged by the sphere are Weakened next turn.
Supergiant (2 points) — increase the size of the sphere to a 3+1 area.
Nebula (3 points) — on use, friendly targets (includes you) inside the sphere become Unstoppable until end of turn.
Ultimate — Binary Stars — Blast Phase — Requires 100 Energy
Astra has a reddish-orange twin, Brill, that sometimes hangs out with her (yes, apparently Heli-orbs can have siblings). On use, Astra vanishes back to Eiwynn, then Eiwynn shoots Astra and Brill, two Orbs, at two target locations (maximum arc of 120 degrees between the two). The Orbs deal 25 damage on the initial launch instead of the usual 10 (an enemy hit by both takes an additional 5 damage), but then act as normal Orbs. You may use both Orbs for (up to) the next two turns, after which Brill will return to you during Blast Phase (as the Orb normally would, only this time the Orb returns regardless of whether you moved it) and then vanish.
Notes:
We definitely need some notes for this one.
- Use your primary on subsequent turns to move Astra (as usual), and reactivate your Ultimate (as a free action) to move Brill.
- If you do not move either Astra or Brill, that Orb will return to you as normal, but if Brill returns, the dual orb ends (though moving Brill is a free action so this should not happen unintentionally).
- If you use Astraffix, there is a single targeter for the two lines, like an Oz primary with an afterimage.
- Both Orbs can attach to lancers.
- If you use Aether Aura, you can still move Brill. The “healing” effect applies for Brill as well, but an ally cannot be healed by both.
- If you use Heliosphere, each Orb creates a sphere (mods apply).
- Any mod that applies to Astra applies to Brill. If you have Gravitate on Aether Aura, Astra will move (Brill will not).
Mods:
Twin Sisters (2 points) (default) — an enemy hit by both stars this turn takes an additional 5 damage.
Warp Speed (2 points) — gain Haste until end of next turn.
Perihelion (1 point) — if Brill returns to Eiwynn during the first subsequent turn, gain 50 energy.
Soothing Stars (3 points) — the Orbs do not deal damage on the initial launch; instead, they heal allies for 30 (each ally may only be healed once; you are not healed).
Astral Affinity (3 points) — if either Orb deals damage while both are deployed (after the initial launch), it deals an additional 10 damage.
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Hope you enjoyed. For the moment, I will leave sample builds to you!