Portfolio/Multi-Topic Throwing as an endgame Class - a portfolio of suggestions

Ekoz

Terrarian
This was originally posted on the Terraria subreddit, where it was favourably recieved. I got the word from someone that You guys here might like this, and hopefully it makes it more visible to the Devs. You can follow this link to the original reddit thread and participate there if you like:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Terraria/comments/3fv42p/throwing_as_an_endgame_class_a_portfolio_of/
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OPENING
This is a long list of ideas aimed towards enhancing the game's Throwing class. Throwing is a damage type that is very unique - it is its own distinct damage type. However, as of 1.3 there is absolutely nothing that facilitates its use during hardmode play.

Simply put, attempting to be a Thrower after you beat skeletron is a very foolish, difficult thing to accomplish. And attempting to be a thrower after you defeat the Wall of Flesh is a realistically impossible feat to accomplish.

This portfolio will aim to address the lack of love for throwing through every stage of pre-hardmode, early hardmode, and mid-late hardmode, WITHOUT altering existing endgame content (that is to say, without adding an extra lunar pillar and fundamentally changing the lunar events.)

Before I delve into specific new ideas, I think a good starting point to make Throwing an accessible and fun class is to offer it more options - specifically, Boomerangs and Yo-Yos. Melee has a ton of item choice, but lets be honest here, you do not swat people with boomerangs or Yo-Yos. you throw them. that's how they work. additionally, as throwing requires the user to be relatively closer to your enemy than a ranged character, that would generally require more defense. So, this idea portfolio will work under the assumption that ALL boomerangs and Yo-Yos would be turned into throwing class weapons, and that Throwing themed armour will be second tier defense armour, until endgame vortex overtakes it.

PRE-HARDMODE: A Song of Marble and Granite.

Marble and Granite biomes, currently, are disappointing. As of 1.3.0.7, the only non-building material item you can obtain from granite caves is the night vision helmet (which you can purchase from your local cyborg anyway). Marble caves offer a bit more to collect in them, and already have a bit of throwing equipment to offer. But, the danger of Medusa makes seeking out and exploring Marble caves, too dangerous to be worth the prize. That's why these two biomes offer the best opportunity for a Throwing class to establish itself; much like how Bee Hives and Spider Nests are primarily "Summoning Themed" biomes.

Hoplite Armour and Golem Armour:
Gladiator Armour already exists as a vanity set. Additionally, the fact that Granite and Marble exist as a kind of polar opposites vibe, suggest that maybe the Granite Biome should provide an armour set itself, with a different focus.

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Granite Shards and Granite Boomerang:
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Granite Elementals have no drops. The solution is to give them a type of weapon for the adventurous thrower to play around with. Granite Shards are sharp flakes of granite that can be used as a weapon. It would be almost identical to the Throwing Knife, except it would have double the crit chance (8%).
Additionally, Granite Shards would also be a material. Combining an enchanted boomerang and 300 Granite Shards creates the Granite Boomerang, a boomerang with:
-20 base damage
-15 knockback
-12 velocity

making it the best boomerang at keeping enemies in a knockback loop by far. Boomerang stats for reference

EARLY HARDMODE: Adapt, Reuse, Recycle.
This is the stage where, due to the introduction of souls, previous items can begin to be upgraded into hardmode-efficient items. additionally, players dive much deeper into the realm of "unique items". Because consumables are, by their nature, made to be used and lost, it's hard to make consumable items that are also unique, because players will have that natural "I don't want to lose this!" instinct. this is why the introduction of The Bone Glove is so cool, because it opens up a new avenue of weapon type - the glove - that bypasses this problem. This is the point where the Throwing class adapts from using consumables, to using weapons that use consumables.

Goliath Armour:
What happens when you take both Golem Armour and Hoplite Armour, and throw in 90 Crystal Shards and 30 clumps of Pixie Dust? you get the Goliath Armour. The Goliath armour is a mix of the two sets, combining the best of both to create a very unique armour set - both visually and mechanically. The Goliath armour can be considered an Orichalum-Tier armour set.

