Steel Ball Run, Revisitation

[dusty cosmos]

Raid Mechanincs:
This Raid is extremely hard, having Strong Enemies, Shield Enemies, Speed Enemies, Regen Enemies and Eleven Man.

During the Steel Ball Run Raid, players can activate Dark Determination, a buff that grants +40% DMG for 5 seconds. also removes any kind of healing permanently. Players can only Dark Determination this 2 times per stage
**Cream Starter: **Up to 2 Cream Starter items can be found per stage. Using them removes all debuffs from the player's units. However, each unit can only be cleansed once per stage,
**Steel Balls: **Up to 3 Steel Balls can appear per stage. Players can throw them at bosses to stun them for 3 seconds. However, a Steel Ball can only be used once every 7 seconds

The Saint’s Corpse can appear randomly somewhere on the map during the raid alone or with an NPC, requiring players to locate and collect it manually. If a player fails to complete the stage, they will lose any collected corpse parts. However, the Skull is an exception- Also, each use of Dark Determination, and Steel Balls significantly decreases the chance of spawning the Corpse Part from the Stage

Raid Stages: Steel Ball Run

• Raid 1: Arizona Desert
  Boss: Benjamin Boom Boom (Passive enemy, does not actively fight)
  Saint's Corpse Part: Left Arm & Heart (They appear on the ground)
• Raid 2: Cañon City
  Boss: Dr. Ferdinand (Summons dinosaur-like enemies)
  Saint’s Corpse Part: Eyes (Required to evolve Diego and Gyro, The guardian gives one of the eyes when you find him)
• Raid 3: Kansas City
  Boss: Sandman (Stuns nearby units and periodically dashes forward at high speed before stopping)
  Saint’s Corpse Part: Spine & Ribs (These appear wrapped in cloth)
• Raid 4: Mackinaw City
  Boss: Magenta Magenta (Has a strong shield that must be broken. Additionally, he has a chance to completely stop moving but become immune to all damage)
  Saint's Corpse Part: Ears & Right Arm (Sugar Mountain appears giving you one of the parts, it also gives you 10k gold that you must spend quickly)
• Raid 5: Philadelphia
  Boss: Funny Valentine (Upon death, replaces himself up to 3 times, each with increased HP. Immune to stuns and other status effects. Can apply a debuff periodically to one of the player's units, even before he appears)
  Saint’s Corpse Part: Skull (Low drop rate – 5%)
  Special Mechanic: If the player brings the Diego unit, he will be replaced with Diego (Alternate) when Valentine spawns. Each time this happens, there is a small chance to obtain Diego (Alternate) as a unit.
• Raid 6: New York
  Boss: Diego (The World) (Throws knives that stun player units. Periodically becomes invulnerable. At 10% HP, he completely stops time, stunning all player units and dashing forward using Silver Bullet. From the start of the match, he can stop time and apply a debuff to one of the player's units)
  Reward: None directly, but if all corpse parts have been collected, the Saint's Corpse will be fully completed at the end of this stage

Units:
The philosophy behind each Unit is to have a weak Unevo and a tedious upgrade, but that rewards with a very significant improvement when Evo, I tried to maintain the devs' original ideas as best I could. Also, personally, I think the most interesting thing about the Stands are their abilities, so I try to give each one an ability.

Giro -> Giro (Ball Breaker):
Rarity: Mythic
Type: Sub DPS/Support
Placement: 3
Cost: 1700
Element: Nature
Obtainment Method: Banner

