Wilson Rework

[CrisBlu]

For some reason Wilson getting a rework seems to be unpopular in the don’t starve community? The point “Wilson is supposed to be the base character” comes up a lot and I can respect that but I think you can both make Wilson simple for new players and complex for old players. Frankly Wilson is my favorite character design and concept wise but it can’t be ignored that he’s pretty boring to play nowadays, back when perks were simple and winter was half the game his beard was fine but now it’s one of the most lackluster things in the game. So I want to keep two things in mind when talking about a Wilson refresh
 1. Whatever’s Wilson’s perks are they cannot interfere with a beginner just trying to play a basic character, which probably means his perk/flaw will have to be something of an “opt in” nature that can be ignored as a pair
 2. It must be linked to Wilson’s beard somehow, it’s basically iconic to the character at this point and I’d hate to see it left by the wayside or seem like something just tacked on
Whatever you do or don’t think about what follows I feel that any good Wilson refresh should have these two things to keep the character concise but useful.
What I want to narrow in on is Wilson’s mad scientists vibe, he’s a ******* loser of a scientist and if he was anything else he wouldn’t be in Don’t Starve but what he has shown is that he’s willing to sacrifice reasons and ethics for knowledge, so I think Wilson’s perks should be tied to low sanity. A newbie naturally wants to keep their sanity up, while more experienced players know that it’s worth keeping down sometimes, it naturally fits and any newbie playing the game might not even fully realize Wilson’s perk until they’re comfortable with insanity which is pretty much a lesson every player learns at some point. So here’s what I propose.
-Wilson’s beard grows quicker when he’s insane
this will be useful for recipes and bearded Wilson looks kinda insane already ngl
-When Wilson is next to an Alchemy Machine and his sanity is below 30, he gets access to his crafting tree (beardomancy, necromancy, SCIENCE!! In all caps?)
-The things from this tab cannot be prototyped and can only be crafted when insane
I feel this is reminiscent of a mad scientist making something in the night in his insane stupor and being horrified in the morning because of what he’s done
-The items from this tab generally require beard hair, live animals to be either in your inventory or next to the machine, and penalties on health, hunger and sanity caps
the crafting ingredients should have the air of sacrifice and beard hair being a key ingredient gives more uses for the beard and gives experienced players a reason to shave it off early if they feel they can survive without it
-With these materials Wilson can create miracle cures including but probably not limited to
-A tonic to bring any creature back to life
Tamed Beefalo died? no problem, You accidentally kill a species to extinction? you get a redo. Maybe it could also restore tallbird, slurtle, and spider nests. It’s definitely niche but I think it’s interesting enough to at least mention
-a vaccine for plants against disease forever
-a syringe that can heal more than honey and salves that Wilson can inject in people mid fight
-potions that steel the user against heat, cold, or physical damage
-an expensive revival item that can get someone up with full stats
the cost upfront should be more than it would to get someone back up normally though
I dunno I’m open to suggestions, tell me it’s **** if it’s **** I just think it’d be an interesting way to take Wilson. On a side note Wilson’s tab could work more like the mad science tab from the halloween event, in where the potions just cost sanity to make, but I feel that takes away some of the flavor and a new player, not understanding what they’re doing, could drive themselves insane on the base character and that doesn’t sit well with me

[kittem]

the idea of a crafting tab only when insane is interesting not gonna lie. i probably wouldn't imagine it to the extent you suggested but i can see the way you're thinking

On 5/5/2020 at 4:04 PM, CrisBlu said:

he’s a ******* loser of a scientist

On 5/5/2020 at 4:04 PM, CrisBlu said:

a syringe that can heal more than honey and salves

on the note of items wilson can make that heal, i feel like a good way to rework wilson would be for him to have healing buffs on his team mates, such as being able to use healing items/food on them and it heals for more. the healing for more aspect is sort of inspired by his 'reviving' role in the forge, where he is the only one with said perk, giving people new to the mode a useful purpose and not just being seen as a 'noob wilson'.  wilson should be a team player, and show new people to the game the "together" aspect by having them do good. it gives them something to do while playing, and would probably be appreciated by other people. but uh yeah that's all i gotta say