Walter: Sling variety, Woby Mastery, Cooking.

[Walrusst]

Enjoying the Walter update but just stopping by to outline a few points with Walter I could see being improved.

• Incentives to craft multiple slings, with visual feedback on which slings are modified how. Working twoards the single godlike chaingun sniper sling is very linear.
• Big woby gets nearly all the focus with three of the woby skills being almost exclusively about riding woby, these skills should have value regardless of whether you want woby as mount or a follower.
• Being good at cooking food quickly makes me wish I had some campfire bonus, since cheaper access to nomadic light would strengthen walters identity somewhat.

Slings:

• Nearly all focus is on slings with high rates of fire at long distance more power more range more speed. This means the sling is a quest about building the perfect most boss shredding safe sling instead of making several for specific circumstances.
• Being able to color slings in the sling kit would be a game changer, letting us have specialized slings we could visually distinguish in our inventory.
• A band that trades range for even faster draw speed then a grip alone can give, or one that rewards fighting at a critical distance thats between your maximum range and melee would give contrast to the bands all being more range and nothing else.
• The bone frame having a special shot that lets you fire 5 pellets with 50% damage in a scatter pattern would compliment its increased ammo capacity well and make its a solid contrast to the two strong long range frames. Its wasteful, encourages you to play a risky way, but is in stark contrast to the other options in that while you burn through resources like a fire hose and makes you likely to be hit, it has good damage and anti-crowd potential despite being available early.
• These changes would let walter have low risk sniper slings that are good for support, spell based status sling, and close in coup de grace slings which encourages much more self expression and risk taking, or other creative setups focused around things like anti-crowd potential.
• Perhaps a bonus on the wetness sling grip against aquatic targets.
• The CC ammos feel a little reductive, but its not impossible to tune them as far as I see: Possibly just having them craft in smaller batches and stack to smaller, tactical utility sizes would work. This would play well with the incentive to carry more slings, and it would make Walter less about spamming on an enemy that has lost the ability to fight back. Since running out of your powerful enemy ruiner shot types in a fight would be possible.

Woby:

• Level 2 badge skills are in a strange spot, as you need to survive a while before you actually have the slightest idea of what you have gotten for two skill points. Perhaps having a level 2 badge unlocked gives you a kickstart on experience in the level 1 badge in that skill as well that way players with a taste in a style of Wobbing out can tailor themselves to that style of play faster. (I haven't played enough to see if leveling the first badge gives value to the second, but I hope/assume it would.)
• There is a set bonus for taking a lot of sling skills for more ammo, but nothing of the sort of Woby. Some Woby mastery which greatly alters your playstyle to be a friend of dog would be interesting. I saw the badge points got nerfed, but perhaps being very woby focused could revert the nerf if you invested enough points that you couldn't be sling focused.
• Bravery could allow small Woby's bark to distract enemies briefly before running away like a coward. Splitting up large packs of enemy so you can fight small groups at a time instead of relying on absurdly strong CC ammo.
• The support badge could play into Walters team support, say, if small Woby did tricks when Walter did campfire stories to strengthen the story effect, as well as allowing other players to pet small Woby for sanity, and such further strengthening Walters role as psychological support for the team.
• The fetch badge could also make Woby's inventory act like a backpack when riding Woby, making it so the process of microing woby's inventory is less tedious, especially when transferring items from Woby's inventory to nearby boxes.
• Agility Woby could stay big focused, but another idea would be to say agility lets small agility 2 Woby swim like the hounds do past a certain proficiency, this would enable a digging and fetching synergy while at sea where you can have small Woby fetch waterborn objects or help you fish.
• Being able to shift-rightclick order fetches (With woby doing it faster with agility and fetching progress) would do so much to make the more active skills seem valuable.
• Dig being targetable at tree stumps and other diggables like saplings, carrots would be godlike, giving Walter a living breathing shovel and saving the server from the lag death of 4 million stumps being left behind because nobody is willing to carry a shovel. It would also give another source of dig XP. 

