[Poll] On the Ancient Echoes Update v1, Postmortem

[GetNerfedOn]

Edited October 18, 2025 by GetNerfedOn

[Evelo]

You messed some stuff up on the final 2 questions. Missing Boulder thingy in question 4 and, have "best part" with "nothing bad" and Worst part with "nothing Good". As such I will refrain from voting until properly updated.

Edited October 17, 2025 by Evelo

[GetNerfedOn]

23 minutes ago, Evelo said:

You messed some stuff up on the final 2 questions. Missing Boulder thingy in question 4 and, have "best part" with "nothing bad" and Worst part with "nothing Good". As such I will refrain from voting until properly updated.

thanks for the catches! Poll updated for corrections.

[Pruinae]

30 minutes ago, GetNerfedOn said:

thanks for the catches! Poll updated for corrections.

Also there's "If you voted Very Unsatisfied / Unsatisfied, why so?" and on the options there is "I voted "Very Unsatisfied/Unsatisfied" "

[GetNerfedOn]

9 minutes ago, Pruinae said:

Also there's "If you voted Very Unsatisfied / Unsatisfied, why so?" and on the options there is "I voted "Very Unsatisfied/Unsatisfied" "

Thanks fagain for the catch! Poll corrected.

[gaymime]

maybe i just like this game but i was really pleased with nearly the whole thing<3

[Szczuku]

Isn't this a little too early for a thread like that? The update's content literally has construction tape around it to indicate that it's not finished yet

[GetNerfedOn]

1 hour ago, Szczuku said:

Isn't this a little too early for a thread like that? The update's content literally has construction tape around it to indicate that it's not finished yet

and here i was worried sick i was a month late

[Milordo]

6 hours ago, GetNerfedOn said:

---Strange image---

What.

Anyway, while I was doing the poll, I'm very amazed you didn't include the new whirlpool, which objectively should stay on the same plane of fumarole and sanctum, as it does A LOT of impact in the game from now on and Klei should fix it ASAP, before leaving it in the long list of problems in DST.

I made even a topic/discussion about it

This is tiresome and while I believe so much in Klei, at the same time I have many doubts and worries due to them showing always, and I mean always, distaste and repulsion towards touching world generation. Like, how manyyyyy timmeesss as been screamed by the community, even on this forum, about caves gen, ruins gen, ocean gen, ecc.... too much.

For all it matters, this long Ruins reworks could be just the usual new things attached or inside, with zero changes to the generation, of which, while it's a must too, due to the poor quality and quantity content of the level, compared to Surface, Caves, Ocean and Lunar Island, it would make it a half-baked work.

------

After that, unfortunately "The update added changes whilst preserving balance" it's not a possible choice in this update. First, again, whirlpool and then, unfortunately, boulderbough trees. I love them. I really do. Since Depths of Duplicity we're slowing coming back to literally old Ds survival content. It's amazing, but man if it's looking like they're stomping on so many things right now in the game.

 

 

But overall, this -->

2 hours ago, Szczuku said:

Isn't this a little too early for a thread like that? The update's content literally has construction tape around it to indicate that it's not finished yet

[GetNerfedOn]

55 minutes ago, Milordo said:

What.

that's an echo

55 minutes ago, Milordo said:

 

Anyway, while I was doing the poll, I'm very amazed you didn't include the new whirlpool, which objectively should stay on the same plane of fumarole and sanctum, as it does A LOT of impact in the game from now on and Klei should fix it ASAP, before leaving it in the long list of problems in DST.

My thought process really is that the whirlpool is a feature that's part of the Sanctum biome; apart from that i dare not make any assumptions on new content i've not experienced yet

Also lmao thanks to your feedback i'm really going to make it a rule that i'm always going to be early to a poll and will therefore make the "proper release update" poll a year after it hits live

[Lovens]

Both Fumarole and Sanctum are the only two areas in the game that I have no will to ever visit again. Both are annoying and obnoxious but in their own unique way.

I really dislike how Fumarate destroys thermal stones (also renders them useless) and still makes me overheat in Winter with 10+ polar stars placed around. You'd think something as strong as the polar light should be able to at least affect the temperature around but Fumarole is as annoying as being around the Ice Crystaleyezer (although the latter is better since you can place it on docks and rely on sunfish to warm up). Can't place tin fishing bins in the caves so ice bream in not a reliable option downstairs. 

