Walter Discussion

[reverentsatyr]

Hey guys! It's been quite a while since I posted here, but I've still been watching from the shadows regularly. Anyways, the point of this thread is to discuss what we think/want Walter's to do in the game.

So it looks like Walter's default skin is in a boy scout uniform, so I'm sure he will evolve a lot around survival stuff(unless he's more of a bratty boy who pays no attention to lessons during scouts). Like maybe his fire/torch light radius will be a little bigger, he regains more stats from sleeping in tents and bed rolls, stuff like that.

His main perk is most certainly that slingshot in his back pocket. What I'm hoping to see with the slingshot is that Walter will be able to make special ammo for it. Like normal pellets made from rock, explosive pellets made from rock and gunpowder, fire pellets from rock and a red gem, ice pellets from rocks and a blue gem, and sharp pellets from rocks and stingers. As Walter unlocks new crafting stations and recipes, I would want to see him invent new and more unique pellets as he grows more accustomed to the wilderness, like pellets made from purple gems and moon and ruins materials.

I definitely don't want the slingshot to do wimpy damage like the darts and boomerang. I want normal pellet ammo to kill a pig in like 4 hits. Anyways, if Walter comes with perks similar to what I talked about above, I think it will already make for a pretty interesting character (I'd still want a little more to him than what I just talked about, though).

As for his downsides, I have no ideas for that. He looks pretty young, so maybe he will be more vulnerable to the elements and will get hot and cold faster than the other survivors.

What do you guys think? What do you want to see Walter be able to do?

[c-buck]

Doesn't he look like Warly's son or nephew? Mayby he could have some traits in common with him!

And I can easily see him as a friend of Webber's "human version"! I imagine him intrepide and manual (sorry I don't know if the word has the same meaning in english). Pretty fast, and good at hidding, but also a bit weak due to his young age. I imagine him close to nature, able to craft many things, but also not confortable dealing with caves  or big monsters.

 

[MondayNight]

The only thing I for one hope from this new Walter character is to.. not be a dead-beat one.

Seems to be centered around ranged combat and would be a most-welcomed niche. With the condition damage done really weights on the proverbial scale aka is vastly superior than what can be achieved via current in-game darts. Walter could also be that "glass canon" Wendy slipped in for a bit, doing more damage at lower HP. But pls KLei, make it count. Rival HamBat damage or around those numbers (in terms of dmg/min). Because if ranged damage remains puny and we have to resort again to melee, point of a range-type character would rhetorically be lost from get-go.

[Guest]

Did you just re-summirize my post? 

[Scrimbles]

I'm interested, but a little bit worried to see what Klei will do with another child character.

Wendy is kinda weak, and relies on Abigail for fighting.

Webber has very low sanity, but his strength can be excused by being mixed with a spider.

Wurt... somehow has regular stats, can be boosted up much higher than most characters, has no physical or mental weakness, and yet, is probably the youngest of the cast. I don't think being a Merm really gives her much of an advantage.

 

Low physical strength and low sanity are the easiest traits you could add to a child character, and they are already covered by Wendy and Webber, not to mention downsides like Wolfgang being scared of everything, and Maxwell's very low max health.

 

Going off of Klei's current trend of kinda forgetting about downsides, or making ones of such little consequence, I would be a kinda disappointed if he was a child character who didn't have some major flaw compared to adult survivors.

At the same time, there will now be 23 playable characters across the games, and it's probably hard to come up with good upsides and downsides that don't overlap with other characters.

 

And, assuming he uses that slingshot, whats going to make it unique from Wheelers pew-o-matic? Ranged weapons can be notoriously over powered which is why they are so limited, so how can Walters gameplay make it unique, but not over powered?

[ArubaroBeefalo]

17 minutes ago, Ogrecakes said:

I'm interested, but a little bit worried to see what Klei will do with another child character.

Wendy is kinda weak, and relies on Abigail for fighting.

Webber has very low sanity, but his strength can be excused by being mixed with a spider.

Wurt... somehow has regular stats, can be boosted up much higher than most characters, has no physical or mental weakness, and yet, is probably the youngest of the cast. I don't think being a Merm really gives her much of an advantage.

