The Wendy Effect - A documented observation

[loopuleasa]

I was fascinated the past week to see the strong response to the Wendy skilltree and I wanted to get to understand this phenomena, and after digging for a while and researching I have gathered some observations and theories on why Wendy is held to such a high standard by many players (not just the Chinese community)

 

The Wendy Effect:

Observations that contribute to this effect

1. Wendy is a beginner friendly character, so many players play it first or early, and get to like it
2. Wendy is a non-technical character, so people that are not yet good at fighting can feel safe playing it
3. Wendy is a strong character, so people feel they are better survivors in the game if they choose her
4. Wendy has a high degree of skill expression and interestingness, that keeps players engaged in playing her (as opposed to more straightforward characters like wolfgang, which are strong but boring)
5. Wendy is a precious looking character, and many people grow attached to her personality
6. Wendy is a fragile character, which requires Abigail's help to survive, and that makes the players want to protect her too
7. Wendy is a "duo character" as she is paired with Abigail, and that makes her be comprised of two characters to grow fond of
8. Wendy has a dark humor charm to her character, which resonates with people that share the same style of humor
9. Wendy is a character more in touch with the emotional side of being a human, which resonates with many
10. Wendy is a pessimistic and sad character that tackles serious topics in life (like death of a relative), and that makes her feel real and vulnerable and it helps people cope with the hardships of life

Because of these forces, many Wendy players (mains or not) are VERY personally attached and invested into the story, lore and mechanics of this character, and NOTHING SHORT OF PERFECT can be satisfactory enough.

Many angles are present, and they all compound together to create this powerful emotional resonance.

 

Quite fascinating.

Overall, this is a testament to how well designed Wendy is across the board.

The strong reaction is not a bad thing, it is a signal that people care a lot (about Wendy and this game).

 

Thanks for reading.

[Blue Tangerine]

4 minutes ago, loopuleasa said:

I was fascinated the past week to see the strong response to the Wendy skilltree and I wanted to get to understand this phenomena, and after digging for a while and researching I have gathered some observations and theories on why Wendy is held to such a high standard by many players (not just the Chinese community)

 

The Wendy Effect:

Observations that contribute to this effect

- Wendy is a beginner friendly character, so many players play it first or early, and get to like it

- Wendy is a non-technical character, so people that are not yet good at fighting can feel safe playing it

- Wendy is a strong character, so people feel they are better survivors in the game if they choose her

- Wendy is a precious looking character, and many people grow attached to her personality

- Wendy is a "duo character" as she is paired with Abigail, and that makes her be comprised of two characters to grow fond of

- Wendy is a character more in touch with the emotional side of being a human, which resonates with many

- Wendy is a pessimistic and sad character that tackles serious topics in life (like death of a relative), and that makes her feel real and vulnerable and it helps people cope with the hardships of life

Because of these forces, many Wendy players (mains or not) are VERY personally attached and invested into the story, lore and mechanics of this character, and NOTHING SHORT OF PERFECT can be satisfactory enough.

Many angles are present, and they all compound together to create this powerful emotional resonance.

 

Quite fascinating.

Overall, this is a testament to how well designed Wendy is across the board.

The strong reaction is not a bad thing, it is a signal that people care a lot (about Wendy and this game).

 

Thanks for reading.

Well said,you expressed my thoughts succinctly.Thank you so much

[loopuleasa]

2 minutes ago, Blue Tangerine said:

Well said,you expressed my thoughts succinctly.Thank you so much

Thanks for the well-written posts.

[Sapientis]

She's also young, innocent and protected by a dead sister (supernatural force which she can see and interact with), so she resonates well with the popular anime archetype.

[Reiko24]

5 minutes ago, Sapientis said:

She's also young, innocent and protected by a dead sister (supernatural force which she can see and interact with), so she resonates well with the popular anime archetype.

The people that perma comment on every single post about Wendy seem to fit into being that archetype.

[_mylilsunshine_]

Wendy also has really nice skill-expression/ceiling that satisfies better players.

[loopuleasa]

51 minutes ago, _mylilsunshine_ said:

Wendy also has really nice skill-expression/ceiling that satisfies better players.

That is part of "wendy is strong" part of the list of effects

If wendy wasn't as strong, more experienced Spike players would've gravitated to other characters by now

For reference, Quakeszzzz won the most recent Don Giani speedrun tournament with Wendy

(highly recommend watching the run)

 

tl;dr: Wendy won a day 15 boss rush speedrun tournament vs Wigfrid, Woodie and Maxwell

[_mylilsunshine_]

3 minutes ago, loopuleasa said:

That is part of "wendy is strong" part of the list of effects

If wendy wasn't as strong, more experienced Spike players would've gravitated to other characters by now

Eeeh, I don't think strong = high skill expression/ceiling, or that they are mutually inclusive. To me, skill expression means the character is mechanically rewarding or challenging. Wolfgang is strong as hell, but he's not mechanically complicated/interesting. Wigfrid/Wanda/Maxwell/Willow is on par with him, yet they require the player to put in prep and use their knowledge instead of the F button.

