Wickerbottom Rework

[sudoku]

I have been waiting for the Wickerbottom rework since they were first announced, and while we can all agree thst WX is probably next in line, i still would like to give my thoughts on a potential Wickerbottom refresh. I'd really like to see Wickerbottom retain her spellcaster identity but fused with the concept of knowledge and helping/buffing other players (think like charging WX but not as character specific), so here are my ideas on how to achieve this.

Every character can now read books like Wurt can, which depending on the book lowers or increases player sanity. I'd also think it would be a neat idea if reading books tied into enlightenment, so after a player has read enough uses of a book they become enlightened for a short period. 

Wickerbottom can, using papyrus and a feather pencil, create books for unlocking recipes she has already learned. Essentially Wickerbottom can create custom blueprints for other players. I understand many players might find this a niche perk outside of using it for Fashion Goggles, but again it is very fitting for the character and expands upon the ability for Wicker players to craft science machine items, like backpacks, for players in the early days which is something i enjoy and would like to see her rework lean into.

Wickerbottom can craft a little library to store books in. Based on Little Free Libraries, which you can see in the image below. I just think its super fitting for the character and would be awesome for Wicker to have a place to store books as well as easy access for others to read, plus it would be incredibly cute to have a little library next to the portal filled with custom blueprint books so newer players can get a head start.

Spoiler

Of course Wickerbottom should also get new books with new abilities attatched to them, preferably relating to the newer mechanics and content we have gotten since her RoG books like sailing or lunar content, however i do not really have any good ideas for what these abilities should be so please suggest yours. Perhaps a book that spawns large or seasonal fish in nearby ocean, or a necromancy book which summons non-player hostile lunar/horror mobs that despawn after a time limit.

As for downsides Wickerbottom should retain her insomniac downside, and her stale food downside as well i guess, and perhaps she should also be given the frail perk like Maxwell. I know others have suggested becauese she is an old lady she should have fewer health points, which i am not opposed to. 

[Cheggf]

41 minutes ago, sudoku said:

Wickerbottom can, using papyrus and a feather pencil, create books for unlocking recipes she has already learned. Essentially Wickerbottom can create custom blueprints for other players. I understand many players might find this a niche perk

The entire server having bundling wrap after only one bee queen kill is an immensely powerful perk.

[Dr. Safety]

I just hope that whatever they do, they keep the cool synergy between her and Maxwell so that he can read her books for the same effect as her. I always really liked that interaction between them 

[BoysenSyrup]

1 minute ago, Cheggf said:

The entire server having bundling wrap after only one bee queen kill is an immensely powerful perk.

Re-usable bee queen methods/farms exist anyways. The only advantage this gives over that is speeding up the process slightly, without the additional jellybeans or crowns. You can already make bundling wrap for friends anyways, and even if they have the recipe it still requires ropes and wax paper for each wrap. I'd say it's fine, bundling wrap doesn't give you god mode.

[Cheggf]

2 minutes ago, BoySyrup said:

Re-usable bee queen methods/farms exist anyways. The only advantage this gives over that is speeding up the process slightly, without the additional jellybeans or crowns. You can already make bundling wrap for friends anyways, and even if they have the recipe it still requires ropes and wax paper for each wrap. I'd say it's fine, bundling wrap doesn't give you god mode.

I'm not saying it's overpowered, I'm saying it's very powerful. Bee Queen has a nearly 3 hour respawn so I think you're underselling how long it takes to get everyone a wrap (especially on a larger server), and if you're making wraps for somebody else they can't exactly carry a stack of food/lightbulbs/etc and just unwrap & rewrap whenever they want. Bundling wrap loses a lot of its functionality if you can't craft it.

[sudoku]

13 minutes ago, Cheggf said:

The entire server having bundling wrap after only one bee queen kill is an immensely powerful perk.

I forgot about the bundling wrap, i do think that could be strong, but Winters feast and gift wrap do exist so its not unheard of for all players to have access to it, at least you have to interact with your Wickerbottom and it provides utility for the character, instead of eveyone just using petals to make it.

[Mysterious box]

30 minutes ago, Cheggf said:

The entire server having bundling wrap after only one bee queen kill is an immensely powerful perk.

I agree but this also bugs me about dst while killing bosses solo is very much viable it rubs me the wrong way that only one person who participated in the fight gains the ability to craft exclusive items.

[sudoku]

At least when a rogue wicker spams tentacles to solo cheese the beequeen she'd be able to share the recipe.

[ShadowDuelist]

125 Max HP and 5% more vulnerable to all damage, would be fitting for both an old lady and a magic-based character, I think.

