It's also the case that the strip itself has matured as well. Chaos Goblin being lewd and offensive and getting punted to the Moon with a hearty "DARLING NO BAKA!" is just sooooo played out. And also much more extreme Looney Toons "cartoon physics" than what the current state of the QC-verse can accommodate. Back when this strip first began, when it was decidedly more cartoony, you probably could have had Pintsize pull off the Wile E. Coyote schtick of running off a cliff and successfully treading air until he happened to look down and realize his predicament...but now? Even in his old chassis, no. By abandoning that chassis, he is (and Jeph is) abandoning that cartoon-physics "plot armor" invulnerability. Pintsize is actually vulnerable now, in ways he has never been...and he's realizing it. He can't BE that Chaos Goblin who gets punched thru a wall after poking the bear, he will actually take damage and have to pay for his repairs (or Marten will), which will be expensive, even with Faye and Bubbles giving the "friends and family" discount (unless it was one of them who was riled up enough to punch him). In the early strips, it wouldn't have mattered. The money for repairs would have just been there. Or maybe one wacky get-rich-quick quest to get a million electrum pieces, which would then all immediately be spent. The QC verse isn't like that any more, AI aside, it's much more "real" now than it was when it began, an inevitable consequence of its longevity.