The Great Depths Worm is too powerful to not be a boss

[Waywarbler]

The Great Depths Worm is quite spongy for how difficult it is to land hits on, boasting 5000 health while doing thorns damage if you don't attack its head or tail. Even if you can distract it by feeding it an item, you don't get much time (only about 2-3 seconds I believe) to attack it while it eats.

Getting swallowed directly does an ABSURD amount of damage. Testing with WX-78, no armor, and 3 super hardy circuits, getting swallowed took me from 575 health to 15; the Great Depths Worm does a total of 560 damage as you get chewed up and passed through its body.

If it's meant to be the depths worm equivalent of a varglet, I think it needs to be toned down stat-wise, and/or have its time spent chewing items increased. 

Or maybe, instead of an being a non-boss enemy based on depths worm attacks, it could be a proper boss fight encountered somewhere in the caves? With the swallow damage still toned down, of course.

[Wormboi]

10 minutes ago, Waywarbler said:

Getting swallowed directly does an ABSURD amount of damage. Testing with WX-78, no armor, and 3 super hardy circuits, getting swallowed took me from 575 health to 15; the Great Depths Worm does a total of 560 damage as you get chewed up and passed through its body.

This is getting nerfed 100% sure on that

[Milordo]

37 minutes ago, Waywarbler said:

The Great Depths Worm is quite spongy for how difficult it is to land hits on, boasting 5000 health while doing thorns damage if you don't attack its head or tail. Even if you can distract it by feeding it an item, you don't get much time (only about 2-3 seconds I believe) to attack it while it eats.

Getting swallowed directly does an ABSURD amount of damage. Testing with WX-78, no armor, and 3 super hardy circuits, getting swallowed took me from 575 health to 15; the Great Depths Worm does a total of 560 damage as you get chewed up and passed through its body.

If it's meant to be the depths worm equivalent of a varglet, I think it needs to be toned down stat-wise, and/or have its time spent chewing items increased. 

Or maybe, instead of an being a non-boss enemy based on depths worm attacks, it could be a proper boss fight encountered somewhere in the caves? With the swallow damage still toned down, of course.

BROTHER WHAT, THIS IS INSANE AHAHAHHA.

I guess we can all dream if it could be a real normal survival boss to be encountered just like treeguards and spider queens. It's been so long a normal sandbox boss was added to the game....

[Siren11]

This isn’t anything that hasn’t already been said, but I’m worried about how chaotic that fight will be in multiplayer. My friends still die almost every time we fight regular depths worms, and I doubt I’ll be able to get the precise timing down AND be able to target only the head or tail while everyone is running around in a panic. And can large groups get multiple big worms? What happens if a worm wave occurs during a boss fight?

Also, has anyone tried fighting the Great Depths Worm on a Beefalo yet? That’s how I usually get around the caves, but I’m expecting that to be an issue as well. I don’t want to have to ditch my Beefalo just bc I’m not perfect at the fight (especially with the multiplayer issue).

[Milordo]

3 minutes ago, Siren11 said:

This isn’t anything that hasn’t already been said, but I’m worried about how chaotic that fight will be in multiplayer. My friends still die almost every time we fight regular depths worms, and I doubt I’ll be able to get the precise timing down AND be able to target only the head or tail while everyone is running around in a panic. And can large groups get multiple big worms? What happens if a worm wave occurs during a boss fight?

Also, has anyone tried fighting the Great Depths Worm on a Beefalo yet? That’s how I usually get around the caves, but I’m expecting that to be an issue as well. I don’t want to have to ditch my Beefalo just bc I’m not perfect at the fight (especially with the multiplayer issue).

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[HeatAndRun]

I think the new depth worm is more like a varg rather than a varglet due to its enormous size, and structure-destorying nature. Seems like adding a "bigger depth worm" among the regular worm wave and change the "great depth worm" into raid-level boss fight with proper loot and more hp is one of an idea. For example, the "bigger depth worms" drop suspicious glow berry randomly which can be consumed while in the caves to spawn the "great depth worm".

[Milordo]

2 minutes ago, HeatAndRun said:

I think the new depth worm is more like a varg rather than a varglet. Seems like adding a "big depth worm" into the regular worm wave and change the "great depth worm" into raid-level boss fight with proper loot and more hp is one of an idea.

No raid level boss fight please. A regural sandbox one.

[Anis5240]

3 minutes ago, HeatAndRun said:

more like a varg

even a varg has like what, 2k HP at best. this giant worm? 5k HP. Make that if you will.

[Milordo]

Cool news, tried with a normal vanilla generated bunnymen village. It's very douable together with them and it seems from what I'm testing that yes, it does substitute all the deepth worms in the wave. It's strange but instead of a quality life that was the varglets, this feels more a videogamey challenge and it does seems more "now the waves can have bosses!!"

So if you have problem with him, you can try in your runs to farm and create bunnymen villages. Still, didn't tried in a multiplayer setting.......

