Biomes & Nature Add something (at all) to the Granite Biome in Hardmode

[Waasephi🌳]

I really like both the Granite and Marble biomes, they hold some of my favorite building blocks and such, but outside of building blocks they don't really have too much content.
Out of the 2 the Marble biome has gotten much more love, having an armor set and a few weapons (hell as of 1.4.4 its even required for the ankh shield), but the granite has basically nothing.
I suggest adding a new enemy to the hardmode granite biome, as well as a respective weapon, and maybe a hardmode armor set?

I have a suggestion of what the content could be, not what i want in the game, including a concept sprite to spice it up a little bit.

The Unstable Granite Core

Not a super complex enemy, but one that, like the medusa you don't want to be caught near.
It floats toward the player and once it gets close enough it explodes doing massive damage (potentially killing itself in the process)

Granite Energy Staff

Dropped from the Granite Core
A slower magic weapon that summons a concentration of energy on the cursor, explodes on release (similar function to a magic missile weapon)
Has less immediate DPS and instead has a powerful AoE with high damage, like a bomb

Granite Armor

(I don't like making armors so I simply will not, probably would look like a granite golem in appearance)
Could be dropped by Granite Golems in hardmode only?
A decent tank multiclass armor, a lot of defense and damage reduction bonuses but little to no mobility (A counterpart to Crystal Assassin armor perhaps?)
A majority of armors stats in terraria are based around dealing more damage, so why not one more based around taking less?

There could always be more to be added to these biomes, but I don't want to add too much to this, I mainly want to get the idea across.
Moral of the story, more early hardmode content variety is always nice.

 

[Russ Guss Doodles]

Those sprites are great! The granite biome does need some love especially in Hardmode.

 

[PhantomGamer449]

Ive already made a post on the comparison between content from the Granite biome and the marble biome, which i view to be a duality of biomes, one thats pitch black and one thats white and pale. However the amount of items given from the marble biome is much higher than the drops from the Granite biome, which only drops granite blocks from its enemies, and nothing else as far as im aware. However, i feel having Granite Armor pre-hardmode may be more beneficial, considering it may be quickly outclassed by Titanium, Adamantite and Hallowed Armour. Considering the Granite biome has no content anytime in the playthrough, not just in hardmode, i feel having the armour set in prehardmode would put it alongside the Spartan armour set from the prehardmode Marble biome.

In terms of a new hardmode enemy that may pose a threat to the player, i love the concept, being a parallel to the Medusa that is introduced in hardmode, with it also dropping a mage weapon. My only issue is that if the Granite armour set is meant to be a defensive melee class build, why have it alongside a mage weapon? Maybe adding a melee weapon along side this armour set as well would help balance this out, considering that the marble biome has a weapon for three classes, being Javelins, the Gladius and the Medusa Head. Adding weapons in the granite biome in both prehardmode and hardmode would help balance the gameplay curve out, making it a true equal to the Marble biome in terms of items and progression.

i always felt that these biomes would be more special if they were made rarer, and were made larger, matching the vast expanse of the Marble biome being a great hall of a pale stone, and the Granite biome being a dark desolate void. Making the biomes bigger would make them harder to explore, while also increasing the chance to run into the more dangerous enemies that hardmode could grant inn both biomes, if one is added to the Granite biome. I personally had the concept to buff the Granite Golem in Hardmode to make him a greater threat to the player, as I always loved the enemies design and his ability to be invulnerable to attacks by seemingly charging himself up. It made him seem threatening as an enemy, but is soon realized that he isn't as threatening as his abilities and appearance may let on, making him underwhelming considering how tough he looks in comparison to some enemies in the caves, such as the skeleton archer in hardmode (weird example) I also felt like adding a debuff thats granted by entering said biome would make them a more dangerous place to explore, like having torches be less bright in the Granite biome, but allowing granite torches/lamps or ultrabright torches be the same, keeping the Granite biome a dark expanse of caverns and chasms, and making the enemies more threatening by making them harder to see until theyre right in your face. It would also make sense, considering the nightvision helmet is dropped by Granite Golems in the Granite biome.

I know ive went on a tangent about this but its evidently clear that Granite biome has been left as a disappointing biome, with next to nothing new being obtainable there, with now weapons or armor being found (besides the nightvision helmet, if that even counts considering its not an armour set)

I do love your ideas though, as they do help expand the Granite biome and make it a unique biome with a place in progression, rather than just another recoloured cave biome with two new enemies.