On the new powers part we could get 4-5 new books, both combat and utility oriented, and maybe as a personal thing to make her "special" in the late game, she could also "charge" her magic focus in some way, so the next spellcasting she does, is stronger (like on the forge). Just like on the forge, amplified magic should not be something you can do all the time and it would take time to recharge.

Spoiler

This amplified use would apply to all magic, not just her books
EG: Amplified ice staff casts a freezing AOE, Amplified panflute sleep effect lasts longer, amplified bat-bat hit drains a big chunk of hp in one hit, amplified horticulture abridged grows 20 plants instead of 10, amplified starcaller cast will last twice as long, amplified silviculture would make all affected plants regrow instantly one more time after being picked, amplified on tentacles will grow 2 extra tentacles, etc).

 

[SkyistheGround]

1 hour ago, sudoku said:

Wickerbottom can craft a little library to store books in. Based on Little Free Libraries, which you can see in the image below. I just think its super fitting for the character and would be awesome for Wicker to have a place to store books as well as easy access for others to read, plus it would be incredibly cute to have a little library next to the portal filled with custom blueprint books so newer players can get a head start.

it'd be neat if they could store spell books, maybe even the codex umbra as well. i'd rather have one large space for only books then a bunch of little chests. or the books just being dumped on the floor. please not the floor.

1 hour ago, sudoku said:

Of course Wickerbottom should also get new books with new abilities attatched to them, preferably relating to the newer mechanics and content we have gotten since her RoG books like sailing or lunar content, however i do not really have any good ideas for what these abilities should be so please suggest yours.

i'd lean away more from book effects buffing allies specifically, because then that kinda crosses into wigfrid's territory and i do not want another "this character is just that character but better!!" kind of discussion. 

but here are my book ideas:
- a petrify tome, like in forge. it could also instead be an aoe freezing effect.
- maybe a type of minion book, where she can summon a friendly version of a usually hostile mob to aid her. doesn't even have to be combat related, could be used for gathering or scouting. what mob, i don't know. i was thinking a hound, but there might be a better idea
- some sort of mass revival book, when a lot of people are dead. a weaker idea, but an idea nonetheless

neat character interaction ideas: 
- walter's story time could lead to more sanity gain if he read one of wicker's books before telling the story. he got inspired
- since wurt was the og book reader (other then maxwell, but he actually gets to use the magic) books could raise her sanity by a % more. at the same time, they will lower her sanity more as well

[sudoku]

2 minutes ago, SkyistheGround said:

it'd be neat if they could store spell books, maybe even the codex umbra as well. i'd rather have one large space for only books then a bunch of little chests. or the books just being dumped on the floor. please not the floor.

Yes ive always wanted a book shelf to store her books, but i like the little mini library idea since its a thing that exists in real life and is built outside, plus it encourages others to read her books.

5 minutes ago, SkyistheGround said:

i'd lean away more from book effects buffing allies specifically, because then that kinda crosses into wigfrid's territory and i do not want another "this character is just that character but better!!" kind of discussion.

I agree, in combat buffing should be reserved to Wigfrid, while Warlys buffed dishes are a good prep buff. Thats why I want Wicker to really shine in terms of utility and sharing her knowledge. Typically throughout history this has been the very purpose of books and why it makes sense that since Wicker already self publishes her books and is known as the smart one, she should be able to pass on her knowledge to the other characters which crafting recipes represents. 

11 minutes ago, SkyistheGround said:

- some sort of mass revival book, when a lot of people are dead. a weaker idea, but an idea nonetheles

That would be neat

[SkyistheGround]

27 minutes ago, sudoku said:

Yes ive always wanted a book shelf to store her books, but i like the little mini library idea since its a thing that exists in real life and is built outside, plus it encourages others to read her books.

i love mini libraries. i have one in my neighborhood and while i haven't taken a book in a while, i still like seeing it!

anyway, structure design isn't my strong suit but i thought i'd give it a shot 

[Mooagain]

2 hours ago, sudoku said:

As for downsides Wickerbottom should retain her insomniac downside

Actually, considering what's been happenign with the moon putting players to sleep lately, I wonder if her insomniac trait will be reworked for some more unique interactions with gestalts?

[sudoku]

28 minutes ago, Mooagain said:

Actually, considering what's been happenign with the moon putting players to sleep lately, I wonder if her insomniac trait will be reworked for some more unique interactions with gestalts?

I love when wicker gets hit by gestalts and just lies there were her bloodshot eyes wide open. Im certainly down for more unique downsides as most players dont even sleep anyway, but i think she should still not be able to sleep since the one downside of her spamming books is the sanity cost and sleeping would negate that pretty heavily.

