Concerns about Wurt's upcoming skill tree (2024)

So, um, hello. Here is some context about me so you could better judge what I'm about to say below.
I've been playing Wurt ever since her release and I consider myself to be a Wurt main. Sadly, I haven't played Don't Starve Together in a while due to simply not being in the mood for it, however with the recently announced skill tree for Wurt I'm excited to come back. I primarily play solo and my favorite gameplay loop surrounds the construction of Merm villages.

So, Wurt's skill tree has been announced. And it's... not that great. And by "it" I mean that what was shown is not great. It's still possible that all of her other skills will change my mind, but right now I'll just stay cautiously optimistic in hopes that things get better. My concerns for Wurt's skill tree mostly grow from the fact that what was shown of Winona's skill tree/QoL update, to me, feels exactly like what Winona needed (she is my second most favorite character to play as).

Here's a list of what we know is coming:
• Lil' Itchy (Item) - a mosquito doll that prevents mosquitoes from attacking the player. It doesn't have a durability but instead spoils over time.
• Skeeter Bombs (Weapon) - mosquito bombs that can be thrown at enemies. Those mosquitoes can attack the player who threw the bomb. They also take up 2 slots on the skill tree. One for each level. It also appears that these bombs are stackable (probably 10/stack)
-1 level - Unlocks the crafting recipe. Each bomb spawns 4 mosquitoes.
-2 level - More mosquitoes per bomb. It is unknown how many more they'll spawn, but it is clearly more than 4.
• Fertilizzzer (Fertilizer) - an all rounded fertilizer for farming. A little better than Glommer's Goop, but not as strong as Wormwood's Compost Wrap. Requires a Mosquito Sack, Nitre and Manure to craft.
• Blood Shot (Healing Item) - a Mosquito wrapped in Spider Silk. Heals wurt a little, and greatly heals her Merm followers. The Merms will stop whatever they're doing and stand still for Wurt to heal them.
• Communal Kelp Dish (Structure) - a placable structure that reduces Merms' respawn time. It requites (up to) 4 Kelp to opperate.
• Smarter Merms (Skill Tree talent) - Klei also mentioned that Wurt's skill tree will have a way to make Merms "slightly smarter"

Now, while these abilities will probably only take up 1/3 of Wurt's skill tree, they still feel quite problematic as they don't seem to fit her gameplay style at all

Here's what I think about them.

are... not very good. Mosquitoes have a limited amount of times they can attack before popping. And the crafting recipe will most likely require living mosquitoes which can only be caught with a Bug Net. And although the bombs can be stacked, all of this just adds up to them being resource intensive and not very good damage-wise. Not to mention the fact that mosquitoes are usually hostile towards Merms, which means that there is a possibility that they'll attack friendly Merm followers during fights.

is a good idea that simply doesn't have a good application. Skeeter Bombs are not good, and regular swamp mosquitoes aren't that much of a threat. I suppose it can be good for catching mosquitoes, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to sacrifice an inventory slot that I usually reserve for a fishy companion.

... is actually pretty good. While it's true that Wurt isn't that great of a farmer, and that her gameplay fits more into the "gatherer" category, the Fertilizzzer might be really good for Wormwood players. Wurt has a great synergy with Wormwood, however most of the time Wormwood gets the short end of the stick. With the new Fertilizzzer this might change (especially if the fertilizzzer makes Wormwood bloom). Wurt's only other craftable item/tool is her Clever Disguise, which while useless to her, was designed to help other survivors interact with the merms. So overall, I think that Fertilizzzer fits her kit really well. Especially when playing with other players.

is again, a good concept, but it has one serious problem. You can't see your followers' health in DST without mods. So unless Merms' appearance starts to change with their health, the blood shot is basically a gamble. And I know that it's possible to simply watch over each individual merm to track how much damage they've taken, but when there're more than 10 merms following Wurt, it can get a bit tricky to track that.

is an addition that I really like, however I really hope that it does more than just reduce Merms' respawn timer. Perhaps it could make it so that new Merms come out of their huts in Winter?

Overall, these skills seem to rely on Wurt primarily basing in a naturally generated swamp, whereas I presonally like to play her as a creative builder who can transform any place and biome that she likes into a swamp. This style of gameplay allows Wurt to build her merm villages closer to other players. For me, Wurt is a snowball-type character. It take a long time to set everything up, but it's always worth it. Not to mention that the entire process of setting everything up is where the fun comes from for me.
I just really hope that the rest of her skill tree is way better than what was shown.

Also, here's a random QoL change that I'd add if I could (not a part of the skill tree).
- Clever Disguise now not only makes the merms friendly, but also allows non-Wurt players to see where Tentacles are.
I feel like Clever Disguise is underutilized by most players. It's supposed to help other characters interact with the merms and to make them friendly todards them, however I feel like this isn't something that's needed. All merms become friendly once the Merm King is up. Instead, I'd like it if it made swamp exploration safer for other characters while still retaining Wurt's status as the best swamp explorer/gatherer.