Possible lunar affinity replacement

[Gooba]

Lunar Vessel
"Borrow" knowledge from the Cryptic Founder to allow gestalts into your mechanical allies.

Spectral Transfer Pod
Capture a new lunar friend.

Costs 15 biodata, 5 scrap, and 3 moonglass to make. Recipe increases in cost the more you make.
Placing this item on the ground will cause nearby Gestalts of any kind to float over and possess it
Filled pods can be used on certain creatures to change them.
First craft: 15b 5s 3m | Second craft: 16b 6s 3m 2moonrock | Third craft: 16b 7s 3 pure brilliance | Fourth craft and all subsequent ones: 16b 7s 2pb 2brightshade husk

Possessed Bio-Scanalyzer (Jimmy)
Giving Jimmy a filled Spectral Transfer Pod will make Jimmy faster and give 1 more biodata per scan.

Possessed Portable Storage Unit (Drew)
Giving Drew a filled Spectral Transfer Pod will cause Drew to be interactable from any distance on the map. Interacting with Drew from this method will cause an interface to show up, showing every item on the floor or in a chest in a radius of 3 tiles around Drew. Selecting items will put them in Drew. Once you are finished, there will be a button letting you send Drew around the map. Once the items are removed from drew, he will go back to the spot he was in before.

Possessed Roto-Mapper (Scott)
Giving Scott a filled Spectral Transfer Pod will cause Scott to traverse the map on his own, targeting spots that have not yet been explored.
Interacting with Scott on the map will make Scott come to you and follow you. When combat is engaged, Scott will focus the strongest aggroed mob to you, granting +15% damage to it for all players.

Possessed Zaptrocuter (Jules)
Giving Jule's Remote a filled Spectral Transfer Pod will cause Jules to descend from the sky until she is near the floor. Jules will follow the WX78 she belongs to, and will fire an electric bolt at any creature the player is fighting at a moderate pace. A maximum of 2 Jules can be possessed at any time.

Possessed B.U.D.D.Y
Giving Buddy a filled Spectral Transfer Pod will cause him to sprout little couch legs and follow the player as if it were a pet. The Buddy can be ordered to stay in one place in this state.
The Buddy may still be picked up as per usual.
 

Edited April 13 by Gooba
changing things and add jim

[Evelo]

Can you explain why the current affinity needs replacement?

[NotGabriel]

11 minutes ago, Evelo said:

Can you explain why the current affinity needs replacement?

Yea other than it being really under powered right now I don’t know why it needs to be replaced. I think what we got is awesome just needs a looooot of balancing

[doritosdamafia]

24 minutes ago, NotGabriel said:

Yea other than it being really under powered right now I don’t know why it needs to be replaced. I think what we got is awesome just needs a looooot of balancing

yea, klei only need to upgrade the I.A and add the ability to equip or remove the circuits in living chasis

[NotGabriel]

1 minute ago, doritosdamafia said:

yea, klei only need to upgrade the I.A and add the ability to equip or remove the circuits in living chasis

They got a lot more to do if you ask me

[doritosdamafia]

Just now, NotGabriel said:

They got a lot more to do if you ask me

well these two are to me the mainly ones, but with more testing probably will have more things that need a fix

[Tarnishedmax]

2 hours ago, Evelo said:

Can you explain why the current affinity needs replacement?

They are currently an active detriment to have for barely any kind of gain, it straight up takes away your ability to swap loadouts and teleport through the map in exchange of a subpar minion that does little damage and needs as much upkeep as yourself, they go insane and starve and need to be equipped manually, they dont have an inventory so if one's armor breaks during a fight you have to replace it quickly before it just eats an unarmored hit and dies leaving your chassis behind in the ground in the middle of nowhere, they are also extremely costly as they require 12 bio data and 2 scrap each plus having to go out of your way to fetch a gestalt at Lunar island pre rifts, the prep time needed for them to just be okay is insane and they need to be buffed to heaven or just, redone entirely in my opinion.

Edited April 13 by Tarnishedmax

[Kvetevk]

I love these ideas.
The lunar skill is currently useless when not picking any chassis skills, while the shadow side is better in every aspect.

[Reddddd]

To be honest, both affinities feel underwhelming right now. Shadow and Lunar come across more as QoL than actual power spikes or meaningful playstyle shifts.

