Endgame Gear

[YouKnowWho]

One of the main complaints I see surrounding the new equipment is that they don’t bring anything else to the table beyond their slightly better numbers. For comparison the thulecite gear not only comes with great numbers but also has forcefields and tentacle minions. They’re hardly what you’d call reliable, but it still makes them more interesting than just a sequel to the spear and football helmet. 

What sorts of things do you think would fit the new gear? I’d personally like to see some forge-style special attacks in the mix; something like a mind blast that deals more damage the lower your sanity.

[Dragonboooorn]

15 minutes ago, YouKnowWho said:

I’d personally like to see some forge-style special attacks in the mix;

At this point we could just have combat rework, like what they did with gardening in reap what you saw update.

Spears could be actually useful for once if they were able to, I dont know, throw at mobs? Same with hambat, maybe having ability of forge hammer -  special jump aoe attack. I still cant say that new weapons are better than dark sword or lunar cutter, so why not rework all weapons (and maybe add some new?) so we could have weapons for that or other situation, where you fight horde of mobs and need something reliable with special aoe attack but weak regular hit damage, or just sharp weapon with high DPS but no special attack for bosses like deerclops or celestial champion

 

[Zeklo]

Even just small things to diversify would be nice. Unique animations with differing speeds would go a long way—obviously slower weapons wouldn't be usable on really tight kiting like Krampus, but (like you said) forge-style could toss in a block option.

I'd also like the armor effects to be a bit more stand-outish.

One suggestion for the Void Cloth armor was like circling glowing orbs—but I'd rather have that on the Brightshade armor. Void Cloth having like a 'shadow step' ability would be really cool sorta like Wheeler's dodge (but maybe triggered with a double tap?). I do sorta see Void Cloth as a lighter combat armor, and Brightshade more like a tankier one. So something like a 'shield of light' you could create that prevents damage in that direction for a bit could be interesting.

Kiting armor vs tanking armor basically.

[Theukon-dos]

Scythe: Boost the default damage, and give it the ramping effect innately

Brightshade Sword: 68 Damage, right-click to call down a piece of the moon at the cursor (Ranged attack)

Brightshade Armor: Thorns effect

Tattered armor: Right-click to dash Wheeler Style (Has a cooldown, having both pieces reduces it by 66%

 

Not only would all these effects be pretty cool IMO, but I like the idea of the lunar and shadow gear having conflicting effects instead of just being wholy incompatable. Brightshade armor wants to get hit while the scythe doesn't, and both the sword and the tattered armor being tied to right-click means you can't have both. Or maybe you can, but good luck getting the one you want. 

[Shosuko]

1 hour ago, Dragonboooorn said:

At this point we could just have combat rework, like what they did with gardening in reap what you saw update.

 

 

I really think the best path forward for DST is to revisit all of the existing mechanics that are underused, underpowered, too simple, etc and revitalizing them.  imo RWYS update was the best update we've received pretty much ever.  It took a very basic and uninteresting gardening system and gave us so much more, whether we were farming food for fun, to stock up on key recipes or to decorate our bases.

I feel combat is #2 on the list, and a combat revitalization would make DST a lot better.  Right now the biggest problem with the combat is that its just too simple, and this comes from the oldest days of DS where you were supposed to be immersed in the thematic world, abandoned by the numbers you might want as you journeyed through your survival adventure.  That was good for the fledgling game, but the thing is the more you develop the game the more it needs to support more complex systems.  For example dodging rooks and old AG was always a pain because its difficult to tell the actual facing of these mobs from their simple angles.  Why don't we get some visual that can show us their path as they begin their movement?  Or an indicator of the AOE zone for where he's jumping to?  Why don't we have proper target priority?  I really hate it when AFW is standing on top of the last unseen hand and I gotta kite him OFF of it b/c even though AFW is 100% invul every single time an unseen hand is spawned, the game still thinks I want to attack him? (or just trolls me for the lulz?)

I've heard some people say a combat overhaul would be bad for new players, but I don't buy it.  I think a new player would appreciate the information clarity of bigger attacks including tells that can help them understand the interactions involved in the game, and at the same time MORE enemies could receive these interactions b/c then it wouldn't be unfair as you'd be given the system to understand what is happening.

Anyway, those are my thoughts at least.

[goblinball]

2 hours ago, YouKnowWho said:

What sorts of things do you think would fit the new gear?

