[POLL] Which character without a skill tree are you most excited and curious about?

[GamePlayer42]

22 minutes ago, Mr Giggio said:

We have already a very low amount of options/ synergy and support between characters and the very few you guys take it as a "me thing". I'm not against Wicker getting stuff that is her own. Taking away this interactions tho does nothing to benefit the char.

yeah i think you make a fair point, she could definitely use things that are specific to her rather than taking away from character interaction, only problem is balance really and i think maxwell even pre skilltree is very very overinflated with his power and i think that wickers books only contribute more to that

[Dr. Safety]

Shadow aligned Wickerbottom should be able to read the codex for increased sanity costs. Speaking as a former Maxwell main

[Edible Coal]

25 minutes ago, Dr. Safety said:

Shadow aligned Wickerbottom should be able to read the codex for increased sanity costs. Speaking as a former Maxwell main

that is a ( pardon me saying this ) rather simpleton idea, the two book mage users clearly need to set themselves apart rather then cannibalize on each other tool kits....

[Mysterious box]

2 hours ago, Mr Giggio said:

If you want some voice, even tho you will just reply and reply and refuse to get a point because this is  a novel I saw many times, here it goes:

Support characters don't make it bad, what makes it bad is the character that supports being resume to that.

Cutting the support makes it less interesting. If Warly couldn't share recipes it makes him less strong. The fact only Max and Wurt can read but ALSO has other perks has nothing to do with what Wicker is lacking. Blaming and wanting to take away is just greedy, selfish *** that got a lot of push back for a reason

 

This is far from a equal comparsion especially when Wickerbottom clearly isn't meant to be a support role she just has some abilities that can support.

However let's address the Warly part of that. A lot of people have said in the past that Warly has the same thing as Wickerbottom but there's many key differences. When you build her bookcase and books she's no longer needed in the feedback loop unless something happens to the books or bookcase this would be like if you played an mmo and after the healer cast heal once the mage could use it for the rest of the game but more efficiently and at that point why would you use the healer ever again?

Now one might say well Warly is the same but his deal isn't yes everyone can use the food he makes but he still needs to make that food. Next people will bring up that you could mass produce the food thus eliminating Warly but not only is that tedious unless you've reached a point where his dishes probably aren't worth the effort but you will still eventually need to go back you are increasing the workload to use his dishes and even then you still need him. Wickerbottom isn't needed from the moment she crafts her last book she's just an inferior Maxwell at that point.

Support characters only work when the support they offer doesn't cut them from the gameplay loop which is exactly what Wickerbottom's does.

While I'm debunking bad potential arguments let's address another no Wickerbottom isn't a boring character how enjoyable a character is has nothing to do with the problem Maxwell posses to her. He asks the question why play Wickerbottom when you can play Wickerbottom+ and the answer to that can't just be well it's clearly just that she's boring as we've seen people lose their crap over characters coming too close to replacing what their characters do best so why should Wickerbottom's entire identity being directly stolen be considered not a big deal?

Also Wurt reading her books doesn't take away from Wickerbottom because she does it in her own unique way Maxwell just takes her powers and calls it a day.

[Mr Giggio]

46 minutes ago, gaymime said:

also, so you don't think i am biased; i play maxwell sometimes i NEVER play wicker. i have no interest in wicker and will continue to infrequently play maxwell.

I do both too and play solo in most cases and the fact Wicker can do stuff almost same pace as Maxwell (at least the shadow arc) for me makes me feel like people don't start with her as often because can struggle more with content but she is totally doable and again, I hope her skill tree come to be the best we have so far I wish a lot of shine but I can't stand this "other touching books bad" argument.

8 minutes ago, Mysterious box said:

when Wickerbottom clearly isn't meant to be a support role

 How u went to this conclusion tho

[Mysterious box]

1 hour ago, Mr Giggio said:

We have already a very low amount of options/ synergy and support between characters and the very few you guys take it as a "me thing". I'm not against Wicker getting stuff that is her own. Taking away this interactions tho does nothing to benefit the char.

Books are her thing that's literally her job before and after the constant this is like giving away Wanda's clocks and going man I wish Wanda had something that actually belonged to her.

Also lack of synergy? Are we playing the same game? Warly+ everyone, Wortox+Weremoose or Wormwood. Wurt's clever disguse allowing wortox and webber to be netrual to and recruit bunnymen. Wx providing infinite light, heating, cooling etc. This is just to name a few and none of them replace the character's main gimmick to synergize.

