How do you think will the character's kits change/adapt?

[flamboyant wolf]

Time for more (mostly)baseless, yet entertaining speculation!

How do you think the characters' perks, abilities, downsides and overall kits will change, get adapted, or otherwise altered?

For example, we see quite a lot of water around, we even see Willow swim in it, and one of the 4 survivors we for sure know is in, is our water-fearing robot fella WX-78. Do you think their wetness downside will massively limit their interaction with water, or do you think it would get reworked into a more gradual, over-time danger for them? Will they have any of the stuff from their upcoming skilltree built-in? Will they even have the circuit system or do you think klei might reimagine some characters entirely, like they reimagined the world? 

Stuff like that. Also just in general, do you think there'll be a bigger focus on downsides perhaps? What possible new abilities could emerge from the new elevation, swimming etc (Wolfgang throwing players around? Weregoose flying up a cliff?)

[Jakepeng99]

WX’s downside was always irrelevant most the time, until it rains at the wrong time wrong place and you die in a boss fight because you have an eyebrella and only brought head armour. Or you get screwed over by random Autumn rain which is very annoying.

More water mechanics just seems like a way to make his downside considerable which is good.

 

[aidancode]

I have this kinda baseless idea that when EA comes out, characters in DSE will be simpler than they are in DST, maybe without skill trees, and they'll let those be added based on what ends up being popular in the EA. I think this is a good chance to soft-reset character power levels. There also might be some character perks that can be adapted into everyone things, such as Wigfrid's shield, which could totally work as a base thing anyone could make.

[Creatorofswamps]

For some reason, I'm confident that the characters will become simpler in the sense that they won't have a huge number of advantages without any disadvantages. I assume that this will be closer to the DS format, where the characters have a main disadvantage and a few advantages. Perhaps this feeling comes from the fact that Klei has the opportunity to take a fresh look and make everything more harmonious

[sealnados]

they'll presumably mostly be their dst selves without skill trees and some tweaking

2 hours ago, flamboyant wolf said:

Do you think their wetness downside will massively limit their interaction with water, or do you think it would get reworked into a more gradual, over-time danger for them?

craftable bag of rice to reduce incoming wetness for wx specifically

[Mike23Ua]

I would like to ask Klei what is the Age rating for DSE.

The reason I ask this is because if it’s T for Teen or E for Everyone..?

Im currently playing Graveyard Keeper on Xbox Series X/S (they gave it away for FREE to celebrate the launch of Graveyard Keeper 2.. so if you want it grab it now cause it’s a limited time deal!)

Ahem anyway, playing this game makes me wish that Wendy’s gameplay was more like this, I want to be able to well attend to Graveyards by repairing headstones, fixing plots, etc..  and I strongly feel like that would go well in DSE.

Another thing I would love to see which is admitably a bit darker than Graveyard Keeping.. is uhh “Corrupted Players”

The games description warns not to linger In The fog too long and I was curious as to if instead of only affecting player sanity, if this could also mutate the player character themselves? (Play Rad or Last Stand Aftermath you’ll understand)

We saw in the latest don’t starve together animation a mutated corrupt version of Charlie, and I think it would be cool if characters can become more and more deranged looking the longer they linger in “the fog”

Yup total throwback nod to the original DS by the way where Maxwell begins to slowly look less and less Human as you progress through the campaign! ♥️

[flamboyant wolf]

8 minutes ago, Mike23Ua said:

I would like to ask Klei what is the Age rating for DSE.

The reason I ask this is because if it’s T for Teen or E for Everyone..?

Im currently playing Graveyard Keeper on Xbox Series X/S (they gave it away for FREE to celebrate the launch of Graveyard Keeper 2.. so if you want it grab it now cause it’s a limited time deal!)

Ahem anyway, playing this game makes me wish that Wendy’s gameplay was more like this, I want to be able to well attend to Graveyards by repairing headstones, fixing plots, etc..  and I strongly feel like that would go well in DSE.

Another thing I would love to see which is admitably a bit darker than Graveyard Keeping.. is uhh “Corrupted Players”

The games description warns not to linger In The fog too long and I was curious as to if instead of only affecting player sanity, if this could also mutate the player character themselves? (Play Rad or Last Stand Aftermath you’ll understand)

We saw in the latest don’t starve together animation a mutated corrupt version of Charlie, and I think it would be cool if characters can become more and more deranged looking the longer they linger in “the fog”

Yup total throwback nod to the original DS by the way where Maxwell begins to slowly look less and less Human as you progress through the campaign! ♥️

some body horror would be fun, hah.

[Capybara007]

 

4 hours ago, aidancode said:

There also might be some character perks that can be adapted into everyone things, such as Wigfrid's shield, which could totally work as a base thing anyone could make.

