Weapons & Equip Removing the Firecracker - A New Summoner Weapon

[sasa0axx]

⚠ Important Notice: Read Before Judging!
Before you get upset about the Firecracker being removed, please read through the entire concept. The goal is to introduce a more engaging and strategic summoner weapon while maintaining balance.

The Hungry Staff

Replaces the Firecracker as the Wall of Flesh’s Summoner drop.

The Hungry Staff summons a Hungry minion, tethered to the player with a fleshy tendril, just like how the Wall of Flesh’s Hungry enemies are connected to it. This tether plays a key role in its mechanics.

Basic Stats:

Summon Damage: 12 (Ranged Mode) / 17 (Melee Mode)

Knockback: Low

Mana Cost: 10

Piercing: None

Tether Range: 18 tiles (if the Hungry moves beyond this, it returns to the player)

Behavior & Mechanics:

Ranged Mode (Default State):

The Hungry floats around the player and attacks from a distance using small biting projectiles.

Each attack inflicts the “Ravenous Mark” debuff on enemies.

If any other minion hits a marked target, the mark is consumed, triggering an explosion that deals 1.75x the other minion's damage (like the Firecracker effect but stackable and weaker per hit).

Additional Hungry attacks refresh the duration of existing marks and slightly increase their effect (by ~10% per extra hit before detonation) capped at 3x the minion's damage.

Melee Mode (has a chance every hit to be triggered when the player is near an enemy, exactly 9 tiles far at most):

The Hungry’s eye disappears, and it becomes a full-fledged melee attacker, lunging at enemies with rapid bites.

Attacks in this form reduce the enemy’s defense by 10 (weaker than Ichor but still useful).

Life Steal Effect: 20% of the Hungry's melee damage is converted into health for the player via the tether.

Melee mode lasts 3 seconds after activation, then returns to ranged mode unless the proximity trigger is met again.

Balancing Factors:

The explosion effect does not apply to melee attacks, only to ranged ones.

Both debuffs (Ravenous Mark & Defense Reduction) apply iFrames to all minions, preventing over-stacking damage.

The Hungry cannot move too far from the player due to the tether range limit.

Why This Change?

The Firecracker was incredibly strong and sometimes even used against the Moon Lord, making it unbalanced.

The Hungry Staff encourages minion mixing, since its explosion effect works best with diverse minions rather than spamming a single type.


This weapon offers both offensive (damage amplification) and defensive (life steal, defense reduction) utility.

It keeps a thematic connection to the Wall of Flesh while providing a unique and engaging playstyle for summoners.

edit : please. please. before you go and tell me this is just a stronger firecracker.
1 - the range is capped
2 - the damage multiplication is capped
3 - in the 3 seconds of melee mode. you will get 27 hp at most
4 - this minion has global i-frames in melee mode. so the lifesteal does not stack with each minion
5 - it gives global i-frames to all minions you have when an enemy is inflected with either it's debuffs
so. no. it's not a stronger firecracker. if you just used it brainlessly it will nerf you instead of benifiting you
but. it has a lot more potintial then the firecracker when finding the right minion-mix

 

[Meowlegend]

TBH I think you can make this drop alongside Firecracker, without removing Firecracker entirely.
Other than that, I do like this. It thematically fits and would be fun to see in-game.

 

[Clockwork17]

You call the firecracker broken…

…then proceed to make something that is even better to replace it.

 

[sasa0axx]

TBH I think you can make this drop alongside Firecracker, without removing Firecracker entirely.
Other than that, I do like this. It thematically fits and would be fun to see in-game.

I get why you’d want to keep firecracker, but the reason for removing it is balance. It’s so strong that it overshadows other summoner whips, and hungry staff offers a more strategic alternative without just being another DPS spam tool. while having the same minion damage multiplication mechanic of the firecracker. Keeping both seems wierd for me.. does the damage multiplication stack between them ?. But I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Meowlegend]

I get why you’d want to keep firecracker, but the reason for removing it is balance. It’s so strong that it overshadows other summoner whips, and hungry staff offers a more strategic alternative without just being another DPS spam tool. while having the same minion damage multiplication mechanic of the firecracker. Keeping both seems wierd for me.. does the damage multiplication stack between them ?. But I appreciate the feedback!

