Video The Great Summoner Challenge! A Hardcore/Expert video series

Cane

Cane

Terrarian
THE GREAT SUMMONER CHALLENGE


Hardcore character. Expert mode. Summon weapons only.
No hacked Slime Staff. No damage deliberately dealt using tools.
Must get all trophies, all minions, and all pets. Yes, including that one.

I died like six times in a row.

The seventh time? Well, you'll have to see how it went.

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The Pure Summoner Challenge has been around for a while, and a lot of people have had their go at it. Essentially, the challenge is about getting all the trophies while using only summon weapons to deal damage... plus a few extra rules for good measure. The original post can be found here:

The Pure Summoner Challenge

I wanted to take it one step further and perform a hardcore summoner run on expert mode.

This as it turns out was a bad idea as it occupied several weeks of my life, which then turned into months because of the even worse idea of producing an Yrimir-style video series that chronicles my seventh attempt to make it happen. The worst idea of all however was to record the whole thing in a lossless format which forced me to buy a much bigger hard drive which I had to cram into my already packed computer just to contain the bloody thing.

In short, I loathe you all and I hope you don't enjoy it very much.

If the embeds below don't work, you can find the full complete series playlist right here:
Terraria 1.3: The Great Summoner Challenge - YouTube

Living in a hostile world when you can't fight back is a tricky thing. Wandering naked into the Corruption is even trickier. When Cane the Summoner arrives without any means of defending himself, he decides doing both of those things sounds like a really keen idea.

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The branching caverns hold many secrets. And slime. Mostly slime. If we are to progress any further than this we'll need to find a friend to help us.

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We only just met our new friend and already we're throwing it at the bloodsoaked undead banging on our doors. Little do we realize that something even bigger is lurking beyond the walls of safety...

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Hell holds many talismans, but before we can claim them we need to make friends with a shark. That is a real sentence that makes sense in context. On top of that, I have this strange feeling that we are being watched.

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There are rumblings under the ground. Cries for help echo from the jungle. And I'm pretty sure I saw a cloth banner fluttering in the wind to the east. All I want for Christmas is a new bee suit, but every time I plan the journey I get dragged off in every other direction.

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The Dungeon holds the promise of glory. The Old Man will grant us entry if only we can free him from his curse. Unfortunately, there is something else we need from yet another of the dungeon's restless guardians. This may be the stupidest thing I've done so far.

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The Dungeon contains many artifacts. Most of them are useless. Still, we need some furniture if we are to make our Summoner's Tower so we might as well drop by.

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24 hours. This was 24 hours of construction and engineering footage rolled into one 20 minute episode. I can't begin to tell you just how miserable a chore this episode was to edit. Still, there's no place like home, and we needed a good one.

Imgur album of the completed build: Terraria Build: The Ebonstone Valley (Pre-hardmode) - Album on Imgur

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The trophy room looks a bit empty. What a coincidence: I've been itching for a good fight for DAYS. Ladies and gentlemen: It's Fight Night!

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All of our exploration, all of our forging and crafting has led us to this precipice. Into the abyss we go, but will our preparations be enough?

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 10: The Wall of Flesh
The ancient spirits of light and dark have been released, and with them new challenges. There is much to do before we are ready for its trials, so let's not waste any time.

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 11: Hardmode Begins
It's time to brave the early events of hardmode. The Pirates are the first, for they have something I want. As airships and gunpowder fill the skies my focus is fully on the raging battle, and I don't notice that something else lies in wait, primed to strike when I least expect it...

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 12: Skulls & Crossbones
The mechanical bosses are waking up. I need to go to the jungle to prepare for the inevitable battle, but can I find the elusive Rod of Discord before the rumblings grow too loud?

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 13: The Destroyer
The next boss is a genuine challenge for a pure summoner. I need new items, new upgrades, and a prepared battleground. Even with the most expensive pet in the game guarding my back, I wonder: Will it be enough?

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 14: The Twins
Equipped with my miniature giant floating laser eyeballs that eat people, I travel back to the jungle to prepare the most elaborate battleground of the series so far. Plantera awaits, but will my reward be loot or death?