[Yuuko]

57 minutes ago, sudoku said:

I love when wicker gets hit by gestalts and just lies there were her bloodshot eyes wide open. Im certainly down for more unique downsides as most players dont even sleep anyway, but i think she should still not be able to sleep since the one downside of her spamming books is the sanity cost and sleeping would negate that pretty heavily.

Her sleep face is one of the best things in the game and I hope they never remove it lol

[Lokena]

I like the idea of copying blueprints, especially rare boss blueprints on a large server, but I don't think she should be able to make a blueprint of any recipe she knew. Maybe copying should work exactly like copying, using the physical version of the blueprint in crafting? Thus, instead of someone random immediately learning the recipe after dropping the blueprint from the boss, it would be more profitable to save them. Of course, all the blueprints occupy a separate slot, but for this Wickerbottom could have a unique building, like a potter's wheel, in which there would be an infinite storage only for blueprints, opening recipes for their copies. At the same time, even for ordinary items, you need to first get a blueprint - for example, find it in the tumbleweed or fish out in an oasis, which will make them useful too. Only Wickerbottom could use this building, and papyrus and a writing pen can be used for crafting, as for maps. Also, such copying shouldn't be completely free, requiring some rare third ingredient.

The only thing I'm worried about is that such a perk, despite all its usefulness, could make her a "pick and swap" character who will be taken temporarily for five minutes only when someone needs recipes. But on the other hand, it will save you from the problem when the very player who has learned a super-rare blueprint suddenly leaves the server and negates the efforts of the others. Also, perhaps the "original" boss blueprints could have durability - that is, they could be copied only N times(five?), and sooner or later the boss will still have to be defeated again if you want to give access to the recipe to more people. This way, it will not turn into a situation that you need to defeat any boss once and then forget about it forever. Ordinary blueprints could be eternal.

However, I'm not sure what to think about the idea that all the characters can read books(even if I like the idea of a street little library). This is the very situation when a character becomes necessary only for crafting an item, but not for using it. In this case, you need to carefully choose what perks reading books gives other characters and what perks they give her.

Also, yes, I completely agree that she should have immunity to sleep, or at least a very strong resistance to sleep. This is the very detail of her character that turns her disadvantage into a virtue and changes the gameplay, giving a reason to play for her and fight for her, instead of using her as a source of books. This could help situationally with the sleeping Berger, gestalts on the moon island and especially in the battle with Champion.

[kilobit]

Let her (and Maxwell) whack things with books 

[sudoku]

16 hours ago, Lokena said:

 

The only thing I'm worried about is that such a perk, despite all its usefulness, could make her a "pick and swap" character who will be taken temporarily for five minutes only when someone needs recipes.

However, I'm not sure what to think about the idea that all the characters can read books(even if I like the idea of a street little library). This is the very situation when a character becomes necessary only for crafting an item, but not for using it. In this case, you need to carefully choose what perks reading books gives other characters and what perks they give her.
 

I dont think shed become anymore of a pick and swap character than she already is now. She, along with Maxwell would still be the only characters to actually use books abilities.

When i say all characters can read her books, i mean like Wurt does, gaining or losing sanity depending on the book. They do not activiate the books powers. This gives Wickerbottom extra utility for her teammates in case they want to raise their sanity, reading the end is nigh next to a fire as willow, for example, would allow her to raise her sanity prety effectively. 

If Wurt can read the books, i dont see why the other characters cant either, it was always a random perk for her anyway, making it a main function of wickers books makes sense to me and plays up the aspect of her being a librarian.

[Echsrick]

i mean she will totaly get like 3 new books or so like thats just a save bet im sure of it so lets see whats there for ideas

tome of healing i mean sure wortox exist but you know wigfrid alsol got a healing song and warly even is salt spice is like useless it still is part of gettin more health so yes a healing book

 

the soumoning book from forge like this golem thing that comes from it i guess just easy to reuse things like that

 

book of bright ideas it literaly creates a light circle around wicker like the yellow amulet and propably everyone could get effected by it near the reader

 

tome of resurection it resurect every player near the reader and the revived players dont have a health penalty like you get whit a hearth

 

oh alsol like a journal for creatures like we have like cook book or plant registry just not direct part of wicker just you know a menu for that everyone can use

[Guille6785]

faster casting animation

[Mooagain]

15 hours ago, Dr.Medic said:

oh alsol like a journal for creatures like we have like cook book or plant registry just not direct part of wicker just you know a menu for that everyone can use

I'd love something like the bestiary in Terraria

[ArubaroBeefalo]

23 minutes ago, Mooagain said:

I'd love something like the bestiary in Terraria

A mob harry potter bestiary like that we need to defeat to read would be lovely

[BoysenSyrup]

Ooh, a Bestiary thing would be neat. (Especially if it had descriptions of the creatures! I like having more text just to go through.)