Wilson Rework Concept

[unusualspycrab]

I've had this idea for a while, and i've been told it's pretty good, so i felt like sharing it. It'd be a cool rework as well.

People often express their hate for a potential wilson rework because Wilson is supposed to be a "Default" character, with no upsides and downsides to help new players learn the game. My concept still takes from this idea however, so bear with me.

What if Wilson could have a "learning" mechanic where he could obtain nerfed version of perks from other survivors after being around them for a while? For example, reading wickerbottom's books with a giant sanity cost, crafting and cooking on willow's lighter, but not having use of bernie, being able to use the codex umbra (that might be a bit too powerful) but with only 2 max minions and no spells? Being able to use lucy! Lifting dumbbells for a temporary 1.2x damage increase, you name it! Though, it'd be more balanced if he was limited to only 3 abilities. 

There are some character perks that are a bit more complicated to fit around this idea, but even then this could be worked around. For example, for wortox's impish abilities, Wilson could simply gain a new crafting recipe for a vacuum-like machine that sucks up souls and can only hold 5 at a time before doing a soul overcharge, making soul hopping accross the map impossible. 

I have no idea how this would work for someone like WX-78, but maybe Wilson would just not get anything. After all, WX-78 is not that much of a "team player", both personnality and gameplay-wise. 

And that covers it. It's a simple idea, but one that i've never seen anybody suggesting. Please tell me in the comments, i'd love to hear the community's thoughts on this. 

[Starlogy]

Y'know, I kinda like the idea of Wilson becoming quite literally the "jack-of-all-trades, master of none" character. Being able to use much weaker variations of character perks, such as books and items, would be an awesome way for new players to learn what kind of playstyle they'd like to try with their next playthrough. Definitetly would like to see something like this in a mod.

[Cheggf]

This is literally the exact opposite of having no perks. 

[Flarezen]

Wilson rework: he gets more pun quotes.

[Copyafriend]

Wilson: become piney

[Creatorofswamps]

[Cloakingsumo198]

5 minutes ago, Creatorofswamps said:

This one is coming with me. Perfection.

[unusualspycrab]

20 hours ago, Cheggf said:

This is literally the exact opposite of having no perks. 

it keeps him neutral and that's all that matters

[HellHeater]

when 2 wilsons are in the same server:

[abrocator]

Is it a weak strong man? Is it a slow woodjack? Is it an unorganized librarian? Is it a grown-ass boyscout? Is it an engineer who can’t use ducttape?

No, it’s a... Wilson.

[Cheggf]

3 hours ago, unusualspycrab said:

it keeps him neutral and that's all that matters

What does "neutral" even mean?

[Cloakingsumo198]

3 hours ago, unusualspycrab said:

it keeps him neutral and that's all that matters

It just doesn't really fit Wilson.

[unusualspycrab]

39 minutes ago, Cloakingsumo198 said:

It just doesn't really fit Wilson.

Well i thought that since wilson is a scientist he would be interested in researching the abilities of other survivors given to them through the constant/nightmare fuel i.e. wolfgang and learn to mimic them

1 hour ago, Cheggf said:

What does "neutral" even mean?

It means he can still do everything and doesn't specialize in anything.

[Cheggf]

14 minutes ago, unusualspycrab said:

It means he can still do everything and doesn't specialize in anything.

Literally everyone can do everything. The point of Wilson isn't that he can do everything, it's that he's the starter character with no powers to use and no downsides to manage. 

[GamePlayer42]

8 minutes ago, Cheggf said:

Literally everyone can do everything. The point of Wilson isn't that he can do everything, it's that he's the starter character with no powers to use and no downsides to manage. 

what do you mean starter character, literally no one plays him even beginners gravitate to wendy or webber

[Cheggf]

21 minutes ago, GamePlayer42 said:

what do you mean starter character, literally no one plays him even beginners gravitate to wendy or webber

Every time I've checked he's been the third most played character with an enormous lead over fourth. 

[GamePlayer42]

1 minute ago, Cheggf said:

Every time I've checked he's been the third most played character with an enormous lead over fourth. 

lie

 

[Cheggf]

23 minutes ago, GamePlayer42 said:

lie

 

Thanks for making me check. Right now he's number one by a wide margin.

https://dst.resamvi.io/#/

[ArubaroBeefalo]

25 minutes ago, GamePlayer42 said:

lie

 

everytime someone brings the server stats wilson, wendy and wigfrid are global top 3

[Cloakingsumo198]

Does this mean Wilson is op?

[ZombieDupe]

I've suggested some of this before, but the best way to give him utility without changing the idea of giving you a chance to rely on all base mechanics with not much drawback, would probably be to:

* Give him the ability to craft blueprints for things he has already learnt (so if you're new, a Wilson player with some things learnt will always be useful in pubs). This would be huge and encourage team play, as you can share not only map discovery, but as Wilson, also research without having to craft said things yourself or having to kill a boss someone else already has to learn to craft something, like the bundling wraps or scaled furnace.

* Some ease on crafting stuff with science and/or having/crafting one or a few more science type things to aid himself or the team.

* No real downside, but if you're gonna give any downside at all for any balancing type stuff, it should be miniscule, like maybe he "fears magic" so loses a fair bit more sanity from using magic items if he can use them. Newbie players won't get into magic before switching to different ones eventually, if they ever get so far, so most times it should prove a mild inconvenience.

[GamePlayer42]

On 11/25/2022 at 10:46 PM, Cheggf said:

Thanks for making me check. Right now he's number one by a wide margin.

https://dst.resamvi.io/#/

damn

[ThymeSpirit]

On 11/26/2022 at 12:49 AM, Cheggf said:

The point of Wilson isn't that he can do everything, it's that he's the starter character with no powers to use and no downsides to manage. 

So a boring nobody whose only purpose is to be an optional tutorial character. Why do you want that to be part of the game again?

[-Variant]

7 hours ago, ThymeSpirit said:

Why do you want that to be part of the game again?

It's nice having a blank slate to choose from. 
Not everyone is super interested in having to balance or think about everyone's unique quirks and perks.
There's nothing entirely wrong with having a blank character, is there? Let the folks who enjoy that gameplay have a character to choose from.

Edit: Apologies for the typo.

[ThymeSpirit]

48 minutes ago, -Variant said:

It's nice having a blank slate to choose from. 
Not everyone is super interested in having to balance or think about everyone's unique quirks and perks.
There's nothing entirely wrong with having a black character, is there? Let the folks who enjoy that gameplay have a character to choose from.

I don't see the need to have a blank slate character. Especially when it's the main character of the entire franchise. Yes, it is wrong to make an important character boring on purpose. There are other characters whose perks are optional to use and their downsides have little impact on the gameplay. For example, you can play Winona without building her structures and you will only have minor perks of faster crafting and 1 free hit from Charlie. Or play Willow and never use Bernie, now you are Wilson with a bit more vulnerability to cold. Even Wilson is not completely blank, he still has his minor perk of having a beard which is an upside in winter and a downside in summer. If there's really such a big need for a character with no perks at all, Klei can make a new one instead of sacrificing Wilson. But I doubt most people who play Wilson do it because of his lack of perks and not because he's the main character. I don't see anyone asking for a worldgen option to only spawn base singleplayer Don't Starve biomes and mobs with the old cardboard ocean because they enjoy having less content to worry about.