Surf's Up in Don't Starve Together: Introducing Walani as a Playable Character!

[Joeylocke420]

Dive into the waves of excitement and get ready for a tidal wave of fun as we propose the addition of Walani, the groovy surfer, to Don't Starve Together's multiplayer expansion as a playable character. With her unique abilities and engaging personality, Walani brings a fresh twist to the game and enriches the overall experience for all players

1. Embrace the Coastal Lifestyle: Affinity with Powder Monkeys

Walani's presence in Don't Starve Together would allow players to explore and embrace the coastal regions like never before. With her profound connection to the ocean and surfing expertise, Walani could have a natural affinity with Powder Monkeys. This connection could manifest in various ways, such as improved communication or the ability to recruit them as helpful companions

Powder Monkeys could help gather resources, assist in combat, or even offer some exclusive bonuses.

2. Mastering the Wonkey Form: Unleashing Extra Powers

In her journey, Walani discovers an ancient secret that enables her to harness the powers of the Wonkey Form. This unique ability sets her apart from other characters and adds depth to her gameplay. In Wonkey Form, she gains enhanced speed, agility, and the ability to swing through the trees.

This new perspective and skillset provide exciting alternatives for players to approach various challenges in the game, fostering diverse gameplay experiences.

3. Balancing Sanity Gain for Newer Players

Introducing Walani to Don't Starve Together not only adds diversity but also enhances the multiplayer experience for newer players

Her sanity gain could prove beneficial for those still learning the ropes of the game, offering them a buffer against the harsh elements and nightmarish creatures that haunt the world. This balance in sanity gain ensures that newer players won't be overwhelmed by the game's difficulty early on, allowing them to learn and enjoy the intricacies of survival without unnecessary frustrations.

4. Representing Inclusivity and Empowerment

Walani's inclusion in the game is more than just about gameplay mechanics; it's also about representation and empowerment. The addition of a strong, adventurous, and surf-loving female character provides a positive impact on the game's community. Players of all genders will have the opportunity to identify with Walani and connect with her journey, making the game world a more inclusive and welcoming space for all.

5. Fresh Content & Increased Interest

Don't Starve Together thrives on introducing new and exciting content to keep the community engaged and invested. Walani's arrival brings fresh mechanics, challenges, and opportunities for fun collaborations with other characters. This injection of new content will undoubtedly rejuvenate the player base, attract new players, and breathe life into the game for both veterans and newcomers alike.

In conclusion, Walani, the fearless surfer with her affinity for Powder Monkeys, unique powers in the Wonkey Form, and the added benefit of sanity gain, would be a perfect addition to Don't Starve Together's multiplayer expansion. Her presence would enrich the gameplay experience, empower the player community, and invigorate the game with fresh content. So grab your boards and prepare for an epic adventure with Walani, making waves in the world of Don't Starve Together!

[cropo]

Walani was a pretty bad character in Shipwrecked and these ideas don't seem to make her any better. You probably could have just cited number 4 as your main reason for wanting her and left everything else out imo. It would be far more thematically appropriate to introduce Wilbur as a character if we want to introduce monkey abilities into the game.

 

 

Walani would need some huge changes to her kit to be added, and I have no idea what they could add to make her actually interesting or unique to play while also adding a benefit to other players.

 

Woodie already has cheap and easy ocean exploration, Maxwell already has sanity awesomeness with a community chest and awesome powers, she has very low health and her sanity """"""""""upside""""""""" also nerfs positive sanity auras as well. Wendy already has the same sanity upside. Most things in the game need the cookie-boats to do properly so her surfboard would have to have the same purpose as Weregoose. You could argue to give her a DST appropriate ship, but that would be far more fitting for Woodlegs.

 

Walani is kind of hard to put into the game, her ability is almost worse than Warbucks. Like she'd have to have a complete identity lift to put her in the game.

 

I would also argue Walter far better implements a sanity upside-downside that actually changes the way you approach things, but Walter has some issues on his own. 

 

[Mike23Ua]

And I was the fool who thought this post was Official.. sigh.

