Idea for a Tail o' Three Cats buff

[Jimothywastaken]

The Tail o' Three Cats or Whip because that name is a mouthful is probably contender for one of the worst weapons in the game currently.

For those who don't know it's an alchemy engine tier weapon craftable with 3 catcoon tails and 1 tentacle spot it does 27 damage with 175 durability. (The spear does 34 damage and has 150 durability, for comparison)

But it has an on hit effect there's a small chance (25% for animals 20% for monsters and 5% for bosses) for it to snap causing nearby enemies to lose aggro, and since its a whip it has a larger attack range but slower swing speed

This effect barely does anything.

assuming your using it for example a hound wave you have to pray that the 1/5 chance for the snap actually occurs which it just might not since a 1/5 in the middle of getting mauled to death aren't great odds but even if you do manage to get the snap off and all the hounds near the one you hit lose aggro, hounds and many other creatures you would be dealing with will either instantly retarget you or come to the aid to the creature your attempting to fight making the effect not really do anything besides maybe buy you a few moments to run away

in order to fix the issue of this somewhat expensive low damage inconsequential weapon instead of buffing the damage which would be a boring solution that makes wanda's weapon less unique instead the snap should be buffed 

Whenever you hit something it has a 50% (33% if you hit a boss) to snap causing all nearby creatures to panic for 3-5 seconds depending on how much health they have (higher the health the lower the panic duration) whatever you hit doesn't panic and if you hit a panicking creature they stop freaking out and start attacking instantly.

back to the hound attack example you could use the buffed whip to fish for a snap with its longer range against a varglet and use the panicking hounds as an opening to deal with the varglet with your primary weapon since the whip still does barely any damage and then repeat until all the hounds are dead which I think is more interesting than just tanking the hounds or having a high damage whip to just outrange and maul them all without getting touched 

this would also force an opening with bosses like beequeen or the possessed varg letting you get damage in or some breathing room to heal safely

this change would make the whip into a somewhat time consuming to obtain crowd control support option that while strong is risky to use since you'll get an unlucky streak eventually

[Wawchik]

Honestly, I'd rather have it deal 42 damage than this

[Well-met]

51 dmg or bust

[Chewabacca]

An AOE deaggro weapon sounds really fun, I like this idea.

[ShadowDuelist]

2 hours ago, Jimothywastaken said:

Whenever you hit something it has a 50% (33% if you hit a boss) to snap causing all nearby creatures to panic for 3-5 seconds depending on how much health they have (higher the health the lower the panic duration) whatever you hit doesn't panic and if you hit a panicking creature they stop freaking out and start attacking instantl

That would be way too easy to exploit IMO. Not that the game is lacking exploits, but its better not add new ones. 
I think the snap effect as a bonus is fine, and not something you should rely upon. If anything, the damage could be boosted to 42 or 51. And maybe the durability could be beefed as well.

[Frosty_Mentos]

Could have a thulecite + gem upgrade, crack explosive fiery or icy spell as a bursty attack. An elemental weapon of sorts.

[BattleOzze]

1 hour ago, Well-met said:

51 dmg or bust

How about 142, huh? Oh, wait... 

[Jimothywastaken]

1 hour ago, ShadowDuelist said:

That would be way too easy to exploit IMO. Not that the game is lacking exploits, but its better not add new ones. 
I think the snap effect as a bonus is fine, and not something you should rely upon. If anything, the damage could be boosted to 42 or 51. And maybe the durability could be beefed as well.

the issue with buffing the damage is that it wouldn't make anyone want to use it.

it's a lot more inconvienent to aquire than the hambat or darksword which both do more damage and are fairly easy to craft which leads into the same issue of it kinda just being there never used.

the longer range is nice but its far from a primary reason to use it wanda players don't use the alarming clock because it has good range they use it for the monstrous damage and infinite durability. The longer range is good but i can't see it carrying the whip to viability 

 

a less extreme buff to the snap with a damage increase would also be good and make it something worth considering but i just prefer going all in on support secondary weapon

[Hungry French]

3 hours ago, Jimothywastaken said:

«Хвост трёх котов» или «Кнут», потому что это название труднопроизносимо, вероятно, является одним из худших видов оружия в игре на данный момент.