 

Low physical strength and low sanity are the easiest traits you could add to a child character, and they are already covered by Wendy and Webber, not to mention downsides like Wolfgang being scared of everything, and Maxwell's very low max health.

 

Going off of Klei's current trend of kinda forgetting about downsides, or making ones of such little consequence, I would be a kinda disappointed if he was a child character who didn't have some major flaw compared to adult survivors.

At the same time, there will now be 23 playable characters across the games, and it's probably hard to come up with good upsides and downsides that don't overlap with other characters.

 

And, assuming he uses that slingshot, whats going to make it unique from Wheelers pew-o-matic? Ranged weapons can be notoriously over powered which is why they are so limited, so how can Walters gameplay make it unique, but not over powered?

i will not mind if they repeat downsides. For example this kid can have low hp and low damage but hight speed and range atack .i expect that is not like pew matic and you will need to charge it to land the atack because range damage is op

[ShadowDuelist]

2 hours ago, Ogrecakes said:

At the same time, there will now be 23 playable characters across the games, and it's probably hard to come up with good upsides and downsides that don't overlap with other characters.

There are yet many aspects of the game that were not touched as personal perks by any character, dynamic ranged combat is one, stealth being another, confusing/temporally controlling crowd control effects, riding unusual creatures, creating deny area of effects (sort of like the napsack does, but doing other effects) etc.

The room for completely new perks is still huge, we don't need another "is weak but runs fast" kinda character. Wortox explored this and even though a lot of people hates him (And I still believe its because his self healing numbers are imbalanced, and he is not rewarded for healing others, not because its a bad character, but thats for another topic) I think he was a great addition to the roster of characters.

 

12 hours ago, reverentsatyr said:

Like maybe his fire/torch light radius will be a little bigger, he regains more stats from sleeping in tents and bed rolls, stuff like that.

This would be an okay touch but to be secondary perks, not his main one. I've seen in other posts people wanting to have like a portable campfire or other things like that. That would make something that is already cheap and barely useful into the main thing of a character, it would make no sense to pick him for that.

We need things that are hard to accomplish or can't be accomplished in the same way until much later in the game, current examples of what I consider really well thought and fun perks are Woodie transformations, Wicker book spells, Wortox's teleport and healing, Wigfrids passive resistance and life leech, etc.

I'm not saying this is how I'd implement his perks but I'll give an example of what I'd consider a new interesting character: for a slingshot I'd make 3 different type of pellets which you must craft, each having different effects:

- Damage one would deal low damage, about boomerang damage if its easy to mass craft (you have to consider that ranged combat is too OP for high damage) and also maybe force draw aggro (like Lucy did at the forge)

- Crowd control one: this deals a really low or no damage, but it confuses the enemy attacked making it instantly switch aggro to another enemy. Stronger enemies (treeguards, spider queens, and above) may need more than one hit. Bosses could be immune. The idea behind it is a pelllet that targets the enemy eye, like a salt pellet, or a pepper pellet, blinding it temporally so it attacks whatever's nearby. No-eyed-deers would be immune to this for obvious reasons.

- Special damage pellet: maybe he can craft pellets with ice, basically giving him a cheaper and permanent ice staff attack. It could need more shots than the actual staff to freeze the target, but you can stack an unlimited number of pellets.

Then add him new bushcraft skills such as a skill to take existing items and improve them, for example a bushhat that lets you hide and move around hidden, very slowly but stealthy. New type of traps: maybe traps that sling enemies far away, or that temporally immobilize a target.

And then small sideperks, like that he picks one more berry out of berry bushes, he doesn't consume durability out of sleeping in tents, can recover half the materials out of campfires, etc. As for cons he may take more damage from enemy attacks (-15% resistance) or whatever, there are a lot of possible new meaningful cons still available.

[Dr. Safety]

I mentioned this in the other thread but he is set up to fulfill 2 roles that are not yet represented: ranged and nomadic.