[Joeylocke420]

I would argue that she allows for a far more relaxed, passive experience.  Could also have some benefits utilizing Kelp, and other ocean goods in innovative ways. There are many different players and ways to approach Don't Starve, and an updated Walani who is in harmony with the ocean could open up even further avenues of play. Her Wonkey abilities could even lead up to the inclusion of Wilbur, with many of the same strengths yet buffed further.

This could of course lead into the ocean overhaul, and provide a way to further expand the constant and utilizing extremely well-made assets. There are many who greatly enjoy the content of Shipwrecked, and much of the community has continually requested expanded ocean content. The boat physics of the surfboard would also be quite desirable, as the boats in SW are far superior to DST, so her board offers that as well. She could provide quite an exciting way to fight both Crab King and Malbatross, two bosses I often see complaints about. Plus the sanity gain from surfing provides an effortless way for new players to both keep exploring, and keep sanity up. 

[Mysterious box]

6 minutes ago, Joeylocke420 said:

I would argue that she allows for a far more relaxed, passive experience.

Walter already completely fills that niche.

 

7 minutes ago, Joeylocke420 said:

Could also have some benefits utilizing Kelp

Wurt fills this niche

 

7 minutes ago, Joeylocke420 said:

There are many different players and ways to approach Don't Starve, and an updated Walani who is in harmony with the ocean could open up even further avenues of play. Her Wonkey abilities could even lead up to the inclusion of Wilbur, with many of the same strengths yet buffed further.

I would argue when it comes to shipwrecked Woodlegs would be a better fit since he could introduce new boat mechanics but even he'd already be a stretch.

[Joeylocke420]

Strongly disagree, on any mentioning of Walter being in any way acceptable for new players. Countless times, the following scenario: Walter joins, takes a single hit. If does not know to restore health using tent or foods, will die fairly quickly from nightmares. If respawn is turned on, even without health penalty, the health lost already keeps that player in the same death spiral. This is not at All beginner friendly.

 

As to Wurt, having a new player having many of the normally neutral mobs automatically attack them can be challenging, and for many new players the Swamp biome is a Death sentence.  There is no way to possibly consider Maxwell beginner friendly, leaving quite the vaccum in the game for those with a relaxed approach.  

 

[Mortalbane]

You probably should write commercials, not character ideas xD

[Joeylocke420]

Some further addendums. 

Adding Walani works on many levels. She can act as a wonderful bridge towards adding further SW content and characters. Giving her powder monkey affinity serves to further incorporate an underutilized game addition, as well as provide opportunities to further expand Wilbur's toolkit down the line. Her appearance can be consistent with the current DST lore, as Wagstaff's experiments have further strained the barriers between the layers in The Constant. Giving her additional skills as Wonkey can serve as a form of Wilson-izing both oceanic exploration and Powder Monkeys. Possibly let Wilbur recruit both Splumonkeys and Powder Monkeys, and on a much longer timer. Giving her the Seashell Suit Recipe is also an obvious choice, as is letting her be able to gather shells while sailing. This could encourage continual exploration, or more migratory play, a game loop which can be quite enjoyable. 

Possibly some further mechanics surrounding Enlightenment, as many surfers consider Zen principles in their lifestyle. 

From a story perspective, Having Walani searching for the lost Monkey King definitely could work, and throw in Woodlegs as a natural foil to the Powder Monkeys and that wraps it up all quite neatly!

[JJ0264]

On 7/28/2023 at 5:37 PM, Joeylocke420 said:

Some further addendums. 

Adding Walani works on many levels. She can act as a wonderful bridge towards adding further SW content and characters. Giving her powder monkey affinity serves to further incorporate an underutilized game addition, as well as provide opportunities to further expand Wilbur's toolkit down the line. Her appearance can be consistent with the current DST lore, as Wagstaff's experiments have further strained the barriers between the layers in The Constant. Giving her additional skills as Wonkey can serve as a form of Wilson-izing both oceanic exploration and Powder Monkeys. Possibly let Wilbur recruit both Splumonkeys and Powder Monkeys, and on a much longer timer. Giving her the Seashell Suit Recipe is also an obvious choice, as is letting her be able to gather shells while sailing. This could encourage continual exploration, or more migratory play, a game loop which can be quite enjoyable. 

Possibly some further mechanics surrounding Enlightenment, as many surfers consider Zen principles in their lifestyle. 

