I'm just gonna point out that we don't know what the developers' intentions are. For all we know, summoner is a main class that got implemented not only late in the game's development, but also from the top-down as evidenced by the fact it has its own Celestial Pillar.
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If you play this game long enough & stop listening to the
outside noise, you can almost always
feel what the developers intentions are/ were (
especially if it's a passion project). In addition, the Developers for this game in particular, do quite a bit of talking; if you listen to them. You have to love this game to understand it & stop coming at it from an "I know what's best" kinda mentality, because
nine times outta ten, you'll be wrong. Unlike many other games, we have the luxury of having developers, who are as much fans of Terraria as we are, & only want what's best for it. I know it's hard sometimes, but you have to learn to trust them; you should trust them.
Also, if you're gonna make suggestions for the game, at
least know enough about the thing you're asking, to understand if it's either healthy for it, or is addressing some major flaw that actually needs fixing; Summoner
was indeed one of those flaws in 1.3.5, I can certainly agree to that, but not in 1.4.0.5. Summoner is d**n near perfect now & I don't want any
short-sighted fans tampering with it.
At least, that's my assumption. The endgame build has a very clear goal, but that's unfortunately post Moon Lord. There's little to no groundwork leading up to it, but plenty of opportunity to make it happen. How you do this is add more content for summoners that can be obtained by crafting rather than dealing with RNG. Pre-hardmode could use a pre Queen Bee armor plus a few craftable staves to smoothly progress from game start to that boss. Hardmode could get a few staves that can be crafted from ores/chlorophyte/shroomite or upgrading existing ones like the Hornet Staff to Moss Hornet Staff.
This is why you should understand the game before you critique it like this. Minions aren't like Swords, Guns & Magic Staffs that you just replace, Minions grow when YOU grow as a Summoner; the fact that you don't know something as simple as this, is one of the biggest reasons I'll fight you tooth & nail when it comes to this Class! You don't just replace Minions, they're literally your friends in this game, they all have obvious strengths & weakness. You only replace a Minion when it's absolutely obvious that they are outclassed by a newer one. This is one of the biggest flaws to
microwaved information & raw stats, it lacks context.
Just to quiet the possible secret grumblings, I wanna give most of you a shining example of what I mean when I say Summoner doesn't need any more stuff. Most of the things I've seen players suggesting to be changed either, already exist in-game or will destroy the Class, it's balance & it's current uniqueness entirely.
Wouldn't it be cool if there was a Summoner Armor Set + Minions that heal the player every time the Minions attack?
That's already possible with the proper set-up, especially in a Crimson World. All you'd need to do is equip Heartreach Potions, focus on high Minion DPS & find an Ichor-based Weapon you like most to soften enemies up. Once you get access to Vampire Knives, you can simply buff the Weapon with Ichor Flasks (
now imagine that healing-type Armor existing, plus this set-up. Do you really feel like this would be good for the health of the game?).
Well, how about a Summoner Armor Set or Minions that act as a shield, to protect the player's Character from damage?
So you want a newer version of the old Titanium Armor, just after the Developers got done fixing the old issue, with it being too good for it's placement in natural progression, really? Not only that, you wanna stack this ability on top of Star Veil, Cross Necklace, Frozen Shell, Brain of Confusion & Master Ninja Gear? Hard pass!
Summoner would just be better if it had more early-game upgrading paths & craftable Minion Staffs!
No, no it wouldn't. The difference in raw power in early-game is too small to keep Summer Class items from being an essential no-brainer. No matter what Class you start with, why
wouldn't you craft a Summoning Staff? In fact, if you manage to get hold of a Finch Staff or Slime Staff, what Class
isn't going to use the Minions? At a certain point, there needs to be a clear divide between natural progression & build intention. If you wanna be a Summoner, you have to
intentionally invest in the Class. The more you do this, the larger the gap between a Summoner & a person who happens to have Minions will become. Why would anyone vote against good design like this?
I don't like how Summoner Class gets left behind once the World gets flooded with ores like, Adamantite, Titanium & Cholorphite! The Class needs more craftable Minions in Hardmode!
This is shortsightedness; not only can a Summoner Craft
Forbidden Armor once you get access to these ores, there's nothing to stop you from using any of the Adamantite or Titanium Weaponry. In-fact, you could even afford to invest in a lil' Hardmode Magic Weapons with this Armor Set! As far as
Cholorphite is concerned, you'll likely benefit the most form this ore being accessible, so far as Weaponry is concerned... because, if you can mine
Cholorphite, that also means you have access to DD2 Summoner Sentries (Tier 2), in addition to all the DD2 (Tier 2) Armor Sets, who all get Weapon bonuses from other Classes! Even if you just like the Sentries & aren't interested in the Armor Sets, you can Summon up to two Sentries with the DD2 Sentry Accessories.
- Monk's Belt
- Squire's Shield
- Huntress Buckler
- Apprentice's Scarf
I don't like the fact that there's so much grinding & RNG involved with the Summoner's upgrading path! That's not fair compared to other Classes!
There isn't really. This is just a simple case of players
Meta-gaming without any real context. For example,
did you know that the items from Queen Bee alone can carry Summoner Class
all the way into Early-Hardmode? In fact, if you're gonna Meta-game, shouldn't you have found a Spider Cave in advance to farm before even killing The Wall of Flesh? Well, just as soon as Hardmode begins, you already have your new upgrade, not only in Armor, but Minions & a new Sentry! You don't even have to go diging at this point either. Once you have the Spider Set, you can fish, in peace until you get enough Hardmode ores to begin crafting the
Forbidden Armor. This isn't a flaw in the game, this is your own stubbornness weighing you down.
Summoner Class feels weak, the Minions are dumb, don't do enough damage & the Class feels like it's made outta paper! Summoner needs an Armor buff.
You're saying that a Class, that can have up to five-six (5-6) Minions, doing all the work for them, before ever fighting your first Mechanical Boss, is weak? This sounds like some serious
deflecting & you should probably pick a different Class. There's
waaay too many powerful Weapons, Potions, Accessories & Passive Buffs to justify making Summoner Class any more broken. You don't know what you're doing & if you need help with Summoner Class, I have a
somewhat guide
here... a proper guide is coming soon, but I'm assuming you're the impatient type so, there you go.
Summoner Class should be able to stand on it's own two feet, using only Summoner Weapons, Summoner tools & Summoner equipment! I don't like the fact that the Class has to rely on using other Class Weapons & tools just to beat the game, other Classes can do it just fine without it!
I mean, it's possible. I've seen players do Summoner Purist runs in Terraria before any of the
newer stuff was ever added. What you're probably trying to say is "
beating the game as a Summoner Purist is beyond my current skill level & I don't like that". Well yeah, which is why you should practice if you're going to do a
challenge run. Terraria's natural progression balance isn't catered to or designed around
challenge runs, most games aren't. A
challenge run applies player instituted rules, regulations & limitations, if you're having trouble beating Terraria as a Summoner Purist, to the point you're not having fun anymore... well, stop trying to do a
challenge run maybe?