Items Idol of the Past: The Item Temporarily Brings Your World back to the Past

[fpx007]

The idol of the past is an item that reverts your HARDMODE world back to PRE-HARDMODE state for one in-game-day. It is sold by Dryad after the MOONLORD is defeated, and can only be used in a hardmode world. Once it is CONSUMED, EVERYTHING in your world will just behave like a pre-hardmode world, which means:

Enemy spawn and their statistics/behaviors are just exactly as a pre-hardmode world;
Pre-hardmode fishing catchings;
Evil and Hallow infections halt;
Pre-hardmode loot from mobs, pots, etc.;
Hardmode only terrain features like will still be there, but during the period, no new one generates and they cease to function. (e.g.the existing plantera's bulb will still be there, but during the period no new bulbs generate and breaking one will not summon plantera.) However, you still get the respective block upon breaking it if it is normally obtainable when broken in hardmode.
NPCs function like pre-hardmode ones, which means they sell pre-hardmode goods and hardmode NPCs can do just nothing;
Players can use and ONLY use anything that is usable when being brought to a pre-hardmode world from another world. This means that the things being unusable in a pre-hardmode world (e.g. Lihzahrd Power Cells) will not be usable.

The item can only be used when no event (EXCEPT Pumpkin/Frost moons. The reason will be explained later) is on, and will not take effect immediately. Instead, it will begin to work the next dawn, and lasts 1 whole in-game-day from it (alternatively, you may defeat the WALL OF FLESH to INSTANTLY end it). This design will just avoid certain bugs, e.g. the angler's quest fish will always be a pre-hardmode one and traveling merchant will not sell hardmode goods. When the "pre-hardmode" event ends due to either end of time or the death of wall of flesh, no new corruption/crimson/hallow biome bands generate.

The benefits of this item is:

You may once again encounter these pre-hardmode limited enemies (e.g. wall creepers. I know in 1.4 they have a slim chance of spawning in hardmode, but with the idol introduced, they are more easily encountered and the tweaks can be reverted.), and get pre-hardmode limited items (e.g. pre-hardmode crates);
You may encounter a "pre-hardmode" world with hallow and/or both evil without cheating/visiting another world, which is impossible when play in servers. Further, you may just legally obtain items like hallowed crates (NOT divine crates);
You may encounter a "pre-hardmode" Halloween/Christmas without editing system date if you also defeated Pumpkin/Frost moons the last night.
etc.

 

[koolaidman]

the reasons, in my opinion, aren't good enough to be added. I can't see very many people using this.

 

[Dapling]

I feel like Journey mode covers everything this would let you do, but I suppose it would be a nice thing to add that wouldn't do any harm. It also would give a fast way to get the Rod of Discord because only Chaos Elementals spawn in the underground hallow in prehardmode.

 

[fpx007]

the reasons, in my opinion, aren't good enough to be added. I can't see very many people using this.

This is mainly intended for situations like server plays, where server side characters are on and thus you cannot bring anything from other worlds. And since in 1.14 the game allows both evil appear on 1 world (even without Easter egg seed 05162020) without visiting another world, I think legally have things like pre-hardmode hallow is totally OK, especially there are exclusive items like hallowed crates.

Besides, many mobs just have a significantly reduced spawn rate in hardmode. This idol will just allow the easy farm of the respective loot once you have run out of them.

I feel like Journey mode covers everything this would let you do

First of all, when playing in servers, you cannot set the game mode of the map.

Besides, I just feel that the journey mode is kind of an official cheating, which should be used for testing rather than normal game play. And the feeling of obtaining something (especially the rare ones) in normal game modes (include all difficulties other than journey) is totally different. In journey, you can easily duplicate the item; while in other game modes, you need to make great efforts to get the item, thus you will feel a sense of achievement when getting these rare items.

(This part of discussion may be off topic, but I only want to confirm that the idol is important because you will have access to those items which are formally not available when you are playing in only 1 world.)