Hello! I finally decided to create an account to post my ideas after some time lurking around the forums. This is my first thread, but I still hope it won't come across as too poorly-formatted.
So. The Summoner.
Pretty much everyone can agree that with a measly 3 weapons and one armour set, the Summoner is nothing special Pre-Hardmode. It's a shame that even throwing is more developed than Summoner at this stage. Due to this, I want to propose a whole bunch of Summoner Content that could really flesh out the pre-WoF Summoner experience.
Part I: Weapons
Before we start, all weapons will be formatted like this:
Name
Damage
Knockback
Use Time
Material
Material
@ Workbench
xyz
Additional Info
Both Mana and Velocity stay the same for every weapon. (both at 10 respectively)
Let's get to it!
Bird Staff
Damage: 6
Knockback: 2 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 26 (Average)
Found in Wooden Chests across the world
The first and easiest staff to obtain, the Bird Staff summons a Bird to fight for you. It flies around and swoops into enemies to deal damage. It's as basic as you can get, but it works.
Demon Eye Staff
Damage: 9
Knockback: 2 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 30 (Average)
3 Lenses
6 Iron/Lead Bars
10 Ebonwood/Shadewood
@ Anvil
Requiring both corrupt materials and the night, the Demon Eye Staff is a relatively easy to obtain and useful staff. It summons friendly Demon Eyes, which behave similar to the enemy counterparts (ram into enemy, slightly retreat, repeat).
Soul Eater Staff
Damage: 11
Knockback: 3 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 32 (Slow)
Random Drop from breaking Shadow Orbs
Expectable, but honestly, the worms don't make for a great summon. The summoned Eater of Souls flies around and swoops in, dealing damage.
Blood Crawler Staff
Damage: 9
Knockback: 3 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 28 (Average)
Random Drop from breaking Crimson Hearts
This is a nice change of pace. Rather than a Crimera, you summon a small Blood Crawler, which functions like the spider minion. However, it detaches after a few seconds and has to jump back onto enemies, rather than potentially latching on forever. Of note is that the Crawler, like the Spider, only takes up .75 of a minion slot.
Hoplite Staff
Damage: 11
Knockback: 3 (Very Weak
Use Time: 26 (Average)
2%/4% drop from enemies when in a Marble Biome
The Hoplite Staff summons Hoplites, which move around on foot and throw spears at enemies. It's practically a pre-hardmode Pygmy Staff, there's not a lot to say about it.
Granite Elemental Staff
Damage: 12
Knockback: 2 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 31 (Slow)
2%/4% drop from enemies when in a Granite Biome
The Granite counterpart to the Hoplite Staff, this staff summons Granite Elementals, which move around and attack enemies by bumping into them.
Goblin Staff
Damage: 14
Knockback: 2 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 29 (Average)
0.5% drop from all Pre-Hardmode Goblin Army goblins
It summons the Goblin Spellcasters to fight for you! They move to you via teleportation and walk around, casting their little purple spells.
Cursed Skull Staff
Damage: 18
Knockback: 4 (Weak)
Use Time: 32 (Slow)
Found within the Dungeon's Locked Gold Chests
Deep within the dungeon is found a new summoner weapon. The Cursed Skull staff summons Cursed Skulls to fight for you, with the skulls behaving akin to their Enemy counterparts.
Shadow Demon Staff
Damage: 23
Knockback: 3 (Very Weak)
Use Time: 35 (Slow)
Found in the Underworld's Locked Shadow Chests
The Shadow Demon Staff summons small Shadow Demons (think demon, but with a darker colour scheme) to fight for you. They are ranged minions, attacking enemies with cast Sickles. They have a slower fire rate than the Imps, but they deal more damage.
Part II: Sentries Living Spirit Staff 25 Wood Nesting Harpy Staff 5 Feathers Living Wood Armour
Sentries will follow the format of the previous part. However, to note is that all sentries have a Velocity of 14, rather than 10.
Damage: 6
Knockback
Use Time: 30 (Average)
5 Acorns
1 Sunflower
@ Living Loom
A very quickly obtainable sentry, which shows thanks to the easy recipe. It's a good option for summoners that find a Living Tree.
Damage: 12
Knockback: 7.5 (Very Strong)
Use Time: 32 (Slow)
20 Clouds
5 Gold/Platinum Bars
@ Sky Mill
The Nesting Harpy Staff summons a sitting Harpy which fires Feathers at enemies. It does require some sky island exploration to obtain, though.
Part III: Armour and Accessories
The only Summoner Armour available Pre-Hardmode is Hornet Armour, unfortunately requiring a Queen Bee kill. There are also no Summoner Accessories. Let's remedy this!
Defense: 2
Increases Minion Damage by 2%
Recipe:
20 Wood
2 Acorns
@ Living Loom
Defense: 2
Increases Minion Damage by 3%
Increases amount of Minion slots by 1
Recipe:
30 Wood
5 Acorns
@ Living Loom
Defense: 2
Increases Minion Damage by 2%
Recipe:
25 Wood
3 Acorns
@ Living Loom
Set Bonus: Lets you summon an additional Living Spirit without using a Sentry Slot
It's the most basic summoner armour idea for the early game, yes, but it does work. Buffs your minions a bit and grants an additional Living Spirit Sentry, but it doesn't have much defence.
Sunflower Badge
Increases Minion Damage by 4%
Sold by the Dryad for 1 Gold.
Not much to say. An accessory to grant extra damage to your minions.
Emptied Comb
Hornets only take up .75 of a Minion Slot
Sold by the Witch Doctor if you have a Hornet Staff in inventory (2 Gold)
A fun little option to make Hornets a bit more useful while you still have them.
Part IV: A Few Changes
- The Dryad now sells a Living Loom (50 Silver)
- Hornet Staff: Damage increase to 14
- Slime Staff: Now has a 25% chance to drop from the King Slime
E1: smol goof regarding Emptied Comb
The End
Thank you if you decided to actually read this entire thread. Please, PLEASE leave feedback in the comments, especially in terms of the ideas presented. Have a good one.
