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Red Hounds need a Rework


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1 hour ago, Hornete said:

they're talking about the suggestions that you agreed with, lol.

oh, well in that case i've got no defense x''D hahaha i just like the idea of hounds being a viable play option at sea or in a base without needing to use the rollback function or stocking up on life amulets

 

for sure even someone like well-met can understand something like that

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I like the idea of opposite hound elements for the hot and cold seasons.

I think the problematic destructive power of red hounds is more of an issue about fire as a mechanic rather than the dogs themselves. They can be cool to fight against and I like fire being used as a weapon. It's just far too effective against structures and too weak vs non player mobs. I've noticed that wet smoldering items seem to no longer ignite (unless I'm going nuts and that has always been the case), so hopefully we will get more interesting counters and interactions with fire.

In addition, the difficulty increase in the form of spam definitely contributes to my dislike of hounds. It'd be nice if something difficult that's actually possible to fight against without just running away appeared, such as a varg or clockworks or even giants, I'd prefer more Deerclops than the unapproachable hound spam waves. 

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10 minutes ago, W0l0l0 said:

I like the idea of opposite hound elements for the hot and cold seasons.

I think the problematic destructive power of red hounds is more of an issue about fire as a mechanic rather than the dogs themselves. They can be cool to fight against and I like fire being used as a weapon. It's just far too effective against structures and too weak vs non player mobs. I've noticed that wet smoldering items seem to no longer ignite (unless I'm going nuts and that has always been the case), so hopefully we will get more interesting counters and interactions with fire.

I agree 100%. I was trying to limit the focus of my suggestions for how to rework Red Hounds to just the Hound itself, because fire is a core mechanic the changing of which would fundamentally change the balance of half a dozen other things (lightning strikes, wildfires, Willow, heat, spiders, etc etc). I don't feel that fire needs to be reworked; it is as forgiving as it can be while also being a threat. However I would like to see more solutions to Fire which are reactive in nature rather than proactive. That might actually be quite an interesting direction to take Wes. He's soft as a pillow, but he can also deal with chronic pains in the neck such as Hounds, Spiders, Poison Birchnutters, and shadow creatures. Perhaps Wes can fill Water balloons from any water source for free, and use them as a ranged weapon which removes hostility, applies wetness, and puts out fires. There'd finally be a reason to have a Wes in a multiplayer world!

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On 12/29/2020 at 4:18 AM, JaxckLl said:

"Red Hounds are fine because there is exactly one solution, and that solution is a trap"

This is the most sensible way of criticizing red hounds.

Red hounds are even more dangerous than blue hounds because death isn't the biggest punishment in the late game. It's destruction.

If you want to stop destruction of your builds from taking place, you're prohibited from building the way you want to build and instead, build the way you're intended to.

You cited numbers of ways of doing tasks as leaving the player deal with problems as they see fit, but red hounds are a problem with some of the least flexible solutions. A lot of faux solutions get thrown out too such as patronizing players by telling them to switch off hound attacks.

That kind of behavior runs rampant in these forums because your forum regulars participate in patronizing others with problems in the game they struggle with and present solutions and suggestions in a game where forums exist to take suggestions and solutions.

I will say, that reading your initial post, there are a lot of things that appear to be straight out nerfs to red hounds.

The way I would propose a way of dealing with red hounds is better ways of fire fighting.

Lux fan isn't enough on the fly, they recently nerfed watering cans to not extinguish as much as they did when they were introduced and ice flingomatics are extremely static, not to mention that emergency mode is *useless.*

I'd add a malbatross craft from it's feathers to fan out fires in a generous radius and tone down the cooling effect if not straight out eliminating it.

I will say this, what stands out from your original posts are making red hound colors more pronounced. 

During times where the environment filters make it more difficult to identify red and black hounds, making a mistake that can cost you months of real time work is a disproportionate punishment for eliminating a threat that tries to bite you to death.

As for the vargs, red hounds = red gems. Very useful to have. Varg summons are at the very least predictable and can become a good resource when you harness them. Lots of flexibility in dealing with those red hounds.

But I do share your sentiment. Red hounds make autumn the second worst season by far.

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Thank you for the alternative perspective that seeks to build consensus rather than superiority. I've completely switched off Hounds attacks in my group's most recent world and we're having the most fun we've had in DST. We're finally able to relax & explore the game, and have the opportunity for the less capable players be mentally prepared to fight a boss rather than constantly being afraid of hounds destroying the base. I'm not sure I'll ever want to go back with the way Red Hounds are right now.

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