Starting Note

It's been a little bit since the Drill Sniper dev log, and I've gotten quite a bit done in that time. Aerial Blaster, or as you've seen by the title of this dev log, Aerolyte, has basically been fully developed.

Aerolyte's been a bit of an interesting hero for me to make, as I decided to mix elements of her final rework in the last few updates of the original with some of her original design.

Hero Menu

As this is the first hero coming to TDTest Unity, there will be a little more in here as I want to briefly talk about the Hero Upgrade UI. It's changed quite a bit since the original, in multiple ways that I think will be beneficial.

Going from top to bottom:

• There's now a level & xp bar instead of a rectangle that simply told you your level with the XP being only shown in text at the bottom of the description box. So you'll get an idea of just how close you are to reaching the level up or reaching maximum level.

• The "Current Level Info" and "Next Level Info" buttons can be hovered over to see info regarding the current or next player level, pretty simple. At maximum level, the "Next Level Info" button is removed.

• There are now two options for buying hero XP, you can either buy towards the next level or straight all the way to maximum level. Additionally, you no longer need to have enough cash to afford the level up, and can instead invest into it with however much cash you have.

Just like with the main tower upgrade UI, this is a bit experimental so some things may change in later versions.

Originally, I was going to not have the "Buy up to max level" button, and instead have it as a bunch of options for how much of your cash to spend on XP, so we'll see if I go back on that idea.

Base Levels and Structure

Now, as for Aerolyte herself, a LOT has changed regarding her. Design-wise, she's similar to her reworked design, using the flying machine for her attacks, and the cloud is now partially within the machine's casing while also being outside (primarily underneath, so you basically can't see it).

To give a rough idea of her new level structure:

• Starts by shooting a pair of tipped aerialyte bolts at a decent pace

• Movement speed is now increased a few times over her levels, instead of by a small amount with every level

• Gains the Plasma Shot ability at level 3, which is upgraded twice before maximum level

• Gains hollow detection at level 5, and aero bombs at level 6, which shoot a singular homing bomb at a slower rate that explodes in a small area

• Gains the Air Force ability at level 10, which is upgraded twice before maximum level

• Gains toxicity aura at level 11, which rapidly pulses toxic fumes around Aerolyte herself, damaging multiple close-by enemies

• Gains the Deploy Turret ability at level 20, which is upgraded once at maximum level

If you're familiar with how Aerolyte works in the original, then you might be wondering about the level 10 and 11 notes here. Originally, Toxicity was the level 10 ability and Air Force was limited to advancements, so what's with the change?

The big reason for this is that I want to make the advancement exclusive abilities that Aerolyte, Electro-Shock, and Water Guardian had in the original part of the main kit in some way. So in Aerolyte's case, it was clear to me that the best way I could achieve this was to make Air Force her new level 10, while pushing Toxicity to be a normal attack.

As a reminder, Aerolyte is meant purely for damage, as she completely lacks any form of support through buffs or debuffs. Additionally, while she is still moderately powerful, she is no longer a full-on main DPS powerhouse like she is in the original, so make sure to use damage dealing towers alongside her.

So here's the point of each of her 3 attacks:

Aerialyte Bolts

The starter attack that is fairly simple, just shooting 2 bolts in a straight line. At first, Aerolyte's location will not matter much, but as you get further into the game, it's best to try to have Aerolyte lined up with straight lines on the track. It's a bit harder to do this with paths no longer being limited to 4 directions, but it's still best for the most optimal results.

Unlike her other attacks, these bolts won't have specialized damage. Their low damage but eventually fast speed is optimal for damage boosters, such as Brewing Station's buff, since it'll get to a pace that can clear things pretty well when boosted.

Note that these bolts can not damage Metals or Hollow Crushers without the use of abilities.

Aero Bombs

This attack is twice as slow and only shoots 1 bomb, so it has less DPS to normal enemies, as well as not getting the travel distance that the bolts can heavily utilize. The bombs will be her primary form of splash damage and, as an added bonus, will contribute quite a lot of damage towards bosses.

