Air-Walker

* Portrait
* Featured

## Availability

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No

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Yes

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## Template

**Air-Walker** is a Cosmic Champion. Being a Cosmic Champion, he has a Class Bonus against Tech Champions, but is weak to Mystic Champions.

## Bio

Gabriel Lan was formerly a member of the Nova Corps, before eagerly accepting an offer from the cosmic entity, Galactus, to become his herald. Wielding the immense power of the Power Cosmic and the Bow of Gabriel, Air-Walker dutifully serves Galactus, terraforming worlds for his master, and crushing all who oppose him.

## Mechanics

Air-Walker’s core focus is building up his unique Dark Tide Debuffs on the Opponent. These Debuffs hamper the Opponent’s Block Proficiency, and cause them to take damage while they’re affected by an Armor Break. Air-Walker applies both Dark Tide and Armor Breaks through his Special Attacks, and applies even more for each Buff on him. Once enough Dark Tide is applied to the Opponent, they are converted into a permanent Passive, which also powers up Air-Walker’s other abilities. To aid Air-Walker in all of this, he has a Power Cosmic Buff, which grants him Attack and Power, and he gains additional Power Cosmic every time he wins a fight.

## Abilities

**Passive**

* Offensive Combat Power Rate is decreased by 40%.

*Dev Notes: Air-Walker makes up for this by gaining Power over time through the Power Cosmic.*

**Power Cosmic** - Persistent Buff - Max 3

* Gain 3.5% of a Bar of Power every 1 second(s).
* +*X* Armor Rating.

* +*X* Attack Rating.

* Air-Walker starts the quest with 1 Power Cosmic Buff(s), which persists between fights. He gains 1 Power Cosmic Buff(s) when he wins a fight.
* When Air-Walker has no Power Cosmic Buffs, he will gain one after a 7.50 second cooldown.
* Special Attack 3 can only be used if Air-Walker has 3 Power Cosmic Buffs or is Defending.

*Dev Notes: Air-Walker needs to win 2 fights before he can use his Special Attack 3, but the effects it gives him are absolutely worth the wait. Power Cosmic is also powerful in its own right, granting a very noticeable amount of Power over time once Air-Walker has 2 or more of them.*

**When Power Drained, Power Locked, or Power Burned**

* Inflict 3 Dark Tide Debuffs.

*Dev Notes: Important to note that this doesn’t include Power Steal effects, so various Mystic champions will be able to bypass this ability.*

**The Dark Tide** - Debuff - Max 10

* Dark Tide Debuffs reduce Block Proficiency by *X* during their Opponent's Special Attacks, and last indefinitely.

* Champions suffering from both Armor Break and Dark Tide take Direct Damage every 0.50 second(s). This damage is equal to 2% of their Opponent's Base Attack per Dark Tide.
* Opponents remove one Dark Tide Debuff every time they fill a Bar of Power, or whenever the Power Cosmic is Nullified.

*Dev Notes: Dark Tide Debuffs are the core mechanic of Air-Walker’s kit. As noted below, the main way to apply them is through his Special Attacks. Once they are applied, any Armor Break will cause the Opponent to take damage over time. The reason for the peculiar wording of the damage is that if the opposing Champion happens to carry the Dark Tide into future fights, the damage will be re-calculated based on their new Opponent.*

**The Dark Tide** - Passive - Cross Fight - Max 1

* When the Opponent has 10 Dark Tide Debuffs, they are combined into a Passive that lasts for the rest of the fight and the next 2 fights they participate in.
* The Dark Tide Passive counts as 10 Dark Tide Debuffs for Air-Walker's abilities, and also gains additional effects based on the Opponent’s Class.
* If the Opponent has a Dark Tide Passive, Air-Walker’s fourth Light Hit refreshes 2 Armor Break Debuff(s) on them.

