So, as the title said, I've been playing too much Kirby. In particular, Kirby's 20th Anniversary Dream Collection (Wait, 20th anniversary? Kirby's been married for 20 years? To who? Ribbon? Jigglypuff? Kozma?), which me and my little stepbrother combined funds to buy.

I never played Kirby 64 (it's in Dream Collection) and as I was playing it, I thought of some excellent weapons of a Spiral-y Knight-y nature based on some things in the series, and after rage-quitting that horrible level where you need to take the crappy dynamite ability that hurts you and is unwieldier than an ASD Max Troika through the cave, I decided I might as well start on this. So, without further Ado, I present to you, my umpteenth weapon suggestion thread!

(You may applaud now.)

~MIMIGUN LINE~ (Not a typo; it's a portmanteau of 'mimic' and 'gun')
(2* Mimigun -> 3* Boosted Mimigun -> 4* Overclocked Mimigun -> 5* Return Postage)
(2* Mimigun -> 3* Dupligun -> 4* Smart Dupligun -> 5* CopyKat 2000)

This sounds crazy, doesn't it? A gun that copies you? This was one of the first ideas I got; now you can see why I said I've been playing too much Kirby, though this is more like Mega Man. It's high tech and does not involve eating your enemy for dinner. Now, one key point of this: despite the name, the Mimigun does not count as a gun, nor does it count as a sword or bomb, for damage boost purposes, and as such is not affected by the Gunslinger line (or the Wolver or Demo lines, for that matter). The Mimigun will only be affected by Family bonuses/penalties (like that dusty old Chroma Suit you made when you were a noob), its own UVs (here's hoping you get CTR/ASI VH), and universal bonuses/penalties (like that Swiftstrike buckler you're afraid to use because you like to be able to block things).

"But, Doc, what does it look like?" As a Medic, I can tell you I HAVE NO IDEAAAAA! Just kidding, that would be stupid. The Mimigun is a metallic pistol with a cool scanner on top that has a high-tech-lookin' green screen. The upgrades in the Return Postage line make the barrel of the Mimigun slightly longer, and gradually add lights to the barrel; at 4*, the Overclocked Mimigun (and Return Postage) will add a light on the front indicating the damage type of the current attack it has copied. The Dupligun and its upgrades have a scanner that changes color indicating the damage type (red by default) and a status effect indicator light (goes along the color scheme of the Sealed Sword charge).

Right, the part you've all been waiting for, mostly to ensure I won't be making it copy Phantoms' Curse or heal you. Not to worry. Curse will not be copied (instead being replaced with Stun) and copying a healing enemy will not give you a healing attack. But how do you copy an enemy's attack? I'll get to that in a moment. The standard attack of the Mimiguns (both the CopyKat 2000 and the Return Postage) when nothing is copied is a little pulse. The pulse deals Normal damage that's about 20% below the equivalent Calibur, hits one space in front of the shooter, is considered a "sword" for dodging purposes (though not for damage purposes), and has a three-bullet clip. Not impressive. The charge attack is the important part; the Mimigun charges up in the same time as the equivalent Catalyzer. Once released, the Charge Attack fires a no-damage bullet that looks like a bunch of computer data wrapped around a little green energy orb.

Some enemies think they can outsmart boolit. But this boolit outsmart them. It doesn't trigger dodge responses and moves really fast; once it hits an enemy, it sends the data back to the knight, giving them a "vial" called a Copy Chip. (If they already have their Vial slots filled, the Chip will drop on the ground, only visible and pick-up-able by the Knight that generated it; it will disappear after fifteen seconds or when the user fires another charge attack.) The Copy Chip has three parameters: Status (Standard, Stunning, Fiery, Freezing, Shocking, or Poisonous), damage type (Normal from bosses, Piercing from Beasts/Slimes, Elemental from Gremlins/Constructs, Shadow from Fiends/Undead) and projectile (the attack the enemy gives you). So, if you hit a Layoafer, you'll get a Freezing Shadow Projectile Chip; if you hit a Quicksilver, you'll get a Shocking Piercing Frenzy Chip; if you hit a Wolver, you'll get a Standard Piercing Pulse Chip. Using the charge attack again destroys your current chip; alternatively, dropping the chip will cause it to vanish after fifteen seconds or when you fire another charge attack.

Since the Copy Chip is a Vial, it's kept through levels. You can clear a Construct stratum and then go on to FSC with an Ice Lumber attack. Very nice. However, be aware that leaving an Arsenal Station, Sub-town, Unknown Passage, or Clockworks Terminal without a Mimigun will cause any Copy Chip to begin a 15-second despawn timer. You can also keep chips from one Lockdown match to the next; beware, dropping Copy Chips will make them available to every player, even enemies!