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Hallowed Ninja Armour:
Ninja Armour is great, don't get me wrong. but the ninja you got it from was flawed and weak - he died to king slime, for christs sake! So, what you need is to sacrifice 10 Souls of Might to it, and reinforce it with 15 Hallowed bars, and it will become enhanced - offering you:
-30 armour
-20% increased velocity
-20% increased throwing damage
-20% increased crit chance
-Set Bonus: 66% chance to not consume thrown item.

it will probably look the same-ish, though. you're not a very good stylist, i guess.

Notched Gauntlets, Frozen Mitts, and Padded Gloves:
Gloves. They are the key towards making throwing more accessible in a game where collecting items is a big draw, and losing items is considered a "bad" thing. with Gloves, even the most early game throwing items can become useful again in hardmode. That's why Each of these gloves is used specifically for the 3 weakest throwing weapons:
The Shuriken is used by the Notched Gauntlets to fire 3 for the price of 1, and gives each projectile a chance to silence enemies. This makes the Notched gauntlets excellent mage killers. They would probably be dropped by armoured skeletons with a decent drop chance.
The Snowball is used by the Frozen Mitts. Each snowball thrown via the Frozen Mitts grows in size and power as it travels, gaining up to 50% size and damage at max. also, snowballs have a chance to inflict Frostburn. the chance of Frostburn being applied grows as the snowball grows, and if it hits max size Frostburn is guaranteed. The Frozen Mitts would probably be dropped by Armoured Vikings, who otherwise have no practical item drops.
The Spiky Ball is used by the Padded Gloves. The padded gloves massively amp up the rate at which Spiky balls are thrown, and allow you to throw them for much greater distances. It also provides a 33% chance to not consume bonus, and all spiky balls thrown via the Padded Mitts are guaranteed to slow enemies who walk over them on the ground.

Throwing Emblem, Arm Brace, and Torque Brace:
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There are no non-Yo-Yo Throwing Accessories. For shame, because it would be great to see some. the obvious first choice would be a Throwing emblem for your 15% increased damage.
The Arm Brace would be a basic accessory which extends the distance and velocity of all Throwing weapons.
The Torque Brace is the combination of the Arm Brace and the Throwing Emblem, combining the damage and the distance/velocity boost.

MID-LATE HARDMODE: #ANewAndKindOfExplosiveSlate
Now this is where Throwing, as i see it, would start to change direction. Yeah, Yo-Yos would still be amazing, but I think there needs to be a direct progression of change into the late game that really makes you feel like you're stepping up. But that doesn't mean it should stop and drop everything cold turkey! Because of the late-game relevancy of explosives, I think a great way to start thinking how to engage the late game is to take a fresh new look at thrown explosives, while dialing back the relevancy of Thrown Blades and Boomerangs. Also, end game Accessories are a must.

Wristband, Edge Sharpener, Throwing Gear and Ambidextrous Gear:
These three accessories are what make the endgame knife thrower viable.
The Wristband is a unique accessory that gives all consumable weapons a higher throwing rate, giving you more attacks per second.
The Edge Sharpener causes thrown items and thrown weapons to pierce through one additional enemy.
The Wristband and Edge sharpener can be combined to create the Throwing Gear, which combines the two effects.
Lastly, the Ambidextrous Gear is a standalone accessory that causes allows you to throw two different types of weapons simultaneously. The first weapon will always be what you have selected, and the second weapon type will be whatever consumable throwing weapons you have in your topmost ammo slot. (So, say for example you are throwing a Thorn Chakram with Ambidextrous Gear on, and you have Throwing Knives in your topmost ammo slot. Whenever you attack with your chakram, you will automatically start throwing knives, too. this effectively multiplies your dps; up to 2x more if you gear up!)

