darkSpyro

Same as before but about Tech this time. I will get all the explanation clutter out of the way when this format makes better sense.
This is for PVE, and you are putting together your experience, and knowledge to decide if you HAD to do a play through with ONLY one magic character which would it be,and why?

This isn't about which path, but a broader view of the character vs the others of it's element.

This is the first week, I want to make a thread like this for every element and go through them all. All my skylanders are S1, or the new small or large giants characters. I would like to count on you guys to fill in the gaps and add in ALL the info you feel is relevant to the subject. Like the Wow Pow attacks, your take on any of the characters and paths especially if you take a different one than I do in my explanation of the character and why I give them whatever rating. My rating on characters is VERY flexible. I don't have EVERY skylander and have to make decisions based on videos, posts and other second party sources of info. That's why I am making the post here because I find this community to be very ration and informed. Now that the long explanation for the purpose of this post is done here is how they is the rating system.

Damage - 1 - 3 one being the lowest, Three being the highest dmg
Melee, Projectile, Lob, Minion, Motion/Charge, Triggered (think tripwire, landmine, ect) Ranged AOE, Point blank AOE, DoT - dmg over time (think acid or poison) Stream/Conical attacks (think fire wall or fire breath or gill gunts stream of water)
This rating is more of an attempt to quantify how functional a character is. This should be the least subjective rating

Unique 1 - 5 one being many characters share similar attacks, or similar combat mechanics
If a character has a split into 3 projectiles attack, flies, has a typical charge, things LOTs of other characters have

Fun Factor - 1 - 5 one being the most monotonous, boring, five being very engaging and fun combat
For example, you could in theory play trigger happy by charging up, and at full charge wipe out a screen, then rinse and repeat... There is no arguing that is a unique ability, but it also makes it basically the most boring way to play. So keep in mind this character is what you're stuck with. A VERY functional character, even high dmg character doesn't exactly mean FUN... in a lot of ways this is the most subjective, and important rating.


Who you would pick 1 - 6 one being your first choice 6 being the last

Obviously there will be some debate, and I encourage that. Some one will give someone a 5 , and someone will give the same character a 2 because it is a limited attack

DROBOT

DMG 3 Projectiles of many kinds, Ranged aoe, dmg from wings... Just unrelenting fast dmg

UNIQUE 3 The flying is annoying but specialized to him. The beams feel different than most projectiles.. I never used the clockworks that much and seems like a lot of other characters moves

Fun Factor 4 He is fun to use to lay waste to the bad guys before they can even get close. What he does (projectile shooter) he does it best.

Pick 1

Sprocket

DMG 2 Mines are fun, the turrets are decent and strategic, and the wrench is just run of the mill melee combat

UNIQUE 4 Tank play, mines, and turrets in geneal make you a unique kind of character to play

Fun Factor 3 or 5 3 solo because setting up the turrets and mines and ect while being attacked is boring 5 in coop because she is one of the only characters that truly shines in coop gameplay

Pick 2 Coop 3 solo


DRILL SGT

DMG 3 Rockets, the shooter that lightly peppers everything on the screen and the charge. all good attacks

UNIQUE 2 the charge, the rockets, everything he does cept the peashooter on the roof is done on other characters. Low unqiue put together well. He is greater than the sum of his parts

Fun Factor 5 rockets to the right, charge to the left, firing the peashooter the whole time mixing it up getting close in combat he is fun.

Pick 2 Solo 3 in Coop


BOUNCER

DMG 3 rockets, guns, laser eyes, laser mines

UNIQUE 2 the 2 is for laser mines otherwise it would be a one. TONS of characters have the same attacks and do them better.

Fun Factor 3 I'd say avg fun. lots to do with all the different attack options. Just wish they had been designed to play into each other better

Pick 4


BOOMER

DMG 3 Best lobber in the game still

UNIQUE 2 He does it better with lobbing, everyting else he does is basically on other charaters, and bleh

Fun Factor 3 It's fun to clear out crowds with the lobbed ranged AOE, but that's about it
Pick 5


TRIGGER HAPPY

DMG 3 Best charged up atk in the game without question, rest of bullets do fine aswell

UNIQUE 3 Bunch of other chars fire and lob... I am just a sucker for the yamato blast so give him a few more points for it

Fun Factor 2 I like the bullets, but it makes the game just become unfun to charge that thing up so end up not using it... then the having him for that power alone is redundant

Pick 6

In conclusion

DROBOT
SPROCKET
DRILL SGT
BOUNCER
BOOMER
TRIGGER HAPPY

Is who I consider best, and in that order if I HAD to choose one for a play through.
Use the same template for the ratings if you want.

Drobot
Boomer
Trigger Happy
Bouncer
Sprocket
Drill Sergeant

Again, entries are presumed to be S2.

1 - Drill Sergeant

Damage - 3
His Wow Pow makes Drilly one of the most improved characters in the game. Future Lasers turn his Auto-Blaster into a full-fledged force in battle, he travels quickly and has several attacks to juggle, and he can do damage from all angles, whether in retreat or on offense. Rate of travel and all-angles attacks allow him to clear areas (generally) faster than Drobot.