Firecracker isn't exactly broken. It's actually meant to scale with progression, believe or not. It synergizes well with high base damage minions, and without it, minions like Desert Tiger wouldn't even be as viable as they are now, believe or not.
This is also why it can be used for ML alongside Dragon, but in all honesty... It's not even that good there. Moon Lord highly encourages you to stay away, and Firecracker's range isn't good enough for that fight.

 

[sasa0axx]

You call the firecracker broken…

…then proceed to make something that is even better to replace it.

the firecracker isn't just strong; it's extremely abusable. the hungry staff is designed to encourage a more dynamic playstyle while keeping summoners balanced. unlike the firecracker, it has clear limits such as a cap on explosion damage and a tether range. it also forces the summoner to stay engaged in combat instead of relying entirely on minions.

additionally, the addition of iframes to all minions, not just itself, significantly weakens its potential compared to the firecracker. so… no, it is not stronger than the firecracker.

 

[Clockwork17]

the firecracker isn't just strong; it's extremely abusable. the hungry staff is designed to encourage a more dynamic playstyle while keeping summoners balanced. unlike the firecracker, it has clear limits such as a cap on explosion damage and a tether range. it also forces the summoner to stay engaged in combat instead of relying entirely on minions.

additionally, the addition of iframes to all minions, not just itself, significantly weakens its potential compared to the firecracker. so… no, it is not stronger than the firecracker.

It also has lifesteal, the most broken stat in the game.

 

[Shyguymask]

Why is this not just a new weapon? it's very, very different from Firecracker.

I get why you’d want to keep firecracker, but the reason for removing it is balance. It’s so strong that it overshadows other summoner whips

Is it, really?

In Pre-mech, it's the best bossing whip compared to Cool Whip, the Cool Whip itself excelling more against mobs. And if hypothetically Blade Staff was stronger than Sanguine Staff against mech bosses, then Cool Whip would also overshadow Firecracker for mech boss fights.

In Pre-Plantera, both Durendal and Firecracker are about on par in viability and which one to use as your primary whips depends on your setup. Blade Staff (Durendal) and Optic (leaning Firecracker) are comparable in viability.

In Post-Plantera, Morning Star setups just outclass what Firecracker does... with the one big exception of Desert Tiger, which has so high DPS that I would be willing to agree it's a balance problem, if it weren't for the sheer rarity of Desert Key making it a rare but powerful (without outright invalidating other options) setup.

Post-Golem? Morning Star, Kaleidoscope and Xeno Staff just makes Firecracker outclassed.

And finally in Post-Cultist with the famous Firecracker + Dragon Combo, while a contender for the highest pre-moon lord DPS period, is in reality impractical, unreliable and inconsistent against Moon Lord, to the point it's not actually a particularly viable setup.

So no, there are not really any balance issues with Firecracker, unless you consider a support weapon scaling with progression to be a balance problem by itself, which I also disagree in this case.

 

[sasa0axx]

Firecracker isn't exactly broken. It's actually meant to scale with progression, believe or not. It synergizes well with high base damage minions, and without it, minions like Desert Tiger wouldn't even be as viable as they are now, believe or not.
This is also why it can be used for ML alongside Dragon, but in all honesty... It's not even that good there. Moon Lord highly encourages you to stay away, and Firecracker's range isn't good enough for that fight.

I understand that firecracker is designed to scale with progression, but the issue is that it removes a lot of decision-making from summoners. with it, the best playstyle is usually just 'use firecracker + high damage minion' without much thought. the hungry staff keeps the idea of scaling damage but in a way that requires more planning. since its explosions are weaker and capped, and because it introduces iframes to all minions, it encourages players to mix different minions instead of relying on one high-damage option.



desert tiger wouldn’t become useles it would still be strong, just not an autopilot choice. instead of a single best setup, summoners would have to experiment with synergies more.

 

[sasa0axx]

It also has lifesteal, the most broken stat in the game.

yea. but the damage is low. and the lifesteal is 20% of the damage. and only for 3 seconds every now and then. you get around 27 hp in those 3 seconds

 

[Clockwork17]

yea. but the damage is low. and the lifesteal is 20% of the damage. and only for 3 seconds every now and then. you get around 27 hp in those 3 seconds

Per minion, correct?