From what I can tell, Shadow seems to lean into a fast, forager-style playstyle, while Lunar leans into clones or minions. The ideas are interesting, but neither feels strong or developed enough to really deliver on them.

Shadow in particular feels weak. It’s mostly small bonuses that don’t really change how you approach the game. Lunar makes more sense thematically, but still doesn’t feel impactful enough to justify being locked behind progression or hard to switch into.

I think the main issue is how affinities are positioned. They should either shape your entire run, or act as a real late-game shift you build towards. Right now they feel stuck in between.

If you compare that to characters like Willow or Wilson, their progression feels clearer. WX-78’s affinities don’t really hit either direction, so they end up feeling unsatisfying.

It could just be me expecting them to be late-game gimmicks, since they’re locked behind Fuelweaver or the Lunar Island. But since you keep them in future worlds, it feels more like a design choice than real progression. Right now they lean toward QoL, and not even in a very reliable way.

If Lunar is meant to be more “automated” or minion-based, then the AI needs to actually support that. Clones should behave intelligently, like splitting roles in fights instead of acting randomly. Some could pressure the boss while others handle objectives like clearing spore trees, and they should avoid obvious hazards like poison clouds or explosions.

If Shadow is meant to be QoL-oriented and more of a solo-focused path, then its tools need to feel worth it. The foraging should be actually useful, the hook should feel meaningful, the damage boost should be noticeable, and the mimic item usage should be more accessible. Right now Shadow just feels weak, though it’s still early and there might be more to it.

It could be that they plan to add more uses to both affinities later on, some specific circuits and upgrades, but i also kinda expected something more noticeable than a lazy forager / wurt but bad.

[Kvetevk]

3 minutes ago, Reddddd said:

To be honest, both affinities feel underwhelming right now. Shadow and Lunar come across more as QoL than actual power spikes or meaningful playstyle shifts.

From what I can tell, Shadow seems to lean into a fast, forager-style playstyle, while Lunar leans into clones or minions. The ideas are interesting, but neither feels strong or developed enough to really deliver on them.

Shadow in particular feels weak. It’s mostly small bonuses that don’t really change how you approach the game. Lunar makes more sense thematically, but still doesn’t feel impactful enough to justify being locked behind progression or hard to switch into.

I think the main issue is how affinities are positioned. They should either shape your entire run, or act as a real late-game shift you build towards. Right now they feel stuck in between.

If you compare that to characters like Willow or Wilson, their progression feels clearer. WX-78’s affinities don’t really hit either direction, so they end up feeling unsatisfying.

It could just be me expecting them to be late-game gimmicks, since they’re locked behind Fuelweaver or the Lunar Island. But since you keep them in future worlds, it feels more like a design choice than real progression. Right now they lean toward QoL, and not even in a very reliable way.

If Lunar is meant to be more “automated” or minion-based, then the AI needs to actually support that. Clones should behave intelligently, like splitting roles in fights instead of acting randomly. Some could pressure the boss while others handle objectives like clearing spore trees, and they should avoid obvious hazards like poison clouds or explosions.

If Shadow is meant to be QoL-oriented and more of a solo-focused path, then its tools need to feel worth it. The foraging should be actually useful, the hook should feel meaningful, the damage boost should be noticeable, and the mimic item usage should be more accessible. Right now Shadow just feels weak, though it’s still early and there might be more to it.

It could be that they plan to add more uses to both affinities later on, some specific circuits and upgrades, but i also kinda expected something more noticeable than a lazy forager / wurt but bad.

Shadow gives you 25% more damage if you plug the hearth and you can use mimics as normal tools if you use possessed hearth. (I don't like that Wx got bonus damage but at least you need a boss drop for that.)

So I would say only lunar is lacking rn.

[Reddddd]

20 minutes ago, Kvetevk said:

Shadow gives you 25% more damage if you plug the hearth and you can use mimics as normal tools if you use possessed hearth. (I don't like that Wx got bonus damage but at least you need a boss drop for that.)

So I would say only lunar is lacking rn.

Yeah, I appreciate you explaining it, that actually helped clarify what Shadow is supposed to do.

I think my issue isn’t really what it does, but how impactful it feels. A 25% damage boost is good on paper, but it doesn’t really change how you play or give WX-78 a clear role, especially compared to characters like Wolfgang or Wigfrid who are built around combat from the ground up.

