scary dynamite traps.
- Thread starter Morkovka
- Start date
GalladeGaming
Skeletron Prime
Dynamite traps = nightmare fuel 
Orithan
Eye of Cthulhu
The reaction they get from me is more frustration as I protest their bad implementation than shock or fright.
As I've said multiple times, those things need to be nerfed because the instakill with no time to react mechanic behind them is an unacceptable design choice. When I mean nerf, I don't mean nerf their damage or make them more visible (aka the half-fixes that were made in 1.2 and 1.3), I mean attach them to a 3-second timer or something so the player has decent chance to figure out that it is Explosives and get away from them in time.
As I've said multiple times, those things need to be nerfed because the instakill with no time to react mechanic behind them is an unacceptable design choice. When I mean nerf, I don't mean nerf their damage or make them more visible (aka the half-fixes that were made in 1.2 and 1.3), I mean attach them to a 3-second timer or something so the player has decent chance to figure out that it is Explosives and get away from them in time.
Last edited:
Warpshard
Empress of Light
Yeah, maybe make it akin to Minecraft's TNT where the block flashes once activated, and have a three second timer before the block explodes.
ExoticCharm
Terrarian
One time I got killed by a dynamite trap after venturing into a nearby cavern while making my hellevator. I went back down to collect my money and any blocks that were knocked loose and as I got the last little bit of them, I landed on a second dynamite trap. Angry ensued after that.
sqweek
Terrarian
1. Craft dangersense potion
2. ???
3. Profit
The counterplay option exists, if you want to ignore it that's entirely your decision.
Orithan
Eye of Cthulhu
Dangersense potions only half-fixes the problem with Explosives. Sure, they might make them visible, but it fails to address the two crucial things that make Explosvies such a bad design choice.
The first of which is, as I've already explained in this thread and in other threads, is that their visibility is not why they are such a bad design choice. Sure, it doesn't help that they are frequently blended in with the terrain, but making it the most visible thing possible does not guarantee that the player will see it and have the appropriate amount of time to react to it if they are falling directly on top of it; which is the cause of a lot of deaths from it. The real bad design choice behind it is that stepping on it means you blow up without any time to react to it. My proposal would fix that without having to nerf the amount of damage it does or make them shine like christmas lights - both of which would make a mockery out of the trap without actually fixing it. Explosives will still be threatening should the player not be paying attention, but the average player has adequate time to get away from it should they accidentally activate it if they do pay attention (oh, and the player should know if they have set the trap off before it blows up too).
The second of which is that buff potions should not be a necessity for playing through the game without the risk of randomly getting curbstomped out of nowhere in an instant like what Medusa and Explosives do. Instead, they should only make tasks easier. Dangersene makes it easier to avoid traps, and is inexpensive to craft, but it should not be a necessity to for the player to have a fair chance at finding Explosives before they accidentally set them off and just die (which it only helps in doing most of the time).
The first of which is, as I've already explained in this thread and in other threads, is that their visibility is not why they are such a bad design choice. Sure, it doesn't help that they are frequently blended in with the terrain, but making it the most visible thing possible does not guarantee that the player will see it and have the appropriate amount of time to react to it if they are falling directly on top of it; which is the cause of a lot of deaths from it. The real bad design choice behind it is that stepping on it means you blow up without any time to react to it. My proposal would fix that without having to nerf the amount of damage it does or make them shine like christmas lights - both of which would make a mockery out of the trap without actually fixing it. Explosives will still be threatening should the player not be paying attention, but the average player has adequate time to get away from it should they accidentally activate it if they do pay attention (oh, and the player should know if they have set the trap off before it blows up too).
The second of which is that buff potions should not be a necessity for playing through the game without the risk of randomly getting curbstomped out of nowhere in an instant like what Medusa and Explosives do. Instead, they should only make tasks easier. Dangersene makes it easier to avoid traps, and is inexpensive to craft, but it should not be a necessity to for the player to have a fair chance at finding Explosives before they accidentally set them off and just die (which it only helps in doing most of the time).
Last edited:
SolaR
Golem
Easy solution: make all explosive traps wired to detonators instead of pressure plates.
sqweek
Terrarian
I'm a big fan of hardcore terraria, and I've lost dozens of hours to explosives traps (and boulder traps). They have caused me immense frustration and at times I have sworn at their unfairness.
