I came up with a few minor suggestions after reading this thread. I was originally going to post this in the suggestions thread, but as my post is mostly focused on the content in this thread I’ll post it here. In no particular order:

“Trees seem to deplete too quickly unless I need logs to build a tree house. So many logs so little resources”

-This could be solved by making a log break down into “staves” of wood (4 per log? re-balance as needed) the staves would function exactly as branches, I only suggested calling them staves as in-game flavor-text. So they could be used to craft wooden poles, stripped of bark, broken down further into twigs (or equivalent) for kindling/tinder ingredient. Maybe it should require an actual axe instead of just a sharpened category item? I think this also maintains the realism while adding to the games content in a small minorly invasive way.

“After the initial game time is over the saplings all dissapear.”

-Making them a gathered resource just like leaves or bark would be an easy fix, no? Probably want it to be fairly rare in comparison to the other gathered resources from trees to keep the quantities reasonable. Maybe implement it as a small chance to generate a sapling as the last harvested item from a tree before it becomes bare. Or, for a more realistic approach, make things like pinecones gathered from trees. The quantities could be maybe a bit less common than leaves perhaps, but then make them double as a substitute for tree bark when making kindling.

“Monster … will dumbly sit behind a tree 4 squares over and watch you do whatever you feel like because it is blocking line of sight.”

-I have 2 possible solutions to this, one probably much easier/simpler than the other:
a. make monsters side-step on occasion before advancing towards the player. Such a change wouldn’t need to be situationally specific as I don’t think it would be majorly game-changing outside of this type of situation. Not as complicated as developing more thorough path-finding algorithms for monsters.
b. implement diagonal movement in game. Without knowing much about the coding and system the game is based on I can only imagine how much work this would be. I still think it would be an overall improvement to the game, but that is just my opinion as the current movement system works fine as-is.

“Legendary items don’t feel legendary. +4 in mycology and some extra durability is not really what the word legendary conjures up.”

-When I think of some item from a mythical tale as being of legendary quality I think the +n to a skill, in being different than the other quality descriptors, is acceptable as the defining factor. I do think it should be a bit more relevant to its use though (legendary shovel of mycology, leggings of swimming, etc; cap of alchemy might be a stretch as making you a wiser/brainy alchemist), if the term “legendary” is going to be used. Then it comes down to one’s own sense of the word, which starts to become more of opinion. Certain things IRL can be considered of legendary quality, but aren’t necessarily much more than a step up from being described as exceptional, like a Stradivarius violin or a Muramasa katana. Such items may seem to make one better at using them for their intended use, though I can’t see wielding a Strad would make me better at stonecrafting.

“There is no need for a fortress/encampment at all”

-You mention posting the thread “with an achiever mindset of scoring every point possible and slightly from a explorer mindset of attempting to break all the mechanics of the game…” so I could see where you’re coming from. Building a defensively functional building is probably sub-optimal from a scoring or practical standpoint, I have come to view it mostly as a fun/role-playing endeavor. Or maybe as part of a bucket-list of sorts, like trying to max all the skills before completing that characters game, in which case a camp with defenses might make it a little easier or less bothersome at least. Perhaps once most of the other features and functions in the game are smoothed out it would be worth reworking housing to make it more worthwile from a practical standpoint, but I think it’s reasonably designed for what it is at the moment.

“There is little reward for crafting advanced items”

-I, too, find myself sticking with a much more resource and weight efficient hand-drill, instead of going for the bow-drill or even fire plough. Making advanced tools more reliable would be a reasonable draw towards the extra effort and expense of making them. for the weight/durability ratio, carrying 3 hand drills with a total of 45 durability and weight of 1.5 certainly beats a single bow drill of equivalent durability and weight of 5! Even the argument of inventory clutter doesn’t count for much when one can make a hand drill (and many other basic-tier tools) with resources gathered in a dozen turns or less.

“Locked chests are very rare”

-Not having played the game a lot in its current version, I can’t comment to the rarity of chests. I myself have found a couple after playing a couple dozen games. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with something being so rare as to only appear in a fraction of playthroughs though. I think perhaps to fill the need for discovered loot, there could be a few tiers of chests in terms of rarity and item quality. Common chests could have ordinary resources and items with maybe 1 or 2 slightly hard to get items (like amber or water containers?), and would never be locked. Uncommon mid-tier chests could have advanced-craft items or uncommon resources with a couple of common and rare-ish items (like wrought iron tools?), and maybe locked roughly half the time. Top-tier chests would be the rarest with loot like a tattered map or instructional scroll, a few pieces treasure, and a some iron items/armor, always locked.

“Still no visual changes for wearing armor.”
“Some of the bugs from many versions ago are still present…”

-Tackling major and more common bugs and issues should always take precedence over uncommon bugs and minor features. There is only so much time in a day, and I’m sure the developer(s) try to heed the demand of the majority when it comes to fixing bugs or implementing features. Still, I would enjoy seeing a my bark-clad character in all his glory some day.

Afterword:
I, too, haven’t played Wayward in many versions, just recently picking it back up a few days ago. So a lot of the issues mentioned aren’t things I have had the chance to encounter in-game yet. In regards to any criticisms I may have made, I did so under the assumption that this thread was meant as a critical review of the game as of version 1.6 (re: “. I write this with an achiever mindset of scoring every point possible and slightly from a explorer mindset of attempting to break all the mechanics”). I hope I didn’t come across as defensive or one-sided in some cases where I was somewhat playing devil’s advocate.

Overall, I think I like the direction that development has gone with the game since I last played it and believe that it will continue to be mindfully improved and the design will remain true to the spirit of the game as it has from the beginning.

Many thanks to the players who give their honest feedback to help the game improve where it can, and many, many thanks to the developers and contributers for listening receptively to our critiques and for even considering our suggestions, not to mention the time and effort you put forth to work on the game that you continue to provide for free no less.