Willow places a torch on the ground, like wilson in dst

I really hope they focus more on downsides

[Dr. Safety]

I hope that they abandon the idea of ever having PvP, so that there is no need to try to balance characters around it.

The only big change I really want to see from a character is Woodie. I really hope that they go back to only having a beaver transformation. The other forms are cool and all, but the beaver made him so iconic, and the other forms really took away from that imo. In DST, they made the beaver weak due to PVP, and then added the other forms to compensate later on.

Edit: for clarification, I think that the beaver should be faster and generally okay at fighting, similar to how it was in solo DS. Remove the need for the goose and moose. I even like the idea of healing by eating wood while in beaver form again

Edited April 10 by Dr. Safety

[Antynomity]

I think (more like hope) that they will pretty drastically change a bunch of stuff regarding the characters while still keeping their "identity", i.e Wilson will probably still be the "baseline" though I wouldn't be surprised if they do give him something; Willow having her lighter and being immune to fire; Wendy having Abigail; and WX having some sort of "upgrade" path, be it circuits or something else - while also really putting an emphasis on downsides, making the characters more unique to play as other than just being good at the same thing but in a different way.

[NotGabriel]

I do hope they keep skill trees and tinker some of them to better fit the new game. Like alignments may have to be reworked. I’d like to see them take the chance on having skills earned from actual play time in a world and not just unlocked once and usable forever. Would make dying more punishing!

[flamboyant wolf]

3 hours ago, Capybara007 said:

 

Willow places a torch on the ground, like wilson in dst

I really hope they focus more on downsides

 

1 hour ago, Antynomity said:

I think (more like hope) that they will pretty drastically change a bunch of stuff regarding the characters while still keeping their "identity", i.e Wilson will probably still be the "baseline" though I wouldn't be surprised if they do give him something; Willow having her lighter and being immune to fire; Wendy having Abigail; and WX having some sort of "upgrade" path, be it circuits or something else - while also really putting an emphasis on downsides, making the characters more unique to play as other than just being good at the same thing but in a different way.

Bigger focus on downsides would be lovely to see! A combination of ups and dows can make a character feel so much more unqiue.

[RoughCactus69]

8 hours ago, Jakepeng99 said:

WX’s downside was always irrelevant most the time, until it rains at the wrong time wrong place and you die in a boss fight because you have an eyebrella and only brought head armour. Or you get screwed over by random Autumn rain which is very annoying.

More water mechanics just seems like a way to make his downside considerable which is good.

 

I was just about to say this! Having the ability to actually walk through water but also the ability to jump pad over it adds to his downside but also workarounds for his downside.

 

Sincerely,

Cactus

[Mike23Ua]

7 hours ago, flamboyant wolf said:

some body horror would be fun, hah.

I was thinking some crazy stuff that if the player lingers in “the fog” for too long would mutate their body and possibly give them GOOD Mutations that help, or BAD ones that make survival more difficult. You guys really need to play RAD or The Last Stand: Aftermath to truly get a full concept of what I’m trying to say but basically… If Wilson Lingers in the Foggy area (which would be a dynamic weather hazard you can try to outrun and get away from by climbing higher/going lower than the path it’s rolling by in) then crazy stuff might happen such as for example growing 4 arms.. he could then hold a torch, umbrella and sword all at once! Or he may get a skin mutation that can absorb fire, cool??? Heat resistance! Well errr yes, but that also means his torches & campfires burn out faster because his body is absorbing the flame and causing it to burn out quicker.

Wendy could get some very eriee and bizarre “Sixth Sense” which would visibly show on her character by growing 6 glowing eyeballs on her head (allowing her to have night vision.. but mobs that saw her as “Human” now attack her as a “Monster”) 

Basically the TL:DR- Lingering around inside the fog will corrupt not just the resources and mobs but the playable character themselves this can be helpful, or hindering.. and it’s up to you to decide if you want to take the risk of “the fog” or try to escape out of its path.

And just like with Rad or Last Stand Aftermath, too many mutations = that ain’t good, gg you died!

Klei tried something similar already with character mutation via the Wonkey Curse, so why not with this new game… take a bold risk on something actually NEW something actually Random.. and bring in some true RogueLike random chaos? ♥️

For players who prefer NOT to grow six glowing eyeballs, simply get away from wherever the fog is rolling in.

this would make jumping down into ponds or going up hills actually relevant and a core aspect of a “Elevated” Don’t Starve.

Plus it would be Gothy, Eldritch & Creepy as all Hell.

