Barely organized Wes skill tree ideas

[BrawleyDST]

Since every character is getting a skill tree, it stands to reason our favorite survival-challenged mime is getting his own eventually. I have at least a few ideas for Wes skills and one QOL feature that could make him less tedious.

First off, the quality of life feature. While Klei adds a skill tree it would be really nice if they changed balloon crafting to be a radial menu tied to the pile o balloons rather than the standard crafting tab. Maxwell summons servants and does his spells through a quick menu, Wendy commands Abigail with the flower and even Winona has the remote menu. Wes shouldn't still be crafting balloons when the only resource consumed is sanity. Just let us right click the balloon pile to choose our output.

Ok, on to actual skills. Obviously Wes is a balloonomancer so the easiest ideas are just more balloon crafts. The simplest skill to start with are balloon tools, which are exactly what they sound like. Using the brand new balloon menu, craft axes, picks, or shovels out of balloons. Each lasts around 30 seconds plus damage taken from performing work and costs the same 5 sanity as always. Later unique creations will consume more sanity. After tools we have an actually useful item, the balloon backpack. 5 sanity gets you an almost carbon copy of a regular backpack... Except it pops when taking damage or running out of the 1 day durability, dropping items within it on the ground. Other noteable items one could give balloon forms to would be the umbrella (1 day of slight wetness protection) and possibly a sleeping roll (lasts for 30 seconds and then pops, gives no sanity). That one would be funny but maybe overpowered if I'm being honest.

There are far more items that could have balloon forms available through skills. Let's move on to Wes unique crafts. I think it would be both hilarious and in niche moments useful if, as a high-investment skill (locked behind several others), Wes could make a balloon effigy. For 25 sanity and lowering his max sanity by 15 (all numbers are debateable in this post), Wes can make a balloon effigy similar to a meat effigy. Ghosts can haunt a balloon effigy to possess it, taking control in a unique form of revive that is more like turning into Wonkey than coming back from the dead.

Ghosts haunting balloon effigies are still dead canonically but now they have something to pilot while they find a way to fully come back. Balloons have a measly 20 health (alternatively could be a one-hit like balloon items), do not possess hunger, sanity or temperature needs and are locked out of character specific features and crafts. They cannot equip armor and have the Wes work/combat penalty. They might even lack the standard inventory, only having a few slots or a built in backpack instead of the hotbar. Being subjected to another revival method will pop the balloon and restore the character as normal, or the form can be abandoned by right clicking it, returning to a ghost (still pops it). This is not Wendy's revive graves. This is being able to do small tasks around base while the only surviving player makes telltale hearts. Or more likely, Wes died again and nobody wants to revive him at the moment. While I'm at it, maybe balloons can't even talk. They don't have mouths, right? As another upside, maybe this cancels both the reset timer and the sanity drain of having a ghost.

Moving on, I have a vague idea about a street performance tree where Wes uses his old abilities to either raise team sanity or charm neutral intelligent creatures into giving random gifts once per day. There's not much to say there except that the pig king might be a great location for Wes with a tree like that.

As for affinity skills, I think it would be funny if Wes had unique unlock requirements and both sides helped out of pity and/or confusion. Maybe you have to give both leaders a balloon. Wagstaff in the moonstorm, Charlie... Probably the best place to meet her is in the dark. Drop a ballon right before she kills you. Does not stop her from attacking.

I really want the lunar affinity to result in Wagstaff (confused by Wes but grateful for the help) to give us the ability to create the mech from Wes's dream. There is kind of a dream theme going on with the moon, right? I also want the mech to be intentionally underpowered for its cost because it's a Wes creation. Breaks in a few hits, massive self-destruct in the form of several balloon pops in rapid succession (Wes likely guaranteed to die), weak attacks... 60 sanity to create, right at the edge of madness. Planar damage against shadows as its only upside?

My shadow affinity idea is simple. Charlie was a performer. Maybe she knows about balloons, or at least sanity. Taking mild pity on the mime, she grants him knowledge of improved balloonomancy techniques, reducing all sanity costs to 20%. Or if street performance ends up being a thing, Wes can perform at night for an audience of shadows who give nightmarish rewards. Charlie's court has an opening for an entertainer and the job interview starts now.

This post is way less coordinated than the wirepack post but I had assorted ideas I didn't want to leave rattling around my own head. I don't think all of these ideas will be great, but it's just fun to think about what skill trees could bring to characters that don't have them yet. I don't think any of these skills improve Wes in terms of actual survivability, nor do I think they should. Wes has always been a challenge character and I think the perfect skill tree would leave his downsides where they are while giving him some new tricks for those willing to endure his challenges.