Weapons & Equip The case of the Water Bolt

[killuaspark]

Hello guys!My name is Pietro and I'm new to the forum. I've always wanted to talk about the game because I've been playing terraria for a very long time,and I think I might have enough experience now to share my thoughts on something that caught my interest,but it's up to you whether to decide if it could be considered a game suggestion or not. I'm talking about the Water bolt. As most people know,the Water Bolt is a magic weapon which can be obtained after defeating skeletron,by finding it on bookshelves inside the dungeon. It used to be a solid choice for mages because of its ability to pierce infinitely,plus the fact that it can bounce on walls. The point of this post is to show you guys why I think the Water bolt is in serious need of a buff:

-Let's start off by saying that,for being a post skeletron weapon,the damage it deals is really bad. It only deals 19 damage,whereas the demon scythe deals more than 30,and it's pre boss. You could argue it's easier to get than the demon scythe,but let's be honest,if you're playing anything harder than normal mode difficulty,beating skeletron is harder than going to hell and farming the demon scythe.
The next point is that the Water bolt is the only dungeon weapon in the game that doesn't have other uses,nor does it have an hardmode upgrade:
-The magic missile can be used to make the Sky Fracture,which is excellent by the time you can get it,and there are a lot of weapons similar to the magic missile,like the flamelash,or the rainbow rod;
-The handgun can be upgraded to the Phoenix blaster,which is the best option against the WoF as a ranger player;
-The Muramasa can be used to make the Night's Edge,which is the strongest pre-hardmode sword;
-the Aqua scepter is a solid choice as well against the WoF,and it's the pre-hardmode version of the golden shower,so it kind of has an upgrade unlike the Water Bolt.
So,pretty much, mage players are stuck in a position where they really don't have a reason anymore to use the Water Bolt,especially in expert mode and the above difficulties,it's not good enough to fight the Wall of Flesh because of its bad damage,it's the only dungeon weapon that doesn't feel "post skeletron" and it shows.
I think there are two ways to fix the water bolt's problem:
-Either give it a buff in damage,so that it can be a solid choice against the Wall of Flesh,and it will finally have a purpose as a post skeletron weapon;
-If it's not possible to give more damage to the water bolt,then maybe another way to give it more relevance would be to make it "material" and give it an hardmode upgrade,so that it can be used against the mech bosses alongside other weapons like the cursed flames or the golden shower. I feel like out of any other weapons in the game,the water bolt wouldn't be overpowered in hardmode because even with an upgrade,it won't be stronger than any of the hardmode spell books,since it doesn't inflict a debuff,nor does it need one,because its ability to bounce and pierce is strong enough as it is;more damage and slightly bigger projectiles would be enough to make it viable.
Let me know what you guys think! And also,cheers to all mage players!

 

[RainbowPotato]

Hello guys! My name is Pietro and I'm new to the forum.

Welcome to the forums! It’s nice to see you here!

The point of this post is to show you guys why I think the Water bolt is in serious need of a buff:

-Let's start off by saying that,for being a post skeletron weapon,the damage it deals is really bad. It only deals 19 damage,whereas the demon scythe deals more than 30,and it's pre boss. You could argue it's easier to get than the demon scythe,but let's be honest,if you're playing anything harder than normal mode difficulty,beating skeletron is harder than going to hell and farming the demon scythe.

Yes, but the damage doesn’t really need to be super high, as its main purpose is to help you defeat the wall of flesh, which it is solid at. Its crowd controlling abilities are far better because it bounces off walls and can pierce 4 more enemies. This makes it arguably better than the wall of flesh because of its great crowd controlling. If you wanted too, you could use the waterbolt to clear out the enemies and use the demon scythe to kill the boss.

The next point is that the Water bolt is the only dungeon weapon in the game that doesn't have other uses,nor does it have an hardmode upgrade:
-The magic missile can be used to make the Sky Fracture,which is excellent by the time you can get it,and there are a lot of weapons similar to the magic missile,like the flamelash,or the rainbow rod;
-The handgun can be upgraded to the Phoenix blaster,which is the best option against the WoF as a ranger player;
-The Muramasa can be used to make the Night's Edge,which is the strongest pre-hardmode sword;
-the Aqua scepter is a solid choice as well against the WoF,and it's the pre-hardmode version of the golden shower,so it kind of has an upgrade unlike the Water Bolt.

I don’t really see how its an issue. The waterbolt doesn’t need a hardmode or better version. It would be nice nonetheless, but its not a really big concern.

So,pretty much, mage players are stuck in a position where they really don't have a reason anymore to use the Water Bolt,especially in expert mode and the above difficulties,it's not good enough to fight the Wall of Flesh because of its bad damage,it's the only dungeon weapon that doesn't feel "post skeletron" and it shows.

It is good against the wall of flesh. Its not great to use the whole fight and to use directly at the boss but for the hungry its one of the best options. I also would argue that it does feel post skeletron, just probably not to the extent to the other weapons.

I hit the reply limit so i’ll answer the final part just without it.

I feel like a little more damage (maybe 4) would be nice but still not needed. I also think this option is the better of the wo you mentioned.


Overall, I don’t really support other than the damage part, its a okay weapon and it serves its purpose.

 

[ggyt]

Yeah water bolt should just be buffed, it's outclassed now.

 

[Timey-Whimy]

I just thought it was cool that if you knew the secret, you could go to the dungeon early to get an amazing weapon.
What if it was slightly nerfed and given a guaranteed spawn at the dungeon entrance?

 

[killuaspark]

I just thought it was cool that if you knew the secret, you could go to the dungeon early to get an amazing weapon.
What if it was slightly nerfed and given a guaranteed spawn at the dungeon entrance?

If it were to be nerfed again,then it would be a pretty bad weapon,even the gem staffs would outclass it. I think the water bolt could use a slight buff in damage,like rainbow potato said. That way it will be useful through the entire pre-hardmode.