Terraria powercreep. How do you feel about it?

[Gerokrat]

I have been playing this game since version 1.1 and despite so many years and great content after that I remember my first playthrough the best. Back then there were only 2 set of wings, the best range weapon was megashark and people used to kill the Destroyer with adamantine chainsaw.

There is no doubt the game has become much more pretier and smooth to play. But there was something about old Terraria that is now almost gone. I don't think it's the joy of exploring everything for the first time. Nor do I think it's the difficulty of the game. Playing 1.4 on master let me relive a fragment of what I liked most about this game but only before getting first decent hardmode weapon. And it had me thinking, wanting that whole game was steady challenge rather than fly-dodging in circles - shoot behind. A simple fact that all melee weapons which do not fire a projectile are complete trash should tell about something.

Would you like to play a mod/overhaul which would tone things down? Terraria Classic, if you wish. Do you think it would be boring?

 

[Nicol Bolas]

A simple fact that all melee weapons which do not fire a projectile are complete trash should tell about something.

... they are? I went into a pre-Hardmode Blood Moon with a flail, turned up the spawn rate to 10x, and killed everything without dropping below 380 health. And I have every intention of flailing the Wall of Flesh to death (just like I did in my first playthrough).

I mean maybe this is true in Master Mode, but in regular mode, melee weapons are entirely valid options.

The early game is easier, but not because of 1.1; it's because you know how to play. I did a second playthrough of 1.1 after my first, and it was way easier. That's not power-creep; that's better player knowledge and skill. You know what's coming and you know how to deal with it.

 

[Brixtan]

... they are? I went into a pre-Hardmode Blood Moon with a flail, turned up the spawn rate to 10x, and killed everything without dropping below 380 health. And I have every intention of flailing the Wall of Flesh to death (just like I did in my first playthrough).

I mean maybe this is true in Master Mode, but in regular mode, melee weapons are entirely valid options.

The early game is easier, but not because of 1.1; it's because you know how to play. I did a second playthrough of 1.1 after my first, and it was way easier. That's not power-creep; that's better player knowledge and skill. You know what's coming and you know how to deal with it.

To be honest, you can beat normal mode with literally anything.

For expert (and definitely master mode), melee gear is trash. If you are getting close enough to get into melee range, you will be killed. Hopefully they reconsider their design philosophy for Terraria 2 (or whatever the sequel will be).

 

[Nicol Bolas]

If you are getting close enough to get into melee range, you will be killed.

Um... yeah. That's always been how it is with melee characters. Melee is the most unforgiving of the classes because you have to get close to enemies, which means fewer mistakes until you die.

When you make a harder game mode based on punishing mistakes more heavily, that will necessarily affect the class that can't afford to make mistakes more than the others. The only way to avoid that would be to effectively make the harder game modes completely different games, with different items, stat progressions, and so forth.

 

[olegoleg123]

Honestly, the majority of the game is fine in regards to power creep, with the exception of a single but massively stupid offender, that being the Pillars.

It feels completely unfair and un-fun to me that the wide spectrum of weapons you got from fighting all of those difficult bosses and events like Empress of Light, Old One's Army and Duke Fishron - the gear you worked hard to get and that feels very rewarding as a result - is now outclassed and rendered completely obsolete by just a couple of weapons you get from an event that amounts to nothing but extremely boring grinding and throwing corpses at it, and you don't even have to fully complete to get your gear (since each pillar corresponds to a class, so you only need to kill one of the pillars).

 

[Nicol Bolas]

you don't even have to fully complete to get your gear

You assume a mono-class playstyle, which isn't exactly the most common way to play. "Your gear" is whatever you want it to be, and having options as a player is very useful. So killing more Pillars is just what you're naturally going to do.

Also, I take issue with characterizing the Pillars as grinding. The Hardmode Dungeon is far more repetitive and grindy than the Pillars. The Hardmode Dungeon drops are so rare that you basically have to sit there killing the same things over and over for a good hour before you finally get the drop you were looking for.

By contrast, the Pillars require a specific number of enemies to be killed before you can collect your loot. Kill 150, then kill the Pillar, you get your loot. There is technically "grinding", but it's a lot less random and therefore a lot more enjoyable.

Plus, engaging each of the four Pillars requires different strategies. Each Pillar feels unique, while the Hardmode Dungeon is just... more skeletons, this time with tricks.

That having been said, I'd say that my biggest issue with Pillar-tier equipment is that it's... kinda boring. Allow me to explain.

The Daedalus Stormbow is an interesting bow, quite unique from others with its own strengths and weaknesses (even after the nerf, it's a legit option). The Tsunami's firing of 5 arrows in the same direction makes it an interesting option, as is the Eventide as an alternative/upgrade. The Aerial Bane is situational, but works well enough in events, since you can hit air and ground targets in the same shot. The Pulsebow is interesting crowd-control.

But the Phantasm? It's... a machine gun. It's a machine gun that uses arrows instead of bullets. It's point-and-shoot. It doesn't have interesting play dynamics to it the way the other bows do. It doesn't have plusses and minuses.

It's the auto-win gunbow.

Most of the other equivalent-tier weapons feel the same way. Solar melee weapons don't feel like melee weapons at all (then again, neither do Vampire Knives and the Scourge of the Corruptor, so that ship sailed a long time ago). Even some of the Nebula weapons aren't particularly interesting. They're powerful, but not typically in a unique way.

To me, it's not about being too powerful. It's about being powerful without being interesting.