**Passives: **

• Spin Mastery: RNG +1% with each attack (Up to +20%); Landing an Attack causes a Steel Ball to drop into the ground, dealing 20% of this unit’s DMG over 4 seconds. If a unit named Johnni is within this unit range; +10% DMG.
• **Man’s World (Evo): **Reduce time of Status Ailments by 40%, Each attack marks enemies with Golden Rotation, lasting 4s. Marked enemies receive 10% increased damage from all sources; +0.2% DMG per marked enemy attacked (Up to +20% DMG)
• Ball Breaker (Evo): (Upgrade 7) Gains the ability Infinite Rotation; +0.1% DMG (Up to 10%) per enemy affected by Infinite Rotation. After the first use of this ability the other passives are enhanced. Spin Mastery; Drops two Steel Balls and Man’s World; Attacks ignore DMG reduction, Reduce time of Status ailments by 60%
• Infinite Rotation (Ability): 100s cooldown. This attack pierces through all enemies within Giro’s range, granting +10% RNG and +150% DMG during its duration. All non-boss Enemies hit by this ability suffer a 65% slow effect until they are eliminated.

Stats and Evolve:

DMG: 480 (+50% Evo)
SPA: 6.1
RNG: 23
Upgrades and Cost: 10 upgrades, 95k to max out
Evo: x1 Saint’s Corpse Eye and 10k takedowns.

**Attacks:

1st Attack, level 0:
Steel Ball:**
Aoe: Small Circle, Singlehit
Desc: Shoots a Steel Ball
2nd Attack, level 3:
One More Shoot
Aoe: Medium Circle, Multihit
Desc: Launches a steel ball that goes in the direction of the enemy, forming a tornado
3rd Attack (Evo), level 6:
Scan!
Aoe: Line, Singlehit
Desc: Suspend a Steel Ball in mid-air to hit it with another
Infinite Rotation (Ability), level 7:
Aoe: Full Aoe
Desc: This unit uses Valkyrie to form the Infinite Rotation, after that he shoots a Steel ball, Ball Breaker will emerge and pierce all enemies in his range
4th Attack (Evo), level 8:
Steel Ball Breaker
Aoe: Wide Line, Multihit
Desc: Shoots a Steel Ball that Generates Ball Breaker, damaging all enemies in his range

Overview:

Gyro is designed as a Sub-DPS/Support unit, with moderate damage that makes up for it with unique effects and DoT capabilities thanks to his first passive. His kit reflects his mastery of Spin and his growth throughout the story

**Spin Mastery: **Similar to Spin, Spin!, but with a range boost and a nod to his connection with Johnny
Man’s World: Inspired by Ringo Roadagain, this passive showcases different aspects of Spin, such as hardening the skin and controlling the human body. It introduces a new take effect similar to Wounded, making him a stronger Support while also adding extra damage.
Ball Breaker: Gyro’s ultimate technique. Unlocks at Level 7, granting a damage buff when activated, though not excessively high. Originally, continuous attacks were required to reach Perfect Rotation, but now it happens automatically after using the ability. A small hidden mechanic is that the first activation is slightly slower, making follow-ups more effective. Once used, his previous passives gain upgrades to reflect his full mastery of Spin.
Infinite Rotation: More of a Support skill than a damage dealer. While it provides +200% DMG, its total damage isn’t as high as other units. Instead, it applies a massive Slow to enemies in Gyro’s range. Inspired by his fight with Valentine, this ability ages enemies using Ball Breaker, drastically slowing them down.

Scrapped ideas:
Scan: Initially considered as a way to reveal enemy weak points and enhance his Steel Balls, but it was replaced by the Golden Spin effect, which still serves as a reference to Scan in the story.

Diogo -> Diogo (Scary Monsters):
Rarity: Mythic
Type: DPS
Placement: 3
Cost: 1700
Element: Unbound
Obtainment Method: Banner

Passives:

• Skilled Jockey: +0.2 DMG for each enemy that enters his range (Up to +20%); +1% RNG per attack (Up to +10%)
• Apex Predator (Evo): Attacks inflict Bleed equals to 25% of this unit’s DMG: -1% SPA and +2% DMG per enemy killed, up to -10% SPA and +20% DMG.
• Scary Monsters (Evo): (Upgrade 7) Gains the ability Dinosaur Infection; Bleed is replaced with Infection, dealing 2% HP enemies every 2s over 6,
• ** Dinosaur Infection (Ability): **130s cooldown. Applies a venomous effect to up to 5 nearby non-boss enemies, transforming them into dinosaurs. These dinosaurs retain the enemy’s original HP and gain +20% of Diego’s DMG as HP. If a transformed dinosaur kills another enemy, that enemy also transforms into a dinosaur.