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 15: Plantera
Strange days. The sun is missing, the rain is crimson, and the world is distracting us with shiny items. We don't know if the dungeon reborn will propel us to adventure or become our tomb. All we know for sure is: Drop rates are for other people!

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 16: Pumpkin Moon
The ocean holds many secrets. Some of them are green. Before we can go fishing, however, we need to make homes for the new NPCs, and we have some unfinished - and distinctly pumpkin-flavored - business to attend to.

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 17: The Green Duke
The trophy room looks rather empty. I think we should do something about that... right after I play some Super Mario Sunshine.

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 18: Mecha Mayhem
As the days go by we come ever closer to our final goal. Three more events must be conquered, but the Temple guardian stands in our way. I think I'll have to throw some sharks at it.

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 19: The Golem
We embark upon the ultimate item hunt to prepare for the endgame. Many treasure chests are opened, many creatures of the night are slain, many snowflakes are eaten. And then Mecha Santa shows up. That's new.

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 20: Frost Moon
The final chests are opened, the last stones are turned. And the Angler is about to be shoved into a lake if he doesn't give me the goddamned Bunnyfish Trophy already. Sigh. I think I'll pass the time with some alien genocide.

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Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 21: Martian Madness
It all comes down to this. The final challenge awaits, and through it we'll find either sweet retirement or death. All good things must come to an end, true... but it has been a pleasure having you all with me.

View on YouTube:
Terraria: The Great Summoner Challenge! Ep 22: All Good Things

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This series has finished. Hello everyone.

It's been a long journey, this series of mine. I started working on it because I wanted to practice editing, and because I thought YouTube needed an actually concluded Summoner run. I certainly did one, and now I'm about to do the other.

It was just... a painful amount of work. So much effort went into the editing, making sure the music and the pacing and everything else was well made. Blood, sweat, and tears for what barely amounted to 300 unique views per episode. Even in the years since its release it has hardly picked up a following. If you're wondering why I took so many breaks, that was it. Spending all your free time for a week so that a few hundred people can enjoy yet another video game series in an ocean of such? It's hard to convince yourself it's a worthwhile project.

Even so, I spent a lot of time on the final episode. I wanted to give the series a nice sendoff, both as closure for myself and as a hopefully satisfying conclusion to those of you who were watching all this time.

Oh, but for the record, reading the replies here, wishing me well personally and still being excited for the series? That does make a lot of the work worthwhile.

Thank you, all of you, for watching and commenting.

Now to find something else to do!

Cane


P.S. If you're new to the series, the first couple of episodes aren't very good. The editing and the pacing get good around episode 3, and improve with time. =)
 
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Man.. This is amazing.
I like the tower and the houses and all especially.
Very well done.

I've never really taken the time to make anything that big or complex (though, I won't be on PC for another couple months.. Just Xbox and mobile).

I happily await what happens next. Curious how the moon lord will be dealt with..
 
DEATHisLIFE said:
Man.. This is amazing.
I like the tower and the houses and all especially.
Very well done.

I've never really taken the time to make anything that big or complex (though, I won't be on PC for another couple months.. Just Xbox and mobile).

I happily await what happens next. Curious how the moon lord will be dealt with..
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Thank you very much! That's the highest compliment I've received on my videos, and it makes me glad I posted here. I wasn't sure what kind of response I'd get. I appreciate you checking them out. =)

Episode 9 is currently rendering. Unless the render screws up somehow it should be up tonight or tomorrow. Man, we're not even in hardmode yet...

ZcanKal2.0 said:
why is the text bubble sound from the minecraft mod Ars Magica 2?
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You mean this sound? It's a Creative Commons 0 License sound effect, meaning it's royalty free and people can use it for anything. The Ars Magica 2 developers probably did what I did - found it in a sound library and thought it was appropriate! I've heard the sound effect around a lot since I started making this series.
 
Cane said:
Thank you very much! That's the highest compliment I've received on my videos, and it makes me glad I posted here. I wasn't sure what kind of response I'd get. I appreciate you checking them out. =)

Episode 9 is currently rendering. Unless the render screws up somehow it should be up tonight or tomorrow. Man, we're not even in hardmode yet...