There's one thing I almost forgot to mention. Status Effects on a chip do nothing if you're using a Mimigun that's not in the Dupligun line. So that Shocking Lichen Chip? Not going to shock anything if you're using Return Postage. The Dupligun line can apply status effects, but is 20% weaker than the Mimigun line (unless it has a Standard chip, where it inflicts 10% of the Mimigun). Do you want the status effects or the increased damage? Your call. Speaking of damage, the damage magnitude is determined by the attack type as well as the Mimigun used. Copying a T3 Giant Lichen Colony with a 2* Mimigun will get you a 2* Giant Lichen Colony Mimigun attack; copying a T1 Trojan with Return Postage will still net you a 5* Mimigun attack. So, while the Mimigun is better for Heart of Ice where the only status is resisted by EVERYTHING IN THERE, the Dupligun is better for Clockworks runs, or FSC if you can copy a Trojan and get stun blasts.

Copying a Sword in Lockdown will get you a Pulse attack unless it's a Heavy Sword, in which case you get a Slam attack. Copying a Gun in Lockdown will get you a Projectile attack, and copying a Bomb in Lockdown will get you a Blast attack. The status and damage are equivalent to the target weapon.

The Mimigun chips have the following effects:

• PULSE: This is a melee attack; the first shot blasts the area directly in front of the knight (about a 1.5 space radius) with energy, dealing damage (and status if it's a Dupligun). The second and third shots are the same, but with a little forward movement and extra damage on the third hit. The hits have an increasing rate of status. Get Pulse from Wolvers, Jelly Cubes, Lichens, Oilers, Mini-Jellies (and Ice Minis), Thwackers, Knockers, Mecha Knights, Kats, Phantoms (Curse will be converted to Stun), Greavers, and Swordsmen in Lockdown.
• BURST: This is a close-range attack that fires three explosions outward, increased to four at 4* and 5*. Burst explosions act like projectiles, but can cause the enemy to ride the wave of explosions; they only have one shot per clip and reload slower, so make each shot count! Get Burst from Lichen Colonies, Giant Lichen Colonies, Toxilargos, Retrodes, Scorchers, and Zombies.
• SLAM: A huge blast with a little windup time to it, as well as heavy recoil and a reload equal to the burst. But it hits. Hard. In a two-space range in front of the user. Its status effect is always Stun on a Dupligun, unless the enemy has a status variant. Get Slam from Heavy Swordsmen (Curse will be converted to Stun), Alpha Wolvers, Lumbers, Trojans, Arkus, Maulos, and Lord Vanaduke (gives Stun and Fire at once with no penalty, and is called the Royal Copy Chip; you can only really hit him, his Slags, and stuff in the Unknown Passage with it, so it has an excuse).
• PROJECTILE: Simple, fires three projectiles Valiance style. These projectiles outrange Polaris shots by two squares. Get Projectile from Polyps, Gun Puppies, Rocket Puppies, the Roarmulus Twins (copying the Red Twins will give a Roaring Copy Chip, which has both Shock and Fire; again, remember that you won't be hitting anything outside the UKP with it), Howlitzers, Devilites (including Pit Bosses, Yesmen, and Overtimers), and Gunners in Lockdown.
• SPREADER: One shot clip. Five bullets. All at once. Long reload. Why is this not with Gun Puppies? Because something has to give Projectile. Get this from the Snarbolax, Toxigels, Toxoils, Scuttlebots, Menders, Ghostmane Stalkers, and Silkwings. Yes, Menders and Silkwings drop it.
• FRENZY: Has a two-second windup time, followed by auto-aimed (literally automatically aimed by the CPU) Pulses and self-knockback in random directions; however, its reload time is the lowest of all. Rare, but it's meant to simulate a Quicksilver. Get this from Quicksilvers, the Royal Jelly/Ice Queen, and Deadnaughts of all kinds.
• BLAST: Shoots off a small shot that doesn't move far (like >1/2 a square) damage enemies, but instead explodes after a few seconds in an increasing-depending-on-star-level radius (it'll never outrange the Blast Bomb of the same level). Only one per Knight can be present at once; trying to fire a second will cause an embarrassing malfunction and just keep you from firing or moving quickly for two seconds. Get this from Ice Cubes, Gremlin Demos, Mortafires, Bombies, Lost Souls, and Bombers in Lockdown.
• RANDOM: Picks one from the above list, with a +20% damage bonus; if you get a Pulse or Projectile, you'll be able to fire the rest of the combo unless you stop firing for too long. Get this from Battlepods of all kinds, the Big Iron included; it always does Normal Damage.

As you can imagine, this would be tough to program; I'd start by associating a few variables with each monster and then using those in creating the Mimiguns.

Whew, that took a while, but I've finally finished the Mi- oh wait. Flavor text. Liquids.

