Weapons & Equip Completely rework the Brain of Confusion

[Baconfry]

There are two glaring problems with the Brain of Confusion. One is that it only activates when the player is hit, and expert mode players can't afford to take hits most of the time. The other is that the confusion status effect is not universally useful, due to all the enemies that are contractually immune.

I don't think buffing it directly is going to accomplish much, because the accessory is flawed to begin with. A better option is to change it into something else entirely.

And I'm sure we all know that the Brain of Confusion is a disappointment, but the question is, how do we change it so it's enticing enough to use without being overpowered?

The best answer I could come up with One answer I came up with is to rename it to the Brain of Knowledge, with the same sprite, but a different effect: while equipped, spellbooks no longer cost mana to use. Specifically, the Book of Skulls, Water Bolt, Demon Scythe, Crystal Storm, Cursed Flames, Golden Shower, Magnet Sphere, Razorblade Typhoon, and Lunar Flare. It's by no means the only logical way to buff the BoC's expert mode accessory, but I like it for several reasons:

-It scales well. The accessory retains its usefulness as the player gains access to more spellbooks throughout the game. Although giving the Magnet Sphere no mana cost is still largely irrelevant.
-While the effect is useful, it strongly buffs neither DPS nor survivability, except for players who are under Mana Sickness all the time (which arguably isn't an good playstyle to begin with).
-Players will understand immediately what weapons benefit from this accessory. A book is a book.
-Many of the affected weapons weren't especially powerful in the first place. None of them fit the archetype of "extremely high damage with extremely high mana cost", at least compared with other magic weapons in their tier. For example, Last Prism vs. Lunar Flare. Water Bolt will be really good, though, about on par with the Space Gun.
-It's a good excuse to add more spellbooks, to fill in sections of the game where spellbooks aren't being introduced (like between mechs and Plantera).

While I don't mind discussing the above idea, since creating the thread I've changed my mind. You can consider the following my "official proposal".

...perhaps a better buff would be replacing the confusion effect with 3-5 seconds of Shadow Dodge. It may not give consistent damage reduction like the Worm Scarf, but it can effectively defend a player against taking loads of damage at once. That way, there's no need to change the accessory's name. And thematically, it makes sense; the Brain of Cthulhu generates illusions during the fight.

What do you think? Would you prefer this version of the Brain? Or maybe a buffed version of the original? Or maybe something else? Whatever it is, I would appreciate your replies.

 

[BrusselSprouts693]

I could see the brain of knowledge as overpowered in only spot: The razorblade typhoon. It seems like a novel concept nonetheless though

 

[Baconfry]

razorblade typhoon

Aye, the Razorblade Typhoon is one of the more powerful magic weapons that benefits from having no mana cost. But its single-target damage isn't that good, so it's not ideal to use when fighting bosses (against which you're more likely to run out of mana). It's more powerful when facing invasions, but those drop mana stars pretty frequently, so mana recovery isn't a major problem whether you're running Brain or not.

 

[Jetstreme ∞]

I like this a lot. It'll make mage players really think about if they want corruption or crimson in the world. the only problem I see is - again, it's awesome for mage players, but that's it. It's borderline useless for everyone else (well, maybe not useless for summoners, since we usually use magic items in conjunction, but you get my point)

 

[Baconfry]

it's awesome for mage players, but that's it. It's borderline useless for everyone else

Terraria doesn’t restrict players to a single class, and I usually find myself playing with multiple classes over the average playthrough. So if I found an item that made me think “wow, this would be really handy if I were a mage”, I’d just be like “sure, I’ll be a mage for a while then”. I think most players would feel the same way.

If you’re referring to the players who play as “mage only” or “summon only” or “weapons that look like animals only”... yeah, they might be having fun, but we don’t need to have them in mind when developing the game.

 

[Tarluk]

Terraria doesn’t restrict players to a single class, and I usually find myself playing with multiple classes over the average playthrough.

Just because you play multiple classes does not mean everyone else does. Most people at least prefer using one or two of the four classes instead of the others, and many of those people entirely restrict themselves to a certain class.

If you’re referring to the players who play as “mage only” or “summon only” or “weapons that look like animals only”... yeah, they might be having fun, but we don’t need to have them in mind when developing the game.

