TtIsosceles
Terrarian
It's fairly common knowledge by now, but Mage doesn't have very many options in the early game, and of the ones it has, they suck.
I propose a few revisions to existing weapons, while also suggesting 5 of my own
Hope you enjoy
That's all for now!
I think the class could still use a few more new weapons across all stages of progression, but I hope this was a fair enough boost
...Oh, and some of the changes also made "Tomes-only" a bit more viable, too!
I propose a few revisions to existing weapons, while also suggesting 5 of my own
Hope you enjoyGem staves are honestly *mostly* fine the way they are, but they feel far too tedious to craft to be worth it.
I believe ore tier should matter, rather than specific ore type.
ie.
Tier 1:
And just some general weapon buffs:
Space Gun:
-Damage buffed from 17 to 19 (reverting previous nerf)
Book of Skulls:
-33% Chance Drop from Skeletron on Classic, 50% on Expert (increased from 10.5% and 33% respectively)
-Increased Velocity (3.5 -> 6)
-Increased Damage (29 -> 36)
-No longer pierces
-Skulls can travel through walls within a 15 block radius of where they were cast, and turn wider than before
(Now the Book of Skulls acts more like the Antithesis to the Water Bolt, with more single target damage and the ability to fire through walls)
I believe ore tier should matter, rather than specific ore type.
ie.
Tier 1:
- Amethyst Staff: Crafted with 10 Copper OR Tin Bars, 8 Amethyst
- Topaz Staff: Crafted with 10 Copper OR Tin Bars, 8 Topaz
- Sapphire Staff: Crafted with 10 Silver OR Tungsten Bars, 8 Sapphire
- Emerald Staff: Crafted with 10 Silver OR Tungsten Bars, 8 Emerald
- Ruby Staff: Crafted with 10 Gold OR Platinum Bars, 8 Ruby
- Diamond Staff: Crafted with 10 Gold OR Platinum Bars, 8 Diamonds
And just some general weapon buffs:
Space Gun:
-Damage buffed from 17 to 19 (reverting previous nerf)
Book of Skulls:
-33% Chance Drop from Skeletron on Classic, 50% on Expert (increased from 10.5% and 33% respectively)
-Increased Velocity (3.5 -> 6)
-Increased Damage (29 -> 36)
-No longer pierces
-Skulls can travel through walls within a 15 block radius of where they were cast, and turn wider than before
(Now the Book of Skulls acts more like the Antithesis to the Water Bolt, with more single target damage and the ability to fire through walls)
The changes to existing weapons is a decent help, but early mage still lacks much real diversity.
Some new weapons, accessible from all different points across the world, would seek to change that.
Book of Blooming:
-Crafted with 3 Daybloom and 1 Book at a Bookcase (bcz no Spell Tomes in phm)
-8 Mana, 29 Use Time
-Fires inaccurate, low velocity buds that become stationary after traveling 2-4 tiles
-Buds bloom / explode after 7 seconds or after coming into contact with an enemy
-Weak area damage
(Strong against melee enemies or enemies that will chase the player, filling a niche most ranged mage weapons don't)
Feather Tome:
-Dropped by Harpy (1.5% Chance)
-14 Mana, 38 Use Time
-Fires 2 inaccurate, homing feathers (one after another) that break on contact with blocks / enemies, and are moderately slow to turn
-Each feather does damage roughly equal to an Emerald Staff (~19)
(Good all-rounder with decent homing, damage, range, mana cost, and accessibility, but not particularly excellent at any (Good early pre-boss, discarded after getting more specialized weapons))
(Would be great against EoC's first phase, while the Book of Blooming would be great against the second phase!!)
