1.4.4 Summoner Minion, Whip & Armor In-Depth Tier List

[Ronal;]]

You are already going to do Pumpkin Moon multiple times anyway because you'll also be wanting Dark Harvest, Raven Staff and two Necromantic Scrolls.

True, True but the amount of spooky wood you need is still a crazy amount, also you need ectoplasm to make the pumpkin moom medallion so why not while you are in the dungeon go and get the morning star

 

[mathbrush]

I think it really depends on the difficulty level. In Expert and Master mode, slightly more spooky wood drops and the waves progress faster so you get more Mourning Woods faster. Also, you can get the Witch's broom in Expert mode, which I always use for the rest of the game to free up 3 accessory slots (shield of cthulu, wings, and boots can all go away). Not everyone does these things but it's definitely more attractive to farm pumpkin moon on Expert and Master mode and easier to get Spooky Armor.

 

[vessal]

[Reserved for in case character limit becomes an issue]

Why is the Abigail flower A teir it's only good for the first hour and gets outshined by the flinx and Finch it's an easy c at most.
Why is the tempest A it's a really bad weapon compared to stuff like the tiger Raven or xeno staff and is pitiful compared to other duke fishron drops.
Also why the hell is the kaleidoscope not a+ it can easily carry you and it being risky for moon lord it has more rang than the starlight one of the better weapons for the fight. Just get better at the game if it's this much of an issue
Also stardust cell is an easy d teir it deals damage of the raven staff pre moon lord its just a waste

 

[Defender]

Why is the Abigail flower A teir it's only good for the first hour and gets outshined by the flinx and Finch it's an easy c at most.
Why is the tempest A it's a really bad weapon compared to stuff like the tiger Raven or xeno staff and is pitiful compared to other duke fishron drops.
Also why the hell is the kaleidoscope not a+ it can easily carry you and it being risky for moon lord it has more rang than the starlight one of the better weapons for the fight. Just get better at the game if it's this much of an issue
Also stardust cell is an easy d teir it deals damage of the raven staff pre moon lord its just a waste

Abigail is the best minion for starting hardmode, with its increased damage and syngery with firecracker
Tempest is B+ because well its aim cripples its high damage potential but can be obtained earlier
Whips arent that easy to use for moon lord without a tank setup which is why it doesnt have a higher rank then like firecracker because of its effectiveness at the time
Cell is not raven tier dmg, it surpasses dragon for fast moving bosses like empress although a mix is better, you can call it an upgrade to xeno

 

[vessal]

Abigail is the best minion for starting hardmode, with its increased damage and syngery with firecracker
Tempest is B+ because well its aim cripples its high damage potential but can be obtained earlier
Whips arent that easy to use for moon lord without a tank setup which is why it doesnt have a higher rank then like firecracker because of its effectiveness at the time
Cell is not raven tier dmg, it surpasses dragon for fast moving bosses like empress although a mix is better, you can call it an upgrade to xeno

Why would you be using a prehardmode weapon in hardmode it just doesn't make sense yes it gets a buff in hardmode but it's not enough the weapon is still pitiful at that point.
I guess the tempest can be obtained early but compared to ever duke drop it cant compete and your not going to use it past like planteria it doesn't have the output.
If being close to moon lord is an issue just dodge and get better simple.
Well the cell is a ty weapon no matter how you look at it and it is not better than the dragon for the moon lord plus why would you be fighting eol post cultist it's supposed to be around golem.

 

[Heath04🌳]

Why would you be using a prehardmode weapon in hardmode it just doesn't make sense yes it gets a buff in hardmode but it's not enough the weapon is still pitiful at that point.

Have you used Abigail in early hardmode? Her base damage increases each time she is summoned, combined with Firecracker which multiplies summon's base damage by 2.75 you can see how it makes her viable for early hardmode bosses. You can't just say that the damage is pitiful when it is clear you've never done the testing.

I guess the tempest can be obtained early but compared to ever duke drop it cant compete and your not going to use it past like planteria it doesn't have the output.
If being close to moon lord is an issue just dodge and get better simple.

We're not comparing Tsunami to Sanguine Staff are we? It is also an amazing weapon for Golem. For Moon Lord just "dodge better" is an extremely lazy advice and isn't helpful at all in any situation, let alone making a guide. You have to take in accountability of the person who is reading the guide and how it will perform for them.

 

[vessal]

Have you used Abigail in early hardmode? Her base damage increases each time she is summoned, combined with Firecracker which mul detiplies summon's base damage by 2.75 you can see how it makes her viable for early hardmode bosses. You can't just say that the damage is pitiful when it is clear you've never done this


We're not comparing Tsunami to Sanguine Staff are we? It is also an amazing weapon for Golem. For Moon Lord just "dodge better" is an extremely lazy advice and isn't helpful at all in any situation, let alone making a guide. You have to take in accountability of the person who is reading the guide and how it will perform for them.

Even with that it's still going to be grossly out shadowed by the sanguine or blade witch even after the nerf the blade staff is still broken at it's teir or heck find spiders and your fine. Also cool whip is just better in general.
For the moon lord one it is true just get better at the game most people who fight moon lords just use the nurse as a cheese anyways

 

[Heath04🌳]

Even with that it's still going to be grossly out shadowed by the sanguine or blade witch even after the nerf the blade staff is still broken at it's teir or heck find spiders and your fine. Also cool whip is just better in general.

