Howdy!
The recent changes to Cactus Fruits in the Seismic Shift update had very split opinions on it. The ones who liked it simply *liked* it, while the players who disliked it *really disliked it*.
With that in mind, I wanted to try out a more middle-ground approach that still interacts with new digestion system, while also trying to minimize some of the original frustrations I was trying to solve.
A new balance patch is live on Steam with the following changes:
⭐ Cactus Fruit Changes:
- Removed the 3 stacks and +move speed bonus for Cactus Fruits
- Cactus Fruit now heals for 15 health
- Each Cactus Fruit eaten adds +20 seconds to the digestion time of your next Heart Jar.
The additional digestion time ONLY resets when eaten by a Worm (and not from dying by any other means)
- Cactus Fruit spawns reduced back to 8 per game on normal settings. (they were doubled for the previous patch)
Note: One of the design issues was that a Worm could grab a Pardner many many times without them getting a kill, because the Pardner would escape and then heal off all the damage with Cactus Fruits. It felt very unsatisfying for the Worm player. These changes not only slightly reduce the healing, but also mean if a Pardner is healing over and over they'll at least be out of the game for longer once the Worm does eventually kill them off. It also adds another layer of strategy for more experienced players who want to weigh the pros and cons of healing vs taking a shorter death cycle and reviving, saving the cactus fruit healing for a later time.
Balancing Changes:
🌵 Base digestion time reduced to 60 seconds (was 90)
🌵 Coffee moved speed buff increased to 45% (was 35%)
🌵 Concoction health gain values reduced slightly
Note: with bringing consistent healing back and removing the move speed bonus with Cactus Fruit, it felt right to buff the coffee move speed up to a similar level as before and reduce the potency of the Concoction, especially considering the Concoction buffs can heal you past full health. While you're still slightly more likely for a worse outcome with Concoction, the benefits are worth the risk.
Thanks for all the feedback and support on the new update! If you feel like I missed the mark with these changes, please let me know in the Discord (Discord.gg/Wormtown)