So I know where you're coming from, but I disagree that they constitute bad design. Terraria is not a twitch action game where the player lives or dies based on their skill alone. Exploration, preparation and resource management are also important aspects. There's no reason that every danger in the game must have a skill-based counter.
With pre-hard mode enemies more of a nuisance than a threat (maybe I'm an outlier in that I've never had an issue with medusa), things like traps and the dungeon guardian add an element of danger to the exploration game that is otherwise missing. I agree its not practical to outplay explosive traps via the skill game, but the preparation game gives you a fair chance to spot and avoid them.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!
(Yeah the dungeon guardian comparison is not great - generally you only make the mistake once. But my first character was medium core and OMG so many deaths trying to get my stuff back xD)
So I know where you're coming from, but I disagree that they constitute bad design. Terraria is not a twitch action game where the player lives or dies based on their skill alone. Exploration, preparation and resource management are also important aspects. There's no reason that every danger in the game must have a skill-based counter.
With pre-hard mode enemies more of a nuisance than a threat (maybe I'm an outlier in that I've never had an issue with medusa), things like traps and the dungeon guardian add an element of danger to the exploration game that is otherwise missing. I agree its not practical to outplay explosive traps via the skill game, but the preparation game gives you a fair chance to spot and avoid them.
It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!
(Yeah the dungeon guardian comparison is not great - generally you only make the mistake once. But my first character was medium core and OMG so many deaths trying to get my stuff back xD)
Noobiescrubpleb
Pixel Pirate
I'm sorry guys but if you have a danger sense potion and you still step on a pressure plate, you deserve what's about to happen.
Khaelis
Plantera
You don't have to be rude. Not everyone even brings them with them. I don't because its one less inventory space I'll have.
... speaking of which.
That was one evilly placed heart crystal. Right in the path of an explosive trap and I didn't even see it. Scared the hell out of me.
Tamorr
Terrarian
I am more surprised by them than scared. Even my first time activating one on the console version was just like "What the...?" Till I read the message and figured it out from the large circular whole left behind.
I got even surprised further on the PC edition while I was playing with a friend... I saw obviously the dynamite one with the tnt attached, got hit by a dart trap and landed on a hidden one nearby. I actually survived the trap, and that was what was surprising. Granted it left me with a little less than a heart. I have max health and solar armor at the time. So it is survivable apparently... Eventually at end game I guess with the right gear.
I actually don't often stumble upon the one that is just a pressure plate, as most are just the tnt trigger thing that is visible on surface. So it was a good thing for myself, as I was starting to think the old one didn't exist. The tnt detonator ones are easily avoidable in my opinion, as they are obvious with the exposed tnt or its' detonator. The hidden one is just a pressure plate; which is not so obvious. I rather enjoy the variety to be honest. After all there has to be some sense of danger in them caves beyond the usual mobs that target you.
Of course that is how I see it, since I don't mind the trap and what it does. We respawn after all and finding the place to pick up coins again is easier enough to find with the new hole where I left off. Much easier to find than dying from a mob, and that is not including the last death marker on the map. I really don't think it needs a nerf, at least in my opinion, but that is me; liking the sense of danger that exploring brings. I say there probably isn't enough variety in traps to encounter underground.
I got even surprised further on the PC edition while I was playing with a friend... I saw obviously the dynamite one with the tnt attached, got hit by a dart trap and landed on a hidden one nearby. I actually survived the trap, and that was what was surprising. Granted it left me with a little less than a heart. I have max health and solar armor at the time. So it is survivable apparently... Eventually at end game I guess with the right gear.
I actually don't often stumble upon the one that is just a pressure plate, as most are just the tnt trigger thing that is visible on surface. So it was a good thing for myself, as I was starting to think the old one didn't exist. The tnt detonator ones are easily avoidable in my opinion, as they are obvious with the exposed tnt or its' detonator. The hidden one is just a pressure plate; which is not so obvious. I rather enjoy the variety to be honest. After all there has to be some sense of danger in them caves beyond the usual mobs that target you.
Of course that is how I see it, since I don't mind the trap and what it does. We respawn after all and finding the place to pick up coins again is easier enough to find with the new hole where I left off. Much easier to find than dying from a mob, and that is not including the last death marker on the map. I really don't think it needs a nerf, at least in my opinion, but that is me; liking the sense of danger that exploring brings. I say there probably isn't enough variety in traps to encounter underground.