From a story perspective, Having Walani searching for the lost Monkey King definitely could work, and throw in Woodlegs as a natural foil to the Powder Monkeys and that wraps it up all quite neatly!

1 - If I want to play as Walani I'd play as Walani (not Wonky). 2 - Walani is a very boring character to play as, her surfboard is useful in SW because there's 20-25 islands but in ROG and HAM it's board-er line useless, food is plentiful on the main island so I would imagen the surfboard would be use to find 3 islands and then your more or less done with it. 3 - What new perks can a surfer can get...towels? and THEN add a skill tree on top that.

4 - Why not a brand NEW character based around ocean-content, like a fisher-man that can collected rocky/pickable materials from a long distance with his/her hook hand (upgraded hook can harvest 1 tile), can collected freshwater fish without a rod, can crafted ponds, portable leaf-hut, the downside could be needing to replace the hook hand (otherwise you get 25% slower picking & 2 handed animations)

[Nnumber3]

Don't see a reason to add her, she is just Wilson with faster drying speed and a surfboard only good to like day 1-5 or so. as a rowboat with sail is just better. in dst they would have to change her so much that is would not be the same character anymore, just add a new character at that point.

[Mike23Ua]

9 hours ago, Nnumber3 said:

Don't see a reason to add her, she is just Wilson with faster drying speed and a surfboard only good to like day 1-5 or so. as a rowboat with sail is just better. in dst they would have to change her so much that is would not be the same character anymore, just add a new character at that point.

Actually.. you know those streams that are too small to fit a permanent boat into, but just small enough to waste a ton of sticks and grass for a temporary grass raft to “hop” across the gap?

This has always been what I used Walani MOST for in Single Player DS, and she has her uses in Hamlet as well, it is Redeployable floatation device that can be picked up and reused.

Sure I guess Goose Woodie COULD serve the same purpose, but he actually doesn’t…. In fact if you turned goose only to cross a small stream then you wasted a ton of time gathering MM, 3 Seeds and to top that off you Wasted the Gooses Weremeter traveling only short distances over a teeny tiny gap, and now your transformed back into Woodie, and in full Starvation Mode.. GG.

Walani’s surfboard would be similar to Wortox’s short distance on screen 1 Soul use Soul Hops- But only over watery gaps.

Its small Niche use… but DAMMIT it’s sooooo much better than Seven Skill Points invested into a “Torch” Skill Tree.. now isn’t it?

People need to stop saying my gal Walani doesn’t belong in DST..

If she was added “As Is” no rework or Refresh, I could still find a use for her in crossing small gaps of Water

[Silversliver]

if you want to cross small streams just play wortox. if you want easy access to the islands, boat out to them once, then play wortox.

If you want Wonkey to be better, make Wonkey better. If you want to dry off faster, use a fire or heat source, and have rain gear. New player friendly with no downsides? play Wilson, that's what he's there for. don't like wilson? try wendy or wickerbottom, they also don't have downsides. Want female empowerment? play Winona or Wanda, or Wendy, or Wickerbottom, or Wigfried. Maybe Wurt. Want an easy sanity character for new players? Maxwell or Wormwood.

I'm not saying that Walani would be a bad character, I'm just saying she'd have to be built from the ground up, and the ocean needs content she could meaningfully interact with.

If what you want is someone who is there to make ocean travel more bearable, you should probably advocate for woodlegs,

[Nnumber3]

15 hours ago, Mike23Ua said:

Actually.. you know those streams that are too small to fit a permanent boat into, but just small enough to waste a ton of sticks and grass for a temporary grass raft to “hop” across the gap?

This has always been what I used Walani MOST for in Single Player DS, and she has her uses in Hamlet as well, it is Redeployable floatation device that can be picked up and reused.

Sure I guess Goose Woodie COULD serve the same purpose, but he actually doesn’t…. In fact if you turned goose only to cross a small stream then you wasted a ton of time gathering MM, 3 Seeds and to top that off you Wasted the Gooses Weremeter traveling only short distances over a teeny tiny gap, and now your transformed back into Woodie, and in full Starvation Mode.. GG.

Walani’s surfboard would be similar to Wortox’s short distance on screen 1 Soul use Soul Hops- But only over watery gaps.

