The Technical Balaclava's pointless Windchill buff

[BugReportEnthusiast]

I do not understand why the technical balaclava was given a windchill buff.

Both technical and regular balaclavas are strictly inner head clothing items. This means that their windchill value is irrelevant, you'll always be wearing something ontop of them.

Now, of course even without this buff the technical balaclava is superior but that's besides the point

But what i want to focus on is why  both balaclavas have received windchill buffs. Neither can be worn on the outside, making an increase of windchill completely pointless. They are exactly as strong as your average wool toque. There is no actual reason to go through the marathon of acquiring the technical balaclava except for "It looks cooler" or using less cloth for repairs (which is irrelevant, since cloth is both renewable through beachcombing, and there is already a ton laying around in the world)

Has hinterland just.. forgotten that windchill doesn't apply to inner layers? This would also explain the massive +3c windchill that was given to the new "Hockey jersey" inner torso item. Do they plan on reworking how windchill or protection works and they're preemptively adding these clothes because these buffs will have a purpose in the future?

Hinterland's balancing decisions confuse me a lot. I don't understand why you would create these items in this way, It's like creating a flashlight that only works when it's daytime

 

 

[Leeanda]

I do kind of see your point but it's only an inside layer if you have other gear to put on over it.

I know that doesn't happen very often but it's still the difference between frostbite or not.

[BugReportEnthusiast]

@Leeanda By the time you have access to the technical balaclava (or regular balaclava tbh) you WILL have found a proper outer layer hat for yourself.

And regarding frostbite, this is completely irrelevant to the topic. An improvised cloth hat prevents frostbite just as well as any other hat in the game (if we ignore waterproofing, which we should because again this is completely irrelevant to windchill and the topic of this)

[Leeanda]

34 minutes ago, BugReportEnthusiast said:

@Leeanda By the time you have access to the technical balaclava (or regular balaclava tbh) you WILL have found a proper outer layer hat for yourself.

And regarding frostbite, this is completely irrelevant to the topic. An improvised cloth hat prevents frostbite just as well as any other hat in the game (if we ignore waterproofing, which we should because again this is completely irrelevant to windchill and the topic of this)

Unless they get ruined in a fight.   Head gear is usually the thing that takes a lot of damage.   And maybe not frostbite but possibly hypothermia.

[BugReportEnthusiast]

@LeeandaThis is such a specific edge case though. In my 600 hours of TLD this has literally never happened to me

for 99.5% of your playtime, this buff is useless. And in that 0.5% of the time where you get mauled by a bear and your hat gets destroyed, you have more pressing issues to worry about than a +0.5c windchill bonus over a standard balaclava

[Leeanda]

2 minutes ago, BugReportEnthusiast said:

@LeeandaThis is such a specific edge case though. In my 600 hours of TLD this has literally never happened to me

for 99.5% of your playtime, this buff is useless. And in that 0.5% of the time where you get mauled by a bear and your hat gets destroyed, you have more pressing issues to worry about than a +0.5c windchill bonus over a standard balaclava

Oh I agree, but there's always room for it..       

And yes, a mauling leaves you with a lot more to worry about😊

[past caring]

I have not yet encountered the technical balaclava. But it does not look CAF like the existing one. 😉

 

[James Hickok]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:59 PM, BugReportEnthusiast said:

I do not understand why the technical balaclava was given a windchill buff.

Both technical and regular balaclavas are strictly inner head clothing items. This means that their windchill value is irrelevant, you'll always be wearing something ontop of them.

Now, of course even without this buff the technical balaclava is superior but that's besides the point

But what i want to focus on is why  both balaclavas have received windchill buffs. Neither can be worn on the outside, making an increase of windchill completely pointless. They are exactly as strong as your average wool toque. There is no actual reason to go through the marathon of acquiring the technical balaclava except for "It looks cooler" or using less cloth for repairs (which is irrelevant, since cloth is both renewable through beachcombing, and there is already a ton laying around in the world)

Has hinterland just.. forgotten that windchill doesn't apply to inner layers? This would also explain the massive +3c windchill that was given to the new "Hockey jersey" inner torso item. Do they plan on reworking how windchill or protection works and they're preemptively adding these clothes because these buffs will have a purpose in the future?