Also, the Possessed Heart part comes online pretty late for what it offers. Getting access to the Shadow Atrium isn’t impossible, but it’s not something you casually have early on either, you have to rush quite a bit just to enable that bonus. So it doesn’t really influence early or mid game much, and by the time you get it, it doesn’t feel like a big enough payoff.

Because of that, Shadow ends up feeling like a mix of a lazy forager, a small damage buff, and a late-game gimmick, rather than something that defines a direction for WX-78.

And even the damage comparison feels off. Wigfrid already has a 1.25 damage multiplier as part of her base kit, and she also brings utility through her crafts and team buffs. So getting a similar multiplier as an affinity doesn’t really feel that special or defining.

Lunar, on the other hand, feels like it’s trying to do something more ambitious with the AI and clones, but it ends up feeling awkward instead. It doesn’t feel strong enough to be a real “army” playstyle like Wurt, and it doesn’t feel controlled or deliberate enough to match something like Maxwell. It kind of sits in between, but in a weaker state.

So you end up with one side feeling lackluster, and the other feeling clunky or underdeveloped. Even if one is slightly better than the other, that doesn’t really make it good.

I think both affinities deserve attention. Shadow needs more impact and identity, and Lunar needs better execution and control to actually deliver on its idea.

Also, after playing with the recommended circuit setups, I don’t think circuits are strong enough to justify Shadow being this niche.

You can get very tanky, but that rarely matters if your armor breaks, and if you’re already using armor, you can just heal anyway. It feels more like comfort than something that actually raises WX-78’s ceiling.

Some circuits are decent, like Electrification, but nothing really pushes him into “this is broken” territory. Beanbooster doesn’t sustain well in combat, speed is mostly convenience, and Spin-Cycle is still the only standout that actually changes gameplay.

Maybe the new tweaks help, but overall it still feels like WX-78 lacks a clear direction, both in affinities and in what his gameplay is supposed to become long-term.

Just to be clear, I’m not expecting circuits to be broken. The issue is more about direction.

Circuits are good, but not strong or consistent enough to justify affinities being this weak or niche.

So neither system really defines WX-78 long-term, and it ends up feeling unclear what he’s supposed to become.

[KINOTAKO]

I completely agree! The overall direction is arguably the most important aspect of balancing. Fundamentally, people play a specific character because they love that character's core concept and playstyle.

I really don't understand why they didn't integrate the Affinity skills with the Gamma Circuits. WX's original concept has always been about mixing and matching different circuits to adapt to the situation and creating your own unique builds.

To me, 'Affinity' should either be a natural extension of a character's core identity, or a completely brand-new, unique ability that gives them a new personality without overlapping with other characters. However, the current WX Affinity just feels like a watered-down version of Wurt, and a slightly upgraded version of Wigfrid's damage buff combined with the W.I.N.bot.

[Dr.Webber]

Maybe you could do something similar for the shadow affinity

I feel like having them possessed things that are already inhabited doesn’t really suit the idea like the things you are describing, could probably be achieved some other way, other than possession

Scott I feel definitely should have an additional ability other than scouting out stuff because it comes a point where the use is finished, but also, I feel like bringing stuff to WX is more of Drew’s ballpark

Also, you forgot Jimmy

keep workshopping it I think you’re onto something

Edited April 13 by Dr.Webber

[Kvetevk]

I think that shadow side should focus mainly on circuits, making them a bit better in any way.

Lunar side should focus on chassis and automation (drones, ai, etc.)

 

Also at least 1 circuit for each side would be good addition, probably gamma circuits.

[Ruperstiltskin]

15 minutes ago, Kvetevk said:

Also at least 1 circuit for each side would be good addition, probably gamma circuits.

Imagine an inteligence module that lets the automatons work specific tasks like programming them to do chores 

[Jakepeng99]

2 hours ago, Reddddd said:

To be honest, both affinities feel underwhelming right now. Shadow and Lunar come across more as QoL than actual power spikes or meaningful playstyle shifts.

From what I can tell, Shadow seems to lean into a fast, forager-style playstyle, while Lunar leans into clones or minions. The ideas are interesting, but neither feels strong or developed enough to really deliver on them.

Shadow in particular feels weak. It’s mostly small bonuses that don’t really change how you approach the game. Lunar makes more sense thematically, but still doesn’t feel impactful enough to justify being locked behind progression or hard to switch into.

I think the main issue is how affinities are positioned. They should either shape your entire run, or act as a real late-game shift you build towards. Right now they feel stuck in between.