Slingshot is obviously ranged and his main upside, but if that was the only thing he has going for him then they didn’t need need to make him a Boy Scout. However him being a Boy Scout sets him up to be adept at camping. What’s more nomadic than camping? During scouts I went on a trip to Philmont where we literally went two weeks carrying everything on our backs.

I think he will have a lot of portable camping equipment (tent, fire pit, etc.) Plus as a bonus this would make him and Warly synergise well together for a full father/son nomadic camping trip to satisfy the fan base.  

[ArubaroBeefalo]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Safety said:

I mentioned this in the other thread but he is set up to fulfill 2 roles that are not yet represented: ranged and nomadic.

Slingshot is obviously ranged but if that was his main upside then they didn’t need need to make him a Boy Scout. However him being a Boy Scout sets him up to be adept at camping. What’s more nomadic than camping? During scouts I went on a trip to Philmont where we literally went two weeks carrying everything on our backs.

I think he will have a lot of portable camping equipment (tent, fire pit, etc.) Plus as a bonus this would make him and Warly synergise well together for a full father/son nomadic camping trip to satisfy the fan base.  

but we already have precrafting and fur roll, i think is a bad perk that will not be used like the spotlight from winona

[cantbeatdaboss]

I hope he gets some upsides besides him using the slingshot, otherwise people will pick him, make his slingshot and ammo, and then use celestial portal to change.  The only way to counteract this is to give him a reason to use the slingshot or give him other larger perks, similar to how wheeler has her dodge and passive speed in addition to her items.

[blacknight7890]

4 minutes ago, Dr. Safety said:

I think he will have a lot of portable camping equipment (tent, fire pit, etc.) Plus as a bonus this would make him and Warly synergise well together for a full father/son nomadic camping trip to satisfy the fan base.  

Ooo, I like that idea, just going full nomad. sure, there's precrafting and stuff, but who wants to just constantly make things over and over again? imagine being able to use a tent anywhere, or make a fire pit anywhere without needing to consume stone and grass. i could see it being good for making a quick stop while out and about, letting you heal up and cook your food without needing to spend much, and then packing it up when your done so you can use it again later.

[Dr. Safety]

10 minutes ago, ArubaroBeefalo said:

but we already have precrafting and fur roll, i think is a bad perk that will not be used like the spotlight from winona

I made a mistake in my original post by claiming that ranged combat shouldn't be his main upside. I will fix it. I think the ability to go nomad should be a viable option for him though. Sure it will be niche but still fitting given his character. They've been adding new ways to play the game with every new character so far and I think that they have a good opportunity to make the nomad playstyle possible and maybe even viable in some situations. I haven't seen anyone else bring up this possibility to I just wanted to throw the idea out there.

[JosePapp]

17 minutes ago, cantbeatdaboss said:

I hope he gets some upsides besides him using the slingshot, otherwise people will pick him, make his slingshot and ammo, and then use celestial portal to change.  The only way to counteract this is to give him a reason to use the slingshot or give him other larger perks, similar to how wheeler has her dodge and passive speed in addition to her items.

i absolutely can't understand that mentality. Sure, you could do that, but WHY would you do that? Because it's optimal to pick and choose the best from any and every survivor? 

I think characters should have a fun gamestyle suiting them that is accompanied with good downsides (Woodie should get forced transformations more often) and that it would be cool for him to have exclusive stuff that isn't crafting like being able to make badges or something, but basing balance around the logic that he could be switched in order to be optimal is bogus in my opinion

[user1464576869]

As a character he seems extremely boring, copy of Walter but young and another niche for profession.

EDIT: PfHah, I even got the name wrong then. Warly, of course

[cantbeatdaboss]

On 5/29/2020 at 9:04 AM, JosePapp said:

i absolutely can't understand that mentality. Sure, you could do that, but WHY would you do that? Because it's optimal to pick and choose the best from any and every survivor? 

