I'll mention later that I have some thoughts about a new mechanic we have that could be used to make the Bees a little better without "buffing" them per say. Not going to elaborate on it now, it'll take a lot of experimentation to see if its viable.
Yeah, I've had some off-beat ideas for this myself, like . . . ditch the reactive-bees, maybe make it spawn a bee when jumping, IDK. Would be something worth exploring, I think a buff to it is an easy sell.
Sometimes a jump is just a jump. Its defining feature is how easy it is to get through fishing. Doesn't necessarily need to have unique quirks . . . it really doesn't need a buff.
I think it would be fun to do an Alt-Trio and then ultimately a "Cloud of Balloons", bring it full circle. Something I've pushed for internally, but did not get approval on.
This is not one I currently have the power to change. I would like to, but it is a no-go for now.
I think, as you say, defense piercing on accessories pales rather significantly in contrast to % based damage. Maybe its just an accessory that simply works best pre-HM, and isn't meant to scale up. I would say that part of the problem is that mid-to-late game defense is VERY inconsistently balanced, with enemies in the same zone often fluctuating dramatically in defense value. It makes defense-mitigating effects a bit of a wildcard, and while Ichor exists, its a situation I'm trying to avoid repeating on the whole.
-Paladin's Shield / Hero's Shield-
That would be a relatively tall order in terms of buffing general Defense stat accessibility. And while I recognize the limitations of the Defense stat, I'd be hesitant to toss that much onto one (and inevitably both) of these, due to the repercussions that could come from, say, a Mage deciding to double down on shields that add +38 Defense.
As you say, not much to say here. But its also not something I'll have an easy time getting approved. I'm interested in interesting solutions to this problem, ones that I'll have success getting approved.
-Ice Skates + Diving Gear-
As you say, its a situational item in a game that doesn't have tremendous amounts of underwater exploration, and the frequency with which you spend running on ice is limited. And yet, that is their role. They are situational items with a limited niche, much like Lava Waders are/were. You say Ice Skates feels shoe-horned in, but taking a pure utility item and combining it with one of the strongest accessories in the game feels much the same. I don't think there is too much that can be done here, aside from general buffs to its intended functionality.
Jellyfish Necklace/Diving Gear
I'd be interested in experimenting with a brightness buff here. I'm not sure a Shine Potion effect would fly though, mostly because we added an item that does much the same already. I'd say "ooh, new tinker idea", but new tinkers aren't likely in this discussion.
You know, I can't speak to increasing the damage dramatically, but there is something I might be able to do with this accessory, a new feature we've experimentally utilized in a few of 1.4's balance changes an items. I think there's something to consider here.
-Cobalt Shield and Cross Necklace-
Interesting and atypical opinion here. The immunity frames have long been a popular mainstay of many builds, and I wouldn't consider the functionality to be underpowered. Nor would I consider Cobalt Shield to be in need of a buff (and if you were to add the buff to Cobalt Shield, it would be awkward if it was removed later in subsequent tinkers, as you soon point out with Dunrider Boots).
IIRC, the stars have a boosted homing effect and come to the player very easily. They aren't too hard to go get. Either way, Mana accessories are rather swamped with mana restoration stuff, with a variety of options for different playstyles. They don't all need to offer exactly the same benefits.
Duneriders are tricky . . . you may notice that one of the hotfix changes we made was giving it a tinker into Spectre Boots. This is because prior, it had nothing. It was just an end to itself. It was what it was . . . "boots for if you go to the desert, with a perk". We added the tinker so that it wasn't a dead end. You are correct that its an awkward design, but the alternative at the time was either "nothing special at all, just a clone of Hermes" or "no tinker at all, a dead end". The most likely solution, if there is one, that I can see, is an odd-side-grade tinker, much like Lava Waders were all of this time, and then you KNOW the inevitable cry for tinkering into Terraspark Boots will follow, and I think that's going to stop that from coming to fruition in the first place.
The multi-biome suggestion is interesting but I don't think I could swing it in regards to the long term implications as the crafting tree worked up to Terraspark Boots.
May as well consider it a vehicle for free prefixes on an otherwise row of empty slots, to be honest, given when you obtain it. It does no harm for an ultra-early game item, and is valuable for later upgrades.
In tandem with the Aglet suggestion, just blatantly buffing the speed on these together might be hard to justify on my end. Its true: they are basically glorified materials. Once upon a 1.0, Anklet served an independent purpose, but even if it had independent value, wouldn't it just be crafted away instantly anyway? That's just my take.
The ideal scenario IMO, WITHOUT adding new items to the game, would be including it in the Lava Wader tinker and add its benefits to it. It synergizes well (7 seconds immunity, and if you do run out, reduced damage). Which would furthermore be a side-effect buff to Terraspark Boots, which . . . might make it a hard sell, because Terraspark Boots were a concession that I've spent the last 5 years striving to get.
-The Magma Stone/Molten Skull Rose/Fire Gauntlets-
On Fire, to me, is a doomed buff. It doesn't do enough damage to be useful for most of the game, but if it was buffed too much, it would do too much damage early game, because its highly accessible. Fractional damage bonuses don't really work because the scaling would be tremendous. DoT multipliers like the Huntress armor were basically a failed experiment (one I would like to buff, for what its worth).
Burning, as an enemy DoT, is going to be an extremely hard sell, as its basically a freebie +50 DPS per afflicted target for all melee users for the rest of time.
As for the Fire Gauntlets themself: the lost DPS exists for a reason, but it is a reason long since rendered irrelevant by Melee's relative underperformance. I'm going to push for it to at least get that 2% back. As for additional bonuses, I can't promise anything.
Consider it a pair of vanity boots, as a vehicle for the new visual trail it leaves. Easiest explanation I can offer.
Also, I don't know who on the dev team said that Cursed Inferno deals 24 DPS and Venom 30, but I tested it and that's the value over TWO seconds. Even if that damage WAS per-second, 30 DPS is still really bad for players.
If its not doing enough damage, it may be a code issue, I'll look into it. I'm not going to say that 24/30 is "enough", but there is something to be said for iterations. This build was an experiment that increased their damage. Consequently, I was forced to raise the enemy damage (apparently that is non-negotiable) in turn, and for every buff to them I continue to add, enemy variants will have to increase in turn. I've already reduced durations somewhat to account for that, but anything further would be a straight buff to certain enemies. So that is something to be considered.
I'd like to look into increasing it further, but I feel that the 24/30 step is a good middle ground for starters. "Better" is always an improvement, even if its not "Perfect".
