Wes Skill Tree Branch Idea: The Unlucky Tree

[blacknight7890]

With the brand new Luck mechanic DST just added, it was confirmed that Wes will interact with it once his update rolls around. There's already code in the game that gives him negative luck, but it doesn't affect him yet. This opens the door for a wonderful new avenue for his skill tree, weaponized bad luck.

The core idea is that getting deeper in the skill tree will make Wes more and more unlucky, to the point that freak accidents start happening. However Wes can use these accidents to his advantage, though sometimes at a cost. This not only will make him more challenging in general with the world acting against him, but will also give him new tools to use to his advantage.

In no particular order, and with no particular connections, here's my ideas for what skills he could have in one of his skill tree branches about his luck. I'm sure the other branches would be about his skills as a mime and his balloons, but lets focus on the luck part for now.

 

Shocking Accidents I-III: Adds negative luck. During any rain, if Wes is Unlucky he will be directly hit by lightning, but also takes reduced damage from it. If he is hit, the lightning chains from Wes to to any hostile creature nearby, dealing heavy electric damage. Its upgrades increases how many times it bounces. Wearing lightning proof equipment prevents this.

Red Hot Shower I-II: Adds negative luck. if Wes is Unlucky and holds an umbrella on the surface while no rain is happening, there is a chance for a meteorite to fall. It takes longer to fall than natural Meteors, and does no damage to structures or allies, but causes a large AoE that can also hurt Wes. The upgrade makes it happen in the caves as well, causing an earthquake and a large boulder to fall for the same effect.

Popped Ears I-III: Adds negative luck. If Wes is Unlucky and pops one of his balloons, there's a chance for it to make a much louder pop. It deals more damage to Wes and temporarily stuns any hostile creature around him. Upgrades increase the AoE and duration of the stun.

Butter Fingers: Adds negative luck. When Wes is holding a wet item and it slips out of his hand (this is affected by bad luck), the held item will be flung towards a nearby hostile creature. The item will hit the creature, dealing extra damage and stunning it for a short time. The flung item loses all wetness.

 

I have a couple more ideas, but they are already covered by what we know about bad luck. Check this comment by @Maxil20for more details about what we currently know that luck effects. 

I'll put what they posted in their comment here for quoting needs:

Spoiler

AcidBatWave = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(5),
    AncientTreeSeedTreasure = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(0.1),
    BatGraveSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3, .5),
    BirdDropItem = CommonChanceUnluckHyperbolicAndLuckAdditive(2, .25),
    BrightmareSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(4),
    ChessJunkSpawnClockwork = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(5, .5),
    ChildSpawnerOtherChild = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(6),
    ChildSpawnerRareChild = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(4),
    CriticalStrike = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(.5),
    CritterNuzzle = CommonChanceUnluckHyperbolicAndLuckMult(0.5),
    DeciduousMonsterSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(6),
    DecreaseSanityMonsterPopulation = CommonChanceUnluckHyperbolicAndLuckMult(-2, 1),
    DropWetTool = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(.5, 1),
    GrassGekkoMorph = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(4, .5),
    HuntAlternateBeast = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3, 0.5),
    IncreaseSanityMonsterPopulation = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3),
    InspectablesUpgradedBox = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(0.5),
    LeifChill = CommonChanceUnluckHyperbolicAndLuckMult(1),
    LighterIgniteOnAttack = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(.5),
    LootDropperChance = CommonChanceLuckHyperbolic(3, 6, 3),
    LoseFollowerOnPanic = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(1),
    LuckyRabbitSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckHyperbolicAndLuckAdditive(1), -- This will REALLY go high with luck, which makes sense, it's the lucky rabbit! So, special 'syngery'
    LureplantChanceSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3, .5),
    MalbatrossSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(4, 1),
    MegaFlareEvent = CommonChanceLuckHyperbolic(1.5, 1, -2), -- This takes into account every player.
    MermTripleAttack = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(0.5),
    MessageBottleContainsNote = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(-.2),
    MonkeyFollowPlayer = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(2),
    ParasiteOverrideBlob = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(8),
    PirateRaidsSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(5, .5),
    PreRiftMutation = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(2),
    ResidueUpgradeFuel = CommonChanceLuckHyperbolic(2, 4),
    RuinsHatProc = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(.33),
    RuinsNightmare = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(2),
    RiftPossession = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3),
    SchoolSpawn = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(0.5),
    ShadowRiftQuaker = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(8),
    ShadowTentacleSpawn = CommonChanceLuckAdditive(0.2),
    SharkBoiSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(2),
    StatueSpawnNightmare = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(1, 1),
    SpawnLeif = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(6),
    SpecialSchoolSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3),
    SpiderQueenBetterSpider = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(3, .5),
    SpookedChance = CommonChanceUnluckHyperbolicAndLuckHyperbolic(2, -1, 0, 2),
    SquidHerdSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(5),
    TerrorbeakSpawn = CommonChanceUnluckMultAndLuckHyperbolic(2, .5),
    WildFireIgnition = CommonChanceLuckHyperbolicLower(2), -- Don't have unluckiness affect this, it affects other players really badly

To put it simply, any bad thing that could happen, likely will. I'm not too sure if good things are unlikely to happen with bad luck, but I'm sure someone smarter than me can figure that out.