Bloodlust Tongue:
-Dropped by Wandering Eye-Fish / Zombie Merman (12.5% Chance) (looks like a severed tongue)
-10 Mana, 20 Use Time
-Casts a curving red spike per use, much like the Shadowflame Hex Doll, though with a shorter reach and much less damage
-Inflicts the Bloody Lick Debuff, which lowers enemy defense by 5 for 10 seconds
(Essentially a phm Golden Shower, with incredibly low damage of its own)
Book of Overgrowth:
-Crafted with 1 Book of Blooming, 3 Vines, 6 Jungle Spores, and 6 Shadow Scales / Tissue Samples at a Bookshelf
-Upgrade to the Book of Blooming
-13 Mana, 26 Use Time
-Fires 2 larger buds at once instead, that travel 3-6 tiles
-Buds bloom / explode after 12 seconds or after coming in contact with an enemy
-Much greater damage, still in a small area
(All around upgrade to the Book of Blooming that is great for setting traps before boss fights, or keeps enemies that are chasing you off of you)
(Is particularly good against bosses and especially the Wall of Flesh as they will chase you and detonate the buds)
Starbrace:
-Crafted with 17 Meteorite Bars and 5 Fallen Stars at an Anvil (looks like a magical gauntlet, similar to the Nebula Blaze)
-2 Mana, 36 Use Time
-Each 2 Mana casts 2 rapid swings with low knockback (13 frames each, hence 36 Use Time)
-Creates a swiping, very short-ranged, active hitbox (exactly like the Terragrim, but a pretty pink / purple with yellow sparkles)
-Each successful hit regenerates 3 Mana, regardless of the number of enemies hit (also doesn't work on statue enemies or Bees)
(High risk, high reward -- a mage must enter close combat to be successful with this weapon, though it could end up replenishing more mana than it costs to use)
(Curious to see how it works with Meteorite armor? Look below!.......)
Some new weapons, accessible from all different points across the world, would seek to change that.
Book of Blooming:
-Crafted with 3 Daybloom and 1 Book at a Bookcase (bcz no Spell Tomes in phm)
-8 Mana, 29 Use Time
-Fires inaccurate, low velocity buds that become stationary after traveling 2-4 tiles
-Buds bloom / explode after 7 seconds or after coming into contact with an enemy
-Weak area damage
(Strong against melee enemies or enemies that will chase the player, filling a niche most ranged mage weapons don't)
Feather Tome:
-Dropped by Harpy (1.5% Chance)
-14 Mana, 38 Use Time
-Fires 2 inaccurate, homing feathers (one after another) that break on contact with blocks / enemies, and are moderately slow to turn
-Each feather does damage roughly equal to an Emerald Staff (~19)
(Good all-rounder with decent homing, damage, range, mana cost, and accessibility, but not particularly excellent at any (Good early pre-boss, discarded after getting more specialized weapons))
(Would be great against EoC's first phase, while the Book of Blooming would be great against the second phase!!)
Bloodlust Tongue:
-Dropped by Wandering Eye-Fish / Zombie Merman (12.5% Chance) (looks like a severed tongue)
-10 Mana, 20 Use Time
-Casts a curving red spike per use, much like the Shadowflame Hex Doll, though with a shorter reach and much less damage
-Inflicts the Bloody Lick Debuff, which lowers enemy defense by 5 for 10 seconds
(Essentially a phm Golden Shower, with incredibly low damage of its own)
Book of Overgrowth:
-Crafted with 1 Book of Blooming, 3 Vines, 6 Jungle Spores, and 6 Shadow Scales / Tissue Samples at a Bookshelf
-Upgrade to the Book of Blooming
-13 Mana, 26 Use Time
-Fires 2 larger buds at once instead, that travel 3-6 tiles
-Buds bloom / explode after 12 seconds or after coming in contact with an enemy
-Much greater damage, still in a small area
(All around upgrade to the Book of Blooming that is great for setting traps before boss fights, or keeps enemies that are chasing you off of you)
(Is particularly good against bosses and especially the Wall of Flesh as they will chase you and detonate the buds)
Starbrace:
-Crafted with 17 Meteorite Bars and 5 Fallen Stars at an Anvil (looks like a magical gauntlet, similar to the Nebula Blaze)
-2 Mana, 36 Use Time
-Each 2 Mana casts 2 rapid swings with low knockback (13 frames each, hence 36 Use Time)
-Creates a swiping, very short-ranged, active hitbox (exactly like the Terragrim, but a pretty pink / purple with yellow sparkles)
-Each successful hit regenerates 3 Mana, regardless of the number of enemies hit (also doesn't work on statue enemies or Bees)
(High risk, high reward -- a mage must enter close combat to be successful with this weapon, though it could end up replenishing more mana than it costs to use)
(Curious to see how it works with Meteorite armor? Look below!.......)
