New Beta is Fun! Here's what would make it better.

[JazzyGames]

Excellent work on the new additions! I'm very excited to get building with the new Pearl structures, and the portage staff and craftable bottles are some of the greatest late-game additions we've received from the past year of updates. I do think that the implementation of many of these new mechanics could stand to be improved upon, and here were a few ideas that came to mind while checking out the content:

• The Tea Shop makes sense to have near the house because Pearl needs to be present to make tea, but the other structures like the salt station, the lamp posts, and the large drying racks do not make sense being restricted to the area around Pearl's house. I'd love to make a lunar biome with hot tubs but I can only build around the house and this feels unnecessarily restrictive, especially considering the cost and work of unlocking the structures.
• Make new Pearl structures prototypable, or at least buildable without Pearl's presence. Unless we wall off Pearl we can only build the structures with Pearl's help and this becomes incredibly time-restrictive during times of year like Winter and Spring when the daytime segment of each day is shorter.
• We need much clearer instruction for decorating around Pearl's house, and better indicators for what else she is looking to have built. I was frantically throwing structures down in a desperate attempt to figure out what she wanted from me, and I think the whole decoration system could have more transparency and clear indicators.
• I don't know what currently qualifies as "pickable" for decor points but banana bushes and flowers did not seem to help. Maybe I was miscalculating but please take into account the reality that many of the basic pickable resources such as berry bushes and saplings and grass tufts are vulnerable to brightshade infestation.
• Crystal Buzzards are way too destructive now. They have already destroyed a number of my mob farms just as a result of my presence in the area. They kill grass gekkos, volt goats, tallbirds, pigs, bunnymen, all the farms I thought were safe because they were intentionally removed from hounds and spiders. I turned them off for the first time ever today and I hate doing that.
• Now that barnacles are a necessary crafting ingredient for many of the new structures, now would be a good time to revisit sea weeds and possibly give us more options to set up barnacle farms in more accessible parts of the ocean. Craftable sea stacks would be an excellent late-game reward for putting in the time and resources to decorate Pearl's domain.

That's it for now. I love this new late-game side-quest for giving Pearl a nice place to live and think that with a bit of tweaking this update can make for a truly enriching experience. In general I love the focus on rewards based on decorating and building, and look forward to seeing more of these perks added to the game. Keep up the good work, and thanks for considering these ideas!

Also sharing a quick data dump of my interpretation of the code and how each decoration piece affects your score:

Unlocks:
Lamp posts unlocks at 25 points
Tea Shop unlocks at 50 points
Hot Spring unlocks at 75 points
Large drying rack unlocks at 100 points

Level 5 House Upgrade = 5 points
House Ornaments = 2 each (4 if Winter ornament)

Negatives:
Graves = -3 point (max -33)
Junk = -.5 (max -50)
Blocked Fishing Spots = -4 for each covered fishing marker (the water markers next to house, max -64 points)

Turf (max 100 tiles)
Shell Beach Turf = 0.15 per tile
Moon Quay Beach Turf = 0.1 per tile
Lunar Beach Turf = 0.1 per tile

Decorations:
Tackle Receptacle = 5 points (max 1)
Tea Shop = 10 points (max 1)
Hot Spring = 10 points (max 1)
Table = 2, 5 if decorated (max 15)
Dock Pilings = 0.5 (max 10)
Potted Plants = 1 (max 10)
Fish Display = 0.012 per weight value
All Fish Displayed = 20 points
Chair = 2 (max 8)
Drying Rack = 0.5 per drying slot (max 18)
"Pickable" = 1 (max 15)
Light Post = 0.33 or 1 when lighted (max 10)

Edited December 5, 2025 by JazzyGames

[Kacpert25]

41 minutes ago, JazzyGames said:

The Tea Shop makes sense to have near the house because Pearl needs to be present to make tea, but the other structures like the salt station, the lamp posts, and the large drying racks do not make sense being restricted to the area around Pearl's house.

Yeah, the combriner in particular should be able to be placed anywhere. Beacuse I don't think everyone has a chest zone close enough to the Pearl to easily transport the resources required to crafts from this structure.

