Beefalo Domestication suggestions and feedback

[Myself49]

I am really enjoying this feature of the game but I think there are some annoying aspects to it which should be resolved and there are many more ways to expand on the idea of beefalo domestication. First I will say what I think the problems are and then suggest ways to fix them and afterwards list ideas to expand on beefalo domestication and use.

The problems:
a) Beefalos can lose the domesticated status too far while being unattended.
b) No beefalo stats
c) Wasting brush because even though you can use it multiple times it only works once a day
d) Beefalos not being faster on roads
e) Too easy to lose one's beefalo. This one is the worst one I think. You spend 15-20 days taking care of the thing only for it to die in some stupid way. They can't be used to fight bosses and whatnot because they are only as good as two sets of wooden armor at most and then you lose them forever. To make them more usable and more attractive to players this issue needs to be resolved.

I listed these problems first because all of them are actually already adressed in Rezecib's Rebalance Mod and I think he did an amazing job with it. Especially the collar that allow you to resurrect your beefalo with a booster shot once it loses all health. With it you can still lose it permanently if you aren't careful but you can also use it to battle bosses without worrying too much about it dying. Now I am going to list yet unresolved issues.

f) Beefalos following you everywhere getting in the way and getting into dangerous situations. For instance, you can't use them to go anywhere near beefs in spring or into the swamp because they will just get killed by everything there because they follow you stupidly into places you can easily avoid. Then there are the issues where you are trying to build something and the beefalo getting in the way every single bloody time.

I am really enjoying this feature of the game but I think there are some annoying aspects to it which should be resolved and there are many more ways to expand on the idea of beefalo domestication. First I will say what I think the problems are and then suggest ways to fix them and afterwards list ideas to expand on beefalo domestication and use.

(I accidentally posted before even finishing writing so ignore until finished)

The problems:
a) Beefalos can lose the domesticated status too far while being unattended.
b) No beefalo stats
c) Wasting brush because even though you can use it multiple times it only works once a day
d) Beefalos not being faster on roads
e) Too easy to lose one's beefalo. This one is the worst one I think. You spend 15-20 days taking care of the thing only for it to die in some stupid way. They can't be used to fight bosses and whatnot because they are only as good as two sets of wooden armor at most and then you lose them forever. To make them more usable and more attractive to players this issue needs to be resolved.
f) Not being able to take them to caves

I listed these problems first because all of them, and many more, are actually already adressed in Rezecib's Rebalance Mod and I think he did an amazing job with it. Especially the collar that allows you to resurrect your beefalo with a booster shot once it loses all health. With it you can still lose it permanently if you aren't careful but you can also use it to battle bosses without worrying too much about it dying. Now I am going to list yet unresolved issues.

g) Beefalos following you everywhere getting in the way and getting into dangerous situations. For instance, you can't use them to go anywhere near beefs in spring or into the swamp because they will just get killed by everything there because they follow you stupidly into places you can easily avoid. Then there are the issues where you are trying to build something and the beefalo getting in the way every single bloody time.
h) Requiring too many resources to be domesticated? Personally I don't mind this all that much but it would be nice to be more accessible so many people take advantage of this amazing feature
i) Pudgy tendency being too useless
j) Not being able to heal a beefalo while riding it
 

Solutions:
As I already said, a-f are already resolved in Rezecib's mod and I think they should be incorporated into the base game. Since the code is already done it would require almost no dev time and it alone would make beefalo domestication 10 times better than it already is.

For g, I already proposed a solution here, but I came up with a more elegant solution that would make an already existing useless item usable.

Tail o' Three Cats - it could keep it's current use but if used on a domesticated beefalo or a beefalo that is in the process of being domesticated, it orders it to sit and stay put till you ride it again (or till it runs out of hunger?)
This way you could take it anywhere without the fear of it getting killed or getting in the way when you are trying to build and whatnot.

For h, I was thinking craftable haystacks that would keep a beefalo fed for an entire day but it would take longer to domesticate it using this method maybe to make it not as useful. Would also allow for a sort of a passive domestication. Also it wouldn't make salt lick obsolete I think since the later woudl require much less resources. Before being domesticated hay stack would be used and after domestication salt lick would be more viable.

For i, at the very least it would be good if the beefalo got turned into a manure producing machine with each item it is fed producing manure or something along these lines. Would make sense since you need much more food for this type than the other ones so the poop you waste feeding this one gets returned when you feed it stuff.

For j I think it would be good if there was some beefalo snack crockpot recipe that only they can eat so when you use it while riding it it goes directly to it. But if the dev intention is to be a sort of a living armor that can be repaired AFTER battle then nevermind.

Now for the ideas to expand on beefalo domestication:

Beefalo harnesses

Inventory harness
The first type would give your beefalo inventory spaces and basically turn it into a rideable chester.
I am thinking it could have like 2 spots for bags and existing bags could be supplied to it. So basically you could for instance use 2 Krampus Sacks or a normal Backpack + Insulated one to carry around fresh food and so on

Combat harness
The second type is would allow you to place custom beefalo armor on. One slot for head and one slot for body. Can onyl be put on if you aren't riding the beefalo.
Now for the types of armors that could exist:
This idea kind of ties to bosses and their drops so one can get more use out of them too and give players more reasons to go after these bosses.

Imagine for instance, crafting a helmet out of normal beefalo head armor + Stag Antler drop from Klaus that would allow you to ram down trees clockwork rook style. Would have a durability obviously so you can only demolish a set amount of trees.

Body armor + Shroom Skin recipe = armor that damages those that attack your beefalo

Bee Queen Hat + head armor = queenly horns that will make yours the king/queen of a beefalos and able to move the herds and order them to attack/trample/ram into other mobs such as those damn annoying spiders

Body armor + some Down Feathers = a sort of a roofed harness that prevents overheating during summer while riding your beefalo

Body armor + Thick Fur = insulated armor to prevent freezing during winter while riding your beefalo

Guardian's Horn + head armor = increased damage

Can't really think of anything for Deerclops eyeball yet but I'll try. Or you could!

So, what do you guys think so far? If I come up with anything else I will add it here and you feel free to add your ideas too.

 

Rezecib's Rebalance