1 hour ago, Mr Giggio said:

Taking away this interactions tho does nothing to benefit the char.

Except give them a unique role on a team.

3 minutes ago, Mr Giggio said:

How u went to this conclusion tho

I'm more interested in how you reached the idea that she is a support role? Is Wurt a support role? Is Wigfrid what makes her a support role by your standards?

[flamboyant wolf]

15 minutes ago, Mr Giggio said:

 How u went to this conclusion tho

While I think both Warly and Wickerbottom could be classified as a "support role", as they both "support" the team in their own ways, I will not get lost in the semantics, and adress specifically your assertion that Wickerbottom's abilities being able to be used by Maxwell is just her being a "supportive character".

Let's take look at Warly and Wickerbottom, or more specifically, the perks they "share" with others.

1. Warly can make special dishes and spices that can provide benefits/buffs on consumption. Any other player can eat the dish made/spiced by Warly and benefit from it, so what intention can we see behind Warly's design? Well, I think it'd be quite fair to say the intent here is to be able to aid/buff yourself and your friends, quite simple and straightforward. 

2. Wickerbottom can make books, which she can read for various special effects. Maxwell can read those books as well. Maxwell is the only other character who can read Wickerbottom's books for their special effects, which leads to the question, what is the intent behind Wickerbottom's character anyway? If she was meant to be a character who makes the books other characters can use and benefit from independently, like Warly and his dishes, then surely they would be usable by everyone, yeah? But it is only Maxwell, so then, was the intention of Wickerbottom's design to simply be an extension to Maxwell specifically? obviously no, that'd simply be bad game design. So it is fair to conclude that Wickerbottom's abilities were designed with the intent of her being the one to use the books.

But does that mean Wickerbottom is meant to be the only one to benefit from her perks? Well, let's compare the books to Warly's dishes once again. While the dishes provide their benefits only to the one who ate them, books apply the effect on: 1) The area around the caster; 2) The caster and other players around them; 3) The world/shard as a whole. Take note of how none of the books need to be read by another player for them to benefit from/be affected by them. This is what I meant when I said earlier in this post that she can be classified as being a "support role", she indeed can provide support to other players, down to directly affecting them(drying off and changing temperature,  giving prototyping charges), or the world around them(rain/moon phase). 

So, to conclude, Maxwell being able to read Wickerbottom's books has nothing to do with her being a supportive character or not, and removing this ability from him does not detract from Wickerbottom's ability to aid&support other players. 

[YouKnowWho142]

6 hours ago, Mr Giggio said:

We have already a very low amount of options/ synergy and support between characters and the very few you guys take it as a "me thing". I'm not against Wicker getting stuff that is her own. Taking away this interactions tho does nothing to benefit the char.

I don't really like this argument. Being able to use each other's perks isn't a character synergy, it's just stealing each other's perks. A proper synergy is something like Wortox's healing pairing well with Wormwood's living logs, or even in this case Wickerbottom being able to quickly grow Wormwood's crops. These are things that neither character can do alone but prop up each other when combined. I also believe that both characters need to be present and exist for it to be a proper synergy. In this case, Maxwell's ability to use Wickerbottom's books with effectively zero downsides only detracts from Wickerbottom's identity since Wickerbottom does not need to be present for this interaction to happen.

The sort of compromise I've always imagined was that, while Maxwell can still use Wickerbottom's books, books can only recharge in a bookcase if there is a Wickerbottom present, or as an extreme option make the bookcase only accessible to Wickerbottom. This would give Wickerbottom a unique edge over Maxwell since, although Maxwell can still use her books, he cannot effectively recharge them himself. It means a Wickerbottom would still need to be present for Maxwell to utilize the most out of her books instead of relegating her to an inferior version of herself the moment her books are crafted, and this would help partially fix this "synergy" issue.

I'm sure her skill tree will help with quite a few things as well, just look at Winona.

Edited April 23 by YouKnowWho142

[brednas7]

On 4/22/2026 at 12:54 AM, Nikki Darks said:

The fix is as easy as removing Maxwell's reading tag that lets him read her books... The only reason they haven't is because Maxwell players are very vocal and QUITE against the idea of not being able to use another character's skills without having to play them. 

Can't we just make books lose more durability when Maxwell reads it? If it becomes far less convenient for Maxwell to read Wickerbottom's books, then Wickerbottom becomes the better choose to use her own books.