 

[sasa0axx]

Why is this not just a new weapon? it's very, very different from Firecracker.



Is it, really?

In Pre-mech, it's the best bossing whip compared to Cool Whip, the Cool Whip itself excelling more against mobs. And if hypothetically Blade Staff was stronger than Sanguine Staff against mech bosses, then Cool Whip would also overshadow Firecracker for mech boss fights.

In Pre-Plantera, both Durendal and Firecracker are about on par in viability and which one to use as your primary whips depends on your setup. Blade Staff (Durendal) and Optic (leaning Firecracker) are comparable in viability.

In Post-Plantera, Morning Star setups just outclass what Firecracker does... with the one big exception of Desert Tiger, which has so high DPS that I would be willing to agree it's a balance problem, if it weren't for the sheer rarity of Desert Key making it a rare but powerful (without outright invalidating other options) setup.

Post-Golem? Morning Star, Kaleidoscope and Xeno Staff just makes Firecracker outclassed.

And finally in Post-Cultist with the famous Firecracker + Dragon Combo, while a contender for the highest pre-moon lord DPS period, is in reality impractical, unreliable and inconsistent against Moon Lord, to the point it's not actually a particularly viable setup.

So no, there are not really any balance issues with Firecracker, unless you consider a support weapon scaling with progression to be a balance problem by itself, which I also disagree in this case.

my issues with it is not just raw power.
it's "brainless use"
for moonlord : just go dragon + firecracker
golem : just go tiger : firecracker
my recommendation is not to nerf summoner. it's to make summoners think more and need more stratigy

 

[sasa0axx]

Per minion, correct?

no.
this minion has iframes like most pre-hardmode minions. so.. no.
it's meant to be used as 1 minion only. 2 minions may increase the number a bit- maybe 30 or 32 hp in those 3 seconds at most
more then 2 will probly add nothing

 

[Clockwork17]

no.
this minion has iframes like most pre-hardmode minions. so.. no.
it's meant to be used as 1 minion only. 2 minions may increase the number a bit- maybe 30 or 32 hp in those 3 seconds at most
more then 2 will probly add nothing

Everyone hates Global I-frames though. This might as well be an accessory in that case.

 

[sasa0axx]

Everyone hates Global I-frames though. This might as well be an accessory in that case.

yea. this minion doens't just have global i-frames. when it inflicts the enemies with either of it's debuffs it makes ALL other minions have global i-frames
that just forces players to use minion-mixing. this will make everyone thinks and plans for what mix should they use before every fight.
yes. this is weaker then firecracker.
but it's not too weak too. if people are smart enough to find the perfect mix. it will pretty much be better then firecracker under the right conditions.

 

[J Bame]

The Firecracker was incredibly strong and sometimes even used against the Moon Lord, making it unbalanced.

This is a misleading statement made in vacuum without considering how Firecracker actually works.

Most of its damage comes from multiplying the damage of your minions; as you progress through the game, the base damage of the minions tends to get much higher and you get new Summoner armors and Accessories with more summon damage increases, therefore the Firecracker scales its damage throughout progression.

On paper a Wall of Flesh drop that is usable against Moon Lord is the most busted weapon of all time, but it's actually barely usable after the Mechs due to the simple fact that it has a short range and its DPS is actually pretty mediocre compared to other whips and their actual tag boosts. Fortunately there happen to be two late-game minions that reach obscenely high base damage to make bank off the 2.75x multiplier, and even then Tigercracker and Dragoncracker arent anywhere near gamebreaking.

The minion staff itself also has a lot of issues: Like others have said even if Firecracker was problematic you don't just jump the gun and immediately cut it from the game, you nerf it or rework it to whatever works better. You also dont seem to have an idea on what you actually want this to do, given that you are attaching Damage Multipliers, Defense Penetration and even Lifesteal to the weapon, at which you just summon at least one of these all the time, not because you found a Special interaction with your build, but because it just does so much that there it no way it won't be useful.

Sure 10 defense is less than Ichor but it's still really good, and it stacks with Ichor as well. 20% Lifesteal is just extremely powerful even with just one of these, and the multiplier might be the most busted part of the Minion because you can summon 1 and suddenly your Dragon is dealing 1.75x damage.