Its small Niche use… but DAMMIT it’s sooooo much better than Seven Skill Points invested into a “Torch” Skill Tree.. now isn’t it?

People need to stop saying my gal Walani doesn’t belong in DST..

If she was added “As Is” no rework or Refresh, I could still find a use for her in crossing small gaps of Water

Did you forgot docks exist?

there not hard to get, just sail in the deep ocean, bring some bananas from the muddy biome if you're not sure if bananas will be grown on the island, give to queen, loot island while your there, done, no extra character needed lol. and in the early game just... go around? the streams are not that long. also adding a character just for moving across small gaps you may use once to save 30 seconds sound cruel to her. and how does the torch skill tie into this? there are more perks then just that and there so much better, just invest in those 1's. and as silverstream says just play wortox.

I am curious is it just nostalgia that you like her?

[Mike23Ua]

On 8/14/2023 at 9:07 PM, Nnumber3 said:

Did you forgot docks exist?

there not hard to get, just sail in the deep ocean, bring some bananas from the muddy biome if you're not sure if bananas will be grown on the island, give to queen, loot island while your there, done, no extra character needed lol. and in the early game just... go around? the streams are not that long. also adding a character just for moving across small gaps you may use once to save 30 seconds sound cruel to her. and how does the torch skill tie into this? there are more perks then just that and there so much better, just invest in those 1's. and as silverstream says just play wortox.

I am curious is it just nostalgia that you like her?

I think your missing the point… and to explain it better to you I will have to use a different game as an example, My favorite character in Apex Legends was Wraith, she was cool, she had cool skins, her abilities were cool- but over multiple seasons Wraith got Nerfed season after season, and became a shell of what she once was.. to further add salt to that already bitter wound, NEW characters like Octane, Valkyrie & Ash come along who do what Wraith USED to Do.. (get their Team from point A to Point B) But they can do it Significantly Faster & Better than even in Wraiths pre-Nerfed state: She could have ever had.

Even though Better characters existed- My Favorite was STILL Wraith.

Same Situation Applies to Walani, Wolfgang May deal 2x Damage.. but I still really just liked playing as Walani.

And for me.. in a Game like DS/DST, it’s not about if my character is crazy powerful or overly helpful… but rather if they’re fun and interesting.

Right now- my least favorite character in the entire DS franchise (including SW/Ham characters) is actually Warly..

Why? Because I hate his downsides, and I hate his gameplay.. he’s highly boring… and my least favorite character used to be Wes- But his Rework made him actually fun with some cool unique Balloon stuff he could do.

If you look around the forums on Warly threads you can find my suggestions wanting to give him a unique melee weapon, Wilson’s transmutation skill (but only for food stuffs) and a deeper more complex more rewarding Cooking Experience that blends WF Masonry ovens & Buffet Tables with “Overcooked” the game.

This would make Warly more appealing to me, it would give him a unique gameplay feel.. Similar to how playing Wanda involves a lot of Clocks, or playing Wendy means strolling through graveyards helping Pipspooks find lost stuffs.

In short: I want a better Warly.

But to answer your question, I don’t care if docks exist, or if during her skill tree Wurt is given the ability to swim short distances… I still Liked Walani BECAUSE she was Walani.

Its literally a Wraith vs Ash Comparison here.. and While Ash does Everything Wraith can do but so so sooo much better, I still got a soft spot for Wraith.

[Joeylocke420]

As well as the point that an updated Walani would fit right in to updating the ocean mechanics.  Adding shells and poison mechanics for shipwrecked islands, it makes sense to have a more introductory character that is lore-specific yet open-ended. Her skill trees could also offer a high degree of variability 

[Nnumber3]

On 8/16/2023 at 12:32 PM, Mike23Ua said:

I think your missing the point… and to explain it better to you I will have to use a different game as an example, My favorite character in Apex Legends was Wraith, she was cool, she had cool skins, her abilities were cool- but over multiple seasons Wraith got Nerfed season after season, and became a shell of what she once was.. to further add salt to that already bitter wound, NEW characters like Octane, Valkyrie & Ash come along who do what Wraith USED to Do.. (get their Team from point A to Point B) But they can do it Significantly Faster & Better than even in Wraiths pre-Nerfed state: She could have ever had.