Wendy is mechanically interesting in that she has to micromanage Abigail and/or potions, while also trying to circumvent that x.75 damage multiplier (Beef trivialized this, which is a shame).

[loopuleasa]

2 minutes ago, _mylilsunshine_ said:

Eeeh, I don't think strong = high skill expression/ceiling, or that they are mutually inclusive. To me, skill expression means the character is mechanically rewarding or challenging. Wolfgang is strong as hell, but he's not mechanically complicated/interesting. Wigfrid/Wanda/Maxwell/Willow is on par with him, yet they require the player to put in prep and use their knowledge instead of the F button.

Wendy is mechanically interesting in that she has to micromanage Abigail and/or potions, while also trying to circumvent that x.75 damage multiplier (Beef trivialized this, which is a shame).

True. Skill expression could also be a factor.

[purelove]

Oh, my God! Your summary is absolutely correct, and I, as a dedicated Wendy's player, fully agree

You're a good man. I'll follow you

[Mr Giggio]

46 minutes ago, loopuleasa said:

That is part of "wendy is strong" part of the list of effects

If wendy wasn't as strong, more experienced Spike players would've gravitated to other characters by now

For reference, Quakeszzzz won the most recent Don Giani speedrun tournament with Wendy

(highly recommend watching the run)

Yup. I was there. Have been playing Maxwell since he got a rework. Wendy won over a Wigfrid, Woodie and Maxwell when Woodie is probably the most fiting for this format of a challange. And he lost. I lost even if I had succeded my plan would be two points behind. Quakeszzzz is impressive but it also speak volumes about the char itself. Super strong and able to push giants from the get go. Marble, Pig skin and morning glory is more than enough for most matches. This "she aint strong enough" thing baffles me. It has a lotta of yapping from people that dont want to go out their confort zone to learn her true potential.

[arubaro]

She is the most dont starve character of the pool. A suicidal little girl hunted by her death sister. Is creepy and goofy, the core of dont starve

Also, as said above, while she is very noob friendly, she has a fun gameplay involving player knowledge and skill instead of being flat, bland and straightforward like most characters. It remembers me maxwell which also is very strong and more if the player has skill to juice his potential

[purelove]

22 minutes ago, Mr Giggio said:

Yup. I was there. Have been playing Maxwell since he got a rework. Wendy won over a Wigfrid, Woodie and Maxwell when Woodie is probably the most fiting for this format of a challange. And he lost. I lost even if I have succeded my plan would be two points behind. Quakeszzzz is impressive but it also speak volumes about the char itself. Super strong and able to push giants from the get go. Marble and morning glory is more than enough for most matches. This "she aint strong enough" thing baffles me.

Wait, so you're saying that you think that Wendy's players who use the mechanics that are available to everyone win the game? And the reason for the win was Wendy?

[Crimson Hollow]

I love the idea of this documented observation, and it is indeed fascinating. 

I used to be very baffled over this one and now I guess I can understand the passionate wendy players better.

[Dingle]

35 minutes ago, loopuleasa said:

That is part of "wendy is strong" part of the list of effects

If wendy wasn't as strong, more experienced Spike players would've gravitated to other characters by now

For reference, Quakeszzzz won the most recent Don Giani speedrun tournament with Wendy

(highly recommend watching the run)

Whoa... Wendy is.... strong???

Seems like there's a hundred people on this forum saying Wendy is not strong? Or a really, really vocal 10, that keep making posts to threads about her not being strong. I think there's 6 of these threads now.

I hope the devs know that Wendy is strong. Stronger than Maxwell. Brutally, terrifyingly strong.

(thanks for the video, I missed this one)

[Peasant]

Just now, Dingle said:

Whoa... Wendy is.... strong???

Seems like there's a hundred people on this forum saying Wendy is not strong? Or a really, really vocal 10, that keep making posts to threads about her not being strong. I think there's 6 of these threads now.

I hope the devs know that Wendy is strong. Stronger than Maxwell. Brutally, terrifyingly strong.

(thanks for the video, I missed this one)

In my opinion the answer to the question is "Yes And No", for the strength of Wendy can be varied between noobs and masters.

Say, can we deem that wendy is the best constructed character in dst for this?

