We here at The Sprocket Formula like to think of ourselves as being “better than a toolbelt”. Sometimes, however, I feel that the toolbelt is quickly closing in on us. Today, I wanted to share the most recent change that came out for the engineer: turrets now add toolbelt abilities. It’ll change how you look at turrets, and can alter your play style- if you want to fully utilize them.
Before we get into what each turret now does, we’ll jump into how it works. Each turret now places a new ability in your F1 – F4 keys- yes, even the healing turret. While you have your turret out, the toolbelt is as it was before- allowing you to blow up your turret. However, when you have it stocked away, you can imitate your turret with your toolbelt. The cooldown on these abilities can be long, but they continue to go down in the background even if you place your turret out. Okay, lets get to watching pretty little videos and learn about what the abilities do.
Rifle Turret
The rifle turret allows you to use the… well… rifle turret. For some odd reason, the ability is called just that, and the ability has the same 1000 range. That’s where the similarities end- the damage is 237 at level 80 vs the 318 of the turret. The cooldown on the ability is a modest 20 seconds- pretty low compared to the other toolbelt turret abilities.
Flame Turret
The flame turret gives you the ability to use “The Human Torch” and “Flame On”. Casting a cone torch from your belt is quite a… blast? The range is just like the flame turret, with both sitting at 450. The damage for “Flame On” is only 95 versus the 127 of the turret, with the flame doing the same at 53 damage. Sadly, the ability is currently messed up when it comes to looks, but here is what I managed to get. The cooldown for “Flame On” is a sizeable 60 seconds.
Thumper Turret
The thumper turret turns you into one of its own, thanks to the skill “Shockwave”. Sadly, you can’t push people away with this ability- which would be awesome. It has the same 240 range, but with 285 damage compared to the 381 of the turret. The cooldown is a massive 90 seconds.
Rocket Turret
Ah, my favorite turret. Are you ready to shoot rockets from your stomach? With a sizable 60 second cooldown, you do 593 damage and have a range of 1200. This isn’t much of a loss compared to the 794 and 79 flame damage of the turret. Here’s a preview:
Net Turret
The net turret shines with its toolbelt ability, “Net Shot”. The cooldown is a long 60 seconds, but the effect is exactly the same as the turret. For someone who is using dual pistols, it makes the net turret an even better choice. Being able to immobilize your target for a full 4 seconds without relying on the turret is a nice touch. Here’s a look:
Healing Turret
Oh man- I almost forgot about this one at first. The healing turret toolbelt ability gives you “Healing Mist”. The ability acts similarly to the turret; it doesn’t give you a heal, but simply casts regen on you and everyone around you for 3 seconds. Oh ya, it’s got that painful 60 second cooldown as well. Here’s a look:
How to Effectively Use These
In the end, it’s up to you how to use these abilities- but I can give you some tips.
- Do not think of these abilities as a complete substitute for the turrets themselves.
- It’s best to use these abilities, due to their high cooldowns, on the run and not when you plan on staying still for a while.
- Keep in mind- the cooldown keeps ticking while your turrets are out, so using them at the beginning is probably a good idea.
- Sure, these abilities can do alot of damage, but don’t think that they will always save you in a pinch.
- If you find yourself really loving these abilities, get the trait that reduces the cooldown by 20%, which can be found in the tools line at 10 points: “Speedy Gadgets”
- Remember those fights where you used to place your turrets down for one or two enemies? Situations like these are where these abilities would best be used.
Well, that’s all I have on these cool new gadgets. I hope you enjoyed learning about these bonuses to turrets.
Keep tinkering,
-Dagnis
Oh- and, sorry if the videos weren’t the best quality; it was my first time using the WordPress site to upload videos, and my first time using Premiere.
-And don’t forget- things can still change- it’s not August 25th yet!
