Put away those Captain Picard facepalm images, because this thread probably isn't what you think it is... but you're here viewing this thread anyways, so I'm going to guess that either the controversial-sounding title did its job, you're watching this subforum (as you dang well should be), or you saw me fat-fingering and posting this thread by mistake a while ago.
i don't really want to talk about it okay
But technically, yes, I am proposing the removal of endgame armor set bonuses. A set bonus is defined as a special bonus that activates only when three armor pieces of the same set are worn. Replace one piece, and the entire thing is gone.
That takes away a lot of creative freedom when it comes to armor sets! Mixing and matching endgame armors is almost unheard of, except in PvP situations in which the Spectre set bonus never activates anyways so you're better off wearing the Chlorophyte Headgear for a little bit more raw damage.
So this is a new system that I've devised, and I'm aware that it introduces some big changes. Rest assured that the full set bonuses will be untouched for the most part. One or two might be buffed a bit, but those are the ones I think are currently underpowered anyways.
The basic idea is that wearing an incomplete set of armor will grant an incomplete set bonus. This allows players to put a bit more thought into their armor configuration; suddenly, combinations of different armor sets are no longer objectively inferior to completed sets! If you think gaining a weaker version of the Chlorophyte leaf crystal is worth a percentage loss to Spectre lifesteal, then swap out the Spectre Pants for Chlorophyte Greaves. Loads more possibilities than there were before.
(stand by while I figure out how this table thing works)
Armor Set
| 1 piece equipped | 2 pieces equipped | Full set equipped (current)
Palladium | Striking an enemy grants Rapid Healing at a 60% healing rate for 3 seconds | 80% rate for 4 seconds | 100% rate for 5 seconds
Orichalcum (buffed) | Striking an enemy causes a petal to fly across the screen | 2 petals fly across the screen at different angles (due to pierce mechanics, they cannot strike the same enemy twice) | 3 petals fly across the screen
Titanium | Striking an enemy grants Shadow Dodge with 40 second duration/cooldown | 30 second duration/cooldown | 20 second duration/cooldown
Chlorophyte | Summons a leaf crystal with 24 base damage | 32 base damage | 40 base damage
Turtle (buffed) | Returns 80% damage to attacker | Returns 130% damage to attacker | Returns 200% damage to attacker*
Shroomite | Stealth increases ranged damage and crit, maxes out at 15% damage and 5% crit | Maxes out at 30% damage and 8% crit | Maxes out at 45% damage and 10% crit
Spectre (Mask) | Magic damage has a 50% chance to create a damaging wisp | 80% chance to create damaging wisp | 100% chance to create damaging wisp
Spectre (Hood) | Magic damage has a 50% chance to create a healing wisp | 80% chance to create healing wisp | 100% chance to create healing wisp
Beetle (Scale Mail) | Beetle Might maxes out at 1 Beetle | Maxes out at 2 Beetles | Maxes out at 3 Beetles
Beetle (Shell) | Beetle Endurance maxes out at 1 Beetle | Maxes out at 2 Beetles | Maxes out at 3 Beetles
*I know what you're going to say. DON'T EVEN SAY IT. The dodge effect granted by the Shadow Dodge buff or Black Belt will no longer trigger the Star Cloak, Honey Comb, Panic Necklace, Turtle Armor (and hypothetical Mythril, see below) set bonus, or Thorns buff.
Just to prove that we can keep doing this for any set bonuses we introduce in the future, I'll extend this to some purely hypothetical armor set bonuses of my own invention. Most of them have been listed here:
http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/cobalt-mythril-adamantite-brainstorming-thread.1734/
Armor Set
| 1 piece equipped | 2 pieces equipped | Full set equipped (current)
Cobalt | Increases damage, movement speed, and defense in proportion to damage output of nearby enemies. Capped at +10% damage and movement, and +10 defense. | Capped at +15% damage and movement, and +15 defense. | Capped at +20% damage and movement, and +20 defense.
Mythril | Enemies that hurt the wearer have defense reduced by half for 2 seconds. | Defense reduced by 75% for 4 seconds. | Defense reduced to zero for 6 seconds.
Adamantite | Picking up a heart grants the Resolve buff. Resolve grants +6% damage and +6 defense for 6 seconds. | Resolve grants +8% damage and +8 defense for 8 seconds. | Resolve grants +10% damage and +10 defense for 10 seconds.|
Hallowed (Mask) | In proportion to how much health the wearer has lost, increases melee damage and speed by up to 10%. | Increases melee damage and speed by up to 15%. | Increases melee damage and speed by up to 20%.
Hallowed (Helmet) | In proportion to the distance to the target, ranged damage and critical strike chance are increased by up to 10% damage, 6% crit. | Increased by up to 15% damage, 8% crit. | Increased by up to 20% damage, 10% crit.
Hallowed (Headgear) | As long as the wearer avoids taking damage, magic damage and critical strike chance increase by up to 8%. | Increased by up to 14%. | Increased by up to 20%.
Frost | Melee and ranged damage leave behind stationary ice crystals that deal 60% damage and last for 4 seconds. | Ice crystals deal 80% damage and last for 7 seconds. | Ice crystals deal 100% damage and last for 10 seconds.
The Frost Armor set bonus probably demands some explanation. As almost everyone knows, the Flask of Frost and Frost Bullets are confirmed for 1.3, and the reason why people are not enthusiastic about it is because Frostburn can already be reliably inflicted by anyone wearing Frost Armor. If we make it so Frost Armor does something else, then the Flask of Frost and Frost Bullets might find a niche. I didn't consider this change major enough to include in its own thread (my standards are too high nowadays), but it deserves to be mentioned here.
Oh, and a reminder: I did all the balancing and statistics with my gut. I have a pretty sensible gut, and it's right more often than not, but don't go around thinking that I've done in-depth simulations or anything like that. If you feel like something needs to be adjusted for balance, then please bring it up, and we'll talk mathematics.
That concludes the suggestion. It may be a little late for 1.3, but this is a change, albeit a major one, that could add a whole lot more dimensions to Terrarian combat. So please consider it carefully!
now to think of an appropriate punishment for anyone who brings up the time I posted this thread on accident