[AngieD]

13 hours ago, aidancode said:

I have this kinda baseless idea that when EA comes out, characters in DSE will be simpler than they are in DST, maybe without skill trees, and they'll let those be added based on what ends up being popular in the EA. I think this is a good chance to soft-reset character power levels. There also might be some character perks that can be adapted into everyone things, such as Wigfrid's shield, which could totally work as a base thing anyone could make.

I think skill trees will stay. I’m assuming this based on the Steam tags  there’s a "roguelite" tag which usually means we’ll be able to upgrade our characters and that those upgrades will carry over between runs. So it sounds like skill trees similar to DST.

For me that would be great. But I’d like to see some improvements, updates or reworks especially to the older ones like Wilson for example so they’re all on a similar level of design. Maybe the skill trees will be bigger and include more features

[Mysterious box]

3 hours ago, AngieD said:

I think skill trees will stay. I’m assuming this based on the Steam tags  there’s a "roguelite" tag which usually means we’ll be able to upgrade our characters and that those upgrades will carry over between runs. So it sounds like skill trees similar to DST.

For me that would be great. But I’d like to see some improvements, updates or reworks especially to the older ones like Wilson for example so they’re all on a similar level of design. Maybe the skill trees will be bigger and include more features

I think it'd go in the opposite direction if anything with smaller less impactful trees if they even end up being a thing at all since it's been shown some character abilities have become baseline. At the very least the current version of skill trees is unlikely as they don't have a solid idea on where the current skill trees are going yet so it's hard to believe they'd have them ready to port over to a game that's likely already very far along into development. It's not impossible but that would mean the game once again wasn't designed with them in mind and if that is the case that would he truly unfortunate.

If anything Wilson's skill tree could probably become the skill tree all survivors get with the beard tab being the only part that's character specific for example.

[Cheggf]

Since we're baselessly speculating I'm just going to write out what I hope it's going to be like. Essentially, I want it to go more towards what Don't Starve originally was. Together can stay this weird RPG thing with overpowered characters having really strong skill trees and powers, with a focus almost entirely on boss fights. I want Elsewhere to be more about survival, exploration, and experimentation.

Characters have no skill tree, and simple kits. Nowhere near DS before SNP, but also nowhere near DST's current level. Somewhere around DS after SNP, early DST, something like that. Maybe in-between DS & DST, closer to DS. The characters' downsides are much more noticeable, such as WX being in more trouble with this new interest in water, while not being overbearing. Far more impactful than nothing downsides like Willow, but not so straining as the hardest characters like Warly or Wormwood (even though I like those downsides and I personally would like if everyone was like that I realize that every character being like that would be bad). Just something that you actually notice, and might have to think about and maybe plan around.

The main gameplay is about exploration and survival, not boss fights. There would still be boss fights, but they would not be the only thing that the game seems to care about. There would be more complexity to the survival (DS & DST's has admittedly always been very simplistic) while not being so harsh that you can do nothing except scrape by the skin of your teeth, accomplishing nothing except delaying your death (unless you suck at the game, in which case that should be what you're doing as you learn and improve).

Also, I hope it's on a better engine that doesn't have the weird issues the current one does like the huge input delay even in singleplayer.

[Harrowick]

17 hours ago, Dr. Safety said:

I hope that they abandon the idea of ever having PvP, so that there is no need to try to balance characters around it.

The only big change I really want to see from a character is Woodie. I really hope that they go back to only having a beaver transformation. The other forms are cool and all, but the beaver made him so iconic, and the other forms really took away from that imo. In DST, they made the beaver weak due to PVP, and then added the other forms to compensate later on.

Edit: for clarification, I think that the beaver should be faster and generally okay at fighting, similar to how it was in solo DS. Remove the need for the goose and moose. I even like the idea of healing by eating wood while in beaver form again

True!! I think it'd be thematic too seeing as how we now have rivers!! I wouldn't mind seeing the other forms return, but I also wouldn't mind if they condensed Woodie back into his prior human/werebeaver dynamic. I think the other forms made Woodie feel too much like a druid(?) for me, and I do kinda miss the cursed lumberjack who uses his bane as a boon. 

The Woodie i'd like to see in Elsewhere would have some wilderness survival tricks up his sleeve, retaining his gathering and wood carving skills! (and hey maybe the Werebeaver could construct fragile dams across rivers for crossing!)

edit: quick sketch to illustrate the idea!!

Edited April 11 by Harrowick

[WenericMember]

My guesses for adaptations:

- Wilson gets some low tier transmutation and some of the other tree perks. 
- Willow gets some of her pyro skills back, though the Ember system is changed to something else
- Wendy remains mostly unchanged, but gets to keep a few team spirit skills from her tree
- WX keeps his current rework, but has a much more punishing downside to water with the ocean, and the Bio-Scanylzer is removed in exchange for more costly recipes

[Cheggf]

I really hope Woodie goes back into a cursed lumberjack instead of a nonsensical druid & Willow goes back to a pyromaniac instead of the game's millionth wizard. 

