A simple Warly rework (and a better option)

[thetrueprime]

Hi all! I think a lot of players such as myself who play Warly really enjoy the playstyle he offers, and especially in groups it's great to feel useful buffing others and yourself in all the ways that are offered, and the way you can make any problem bite-size with the right prep. I also appreciate a reason to engage with farming all sorts of crops to deal wtih different problems.

What's Wrong?
I think not many would say Warly is unpowered - the most common reason for critism is that he is a "swap" character. For those not as familiar, this is the idea that you start to play as a different character you like, then switch to Warly at the portal and switch back after making all the meals you could want and bundling them up.

So, what is the reason for this? As I understand it, it is that the best benefits he provides do not need him to be present. 
So - the real defecit in the playstyle is the lack of significant active character perks.

Potential Solution?
I think the best way to do this is to amplify the buff characteristics he already grants, but for him.
Simple option: increase duration of buffs when warly eats them. Other characters still can eat again to get the same effect, especially for late game worlds that means switching is still viable (although some fights could do with not needing to eat in the middle!).

Better option: give warly a meter! I know, I know. But here's another problem with the downsides of Warly's playstyle - most people (and myself!) will simply wait for their hunger to empty, then eat a meaty stew followed by another at 115 hunger. This very effectively disables Warly's downside in hunger (repeat healing does still struggle) - or at least doesn't help you play into how most interpret you are meant to play Warly: cooking and eating all sorts of different meals.

So here's the idea: After the normal buff duration expires, a rising bar appears on the hunger meter, with a picture of the meal by the side. As long as your hunger stays *over* this, the buff duration continues. After some time, the bar will raise past 175 (so you still have a 75 hunger point time to play with) and then fully expire.

What I hope this will do is encourage you to eat more frequently, but still wanting the maximum amount of hunger to keep that buff going, which should hopefully encourage you to eat more diversely.




Bonus fixes while we're here: the heat & cool meals need a longer duration for all survivors - too short to be a realistic replacement for other temperature options, especially given the "out of season" ingredients. Chef's pouch really doesn't have a place in the game as it is right now.
Would also be nice to have ways to get other seeds from bosses or certain locations, like dragon fruits from the lunar island - just to give some player agency instead of relying on rng.

Final Thoughts
Let me know what you're thinking. I just think it would be nice for more people to want to play as him instead of wanting one on the team or feel like they need to switch then switch back.

[ArubaroBeefalo]

1 hour ago, thetrueprime said:

he is a "swap" character

[thetrueprime]

I hear you, Warly is very fun to play and I have done so as well in long running exclusively him worlds. 

I am still talking to the general sentiment of players (while I'd definitely be interested in knowing the actual stats for pick rate)

Also, yes - of course you can happily play as him the whole time. But that doesn't take away from the fact that his primary functions are just as valuable if not more if you swap to a different character, while avoiding his (albeit easy to deal with) downsides too - which is generally why he is viewed this way, regardless of your choice of how to play.

[Evelo]

Warly is fine and does not need any changes. If you want to use Warly as a "swap" character that is on you, not Klei.
The implementation of the Celestial Portal was for players to change their character if they are unhappy with their choice, but wish to keep their world progress. This is why the cost is rather expensive (early on at least I know Purple Gems and Moon Rocks add up over time).

[thetrueprime]

15 minutes ago, Evelo said:

If you want to use Warly as a "swap" character that is on you, not Klei.

Hmm, I do see what you are saying - I'm guessing many may choose to as it is a much easier way to access the perks - and that means it is simply what people view as the optimal way to play. I think it is still a reflection on the design of the character that many treat him this way, and the reason I bring up the swap element at all is to highlight that the perks are wanted without actually continuing to play as the character.

 

15 minutes ago, Evelo said:

This is why the cost is rather expensive (early on at least I know Purple Gems and Moon Rocks add up over time).

This is definitely a discussion for a different thread!  But the idea of this rework is to tackle why people switch, I agree with you that the celestial portal has its own function that should be preserved, and for example a change that would make the portal more expensive doesn't really fix that underlying problem even if it would reduce the swap nature of either of the two.

[loopuleasa]

I love Warly. The only thing I would love to have for him is bonus stats/duration for the first non-repeat dish he eats.

But he is a swap character.

That is not his fault, it's the fault of the moon idol.

 

Imagine you had to kill celestial champion and fuelweaver in order to swap chars, or something that is actually hard.

[Dr. Safety]

Give him more spices and bonus time on any crockpot dish buffs (either from spices or from the dish itself). That would be enough imo

[Cr4zyFl4mes]

I think Warly is fine as is, but I also like your suggestions. I wouldn't necessarily make bars with weird UI for each buff, rather when you get buff you get 5 minutes and then it stays, but increases your hunger drain (each buff by 100 hunger per day). until your hunger goes under 200.

[maxwell_winters]

I don't understand why Warly gets suggested for rework the most when we have a firestarter who has neither unique fire attacks nor explosives, a lumberjack who isn't even the best log gatherer in the game and a one trick pony engineer. Nothing personal, just an observation, 

22 hours ago, thetrueprime said:

Simple option: increase duration of buffs when warly eats them. Other characters still can eat again to get the same effect, especially for late game worlds that means switching is still viable (although some fights could do with not needing to eat in the middle!).

This is all he needs imo.

[thetrueprime]

Really true hehe. I wonder if it's because people get put off warly to begin with, as his downsides do really make you play differently to begin with which can be jarring - so even as they play the game a lot more, they gravitate to mains who they have gotten used to, and still see warly as that character you get the buffs from and get back to normal again. Man does woodie need some love & place in the game too though!

And I'd say winona even suffers the same reputation as warly for being a swapper. Could do with some more active buffs too? The crafting speed just feels more like a punishment than a help a lot of the time (warly's cook speed is a nice active boost, but not relevant so much of the time(?)). I always thought it could be nice for her to be able to upgrade mechanisms for a duration - like the tinkering in Oxygen Not Included. I.e. upgrade a crockpot to cook faster for several days. That way it becomes impractical to keep the boost going as you would have to keep swapping back. Maybe increased fuel efficiency on firepits + flingos for that time? Better spoilage reduction on fridges?