[Bumber64]

2 hours ago, brednas7 said:

Can't we just make books lose more durability when Maxwell reads it? If it becomes far less convenient for Maxwell to read Wickerbottom's books, then Wickerbottom becomes the better choose to use her own books.

Maxwell would just store extra books in his magician's hat, much like his dapperness counters the sanity penalty.

It needs to be something more like slower reading time.

Edited April 23 by Bumber64

[Mysterious box]

3 hours ago, brednas7 said:

Can't we just make books lose more durability when Maxwell reads it? If it becomes far less convenient for Maxwell to read Wickerbottom's books, then Wickerbottom becomes the better choose to use her own books.

This doesn't fix the issue and worse yet punishes her if a Maxwell decides to use her book as now she has to wait even longer to use it.

[Nikki Darks]

14 hours ago, Mr Giggio said:

If you want some voice, even tho you will just reply and reply and refuse to get a point because this is  a novel I saw many times, here it goes:

Support characters don't make it bad, what makes it bad is the character that supports being resume to that.

Cutting the support makes it less interesting. If Warly couldn't share recipes it makes him less strong. The fact only Max and Wurt can read but ALSO has other perks has nothing to do with what Wicker is lacking. Blaming and wanting to take away is just greedy, selfish *** that got a lot of push back for a reason

 

And yet I again, I see no genuine reason as to why Wickerbottom's core identity should actually be used by another character?

Idk why you have to be inflammatory and to call me selfish, but I'll take the bait and ask you this.

If Wickerbottom's core identity is books, her MAIN and CENTRAL character perk that you think another character should be able to use the same way if not even better... 

Then should other characters be able to use Abigail? Wendy's MAIN and CENTRAL character perk?

Should other characters be able to FULLY use the Codex Umbra? Should everyone have Wolfgang's double damage? Should everyone be able to use Wortox's souls?

Why do people who play this game always defend Maxwell using Wickerbottom books, but don't keep that same logic and energy when it comes to other characters?

I want to have an Abigail when playing Wickerbottom? I want to use Codex Umbra as Willow? I want to be able to upgrade my character with circuits as Wes?

But knowing people like you, you'll think of an argument as to way this shouldn't exist.

But I guess other players get to fully enjoy their characters, my character is rendered worthless the moment a Maxwell joins the server. 

So this is my last response. Don't be selfish, let everyone make an Abigail's flower or a Codex Umbra, don't be greedy.

6 hours ago, brednas7 said:

Can't we just make books lose more durability when Maxwell reads it? If it becomes far less convenient for Maxwell to read Wickerbottom's books, then Wickerbottom becomes the better choose to use her own books.

The core of the problem isn't even the efficiency at which he uses her books, the core of the problem that Maxwell can just even USE Wickerbottom's core perk, her whole identity. It shouldn't exist.

4 minutes ago, Nikki Darks said:

And yet I again, I see no genuine reason as to why Wickerbottom's core identity should actually be used by another character?

Idk why you have to be inflammatory and to call me selfish, but I'll take the bait and ask you this.

If Wickerbottom's core identity is books, her MAIN and CENTRAL character perk that you think another character should be able to use the same way if not even better... 

Then should other characters be able to use Abigail? Wendy's MAIN and CENTRAL character perk?

Should other characters be able to FULLY use the Codex Umbra? Should everyone have Wolfgang's double damage? Should everyone be able to use Wortox's souls?

Why do people who play this game always defend Maxwell using Wickerbottom books, but don't keep that same logic and energy when it comes to other characters?

I want to have an Abigail when playing Wickerbottom? I want to use Codex Umbra as Willow? I want to be able to upgrade my character with circuits as Wes?

But knowing people like you, you'll think of an argument as to way this shouldn't exist.

But I guess other players get to fully enjoy their characters, my character is rendered worthless the moment a Maxwell joins the server. 

So this is my last question: Why is it selfish and greedy of me to want Wickerbottom to be the only one to use her core identity and not have it be used by a different character? Would you be willing to let every character use every other characters' core skills?

The core of the problem isn't even the efficiency at which he uses her books, the core of the problem that Maxwell can just even USE Wickerbottom's core perk, her whole identity. It shouldn't exist.

 

[MeowDao]

Undoubtedly, it's Warly and Wickerbottom. They have very strong character traits, and I'm glad to see so many people caring about these two characters.