Camp fires:

• In a world where lamps and mining hats exist this has limited use, but a mobile version of the stone campfire feels like it would belong so much. It might save a few grass each day only, but it would make Walter's nomadic early game so much more coherent.
• Possibly make it so you can earn upgrades that can be hung on it it like a 2x2 preserved inventory when placed, the ability to build the lowest levels of crafting station into it, etc etc. That way we have a place to carry a bit more food on the move and don't feel as pressured to permanently settle early on.

[Mysterious box]

20 hours ago, Walrusst said:

The CC ammos feel a little reductive, but its not impossible to tune them as far as I see: Possibly just having them craft in smaller batches and stack to smaller, tactical utility sizes would work. This would play well with the incentive to carry more slings, and it would make Walter less about spamming on an enemy that has lost the ability to fight back. Since running out of your powerful enemy ruiner shot types in a fight would be possible.

This won't play out like you think either you make them so scarce that noone uses them or you make then accessible enough that people do there really is no in-between if you make his cc ammo scarce and annoying to store and people just won't use cc.

 

20 hours ago, Walrusst said:

Woby:

• Level 2 badge skills are in a strange spot, as you need to survive a while before you actually have the slightest idea of what you have gotten for two skill points. Perhaps having a level 2 badge unlocked gives you a kickstart on experience in the level 1 badge in that skill as well that way players with a taste in a style of Wobbing out can tailor themselves to that style of play faster. (I haven't played enough to see if leveling the first badge gives value to the second, but I hope/assume it would.)
• There is a set bonus for taking a lot of sling skills for more ammo, but nothing of the sort of Woby. Some Woby mastery which greatly alters your playstyle to be a friend of dog would be interesting. I saw the badge points got nerfed, but perhaps being very woby focused could revert the nerf if you invested enough points that you couldn't be sling focused.
• Bravery could allow small Woby's bark to distract enemies briefly before running away like a coward. Splitting up large packs of enemy so you can fight small groups at a time instead of relying on absurdly strong CC ammo.
• The support badge could play into Walters team support, say, if small Woby did tricks when Walter did campfire stories to strengthen the story effect, as well as allowing other players to pet small Woby for sanity, and such further strengthening Walters role as psychological support for the team.
• The fetch badge could also make Woby's inventory act like a backpack when riding Woby, making it so the process of microing woby's inventory is less tedious, especially when transferring items from Woby's inventory to nearby boxes.
• Agility Woby could stay big focused, but another idea would be to say agility lets small agility 2 Woby swim like the hounds do past a certain proficiency, this would enable a digging and fetching synergy while at sea where you can have small Woby fetch waterborn objects or help you fish.
• Being able to shift-rightclick order fetches (With woby doing it faster with agility and fetching progress) would do so much to make the more active skills seem valuable.
• Dig being targetable at tree stumps and other diggables like saplings, carrots would be godlike, giving Walter a living breathing shovel and saving the server from the lag death of 4 million stumps being left behind because nobody is willing to carry a shovel. It would also give another source of dig XP. 

Personaly I wish they'd just rework Woby's point system in general to make it less restrictive and give a wag to swap Woby from big to small on the fly.

20 hours ago, Walrusst said:

Camp fires:

• In a world where lamps and mining hats exist this has limited use, but a mobile version of the stone campfire feels like it would belong so much. It might save a few grass each day only, but it would make Walter's nomadic early game so much more coherent.
• Possibly make it so you can earn upgrades that can be hung on it it like a 2x2 preserved inventory when placed, the ability to build the lowest levels of crafting station into it, etc etc. That way we have a place to carry a bit more food on the move and don't feel as pressured to permanently settle early on.

I get the campfire thing keeps being suggested but I don't understand what this adds to Walter like why does he need a portable campfire? They aren't expensive and nothing about his character screams reusable campfire and with Woby's speed getting to a fire pit shouldn't be an issue.

[Walrusst]

1 hour ago, Mysterious box said:

Personaly I wish they'd just rework Woby's point system in general to make it less restrictive and give a wag to swap Woby from big to small on the fly.

