In the Wake of Warbucks

[Serrix]

Let me preface this by saying that I had not played Warbucks myself prior to his retirement. I can only assume there might be detractors who accost me for it, but I feel I must speak up.

I am an avid fan of Klei, and even more of Don't Starve. I feel that as a company, Klei generally makes pretty good decisions, especially compared to several others nowadays. However, I feel strongly against the general removal of content already introduced to a game, especially a character. I feel that it leaves a metaphorical hole in the feel of the world. Despite the relatively lackluster mechanics of Warbucks, or the characteristics that I've gathered some online would complain or worse about, I am of the opinion his absolute removal from the game is a bad decision.

I understand that as a company, Klei must make decisions that may be seen as negative, but I do not believe this one was warranted. I feel Warbucks could still have been just retooled to a point the general consensus would have been agreeable. I am not going to drop the game or despise Klei for this choice, and I understand that there are mods to reenable him in the game, which even they have suggested. I do wholeheartedly hope however, that they go back on their decision and reintroduce him somehow. Thanks for reading, and rock on anyways, Klei.

An addendum in light of the Klei post in the main update thread: I can understand and accept the reasoning of uninteresting character and the decision that the development time wasn't worth it for him. I still don't entirely agree, but it is how it is. If anyone at Klei reads this, I still thank you for the effort spent on Don't Starve, Hamlet, and Together. I hotly anticipate your upcoming content, and sincerely hope you guys and gals can find some extra time to reintroduce Warbucks in the future. I believe that while Hamlet is indeed still in Early Access, and as such, content and features are liable to be removed if needed, an entire character is a little more than just a feature. Hope everything works out well.

[SkylordElberich]

You... I like you. You express your disappointment, but keep your wits about you.

This forum could use more people like you. God knows it'll need them in the coming weeks.

[mathem99]

Thank you for compiling a post like a civilized person, expressing yourself in an acceptable manner without causing chaos. It is respectable.

I haven't played much of Warbucks and I was looking forward to his changes alongside Wilba's Werepig form, never did I expect that they would completely remove him, but, there are not many things we can do about it. (except the use of mods, as you said, which I am fine with) He may not have had many advantages outside of Hamlet but that's no excuse to completely remove him. I too hope they'll reintroduce him in the future.

[MrDeepDarkmind]

Imagine if warbucks got added but wendy became DST exclusive

[SinancoTheBest]

Couldn't agree more with everything you wrote. I really love Klei and their work, with how considerate and player-friendly they are at most times. That's why I nominated them as the best developer in Steam and keep nominating Don't Starve Together for Better with Friends award every year as it's my favorite game of theirs. Perhaps that's why I felt truly shaken with their recent decision out of nowhere to remove Warbucks. I didn't even get to play him but as you perfectly stated, once a character is added to the DS universe, it feels like a huge deal to me, I get attached to it just from listing him as one of the characters etc. and this unwarranted, inconsiderate removal left an unfillable hole in me, feeding me a sense of betrayal, disappointment, frustration, and despair, all mixed up in a crock pot and served as an ugly wet goop. In renowned food critique Warly's words: "Blah! Tasteless and completely lacking in every way". I  was especially more connected to him as I liked his design as an explorer/relic hunter and as a human addition to Don't Starve Universe(Right now Hamlet stands with 0 new human characters, that's a major tragedy in my opinion). Perhaps it was more impactful because I'm not at all accustomed to this kind of behaviour from Klei, after how much their 2019 Road map hyped me for the future of DST. As you said, I won't hold [a huge] grudge against Klei for this (Mostly because it was singleplayer DS who was affected, which I don't play nearly as much; I'd be much more furious if they suddenly removed Winona from DST) and keep supporting their work by promoting them, suggesting them and buying their DLC content, merch  and skins on DST. Can't wait for my best girl Winona's 'structural adjustment' month but also can't help hide the broken pieces of my telltale heart, right as the Valentines Day event starts at DST. I think I'll be wearing a Mourning Weil most of the time in DST to honor the brave adventurer who was mercilessly murdered by barbarian pigs he tried to bring civilization to. RIP Warbucks, your orange hue shall not be forgotten.