[JazzyGames]

3 minutes ago, Kacpert25 said:

Yeah, the combriner in particular should be able to be placed anywhere. Beacuse I don't think everyone has a chest zone close enough to the Pearl to easily transport the resources required to crafts from this structure.

I built a combriner then moved the house, the combriner stayed put but lost some of the later unlocks. If it’s taking global info like rifts and Wagstaff I don’t see why it wouldn’t work anywhere in the world.

[Jakepeng99]

I find it funny how buzzards just became the old lunar hail again, but ten folds more devastating.

Instead of your grass geckos slowly dieing over a few days, your entire farm is burned to the ground.

[dubushop]

8 hours ago, JazzyGames said:

The Tea Shop makes sense to have near the house because Pearl needs to be present to make tea, but the other structures like the salt station, the lamp posts, and the large drying racks do not make sense being restricted to the area around Pearl's house. I'd love to make a lunar biome with hot tubs but I can only build around the house and this feels unnecessarily restrictive, especially considering the cost and work of unlocking the structures.

I completely agree. If a new light source cannot be placed in the cave where it is most needed, then there is no point in adding one.

[flamboyant wolf]

I really hope new structures can be made to be placed anywhere and hopefully also able to be prototyped or something. Hot springs would be soooo so nice to add to various spots, like some chill area of the base or a merm village. I wouldn't mind having my drying racks next to Pearl, but ideally having a choice in the matter would be great anyway.

[HeatAndRun]

11 hours ago, JazzyGames said:

Now that barnacles are a necessary crafting ingredient for many of the new structures, now would be a good time to revisit sea weeds and possibly give us more options to set up barnacle farms in more accessible parts of the ocean. Craftable sea stacks would be an excellent late-game reward for putting in the time and resources to decorate Pearl's domain.

Agree on easier relocatable sea weeds. I also wanna see easier ways to harvest barnacles from sea weeds.

Most characters except Wormwood are only able to harvest it at night by razor for now, and it would be great if there's a tool that lets the players harvest barnacles at daytime without using pan flute.

[Jakepeng99]

11 hours ago, Kacpert25 said:

Yeah, the combriner in particular should be able to be placed anywhere. Beacuse I don't think everyone has a chest zone close enough to the Pearl to easily transport the resources required to crafts from this structure.

actually i think its balanced cus it would make the ice staffs too op. Its meant to be like a ruins science station kind of thing.

 

refreshing an ice staff durability and significantly increasing it sfreeze power for 1 salt would be broken otherwise.

 

 

[YasumeYukito]

14 hours ago, JazzyGames said:

Crystal Buzzards are way too destructive now. They have already destroyed a number of my mob farms just as a result of my presence in the area. They kill grass gekkos, volt goats, tallbirds, pigs, bunnymen, all the farms I thought were safe because they were intentionally removed from hounds and spiders. I turned them off for the first time ever today and I hate doing that.

This is honestly way too frustrating for me. A lunar flame attack from a Possessed Varg can’t even destroy a Houndius Shootius, yet Buzzards can melt it in seconds. Buzzards are far stronger than a mini-boss at this point.

Like I mentioned in another thread, Buzzards need some balancing. We know that even a tough boss like Dragonfly in vanilla DS has ways to be pacified or kited, but Crystal Buzzards have no real counterplay. Even if you kill them, it doesn’t stop the onslaught. Right now, the only way to stop them is to wait for the lunar rift to close.

[gaymime]

15 hours ago, JazzyGames said:

I'd love to make a lunar biome with hot tubs but I can only build around the house and this feels unnecessarily restrictive, especially considering the cost and work of unlocking the structures.

i thought existing lunar hotsprings could be used as hottub when you threw a bathbomb in?

[flamboyant wolf]

28 minutes ago, gaymime said:

i thought existing lunar hotsprings could be used as hottub when you threw a bathbomb in?

I assume they mean recreating a lunar-like environment elsewhere and using the craftable hot springs as a part of it.

On this topic, I would love to place some hot springs around the merm village, would look so nice.

