Alright, so let’s talk about these scarlet thorns in Wuthering Waves. Man, what a ride that was. I’d been playing for a bit, you know, just getting into the groove, exploring around. Pretty cool world, gotta say.
Then I hit a wall. Wanted to level up my main character’s weapon, make ’em hit harder. Checked the materials list, and boom: ‘Scarlet Thorn’. Okay, sounds simple enough, right? Like finding some thorny bush somewhere.
First Attempts – Running Blind
So, I started looking. Went to all the places that looked kinda reddish or had spiky plants on the map. Spent a good hour just running around, climbing stuff, gliding down. Found plenty of normal flowers, some rocks, but no scarlet thorns. Zero. Nada. Started getting a bit ticked off, honestly. Like, where do they even hide this stuff?
I figured maybe I was missing something obvious. Asked a buddy who was also playing. He just shrugged, said he hadn’t needed them yet. Great help, thanks pal.
The Real Grind Begins
Finally broke down and did some digging, you know, checked what other folks were saying online, watched a quick clip someone posted. Turns out, these things don’t just grow on bushes. Nope. You gotta beat up these specific spiky wolf-things that only show up in this one annoying canyon area. And the drop rate? Felt like pulling teeth.
So, I started the grind. Teleport in, run down the canyon, whack a few of those spiky dudes, hope for the best. Most times? Got nothing but basic monster drops. Maybe one thorn if I was lucky. Then I had to wait for them to respawn, or run way over to another spot where a couple more hung out.
- Teleport
- Run
- Fight
- Loot (mostly junk)
- Repeat
It was tedious. Really, really tedious. Felt like actual work sometimes. You just zone out, doing the same loop over and over. My thumb started hurting from mashing the attack button.
Dealing with Annoyances
And those wolf-things weren’t exactly pushovers either, especially when three ganged up on you. More than once, I got careless ’cause I was bored and ended up getting knocked out. Had to run all the way back. Plus, sometimes other players would be farming the same spot. You’d get there, and everything’s already dead. Just gotta wait, or server hop, which is another pain.
Took me, I dunno, maybe three evenings of doing this on and off? Just to get enough for that one weapon upgrade. Felt like forever.
Was It Worth It?
Finally got the last thorn I needed. Went straight to the upgrade screen, slammed that button. Yeah, the weapon got stronger. Numbers went up. Did it feel like a massive, game-changing difference after all that effort? Ehhh, maybe a little? Hard to say.
It kinda reminded me of this one time years ago, I was trying to fix this old lawnmower. Needed this specific tiny screw. Couldn’t find it anywhere local. Spent a whole Saturday driving to three different hardware stores, digging through bins. Finally found one. Cost like, 50 cents. But the gas and time I spent? Way more than the screw was worth. The feeling was exactly the same. Relief mixed with a bit of ‘why did I bother so much?’.
So yeah, the scarlet thorns. Got ’em done. The game’s still fun, but man, that part was a drag. Hope they make getting some of these materials a bit less soul-crushing later on. Or maybe I just need more patience. Who knows.