 

[Rezerkity]

Can Summoner please just get more options instead of taking away things from their meager pool of viable weapons?
Summoner has the largest gaps out of any class throughout all of progression, removing Firecracker would just make things worse as players generally like to use it for heavy hitting minions like Abigail, Stardust Dragon, etc. It's a very unique weapon because it remains useful throughout the entirety of Hardmode, which isn't a common trait among any weapon except for maybe Ichor from Golden Shower.

Removing the Firecracker in place of your suggestion for 'balance' doesn't make sense if your suggestion essentially does what Firecracker does, but is way, way more powerful.

 

[sasa0axx]

This is a misleading statement made in vacuum without considering how Firecracker actually works.

Most of its damage comes from multiplying the damage of your minions; as you progress through the game, the base damage of the minions tends to get much higher and you get new Summoner armors and Accessories with more summon damage increases, therefore the Firecracker scales its damage throughout progression.

On paper a Wall of Flesh drop that is usable against Moon Lord is the most busted weapon of all time, but it's actually barely usable after the Mechs due to the simple fact that it has a short range and its DPS is actually pretty mediocre compared to other whips and their actual tag boosts. Fortunately there happen to be two late-game minions that reach obscenely high base damage to make bank off the 2.75x multiplier, and even then Tigercracker and Dragoncracker arent anywhere near gamebreaking.

The minion staff itself also has a lot of issues: Like others have said even if Firecracker was problematic you don't just jump the gun and immediately cut it from the game, you nerf it or rework it to whatever works better. You also dont seem to have an idea on what you actually want this to do, given that you are attaching Damage Multipliers, Defense Penetration and even Lifesteal to the weapon, at which you just summon at least one of these all the time, not because you found a Special interaction with your build, but because it just does so much that there it no way it won't be useful.

Sure 10 defense is less than Ichor but it's still really good, and it stacks with Ichor as well. 20% Lifesteal is just extremely powerful even with just one of these, and the multiplier might be the most busted part of the Minion because you can summon 1 and suddenly your Dragon is dealing 1.75x damage.

do. you. realize the fact that it makes all of your minions have global i-frames ?
yea. also.. is 20% lifesteal really that much ? it gives you around 27 hp in those 3 seconds it is in melee mode.
and you have to be near enemies when using it. and it is not always in melee mode even if you're near enemies
so. no it's not always useful. if you're using a punch of 1 minion. it's actually a major nerf due to it making all of them global i-feames
also. it makes the damage 1.75% every time it hits. it hits slower than firecraker, and the multiplacation damage is even lower then the firecracker.
so.. also no. adding 1 of it with the dragon is worse then firecracker
it's not just meant to use brainlessly like the firecracker. that would just nerf you
it's meant to make you plan for the best mix you can make. if you have the perfect minion-mixing with it. then it will be better then the firecracker.

 

[sasa0axx]

Can Summoner please just get more options instead of taking away things from their meager pool of viable weapons?
Summoner has the largest gaps out of any class throughout all of progression, removing Firecracker would just make things worse as players generally like to use it for heavy hitting minions like Abigail, Stardust Dragon, etc. It's a very unique weapon because it remains useful throughout the entirety of Hardmode, which isn't a common trait among any weapon except for maybe Ichor from Golden Shower.

Removing the Firecracker in place of your suggestion for 'balance' doesn't make sense if your suggestion essentially does what Firecracker does, but is way, way more powerful.

the main issue with firecracker is not that is powerful. nor that it's viable for the entire hardmode.
it's that it requires no planing
"Just spam tiger and hit firecracker" that's my issue.
removing firecracker will not entirely remove the concept of damage scaling. it just makes it need more planing.
if you just spam 1 minion and put a hungry with it, it nerfs you
but if you try to find the perfect mix. it's a lot better the firecracker.
this will not nerf summoners. it will give them more potintial
this is not just entirely removing the firecracker. it's more like a rework to it
also. no. it's not just a buff to firecracker
i know it may seem way more powerful at first
but.. giving global i-frames to all minions, having a small range and forcing you to minion-mix if you want to use it makes it a lot weaker than you what might think

 

[Clockwork17]

this is not just entirely removing the firecracker. it's more like a rework to it

I think renaming, respriting, changing what subclass it is, and completely changing its use style isn’t just a rework.