Hinterland's balancing decisions confuse me a lot. I don't understand why you would create these items in this way, It's like creating a flashlight that only works when it's daytime

 

 

The technical balaclava case is even more odd : I took the effort to finish the TFTFT on Super Interloper difficulty (very close to NOGOA) and it was very hard but i just wanted to test myself if i can do it. I knew that the reward will be the balaclava because i have finished the tales on 3 diffrent interloper runs before. 

Its frustrating really that even it the stats are better than the current best hat in game interloper and above which is the Aviator cap - (its even better than rabbit hat) you cant use them bcoz like the OP @BugReportEnthusiast said its inner layer. 

Now i have found 2 x aviator cap in my current super interloper run and each of then give when 100%  condition :

2 degrees celcius heat, 2 degrees windchill buff 30% water proof and 4% defence 

The balaclava has the same except 50% waterproof and 5 % defence

It would seem that it would be cool to wear Avaitor hat and balaclava thus have 1% more defence and 20% waterproof but it doesnt count bcoz it is inner layer.....

This seems broken and i think shoud be adressed or maybe just make it 4% defence and buff the warmth a bit??? 

It confuses me as well. There is no actual benefit of getting that piece of gear - only cosmetics. And its a reward for tales done on hard difficulty. 

Now im thinking that the balaclava shold be just a random loot item and the Red Lantern should be the reward on interloper and above. 

Edited November 2, 2023 by James Hickok

[UpUpAway95]

It's DLC - a luxury buff, even potentially in case the player just wants to wear it without anything on top for looks.  I'm OK with it.

[xanna]

Firstly, to add to what @UpUpAway95 said, it's there if you don't have a hat on top and while I would probably never choose not to wear a hat, goodness knows my hat is the item that most often gets destroyed by bear and wolf attacks. At least for the time it takes for me to get to a base and get a replacement it's a good buff.

Secondly, I think it's OK for Hinterland to give attributes to an item even if they are unlikely to be involved in gameplay. As an item, the technical balaclava probably would have good wind resistance, so they included that in its attributes. If its wind resistance is irrelevant, and HL for that reason gave it zero/trivial, we'd probably be saying "That doesn't seem realistic for an item like that."

Caveat: I have never gotten the tech balaclava myself as I haven't done the necessary to get it yet.

[BeardsAreFreeScarves]

I frequently leave layers off by choice, especially on stalker. If you are going into a new area it helps to leave those slots open to allow extra loot carrying, or fill those slots with new clothes. This comes at the cost of warmth, but knowing your way around and when/how to make a fire makes up for it.

[xanna]

Cool, I never thought of that!

I'm imagining that by the time I have the technical balaclava it will be pretty lategame and therefore very cold, but I play very slowly haha

[Smellyfries]

Perhaps the inner layer of the hat slot for clothing should be an exception if it is clear that both items aren't overlapping each other. For example, wearing the Rabbit skin hat, and technical balaclava. Though the rabbit hat is covering up the top of your head, the Technical Balaclava is covering the rest of your head, and isn't being completely overlapped by the rabbit hat. Thus, if both of the clothing items are exposed to air, and clearly visible, I believe that their benefits should stack.

Though I could see it taking some effort to code which hats and scarfs, I believe it would help fix the issues discussed. It could lead to some more thought into what clothing items you would want to wear on your head, determining if you want to wear two similar toques for max warmth, or sacrificing a little warmth for some extra wind resistance provided by a scarf.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Smellyfries

[James Hickok]

6 hours ago, Smellyfries said:

 Thus, if both of the clothing items are exposed to air, and clearly visible, I believe that their benefits should stack.

I think the same. 

 

6 hours ago, Smellyfries said:

 

It could lead to some more thought into what clothing items you would want to wear on your head, determining if you want to wear two similar toques for max warmth, or sacrificing a little warmth for some extra wind resistance provided by a scarf.