Для тех, кто не знает: это оружие уровня алхимии, которое можно создать из 3 хвостов енота и 1 щупальца. Оно наносит 27 единиц урона и имеет 175 единиц прочности. (Для сравнения: копьё наносит 34 единицы урона и имеет 150 единиц прочности)

Но у него есть эффект при попадании: есть небольшая вероятность (25% для животных, 20% для монстров и 5% для боссов), что он сломается, из-за чего ближайшие враги потеряют агро. А поскольку это кнут, у него больший радиус атаки, но более низкая скорость удара

Этот эффект практически ничего не дает.

предполагая, что вы используете его, например, для взмаха собакой, вы должны молиться, чтобы шанс на защелку составлял 1/5, чего может и не быть, поскольку вероятность того, что вас зарежут насмерть, невелика, но даже если вам удастся снять защелку, и все собаки рядом с той, в которую вы попали, потеряют аггро, гончие и многие другие существа, с которыми вы будете иметь дело, либо мгновенно перенацелят вас, либо придут на помощь существу, с которым вы пытаетесь бороться, из-за чего эффект на самом деле ничего не даст, кроме, возможно, нескольких мгновений, чтобы убежать.

Чтобы решить проблему с этим довольно дорогим, но малоэффективным оружием, вместо того, чтобы увеличивать урон, что было бы скучным решением, делающим оружие Ванды менее уникальным, нужно увеличить мощность.

Всякий раз, когда вы бьёте по чему-либо, с вероятностью 50% (33%, если вы бьёте по боссу) это приводит к тому, что все ближайшие существа впадают в панику на 3-5 секунд в зависимости от того, сколько у них здоровья (чем больше здоровья, тем меньше продолжительность паники). То, по чему вы бьёте, не впадает в панику, а если вы бьёте по паникующему существу, оно перестаёт паниковать и сразу же начинает атаковать.

Вернёмся к примеру с атакой на гончих. Вы можете использовать улучшённый кнут, чтобы поймать варглета на более дальнем расстоянии, а паникующих гончих использовать как прикрытие, чтобы разобраться с варглетом с помощью основного оружия, так как кнут по-прежнему почти не наносит урона. Повторяйте это до тех пор, пока все гончие не будут убиты. Я думаю, что это интереснее, чем просто танковать гончих или использовать кнут с высоким уроном, чтобы просто бить их на расстоянии и не подпускать к себе.

это также позволит вам атаковать боссов, таких как королева пчёл или одержимый варг, и нанести урон или передохнуть, чтобы безопасно исцелиться

это изменение превратит кнут в довольно затратный по времени способ контроля толпы, который, несмотря на свою силу, рискованно использовать, так как в какой-то момент вам может не повезти

The only thing that's really needed is more affordable cat coon tails.

[WilsonHiggs]

2 hours ago, Well-met said:

51 dmg or bust

I prefer 48... We don't need more Wanda's range non sense

[Well-met]

1 hour ago, WilsonHiggs said:

I prefer 48... We don't need more Wanda's range non sense

Yes we do, whips should be viable on other characters not just wanda

51 is perfect because it still wouldnt match tenta spikes because the whip attack anim is slower. Also the crafting ingredients very much justify it

[Edible Coal]

7 hours ago, WilsonHiggs said:

I prefer 48... We don't need more Wanda's range non sense

bro wanda does 143 dmg per whip

[FillerText]

That's a cool item concept. But it sounds a bit too costly compared to using other CC tools like Ice Staves, Moon Shrooms, Shadow Sneak, just torches, etc. Some of them are character specific, but the whip itself is still kinda just much more expensive, while those items achieve a similiar effect. I think it would be a pretty good buff if the whip itself was more available. I always thought of Sleeping enemies as a practically useless mechanic until Wormwood's moon shrooms didn't make that strategy cost green gems I could have instead used for something more valuable.

Edited May 10, 2025 by FillerText

[WilsonHiggs]

4 hours ago, Edible Coal said:

bro wanda does 143 dmg per whip

Is not about damage but how whips break combat

11 hours ago, Well-met said:

Yes we do, whips should be viable on other characters not just wanda

51 is perfect because it still wouldnt match tenta spikes because the whip attack anim is slower. Also the crafting ingredients very much justify it

Whips shouldn't be a thing in the 1st place. The game doesn't need a weapon that removes the only combat mechanic 

Sure, add them but with even slower animation and without the possibility of cancel it so enemies have a chance to hit

This weapon could have something more original and interesting than simply removing the need of kitting 

Edited May 10, 2025 by WilsonHiggs

[Chewabacca]

I think I'd still prefer OP's original idea for it to have a good chance to send mobs in an area into a panic. This isn't really because of the balance or whatever, more just that it's cooler to give it a unique effect instead of being yet another damage-focused weapon.