Spiders do not perform better than Abigail, I would really recommend testing these for yourself. As for Blade Staff what do you think the best summon for Queen Slime is?

For the moon lord one it is true just get better at the game most people who fight moon lords just use the nurse as a cheese anyways

Again, you can't just rely on everyone to cheese a fight and expect the weapon to be viable because you won with cheese.

 

[vessal]

Spiders do not perform better than Abigail, I would really recommend testing these for yourself. As for Blade Staff what do you think the best summon for Queen Slime is?


Again, you can't just rely on everyone to cheese a fight and expect the weapon to be viable because you won with cheese.

If you dodge and do it without nurse you actually get better instead of relying on a crutch.
The best summon for queen slime is the sanguine staff even with the nerf.

 

[Heath04🌳]

If you dodge and do it without nurse you actually get better instead of relying on a crutch.

And to get better at dodging you'd have to practice, and to do that you'd have to not die, and to do that you can not use whips. Do you understand now?

The best summon for queen slime is the sanguine staff even with the nerf.

Dreadnautilis is imo, an annoying enemy to fight and it often isn't worth getting sanguine. Abigail is much easier to obtain and does the job perfectly

 

[Defender]

If you dodge and do it without nurse you actually get better instead of relying on a crutch.
The best summon for queen slime is the sanguine staff even with the nerf.

i suggest you try them yourselves because making a fool of yourself

 

[vessal]

And to get better at dodging you'd have to practice, and to do that you'd have to not die, and to do that you can not use whips. Do you understand now?


Dreadnautilis is imo, an annoying enemy to fight and it often isn't worth getting sanguine. Abigail is much easier to obtain and does the perfectly

Well there's a difference between dodging close up and far away and you can't learn how to figure up close if you're using a ranged weapon
Dred is a fun fight what are you talking about the devs even made the projectiles more visible and nerfed the thing.
@Defender how am I making a fool of myself just wondering.

 

[Shyguymask]

I moved Slime Staff from B- to B tier because I don't know why I ranked it that low when it has some merits.

Why is the Abigail flower A teir it's only good for the first hour and gets outshined by the flinx and Finch it's an easy c at most.
Why is the tempest A it's a really bad weapon compared to stuff like the tiger Raven or xeno staff and is pitiful compared to other duke fishron drops.
Also why the hell is the kaleidoscope not a+ it can easily carry you and it being risky for moon lord it has more rang than the starlight one of the better weapons for the fight. Just get better at the game if it's this much of an issue
Also stardust cell is an easy d teir it deals damage of the raven staff pre moon lord its just a waste

Every item shown in the list has an explanation to justify the placement, I suggest you read them.

 

[randomuser425]

Where tavernkeep armor? Would love to see your take on valhalla knight armor

 

[Shyguymask]

Where tavernkeep armor? Would love to see your take on valhalla knight armor

They give no minion slots and I don't rank sentries, so I decided to not rank them. I should clarify that in the original post.

 

[Baconfry]

They give no minion slots and I don't rank sentries, so I decided to not rank them. I should clarify that in the original post.

I think there is an argument for including the VK set in your rankings. Valhalla Knight armor is perfectly viable even when you're not using sentries at all, and if you want to go full tank summoner against Moon Lord, that is realistically what you will be using. It's kind of like the summoner's equivalent to Beetle Shell ranger, which might actually be underselling it because it's not like the Dragon scales super hard with capacity anyway. It's a damn good set even when half of its benefits aren't being used.

 

[mathbrush]

I think there is an argument for including the VK set in your rankings. Valhalla Knight armor is perfectly viable even when you're not using sentries at all, and if you want to go full tank summoner against Moon Lord, that is realistically what you will be using. It's kind of like the summoner's equivalent to Beetle Shell ranger, which might actually be underselling it because it's not like the Dragon scales super hard with capacity anyway. It's a damn good set even when half of its benefits aren't being used.

I know this doesn't apply to Vanilla, but Valhalla Knight armor is so good for summoners that I've used it against Providence in Calamity several times. It's just so much more survivable.

 

[Flint🪓]

I know this doesn't apply to Vanilla, but Valhalla Knight armor is so good for summoners that I've used it against Providence in Calamity several times. It's just so much more survivable.

Spooky mask + Valhalla chest piece + Valhalla greaves is nuts for defensive summoner builds. Valhalla armor makes going for a full warding build as a summoner actually viable (spooky armor gives goofy ahh amount of defense).

 

[FalloutGuy645]

Tempest staff can be obtained pre-mech, though not an easy task for even an experienced player. Nonetheless, it can outperform basically (I think?) every other staff until you begin approaching late game. Does this influence the ranking of the summon?

 

[Flint🪓]

Tempest staff can be obtained pre-mech, though not an easy task for even an experienced player. Nonetheless, it can outperform basically (I think?) every other staff until you begin approaching late game. Does this influence the ranking of the summon?

I mean, Duke Fishron is supposed to be post-golem but tempest staff is on the same level as raven/deadly sphere staff. It has goofy ahh accuracy with proyectiles affected by gravity.