These bombs are specialized towards bosses, dealing a hefty amount of bonus damage towards them. If you can find a position to get a clump of bosses hit all in one explosion, try to take advantage of that. The best case scenario is if you can utilize both the straight line nature of the bolts and the clumped power of the bombs.

Note that these bombs can not damage Blacks, Stripeds, or Hollow Crushers at all.

Toxicity Aura

Her final attack rapidly pulses toxic damage around her, dealing damage to quite a few enemies so long as they're close by. The aura also deals a bit of extra damage to bosses as well, so you can utilize this in a similar way you would the bombs.

This aura is useful for cleaning up as well, due to the fast-paced nature of it. Additionally, it can utilize damage boosts pretty well as, similarly to the bolts, it deals low base damage.

Note that while this aura can not damage Purples, it's the only form of consistent damage you'll have against Hollow Crushers when using her.

Level 3 Ability - Plasma Shot

Once Aerolyte hits level 3, she'll unlock her first ability, Plasma Shot. This ability provides bonuses to her aerialyte bolts.

At base, her bolts will be able to damage sharp-immunity enemies such as Metals and Hollow Crushers, and will have bonus pierce. So if Metals show up prior to unlock her bombs, or in the lategame when Hollow Crushers start showing up, you can use this ability to put a dent in them.

Unlike the original, this ability will have no effect on her bombs.

This ability gets upgraded once at level 12, and a second time at level 23:

Plasma Shot II provides more pierce, grants a bit of attack speed, and lasts longer.

Plasma Shot III provides more attack speed, some bonus damage, and lasts even longer.

You'll mainly want to use this ability against early Metals, dense enough crowds early/mid game, and against Hollow Crushers in the late game.

Level 10 Ability - Air Force

Once Aerolyte hits level 10, she'll unlock her second ability, Air Force. This ability spawns additional weaker Air Force units to provide assistance.

At base, this summons a single unit that shoots aerialyte bolts, similar to Aerolyte herself. Plasma Shot will have no effect on this unit, and it only shoots 1 bolt at a time as opposed to Aerolyte's 2.

This ability gets upgraded once at level 17, and a second time at level 24:

Air Force II spawns a second unit that uses Aerolyte's bomb attack, and both units last longer.

Air Force III spawns a third unit that uses Aerolyte's toxicity attack, and all units last even longer.

All these units have slightly different AI to each other. They follow whatever Aerolyte's targeting is, so if you're using Follow Mouse flight, they'll follow your cursor, and if you're using Pursuit flight, they'll follow the targeted enemy. It's important to note that the bolt and bomb units will try to stick behind Aerolyte, while the toxicity unit will try to stay in front of her.

The main purpose of this ability is provide a burst of extra damage through almost identical repeats of her attacks. It's best when dealing with stronger or a consistent flow of enemies that Aerolyte can't quite beat on her own.

Level 20 Ability - Deploy Turret

Once Aerolyte hits level 20, she'll unlock her third and final ability, Deploy Turret. This ability allows you to place a limited-lifespan powerful turret somewhere on the field.

This turret shoots twin pellets at a rapid pace over a large distance. These pellets are also plasma tipped by default, so they can pierce Metals and Hollow Crushers.

This ability is upgraded once at level 25:

Deploy Turret II empowers the turret, providing more damage, pierce, range, and speed, all while lasting longer

This ability is best used in a similar fashion to Aerolyte's bolt attack, down straight lines where you can make great use of it, especially with the longer range and higher pierce than that of Aerolyte.

The high and rapid damage output of this ability makes it useful for rapid pace Hollow Crusher rounds, as well as the tougher rounds like Rounds 96 and 98.

Ending Note

Overall Aerolyte has received massive changes to her design and functionality. She's still strong enough to leave on Pursuit in the easier maps, but not quite good enough to be used as primary damage and kinda has to be used on Follow Mouse in harder maps, which don't really exist in Version 0.2 aside from that dreaded graveyard...

Anyways, between this and the previous dev logs, I've gotten quite a bit done, so Cash Producer will be the topic of the next dev log, leaving just two potential topics afterwards.

See you all soon!