Wes can craft Pile o' Balloons using 4 Water Balloons from his Balloonomancy Tab. The item can be used to make Balloons and other items from the Balloonomancy Tab; it will not be consumed when crafting, and can be used to craft as many items as long as Wes has at least 5 . If the Pile o' Balloons is left on the ground for 3 days it will become 2 Mosquito Sacks.
Balloons spawn in a variety of colors and shapes, and they can be pushed around. Balloons have a small chance of distracting mobs (who will attack the balloons instead of the player). They will pop if attacked, or if a nearby balloon pops, setting off a chain reaction. Popping a balloon causes 5 damage. Like all Character-Specific Items, this item shows on the map when dropped.
DLC, Wes can give his Pile o' Balloons to a Catcoon in order to befriend it. If the Catcoon dies, he will be able to get it back.
In DST, Balloons can be crafted from the Balloonomancy Tab with 5 and a Pile o' Balloons. There are additional balloon designs exclusive to DST. Together with the four classic designs, there are nine balloon designs in total. Besides the classic oblong balloon, the eight other models are designed after the mobs of the constant: Spiders, Beefalos, Pigmen, Bunnymen, Mermfolk, Hounds, Tentacles and Butterflies. They can be held by equipping them to the hand slot, and can be picked up and put in the player's inventory, getting hit by any source of damage will drop the balloon if held in the hand slot. Each model has their unique icon for inventory slots but they will all appear orange inside the inventory. Including Orange, the six possible balloon colors are Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple.
Speedy Balloon
Exclusive to:
“The hole in the center makes it more aerodynamic, that's just physics!”
“ When held, it increases movement speed by 30% which drops to 20% and then 10% as it decays.
If dropped on the ground before completely decaying, it will float into the air after 1.5 seconds and its location will appear on the minimap to all survivors.”
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The Speedy Balloon is crafted from the Balloonomancy Tab with 5 and a Pile o' Balloons. When equipped, it increases the player's movement speed for a limited amount of time, as indicated by the balloon slowly shrinking into itself until the hole in the middle is closed completely. If the player lets go of the balloon while it isn't at 0% durability, it will float away after 1.5 second of being on the ground. Getting hit while holding the balloon will drop it on the ground and if not picked up immediately will float away and disappear. The floating balloon has the benefit of being seen on other players' maps, so that players can indicate their position similar to the use of a Flare.
The Party Balloon is crafted from the Balloonomancy Tab with 5 and a Pile o' Balloons. When popped, it provides an area of effect sanity equal to 4x the amount of players in its radius to all players up to a maximum gain of 16 sanity per balloon (4 from each of the four sanity ticks.) Getting hit while holding the balloon in the hand slot will drop it on the ground.
Inflatable Vest
Exclusive to:
“If the bright colors don't attract some horrible creature, the squeaking will.”
The Inflatable Vest is crafted from the Balloonomancy Tab with 5 and a Pile o' Balloons. When equipped to the chest slot, it will prevent any damage to max Health, Sanity and Hunger from Drowning. Taking any physical damage, letting it reach 0% or drowning with it equipped will pop it and deal an additional 5 damage that does not bypass armor.
The Balloon Hat is crafted from the Balloonomancy Tab with 5 and a Pile o' Balloons. When equipped to the head slot, it will prevent lightning strikes, 1.6 Sanity/min, and provide wetness resistance. Much like the vest, taking any physical damage or letting it reach 0% with it equipped will pop it and deal an additional 5 damage that does not bypass armor
Tips
Balloons only pop when triggered and won't go away otherwise. This makes them a useful bait to place in the center of a Tooth Trap field for Hounds or other hostiles.
Because of the 5 drained with each balloon, using this item is a reliable way to go insane if the player wishes to farm Nightmare Fuel. Crafting balloons is especially an easy way to mitigate Enlightenment.
Speedy Balloons are useful in early game when playing with other people, as they can be given to other players.
Party balloons have the identical crafting recipe to regular balloons. Unless regular balloons are desired for their aesthetics, crafting party balloons is almost always a better option as they can later used by Wes or other characters as a source of sanity.
Wes can take advantage of sanity giving actions such as Prototyping, Sleeping and Reviving Players to craft more balloons beforehand. This is especially useful for party balloons as they can be stored together for a sanity boost in the future.