If you compare that to characters like Willow or Wilson, their progression feels clearer. WX-78’s affinities don’t really hit either direction, so they end up feeling unsatisfying.

It could just be me expecting them to be late-game gimmicks, since they’re locked behind Fuelweaver or the Lunar Island. But since you keep them in future worlds, it feels more like a design choice than real progression. Right now they lean toward QoL, and not even in a very reliable way.

If Lunar is meant to be more “automated” or minion-based, then the AI needs to actually support that. Clones should behave intelligently, like splitting roles in fights instead of acting randomly. Some could pressure the boss while others handle objectives like clearing spore trees, and they should avoid obvious hazards like poison clouds or explosions.

If Shadow is meant to be QoL-oriented and more of a solo-focused path, then its tools need to feel worth it. The foraging should be actually useful, the hook should feel meaningful, the damage boost should be noticeable, and the mimic item usage should be more accessible. Right now Shadow just feels weak, though it’s still early and there might be more to it.

It could be that they plan to add more uses to both affinities later on, some specific circuits and upgrades, but i also kinda expected something more noticeable than a lazy forager / wurt but bad.

The shadow one also makes enemies take 25% more damage so it’s not underpowered by any means

[Eclipsed Nox]

It's basically an inferior version of Maxwell's Shadows in my opinion, and building the possessed chassis is really tedious.

Wouldn't it be better if your robot army were your own drones instead of chassis? Something like miniature versions of Warbot, something like WarDrone.

6 hours ago, NotGabriel said:

Tienen mucho más que hacer si me preguntas

I pretty much agree, the concept of a robot army is truly incredible! But somehow they managed to make it rather disappointing, to be honest. Not only did I notice they basically just pasted some of the code from Maxwell's Shadows (and it's very, very buggy), but WX keeps bragging about gaining lunar power and I really feel like they basically gained nothing. You sacrifice the teleportation function (which is OP) in exchange for tankier versions of Maxwell's Shadows, and they're not spammable and kind of dumb to boot.

Edited April 13 by Eclipsed Nox

[Jakepeng99]

3 hours ago, Kvetevk said:

don't like that Wx got bonus damage but at least you need a boss drop for that.)

Same he was the last character who needed it

[Reddddd]

5 hours ago, Jakepeng99 said:

Same he was the last character who needed it

 

6 hours ago, Jakepeng99 said:

The shadow one also makes enemies take 25% more damage so it’s not underpowered by any means

It’s not that it’s underpowered, it’s that it doesn’t make sense as an affinity or change how he plays.

It doesn’t add anything meaningful, no unique role, no exclusive craft, no real gameplay shift. It just feels like random bonuses put together without a clear direction.

It honestly feels like the damage modifier was designed around making the axe/maul setup more appealing on WX-78, but it doesn’t really stick or define a playstyle.

Shadow gives him a global damage modifier, a magic-related gimmick, and mimic tool usage… but he’s a robot, not a magic-oriented character like others. It feels disconnected from his identity.

If anything, something like the Heart could have been part of his base kit instead of being locked behind an endgame affinity.

(obviously in a toned-down version, not a full damage modifier). It could just add some small gimmicks by default, with both a Shadow and Lunar counterpart available regardless of your affinity choice.

Then affinities could actually build on top of that, like enhancing circuits or adding new ones, and maybe giving extra synergy if you’re using the matching Heart.

So no, it’s not underpowered. It’s just lackluster and poorly thought out. I really disagree with the idea that Shadow is fine as it is.

[Jakepeng99]

1 minute ago, Reddddd said:

 

It’s not that it’s underpowered, it’s that it doesn’t make sense as an affinity or change how he plays.

It doesn’t add anything meaningful, no unique role, no exclusive craft, no real gameplay shift. It just feels like random bonuses put together without a clear direction.

It honestly feels like the damage modifier was designed around making the axe/maul setup more appealing on WX-78, but it doesn’t really stick or define a playstyle.

Shadow gives him a global damage modifier, a magic-related gimmick, and mimic tool usage… but he’s a robot, not a magic-oriented character like others. It feels disconnected from his identity.

If anything, something like the Heart could have been part of his base kit instead of being locked behind an endgame affinity.

(obviously in a toned-down version, not a full damage modifier). It could just add some small gimmicks by default, with both a Shadow and Lunar counterpart available regardless of your affinity choice.