Even though Better characters existed- My Favorite was STILL Wraith.

Same Situation Applies to Walani, Wolfgang May deal 2x Damage.. but I still really just liked playing as Walani.

And for me.. in a Game like DS/DST, it’s not about if my character is crazy powerful or overly helpful… but rather if they’re fun and interesting.

Right now- my least favorite character in the entire DS franchise (including SW/Ham characters) is actually Warly..

Why? Because I hate his downsides, and I hate his gameplay.. he’s highly boring… and my least favorite character used to be Wes- But his Rework made him actually fun with some cool unique Balloon stuff he could do.

If you look around the forums on Warly threads you can find my suggestions wanting to give him a unique melee weapon, Wilson’s transmutation skill (but only for food stuffs) and a deeper more complex more rewarding Cooking Experience that blends WF Masonry ovens & Buffet Tables with “Overcooked” the game.

This would make Warly more appealing to me, it would give him a unique gameplay feel.. Similar to how playing Wanda involves a lot of Clocks, or playing Wendy means strolling through graveyards helping Pipspooks find lost stuffs.

In short: I want a better Warly.

But to answer your question, I don’t care if docks exist, or if during her skill tree Wurt is given the ability to swim short distances… I still Liked Walani BECAUSE she was Walani.

Its literally a Wraith vs Ash Comparison here.. and While Ash does Everything Wraith can do but so so sooo much better, I still got a soft spot for Wraith.

I don't play Apex, but the difference is that wraith was around BEFORE the others, she was just powercrept.

With Walani, she has not been in dst ever, so adding her to the game is just adding mechanics already in the game again but just a little earlier, without changing her so much its not the same character anymore, just add a new character.

Warly is 1 of those characters I WANT to play and love, but is hard to with his gameplay, his idea is not that great on paper, personally i don't really have a character i dislike, so i guess Wonkey, just missed potential. Yes, i agree with the warly threads.

I know you like Walani, that you have a soft spot for her, but i would just rather a new character, especially after wanda as they can make interesting DLC characters.

but unfortunately, some characters just don't make sense in the game, and she is 1 of them, as all your arguments are just "you like her personally and " you like her art design", which is not a reason to add her as its purely personal.

I don't want the Roaster being bloated, as if we add a character for every small thing there would be so much redundancy.

you admitted she was bad! as you said we should not expect characters to be "overly useful" I think that's weird as I thought you would WANT more cool characters like Wanda then just new characters being 1 note like in Don't starve early days.

please give me an argument that's a fact and not personal opinion.

Spoiler

Btw you never responded to my charts in this 

 thread so i assume that i proved my point and you understand now why people don't want the dlc's in the game plus walani.

 

[Mike23Ua]

57 minutes ago, Nnumber3 said:

I don't play Apex, but the difference is that wraith was around BEFORE the others, she was just powercrept.

With Walani, she has not been in dst ever, so adding her to the game is just adding mechanics already in the game again but just a little earlier, without changing her so much its not the same character anymore, just add a new character.

Warly is 1 of those characters I WANT to play and love, but is hard to with his gameplay, his idea is not that great on paper, personally i don't really have a character i dislike, so i guess Wonkey, just missed potential. Yes, i agree with the warly threads.

I know you like Walani, that you have a soft spot for her, but i would just rather a new character, especially after wanda as they can make interesting DLC characters.

but unfortunately, some characters just don't make sense in the game, and she is 1 of them, as all your arguments are just "you like her personally and " you like her art design", which is not a reason to add her as its purely personal.

I don't want the Roaster being bloated, as if we add a character for every small thing there would be so much redundancy.

you admitted she was bad! as you said we should not expect characters to be "overly useful" I think that's weird as I thought you would WANT more cool characters like Wanda then just new characters being 1 note like in Don't starve early days.

please give me an argument that's a fact and not personal opinion.

  Reveal hidden contents

Btw you never responded to my charts in this 

 thread so i assume that i proved my point and you understand now why people don't want the dlc's in the game plus walani.

