Kid Ultra's Still *Not Perfect*

Battleborn Battleborn Competitive Multiplayer Discussion
#1

So I didn’t think the patch “fix” for his bolas was even applied yet but my friends are insisting it was and I have to say he’s still disgusting. Next to well played Boldurs, I think I see KU die the least out of all BB no matter how hard he gets focused… He’s generally close to the highest damage out… and once he hits 9 he still spams stun bolas way… wwaaaaayyy too frequently. Fighting against a KU is an uphill battle and his presence alone tips the scales too hard imo, especially In the kind of otherwise close matches that go until lvl 9+. At lvl 9, the team with the KU gets a really unprecedented boost.

Anyone else feel like the patch actually fixed anything on him?

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#2

Now, when I see an opposing Kid Ultra on Incursion, I don’t immediately think “Great, if he hits level 9 we’re ■■■■■■”

I still feel that way about Ernest’s mere presence though. I don’t know why KU was nerfed when he was released after Ernest, seldom does a half-decent Ernest not top minions, damage dealt, and have least deaths. If he dies, it’s because he pushed out of position or was ambushed successfully, but most assassination attempts fail miserably. At least you can assassinate KU and force him out of lane, Ernest just sits by his egg and dishes out tremendous damage down range.

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#3

I kill him easily and often if I ever do see him, which is rarely. No problems here

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#4

Guess I just have dogshit luck with getting hit by bolas. Of all the stuns though his does still seem ridiculous to me, especially with it’s uber short cd.

Edit: 12s I think it is? One of the shortest CD in the game on an unmissable multi-stun.

#5

15 I wanna say. Yeah I don’t like what it does. It’s just… Gross on a ranged character with an aoe primary.

#6

The bolas is BS yes, especially the ricochet. He is vulnerable to flanking when his bolas is on cooldown though. Since his ult is available frequently, he can use that as an escape though, but he’s still vulnerable during it. I’ve come to the conclusion that he is an offensive support with healing abilities. His slow/bleed/stun bolas is what he mainly has going for him. His rockets are good for wave clearing but for killing enemy players, using his bolas with rockets makes killing much easier. His healing drones are good healing support but nowhere near the best source of healing. His ult is a mix of mobility, burst healing and damage but he isn’t exactly invincible during it and I wouldn’t call that OP. So…his bolas is where his killing power and killing assisting potential lies. But I believe that’s the whole point of it. Even after the nerf, he doesn’t feel any different other than the bolas not feeling as cheap.

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#7

That’s pretty much my exact assessment of him though the super short CDs seem broken to me. His window of gankability is incredibly small.

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#8

His ability to stun multiple targets with a single bola throw for a couple seconds is plenty of time for him to get multiple kills.

That’s ridiculous for a supposed ‘support’ class.

Didn’t Ghalt get nerfed for something similar? Except that Ghalt had to actually bring the enemy to him rather than sit back a hundred yards and finish you off like KU.

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#9

Yeh that’s my beef. It’s a zero-skill multi-stun with massive bleed damage built-in… with a 12s cd.

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#10

I will say that while i agree with you i must point out one thing mentioned here that isn’t true, it is able to miss(I’ve actually messed with it a bit) while the ricochet is forgiving in how it assists you (i will admit freely that it still is), it doesn’t seem to home in nearly as much as before(but when you hit the triple bola still hard to miss, i do understand that as well)

and sadly @Slif_One is correct about ernest, but as we discussed over PSN there’s actually other ways to use his abilities creatively with a little thought that are more tactical than “fire support ernest” as i call him

i’ll list one example because it’s actually easy to do and sets up allies with some help

have an ally that keeps trying to flank on overgrowth and getting pushed back? why not put your remote charges on the doorway (with the proximity charge at level 6) by the giant shard so when they try to chase your team mate they get a nice explosion for chasing! and this helps even the odds for your ally and might net the kill.

but also i’m also playing devils advocate here as i present my small observations

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#11

Well we’ll just have to hope the next guy is even more broken so they can counter the fact you have two broken people on the other team.

#12

im pretty sure the nerf made it only affect the first hit for the stun, no? ranged can take him down no problem if he doesn’t have his stun redy, melee can too if they can trap him. you have to trap because he has faster speed then most melee. his healing is garbage, and his rockets are not that good for single target, so it’s really just his bola that is the problem. nerf the stun, buff the heals.