[flamboyant wolf]

1 hour ago, Cheggf said:

I really hope Woodie goes back into a cursed lumberjack instead of a nonsensical druid & Willow goes back to a pyromaniac instead of the game's millionth wizard. 

Honestly I kinda want the 3 forms to stay. Wouldn't mind a rework to how the curse/forms work, but I don't wanna lose my precious goose/moose. Though it is true that Werebeaver could prob replace the other 2 in functionality fine enough(and this place seems to not be influenced by the moon as much, so I could see it even fitting into lore why the other 2 forms went away just as they appeared).

 

Edit: I think it really depends on what direction klei will take characters in in general. If the plan will be to simplify them, then condensing the wereforms back into just the Beaver could work, it could go back to a solid fighter, have some extra speed, could even swim quicker since beavers are great swimmers. If characters stay at a more complicated, gimmicky level, then I think having 3 wereforms could bring some fun interactions with the new mechanics. Beaver, as mentioned, could be great with swimming and water in general, could perhaps even get submerged items (as seen in the trailer) without much hassle. Weregoose, the bird it is, could interact with the y-axis some, flying up cliffs, or just gliding down. Weremoose... being tall could probably stand in deeper water without needing to swim? and uh... well we saw more things being able to move characters around in the trailer so maybe Weremoose could do something with that..? yeet the Wilson up a cliff. Yeah I'm kinda grasping at straws at this point, but you know, we know very little about the game atm so anything I'm saying rn is as good as daydreaming.

Edited April 11 by flamboyant wolf

[Capybara007]

I really wish this game didnt had skill trees but the roguelite tag kinda confirms it

[Wexton]

Crossing my fingers Wilson gets changed to a support role instead of getting any actual perks.

Never understood the path they took with his skill tree. He's supposed to give you the most basic, raw Don't Starve experience. A healthier twist for him to represent the change to "Together" would have been the support role.

Something like generic buffs would work (Damage... Regen... Defense...). But he's experienced on both science and magic at this point. Would be cool if he gave different temporary effects to different characters. Maybe specifically about helping them with their downsides.

Making WX be safer from water... Helping Wormwood heal... Weakening Wortox's curse... And of course, Making other Wilsons instantly grow the brand new deerclops sized stage 6 beard... Etc.

As a bonus. Being revived by Wilson (By Telltale hearts or whatever method Elsewhere will have) Could have no penalties. Since reviving was kinda his big thing since OG DS (Also shown in the Forge event).

[Cheggf]

21 minutes ago, flamboyant wolf said:

Honestly I kinda want the 3 forms to stay. Wouldn't mind a rework to how the curse/forms work, but I don't wanna lose my precious goose/moose. Though it is true that Werebeaver could prob replace the other 2 in functionality fine enough(and this place seems to not be influenced by the moon as much, so I could see it even fitting into lore why the other 2 forms went away just as they appeared).

The extra forms are an absurd flanderization of the character. He is not a silly Canadian zany Canadian furry who's a wacky Canadian druid and a Canadian Canadian and by the way did you guys know that he's Canadian. He's a cursed Canadian lumberjack. They have changed the curse from a silly twist on the werewolf trope to being the entirety of his character. His simplistic way to transform is now reliant on character crafts, because everyone has just gotta have character crafts (which also makes it so that the full moon transformation usually just has you hold still until the form expires since they're all now so specific). Even his CSS description has become extremely wordy and unfunny. It went from witty and funny to wordy and unfunny. I don't know why the Don't Starve wiki removed his bio in Don't Starve so I can't check right now, but I think it used to be

*Has a lovely axe...
*And a terrible curse!
*Celebrates Thanksgiving <too early>/<at the correct time>

which was great. Simple, to the point, funny, gives you an idea of his character without spelling everything out for you. Now it's

*Has a lovely axe...
*And is at war with the forest (What does this even mean?)
*Suffers from the curse of the Werebeaver! (Pointless spoiler)
*And there Weremoose and the Weregoose (So wordy)
*Celebrates Thanksgiving <too early>/<at the correct time> (Feels tacked on at this point with how many random things there are)

Woodie's character has been killed just like Wortox's and Willow's. Everyone suffers from this a bit but those three are horrid. 

[Capybara007]

To me willow is the one that suffered the most from a nonsensical skill tree

In the trailer i dont see any ember things and hopefully it stays that way