You mean this sound? It's a Creative Commons 0 License sound effect, meaning it's royalty free and people can use it for anything. The Ars Magica 2 developers probably did what I did - found it in a sound library and thought it was appropriate! I've heard the sound effect around a lot since I started making this series.
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ah, and btw nice series :D
 
Is there a map download?
I like this, and That says a lot, I am a picky build critic.


EDIT: I realized this series is not finished, please post a dll after it is done
 
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Cane said:
Thank you very much! That's the highest compliment I've received on my videos, and it makes me glad I posted here. I wasn't sure what kind of response I'd get. I appreciate you checking them out. =)

Episode 9 is currently rendering. Unless the render screws up somehow it should be up tonight or tomorrow. Man, we're not even in hardmode yet...
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Looking forward to it
 
Yes! I love this. Love Love it. I've watched two episodes already and now I get to thank you for the fact that I'll get nothing done this morning as I watch allllls the rest of them in a super binge move and then I'll be so mad at myself for not spacing them out. And I can't wait to hop over to your build thread, but first back to the vids.
 
Jirachi said:
Is there a map download?
I like this, and That says a lot, I am a picky build critic.

EDIT: I realized this series is not finished, please post a dll after it is done
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Hi! Thank you! Yes, you are correct -- it's an unfinished series so I want to hang on to the world until it has concluded.

Unit One said:
Yes! I love this. Love Love it. I've watched two episodes already and now I get to thank you for the fact that I'll get nothing done this morning as I watch allllls the rest of them in a super binge move and then I'll be so mad at myself for not spacing them out. And I can't wait to hop over to your build thread, but first back to the vids.
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I do this with every good new series I find so I absolutely feel your pain, but this is the first time I've been on the publishing end of this particular ordeal. Thank you for the kind words. ♥ I'll publish episode 9 in a few hours so you'll have something to watch for later.
 
It's such a small and arbitrary milestone, but I published episode 10 today. It's a fun series to make, so I hope I can bump this thread again for episode 20. =)

Cheers to all of you! I hope you're having a great evening.
 
I am enjoying these so much. I'm pretty sure I ate a whole bag of candy watching episodes 9 and 10 so thanks for that.

Really great job. The styling is fantastic, your buildings are top notch, the right amount of gameplay, exploring, grinding, tips, jokes, and you are a wonderful player.

I appreciate all the time and work you've put into them, thanks so much for posting and sharing them with us here. I'm eager to see how hardmode goes.
 
when you say "all pets, including that one", are you including the baby skeletron? because please, for the sake of your sanity, don't.:p
 
Unit One said:
I am enjoying these so much. I'm pretty sure I ate a whole bag of candy watching episodes 9 and 10 so thanks for that.

Really great job. The styling is fantastic, your buildings are top notch, the right amount of gameplay, exploring, grinding, tips, jokes, and you are a wonderful player.

I appreciate all the time and work you've put into them, thanks so much for posting and sharing them with us here. I'm eager to see how hardmode goes.
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My ego is too inflated already! Stop!

Thank you. <3 I really appreciate your comments. What a great start to the day.

neoselket said:
when you say "all pets, including that one", are you including the baby skeletron? because please, for the sake of your sanity, don't.:p
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Yyeeeaah, about that...

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Wow, that was a close call with the wall of flesh.. You did good to get the imps on his eyes there. He almost had you lol
 
DEATHisLIFE said:
Wow, that was a close call with the wall of flesh.. You did good to get the imps on his eyes there. He almost had you lol
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I was ready to kick myself if I died there! The lasers were starting to hurt a bit, so when I saw the floating blocks I thought I could use them to shield myself. "I'll just go over it," I thought to myself, "that can't possibly go OH GOD"
 
Cane said:
I was ready to kick myself if I died there! The lasers were starting to hurt a bit, so when I saw the floating blocks I thought I could use them to shield myself. "I'll just go over it," I thought to myself, "that can't possibly go OH GOD"
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Haha yeah..
When I did my melee only play through on Xbox 360, the lasers were a bit of a problem. It was a struggle to aim the thorn chakram and doge at the same time.
 
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