[gaymime]

12 hours ago, Mr Giggio said:

I do both too and play solo in most cases and the fact Wicker can do stuff almost same pace as Maxwell (at least the shadow arc) for me makes me feel like people don't start with her as often because can struggle more with content but she is totally doable and again, I hope her skill tree come to be the best we have so far I wish a lot of shine but I can't stand this "other touching books bad" argument.

so while i see where your personal feelings are coming from i don't think everyone else should shush and sit down just because you don't like the idea of losing something you already have. it is ok to feel the way you feel but it kind of sucks that you are using that feeling to justify telling people who have opposing feelings that they are all collectively incorrect for having them. 

[Draggofroot]

17 minutes ago, MeowDao said:

Undoubtedly, it's Warly and Wickerbottom. They have very strong character traits, and I'm glad to see so many people caring about these two characters.

"strong character traits" and those traits are to give their own traits to others

[Castiliano]

On 4/21/2026 at 8:58 PM, NNOUS said:

''force'' Wickerbottom to be more 'intreresting' character by capping maxwell form reading wikibottoms' books
Terribile idea, no thanks

Allowing a character to have their own skills and upsides isn't forcing a character to become more interesting. Maxwell is basically a usurper of almost EVERYTHING she possesses.

[MeowDao]

3 minutes ago, Draggofroot said:

"strong character traits" and those traits are to give their own traits to others

Haha,u know I don't mean the in-game mechanics.

[Mysterious box]

5 hours ago, Draggofroot said:

"strong character traits" and those traits are to give their own traits to others

To be fair Warly does it in a unique way for example looking at it in another light he makes "potions" with very special effects. As for Wickerbottom if you remove Maxwell from the picture she's a very interesting take on a witch.

[Templar_Warden]

7 hours ago, MeowDao said:

Undoubtedly, it's Warly and Wickerbottom. They have very strong character traits, and I'm glad to see so many people caring about these two characters.

what about webber, i thought he was just a lag machine that doesnt work well in groups in a game called dont starve "together" where he is only good when playing with other webbers no?

[Mr Giggio]

22 hours ago, Mysterious box said:

I'm more interested in how you reached the idea that she is a support role?

You can dodge the question but answering yours, how come she's not when four of her books it's to mass farm food and food alone, one to mass farm resources and another to give light, one to stop fire and then finally three fighting books. Majority of the books are there design to attend the needs of a whole server with foods and basics. Most of it being the ones Max touch because I'm not touching bees or sleep when Umbra is already that demanding and bees are mostly noise than a significant raise in dps, rather use em with her for Toad and CK fights - tentacles for Beequeen/shadow pieces and fuel weaver, because she relying on book is necessary for those (in most cases) but not for him

So why Max being the one reading food or grass books matter that much baffles me

Edited April 24 by Mr Giggio

[Mysterious box]

2 hours ago, Mr Giggio said:

You can dodge the question but answering yours, how come she's not when four of her books it's to mass farm food and food alone, one to mass farm resources and another to give light, one to stop fire and then finally three fighting books. Majority of the books are there design to attend the needs of a whole server with foods and basics. Most of it being the ones Max touch because I'm not touching bees or sleep when Umbra is already that demanding and bees are mostly noise than a significant raise in dps, rather use em with her for Toad and CK fights - tentacles for Beequeen/shadow pieces and fuel weaver, because she relying on book is necessary for those (in most cases) but not for him

So why Max being the one reading food or grass books matter that much baffles me

It's not a dodge because what you've described applies to most of the cast.

Walter's campfire stories heal the teams sanity, his slowdown rounds can help a team escape trouble, he can deliver items, duplicate food, and various other things that are supportive to a server. Wigfrid has all her songs support the team while crafting cheap gear for team. Wx passively keeps the team warm or cool, makes long term preserved food out of rot, gives them light and various other things. Same applies to Winona, Wurt, and a ton of others.

When it comes to Wickerbottom there's nothing that definitely puts her in the support role other than only acknowledging what has the potential to support others as those books help herself just as much. Maxwell reading it is a problem because it replaces her role on the team with another who just does everything she does but better. Each character should contribute something unique to a team but Wickerbottom doesn't have that because Klei let Maxwell take her entire skill set and as mentioned previously if it's what her role is why is Maxwell the only one to do it? 

What maxwell does isn't supportive or teamwork it's just identity theft.

[GetNerfedOn]

i typed out something lengthy relating to the wicker discussion but i suppose it's pointless it is not like anyone would listen for the sake of reaching consensus why am i still here

 

anyways on the topic of the thread rain or shine i will play warly regardless of skill tree or no but i would like if he gets one and i know that people would like if he gets one and there are many ideas and expectations of his skill tree