...except Terraria has kept these players in mind for more than 6 years now. Hell, they've rewarded them. Ever since 1.1, the majority of Hardmode armor sets added to the game only rewarded one specific class.

The point of the matter is that when the Worm Scarf exists, an accessory that is useful for the entire game to all players, no matter what class(es) they choose, having the equivalent accessory be something that only rewards one specific playstyle just isn't going to cut it. Warriors, rangers, summoners, or people who just don't want to use magic weapons will still just turn to the Corruption when making an Expert Mode world.

 

[Jetstreme ∞]

Terraria doesn’t restrict players to a single class, and I usually find myself playing with multiple classes over the average playthrough. So if I found an item that made me think “wow, this would be really handy if I were a mage”, I’d just be like “sure, I’ll be a mage for a while then”. I think most players would feel the same way.

If you’re referring to the players who play as “mage only” or “summon only” or “weapons that look like animals only”... yeah, they might be having fun, but we don’t need to have them in mind when developing the game.

I disagree with that to a degree. I really do not like switching up my class during a playthrough, as I find it incredibly messy. Additionally, having the worm scarf equivalent be only useful for mages just doesn't sound right when the worm scarf is universally useful. I think I'd be fine with it if there was a ranger oriented item available as well, but both warrior and ranger folks are kind of cut out from expert mode items that specifically benefit their class (the throwing class isn't for some reason)

Overall, the concept is really strong, but I think this new ability could be regulated to something else entirely and the Brain could get some other ability

 

[Tarluk]

I think having the Brain of Confusion/Knowledge provide informational effects would probably be the best idea. Though the problem is having the Brain of Knowledge provide informational effects that potions or the Cell Phone can't already give the player.

 

[Baconfry]

I think this new ability could be regulated to something else entirely and the Brain could get some other ability

having the equivalent accessory be something that only rewards one specific playstyle just isn't going to cut it.

Yeah, now that I think of it, I agree with you guys; the Brain needs to be the Worm Scarf's counterpart. It's kind of a shame, though, since it would thematically make a lot of sense for a brain to improve book weapons. Spellbook cost = 0 might be more suitable for the dungeon, where you obtain your first spellbook. Maybe the item can be a globglogabgalab reference. lol

As for the Brain of Confusion, perhaps a better buff would be replacing the confusion effect with 3-5 seconds of Shadow Dodge. It may not give consistent damage reduction like the Worm Scarf, but it can effectively defend a player against taking loads of damage at once. That way, there's no need to change the accessory's name. And thematically, it makes sense; the Brain of Cthulhu generates illusions during the fight.

I've edited the poll, so you can choose that if you want.

 

[Lord Garak]

I was ready to like this thread, but then I got to your actual suggested rework. I have two major problems with it (which I see others have already gone into here). One, it isn't universally helpful; even for mage spellbooks aren't your constant source of offense. Two, it is ludicrously broken. Infinite mana with some of the most powerful weapons in the game is a bad mix.

 

[BrusselSprouts693]

I was ready to like this thread, but then I got to your actual suggested rework. I have two major problems with it (which I see others have already gone into here). One, it isn't universally helpful; even for mage spellbooks aren't your constant source of offense. Two, it is ludicrously broken. Infinite mana with some of the most powerful weapons in the game is a bad mix.

There was an alternative proposal

As for the Brain of Confusion, perhaps a better buff would be replacing the confusion effect with 3-5 seconds of Shadow Dodge. It may not give consistent damage reduction like the Worm Scarf, but it can effectively defend a player against taking loads of damage at once. That way, there's no need to change the accessory's name. And thematically, it makes sense; the Brain of Cthulhu generates illusions during the fight.

I've edited the poll, so you can choose that if you want.

 

[Baconfry]

Infinite mana with some of the most powerful weapons in the game is a bad mix.

I may no longer be proposing it as an alternative to the Brain of Confusion, but I still believe casting spellbooks for free wouldn’t be as broken as you might think.

In terms of game balance, features that greatly enhance survivability are more likely to end up being broken. This is because boss fights are meant to be battles of attrition rather than DPS races; as long as you can maintain your HP, it matters little if the fight drags out a bit longer.