Anyway I am fascinated by this as a Wes mechanic. See, Wes has always been the challenge character, so making him just easier to play would be counter intuitive for a skill tree. However, bad luck gives him a whole new angle of challenge. It doesn't just make Wes harder to play, it makes the world around him more unforgiving. Because once you learn to play around his low stats and weak arms, hes barely worse than other characters. Sure he gets targeted more but the world itself isn't really that different fundamentally. This changes that, this makes the world itself harder for Wes. I think people who like challenge will really like this mechanic, and those who don't probably don't play Wes in the first place.

But that's just my thoughts on this, what do you all think?

[Bumber64]

I think Wes fell out of the unlucky tree and got hit by every branch on the way down.

Edited February 13 by Bumber64

[blacknight7890]

16 minutes ago, Bumber64 said:

I think Wes fell out of the unlucky tree and got hit by every branch on the way down.

Most definitely.

[Naifxoxo]

wes skilltree should be when he becomes wonkey , this way wonkey has skilltree and gets a rework but the only way to access wonkey skilltree is by playing wes 

[Dr.Webber]

This is exactly the type of thing I’ve been pushing for them to add in Wes‘s skill tree. Imagine he’s running away from a mob in the caves. A border goes to fall on him and he’s able to make it fall on the mob that’s right behind him. By moving fast enough

I also wanna make it so he’s able to bring his balloons to life in someway maybe as alignments I’m not sure

or he’s able to mind things that have a physical impact

I would comment the Wes skill tree I made the post I have it in is somewhat old and these forums have a knack of losing old things even when you go 100% back on the things you posted on your profile, so I don’t know if it even still exist. Same thing happened with a potential Wonkey skill tree, I came up with, but now I’m not able to find it

[Dr.Webber]

On 2/25/2026 at 1:30 AM, Dr.Webber said:

This is exactly the type of thing I’ve been pushing for them to add in Wes‘s skill tree. Imagine he’s running away from a mob in the caves. A border goes to fall on him and he’s able to make it fall on the mob that’s right behind him. By moving fast enough

I also wanna make it so he’s able to bring his balloons to life in someway maybe as alignments I’m not sure

or he’s able to mind things that have a physical impact

I would comment the Wes skill tree I made the post I have it in is somewhat old and these forums have a knack of losing old things even when you go 100% back on the things you posted on your profile, so I don’t know if it even still exist. Same thing happened with a potential Wonkey skill tree, I came up with, but now I’m not able to find it

They could also add a skill that increases the luck of the other players around him at the cost of decreasing the luck of himself same principle as vengeful ghost and swamp Pathfinder(which by the way I dislike this skill in particular from our knowledge as a community the reason she is able to move like that is as a Merm her body is uniquely adapted for that terrain if they wanted to a skill like this, it could’ve easily made it a clever disguise upgrade that throws them with the honor of temporary partial mermification or at least do a better job at explaining it work they were always able to move that fast on marsh tuft but moved slower in caution of tentacles either way, seems like a waste of a skill record of skill pertaining to Merm societies relationship with fish, or maybe the ability to gain hunger points past her normal limit may be accompanied by a bigger form with potentially additional abilities like Wolfgang or the king of the merms such as when the king of the merms is dead and she’s in that form. Mom guards maintain something in between their king and no King form where they’re still pale and have a broken horn, but aren’t bruised and retain a similar, if not same intelligence as they had well, the king was alive. Maybe they would act differently, though them acting differently could still apply when a king of the merms is alive and she’s in that form sense she does all the work informing the society. She should definitely get a higher ranking position aside from just a atypical merm guard that merms don’t even activate their horde like effect unless she befriend them and for some reason has fully white eyes rather than a pupil like the rest of the merms even though klei has shown in the past that they’re willing to give characters those kind of eyes through wickerbottom maybe they could also add a lesser or similar ability for when she wears the corresponding quest items, they could’ve also added another Merm type, although I’m sure with the upgrades, the other two got this idea would leave them feeling left behind in the update they get introduced in. They could also good morning in depth and how the gnaw has shaped merm culture(although if you analyze the skill tree, they do pretty good job of that already) whew I got off topic)