u/CodEfficient4157

Legend Comp 8 arrives, but it's one of these. Which one makes for the most unbalanced, balanced, and one where participation is not worth it for every title in the game?

Six Extra Slots (A second Gadget Plate)	Play with only Machine and Character Kits (matches your combo)	EX Gadget: Hyper Ring Engine
Ring Gain and Ring Ability Gadgets banned	Play with Half a Gadget Plate	Attack Items only
EX Gadget: Less Is More	Drift Gadgets banned	Monster Truck Frenzy every race

The bots having too much mobility is actually a problem because they go too far away from the landing spot to reach Electrode in time. I've tried a few different Attackers, but the DPS isn't there yet.

Excuse the potentially bad editing for the images ahead, but we have to team against this little twat. This discussion aims to cover each aspect of her kit, compare it to others items, and provide ways to nerf it in a follow-up post.

The Projectile: Cool It! Dodge This! Freeze!

This should be obvious enough. **Double Scoop** has the user throw a ball of ice cream forward. It can't go through anything and on contact with a rival, they are encased in a ball of ice cream that stuns them in the same way as ice items/Lockup/Chaos Cage. The first two upgrades at LVL 6 and LVL 12 increase the damage dealt and stun time, while LVL 18 adds the chance to get three pickups. This is one of two projectiles in the game to get multiple pickups at all levels, the other being Blazing Arrows, used by Dragon Hunter Sonic. The primary issue is the lack of travel sound. Items like Fireball, Trap Shot, and Frozen Chopper Chomp have sound effects while traveling, warning you that it's nearing you. Double Scoop lacks this, and doesn't even have a sound effect for despawning. ​The only sound is when the item is fired, and even then, it is subtle. While items like Free Kick, Homing Punch, and Bowling Strike do have guaranteed pickups, they aren't until higher levels, which requires heavy investment. While items like Lightning or Chaos Cage get their guaranteed pickups earlier, the runners using them either lack viability or can't capitalize on opportunities as well as others can. Ice Cream has two different ways to take advantage of Double Scoop's stun, and combine that with it being silent as heck, and you've got a sniper that kills on hit.

The Boost: Driving on my sweet, it's certainly a treat! Hey, that bump is a stocked baking sheet!

Next is the boost, **Sweet Slide**. Speed-wise, it ties with Super Form for one of the fastest boosts in the game, and its duration rivals that of boosts such as Green Hover. While one or the other is tolerable, both at once creates a character that is impossible to hold down. The boost is strong enough to the point where it can take several strong hits just to make sure Ice Cream can't recover. The hits in question aren't like Fireball or Amp It Up, but are similar to the likes of Spear Trap, Dragon Dance, Bullet Punch, or silencers such as Final Chorus or Chaos Chord. The speed also guarantees that Ice Cream beats out any Super in the lobby, for she can simply fall back, grab a boost, spam her nigh-undetectable projectile, and outrun the Super at the end. Compare this to boosts that also have a long duration and high speed, like Speed Break, Phantom Dash, and Super Form. They all have drawbacks Sweet Slide lacks. Speed Break forces Darkspine to slow down before he blasts off, Phantom Dash consumes rings(albeit at a manage pace) while taking time to accelerate, and Super Form is a once, maybe twice per-race deal that stops you in place while transforming, consumes rings rapidly, and double boosting isn't viable on every track. Sweet Slide has a 4-second duration, top-tier speed, and nothing holding it back.

The Trap: Do you have any 1-up monitors? I have no head anymore.

Finally, we have the trap, which may be more ridiculous than Falling Flames. When used, **Slow Cone** drops a varying amount of ice cream cones on the track. They can be jumped over or sidestepped. Prior to LVL 4, only two cones are dropped. Between LVL 4 and LVL 15, three cones are dropped. At LVL 16 and above, four cones are dropped. The first cone always spawns in a lane to the user's immediate right or left, while following cones spawn in adjacent lanes. All upgrades increase the damage on cones. The reason that I say it's worse than Falling Flames is because of the lifetime and damage. The cones have the same issues as Meteor Crash/Ice Strike/Falling Flames, where the item's hitbox is instant. While Ice Cream can get hit by her own cones, the predictability of their pattern makes them easier to spam and avoid. The fact that the cones last longer also means that being further behind still forces you to deal with them, regardless of how hard you bag.

**The Summary**

Ice Cream's kit allows her to bag, gatekeep, clutchboost, and spam, all at once. She is a Queen of All Trades, Master of All. Her kit covers so many playstyle bases that it's impossible to completely counter when not using meta. Characters in their prime like Kunoichi Rouge, Riders Rouge, and even Movie Super Shadow have counters and strategies that you can use to knock them out of first. For Riders Rouge, she has problems catching up due to her somewhat mediocre boost. Kunoichi can be dealt with by invinciboosters and knowing when to damage boost through Spin Kick by using a nearby obstacle, and Movie Super Shadow can be heavily pressured if the lobby works together. These strategies don't work against Ice Cream, who has a tool for every situation, unlike others such as Kunoichi, who has just Spin Kick, even with the damage and shield pierce.

For me, he feels strong, yet weak simultaneously. He can be a very annoying bagger due to his trap spawning so far ahead while hitting like a freight train and covering all lanes, but he struggles to catch up with his short boost. It's fast, but you need speed *and* duration, and he only has one. One strong hit and he just loses. In terms of playing as him, he can't really gatekeep well due to having to score goals constantly and leave an open spot in his trap. ​