[Character Spoiler] seems a bit bland.

So I recently finished unlocking all of the characters. The last character I unlocked was the Miner, and after looking over his abilities, the first thing that came to mind was the Mercenary. He just seems like a slightly altered version of a similar character concept.

Crush and Laser Sword are both close range attacks with similar damage outputs.
Drill Charge and Blinding Assault are both dashing attacks involving invincibility. Combining Drill Charge with Backblast provides a pseudo 2-use combo similar to the 3-use combo of Blinding Assault. Backblast itself is also basically the same as Blinding Assault, giving the Miner two moves that provide the same mobility boost.
To The Stars and Whirlwind are both moves that provide a pseudo jump, while To The Stars has a similar multi-hit large damage output to Eviscerate.

While the Mercenary is more of a combo character, the Miner is... just lacking any real defining characteristic. Every other character has something about them that really stands out. The Miner's skills also don't seem very fitting for a Miner, unlike the Mercenary, who has attacks that fit a light-sword weilding character perfectly. That's why I think that rather than altering the Mercenary, it should be the Miner that gets changed. Here are some ideas:

• When I see dual picks, I think "scaling walls". I realize that the miner probably has mining picks, but still. It would make sense if using a certain move towards a wall (maybe Drill Charge) while in the air would stick you to the wall, allowing you to climb it similarly to a ladder. Alternatively, if that's too complex (and since it would probably require a bunch of new sprites to be made), it could stick you to the wall, then give you the option to either drop off of the wall (by pressing down or away from it) or jump from the wall, letting you scale the wall by repeatedly using the move towards the wall after jumping (the cooldown of the move would probably need to reset when you hit the wall).
• Drill Charge and Blastback are basically the same in terms of mobility (one making you move backwards doesn't really make it different when you can turn around instantly). I think Blastbacks movement should probably be altered in some way. Maybe some diagonal backwards angle that lets you rise into the air, and/or something like the distance you move being based on the number of enemies you hit in the first few frames (although I can see the latter potentially being detrimental in some situations). Alternatively to the latter, Drill Charge could have a different distance based on the charge amount, to make it more unique.
• To The Stars could give you an additional vertical boost when you manage to hit an enemy with it, with the distance improving slightly for each enemy hit.
• I would suggest giving the Miner dynamite if the Bandit didn't already have it. Maybe some other type of explosive, instead. Rather than an on-hit explosive, it could have a timer attached to it, and possibly just be dropped rather than thrown. This could replace Blastback, as it's a much more fitting skill for a Miner to have. (I guess To The Stars is already an explosive, but this makes more sense for the character in my opinion).
  
• Another change that fits the idea of a Miner could be something related to gold. Hitting enemies with Crush could make them drop gold, or hitting chests with it could reduce their cost slightly (but force all your cooldowns to start or something, making it difficult to use in combat). Alternatively, he could simply mine gold slowy from hitting walls with Crush. These ideas are probably pretty unbalanced, though.
• To The Stars could be replaced with the ability to place ropes. This would make a lot of sense for a Miner, and would aid in getting around the map a lot better than To The Stars does. It could be done so that you can only place ropes down from thin platforms, or it could be done that you can throw a rope (or grappling hook?) upward, and it will attach to a thin platform above if it hits one. Having one less combat skill might seem like it would make the Miner pretty underpowered, but this might be balanced better if paired with the gold mining concept.

So yeah, those are some of the ideas I had for making the Miner a more unique and interesting character. The ones colored red are the ones I'd be particularly interested in seeing put together, and would make the character much more unique than the other changes. It would be a field expert rather than a combat character, relying on items more, but having an easier time obtaining them.

Thoughts?

 

I don't agree.
The miner has great abilities and has something that stands our for him. He is the most mobile character ingame - even though one of the new characters has his ability (which I wont spoil) that allows him to move fast across the map. The miner has THE most mobility out of all characters.
His abilities actually do make sense for ' a miner' :

• Crush - He is using two pickaxes to fight enemies. (Makes sense if he'd mine with them in a mine)
• Drill Charge - Forward dash, extremely useful to go through enemy packs or just dash to a ledge (If he's in a mine: to mine a thin wall, get to a ledge far in the distance across a gap)
• Backblast - Backward dash, damages those behind you and you can combine with the fourth ability while the enemy is stunned. (If he's in a mine and the ceiling is about to fall down, he can dash backwards to avoid being buried alive)
• To the Stars - Great ability that prevents fall damage and can give some to the enemies below you. (If he's mining, preventing leg damage or breakage makes it pretty useful. Or a bonus jump to reach higher ground. Pretty effective if you'd ask me).

Now, I do get why you're comparing the two since both close quarters fighters. The Mercenary does have dashes but for a different purpose completely:

• The Mercenary has dashes that are made to be used more aggressively, and you need to wait a few milliseconds before you can move again (While the miner can move instantly after dashing).
• The Mercenary's fourth ability is exactly what makes him stand out as a character: Being invincible and hitting all enemies until they're dead (Most effective when upgraded with the scepter).

Overall both characters have just the right abilities, they aren't copied from one another. Each one has a unique play-style (Same goes for all others).


Note: My favourite character is the Commando. But I did play a lot for both of the ones mentioned.