Suggestion: Lux Aeterna/Redux Light Follows Wickerbottom

[Alcoholic Ape]

The Lux books have some stiff competition against every other light source in the game. Campfires are cheaper and more reliable, while torches and miner's helmets are portable (and STILL cheaper than the Lux books). All the while, both books are overshadowed by the much stronger Lunar Grimoire.

What if the light followed Wicker around, as if she ate a glowberry? A bit of sanity in return for effortless, portable light seems like a fair trade. If you feel extra generous, a big column of light coming from the sky would probably be visible from the map like a flare.

[Sapientis]

Those books may seem suboptimal for everyday use but they provide a niche use of allowing crops to grow during night and in caves (Lunar Grimoire is much harder to acquire and it is also useless in caves). Changing Lux Books to create shafts of light following Wickerbottom would take away that special use entirely.

My ideas to solve both problems are:

• change the shaft of light from the sky/cave ceiling to a sphere of light emanating from the book itself, this way you can place the book by your farmplot to grow crops or take it with you and have the sphere follow you
• leave Lux Aetherna as a stationary light (probably with a little longer duration than just 4 minutes) and Lux Aetherna Redux as mobile, this would be more preferable as it would differentiate those very similar Books from each other, giving each a purpose and making them useful for most players and not only zealous farmers.

This Book (both of them actually) gets outclassed by a Star/Moon Caller's Staff very easily. Both drain a lot of sanity yet stars provide larger area of brighter light and with longer/the same duration and you get almost 70 uses for just 1-2 Yellow Gems, they can also help with keeping desired temperature in certain seasons.

Yes, mobile light would be a good compensation.

[Cheggf]

The grimoire sucks. Drain tons of sanity and be tethered to the base since it only has 2 durability, and for what? So that you can see slightly further than with a miner's hat on the not so dangerous surface? The lux books would suck if they follow Wickerbottom, they're great for boss fights and bases (especially cave farms).

[Gashzer]

Lux Aetherna + redux are dirt cheap, easily craftable from day 1, don't risk burning crops or base like a star caller star does (we all have had a random bird drop a seed near the star starting a blazing fire mid base!)

If i ever play wicker after beta, this book will be one of the first books i rush to get.

7 hours ago, Cheggf said:

 Drain tons of sanity...

Why is draining sanity a bad thing? Wicker is one of the better nightmare fuel farmers now since her books forces a nightmare creature to spawn! When spamming horticulture for crops, i stacked up a full 40 nightmare fuel in no time, wicker has such a useful "downside" 

[Sapientis]

1 hour ago, Gashzer said:

Why is draining sanity a bad thing?

Lowering Sanity at will is a good thing, because it helps you accomplish what you want, lowering Sanity (in large amount like 33-50) as a side effect to the Book's use is a bad thing because it slows your progress to accomplish what you want.

It's not like you need a Full Moon so you read the Book and have the Full Moon at will, 50 lost Sanity means you either have to have a certain amount of it before reading not to be disturbed by Shadow Creatures (so you restored it beforehand), you have a way to quickly restore lost Sanity (which means you wasted time for gathering Cacti, Green Caps or even cooked some Sanity dishes, which usually spoil quickly) or you have spare time to fight some Shadow Creatures. You effectively sacrifice some time to summon Full Moon. Given the fact you need light for a Boss Fight like Twins of Terror, if you'd like to get light last minute as fight starts you not only have to deal with Twins but also additional lost Sanity and 50 is a lot. Yes, 250 maximum is a big buffer but you still have to have it in the first place and remember you continuously lose sanity during dusk and night, caves are even worse in that matter.

Also, losing Sanity up to the point of becoming insane will also waste your weapon's durability, possibly your armor's durability and health.
Remember dying in this game is rarely caused by one particular problem, they tend to build up all at once: you look for food, start freezing, your light slowly runs out and a Hound attack is announced - this is when players start to die. You say there's a Book which can help you with one of those problems by swapping it to going insane? You just jump from the frying pan into the fire.

It links with every Book.
You decide to use Sleepytime Stories on a horde of Hounds? Great, now you have to deal with lost Sanity before they wake up.
You don't want to deal with Moose/Goose? Fine, read On Tentacles and swap fighting with Moose/Goose to a fight with some Shadow Creatures by a Tentacle Field and tornado Moslings summoning Lightnings.
You don't want to waste time waiting for crops to grow? Waste it restoring your sanity or fighting Shadow Creatures.

What do you even need so much Nightmare Fuel for? Not actively restoring it is enough to satiate usual needs anyway. Constant drain of sanity during Winter's long dusks and nights should be more than enough for all the Dark Swords, Magiluminescence refueling and even using Night Light. 2 of those even additionaly drain Sanity so you don't have to worry about running out of Nightmare Fuel.

[AugyBear]

Given that Wickerbottom can still craft torches, lanterns, miner's hats, moggles, etc. it wouldn't really make sense for her to have a book that does the same exact thing.

Her Lux Aeterna books are not supposed to be replacements for traditional mobile light methods. They're a way of getting stationary natural light just like a star caller or moon caller, but for much cheaper and without the temperature changes.

[xhyom]

10 hours ago, AugyBear said:

Given that Wickerbottom can still craft torches, lanterns, miner's hats, moggles, etc. it wouldn't really make sense for her to have a book that does the same exact thing.

Her Lux Aeterna books are not supposed to be replacements for traditional mobile light methods. They're a way of getting stationary natural light just like a star caller or moon caller, but for much cheaper and without the temperature changes.

I agree, but if Lux Aetherna (Not Redux) followed whoever cast the spell for six minutes or so I can see the book being much more useful for something like ruins where you should preferably wear some armor instead of being instantly switched for the improved version. Even that way I don't see it being used very much, no one would waste sanity for something cheap as light.
Well it's an option I think.

[Mr Giggio]

I kinda have to argue you guys are getting too comfy to ask for an huge light source which can be made day 1 to be the best one in case it gets mobile .-.

It already can light up base and crops to keep growing even in night and to battles in night with a better range than lantern if used for the same reason (keep charlie away while usin armor n weapon in the body/hand slots to fight instead light)

People need to rush ruins to get this

She already has plenty of good perks which can add QoL, dont ya think?