Wes

“. . .”

–Wes

Wes is one of the two playable Characters that are not unlocked via Experience in Don't Starve and one of the 12 playable characters in Don't Starve Together (DST). He is a fragile French mime that uses pantomimes to communicate instead of speaking.

He has a maximum of 113 Health and Hunger, and 150 Sanity. His Hunger drains faster than normal. and he deals less damage in both melee and ranged combat. Wes is a Balloonomancer, and comes equipped with his Pile o' Balloons. Wes' purpose in the game is to provide a challenge to experienced players.

Unlocking

“He displeased me.”

–Maxwell, when examining Wes (locked)

Wes trapped — WX-78 in an effort to rescue Wes.

In the third chapter of Adventure Mode, a set piece may appear (if the map is not Two Worlds), which will have two chambers with a Maxwell Statue in each one, and a third one with Wes in the middle.

When players break one of the statues, it will release various non-damaged Clockwork Monsters. After breaking all the statues and defeating the Clockwork Monsters, go to the chamber where Wes is trapped. More Bishops, Knights and Rooks will spawn and the player will need to defeat them.

After all monsters are cleared, Wes will pass out, fall on the ground, and disappear. Wes will then be unlocked as a playable character.

In DST, all characters including Wes are available to play from the start, with no unlocking required.

Special Power

Main article: Pile o' Balloons

Wes' special power is his Pile o' Balloons. It has unlimited uses, but it costs 5 to inflate each Balloon. In DST, it is craftable from the Survival Tab using 4 Water Balloons and lasts 3 Days.

When a Balloon is attacked, it explodes, dealing 5 damage to anything nearby (including Wes). Balloons can also trigger other Balloons to explode, allowing massive chain reactions. Balloons can also be used as decoys or to distract Mobs.

Disadvantages

Wes' Hunger drains 25% faster than normal and he deals 25% less damage. He also has low Health and Hunger.

Wes does not speak, so there are no actual words that show up on the screen, warning the player of incoming attacks or other pertinent information such as when night is approaching or low Hunger levels. The player will only be able to rely on audio cues in these situations.

Tips

Wes with balloons — Wes surrounded by his balloons.

Balloons can be used to lure Mobs to traps or to other hostile Mobs.
Weapons that deal indirect damage, such as the Fire Dart or Gunpowder, are not affected by Wes' low damage multiplier, making them excellent choices for him.
A Belt of Hunger will nullify Wes' Hunger drain and also provides a boost to Sanity, although a Backpack can't be equipped while wearing it.
- In the Reign of Giants DLC, the Hibearnation Vest also provides a Hunger drain reduction, as well as the highest insulation against Freezing and more than twice the Sanity regeneration of the Hunger Belt.

Trivia

In-Game

Wes was added in the Insanity! update.
Wes was made unlockable through Adventure Mode, in the The End of the Beginning update.
Wes used to be the sixth unlockable character via Experience.
- Wes is currently one of five characters that cannot be unlocked by gaining Experience, the others being Maxwell, Webber, Wilbur and Woodlegs.
The Pile o' Balloons was added in the Strange New Powers update.
Wes has higher maximum Sanity than Willow, Wigfrid, Webber and Woodlegs, and higher maximum Health than Maxwell. All his stats are higher than a non-upgraded WX-78 (in the Base game only).
When struck by Lightning, Wes is shown to have bones in his hair.
In RoG, the Pile o' Balloons can be given to a Catcoon to befriend them, but this is not advised as to get them back the Catcoon must die and similar results can be achieved with simple Twigs.
Instead of using an actual paddle, Wes pantomimes one to move Boats in the Shipwrecked DLC.
When The Gorge event first began, Wes' Culinarian skin was missing his red cheeks. This was later fixed in an update.

Lore

According to the description for Wes' Roseate skin, he feels "his rosy cheeks [are] his best feature."
The description for his Verdant skin states that he is "an avid landscape painter".

Cultural References

In the Valentine's Day card for 2018, it appears that Wes is using the American sign language (ASL) sign for "love".
Wes' Guest of Honor skin may be based on a man's ballet outfit. This could be a reference to ballet mime.
The description for the Fauvist's Gloves (Gloves to paint cheery, small trees in.) is a reference to a Bob Ross quote from The Joy of Painting ("happy little trees").
The names of Wes' The Verdant Set clothing (Fauvist's X) is a reference to the artistic movement of Fauvism.
Wes' Victorian skin may be based on Bert from the Disney film Mary Poppins. Bert was played by Dick Van Dyke, who performed a mime act early in his career. ^[1]

Gallery

References

↑ http://www.officialdickvandyke.com/biography/ "In 1947, Van Dyke was persuaded by Phil Erickson to form a comedy duo with him called “Eric and Van—the Merry Mutes.” The team toured the West Coast nightclub circuit, performing a mime act and lip synching to old 78 records."

[1] ttp://www.officialdickvandyke.com/biography/ "In 1947, Van Dyke was persuaded by Phil Erickson to form a comedy duo with him called “Eric and Van—the Merry Mutes.” The team toured the West Coast nightclub circuit, performing a mime act and lip synching to old 78 records."

[1]

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Wes

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