Lets talk rockets for rocket.

[XelNigma]

This is just me theory crafting, Im under no illusion the devs will see this or even care about our opinions. I just find it fun to dream.

That out of the way; rocket sucks. Not functionality wise but character and fun wise. Hes a good sustain healer, no question.
But, hes a very aggressive guy known for being a tech wiz coming up with all kinds of gadgets. and yet his kit ingame hardly reflects that. His gun is weak as crap, and his revive beacon, much like sym's ult in overwatch isnt fun to use. Not to rehash that old argument from years gone by. But any ability that requires you to disengage from the action to find a safe corner to place it. isnt fun. And having it deploy near worthless armor pack is a joke.

Every other healer is more fun and interactive to use than Rocket, and easily out damage him in actual combat. Maybe point blank in the practice room he deals good damage, but in real combat his projectiles are slow, have a spread and major damage fall off.

So, Iv outlined MY issues with him, I consider him weak on the damage front and lacking abilities. You may think otherwise, thats fine.

Here are some ideas I think would be cool for him to have. and again, I know this is only a thought exercise. None of it will happen.

Let him fire his gun and orbs at the same time. His position is most likly behind the team. and his orbs have a large heal area and go through allies, the best use for the orbs are to shoot them through your allies. and often times the enemies are at the other end.
So letting him have no interruption between shooting would help him feel more interactive as he can participate in fights with out feeling like hes neglecting his healing duty. it still hits like a wet noodle but at least rocket feels like hes contributing. and who knows, maybe that extra 10 damage is all it takes to turn the tide.

Another idea is a synergy with his rocket pack. Considering how often I see rocket on the ground I assume most people dont know he can jet into the sky and float down slowly.
Its mainly used as an escape because shooting non-aoe bullets and a bouncing heal orb is very ineffective at higher angels. So ideally you wouldnt be up high unless you have to be.

BUT what if his gun changes modes while in the air?
Instead of bullets, he fires cluster rockets while in the sky? Similar to iron mans F but actually hit around where you aim. The orbs could lose their bounce and become sticky, persisting for 2 seconds or so.
But yah, rocket shooting rockets while airborn. they have small aoe and a small spread so they kinda pepper around the area your aiming at. Its rocket so the damage will still be piss poor, but its the cool factor im going for here and lets rockets fend off the agile heroes that dive the back line that are hard to hit a little better.

It fits his character, gives him more depth and another option for players to have some agency so they dont just feel like mercy only healing with no other abilities to use.

[Jesi]

No need. He dont have rocket launcher and we will have many other heroes that can do the same if not better. Gwenpool for example is very similar to LoL (Arcane) Jinx.

[RumpleForskin]

i main rocket and i agree his damage is terrible unless your fighting close quarters. even then its a gamble if you'll win. i see people get upset that i have 2k damage but 28k healing and telling me i "threw the match" because our cloak and dagger has 9k damage and 18k healing. dont get me wrong if i see iron man just sitting in one spot ill boost up to him to get him weak so our dps can finish him off but it feels like if your not healing non stop as rocket your team is dying. his respawn is fine imho, i just look away from the fight look up and throw it. but his ult is meh at best. yes it can change the outcome of a certain fight but theres SO MANY i guess "counters?" to it.

[Jesi]

If anything... His Ultimate could do something more than just buff damage. Could Act like a Namor turret squids. Dealing some damage - nothing crazy.

Or... his stuff could explote when destroyed. Maybe you could choose to destroy your own ultimate to deal damage equal to its HP (or whatever math would be balanced)

Also... ability to choose to detonate your B.R.B while removing ability to relocate it.

Stats:
Battle Rebirth Beacon - 150HP
Cosmic Yarn Amplifier - 800HP

[XelNigma]

Originally posted by RumpleForskin:

yes it can change the outcome of a certain fight but theres SO MANY i guess "counters?" to it.

a team wide buff of 40% sounds like a lot. until you compare it to other ults that just delete people. Then it doesnt look so good. If someone dies to 6 hits, they now die to 5. its not that impressive. And for rocket, 40% bonus on top of nothing is still nothing. so he cant even feel good when using it.

I guess the big difference in rockets and syms teleporter is that the teleporter stays up, so needing a safe place is important. while the beacon breaks after one use so spiderman or magik are going to use it seconds after being deployed. Still dont know why it deploys armor packs that vanish the instant the beacon is used.

[XelNigma]

Originally posted by Jesi:

If anything... His Ultimate could do something more than just buff damage. Could Act like a Namor turret squids. Dealing some damage - nothing crazy.

hmm...I do like turrets. But seeing as its buffing allies, what if it also nerffed enemies. such as a large slowing aura. so allies can better take advantage of the damage buff by making it easier for them to land their shots?

Maybe rocket could get another ability that is a turret. A tractor beam turret? deals minor damage but the main appeal is it drastically slows anyone its beaming.