I'd expect that one of the pivotal (?!) decisions to be made is what wavelength(s) to scale your equipment for.

As I toy with images for wavepower extraction, I think of something like the Pelamis, perhaps, but have an array of 'millipede legs' extending off the sides as well, with floats at the ends.. these would be activated by smaller waves and incidental movements of the system.

For surviving heavier weather, I wonder if it's flexibility isn't actually a benefit instead of a problem.. as long as it has enough resilience and range so that it doesn't end up hitting 'hard stops' at full extension of a joint, which would eventually tear apart. The wear on the mooring and related tie lines might also have potential for using those forces to both create more energy and to introduce more malleability into the overall system..

Or to look at it somewhat esoterically..

Seventy-six

A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.

Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.

Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.

The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.

Lao Tse - Tao te Ching