Stats and Evolve:

DMG: 390 (+50% Evo)
SPA: 5.6
RNG: 23
Upgrades and Cost: 10 upgrades, 90k to max out
Evo: x1 Saint’s Corpse Eye and 10k takedowns.

**Attacks:

1st Attack, level 0:
Silver Bullet**
Aoe: Wide Line, Singlehit
Desc: Rides Silver Bullet charging at the enemy
2nd Attack, level 3:
Are you Ready?
Aoe: Line, Multihit
Desc: Charges towards enemies launching many slashes
3rd Attack (Evo), level 6:
Tail whip
Aoe: Medium Circle, Singlehit
Desc: This unit morphs an attacks with a tail
Dinosaur Infection (Ability), level 7:
Aoe: Non/15 nearby Non-boss enemies
Desc: This unit morphs into a Dinosaur and infects 5 enemies
4th Attack (Evo), level 8:
USHAA!
Aoe: Large Circle, Multihit
Desc: This unit morphs into a dinosaur, launching towards enemies, slashing and biting them

Overview:

Diego is designed as a DPS unit with moderate but consistent damage buffs. His kit revolves around Bleed and Infection, making him particularly strong in long matches, where he can take advantage of enemies' max HP.

Skilled Jockey: A reference to Diego before obtaining Scary Monsters. A simple but effective passive that grants a solid damage boost and increased range.
**Apex Predator: **Represents Diego after acquiring Ferdinand’s Stand. Gains Bleed to reflect his claws, along with a significant damage and SPA buff for each enemy he kills.
Scary Monsters: The full power of his Stand. Bleed is replaced with Infection, which scales better against high-HP enemies. While it doesn’t enhance his other passives, it grants additional damage to keep him competitive.
Dinosaur Infection: A powerful ability against large enemy waves, with no set limit on how many can be infected at once. It showcases the virus-like spread of Scary Monsters, making it highly effective. However, to balance its strength, Diego can only infect five enemies directly, though they can continue spreading the infection. The ability has a long cooldown due to its high potential.

Scrapped Ideas:
**Fossilization: **This ability, which could fossilize things, didn’t fit well into the gameplay. Stun enemies was considered, but it felt too op.
Dinosaur Summons: Originally, Diego could summon small dinosaurs, but this was replaced by Dinosaur Infection, which was more efficient and impactful.

Johnni -> Johnni (Tusk Act 4)
Rarity: Mythic -> Secret
Type: DPS
Placement: 2
Cost: 2000
Element: Cosmic
Obtainment Method: Banner

Passives:

• Spin Nails: SPA -5%; +1% DMG and RNG per attack (Up to 10%). If a unit named "Gyro" is within this unit’s range, gains +10 RNG.
• Dark Determination (Evo): Attacks ignore DMG reduction and remove any shield. +0.8% DMG and -0.2 SPA, (Up to +40% DMG and -10% SPA) per kill; Attacks creates Bullet Holes, which stays in the enemies, dealing 30% of this unit DMG over 5s
• Lesson 5 (Evo): Immune to Status Ailments. (Level 9) Gains the ability Infinite Rotation. For each enemy affected by Infinite Rotation, Johnny gains +0.4 DMG (Up to +20%). After the first use, Bullet Holes now execute non-boss enemies below 10% HP
• Infinite Rotation (Ability): 120s cooldown. Upon Activation +150% DMG. Enemies hit by this attack take 5% of this unit’s DMG per 4 second, increasing 5% (Up to 25) every 5s. This effect persists until the enemy dies and constantly stuns and forces them to move backward every 7 seconds. This can’t be Dodged nor Stopped

