WX-78 Rework Concept - "Installing" Equipment

[Spookyrus]

I've been looking over the mechanics of all the Survivors lately as a sort of game design analysis, more for fun than anything else, and I thought of something that might be a really fun addition to WX-78. I haven't heard anybody mention anything similar, so I thought I'd share it here!

WX should have more perks that reflect them being a robot that also tie into the game's core mechanics. Upgrading the core three stats in increments with gears is really good, but what if they could also upgrade various other aspects like their movement speed, damage output, and damage absorption, being able to choose which perk(s) they value more? I figure the best way to accomplish this, while also giving them another roboty theme, is to give them unique equipable gear that has to be "installed."

The idea is that WX can craft special items to be equipped to the hand, body, and head slots by WX exclusively. These all have really good perks and infinite durability, but the catch is that they can only be equipped or removed at a special "Upgrade Station" structure, meaning once you've made your choice, you're stuck with it. No switching between backpacks and armor on the fly, you gotta pick which one best suits your current mission.

Maybe for the body you can have an extra-durable chassis that greatly reduces damage taken, or a storage compartment with as many slots as the Krampus Sack. For the head you could have upgraded optics that grant night vision, or a built-in umbrella that prevents rain damage, or "DLC" similar to the Brain of Thought which unlocks all research station recipes. The hand could have a multi-tool that chops, mines, digs, hammers, and tills all in one, or a built-in melee weapon that deals good damage and of course never breaks, or a blaster that shoots an electrical projectile and has to be fueled by nitre. And something that grants a permanent speed boost, I'm not sure what slot that would be best in.

I especially like the idea of them getting extra-special upgrades from the Ancient Pseudoscience Station which are even more versatile; a body armor that can be socketed with gems to produce various effects (red grants fire immunity and ignites attackers, blue grants freezing immunity and freezes attackers, etc.) and an upgraded hand blaster which can be fueled with gems to create different, more powerful projectiles.

This is something that I think could add a lot of variety in terms of playstyle, allowing WX to be effective at pretty much any task depending on what you want to do! And of course, if you don't like not being able to swap equipment at any time, you don't have to use this feature! WX would still be able to use equipment normally so long as they don't have anything installed to that slot.

I'm not sure if the installations should be dropped or destroyed when WX dies. Probably the latter, maybe dropping some of the materials to remake them as if they'd been hammered.

Also that "Upgrading Station" should have a general benefit for all characters in addition to the special effect it has for WX (similar to Wendy's Sisturn), so it's not just taking up space. I'm not sure what that benefit should be, though. I thought about it serving the same purpose as an Alchemy Engine, but that feels a bit redundant.

Other thoughts I had for WX alterations include a "Charge Meter," which fills when they contact electricity and gradually drains at all times. The charge provides small benefits like a slight boost in movement speed and electrical damage added to their attacks when the charge is over a certain threshold. When it fills to 100% they become Overcharged, and the full effect persists until the meter drains to 0. Maybe they can get a small, instant charge from eating Electrical Doodads, or a gradual charge from standing in range of Winona's Generators. Being struck by lightning always fills the meter to 100%.

And Clockworks being neutral towards WX would be really nice too!!! Maybe they can also befriend Clockworks as followers if we're feeling spicy, maybe by feeding them Gears. There's already like five characters centered around followers, so I don't think this is something their kit should focus on, but it could be a nice little bonus. Also I just like the image of WX leading an army of Clockworks to battle and yelling "GO FORTH MY BROTHERS. DESTROY ALL LIVING THINGS!"

So yeah, those are my ideas for WX-78! They're a really fun character both in terms of gameplay and personality, but as is they really don't have as much going for them mechanically as a lot of the other Survivors. So I'm really looking forward to their refresh, whenever that happens! Maybe it's already in the works and Klei has something way different planned for them, but I wanted to put my thoughts out there anyway. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks, both on my ideas for WX and your own!

TL;DR: WX-78 can craft special equipment only useable by them which has infinite durability/uses and can be used to augment their stats and abilities, the catch being that these can only be equipped or removed while at a special structure and are lost upon death.