#13

Could be wrong but I believe the only thing that changed is the wider shot spread and the fact it bounces only once instead of three times. Pretty sure it still stuns everything it hits during its speed-of-light shootiness regardless. I do know a good chunk of the w/e team doesn’t have a KU is still getting stunned 4-5 times per minute.

His healing is pretty ■■■■■■■ good now with the ult fix. It’s like night and day. As soon as you pop the ult it’s at max bubble size so you instantly get full speed, full heal, full area. It’s like… REALLY good and actually makes him a seriously potent support once he hits level 5.

So after a few more 5-stack v 5-stack matches last night both with and against KU, I still feel adamantly that he is broken. In an even matchup, with equally skilled players on both teams, the team with the KU -WILL- win everytime if he reaches level 9. If it’s an even match, this is pretty much inevitable. He steals wins, plain and simple. Better players might be able to overcome a weaker team with a KU on it but it’s an uphill battle. His bolas still land damn near team-wide insta-stuns every 12s. I’ve also been able to carry pugs to wins they didn’t deserve and that I shouldn’t have been able to accomplish by powerleveling KU to the stun.

He’s so busted that I’ve started referring to him as “The Little Insurance Policy” for when my team encounters tryhards or people we know will go balls out against us where I know the match is likely to go long and we try to make sure we have one, if only to counter the fact that the enemy probably will.

The difference once KU hits 9 is immediately and consistently palpable. You can feel it, like when a character activates a janky af legendary only amped up to umpteenth degree. The tides turn pretty much instantly.

Edit: Let’s be honest, even w/o the stun the bolas are disgustingly op. Massive bleed damage at level 1? Check. Upgrade to penetrate multiple targets and bounce around the environment? Check. Upgrade to fire multiple projectiles and amp up the damage even further? Check. Insanely short CD? Check. If you want, you can have damn near every enemy unit bleeding for a good chunk of the match. Hell, I think I was pretty much 1-shotting entire minion waves with it. Haven’t tried it myself yet but I’m sure a raw skill damage KU w Legendaries would be absolutely disgusting, on par with multi-legendary Orendi or Bene.

#14

Title edited. Obv.

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#15

I agree that KU can turn a match just by taking a helix choice. I once played a game where it went back and forth on monuments and we each lost a sentry. Out KU was average at best and didn’t have good gear at all. Seven of the ten players were at level ten but once KU who was under leveled hit nine and it was game over and we rolled over them.

Here are some of my suggestions, in no particular order. Make all bonus effects apply only on direct hits and not on bounces. So if you get hit by a ricochet, you only take reduced damage, similar to Gali’s level two left helix. Make the stun into a 100% slow. Reduce damage of bola’s and increase CD. Decrease the hitbox for bolas. Hell, even making it more like Gali’s shield throw would be better than what it is now.

With all that being said, I don’t think he is so strong or even OP, I just think the mass stun is a bit much.

#16

I think some balance of the bola suggestions would be appropriate but I don’t want him to be the next dragon. I think the Stun’s ok but that it should only apply to the center bola and have reduced duration because right now it’s a no-skill-shot to land multi-hits. Agree his bleed should reduce after bounce in theory but I think ultimately he should be balanced with the goal of bringing his damage output potential in line with that of Alani, for reference. They’re very similar characters.

Yeh I agree the character itself is fine it’s just the bolas that’s the issue.

#17

the ult is decent, but his drones heal for next to nothing

#18

Post-change Ult is really really solid. Don’t forget drones also increase
max health so, in concert, you end up with a larger sum than what it seems
like you’re getting by the time the drone’s fallen off in a combat
scenario. Combine that with either the insta-shield start or 200 damage on
fall off and they’re pretty impressive (I always take the 200dmg). All
told, I think his drones aren’t too far off from Reyna’s Overshields in
regards to overall potential utility. Prior to the ult fix, yeah, his
support functionality was non-existant but now he’s pretty frickin support
with combined drones + To The Rescue’s new instant max-potency, max area
spam.

#19

The only problem with the drones is if you are missing even 1 health when you get 1 it gives 200 health but it has to heal what it gave you. If your max health you just get a free 200 health.

#20

I didn’t mean all of those, just some. But yea, ED’s nerfs were bad, but not as bad as the forums may lead you to believe.