Exactly. 

[ManicManiac]

Pointless windchill or not... I just think of it as another reskinned variant... I figure, more clothing options is usually better than fewer.  

Edited November 7, 2023 by ManicManiac

[odizzido]

Maybe the way clothing works should be changed. If you put a tshirt over top of a wind breaker the wind doesn't just start going through the wind breaker. That will stop people from scratching their heads wondering why putting on a down vest made them colder.

[AdamvR]

I find the technical balaclava clearly superior to the greenface version, but I also understand what was mentioned before, that most of its buffs do not play a role, as it is inner layer.

Just a thought: maybe it is so amped up, to give us a chance for not wearing an outer layer on the head, and go around with a mere 0,2 kg, low deterioration cool looking headwear?

[Kranium]

I wear it without a hat. Both in game & IRL. *shrugs*

[Ape88]

On 7/11/2023 at 6:07 AM, Leeanda said:

Unless they get ruined in a fight.   Head gear is usually the thing that takes a lot of damage.   And maybe not frostbite but possibly hypothermia.

I don't know how you play but considering the ease with which head coverings get damaged, that is usually the first thing I choose to repair

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, Ape88 said:

I don't know how you play but considering the ease with which head coverings get damaged, that is usually the first thing I choose to repair

Admittedly on pilgrim,even custom which is what I play, it isn't likely to happen ,but I have played stalker and loper and had my hats wrecked after one mauling...  otherwise I would usually repair them straight away.

[Ape88]

4 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

Admittedly on pilgrim,even custom which is what I play, it isn't likely to happen ,but I have played stalker and loper and had my hats wrecked after one mauling...  otherwise I would usually repair them straight away.

I usually avoid stalker and interloper... those levels make it so hard that it's no longer fun.

Seems like I always spawn in areas where death within the first 24hrs is guaranteed.

I have, however had items ruined in struggles on Voyager but usually only if I have neglected to repair diligently.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Ape88

[Leeanda]

6 minutes ago, Ape88 said:

I usually avoid stalker and interloper... those levels make it so hard that it's no longer fun.

Seems like I always spawn in areas where death within the first 24hrs is guaranteed.

I don't mind  stalker but I'm with you on loper... I find it impossible to enjoy because of needing to stop every five minutes to either make fires or boil water..  ..  

A few people have mentioned that starting points in some places were right next to bear caves or twolves spawns... seems a bit unfair when you're given a hard map in the first place... 

There's always custom I suppose if you want to start somewhere safer..

Edited November 14, 2023 by Leeanda

[Ape88]

1 minute ago, Leeanda said:

I don't mind  stalker but I'm with you on loper... I find it impossible to enjoy because of needing to stop every five minutes to either make fires or boil water..  ..  

A few people have mentioned that starting points in some places were right next to bear caves or twolves spawns... seems a bit unfair when you're given a hard map in the first place... 

There's always custom I suppose if you want to start somewhere safer..

I'm one of those people who keep spawning right next to a bunch of wandering wolves, nevermind the timberewolves... Honestly I wish Hinterland would have given the timberwolves a real reason to exist... like give us a separate type of pelt in looks at the very least although it would be ideal to have different buffs for a timberwolf clothing item... because honestly on custom I turn timberwolves off. They are scary and there's no incentive to deal with them.

[Leeanda]

47 minutes ago, Ape88 said:

I'm one of those people who keep spawning right next to a bunch of wandering wolves, nevermind the timberewolves... Honestly I wish Hinterland would have given the timberwolves a real reason to exist... like give us a separate type of pelt in looks at the very least although it would be ideal to have different buffs for a timberwolf clothing item... because honestly on custom I turn timberwolves off. They are scary and there's no incentive to deal with them.

I'm all for twolf clothing... maybe a warmth bonus higher than regular ones ,maybe even a bit of camouflage..

I must admit I turn them down on pilgrim but it's because of the yapping during aurora's..drives me nuts.

[PilgrimReaper]

That yapping is the worst indeed....