 

Here’s the thing, Injustice & Injustice 2 both have slight differences in character roster, now completely ignoring the fact that the first game was an Xbox 360 game & the second was for the new age consoles, I expected (& reasonably so..) that the new next Gen game would have the entire fighter roster from the first game, + new ones for the new game.. and I was upset when some of my favorites from the first game didn’t make the cut for the Sequel, but what DID make the cut- Was 3 Guest Staring Mortal Kombat Characters.

If you’ve yet to understand my point, Walani was around before DST, Before any of the DST Exclusive DLC Characters, Before Wurt, Before Wortox, Before Wanda & Extra Especially before Walter.. So my comparison about Wraith being there “Before” when “New” came along and replaced her still holds water.

And it’s interesting that I mention Water.. because that Was/Still Is Walani’s main perk, the problem with DST though is that it’s Water is empty and boring AF… even with a fully upgraded Goose Woodie, Exploring the Ocean is sooooooooo damn boring, maybe it’s got something to do with there being very very little actually out in the ocean, or MAYBE it’s got to do with not being able to interact with anything when you turn goose, Eitherway it’s not fun in any way shape or form.

Walani on the other hand.. was able to interact with & do stuff..

I think the reason people claim Walani wouldn’t fit into DST is partially BECAUSE there’s nothing to do in the water… but that Ain’t Walani’s fault.

And more importantly even the Shipwrecked DLC didn’t rely entirely on staying out at sea 24/7, it had a bunch of different land masses you can sail towards and explore with unique mobs, scenery, resources to gather/craft with etc.

Walani in ANY FORM would instantaneously be better than pre-reworked Wes, and if Wes can still be in the game, why does Walani get “Axed”?

Better yet- With only 6 more characters in the DS franchise NOT in DST (5 if you want to count Wonkey as Wilbur’s replacement) Why should ANY of them not be included in DST at some point?

Even Wagstaff who’s currently up to Wagstaff Shenanigans could still be playable if the Wagstaff is Holograms.

Im tired of trying to make people understand why the 6 remaining DS franchise characters deserve to be on the roster, and if you can’t see that…

I suppose your one of those people who actually rejoiced when Hawkgirl, Killer Frost, Solomon Grundy (or any other fan favorite Injustice 1 character) was replaced by 3 Guest Stars from another game.

[Joeylocke420]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:08 PM, Nnumber3 said:

I don't play Apex, but the difference is that wraith was around BEFORE the others, she was just powercrept.

With Walani, she has not been in dst ever, so adding her to the game is just adding mechanics already in the game again but just a little earlier, without changing her so much its not the same character anymore, just add a new character.

Warly is 1 of those characters I WANT to play and love, but is hard to with his gameplay, his idea is not that great on paper, personally i don't really have a character i dislike, so i guess Wonkey, just missed potential. Yes, i agree with the warly threads.

I know you like Walani, that you have a soft spot for her, but i would just rather a new character, especially after wanda as they can make interesting DLC characters.

but unfortunately, some characters just don't make sense in the game, and she is 1 of them, as all your arguments are just "you like her personally and " you like her art design", which is not a reason to add her as its purely personal.

I don't want the Roaster being bloated, as if we add a character for every small thing there would be so much redundancy.

you admitted she was bad! as you said we should not expect characters to be "overly useful" I think that's weird as I thought you would WANT more cool characters like Wanda then just new characters being 1 note like in Don't starve early days.

please give me an argument that's a fact and not personal opinion.

  Hide contents

Btw you never responded to my charts in this 

 thread so i assume that i proved my point and you understand now why people don't want the dlc's in the game plus walani.

 

Apples and oranges, one is a singleplayer experience that has recieved minimal support for years, while the other is a continually popular multiplayer sequel. The very fact of the innumerable fans of Shipwrecked and Hamlet content still clamor for inclusion to the sequel to this day proves that the demand is there. 

Also, as previously mentioned adding Walani would be a fantastic introduction with expanded ocean content. There is clearly a consensus as to the oceanic emptiness, and adding shipwrecked islands with their respective theme characters would be a relatively simple way to address this issue. The animations already exist, and in general us fans would love to see more than rock formations, sea weeds, and the occasional waterlogged Biome out at sea. 

[loopuleasa]

Imagine adding Walani, and she literally can sail like shipwrecked characters with her board

Sailing will never be the same