Bombardier Gloves, Gravity Gloves, Kinectic Gloves, Spooky Gloves, and Lunar Dusters:
These Gloves are uniquely aimed towards Grenades, in an attempt to enhance and refine the explosive category of Throwing weapons. They all will accept any type of grenade; even Beenades. they do not effect the grenades' movement after landing. ergo, a sticky grenade will still stick, etc. all of these gloves, EXCEPT for the Lunar Dusters(!!!), have a 33% chance to not consume ammo.
The Bombadier Gloves are found exclusively during Pirate invasions, and enhance the throwing distance greatly, and cause all grenades to explode on impact with enemies, regardless of type.
The Gravity Gloves are found exclusively during Martian invasions, and cause all grenades to leave a "vortex" when they explode. said vortex will pull all nearby enemies towards it, but will not deal damage. this effect WILL affect some bosses, but not all.
The Kinetic Gloves are sold exclusively by the Cyborg ONLY on solar eclipses. they will cause thrown grenades to "seek out" enemies; like chlorophyte bullets, but with a much weaker seeking ability. obviously bouncy grenades are a poor match with these gloves.
The Spooky Gloves are crafted exclusively using Spooky Wood. They will cause all grenades, even Beenades, to spawn 3 additional "minions" that float around, dealing damage for 5 seconds before disappearing.
The Lunar Dusters are the highest tier gloves in the game, being dropped by the Moon Lord (since the Terrarian is a Yo-Yo, that makes the Lunar Dusters the second throwing item he can drop). These gloves have a cartoonishly high base damage and crit chance (as to be expected by a Moon Lord Drop). but they ALSO make all grenades leave behind a large cloud of Lunar Regolith. This cloud would damage any enemies who enter it like Lava. however, you would not be affected. This essentially makes the Lunar Dusters one of the best "area of denial" weapons in the game. However to compensate for this power, it has no reduced chance to consume thrown items!

Cherry Bombs, Primer Mixer, Heated Shells, and Incendiary Powder:
These are the explosive accessories, made to amp up the power of your explosive late game.
Cherry Bombs cause your grenades to randomly release smaller, less powerful bomblets when they explode, essentially turning your grenades into cluster bombs.
Primer Mixer simply gives your grenades an extra 10% to crit chance.
Heated Shells causes grenades to blow up into fragments; each fragment deals some slight additional damage and has a chance to ignite enemies.
Finally, Incendiary Powder is a combination of both Primer Mixer and Heated Shells, combining all of the effects into one.

Mothscale Armour:
So, this is the final part of this long post. the final, lategame thrower armour. This is what the endgame Thrower will wear. He will NOT be wearing lunar gear because, in my opinion, changing the way the lunar events work seems...not right. so instead, our thrower will level off with Post Plantera gear, that is harvested and crafted by killing Mothrons, Harvesting 90 Mothwing scales, and combining them with 54 Chlorophyte bars.
Mothrons will drop Mothwing scales at around 5-10 per kill, giving you ample time to think about how you want to progress endgame wise. This is because Mothscale armour allows you to begin to try out a support/tank style of play, not just DPS.

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CONCLUSION
The thrower is a very intriguing, promising class. there's a lot that can be done with a little, and i think the thrower could easily become a respected, useful class with just a few new additions. I think the playstyle of throwing lends itself really well to a dps OR a support type role, so i've postulated how that could be fostered into the game. With these additions, the thrower becomes a self sufficient class early on, stays that way until post plantera, where he then is faced with a choice - maximize dps with grenades and gloves? OR; mellow out and play a tank that provides a generous aura using boomerangs and Yo-Yos?

If you've made it this far, i just want to thank you for reading. I hope this is picked up and read by the devs, but ANY type of support, even just reading silently and thinking about this issue, is a great stride towards fleshing out a truly interesting part of the game.

Until next time!
 
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chance to not consume thrown item
So does this mean that you throw the item and it doesn't consume it from the inventory OR do you mean it's retrievable from the ground?