Then affinities could actually build on top of that, like enhancing circuits or adding new ones, and maybe giving extra synergy if you’re using the matching Heart.

So no, it’s not underpowered. It’s just lackluster and poorly thought out. I really disagree with the idea that Shadow is fine as it is.

Yeah I completly agree. I was just meaning it isnt weak. 
 

I didn’t mean shadow was fine as is, I was meaning I wouldn’t want it to get buffed to be stronger since I dislike the damage buff.

[Reddddd]

Just now, Jakepeng99 said:

Yeah I completly agree. I was just meaning it isnt weak. 
 

I didn’t mean shadow was fine as is, I was meaning I wouldn’t want it to get buffed to be stronger since I dislike the damage buff.

Hard agree, glad we’re on the same page. The damage modifier feels a bit out of place, even if it’s strong.

And yeah, I don’t think it should be buffed either. It feels more like Shadow needs a proper rework in identity and design, rather than just tweaking numbers or adding free damage.

[doritosdamafia]

43 minutes ago, Reddddd said:

 

It’s not that it’s underpowered, it’s that it doesn’t make sense as an affinity or change how he plays.

It doesn’t add anything meaningful, no unique role, no exclusive craft, no real gameplay shift. It just feels like random bonuses put together without a clear direction.

It honestly feels like the damage modifier was designed around making the axe/maul setup more appealing on WX-78, but it doesn’t really stick or define a playstyle.

Shadow gives him a global damage modifier, a magic-related gimmick, and mimic tool usage… but he’s a robot, not a magic-oriented character like others. It feels disconnected from his identity.

If anything, something like the Heart could have been part of his base kit instead of being locked behind an endgame affinity.

(obviously in a toned-down version, not a full damage modifier). It could just add some small gimmicks by default, with both a Shadow and Lunar counterpart available regardless of your affinity choice.

Then affinities could actually build on top of that, like enhancing circuits or adding new ones, and maybe giving extra synergy if you’re using the matching Heart.

So no, it’s not underpowered. It’s just lackluster and poorly thought out. I really disagree with the idea that Shadow is fine as it is.

to me at least, wx was always a scout character, but after the first rework of him, it looked klei wanted to wx to be a specialist, but because most of the fan base still wanted to play more like a scout the speed became the main circuit, but this beta looks like klei want to bring a new direction but at the same time don't, some buffs and nerfs really show that theres no one to guide or be the director this update, at least thats my impression, the drones and chasis is something i find good because it's help the scout image, but the circuit slot update goes against the idea that chasis bring, it seen like klei is afraid to try to do something really meaningful or they vision on wx is very different of the community

Edited April 13 by doritosdamafia

[NotGabriel]

To respond to the repeated questioning of why WX got a combat buff with shadow, I think it does fit WX thematically to have this kind of buff. WX in DST is a Jack of all Trades, having all kinds of different buffs that you can add onto yourself is what makes WX so fun compared to other characters. The only things they were really missing pre skill tree was ways to harvest better and ways to deal more damage. The skill tree has delivered on both fronts!

and yes I know electric circuit exists, but its more geared towards getting hit as opposed to dishing out the damage. 

Anywho, I think WX having something like the shadow damage buff that’s good but not too good fits perfectly with the master of none playstyle they lean into. Sure Wolfgang and Wigfrid give you better damage but they can’t do a shred of the other things WX can with their perks

[Jakepeng99]

9 minutes ago, NotGabriel said:

To respond to the repeated questioning of why WX got a combat buff with shadow, I think it does fit WX thematically to have this kind of buff. WX in DST is a Jack of all Trades, having all kinds of different buffs that you can add onto yourself is what makes WX so fun compared to other characters. The only things they were really missing pre skill tree was ways to harvest better and ways to deal more damage. The skill tree has delivered on both fronts!

The shadow buff is just unconditional and doesnt need circuit slots.

WX already has combat related buffs in the form of axe, speed, and electric circuits.

im against a damage circuit but a damage circuit would at least have a price of some of his circuit slots.

[doritosdamafia]

1 minute ago, Jakepeng99 said:

The shadow buff is just unconditional and doesnt need circuit slots.

WX already has combat related buffs in the form of axe, speed, and electric circuits.

im against a damage circuit but a damage circuit would at least have a price of some of his circuit slots.

the damage increase is probably because of the debuff wx can give to mob so other players can do more damage, because make it coop exclusive would be bad