*Dev Notes: Air-Walker gains a variety of abilities after converting 10 Dark Tide Debuffs into the permanent Passive. Also, since this is a Cross-Fight Ability, his Opponents need to be very careful when fighting Air-Walker on defense, since they can win the fight and still walk away with the Dark Tide Passive applied to them. Also, since the Dark Tide Passive counts as 10 Dark Tide Debuffs, Air-Walker won’t apply any more Dark Tide Debuffs once the Passive is in place.*

**When Charging a Heavy Attack**

* Increase Ability Power Rate by 300% and Heavy Charging can be held for an extended duration.
* 75% of any Power Gained while Charging is lost over 0.75 second(s) after the Charge stops.
* If Air-Walker fills a Bar of Power, he gains an Unblockable Buff for 1 second(s) that is paused during his Special Attacks.
* If Air-Walker activates a Special Attack, he gains a Fury Buff during that Special Attack, increasing Attack Rating by +*X*.

*Dev Notes: Air-Walker gains significant benefits from charging his Heavy Attack. The increased Ability Power Rate will improve the Power Gain from the Power Cosmic, allowing his Power to rapidly increase. While he will lose most of the Power gained once the charge is done, if he activates a Special Attack during the Heavy Charge, the Special will use that Power instead, and Air-Walker won’t have any Power to lose.
He also gains additional benefits for cancelling his Heavy Charge into a Special Attack. By default, he will gain a Fury Buff for the duration of that Special Attack. But if he crossed a Power Threshold while Heavy Charging, he will also gain an Unblockable Buff for the duration of that Special Attack as well.*

**The Dark Tide** - Cross Fight Class Effects

* Tech: Reduces the duration and potency of Power Drain, Lock and Burn effects by 70%.
* Mutant: Reduces Offensive Ability Accuracy during Special Attacks by 33%.
* Skill: Critical Rating is reduced by *X*.

* Science: Non-Damaging Debuffs have -25% Ability Accuracy.
* Cosmic: Buff potency is reduced by 50%.
* Mystic: Mystical energies resist the Dark Tide, so it has no additional effect.

*Dev Notes: Once the Dark Tide Passive is applied, it gains additional effects depending on the class of Champion it’s applied to. These effects are also Cross-Fight, so they’ll persist alongside the Dark Tide Passive even if the Champion defeats Air-Walker.*

## Signature Ability

**Herald of the Destroyer**
Passive

* Inflict a Dark Tide Debuff on the Opponent every *X* second(s).

*Dev Notes: If Air-Walker has his Signature Ability, he’ll apply Dark Tide Debuffs over time, putting extra pressure on the Opponent to get rid of them before they’re converted into the Dark Tide Passive.*

## Special Attacks

* Activating a Special Attack Armor Breaks the Opponent, reducing Armor Rating by *X* for 11 second(s), stacking up to 8 time(s).

* If the last hit isn’t Blocked, apply 1 Dark Tide Debuff to the Opponent, and an additional one for each Buff on Air-Walker.

*Dev Notes: Special Attacks are the main way that Air-Walker applies Dark Tide Debuffs. Important to note that he’ll apply them both if the Attack hits, and if it misses entirely. The only way for his Opponents to avoid them is to block the last hit. And since he applies one for each Buff on him, his Power Cosmic Buffs, Fury Buffs, and Unblockable Buffs, will all help him stack Dark Tides faster. Special Attacks are also how Air-Walker Armor Breaks the Opponent, which is necessary to trigger the damage component of Dark Tide.*

**Special 1 - Cosmic Flame**

*Air-Walker channels the raw energy of the Power Cosmic and sends a blast of cosmic energy hurtling towards the Opponent.*

* The last hit has a 50% chance to inflict a Stun Debuff for 2 second(s). The chance is increased by 50% flat if Air-Walker is Unblockable.

