Game Mechanics Guide can tell you about what items do

[IndigoGollum]

Ðe guide should be able to tell you not just what you can craft using an item, but also what ðe item already does. When you put simple items like most blocks in his recipe box, he could just show ðe item's tooltip, but for more complicated stuff like weapons and tools, he might explain how far you can reach, how fast you can break stuff, and how much damage you can expect to do per second. Wings, mounts, and grappling hooks should have ðeir speed listed, as well as range for hooks and flight time for wings and some mounts. For functional blocks ðat are more ðan just a tile you can't walk þrough, he could explain ðat sand will fall wiþ noþing under it and ðat moss will grow on stone. Ðis stuff might be obvious already, but it can't hurt to have ðe first NPC every player meets explain some basic mechanics.

Having someþing like ðis established would also give ðe devs a great place to hide easter eggs in late game items after most players will have stopped talking to ðe Guide.

 

[Big Sammich]

Not a bad thought, but I fear that this much explanation would remove some of the exploration and discovery that is integral to the game. The Guide already sets a precedent of figuring out what items do on your own, because he only tells you the crafting recipes. For that reason, I don't support this suggestion.

 

[Orchamut]

I like the idea, but it wouldn't do much because you'd need to have the item to see this. At that point you can just use it yourself to see if it's better than your other items. I'd like if you could see how useful an item is before obtaining it so that you know if it's worth it or not.

 

[Stellar Mastodon 267]

I think it is good as is. The crafting recipes and extra things works good enough, nothing really more is needed. I am reminded of a video where a person assessed if someone with no prior knowledge could beat Minecraft and concluded that they would get stuck at the nether portal. Terraria doesn’t have this kind of problem as far as I know.

 

[IndigoGollum]

Ðese are good points. I mostly meant it for items like wings and grappling hooks where most players would oðerwise have to refer to wiki to figure out which one ðey want.