Stats and Evolve:

DMG: 450 (+100% Evo)
SPA: 4.9
RNG: 19
Upgrades and Cost: 13 Upgrades, 140k to max out
Evo: Completed Saint’s Corpse, 12k takedowns

**Attacks:

1st Attack, Upgrade 0:
Nail Bullets**
Aoe: Line, Multihit
Desc: Shoots Nail Bullets to enemies with Tusk Act 1
2nd Attack, Upgrade 3:
Golden Ratio
Aoe: Small Circle, Multihit
Desc: Shoots a Nail Bullet with the Golden Ratio with Tusk Act 2
3rd Attack (Evo), Upgrade 6:
Now I Know Where To Shoot
Aoe: Medium Circle, Multihit
Desc: Goes down the floor through a Bullet Hole and moves within the Bullet Hole shooting Nails with Tusk Act 3
Infinite Rotation (Ability), Upgrade 9:
Aoe: Current Aoe
Desc: Slow Dancer launches this unit into the Air, forming the Infinite Rotation, shooting a nail with Tusk Act 4
4th Attack (Evo), Upgrade 10:
Roundabout Path
Aoe: Large Circle, Multihit
Desc: Tusk Act 4 Slams the ground and hits all enemies in that Aoe with a Barrage

Overview

Johnny has undergone the most changes, shifting from a Support unit to a pure DPS powerhouse. His element was changed from Blast to Cosmic to better represent better things like Bullet Holes and the gravitational influence of Act 4. His base form is extremely weak, but upon evolving, he becomes incredibly strong

**Spin Nails: **Represents Johnny at his weakest, mirroring his early struggles in the story. It grants only a 10% boost to damage and range. However, when Gyro is nearby, Johnny gains extra range as a nod to their partnership. But you don’t need to use Gyro to gain the max potential from this unit
Dark Determination: This passive is his primary damage source, but it relies on killing enemies rather than just attacking them. Additionally, it ignores resistances and breaks shields, referencing how Tusk ACT 2’s attacks cannot be carried to another universe by D4C, as well as ACT 4’s ability to penetrate any barrier. Every hit also creates a Bullet Hole, representing ACT 2 and ACT 3. Bullet Holes can’t be stacked, only 1 at a time.
**Lesson 5: **The final stage of his character growth. Grants immunity to Status Ailments, reflecting Tusk ACT 4’s invulnerability to Time Stop, debuffs, and similar effects. This immunity is present from placement, but at level 9, Johnny unlocks his full potential with Infinite Rotation. Using the ability also provides a damage buff and enhances Bullet Holes, allowing them to execute enemies—a reference to how ACT 2’s Bullet Holes reach their target’s heart. However, execution is tied to using the ability first, preventing him from being too strong right away.
Infinite Rotation: Unlike abilities like Excalibur or Enuma Elish, this move does not deal massive burst damage on activation. Instead, it remains permanently on an enemy, dealing constant damage while forcing them backward. It cannot be dodged or stopped, making it a relentless attack. Like Gyro, the first use of this ability will be Slower than the rest

Scrapped Ideas
**ACT 1: **At one point, ACT 1 could cut off limbs, but this precise attack style didn’t fit well into the kit.
ACT 3: The idea was that if an enemy attacked Johnny, the Bullet Holes would interfere, destroying their body by pulling them into the infinite space between holes. However, this mechanic didn’t synergize well with his kit and was scrapped.
ACT 4: ACT 4 can move between Bullet Holes, but the kit was already fully developed, and there wasn’t room for an additional mechanic like this. Instead, Bullet Holes were enhanced to compensate.