*Dev Notes: Since Air-Walker always applies the same number of Dark Tide Debuffs regardless which Special Attack is used, SP1 is the attack to focus on while building towards the Dark Tide Passive. This attack also greatly benefits from the Unblockable Buff that he can gain while Heavy Charging, since it will guarantee the Stun and allow him to immediately follow up on the Special Attack.*

**Special 2 - Bow of Gabriel**

*Air-Walker soars above the Opponent and unleashes a cosmic blast from the Bow of Gabriel.*

* If the Opponent has a Dark Tide Passive, this attack deals an additional 40% of the damage dealt as a burst of Energy Damage.

*Dev Notes: Special Attack 2 is the name of the game once the Dark Tide Passive has been applied. And since the bonus energy damage is relative to how much damage was dealt, it’ll benefit from both the Fury Buff that Air-Walker triggers through Heavy Charging, and the Armor Break Debuffs he can apply.*

**Special 3 - The Herald's Call**

*Air-Walker uses the Horn of Galactus to summon the Destroyer himself to the battlefield. Galactus charges Air-Walker with energy, then redirects that energy to obliterate the Opponent!*

* Air-Walker replaces Power Cosmic with the Power of Galactus Buff for 20 second(s), granting:
* +*X* Attack Rating.

* Regenerate +*X* Health.

* Gain 10.5% of a Bar of Power every 1 second(s).
* Gain a Passive Unstoppable effect.
* Every attack has a 100% chance to deal an additional burst of Direct Damage. The damage is equal to 5% of the damage dealt, per Dark Tide on the Opponent.
* Power of Galactus sets Air-Walker’s Power to 0 when it ends.

*Dev Notes: After spending a few fights building Power Cosmic, Air-Walker is able to unleash the Power of Galactus. This buff has a laundry list of effects, but one to pay particular attention to is the Power Gain. It’s equal to the amount of Power he would gain from 3 Power Cosmic Buffs, so the Power Galactus won’t cause him to lose out on all the Power gain he gets from charging his Heavy Attack.*

## Strengths and Weaknesses

### Strengths

* **Power Gain**
	+ Air-Walker gains Power over time for each Power Cosmic Buff he has. At the start of the quest he only has 1 Power Cosmic, so the Power gained is relatively small. But after winning some fights and gaining additional Power Cosmic, the Power gained becomes very noticeable. Additionally, he significantly increases the potency of any Power Gain effects he has while charging a Heavy Attack, so he can use that to rapidly gain power and launch a Special Attack right out of the Heavy Charge.

* **Fighting Power Control Opponents**
	+ Air-Walker’s main objective in fights is to build Dark Tide on the Opponent. He automatically applies Dark Tide whenever he is affected by a Power Lock, Drain, or Burn effect, so it will have an easier time building Dark Tide and converting it into a Passive against Opponents with these abilities.

### Weaknesses

* **Nullify**
	+ The number of Dark Tides Air-Walker applies is largely dependent on the number of Buffs he has. He’s also somewhat dependent on the Power Cosmic Buff to gain Power, since he has a decreased Offensive Combat Power Rate. Nullifying his buffs will reduce the number of Dark Tides he applies, and decrease the amount of Power he gains.

* **Debuff Purification**
	+ By default, Dark Tides are Debuffs that last indefinitely. Opponents will remove them whenever they gain a Bar of Power, but Champions who Purify Debuffs have an additional avenue to remove them. It’s important to note that once 10 Dark Tide Debuffs build up and they are converted into a Passive, they can no longer be removed by a Purify, so make sure you act fast!

## Recommended Masteries

* **Enhanced Fury**
	+ Air-Walker has a very easy time triggering a Fury Buff, simply by hitting the Special Attack button while Charging his Heavy Attack. This Fury Buff is already very potent, but it can be further improved via the Enhanced Fury mastery.

* **Despair**
	+ Between Dark Tide Debuffs and Armor Break Debuffs, Air-Walker has a very easy time stacking up lots of Debuffs on the Opponent. This makes the Despair mastery a great choice, since opposing Regeneration effects will also be reduced for each Debuff.

## External links

 Champion Spotlight Air-Walker. Kabam Forums. July 28, 2020.

## Navigation

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