I think characters should have a fun gamestyle suiting them that is accompanied with good downsides (Woodie should get forced transformations more often) and that it would be cool for him to have exclusive stuff that isn't crafting like being able to make badges or something, but basing balance around the logic that he could be switched in order to be optimal is bogus in my opinion

If a character has boring/unfun downsides and their sole upside is that they can make an item anyone can use there's no reason to play them once you have their item.  You can see this with winona as her downside is really just annoying and her only upside besides her machines was fast crafting and her dodge from charlie.  A lot of the ideas on this post have given ideas that make the slingshot their main perk and then give them a bunch of smaller perks, which sounds very similar to winona.  I know the devs have probably already decided on their abilities by now, but I'm just stating that I dont want them to turn out like winona.

[NSAiswatchingus]

Maybe the Slingshot will only be useable by him? I could see other characters simply saying they don't know how to use it so are prevented from equipping it. That seems like an easy thing to do and would prevent Walter from being swapped and dropped. 

[NoscopeFelix]

Isn’t he supposed to come out soon?

[NSAiswatchingus]

2 minutes ago, NoscopeFelix said:

Isn’t he supposed to come out soon?

Mid June!

[mathem99]

21 hours ago, reverentsatyr said:

[...] His main perk is most certainly that slingshot in his back pocket. What I'm hoping to see with the slingshot is that Walter will be able to make special ammo for it. [...]

I only hope Walter isn't a replicate of Wheeler. That's my only demand, for Walter not to have a dodge, Navigadget, and Pew-matic Horn themed items that will basically be a copy of Wheeler. Maybe I'm just being irrational... I hope I am.

[NSAiswatchingus]

47 minutes ago, mathem99 said:

I only hope Walter isn't a replicate of Wheeler. That's my only demand, for Walter not to have a dodge, Navigadget, and Pew-matic Horn themed items that will basically be a copy of Wheeler. But, maybe I'm just being irrational... I hope I am.

I too don't want him to be a Wheeler clone, but if we're not getting Wheeler in DST then I definitely want that dodge ability on someone else.

[CaRat]

How about a little less on recipes being a (maybe I'm not sure) boy scout he should use less materals. like some things costing 1 less rope, twigs, grass, etc. Just a small perk tho nothin so useful that you would wanna switch a character just to build stuff.

Like a torch costing 1 twig and 2 grass or the sicence mechine costing 3 logs 1 gold and 3 rocks.

[blacknight7890]

1 hour ago, Webber is bes said:

How about a little less on recipes being a (maybe I'm not sure) boy scout he should use less materals. like some things costing 1 less rope, twigs, grass, etc. Just a small perk tho nothin so useful that you would wanna switch a character just to build stuff.

Like a torch costing 1 twig and 2 grass or the sicence mechine costing 3 logs 1 gold and 3 rocks.

not really sure what people's fascination with cheaper crafts is, its a small thing that is only really useful when you are lacking in those ingredients, once you have plenty its barely useful, sure you can get more out of it, but by that point you have probably found green gems and can get half off all crafts anyway.

[Mike23Ua]

He’s a Boyscout right? Boy Scouts are trained to survive in the woods with the barest minimal of survival tools... correct? 
I will be highly disappointed with him if he ends up in fact being like everyone else and instead of living OFF The land.. he can simply bring the land to his base and forget anything outside the base exists.

Simple stuff like not being able to equip or use a shovel or pitchfork prevents him from being able to shovel up and move turf or plants- He can still obtain these things through more untraditional methods like having a Bearger destroy an Area or random meteor showers.. When someone tries to hand him those special tools he has a refusal animation like Warly eating anything not specially cooked, and will have a quote like “I can not use this I’m trying to earn my Survivalist Badge!”

This “Human Character” who currently I have no Interest in, Would quickly go from being the FIRST character I might actually NOT bother ever unlocking... to an absolute must have on Day 1 of his release.

In the meantime I’ll wait to hear more details about him before deciding.

[Nino123]

I hope he'll be a ranged attack character (slingshot, darts, boomerang...) with ridiculus health. So it could bring a new way of fighting.

[Superwolfkid]

I'd like to see custom ammo for Walter's slingshot! Like maybe with nitre, you could make Snapper ammo (these little things) that could be shot doing  quick multi hit AOE damage, and maybe it could even startle hounds just like fire Crackers in the Chinese new year event!