[Siren11]

6 minutes ago, Milordo said:

Cool news, tried with a normal vanilla generated bunnymen village. It's very douable together with them and it seems from what I'm testing that yes, it does substitute all the deepth worms in the wave. It's strange but instead of a quality life that was the varglets, this feels more a videogamey challenge and it does seems more "now the waves can have bosses!!"

This is good! I do really like the design and it seems like an interesting “boss,” but I’m worried about being overwhelmed when I’m playing with my struggling friends (especially if it’s based on player count) or losing my Beefalo buddy to surprise knockback.

I’m also very curious to know what exactly happens if you’re riding a Beefalo when you get eaten (or even other things, like falling into the void). I don’t think I’ll have time to play the beta unfortunately, but I’ll put those questions out there for others to maybe explore.

Also, has anyone tested? Is it possible to run away from the Great Depths Worm and come back once you’re better prepared?

[Gashzer]

1 hour ago, Siren11 said:

This isn’t anything that hasn’t already been said, but I’m worried about how chaotic that fight will be in multiplayer. My friends still die almost every time we fight regular depths worms, and I doubt I’ll be able to get the precise timing down AND be able to target only the head or tail while everyone is running around in a panic. And can large groups get multiple big worms? What happens if a worm wave occurs during a boss fight?

Also, has anyone tried fighting the Great Depths Worm on a Beefalo yet? That’s how I usually get around the caves, but I’m expecting that to be an issue as well. I don’t want to have to ditch my Beefalo just bc I’m not perfect at the fight (especially with the multiplayer issue).

I believe the multiplayer meta strat is to sacrifice your most noobie friend to get swallowed while the rest of you hold F for dear life.

[Milordo]

16 minutes ago, Siren11 said:

I’m also very curious to know what exactly happens if you’re riding a Beefalo when you get eaten (or even other things, like falling into the void). I don’t think I’ll have time to play the beta unfortunately, but I’ll put those questions out there for others to maybe explore.

I will test this for you

16 minutes ago, Siren11 said:

Also, has anyone tested? Is it possible to run away from the Great Depths Worm and come back once you’re better prepared?

Yes for the run away (it's more slow than you think) and it happened once with the bunnymens where he switched target to them, so you can even leave him to other animals (thinking about rock lobster since they're so much strong in the caves) but one important thing to notice. It seems, for a weird reason, to have the same A.i of Bee Queen. What I mean by this? It prefers to target the players a LOT. So be careful to be seen or it will attack you immediately.

4 minutes ago, Gashzer said:

I believe the multiplayer meta strat is to sacrifice your most noobie friend to get swallowed while the rest of you hold F for dear life.

This is dark but also very funny ahahahha

[Milordo]

Ok @Siren11 I have VERY bad news and maybe good news...?

Good sweet news. They added a new type of attack in don't starve that was never added. When the depth worm boss (i will call it like this for now) eats you, if you don't have any armor, anything at all (I was naked Wilson) or maybe you're very low health, he will be forced to leave you at 1 hp. Meaning that it will not kill you at all, if you have been eat, giving you a second chance. Strange but cool and very ironic! It means @Gashzer strategy could really work!  BUT BEWARE!!! When it spits you from his bum (lol) the knockback range is completely random, meaning that he can spits you to his spikes, leading to a certain death if 1 hp. So yeah! ******** rng spits can happen = it's a 50/50 second chance. Another discovery is, if the depth worm boss eats a lot (don't know the quantity, if even they coded a quality weight also for the food it eats) it will literally "digest" it and poop three manure ahahah. This is tecnically revolutionary because the second level of the game finally have a way to have naturally manure, without the player artificially doing it with the beefalo bell or go to the Ruins. The problem is, he's too far lethal, dangerous and destructive to be left alone. So I don't know if this new feature will be at all used by players since there is the much better alternative of splumonkeys. 

 

Very BAD news. It is considered as A RANGE attack (it kinda make sense tho since it goes up to you) so it will EATS you if you're riding a beefalo. So together with bishops, spitters, macktusks, we have now big bad meanie depth worms as a list of disavantages for the beefalo riding. Also while during tests to learn how to fight him (it is very difficult for how strange and new this type of enemy is) I lured him too much inside the bunnymen village or maybe a bunnymen lured him too much inside and destroyed it. No. He devastated it. The point is I want to emphasis the destruction capabilities of him. It is too much that, not only I can already imagine megabase players suffering inside, but don't get why at this point we don't re-introduce the old bell. He literally destroys tons of trees (new farming method?) and structures at a fast pace that it can be nasty very fast, if not controlled. Also, is this a way for Klei to nerf walls tecnique against depth worms? Because now all anti-depth worms walls are obsolete if this gentleman destroys them as cookie crumbs.