Valentine -> Valentine (Love Train)
Rarity: Mythic -> Secret
Type: DPS / Sub Support
Placement: 2
Cost: 2000
Element: Passion
Obtainment Method: Banner

Passives:

• **23rd President: **DMG and RNG +1% per attack (Up to 23%).
• Dimensional Hop (Evo): Every 50 kills, this unit generates a Clone. The Clone attacks with 20% of this unit’s DMG. Each Clone lasts 10 seconds, and only two can be active at a time; For each Clone generated, +5% DMG and -3 SPA (Up to +30% DMG and -15% SPA).
• Ticket to Ride (Evo): Immune to Status Ailments. (Level 9) Gains the ability Love Train. Redirects all attack effects to the enemy attacked this unit; +5% DMG per redirected effect, up to 10%. Generates a secondary range equal to 40% of this unit’s main range; allied towers within this area reduce time of Status Ailments by 25%
• Love Train (Ability): 120s cooldown. Creates the Love Train Barrier for 10 seconds within this unit’s second range. Allied towers, within Valentine’s second range, will be Immune to Status Ailments. Enemies within Valentine’s total range receive +60% DMG from all sources

Stats and Evolve:

DMG: 480 (+100% Evo)
SPA: 5.1
RNG: 23
Upgrades and Cost: 13 Upgrades, 140k to max out
Evo: Completed Saint’s Corpse, 12k takedowns

**Attacks:

1st Attack. Upgrade 0:
Merely Self Defense**
Aoe: Small Circle, Multihit
Desc: Shoots 6 bullets from a revolver
2nd Attack, Upgrade 3:
From The Other Side
Aoe: Medium Circle, Singlehit
Desc: Throws two revolvers that explode upon contact with the enemy
**3rd Attack (Evo), Upgrade 6:
You’ve Done It! **
Aoe: Medium Circle, Multihit
Desc: D4C attacks the enemies 9 times consecutively
Love Train (Ability) Upgrade 9:
Aoe: Full Aoe/40% of Total Range
Desc: Lucy Steel and the Love Train barrier appear around this unit. After the first use the barrier will remain forever
4th Attack, Upgrade 10:
Dojya~n!
Aoe: Large Circle, Multihit
Desc: D4C slams the ground, causing an explosion upon enemies

Overview
Valentine is designed as a DPS unit with Sub-Support capabilities. While he doesn’t start off as weak as Johnny, his true power is unlocked upon evolution. His ability has been completely reworked—what used to be an active skill is now a passive, making him much easier to use. This Valentine has higher base damage, creating clones is easier and less tedious

23rd President: A modest damage and range buff, nothing changed
Dimensional Hop: A somewhat tricky passive that allows Valentine to achieve a high DPS through his clones. With them, he can surpass his maximum buffed damage output. An important detail: if the kill condition is met before a clone disappears, a new clone will immediately replace it
Ticket to Ride: Grants Immunity to Status Ailments from placement, but its full potential is unlocked at level 9, where it allows the use of Love Train. This also gives him a supportive aspect, reducing negative effects on allied units.
**Love Train: **A unique ability that recreates Love Train’s power from the series. It removes all negative effects from allied units and grants them a +60% damage buff for 10 seconds, similar to Wounded. However, due to its cooldown restriction, the buff is significantly stronger than most others of its kind.

**Scrapped Ideas
Another You: **One concept was that Dimensional Hop could spawn a copy of an enemy, which would then charge at its original counterpart. However, this would have made his damage inconsistent and overly luck-based
Back From The Other Universe: Originally, he could swap places with a clone to remove effects in him, but since he already has status immunity, this mechanic had no real purpose

Diogo (Alternate) -> Diogo (The World)
Rarity: Exclusive
Type: DPS
Placement: 2
Cost: 2000
Element: Holy
Obtainment Method: Raid

Passives:

• **Ruthless Ambition: **SPA -5%, +1% DMG and RNG per attack (Up to 21%).
• Greatest Trial (Evo): SPA -15%; Every attack throws a Knife, dealing 10% of this unit DMG, landing 3 Knives on the same Enemy will make him suffer Bleed. 15% of this unit DMG and 20% Slow for 4s; +0.3% DMG (Up to +30% DMG) per Knife. Has a 50% chance to evade any enemy effect, with a 7s cooldown.
• High Voltage (Evo): (Upgrade 9) Gains the ability The World. +5% DMG per activation (Up to +10%). Now, this unit has a 100% chance to evade any enemy effect, with a 14s cooldown. After using The World now every attacks will throw 3 Knifes at once, applying Bleed and Slow per Attack
• **The World (Ability): **75s cooldown. Stops all enemies and the timer for 10s; -15% SPA during this Ability. All damage dealt during this ability accumulates indefinitely. After this ability ends enemies will suffer 20% of the total damage received during this ability.