Uniqueness - 4
The only character with all-angles auto-attack, and one of the few that actually utilizes all of his attacks in cohesive unison. He charges, brawls, plays keep-away, and deals competent ranged damage all at once. Moreover, he's one of only two truly superb chargers for time trials, the other being S2 Flameslinger.

Fun Factor - 5
Love playing him. One of the best PVPers, instrumental to time trials, and doesn't suffer for damage either. More people should upgrade their Drillies to S2 and see what all the fuss is about, because the Future Laser just brings him all together.

2 - Drobot

Damage - 3
His lasers deal the same excellent damage they always have, and on offense, he has no real flaws in PVE. Travel via afterburners is very clunky compared to the smooth charging and in-flight auto-attack of Drill Sergeant, however, and he doesn't quite clear entire areas as quickly as a result.

Uniqueness - 3
There are loads of projectile characters in the game, but Drobot gets an extra point for being the best of the bunch. Not a terribly unique character, though, but he does what he does better than the rest.

Fun Factor - 4
Blasting the universe to smithereens is just plain fun. The only thing keeping him from a 5 is Afterburners, which are clunky and ineffective as a form of travel.

3 - Bouncer

Damage - 2
Lower-end 2, but his damage isn't exactly poor. The rockets aren't great, the rocket fists aren't great, nor are the laser eyes or the bouncing bullets, but they combine to make a fairly effective whole. Bouncer has something for every occasion. His ability to perform Giant actions helps him a little bit, because he'll waste less time scrambling for bombs and more time killing stuff overall.

Uniqueness - 3
He's kind of like a big Trigger Happy overall. He pulls it off a little better than Triggs, but the similarities are undeniable. Slightly more versatile, but there's nothing Bouncer does that we haven't seen before.

Fun Factor - 3
As Giants go, Bouncer and Ninjini are the two I like playing the least. Rate of travel and generic attacks would be the reason why. Giants are inherently fun to play anyway, though, due to wall smashing, rock hurling and feats of strength, so he gets a bump to a solid 3 anyway. But this is just because he's a Giant, not because he's Bouncer.

4 - Sprocket

Damage - 2
Mines, turrets, and fairly hefty melee all add up to a pretty solid whole. In the right hands, Sprocket can easily be the third most damaging Tech behind Drilly and Drobot, but it requires more effort than the true tops of the element for less return overall.

Uniqueness - 4
Sprocket is a pretty unique customer. The only character with anything precisely like automated turrets, mines that can be dropped and flung in multiple different and versatile ways, and melee that is unconventional but solid. She can also hop into a tank, and even if that's almost always less effective than staying on foot, it has to count for something.

Fun Factor - 3
She'd be a 4, but travels at a crawl compared to Drilly and Drobot, so in truth, I'll almost always pick those two ahead of her. Rate of travel is very important in PVE, what else can I say?

5 - Trigger Happy

Damage - 2
Triggs isn't exactly poor, but isn't fantastic either. His coin toss packs a nice punch, his bullets add up, and his Wow Pow is fairly decent. He's generally got an attack for every occasion. His biggest con is his game-worst HP, which will keep you on defense and not dealing damage more often than with virtually any other character.

Uniqueness - 3
He's a lobber, and a projectile firer, and has a machine gun. Yawn, right? Well, he gets a solid 3 anyway, because Triggs is the main reason why that type of build is seen as generic to begin with. Everyone who bought S:SA has this character, he's the first to do it this way, and I can't fully hold it against him that he pioneered an oft-copied style of attack.

Fun Factor - 3
Has anyone played this character and genuinely not had a little fun? His voice samples, his attacks, everything about him is just enjoyable. He's not great; far from it, but he's whimsical enough to provide a good time in spite of his considerable flaws.

6 - Boomer

Damage - 1
He's the best lobber in the game, but that style of attack is probably the least effective and most situated in the game. Enemies standing above you that can't be hit by anything but a lob are far less common than in S:SA, and it drags Boomer down as a result. You won't find lobs this amazing on another character, but I would take mediocre lobs and the brute force of Eruptor, or slow-but-powerful lobs and the versatility of Trigger Happy over a whole character based around them. Without S2 or a Wow Pow, Boomer has a very dated style of offense, and he moves too slowly to make up for it.

Uniqueness - 2
Gets the bump from 1 simply because he started lobbing when it was somewhat original.

Fun Factor - 1
I just don't like playing Boomer. He's too slow, his damage is too low, and he's not versatile. By far the last Tech I'll pick.

I am still torn between sprocket and drill sgt... because like I said in co-op Sprocket is actually one of THE BEST co-op characters in the game.

If there was an even harder difficulty and mobs had more HP and had to be taken out with more care then she might even move up higher than drobot for me.

I agree that she is a lot of work for the returns, esp vs drobot that is just a one button wonder, but I really do have a soft spot for versatility in these characters. Even though the game (in my opinion) falls short to not have created situations that utilize the characters that have quarky or just different kinds of powers better.

Boomer(read my user name)!!!
Drobot
Sprocket
Bouncer
Trigger happy

If I had the S2 Drill Sgt I am sure it'd move up a notch for sure