I get the campfire thing keeps being suggested but I don't understand what this adds to Walter like why does he need a portable campfire? They aren't expensive and nothing about his character screams reusable campfire and with Woby's speed getting to a fire pit shouldn't be an issue.

The campfire on its own would be very mid/mild on its own, since like, cool two grass savings, hence why I brought up the idea of a portable 1x2 or 2x2 cooler attachment to it (Probably a skill upgrade,) since it brings Walters traveling bonus inventory a little bit. On its own its mild, but if it could become more like a low level starter base that moves with you it suddenly fits. With a few more attachment options  (Say swapping the cooler for a ammo/bait bag) it stops being like "OK it barely fits" to a form of playstyle expression. Since what you put on your camp stove is like what you put in your base, it says a lot about what your plans are. As a standalone thing its mid. As your home away from home its the breathing spirit of Walter.

 

An item for giving orders to woby would go a long way to making him more integral to the playstyle for real, especially if you could check Woby's hunger with it, or toggle forms like you said. One thing that could make the points less restrictive is if mastering a badge, and then most badges could give extra points, that way a fully disciplined Woby could be a veritable multitool.

I still think things like big woby being usable as a ridable shovel with digging, small woby gaining ocean utility with agility, and the like would make Woby more coherent rather then being an obtuse "Specialize in only being big or small" deal, since big Woby would be the thing you use for manual control and purposefully grinding skills, where as small Woby would be the utility thing that pays off all the skills you taught Woby after you have tamed a beefalo and will likely never ride him again.

 

 

As for the sling ammo minmaxing, it really depends on if we keep them strong and impactful, since if they set up a big damage burst from you still and lets you do something hype its cooler if its a few times rather then having thirty days of stuns loaded on right click. In a world where we already have tatters-sniper sling to capitalize on an opening, and a hypothetical one with scatter sling to do the same thing, you can do a lot of damage off of a single utility shot.

So like, people using it is fine. We want that. Its just keeping the threshold so you are thinking of using it more for problematic boss phases would be more exciting and interesting. The pan flute doesn't have a lot of uses but can define encounters, people use it and its hype. We don't need 120 use pan flutes.   (Even if we can be pretty sure people will use them.)

[This14Real]

Do slingshot still needs change? I thought people were happy with it.
But I love the idea of a shotgun like fragmentation frame, but it shouldn’t be too powerful, you mentioned 50% damage but I feel like it needs some tuning, 50% seems excessive for 5 shots, specially when you can use aoe ammo. Needs to be like a crowd control option if you get swarmed or need to save a friend or two.
As for the woby skills I agree all of them should affect both small and big woby. Barking for bravery as a taunt assist tool seems fair if woby just runs after it’s done, it tries to be brave but I like the overwhelming cowardly trait of hers.
For support petting and just a small sanity aura when close to her would be already really good, the tricks sound more like unnecessary work just for flavor. Wouldn’t be against it though.
Swimming small woby would be a delight, as long as it doesn’t affect big woby.
I have no thoughts on how dig and fetch could affect big woby but they should somehow, maybe sniff things that could be dug while mounted? Fetch is a really tough one.
I really want more focus on others aspects of Walter instead of combat.
Instead of cooking he should be able to dry stuff quicker and even dry things that other characters can’t like berries and fruits. A portable campfire doesn’t sound great, I'd rather have a portable drying rack if it took a 1/3 of a day to dry stuff on it. 
 

[Walrusst]

15 minutes ago, This14Real said:

Do slingshot still needs change? I thought people were happy with it.
But I love the idea of a shotgun like fragmentation frame, but it shouldn’t be too powerful, you mentioned 50% damage but I feel like it needs some tuning, 50% seems excessive for 5 shots, specially when you can use aoe ammo. Needs to be like a crowd control option if you get swarmed or need to save a friend or two.
Instead of cooking he should be able to dry stuff quicker and even dry things that other characters can’t like berries and fruits. A portable campfire doesn’t sound great, I'd rather have a portable drying rack if it took a 1/3 of a day to dry stuff on it. 
 