[Thieverpedia]

I feel like some easy ways to fix this boss would be to both tone down its digestion damage by a LOT (maybe by only making the chewing cause damage and digestion causing sanity drain) and giving it more interactions with what it eats. Like higher hunger food stopping it for a bit depending on hunger value with maybe 1 second per 10 hunger. And possibly going Legend of Zelda with this and dropping either Gunpowder or a Brightshade Bomb for it to eat. Once consumed, it explodes and becomes stunned as the explosives damage its softer insides for bonus damage.

Stuff like that adds some unique strategies for the player to utilize

[Milordo]

1 minute ago, Thieverpedia said:

Giving it more interactions with what it eats. Like higher hunger food stopping it for a bit depending on hunger value with maybe 1 second per 10 hunger. And possibly going Legend of Zelda with this and dropping either Gunpowder or a Brightshade Bomb for it to eat. Once consumed, it explodes and becomes stunned as the explosives damage its softer insides for bonus damage.

Stuff like that adds some unique strategies for the player to utilize

This. THIS.

My friend, you capture the essence of Don't Starve exquisitely! We need to bump this idea absolutely to the team! 

[Juanasdf]

2 hours ago, Milordo said:

it does substitute all the deepth worms in the wave.

I think they said this was temporary for the beta tests.

[chirsg]

I don't particularly see an inherent problem with leaving the boss be as powerful as it is, but it shouldn't be periodic, and it's reward should be a component of the gloomerang. 

Either the gloomerang gets nerfed over how powerful it currently is, or the power stays the same, with a condition of it's crafting being honored in another way.

 

I think that the worm, not snake btw, but worm, should receive the epic tag, have either a condition of it's spawn, or be on a separate timer, not unlike the bearger and deerclops, but year round.

Bosses should be allowed to have less than 10000 health. 

[Antynomity]

It's also easy af of a fight. It's fine, maybe increase cooldown of worm waves when you kill him instead.

[Milordo]

4 minutes ago, Juanasdf said:

I think they said this was temporary for the beta tests.

Ohhhhh right right, my bad. Then we will wait and see. 

Spoiler

We will suffer a lot, I can already see 4 depth worms with the giant boi xD

 

4 minutes ago, Antynomity said:

It's also easy af of a fight. It's fine, maybe increase cooldown of worm waves when you kill him instead.

Really? How did you do it? I'm struggling to understand and dodging it.

[Juanasdf]

1 minute ago, Milordo said:

We will suffer a lot, I can already see 4 depth worms with the giant boi xD

No, it will probably spawn in a different way or spawn every 3 or 4 waves?

I don't think they'll make depth worms spawn alongside it. Unless they want us to feed him the depth worms as a strat to stun him

[Milordo]

Just now, Juanasdf said:

Unless they want us to feed him the depth worms as a strat to stun him

I could see it, if they tweak him like @Thieverpedia said

[Mike23Ua]

Actually I now want to feed the giant worm Explosives, or Killer Bee Mines 

[Mr Giggio]

4 hours ago, Waywarbler said:

Getting swallowed directly does an ABSURD amount of damage. Testing with WX-78, no armor, and 3 super hardy circuits, getting swallowed took me from 575 health to 15; the Great Depths Worm does a total of 560 damage as you get chewed up and passed through its body.

It goes over percentage here buddy. No matter the HP. Max survived with 1 HP left last time I tried the fight (I had night armor on)

45 minutes ago, Milordo said:

Really? How did you do it? I'm struggling to understand and dodging it.

I think the gap to land damage is tricky but it has some folks like Willow or Wolfie, Wigfrid that can really burst it even more damage that I did here

 

 

 

[JosePapp]

What if instead of nerfing it, they put it on a specific area of the cave swamp and gave it unique drops?

It could be among a bed of lesser glow berries with a giant "Alluring Glow Berry" in the middle. If you pick more than three of the lesser glow berries on its range you spawn it and start the fight. 

When you beat it, it drops both a "Prime Glow Berry" and "great worm hide"

The prime glowberry could be used to make glowberry lotion which could be used to refuel moggles up to 50% 4 times or could be applied onto the body for an effect similar to Glow Berry mousse.

The great worm hide could be used to have a thorns style armor piece everyone could wear. Perhaps it only damages enemies if they harm you while moving? (Similar to the worm)

[Mysterious box]

45 minutes ago, JosePapp said:

What if instead of nerfing it, they put it on a specific area of the cave swamp and gave it unique drops?

It could be among a bed of lesser glow berries with a giant "Alluring Glow Berry" in the middle. If you pick more than three of the lesser glow berries on its range you spawn it and start the fight. 

When you beat it, it drops both a "Prime Glow Berry" and "great worm hide"

The prime glowberry could be used to make glowberry lotion which could be used to refuel moggles up to 50% 4 times or could be applied onto the body for an effect similar to Glow Berry mousse.

The great worm hide could be used to have a thorns style armor piece everyone could wear. Perhaps it only damages enemies if they harm you while moving? (Similar to the worm)

Then it would need to have higher hp since at that point it'd be a boss fight.