Okay, now onto the Meteorite stuff.
I think the Space Gun and the Meteorite Armor should get a bit of a rework.
Meteorite Armor provides NO buffs to mana supply, nor does it reduce ANY mana costs, because it wants the player to use the Space Gun, which it makes free. But, that promotes a very specific style of ranged gameplay.
In order to add diversity to the class, we need to give the player another option--but first, let's accentuate that strength of the Space Gun: its range. It can hit from incredibly far and pierce several enemies.
Maybe with the current Meteorite Armor, you trade defense for high damage and range (because you don't need as much defense when at a high range).
Meteorite Helmet:
-Cost and magic damage buffs are unchanged
-2 Defense (-3)
-Grants the Space Gun higher power if shooting from a farther range
(ie. If the Space Gun hits a unit that is 25+ tiles away, flashy sparks will appear upon contact, and the laser will deal +4 damage, and penetrate +4 levels of defense)
But, what about the Starbrace? Or what if players are in a tight space and want to go in close with any other magic weapon?
Let's give them a choice....
Meteorite Headgear:
-Crafted with 15 Meteorite Bars at an Anvil (Exactly like the existing Meteorite Helmet)
-No magic damage buffs
-12 Defense
-Set Bonus: Grants +10 Tile Mana Star Pickup Range, +40 Maximum Mana
Now, players have the choice between the Meteorite Helmet or the Meteorite Headgear, with the former being much more suited for ranged combat with the Space Gun, and the latter much more suited for mid-range to close combat with the Starbrace, Bloodlust Tongue, Book of Overgrowth, etc.
I know Mage is typically pretty squishy, but I see no reason it has to be so locked into long range combat, and now players can swap between the two in a similar vain to the Spectre Armor sets.
I think the Space Gun and the Meteorite Armor should get a bit of a rework.
Meteorite Armor provides NO buffs to mana supply, nor does it reduce ANY mana costs, because it wants the player to use the Space Gun, which it makes free. But, that promotes a very specific style of ranged gameplay.
In order to add diversity to the class, we need to give the player another option--but first, let's accentuate that strength of the Space Gun: its range. It can hit from incredibly far and pierce several enemies.
Maybe with the current Meteorite Armor, you trade defense for high damage and range (because you don't need as much defense when at a high range).
Meteorite Helmet:
-Cost and magic damage buffs are unchanged
-2 Defense (-3)
-Grants the Space Gun higher power if shooting from a farther range
(ie. If the Space Gun hits a unit that is 25+ tiles away, flashy sparks will appear upon contact, and the laser will deal +4 damage, and penetrate +4 levels of defense)
But, what about the Starbrace? Or what if players are in a tight space and want to go in close with any other magic weapon?
Let's give them a choice....
Meteorite Headgear:
-Crafted with 15 Meteorite Bars at an Anvil (Exactly like the existing Meteorite Helmet)
-No magic damage buffs
-12 Defense
-Set Bonus: Grants +10 Tile Mana Star Pickup Range, +40 Maximum Mana
Now, players have the choice between the Meteorite Helmet or the Meteorite Headgear, with the former being much more suited for ranged combat with the Space Gun, and the latter much more suited for mid-range to close combat with the Starbrace, Bloodlust Tongue, Book of Overgrowth, etc.
I know Mage is typically pretty squishy, but I see no reason it has to be so locked into long range combat, and now players can swap between the two in a similar vain to the Spectre Armor sets.
That's all for now!
I think the class could still use a few more new weapons across all stages of progression, but I hope this was a fair enough boost
...Oh, and some of the changes also made "Tomes-only" a bit more viable, too!
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