Stats and Evolve:

DMG: 460 (+100% Evo)
SPA: 4.7
RNG: 21
Upgrades and Cost: 13 Upgrades, 125k to max out
Evo: Completed Saint’s Corpse, 12k takedowns

Attacks:
1st Attack, Upgrade 0:
Silver Bullet
Aoe: Wide Line, Singlehit
Desc: Rides Silver Bullet charging at the enemy
2nd Attack, Upgrade 3:
Where The Fun Begins:
Aoe: Cone 90%, Multihit
Desc: Throw a gallon of gasoline at the enemies accompanied by some lit matches, exploding on contact
3rd Attack (Evo), Upgrade 6:
Winner Of The Race:
Aoe: Medium Circle, Multihit
Desc: The World punches Enemies while this unit Shoots a revolver
The World (Ability), Upgrade 9:
Aoe: All Map
Desc: The World Stops do a pose then Stops Time
4th Attack (Evo), Upgrade 10:
Me Time
Aoe: Large Circle, Multihit
Desc: The World launches an uppercut, then Stops Time and launches a lot of knives

Overview:
Diego (Alternate) is designed as a DPS assassin-type unit, focused on delivering relentless and continuous attacks. He is completely different from the original Diego, offering a unique alternative to Johnny and Valentine

**Ruthless Ambition: **A moderate damage and range buff, not overly powerful. The number 21 references The World in tarot, symbolizing Diego's more aggressive and ruthless nature compared to the original.
**Greatest Trial: **Significantly reduces SPA and introduces a new mechanic where every attack throws a knife, enhancing the impact of Multihit attacks. If three knives hit the same enemy, they suffer Bleed and Slow. Additionally, Diego gains a strong damage buff based on the same gimmick. He also gains a Dodge mechanic. The name comes from a line spoken by Diego in the manga.
**High Voltage: **Grants The World ability and enhances his passives. His Dodge chance increases to 100%, but with a longer cooldown than Diavolo Requiem. While he doesn’t gain full immunity to enemy effects, this evasion mechanic allows him to survive strategically. It also enhances the knife-throwing mechanic from Greatest Trial, making him throw multiple knives per attack, though this effect cannot stack.
The World: Adjusted to be used more frequently, better reflecting how it works in the manga. Instead of directly increasing his damage, it doubles his SPA, allowing him to land significantly more attacks during the time stop.

**Scrapped Ideas:
Short The World: **There was an idea where Diego could cancel an ongoing attack to instantly launch another during The World, but it was removed for being excessive. It was also scrapped as a possible attack
Ruthless Ambition: Originally, he gained +20% DMG against enemies below 30% HP, but this was removed as it was unnecessary and the knife mechanics were already engaging enough.

I inspired a lot in the work of @viral ibex, I truly recommend watch his Suggestion:
https://discord.com/channels/1205546848035799081/1337356736142639134

[ivory jetty]

Bro might be cooking ngl

[hollow oyster]

Now this feels more complete

[viral ibex]

W

[ancient kelp]

Holy

[bitter blaze]

GOATED

[marsh ivy]

[ancient kelp]

bump

[dusty cosmos]

Bump

[versed spindle]

Bump

[sweet notch]

The raid aint hard

I can legit solo it with ease act4-5

[ancient kelp]

BUMP

[ancient kelp]

bump

[versed spindle]

Bump fr

[marsh ivy]

[ancient kelp]

mmm