I get asked a lot about the skills in Wayward. Some people are not fans of the skill system and would much rather have more traditional “class” systems in place. The skill system in Wayward is very much, a way to not need classes at all. Rather than forcing players into a role with limitations and boundaries, the player is only limited by how they want to play – in fact, all methods of play are available from the start without artificial class restrictions. It furthers the idea of open-ended gameplay that Wayward is all about. That being said, there is a few issues when dealing with this type of system.
Current Issues:
- Some skills lack depth and effectiveness.
- Some skills are simply for crafting success rates.
- Some skills don’t effect gameplay.
These issues can be fixed, and will be, in the upcoming versions. The next portion of the skill debate is the progression of them. Currently, three systems are in place with Wayward:
- The higher your skill is, the less chance you have to raise it.
- The higher your skill is, the less it gains at a time.
- The higher all your skills are, the slower it is to keep gaining new skills.
The issues that plague these systems are the balancing of them. Since Alpha 1.0, I have slowly been tweaking them, making it easier and easier each time. The 3rd point in the list was added a long the way to add more strategy in the progression of the skills – it makes players think twice about raising random skills at the start and makes them focus; such as what you would do in a real survival situation. That being said, these systems are very much hidden to the player; therefore, ruining my concept behind it. I think I can address these issues, in time, as well.
And yes, in the next version you will see easier skill gains once again.