Sanctum is incredibly tedious and unfun to navigate, and the fact that it deletes all structures and objects lefts there upon ruins reset makes it even more obnoxious. I legit got really bad migraines after the two last gameplay sessions where me and friend spent time in the Sanctum. It's confusing, it's a pain in the ass to map out, it's unnecessary complicated and repetitive. And I'm not even sure if connections between rooms stay the same or re-shuffle after each ruins reset. Also: - 10 points for locking the teleporter in the waterfall room if one of the players is inside sanctum. In a game called Don't Starve Together this is the first instance where devs absolutely went out of their way make sure players have a really hard time to actually get TOGETHER into the same place in case they got separated. I already can predict how this will unfold in the future. They are going to put the endgame shadow boss fight in one of the rooms of that stupid place. Whoever gets there first, locks the possibility of entering for the rest of the team (which is a great way to introduce grieving to the multilayer game). If several people got in and one died there, the person who died is screwed since they won't be able to leave the place (devs made sure ghosts can't float out). Good luck retrieving your items from there. Good luck relying on the help of the players who didn't go there - they won't be able to go inside Sanctum and assist you in reviving or getting your stuff. This goes against all design principles of the game and breaks all established ways of interacting with other players to get together for a boss fight. And if all of this wasn't enough they also went out of their way to make the teleportation impossible there. This feels like a desperate attempt to make the content harder to reach and experience. I would prefer the final boss to be in a more accessible area but be more challenging combat-wise rather than being so unfriendly to coop gameplay. 

Atrium is already notoriously bad in this aspect if you ever decide to bring a large team to it and navigate properly through the atrium maze with the obelisks. Internet latency makes it pretty much impossible to coordinate a group of more than 2 people to manipulate their sanity in a timely manner to bypass obelisks simultaneously, and people would have to split and go one person at a time with the others waiting and wasting time. But atrium at least makes it possible to teleport to the one person who went through. Now just imagine the same scenario but 3-5 people trying to navigate through Sanctum together and time their teleporter touches so one person doesn't get left behind. It's not going to be a fun experience and likely impossible without a voice chat. Oh, and then "have fun" waiting for half an hour per each person to solve the Sequetor puzzle independently while the rest of the team is locked and cannot progress further. 

Edited October 17, 2025 by Lovens

[Milordo]

55 minutes ago, GetNerfedOn said:

My thought process really is that the whirlpool is a feature that's part of the Sanctum biome; apart from that i dare not make any assumptions on new content i've not experienced yet

Sure it's the entrance for Sanctum, but at the same time Lunar archives too, not to mention the impact of blind runs of it and shortcut explorations towards Lunar grotto/Lunar Archives. I understand very well your thought process, but it should be separate 👍

52 minutes ago, Lovens said:

I really dislike how Fumarate destroys thermal stones (also renders them useless)

Aww, I'm sad that you didn't like it

How it's making you destroy thermal stones? Are you entering and quitting the biome fast constantly? What about clothing? Do you use it? 

Btw, I don't see thermal stones being destroyed fast as a problem. They're very cheap and you're in the Caves. Very renewable, but I could change idea in the future with further testing.

52 minutes ago, Lovens said:

and still makes me overheat in Winter with 10+ polar stars placed around. You'd think something as strong as the polar light should be able to at least affect the temperature around

That's simply the usual common unbalance of DS due to adding new things without thinking twice back what it could affect. Oh well....if only we could have a sort of "beta" and give feedback to the devs.....xD

Edited October 17, 2025 by Milordo

[Bumber64]

42 minutes ago, Lovens said:

You'd think something as strong as the polar light should be able to at least affect the temperature around but Fumarole is as annoying as being around the Ice Crystaleyezer

Crystaleyezer in fumarole: Unstoppable force meets immovable object.

[Milordo]

38 minutes ago, Lovens said:

-----snip about Sanctum------

Can't talk too much about Sanctum but only disagree about the new tech and exploration/secrecy about the new place. That part is fantastic and I like it how close and secret is for new eyes especially, with puzzles and all, in comparison to Atrium, which you cited, it's in a very bad spot. I dare to say, it's far worse than Sanctum. A bad labyrinth, with recycled spammed enemies, no enemy/traps variety with only obelisks which are kinda ""new"" for together, generation very bad, bad secret entrance and bad secret design for the finale "secret puzzle".  The only saving grace of Atrium is Ancient fuelweaver with the Ancient Gateway, which at this point could as well be a random arena in the Ruins, if everything of the Atrium sucks so bad.

That said, can't say too much about Sanctum and your criticism about playing it together could be very well right (I didn't nor experienced, nor tested with other people).

[Mike23Ua]

It’s one of the better updates they’ve done to this game in years… New Biome, New Navigational Puzzle, cute New Mob, Unique Overheat in Biome Mechanic, & New Lore.

[Evelo]

I like the Boulder Trees, though I think they could do with a nerf. I also like the addition of the Blight with how it allows mass gathering of Dreadstone, but other than that. I dislike pretty much everything else. It still didn't update old biomes, it didn't add any new survival elements (though I appreciate it having temperature management, so I'll give credit where it is due), it is an isolated location instead of being integrated into the old world.

Now I know it is REALLY difficult especially with old worlds to retrofit stuff into the old biomes but, and I know this sounds callous and sorry mega basers, maybe don't retrofit stuff into old worlds? That way we can get drastic updates to the base biomes. I hope I am wrong and this can be done, but if for example, they add new trees that spawn in the savanna, how will that be retrofitted into a map where the entire savanna was gutted and replaced by the player?

