So we've had sprites for a while now, and still up to this day we're missing ones that would eat Moonstone and Valestone, which makes those two minerals essentially useless. I've felt like coming up with some concepts for ones that I think would be pretty unique and useful.
Here's a link to the drawing I made, they're ugly because I'm no artist, but I just felt like some visuals would help!
https://imgur.com/gallery/spiral-knights-new-sprites-concepts-ydJjGt6
So yeah, they're of course still subject to change, but I totally wouldn't mind them getting added to the game, altered or not. You can do whatever you want with them, they're free. So, I will transcribe the details here, because my handwriting is probably unreadable, as well as provide some additional thoughts and stuff about them:
Ancient Golem:
A jet-propelled, cute, cube-shaped robot with eyes and hands! It would fit the mechanical category of a sprite pretty well I think. He's pretty simple and straightforward, but still strong and very effective. His quirk is that he can only ever do Normal Damage! (Or maybe he will always deal some Normal damage, and the harness would just provide a bit of additional damage from some other type) He can still wear different Harness's, but they would have to grant him some other bonuses than chaging the damage-type. His job is mostly to be either on the offense in battle, or buff the player!
Why would a robot eat Valestone though? Well, that's because Valestone is actually food for the plant overgrowth on it! The robotic body and the plant overgrowth have a symbiotic relationship, and the living plant is what actually powers the robot, so that it doesn't need fuel or batteries instead!
When it comes to customizing it, as it grows or obtains different ability upgrades, it could: Grow more plant life on it, the flower could change, get a different jet-propulsor, the eye-slit could change, hands could change shape or he could get some clockwork-y addons on his body!
Notes: He looks too flat on my drawing, he should be a little big thicker. The harness would go around the middle of it's body like a belt. Now that I think about it, maybe the flower should be bigger and have some sort of a face, instead of the robot having eyes, that could also be pretty cool.
Abilities:
1. Ricochet Pebble
Shoots a pebble projectile that flies in a straight line. If it hits an enemy (or certain objects like levers/switches) it'll bounce towards the next, nearest possible enemy. Can bounce up to 3 times by default, dealing less damage after every bounce. Can bounce back into a target it hit previously, but prefers to hit a new one if possible. If no new target is available (there's none or they're out of range) - the pebble will then bounce up and fall down shortly after, dealing some damage in a tiny AoE where it lands. It could be able to stagger or briefly stun enemies hit, either by default or through some upgrade.
2. Power Boom
An AoE outward boom with the player at it's center. Deals a little damage and knocks enemies away from the player, and buffs them with either Defense Up or Damage Up... or some other buffs like Movement Speed Up, Attack speed/charge speed... I'm not sure, but it should surely buff the player somehow!
3. Earthquake
The Golem goes down to pound the ground where the player stood at and stays there for the duration of the ability. Golem will strike around 4 or 5 times there, making an AoE that damages and either staggering or stunning the enemies within it with each strike, and quite possibly inflicting some kind of a debuff as well. Maybe it could also buff players within it's range when upgraded? If the pebble were to be stunning, then it'd be best if Earthquake were to be staggering and vice-versa, so that they don't do the same thing.
Will describe the other sprite in a reply, but anyways, I would really love some more sprites to make it into the game. Looking forward to your feedback!
Prismatic Slime:
I really love slimes so the other sprite hails from the slime-family. It moves around using a small, anti-gravity gizmo-seat that the Spiral Order provided to it so that it could follow the player around better. It ate some Moonstone, which is associated with Wisdom and Knowledge and general Smart-... ness... And so - This sprite uniquely has access to dealing any damage type, by wearing any Harness, as somewhat of an anti-thesis to the Golem. The different damage types would also have some unique interactions with it's abilities. It's more of a supportive sprite, with some healing capabilities. The 3 spheres inside the slime are it's "body parts" - the big one is the head, the 2 smaller ones are somewhat like it's hands.
Customization: As it grows or obtains different ability upgrade, it could: Grow in size - making the slime overflow slightly and look a little chubby, the slime itself could change color, the shape of the sphere could change (to perhaps cubes, diamonds, spooky skulls and such), the anti-gravity seat could change, or some slimey-spikes could appear on the surface of it.
Notes: I made the sphere pink on the drawing, but now that I think about it - they should be blue from eating Moonstone haha. And yes - he does kinda look like an ice-cream cone. Winter skin idea?
Abilities:
1. Energy Blast
A cone-shaped shotgun blast. Enemies killed with it drop small hearts for all players. Works differently based on the damage type:
Normal: Knocks enemies back.
Elemental: Inflicts Shock or Fire
Shadow: Inflicts Poison or Fire, or maybe even Curse.
Piercing: Inflicts Poison or Sleep.
2. Infused Weapon
Buffs the Player's (Or the whole team's) weapons with Prismatic Energy, adding some damage to their attacks of the same type as the Sprite's damage. It would either buff all of their weapons, or perhaps only the ones the player's were holding at the moment this ability was cast. With upgrades it could also perhaps grant some other buffs, like movement speed or attack speed or charge speed or something else.
3. Atomizing Aura or Atomizing Ray
Couldn't decide whether it should be an Aura-like effect centered at the player that follows them around, or a singular laser blast that would go in a long, straight line. Either Way, enemies hit by it would receive a debuff that would lower their defense and make it so that attacking them would restore health! If it was an Aura - it would require the player to remain close to the target, which would limit gun use, but only for the caster, which would be interesting. If it was a Ray - it would strike once, like lightning - and enemies hit would receive a timed-debuff instead, which wouldn't require as much positioning, but would suck if it missed the mark.
Once again, looking forward to feedback! :>