[Kacpert25]

2 hours ago, Jakepeng99 said:

refreshing an ice staff durability and significantly increasing it sfreeze power for 1 salt would be broken otherwise.

Blue gems aren't a particularly rare resource. So I don't think the option to refresh ice staff durability will make much of a difference.
Whereas the freezing power increases probably by only 1.5 with the first upgrade. 
And to even upgrade the ice staff, you have to defeat the Crab King with a pearl, meaning the first upgrade is available a little later in the game.
So the option to do them in the base and not on Pearl Island doesn't seem very broken to me, considering stage of the game where it's obtained.

[Jakepeng99]

5 hours ago, Kacpert25 said:

Blue gems aren't a particularly rare resource. So I don't think the option to refresh ice staff durability will make much of a difference.
Whereas the freezing power increases probably by only 1.5 with the first upgrade. 
And to even upgrade the ice staff, you have to defeat the Crab King with a pearl, meaning the first upgrade is available a little later in the game.
So the option to do them in the base and not on Pearl Island doesn't seem very broken to me, considering stage of the game where it's obtained.

Blue gems aren’t as common as you think.

 

this basically turns one blue Gen into like 5

[Pumking7]

21 hours ago, JazzyGames said:

Make new Pearl structures prototypable, or at least buildable without Pearl's presence. Unless we wall off Pearl we can only build the structures with Pearl's help and this becomes incredibly time-restrictive during times of year like Winter and Spring when the daytime segment of each day is shorter.

This has been the worst part about Pearl when helping her do her quests, since multiple quests require giving something to her and it kills my interest just to wait for her to come out. There have been many times where I've just had to idle outside her door or kill time by rowing in circles around her house on these shorter seasons. This is especially annoying during the "rain" and "snow" quests for often the weather will end before she wakes up for the morning. I do not like walling off Pearl either, for although I think its a clever solution, I am morally against doing it much like drowning her for extra Pearl's pearls.

I like Pearl's inclusion on building things, for literally Pearl's biggest issue is her only identity being a means of progression to get her items and to not actually have her around. If I were to change Pearl's "open" hours:

• If Pearl is at friendship level of 5 or greater, she will remain outside until nightfall instead until afternoon. From your help you will have made her feel more comfortable on her island, making her more inclined to stay out longer. Friendship level 5 usually remains a point where giving her things remains a crucial point for leveling her friendship up.
• If Pearl is at friendship level 10, you can now knock on her door to wake her up briefly to do any immediate trading. At this point I think having access to Pearl at all times is a fair reward for getting her friendship this high. This would make Pearl accessible but remain relevant in the crafting of her items.
  • If you knock on her door at lower then friendship level 10 she should respond grumpily or annoyed, with a different reaction depending on what friendship range you are in.

[landromat]

5 minutes ago, Pumking7 said:

This has been the worst part about Pearl when helping her do her quests, since multiple quests require giving something to her and it kills my interest just to wait for her to come out. There have been many times where I've just had to idle outside her door or kill time by rowing in circles around her house on these shorter seasons. This is especially annoying during the "rain" and "snow" quests for often the weather will end before she wakes up for the morning. I do not like walling off Pearl either, for although I think its a clever solution, I am morally against doing it much like drowning her for extra Pearl's pearls.

I like Pearl's inclusion on building things, for literally Pearl's biggest issue is her only identity being a means of progression to get her items and to not actually have her around. If I were to change Pearl's "open" hours:

• If Pearl is at friendship level of 5 or greater, she will remain outside until nightfall instead until afternoon. From your help you will have made her feel more comfortable on her island, making her more inclined to stay out longer. Friendship level 5 usually remains a point where giving her things remains a crucial point for leveling her friendship up.
• If Pearl is at friendship level 10, you can now knock on her door to wake her up briefly to do any immediate trading. At this point I think having access to Pearl at all times is a fair reward for getting her friendship this high. This would make Pearl accessible but remain relevant in the crafting of her items.
  • If you knock on her door at lower then friendship level 10 she should respond grumpily or annoyed, with a different reaction depending on what friendship range you are in.