Casting from spellbooks for free greatly enhances neither DPS nor survivability (I stated this in the main post). You could make the case for Spectre Hood having enhanced survivability when casting for free, but Magic Cuffs do almost the same thing.

Furthermore, some of the most powerful weapons in the game don’t even cost mana. In no way should magic weapons be considered significantly more powerful than weapons of other classes. In fact, the mage class is actually gimped by its low armor rating, and makes up for it typically with crowd control and homing properties; neither of those is outstandingly useful against bosses when you compare it to mainstays like the Daedalus Stormbow.

 

[TMB50]

The brain could provide increased crit damage multiplier (From doubled to 2.5x damage), as it would be an offensive counterpart to the Worm Scarf, while also being appropiate for a brain to do.

 

[Baconfry]

it would be an offensive counterpart to the Worm Scarf, while also being appropiate for a brain to do.

I don’t really understand how a brain relates to critical damage. Usually when we think about criticals, we think of eyes (eye of the golem) or claws/fangs (pokemon: razor claw). Brains are more likely to be related to information gathering or magical abilities.

Also, I don’t think an “offensive counterpart” would work. Survival is much more important than DPS in boss battles and boss rush events, where enemies have too much health for “kill or be killed” to apply. It would be a good accessory, but not nearly as useful as the Worm Scarf for situations like boss fights.

 

[TMB50]

I don’t really understand how a brain relates to critical damage. Usually when we think about criticals, we think of eyes (eye of the golem) or claws/fangs (pokemon: razor claw). Brains are more likely to be related to information gathering or magical abilities.

Also, I don’t think an “offensive counterpart” would work. Survival is much more important than DPS in boss battles and boss rush events, where enemies have too much health for “kill or be killed” to apply. It would be a good accessory, but not nearly as useful as the Worm Scarf for situations like boss fights.

It's fitting to a brain that can now techniques that can be used to cause more damage.

An alternative would be that it could reveal the path of projectiles, so dodging would be easier.

 

[Fortanono]

My idea (I've implemented this into my mod): It reduces damage taken by 23%, so more than the Scarf, but you are perpetually confused. So you'd have to get used to new mechanics but you would be less affected by damage than the Scarf.

 

[sharkman0101]

My idea (I've implemented this into my mod): It reduces damage taken by 23%, so more than the Scarf, but you are perpetually confused. So you'd have to get used to new mechanics but you would be less affected by damage than the Scarf.

That doesn't achieve the purpose of original post, because the original post is encouraging people to use it. If it was changed to do this, no one would still use it. You could just use the Ankh Shied with it, but having some variation in item effects would be better than just having two damage resistance items.

 

[Fortanono]

That doesn't achieve the purpose of original post, because the original post is encouraging people to use it. If it was changed to do this, no one would still use it. You could just use the Ankh Shied with it, but having some variation in item effects would be better than just having two damage resistance items.

1. Trifold Map wouldn't affect it. It'd be like the Gravity Globe where it doesn't flat out give a debuff.
2. The most annoying part of Confused are the controls switching and switching back. This is a one-way change you have to remember and get used to. It's not hard to form the new muscle memory.
3. The number is practically a constant pre-HM Frozen Turtle Shell. That's pretty good.

 

[sharkman0101]

1. Trifold Map wouldn't affect it. It'd be like the Gravity Globe where it doesn't flat out give a debuff.
2. The most annoying part of Confused are the controls switching and switching back. This is a one-way change you have to remember and get used to. It's not hard to form the new muscle memory.
3. The number is practically a constant pre-HM Frozen Turtle Shell. That's pretty good.

While I suppose that does make sense, it would still seem a bit lazy or unoriginal of the developers as it just adds another damage resistance accessory. While this already exists in the game in the form of Aglet/Anklet of the Wind, keep in mind these are Expert Mode items. As such, they should be at least unique in their own regard that isn't an effect too similar to a previous one. Like Baconfry said, an effect that is magical or informational would suit this accessory better.

 

[Lord Garak]

My idea (I've implemented this into my mod): It reduces damage taken by 23%, so more than the Scarf, but you are perpetually confused. So you'd have to get used to new mechanics but you would be less affected by damage than the Scarf.

Well that sounds... horrible. Why would anyone want to deal with something so obnoxious?