Game Mechanics Manual Targeting for Summoners

Baconfry

Terrarian
This suggestion aims to improve the summoner class by providing them with direct control of their summons. As long as a summon weapon is selected and the right click is held, all minions of that type will attempt to attack the cursor as if it were an enemy. Pygmies and Sharknadoes will fire at it.

This means that the summoner class will be viable in PvP.

As a counterbalance, we'll have to remove the freedom to place summons anywhere on the screen. Instead, using the summon weapon will spawn a minion/turret at your current position. Placing sentries right on top of people was rather cheesy, so I'm not upset to see that go.

Sentries will work similarly to minions: they will fire at the cursor as long as RMB is held. (They may also gain a firing speed increase, to make up for the fact that you can't use anything else while operating it). After the right click is released, sentries will return to auto-targeting enemies as usual. Sentries will no longer disappear upon touching an enemy player in PvP, but they won't deal contact damage, either.


To celebrate the increased relevancy of sentries, here are a few sentry ideas for early pre-HM and HM pre-Mech:

Antlion Staff
10 Topaz, 4 Antlion Mandibles.

Shoots sand, but doesn't make a mess. 17 summon damage.

Clinger Staff
35 summon damage
25 Cursed Flames, 10 Souls of Night, 10 Rotten Chunks.

Spawns a Clinger head. If you're in front of background walls, it will stick there. Shoots a Cursed fireball that travels in a straight line, pierces twice, and inflicts Cursed Inferno.

I came up with this name before 1.3 was released, so if we're still alright to add a weapon like this, the existing Clinger Staff (magic weapon) would be renamed and given new artwork.

Sticker Staff
23 summon damage
25 Ichor, 10 Souls of Night, 10 Vertebrae.

Spawns a stationary Ichor Sticker that shoots ichor at enemies. Sticks to walls as well. Also pierces twice, and inflicts Ichor. Lower damage than the Clinger sentry, to offset the fact that Ichor is the superior debuff.


As of April 2019, I have edited this post to correct my past self's horrible writing style. I hope it made reading this easier for you.
 
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Balance suggestion:

Holding the "trigger" for your minion constantly/per shot/per minion drains (low amount of)mana.
Eh, every other combat type has the liberty to focus the most important enemies; why are summoners being penalized for doing the same? If a slight nerf is desired, why not have the area around the cursor act as an area of target (possibly around the size of king slime?) The minions would still swarm around the area desired, but wouldn't have a "perfect hit-squad" implementation.

In any case, this has been lacking for a while. Making summoners into a more active role instead of just an afk farming tool would be wonderful.
 
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Eh, every other combat type has the liberty to focus the most important enemies; why are summoners being penalized for doing the same? If a slight nerf is desired, why not have the area around the cursor act as an area of target (possibly around the size of king slime?) The minions would still swarm around the area desired, but wouldn't have a "perfect hit-squad" implementation.

In any case, this has been lacking for a while. Making summoners into a more active role instead of just an afk farming tool would be wonderful.

I already approved the idea before. This was merely a suggestion in case somebody (not me) wants to balance manual targeting minions. Besides ranged and mages are penalized with ammo/mana consumption for doing the same and melee used to be about... melee (but that's a different story).

Additionally unlike guns and spells the minions would still work just fine without manual targeting/mana.
 
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antlion-staff-png.137556
Antlion Staff
(Thanks SzGamer227!)
10 Topaz, 4 Antlion Mandibles, and, uh, something else?
I replaced "something else" with 20 Palm Wood in my other thread. Sound reasonable?
 
I replaced "something else" with 20 Palm Wood in my other thread. Sound reasonable?
Hmm... Antlions live in deserts, not beaches... I don't think I'll come up with something logical without needing some expansion to the desert. Luckily, Zimber's got me covered there.
 
Hmm... Antlions live in deserts, not beaches... I don't think I'll come up with something logical without needing some expansion to the desert. Luckily, Zimber's got me covered there.
I just basically took the Acorn + Sand = Palm. What did ZZ come up with?
 
Hmm... Antlions live in deserts, not beaches... I don't think I'll come up with something logical without needing some expansion to the desert. Luckily, Zimber's got me covered there.
Yes but it would stay palm trees, oasis has palm trees around it :p
 
I love the idea and really hope something like this gets implemented. What about doing something similar to how the piranha gun works. For example if you right click an enemy and hold the right click all your summons of that type will attempt to move into attacking range and then start attacking, if they are unable to move into range they just use auto targeting and ignore your click. I do however think summons like the sharknados should ignore walls and move until there aren't any walls between them and their target.
As for the counterbalance you suggested, about removing the ability to spawn them wherever you want, I think its a good idea except for the turret minions as they can't naturally move anyway
 
+1 great idea :) I think yours and mine are also both great ideas. I'm not one to act like I'm 12 and say "Lol mines better lolusuk". So yes, you idea and my idea are both very nice, very polished ideas.
 
I think there should be a type of sand for deserts (dry sand) and a type of sand for beaches (wet sand) and if you planted a tree in dry sand it would become a dead tree, and if you planted a Tree in wet sand it would become a palm tree. So in zimber's oasis there should be wet sand around where the water is. (That's just my idea though)
What does this have to do with manual summoner targeting
<.<
 
Yes but it would stay palm trees, oasis has palm trees around it :p
I think there should be a type of sand for deserts (dry sand) and a type of sand for beaches (wet sand) and if you planted a tree in dry sand it would become a dead tree, and if you planted a Tree in wet sand it would become a palm tree. So in the oasis there should be wet sand around where the water is. (That's just my idea though)
 
I think there should be a type of sand for deserts (dry sand) and a type of sand for beaches (wet sand) and if you planted a tree in dry sand it would become a dead tree, and if you planted a Tree in wet sand it would become a palm tree. So in the oasis there should be wet sand around where the water is. (That's just my idea though)
Adding a new block type just for a new type of tree is impractical.
 
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