Let grandma sleep you insolent fellow

[JazzyGames]

Just having her around during dusk at higher friendship levels would make a major difference. I was also thinking we could have building kits for the new structures so at least we could load up during day then take our time placing them down.

[Radicaljoe]

2 hours ago, Jakepeng99 said:

Blue gems aren’t as common as you think.

 

this basically turns one blue Gen into like 5

They're pretty common, especially with ice hounds, the ruins, or boulderboughs being available.

[Kacpert25]

12 minutes ago, JazzyGames said:

I was also thinking we could have building kits for the new structures so at least we could load up during day then take our time placing them down.

I think this is a rather obvious change that Klei will implement soon. 
Whenever structures were added, which were crafted at special science stations, they didn't have their kit at the beginning and only over time it was added.

[Dingle]

It's always been awful that she goes inside her house at dusk.

First step in every new world: I trap her behind walls so that I don't lose access to her for chunks of the day. It would be great if imprisoning her wasn't necessary.

[AliceShiki]

On 12/5/2025 at 5:58 PM, JazzyGames said:

Make new Pearl structures prototypable, or at least buildable without Pearl's presence. Unless we wall off Pearl we can only build the structures with Pearl's help and this becomes incredibly time-restrictive during times of year like Winter and Spring when the daytime segment of each day is shorter.

Btw, I never play the betas, so I can't really test, but you can you like...

1) Do all the necessary Pearl quests to build her structures.

2) Move hers somewhere else.

3) Build the structures you want elsewhere.

4) Rinse and repeat.

And have essentially any Pearl Structures you want anywhere in the world? Or is it more annoying than that?

[Jakepeng99]

1 hour ago, JazzyGames said:

Just having her around during dusk at higher friendship levels would make a major difference. I was also thinking we could have building kits for the new structures so at least we could load up during day then take our time placing them down.

Would make more sense if she stayed out at dusk if you made lights around her base

1 hour ago, Radicaljoe said:

They're pretty common, especially with ice hounds, the ruins, or boulderboughs being available.

Not as common in practice

[Pumking7]

12 hours ago, Jakepeng99 said:

actually i think its balanced cus it would make the ice staffs too op. Its meant to be like a ruins science station kind of thing.

I mean in general how are ice staffs OP, they only freeze a single target and still require blue gems to be crafted. They are a support item and the upgrade only makes it better at this role since it can solo enemies out and freeze them quicker. The ice staff can not really be used for exploits like the panflute due to enemies attacking immediately after being frozen and it being single target.

28 minutes ago, Jakepeng99 said:

Not as common in practice

How quickly do you use up blue gems? I usually have a stock pile from only needing them occasionally. There's also other methods like sprout rocks and varg farms that give too many blue gems making this upgrade totally acceptable. Also gives Malbatross's blue gem drop more significance than being primarily used for the salt box.

[JazzyGames]

1 hour ago, AliceShiki said:

Btw, I never play the betas, so I can't really test, but you can you like...

1) Do all the necessary Pearl quests to build her structures.

2) Move hers somewhere else.

3) Build the structures you want elsewhere.

4) Rinse and repeat.

And have essentially any Pearl Structures you want anywhere in the world? Or is it more annoying than that?

Haven’t tested with every structure but the combriner loses all but its starting crafts when you move Pearl away. Not sure if the hot springs and lamp posts lose any functionality.

[Cruvimaster]

The lamps stop working. It'll certainly happen to everything else. The addition of the new teleportation system justifies this exclusivity, in addition to the fact that (late game) you can place Pearl anywhere on the map. Now there's a reason to always visit Pearl.

[Jakepeng99]

1 hour ago, Pumking7 said:

How quickly do you use up blue gems? I usually have a stock pile from only needing them occasionally. There's also other methods like sprout rocks and varg farms that give too many blue gems making this upgrade totally acceptable. Also gives Malbatross's blue gem drop more significance than being primarily used for the salt box.

Not that fast but I don’t believe varg farms should be considered. Only average gameplay cus that would be like saying blowdarts are cheap because you can mass farm them with wickerbottom