[loopuleasa]

13 minutes ago, YXukun said:

can we deem that wendy is the best constructed character in dst for this?

nothing can be claimed on the forums

32 minutes ago, Mr Giggio said:

Yup. I was there. Have been playing Maxwell since he got a rework. Wendy won over a Wigfrid, Woodie and Maxwell when Woodie is probably the most fiting for this format of a challange. And he lost. I lost even if I had succeded my plan would be two points behind. Quakeszzzz is impressive but it also speak volumes about the char itself. Super strong and able to push giants from the get go. Marble, Pig skin and morning glory is more than enough for most matches. This "she aint strong enough" thing baffles me. It has a lotta of yapping from people that dont want to go out their confort zone to learn her true potential.

Can you call Quakesz and bring him to the forums to maybe see what he would like for a Wendy skilltree?
I think his perspective might be useful

[Dingle]

7 minutes ago, loopuleasa said:

nothing can be claimed on the forums

Can you call Quakesz and bring him to the forums to maybe see what he would like for a Wendy skilltree?
I think his perspective might be useful

"Hey guys, Quakez here. Wendy is actually incredibly weak. She needs the ability for Abigail to wear thulecite crowns, and every single one of her perks should be strong, NO filler."

"--- Sincerely, me, Quackz"

"PS: we demand jeson apologize for calling her strong"

[quakeszzzz]

I'll check the skill treeit out tomorrow I haven't even looked at it to be honest. In my opinion Wendy is terrible at bosses for an average player (whom the game should be based for.

I play Wendy cause it introduces a new challenge of keeping abi alive to add some extra mechanics/ difficulty to some bosses that I've done a million times. As for the don tournament, in my practice runs there are way better scoring characters to play  I just enjoy the don't become Wes challenge. But out of all the characters I tried Wendy was probably the worst of them.

[purelove]

30 minutes ago, quakeszzzz said:

I'll check the skill treeit out tomorrow I haven't even looked at it to be honest. In my opinion Wendy is terrible at bosses for an average player (whom the game should be based for.

I play Wendy cause it introduces a new challenge of keeping abi alive to add some extra mechanics/ difficulty to some bosses that I've done a million times. As for the don tournament, in my practice runs there are way better scoring characters to play  I just enjoy the don't become Wes challenge. But out of all the characters I tried Wendy was probably the worst of them.

Oh, you are also a Wendy player, please browse my thought skill tree design, if it inspires you a little. I think the current Wendy, what's missing is the fight with Abigail and for the most part, she's covered by the intensity of the other characters

[renamoe]

As a Wendy main, I can honestly say that all 10 of your points really resonate with me. I'm so glad to see this well-organized post! I also don't think it's a bad thing that people are reacting strongly to Wendy's beta update—it's just a sign of how much love and passion players have for her, and I trust that Klei will listen to the feedback.

It would be odd if so many people flooded the forums if they didn't care about Wendy or the game. The fact that they do just shows how much they care. I completely agree with you, and I believe Klei will take all of this into account.

[cyjs]

41 minutes ago, quakeszzzz said:

I'll check the skill treeit out tomorrow I haven't even looked at it to be honest. In my opinion Wendy is terrible at bosses for an average player (whom the game should be based for.

I play Wendy cause it introduces a new challenge of keeping abi alive to add some extra mechanics/ difficulty to some bosses that I've done a million times. As for the don tournament, in my practice runs there are way better scoring characters to play  I just enjoy the don't become Wes challenge. But out of all the characters I tried Wendy was probably the worst of them.

Believe me, you're lucky you haven't seen her first version. It's very baffling. I can only describe it this way, hahaha，I might be a little rude, It's my translator problem

[RozeMeteor]

Honestly, i admire good wendy players, she is so simple yet so hard to master, one of the most well made characters of the game for sure, not to mention see people actually care for the character besides just for being strong is hella cool as well.

[purelove]

49 minutes ago, quakeszzzz said:

I'll check the skill treeit out tomorrow I haven't even looked at it to be honest. In my opinion Wendy is terrible at bosses for an average player (whom the game should be based for.

I play Wendy cause it introduces a new challenge of keeping abi alive to add some extra mechanics/ difficulty to some bosses that I've done a million times. As for the don tournament, in my practice runs there are way better scoring characters to play  I just enjoy the don't become Wes challenge. But out of all the characters I tried Wendy was probably the worst of them.

You really are an admirable, strong Wendy player, congratulations on winning your championship, your level is not in doubt

[HowlVoid]

I do empathize with Wendy players, since I had a similar reaction to Wormwood. 

I must of been on here writing post after post every day lol. Sorry klei