One revision I was considering for the scatter shot was:
3 ammo used, 5 shots, 40% to 33% damage depending on how inaccurate/charged it is (Odd idea: More damaging but too inaccurate for the bosses even uncharged, more accurate less damaging scatter charged.) Since it would be an attack that misses a little, is ammo efficient, and risky, but making it less exaggerated would be wise. Since like, Walter being able to use the electric ammo to do a little bit of Warley shenanigans would be interesting, but we aren't fighting to be the meta gigachad murder machine here.

I just want variety and risk.

I was thinking of elaborating on the idea of camp cooker attachments, since like.
A fire assisted portable drying rack would be huge.

Since my thoughts were: Those little boxy cooker stoves.

• Left side some sort of small pouch (Cooler, ammo bag, bait bag etc etc.)
• Right side some sort of station. (Such as being able to put one of your customizers there for the sling or woby.)
• The drying rack could be the special catch all, since it roughly fits the bill for both sides attachment criteria (As I imagined it. Possibly the mastery attachment for the camp cooker that makes it go from being a gimmick to the fixture people want installed now in their regular base.)

[Mysterious box]

31 minutes ago, Walrusst said:

The campfire on its own would be very mid/mild on its own, since like, cool two grass savings, hence why I brought up the idea of a portable 1x2 or 2x2 cooler attachment to it (Probably a skill upgrade,) since it brings Walters traveling bonus inventory a little bit. On its own its mild, but if it could become more like a low level starter base that moves with you it suddenly fits. With a few more attachment options  (Say swapping the cooler for a ammo/bait bag) it stops being like "OK it barely fits" to a form of playstyle expression. Since what you put on your camp stove is like what you put in your base, it says a lot about what your plans are. As a standalone thing its mid. As your home away from home its the breathing spirit of Walter.

This is just giving Walter a portable crockpot and fridge which are Warly's primary perks and they don't really fit the scout image anyway.

 

1 hour ago, Walrusst said:

As for the sling ammo minmaxing, it really depends on if we keep them strong and impactful, since if they set up a big damage burst from you still and lets you do something hype its cooler if its a few times rather then having thirty days of stuns loaded on right click. In a world where we already have tatters-sniper sling to capitalize on an opening, and a hypothetical one with scatter sling to do the same thing, you can do a lot of damage off of a single utility shot.

So like, people using it is fine. We want that. Its just keeping the threshold so you are thinking of using it more for problematic boss phases would be more exciting and interesting. The pan flute doesn't have a lot of uses but can define encounters, people use it and its hype. We don't need 120 use pan flutes.   (Even if we can be pretty sure people will use them.)

Here's the problem with your idea first off not everyone even uses the panflute and that's an item that requires zero skill points and does a mass aoe sleep making Walter's cc ammo like that is guaranteed to make it as used as blowdarts unless you do the same and even harms Walter's cc playstyle as his current cc abilities make them usable outside of boss fights as well but your change seems to have the goal of making the ammo types not only scarce but harder to manage as well I just can't see the vision here as if anything he'll become less of a support character because it'll force him into a near pure dps role. Also even inside of boss fights this is a problem as unless your in a group those fights aren't going to be short so you'll likely need even more cc rounds making it not worth the effort.

This is before even considering the multiplayer setting resources are finite in bigger servers and noone is going to appreciate Walter eatting up all the resources selfishly for his cc rounds

[Walrusst]

We were narrowing down more on modular small storage or drying rack tied to a movable light source above, since jerky is more campy and I never wanted this to be a crockpot.

But yeah I realized from the start we needed to be hella careful to not step on Warly's toes, hence why I wanted to focus more on snacks rather then meals.

Just brainstorming.
Which makes me think like, another good restriction for the cooler idea would be no meals.

That way you have a place to carry your berries/birchnuts/drumsticks/wobbysnacks, but if you want to haul a ton of meat stew around with all the buffs you want a Warly.