More stuff like the new scythe weapon (excluding the part where it’s tied to armor)

it doesn’t need some flashy extra different attack or anything just give it some thing that changes how it works and gives the weapon its own fun niche and playstyle distinct from other weapons

[Captain_Rage]

1 hour ago, Shosuko said:

I really think the best path forward for DST is to revisit all of the existing mechanics that are underused, underpowered, too simple, etc and revitalizing them.  imo RWYS update was the best update we've received pretty much ever.  It took a very basic and uninteresting gardening system and gave us so much more, whether we were farming food for fun, to stock up on key recipes or to decorate our bases.

The pets could use an overhaul. They are cute but their sole existence ends with blocking the view while traversing the screen at random and creating annoying noise constantly. >_>

[Dragonboooorn]

44 minutes ago, Captain_Rage said:

The pets could use an overhaul. They are cute but their sole existence ends with blocking the view while traversing the screen at random and creating annoying noise constantly. >_>

I stopped using pets after I turned in game sounds on

[Zeklo]

1 hour ago, Captain_Rage said:

The pets could use an overhaul. They are cute but their sole existence ends with blocking the view while traversing the screen at random and creating annoying noise constantly. >_>

That reminds me: I really want a shadow pet! Or 'shadow aligned' at least. Would be a nice little parallel to the Moth.

[JosePapp]

I really hope these get implemented. I feel like Klei is simultaneously trying to do bold strokes while also trying not to change the game too much which results in an unhappy medium.

You can't please everyone, but if RWYS, the New Crafting and reworks like Maxwell are anything to go by, confident bold strokes pay off, at least when they also offer rewarding gameplay 

[D_Good_Fellow]

13 hours ago, Shosuko said:

I really think the best path forward for DST is to revisit all of the existing mechanics that are underused, underpowered, too simple, etc and revitalizing them.  imo RWYS update was the best update we've received pretty much ever.  It took a very basic and uninteresting gardening system and gave us so much more, whether we were farming food for fun, to stock up on key recipes or to decorate our bases.

I feel combat is #2 on the list, and a combat revitalization would make DST a lot better.  Right now the biggest problem with the combat is that its just too simple, and this comes from the oldest days of DS where you were supposed to be immersed in the thematic world, abandoned by the numbers you might want as you journeyed through your survival adventure.  That was good for the fledgling game, but the thing is the more you develop the game the more it needs to support more complex systems.  For example dodging rooks and old AG was always a pain because its difficult to tell the actual facing of these mobs from their simple angles.  Why don't we get some visual that can show us their path as they begin their movement?  Or an indicator of the AOE zone for where he's jumping to?  Why don't we have proper target priority?  I really hate it when AFW is standing on top of the last unseen hand and I gotta kite him OFF of it b/c even though AFW is 100% invul every single time an unseen hand is spawned, the game still thinks I want to attack him? (or just trolls me for the lulz?)

I've heard some people say a combat overhaul would be bad for new players, but I don't buy it.  I think a new player would appreciate the information clarity of bigger attacks including tells that can help them understand the interactions involved in the game, and at the same time MORE enemies could receive these interactions b/c then it wouldn't be unfair as you'd be given the system to understand what is happening.

Anyway, those are my thoughts at least.

A combat overhaul seems risky at a glance but honestly the game keeps going in more combat-heavy directions so the risk is becoming more necessary.

I actually think new players would prefer a combat system that reflects the current game. Like you said, the current system is based around a "lost in the wilderness" mindset where the player is encouraged to be careful because anything can kill you. The current game has like 15 bosses, most of which the player is expected to fight directly to advance the game. The old system is simple, but it's counterintuitive now.

It's possible to design a more complex combat system with a reasonable learning curve for new players. The best comparison I can think of off the top of my head is Zelda Wind Waker. I wouldn't consider Wind Waker's combat system particularly complex, but the variety of weapon usages and ways to both attack and defend makes the system more complex than Don't Starve's imo. But Wind Waker is filled with little clues guiding you to fight or act in certain ways; Link and enemies both clearly react differently to misses, hits, blocks, and successful sequences of attacks (Don't Starve does some of this but it could be way clearer imo). In Don't Starve, the way successful hits are calculated means that warrior spiders and rooks can do damage even when their attacks visibly miss and MacTusk projectiles seem to phase through other mobs to hit you. Both of those things were incredibly frustrating and confusing to me when I was starting out.

So if anything I think a combat overhaul favors new players. Any backlash would probably be from fans who've spent 10 years memorizing attack patterns and hit boxes, only to have all that information become obsolete as they're asked to learn a new system.