Phyzile
Terrarian
I came up with this idea while I was farming for the Nazar in expert mode, which took literally 150+ cursed skull kills (based on the number of banners I'd acquired)
The RNG based system for rare items is undoubtedly annoying and encourages AFK farming rather than active gameplay. This is the solution I came up with.
Battle Standards: a placeable block that toggles more frequent spawning of a specified enemy with higher drop rates, balanced with buffs to said enemies.
This would kill two birds with one stone; increasing drop rates to quicken gameplay while buffing them to make the gameplay more engaging and enjoyable.
Of course, a concept like this has a couple of hurdles.
1) Choosing the enemies.
Now Terraria has a distinct style where blocks don't tend to have any sort of GUI, being limited to chests and crafting utensils. Most utility blocks have a single button for use, like switches and campfires. Now this limits how we can implement an item like this, since using a GUI isn't like Terraria and _not_ using a GUI reduces how we can use it. My solution is to use banners.
Banners have the advantage of being fully programmed, textured and polished while also being placeable. My idea would be to place the banner onto a Battle Standard frame to complete it, converting the banner from a player buff to a mob buff. Here's a mock-up of how that could look:
2) Balancing.
An item that increases spawn rates _and_ drop chances is definitely a powerful one. Ideas for balancing were briefly mentioned above, but here's a more in-depth look:
One way to balance these would be to, as stated above, buff the enemies too. Increase their health, defence, attack, speed etc to make them more powerful, engaging the player.
Another way to balance these would be to limit their usage. Perhaps the battle standard could trigger a mini-event that consumes the banner, prompting an invasion like scenario not too dissimilar from the goblin or martian invasions. Perhaps they could only be used where the creature is found (i.e. corruptors only spawn in corruption, so the standard can only be used in corruption).
What are the benefits of this item then?
Well the primary purpose is to reduce the grindy aspect of Terraria. Some people love it, others hate it, hence why it's an item and not a built in mechanic.
This item could also revitalise long forgotten materials and creatures. Who here honestly goes out to kill off goblin scouts? Who here farms vileshrooms? Not me, that's for sure. An item like this can add a new use for older items, I mean tattered cloth is already used to make a Goblin battle standard, so why not a generalised one?
Overall, the point of this would be to crack down on Terraria's grind while adding a fun challenge. Not much else I could say. Any questions can go in the comments below
The RNG based system for rare items is undoubtedly annoying and encourages AFK farming rather than active gameplay. This is the solution I came up with.
Battle Standards: a placeable block that toggles more frequent spawning of a specified enemy with higher drop rates, balanced with buffs to said enemies.
This would kill two birds with one stone; increasing drop rates to quicken gameplay while buffing them to make the gameplay more engaging and enjoyable.
Of course, a concept like this has a couple of hurdles.
1) Choosing the enemies.
Now Terraria has a distinct style where blocks don't tend to have any sort of GUI, being limited to chests and crafting utensils. Most utility blocks have a single button for use, like switches and campfires. Now this limits how we can implement an item like this, since using a GUI isn't like Terraria and _not_ using a GUI reduces how we can use it. My solution is to use banners.
Banners have the advantage of being fully programmed, textured and polished while also being placeable. My idea would be to place the banner onto a Battle Standard frame to complete it, converting the banner from a player buff to a mob buff. Here's a mock-up of how that could look:
2) Balancing.
An item that increases spawn rates _and_ drop chances is definitely a powerful one. Ideas for balancing were briefly mentioned above, but here's a more in-depth look:
One way to balance these would be to, as stated above, buff the enemies too. Increase their health, defence, attack, speed etc to make them more powerful, engaging the player.
Another way to balance these would be to limit their usage. Perhaps the battle standard could trigger a mini-event that consumes the banner, prompting an invasion like scenario not too dissimilar from the goblin or martian invasions. Perhaps they could only be used where the creature is found (i.e. corruptors only spawn in corruption, so the standard can only be used in corruption).
What are the benefits of this item then?
Well the primary purpose is to reduce the grindy aspect of Terraria. Some people love it, others hate it, hence why it's an item and not a built in mechanic.
This item could also revitalise long forgotten materials and creatures. Who here honestly goes out to kill off goblin scouts? Who here farms vileshrooms? Not me, that's for sure. An item like this can add a new use for older items, I mean tattered cloth is already used to make a Goblin battle standard, so why not a generalised one?
Overall, the point of this would be to crack down on Terraria's grind while adding a fun challenge. Not much else I could say. Any questions can go in the comments below