The Batter

> *.‘'*
>
> *The Batter’s description*

***The Batter*** is a playable character in ‘’IndieVisible’’, being the sole representative of the OFF series. In ‘’IndiVisible’’, The Batter uses various actions and attacks similar to that of actual baseball players, as well as some moves from his original game.

## Playstyle

A sort of technical fighter, The Batter excels at analyzing his opponent’s weaknesses and exploiting them, while adapting during a fight to make sure they don’t manage to exploit their strengths as well, either. He has a fairly diverse and well-rounded moveset, with a good amount of quick combo moves, long-range spacing options, and slow but strong attacks that make him a good all-rounder character. Despite his moveset being fairly basic, however, he does have a unique sort of gimmick to his character, as all attacks involving his bat can reflect projectiles it hits. While this may require good timing and is, for the most part, sort of situational, it is still a very key part of his moveset and gameplan. Due to how many attacks he has that involve his bat, he can fight back against zoners such as Reimu or Spamton from afar, and is especially useful against characters who only have one or two reliable projectiles and are lacking in ranged options otherwise.

The Batter’s neutral special, Homerun, is a chargeable attack that has different properties the longer it is charged. A charged homerun can also be saved by shielding, in which using neutral special again with a saved homerun will automatically make The Batter use it.

When uncharged, The Batter performs the Furious Homerun, being the fastest out of all the homeruns, but doesn’t deal as much damage as the others. Still, with its reflecting properties and reliable nature, it can be decent as a burst option or to quickly reflect projectiles in a pinch.

After charging for 2 seconds, it becomes the Special Homerun. A bit slower than the Furious Homerun, the Special Homerun, when used, launches The Batter upwards, and also launches opponents upward when hit. It can also launch projectiles directly hit by the bat. This can be useful as a combo-starter or anti-air, as well as a reliable shoryuken-style recovery move.

After 4 seconds, it becomes the Magic Homerun. It has more end-lag than the previous homeruns, but when used, a shadowy essence propels The Batter forwards, increasing it’s range and launching opponents forwards when hit. Projectiles hit by this move also travel faster in the opposite direction. Thanks to the horizontal distance it can reach, this move is very useful as a horizontal recovery, especially in conjunction with the Special Homerun. It is also fairly useful for cross-ups on shield or as an approach option, though the end-lag does make it not as useful as it could be.

Finally, after 6 seconds, it becomes the Ultimate Homerun. This has the most lag out of any homerun, but more than makes up for it in its KO potential, capable of near-instantly KOing opponents even at low percentages. It also instantly breaks shields on contact, leaving opponents vulnerable to another Ultimate Homerun or a combo. Projectiles hit by this move also travel way faster and deal triple the amount of damage it would’ve normally done, making already dangerous projectiles practically a ranged instant KO move, though again, the high amount of lag on this move does make it not as useful as it could be.

The Batter’s side special, Gaussian Blur, is a unique type of attack. When used, a cloud of blurry effects appears in front of The Batter, and any opponent that is hit by it don’t take much damage, but are launched back a fair distance, allowing The Batter to easily space out opponents or to pressure them to keep their distance. If done on a projectile, it is blurred out of existence, neutralizing it and essentially deflecting it instead of reflecting it, making it a decent mix-up option.

The Batter’s up special, Unrevokable Drama, is a fairly standard recovery move, though it does have its quirks. After a short delay, The Batter is launched directly upwards high into the air, making it a very useful recovery tool, especially when very close to the bottom blastzone. Additionally, while going up and at the beginning, The Batter swings his bat around, allowing him to reflect projectiles from any angle except directly above or below him, as well as damage opponents. The spinning Add-On below The Batter before going up can also deal multi-hitting damage before launching opponents away when The Batter is launched up, making a decent combo starter. At any time, The Batter can also cancel out of spinning by air dodging, allowing him to follow-up hitting his opponents.

The Batter’s down special, Open Bracket, is a projectile attack that is fairly simple at first glance, being a large, slow-moving projectile that is not gravity affected. Despite its simplicity, however, it can still be very useful for The Batter’s gameplay. The brief stun from the projectile can lead into follow-ups, and opponents trying to shield or jump over the projectile can easily get punished. Up to 2 of these projectiles can be on screen at a time, and with how long they last, it can be difficult for his opponent to avoid them all without leaving themselves vulnerable.

The Batter does have his flaws, however. Despite his jack-of-all-trades status, he is sort of a master of none, and as such, really doesn’t perfectly excel in one category. He is decent at combos, zoning, KOing, and mix-ups, but he is not the best at it, and this lack of identity could make him a bit difficult to master. His reflection property can be useful, but it has a drawback in that after reflecting a projectile, he will have some extra end-lag on his attack, leaving him more vulnerable. This prevents The Batter from relying on his reflection properties too much, as although they can be useful in moderation, relying on them too much can leave The Batter vulnerable.

Overall, The Batter is a fairly versatile fighter, with several strengths and weaknesses that even eachother out across the board. Still, he has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and using them to your advantage is key to winning as The Batter.

## Moveset

### On-screen Appearance

* The Batter transforms from his overworld sprite from the original OFF to his design in *IndieVisible* as he swings his bat forwards.

### Taunts

* **Up Taunt** - The Batter takes his hat off and wipes his forehead before putting it back on.
* **Side Taunt** - A Spectre appears in front of the Batter as he whacks it on the head with his bat.
* **Down Taunt** - The Batter's Add-Ons spin around him.

### Block Animation

* The Battle puts his bat forwards to block attacks

### Idle Poses

* The Batter adjusts his hat.
* The Batter places his bat on his shoulder.

### Victory Pose

* The Batter is seen sitting on a pile of dead Spectres as the Judge appears behind him, laughing.

## Arcade Mode Route

The Batter's Arcade Mode route is titled ***PURIFICATION IN PROGRESS***.

Like all other Arcade Mode routes for other characters, there is unique pre-fight banter before each fight.

## Trivia

* The Batter's codename is **FE**, referencing the periodic symbol of Iron, and how The Batter's bat is made of iron.
* The Batter uses a unique text box during his pre-fight and post-fight dialog, which is reminiscent of the text boxes found in OFF. Across the entire roster, he is one of few characters to have this trait, the others being Sans, Papyrus, the Heroes of Light, Spamton, Madeline, Curly Brace, Monika, and Sara Chidouin