A Sincere Request: Please Consider Reverting to the Original Shadow Affinity (Servitor 1.0)

[NASAZZAM]

Dear Klei Development Team,

I am writing this to express my strong preference for the original version (1.0) of WX-78's Shadow Affinity.

The initial implementation of Shadow Affinity was both functionally and aesthetically superior. The concept of shadow energy infusing and corrupting a mechanical body felt unique and was masterfully executed. In contrast, the current drone-based system feels predictable and, frankly, uninspiring. It feels like a one-dimensional design that anyone could have imagined—just a standard drone with a minor shadow effect. An "Affinity" skill should feel special, and while the 1.0 version achieved that, the current version feels like a significant downgrade.

Aside from being slightly more "mechanical," the current system has numerous drawbacks. From a gameplay perspective, it feels like a nerf; the requirement to manually craft drones creates a jarring friction in the gameplay loop. Even if drones were made to spawn automatically, the core design remains less appealing than the original.

Beyond aesthetics, the drones constantly clutter the screen, which negatively impacts the overall play experience and causes visual fatigue. The original version's simple yet elegant shadow effects made it very easy to identify which enemies were affected without obstructing the player's view. WX-78 already has several drone-related skills; there is no need to turn the unique Affinity skill into just another "drone skill."

I understand that a significant amount of time and effort has gone into this redesign, and discarding those resources is a difficult decision. However, if you are willing to prioritize a more refined and immersive gameplay experience, I earnestly request that you reconsider reverting to the original Shadow Affinity.

Thank you for your hard work and for considering this feedback.

[Reddddd]

An affinity skill shouldnt give an straight up damage buff at the exchange of basically nothing imo, specially since shadow atrium is at worse an mid game, and at best, an early game item. Having a permanent 25% dmg modifier with all his other combat alligned circuits made all bosses stupidly easy in my opinion and experience playing with him, and while the tentacles could stay as long as they reworked it to make sense for a robot to have the shadow forage (just the design and behaviour), the dmg modifier felt out of place and many other players agreed to this. But i agree, drones shouldnt be locked behind an affinity and it shouldnt be so lacklusting for an affinity overall.

If it made so Charlie helps wx-78 to overcharge his system for 1 minute when consuming pure horror/nightmare fuel, giving a 25% damage bonus, but with a 1.30 minute cooldown (that is, 30 seconds) and at the expense of his sanity and circuit durability, it would feel more punishing and still rewarding to have an damage buff.

Remember that wx can be a tank, aoe dmg, passive healer and damage retribution without the shadow servitor. With the 1.0 shadow servitor he was that plus an better sustainer than wigfrid and an better utility than most other characters + equaling to wolfgang in question of not having to worry about downsides.