2* Mimigun: "An experimental weapon developed by Spiral HQ. The Mimigun can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack."
3* Boosted Mimigun: "What's the number one way to make something more powerful? Cram more microchips into it. The Mimigun can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack."
3* Dupligun: "Revamping the code and switching out a few parts gave the Dupligun the ability to copy status effects. The Dupligun can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack and copy the target's status effect."
4* Overclocked Mimigun: "Overclocking the Mimigun while adding stabilizing materials further powered up the Mimigun. The Mimigun can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack."
4* Smart Mimigun: "Further improvements have allowed this Mimigun to replicate status effects even more effectively. The Dupligun can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack and copy the target's status effect."
5* Return Postage: "This weapon operates at 9001GB/sec to copy attacks like never before. The Return Postage can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack."
5* CopyKat 2000: "Work stopped on the CopyKat 2000 at this level, for fear of the weapon becoming sentient. The CopyKat 2000 can scan enemies with its Charged Attack to give it a more effective standard attack and copy the target's status effect."

Phew, that took ages. But now I'm done. Oh wait. No I'm not.

~FLASH BULB~
(2* Flash Bulb -> 3* Charged Flash Bulb -> 4* Energized Flash Bulb -> 5* Fist of Edison)
(2* Flash Bulb -> 3* Shining Flash Bulb -> 4* Brilliant Flash Bulb -> 5* Divine Lamp)

Anyone who's played Kirby 64 beyond a certain point knows about the Light Bulb ability, the result of Shock+Bomb. It lets you see in the dark in one measly room to solve a puzzle, and is complete crap everywhere else because you have to be near the enemy when the bulb explodes on its own timer. This is, ideally, not nearly as crappy.

The Flash Bulb line, of course, is a Bomb (no, it's not a sword). It looks like... a yellow light bulb. As it goes up the Fist of Edison line, it gets bigger and brighter, with additional sparks flying off it. The Divine Lamp line, on the other hand, changes the bulb from yellow to white, and starts getting a white aura around it.

The initial Flash Bulb is a simple Normal Damage bomb that does 10% less damage than the Blast Bomb and has a half-space smaller radius in exchange for a Fair Chance to cause Moderate Stun, with little knockback (it's a freaking light bulb, what did you expect). The next level is where things get crazy. The Fist of Edison line causes Stun AND Shock, in exchange for -25% damage compared to the same level Blast Bomb/Nitro, 2/3 space smaller radius, and a Charge Time equal to the Haze Bomb instead of the Blast Bomb (Hazes take longer to charge). The combo of Stun and Shock is lethal, so the penalties have to be heavy (possibly heavier than the ones I provided) to justify using a Nitronome over the Fist of Edison.

The other Bulb is a bit... specialized. The Divine Lamp deals Elemental and Piercing damage (because, well, it's an exploding glass light bulb) and no Status Effect. It starts off with a Damage Penalty: Maximum (WHAAAAT) and then gets a Fiend Damage: Max, a Fiend Damage: Medium, an Undead Damage: Max, and an Undead Damage: Medium, as well as a ??? Damage: Maximum which affects the Swarm. The damage magnitude on the Divine Lamp line is somewhere in between the Nitro and Irontech of the same level, and the radius is as big as the Nitro. See where this is going? For smiting Undead and Fiends, the Divine Lamp is great, hitting each for some crazy specialized damage. It also does well against Swarm targets, them being an evil force of darkness and all. But it doesn't get a status effect like the Sun Shards, and unlike the DBB, won't work well on other things. Excellent to pack in Legion of Almire, FSC, or an Undead CW, or Darkfire Vanaduke, and maybe worth bringing to a Clockwork Tunnel in case you get that Fiend Swarm danger room, but not so good everywhere else.

Flavor Text!

2* Flash Bulb: "By attaching small explosives to light-based devices, Spiral HQ has weaponized even the most common household appliance."
3* Charged Flash Bulb: "Additional electrical power supplies allow the Flash Bulb's explosion to send electric charges into its unlucky targets while dazing them at the same time."
4* Energized Flash Bulb: "The Energized Flash Bulb has enough electricity packed into it to keep itself lit up for a year."
5* Fist of Edison: "Even the humble light bulb can become a powerful weapon, as proven by this dazzling and electrifying masterpiece."
3* Shining Flash Bulb: "Every so often, the Skylark would be attacked by a significant force of zombies. You didn't hear about it because this Flash Bulb would get rid of them before you got there."
4* Brilliant Flash Bulb: "The forces of darkness claim to be unstoppable. Time and again, the Brilliant Flash Bulb proves them wrong, and smites a few of those irritating Greavers in the process."
5* Divine Lamp: "Capable of decimating Devilites, taking down Trojans, and smiting Spookats with relative ease, the Divine Lamp is a demoman's best friend in the darkest reaches of the Clockworks."

Whew! That's enough suggestions for now- I can't think of anything I haven't suggested before! Offer your suggestions, your compliments, and all the ways this is way too overpowered. And remember this: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!