[Radicaljoe]

I like everything except Rippler.
Don't get me wrong, I love Rippler as a cool fella. But I think the current flip mechanic is kinda bad. Rippler likes to stay in 1 section of the fumarole biome, so it takes forever to wait for him to walk to a new part that still has trees to flip him over. Then of course, you have like 4 seconds to do damage. So I end up needing to have him run into like 5-6 trees before actually getting to kill him.

Getting a stack of dreadstone is worth the effort mind you, but I wish there was a different way to force flip Rippler. I know there was a type of weapon called "heavy" that's not implemented yet, so I have hopes for that.

[nimzowitsch10]

bough trees which is the main highlight of this update is not really worth it to get imo. The new caterpillar boss is a decent way to get dread/horror.

We will have to see what is this archive thing but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[lowercase skye]

5 hours ago, Evelo said:

if for example, they add new trees that spawn in the savanna, how will that be retrofitted into a map where the entire savanna was gutted and replaced by the player?

The same way that boulderboughs can tell the biome they're planted in regardless of turf. Just spawn the trees around where the savanna biome still technically is, even if it doesn't look that way anymore.

[Milordo]

17 hours ago, Evelo said:

but, and I know this sounds callous and sorry mega basers, maybe don't retrofit stuff into old worlds? That way we can get drastic updates to the base biomes. I hope I am wrong and this can be done, but if for example, they add new trees that spawn in the savanna, how will that be retrofitted into a map where the entire savanna was gutted and replaced by the player?

Don't worry, that's absolutely not the problem. The retrofit mechanic can always manage to "retrofit" stuff in old worlds, they coded it very well since 2015. Don't point towards players who literally play 24 hours on 24 on the game. Full point at Klei. That's the problem.

2019 - 2022 was their grand picture for Ocean, Lunar and full character reworks

2023 they jumped the shark too much, due to the great start and profit from 2019-2022, and got all the wrong thinking, thus starting the grandiose marketing year(s) project that we now have the quick ending, which is a burning failure. Rifts-hardmodeterraria-like, awful skill trees and some mediocre made help for new players.

2024 - 2025 it's clear something happened inside them and they're trying to patching things up from 2023 (and they also clearly said it, so....), thus also finishing quick Rifts, which means the true ending for the sequel (?).

 

Klei is a company. They think and plan for years in advance. After we screamed and talked so many times in these years, about all various things, including old biomes, in this long list to fix and balance the game, BEFORE adding new big contents, they literally confirmed in a stream 2024 end - start 2025 that they agreed and want to "return to old roots" or something like that. In fact just look at middle 2024 - the first great ocean rework with the awful crab king rework - towards now. They're trying to patching things up, but in the meanwhile already starting to do what we asked and what they agreed in that stream.

After the cool ending of 2022, what really they should have done, is doing the long big "dusting" of the game (biomes, caves, ruins, ocean, lunar, clothing, weapons, food, ecc....) before jumping into another big risky project, with big promises and hyping.

 

[Schry]

On 10/17/2025 at 4:56 PM, Lovens said:

Sanctum 的导航非常乏味和无趣，而且它在废墟重置时会删除所有留下在那里的结构和物体，这一事实使其更加令人讨厌。在我和朋友在圣所度过的最后两次游戏之后，我确实得了非常严重的偏头痛。这令人困惑，绘制起来很麻烦，没有必要、复杂和重复。我什至不确定房间之间的连接是保持不变还是在每次废墟重置后重新洗牌。还： - 如果其中一名玩家在圣所内，则将传送器锁定在瀑布室中可获得 10 分。在一款名为《Don't Starve Together》的游戏中，这是开发人员第一次不遗余力地确保玩家很难真正聚在同一个地方，以防他们走散。我已经可以预测未来会如何发展。他们将把残局的暗影 Boss 战放在那个愚蠢地方的一个房间里。无论谁先到达那里，都会锁定团队其他成员进入的可能性（这是将悲伤引入多层游戏的好方法）。如果几个人进去，一个人死在那里，那么死去的人就完蛋了，因为他们将无法离开这个地方（开发人员确保鬼魂不能漂浮出来）。祝你好运，从那里取回你的物品。祝你好运，依靠没有去那里的玩家的帮助——他们将无法进入圣所并帮助您复活或获得你的东西。这违背了游戏的所有设计原则，并打破了与其他玩家互动以聚在一起进行 Boss 战的所有既定方式。如果这一切还不够，他们还不遗余力地让传送变得不可能。这感觉像是一次绝望的尝试，旨在使内容更难访问和体验。我更希望最终 Boss 位于更容易接近的区域，但在战斗方面更具挑战性，而不是对合作游戏如此不友好。

Actually, Klei already showed how the Sanctum Maze connects during a livestream, and the Scrapbook for Sanctum Waymark hints at it too. Maybe you can check out this topic.

https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/168082-a-guide-to-navigating-the-sanctum-ancient-echoes-update/

There's also an introduction to it on dontstarve.wiki.gg.

 

Edited October 18, 2025 by Schry

[GetNerfedOn]

After consideration, added whirlpool choice, and made clarification on title in case of future part 2s for Ancient Echoes