First of all, Slayer is the only career without a ranged alternative to kill the enemies. Having a ranged weapon not only allows for safer ways to kill enemies, but allows for niche attacks from a distance that are critical as in attacking a high priority special target who is pouncing your ally or even just attacking an enemy from the right angle. Secondly, not having a ranged weapon means that you are competing with your teammates who do - those teammates who may accidentally attack you with their ranged weaponry and deal damage to you or those teammates who kill the enemies before you are even able to get to them. Finally, with Dual Axes being such a good melee weapon to use in most every situation, the secondary weapon slot for Slayer is often occupied with an inferior melee weapon alternative and, as such, is hardly used or frankly considered to be used. This means that Slayer really uses just one of the weapon slot while the other one is there just for the Power stat advantage to raise your average Hero Power.
I suggest Throwing Axes as the ranged weapon of choice for Slayer as it’s unique to other classes as well as fits with the Slayer personality and playstyle. These throwing axes can be called Tomahawks as well if it fits. It is pictured as a single ax that is thrown with either hand, rotating between left and right. Ammunition is uncapped. The ax will do strong damage to a single target and depleting damage to targets behind the first one hit.
Left Click - At a faster attack speed the ax will be thrown horizontally with a rapid pace. The attack does not pierce, hitting at just where the hitbox is (likely 1-3 enemies).
Right Click - charges the ax, throwing the projectile forward as it’s spinning vertically. Right click again has a vertical spin with the other hand. This is a piercing attack that is a slower attack speed.
I would love to switch back and forth between Dual Axes and Throwing Axes. I think it would make playing Slayer a more enjoyable experience and allow for more skilled players to have better APM.
This and trollhammer torpedoes will probably happen at some point. However considering that fatshark is still struggling with the revolutionary concepts of helmets being the same color as armor, or the red halberd not having the skin of a basic white item, we can expect these additions to be implemented within a timespan of at least 2 years.
I highly doubt Throwing Axes as separate weapons will come, even if they’d be quite nice (and suitable enough thematically). Leaving Slayer unable to use ranged weapons was a very conscious decision on part of the devs, and I think they’re unwilling to revert that. Besides, adding them would require classifying them technically as melee weapons, and while that might be easy in itself, I don’t honestly know if there’s some actual differences between those programming-wise or whether that would affect implementation.
While I’d love to see thrown axes actually implemented as a separate weapon, I think a more probable and still cool option would be to utilize the Weapon Special on Dual Axes. Give the Slayer an extra axe to throw, or even let him pick up a rock and stun an enemy with it. In this version, its primary purpose would be to stun an enemy, likely a Special, to give the Slayer slightly more time to approach. (Also, the Weapon Special sees far too little use anyway.) Using a thrown axe for this and making Bardin pick it up would be awesome, really, but just a decent cooldown would prevent abuse, and needing to pick up the thrown weapon would also need a safety mechanism so it wouldn’t be unrecoverable.
I was thinking of something like this with the axes he currently has - basically he can throw one or both or his dual axes, but has to go pick them up after to get them back, and if he throws one off a cliff or in the river then he’s just short an axe the rest of the run.
That would be far too easy to do by mistake, and there are other places than cliffs where the axe could get lost (not even counting when it would just be too hard to find, e. g. underwater). Also suddenly changing your equipped weapon to another, far weaker one would be somewhat bad design, in my mind.
Let Bardin have a third axe on his belt, and after throwing one, pull out the extra one. Get the throwable back by either cooldown or by picking it up again.
Well, maybe if they will implement another career skill(on a shorter cooldown, and will less impact), i guess it can be an axe throw for Slayer to give him a chance of killing bstormers and globs at least.
What difficulty do you play on ? Twin axes can’t hold their own against a legend horde and are ,for me at least,only used for armour or elites/specials
. meaning the time i use my twin axes is about the same as when i use my secondary horde handling weapon
Slayer doesn’t need any ranged option whatsoever and will probably not be possible because of the lore.
However, throwing axes would be a cool exclusive ranged weapon for ranger bardin. Give them low ammo, high damage, damage over time from bleeding and heavy staggering power - and the ability to either throw one axe accurately over longer distances or both at the same time on shorter range.
Slayer needs some nifty new dual weapons, like those cool crooked daggers someone posted, or dual hammer, or a hammer and axe combo.
Well Rapier and Pistol got unlimited ammo, I guess Throwable axe for Dual axes on the middle mouse would be fun
Infinite ammo, cooldown (let Bardin shout Umgak ! or Boga ! when it’s on cooldown and you try to use it xD), armor pen and stagger, small damage, apply bleed.
As cool as ranged would be on slayer, I think it would make him a bit too strong. He’s amazing at melee, give him ranged and he’d be broken. Unless it’s something on a long cool down for that critical moment.
You sure mate? There have been slayers with ranged weapons so it is not impossible by the lore.
Malakai Makaisson for example, dude had a sniper rifle with laser pointer.