It somehow feels more thematically to have thrower recycle their used items by picking them back up because that's how it's always been for them, it differentiates them from range more. It could also serve as justification behind throwers having a few stats moderately high because they must control an area due to play style, a trade off if you will for good/bad.


I fully agree with the Boomerang logic, I'm not sure how I feel about the Yo-Yo... Sure, you can look at is as thrown, but then again you could be swinging it above your head like the flail weapon catagory it's under. I don't see many melee people missing their bommeranges, but I can see them missing their Yo-Yo play throughs. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for thorwn Yo-Yos, it's just that there's concerns over how many people will be affected.

By the end of reading the thread I somehow felt disapointed that throwers weren't given means of throwing normal blocks as part of their repertoire, even if it's a non-serious weapon like the Celebration. A tooptip like "When you run out of knives to throw, you grab the next best thing..." or "Anything can hurt if you throw it hard enough!". Perhaps that's just me.
 
I like the sound of this! Also, I think you should have included fossil armor with a few changes. It is a throwing themed armor, and it has a similar set bonus to the goliath armor. With only 50% chance not to consume items. Not sure if you are aware of this armor set. But hey, I agree. Throwers deserve respect and stuff.
 
This is the more most bestest Throwing expansion thread I've ever seen. It's very well detailed and balanced, and I loved the accessories. The problem is, to make their physics (?), a lot of coding would have to be done, and the dev's don't like threads complicated as this.

BTW, you made those armor sprites? I'd like to make some for the thread aswell if you let me. It would be cool to have a holy-blessed-robotic-ninja in the game :)
 
I'm Glad that if my thread for throwers backfires on me, theres always a better one that someone else has made :D
Seriously though, these are some really good ideas. Hope to see it implemented (hopefully my idea would be though :p)
 
thanks for all the kudos guys; i'll definitely take some of this feedback and try to reorganize some of the ideas to be more cohesive!

BTW, you made those armor sprites? I'd like to make some for the thread aswell if you let me. It would be cool to have a holy-blessed-robotic-ninja in the game :)

feel free to sprite anything you think deserves a sprite!
 
Hey, so, i'm currently making a mod which, among other things, implements throwing as a full class. These ideas and sprites are really awesome- May I have permission to use them? (With credit to you, of course.) ... Wow I sound like an annoying business man or something. Oh god.
[doublepost=1502964490,1502964301][/doublepost]Oh, also, I will be adding two new pillars (for the two new classes I'm adding in with this mod of mine- Healer and thrower). If this changes your mind, since I noticed you don't like the idea of changing the celestial events, That's fine.
 
Sorry, no support. The devs have stated that there will not be any huge additions to the class. It's supposed to be a pre-boss class.
 
Sorry, no support. The devs have stated that there will not be any huge additions to the class. It's supposed to be a pre-boss class.
Worth noting that this suggestion was made before that statement.
It's only been revived from it's 2 year past because Punsheet want to create it as a mod. Can't blame him.
 
Hey man! I see this is quite an old post, but only in case you might still be around:

I am currently making a mod and I really like your ideas. I will include those in my mod (and will also use the sprites you provided in your post since I am really bad at spriting).

You will of course receive a shoutout on the forum page of my mod. If you want me to remove the content I took here, feel free to PM me and I will remove it ASAP!

Thnks a lot!
 
Hey man! I see this is quite an old post, but only in case you might still be around:

I am currently making a mod and I really like your ideas. I will include those in my mod (and will also use the sprites you provided in your post since I am really bad at spriting).

You will of course receive a shoutout on the forum page of my mod. If you want me to remove the content I took here, feel free to PM me and I will remove it ASAP!

Thnks a lot!
I think you're usually supposed to ask for permission, first.
Which'll be fun, seeing the last time they were on.
 
Well I guess this is how I ask for permission... I mean, I don't know when I will have any answer form him, but if he doesn't want me to use his ideas, a simple word from him and everything will be removed.
 
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