Hello, been loving 1.4 so far. Playing a normal run with 4 friends or so (Hardmode at this point) and an Master Mode run (Pre Skeletron, Queen Bee at this point) by myself.
Several things I have noticed:
-Platinum/Gold and to an extent Tungsten/Silver armor aren't worth getting at all, the amount of bars it needs and the amount of defense it gives with no good bonus effects to them make it not really worth getting. If I wanted something from those bars I'd make a pickaxe, Jungle armor can be obtainable at any point too and is easy to gather materials for.
-Obsidian armor has no set bonus, and has less defense as wearing a full set of tungsten, pretty much not worth getting since explosives are needed or the corruption/crimson pickaxes.
-Yoyos, I've gotten an enchanted sword early on in my master mode run and used it most of the time. I then heard while playing with my friends that they were confused why Yoyos got damage buffs (Amarok mainly came to their mind). So later on I go back to Master Mode and find out about the yoyo called Amazon (Stronger than the corruption/crimson ones in damage and is available earlier, tis odd to my eyes), I get the stuff for it and make it. I still have yet to put the Amazon down, it's a very safe option, and has a gap in dps between it and swords I feel. It was my go to weapon for Eye of Chuthulu, King Slime, and Eater of Worlds. Point is that Yoyos outdo other counterparts such as Swords/Spears and even Boomerangs it seems, while not really having a cooldown like magic does with the variation in mana usage, it's range can also be patched with a string accessory (Which can be reforged very cheaply for warding).
Finch staff I have a love/hate relationship for, I'm grateful for an early summon. But this bird can't hit anything about player sized more than half the time, the other half it goes through the enemy only hitting once. I still have yet to get a Slime staff with how rare it is.
Overall though, the update feels great with most items being revamped for the better.
Edit: I introduced the problem without suggesting a solution, how silly of me!
Platinum/Gold/Obsidian, less bars needed to make or a good set bonus such as more speed, improved life regen, or reduced fall damage, just give it some sort of niche to fill so that players would want it for certain situations atleast. I heard awhile back from somewhere that someone would even love armor with something like more air in water.
Yoyos, less damage overall or less times it can hit per second.
Finch staff, I'd like it to hit the enemy, even if it's not as strong as the slime staff in that regard.