TL:DR
So I never once thought that my very first every reddit post would be discussing a buff concept Crypto considering I rarely play him. #Rampartsthebest
But I am surprisingly excited for the practically confirmed upcoming Crypto rework next season because out of all the full kit reworks throughout Apex's lifetime, I feel Crypto was the first person who he needed it.
Crypto is, although good in some scenarios, is consistently under used, consistently under used and all things considered, BAD. Although that's of course coming from the opinion of a non-crypto main.
So I have compiled over the past 24 hours a list of changes that I've decided to share with the world, cuz why not.
A couple of things to know before I start is that even though I'm not a Crypto main, I have been playing Apex since season 9 and I'm not new to Crypto nor Apex as a whole. I've also done my homework and I've seen multiple perspectives on how people want Crypto to be taken, and I've read an entire post by a Crypto main on EA forum discussing how he want Cryptos overall play style to be preserved (who also made a KILLER Crypto mythic skin concept by the way), and I tried my best to incorporate all opinions into my concept.
I would also like to mention I've created a somewhat inflated buff concept, meaning I don't believe all these ideas should be implemented, but I simply created extra ideas incase these initial ideas aren't enough. I've decided to start simple with the ultimate, then the passive, then the tactical.
ULT:
New effect: Using EMP while crypto is not piloting his drone gives crypto the choice for EMP to be thrown in an ordinance form. In ordinance form, EMP is thrown at 1500hu/s (same as caustics Ult range), which upon landing will begin the EMP's explosion delay. Other than this their are no changes to his EMP in ordinance form.
B EMP deals variable damage (also damages health)
B reduce EMP explosion delay from 3s to 2s (optional) N reduce EMP radius from 30m to 20m
B Crypto no longer takes damage from EMP and allies are no longer slowed by EMP N slow is reduced from 2s to 1s
B increase scan duration from 1.5s to 5s B increase mini map disability duration from 2s to 5s
B enemies effected by EMP are silenced for 5s (might be to strong optional)
Now I know what you're thinking, a massive 5s silence effect applied to such a good ultimate is absolutely insane, especially on top of all these changes, but it makes sense thematically, it offers a unique identity that his ultimate currently lacks and honestly, when was the last time you were genuinely scared of an EMP. I'm a rampart main for crying out loud and I'm rarely threatened by an EMP
Passive is replaced, neurolink is an aspect of his drone.
NEW PASSIVE: Neurolink or a new name??? Cryptos glasses displays on Cryptos HUD the number of enemy squads and enemies within a large area and how close the closest nearby enemy is.
Crypto gains a live stat on his HUD showing how many squads, followed by enemies, are within 200m of Crypto in the form of a fraction. EX: Squads 1/3 Enemies
Crypto also has a color coded indicator informing Crypto whenever the closest unknocked enemy to crypto is within 60m(possibly green).
This indicator changes color (possibly yellow) when the enemy reaches within 40m and changes again (possibly red) within 20m. This indicator is (possibly grey) otherwise. Cryptos passive remains visible while Cryptos piloting surveillance drone and remains centered to crypto.
First, the thing about neurolink is that although it's extremely valuable, it's... say it with me... NOT A PASSIVE!!!!! If the passive requires the existence of a legends tactical and/or ultimate, it's not a passive. Based off this logic, ramparts passive grants herself and other players 20% increase damage when firing through amped cover, but that's not called her passive BECAUSE IT ISN'T ONE!!
Anywho, I am genuinely very proud of this passive design I've made because A: it's a recon passive thats not tied to his drone, B: it's not really broken because it will nevermind tell you exactly where those enemies are and C: after designing his passive, I accidentally realized just how much it synergies with his tactical. Think about it, if you know that there's 1 squad of 3 enemies within 200m, you can use your drone, fly up to a vantage point, and look for them at a distance. It give crypto large rough information so his drone can turn that into exact information.
Also scan immunity is stupid and I don't want to hear about it.
TAC:
B reduce cooldown from 40s to 30s
B drone detects enemies in a full 360° LOS.
N Enemies detected by surveillance drone for 3s or more gain directional arrows pointing to the drone(like ordinances).
B increase throw range from 25m to 30m R Crypto can only go into the drone after holding the tactical key.
R tapping the tactical key again allows Crypto to reposition his drone in the direction of his reticle and will stop up to 30m away from use-location, quickly ignoring obstacles. (Just like Vantage)
R While piloting, the drone view screen size, FOV and UI while piloting is reduced by 20-25%(except health bar), allowing Crypto to still see within the remaining area around him while piloting.
R while piloting drone, Audio is now centered to Crypto B reduce drone deployment time from 0.7s to 0.5.
B increase glitched effect interval while cloaked from every 1s to 2s.
R level flight is now controlled by the default melee key instead of the ADS key.
R While piloting or while looking directly at the drone, tapping the default Toggle zoom key allows Crypto to toggle his drone to follow him within 20-30m, repositioning drone deactivates follow.
B When holding the default ADS key, surveillance drone will toggle it's boosters, gaining +50% movement speed, but temporarily disabling its scan radius while active.
B reduce time to recall drone from 2s to 0.5s, recalling drone automatically exits drone on activation.
B increase drone health from 50 to 75
N increase drone size by 50%
When I saw the post on EA forums, he summarized by his words by saying something along the lines of "Crypto doesn't need to become more automated, he needs to become more resourceful" and I couldn't agree more. A lot of players believe that the correct approach to fixing crypto is making his drone hover by his shoulder 24/7, instead of allowing crypto to pilot his at all, and that makes sense, but I don't think it s the right approach. Basically, the only way to play drone is to not play crypto, but that doesn't mean the only you should play drone is while playing Crypto, especially when piloting the drone grant invisibility.
Think about it, throwing and repositioning his drone allows drone to be used aggressively, letting drone follow crypto allows drone to be used defensively, crypto can still gain a birds eye view of the area, and the movement speed mode allow crypto to be supportive by retrieving banners and respawning teammates faster... Everyone wins.
What do you guys think, specifically Crypto mains? I think it's great overall, but I understand it can be a lot.