Hello guys. As you know, there’s a bunch of ammo types in the game. Some of them are not as well implemented as others, so here’s my attempt at making them all fit a point in progression and making them effective in proportion to the effort required. Please let me know what you think and comment.
Pre-Hardmode
Wooden Arrows: No problem with these. Simple, decent crafting materials.
Flaming Arrows: No problem with these, decent early game and very easy to craft.
Frostburn Arrows: Excellent early game arrows with a debuff that is pretty powerful for the stage in the game they come in. My only complaint would be that they should be craftable from Flaming Arrows, by simply combining 30 Flaming Arrows with 1 Ice Block to get 30 Frostburn Arrows.
Jester’s Arrow: This arrow I have a bit of a problem with. They are kinda great against rows of zombies very early on in Expert Mode and that’s basically it. Often times I just stockpile them on the basis that I don’t want to waste them and the next time I look at them, they are just obsolete. If a single star made 70 of these puppies, we could use them more openly. They’d still be obsolete as soon as Hardmode is over, what with the new bows all having their own unique shot until Tsunami/Phantasm and with the repeaters being rather meh until you get Chlorophyte, at which point Holy Arrows are a straight upgrade anyway. That’s fine I guess.
Unholy Arrow: So Jester’s Arrows are okay if a bit too scarce, but these things are just… uh, worse Jester’s Arrows with a bit more damage? Not much of a reason to use these over Frostburn for the damage and Jester’s for when you need the piercing. Jester’s Arrow is better thanks to no drop and unlimited piercing.
Hellfire Arrow: So this is the last pre-hardmode arrow. I’m not sure what to feel about this thing, I wasn’t using any bows in hardmode until I got the Shadowflame bow, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason to use these over Holy Arrows. Let me know if I am missing something but I’ll pass this one until further input.
Hardmode
Venom Arrow: Venom Arrow is hardly the first arrow you get in hardmode and that’s exactly what it kills it. It’s a simple to make arrow that is hands down the best with bows that default to a unique arrow type, and those include basically all early-mid Hardmode bows except Daedalus Stormbow (and not repeaters), but Holy Arrows are just as accessible, quite a bit cheaper and far more effective with repeaters.
If, however, the Witch Doctor would sell Vials of Venom as soon as Wall of Flesh is defeated, Venom Arrows would be perfect to bridge the gap between Shadowflame Bow/Marrow/Ice Bow/Bee’s Knees and Chlorophyte Shotbow/Pulse Bow/Tsunami, and give the players a headstart in hard mode. What with Frostburn Arrows being excellent starting arrows and Venoms basically being Frostburn+, I feel that Venom Arrows should fill the same role for Hardmode. And maybe they could use a vial per 70 arrows instead of 35.
Holy Arrow: This is the defining arrow of all bows. Incredibly cheap to make with incredible area denial and damage potential, Holy Arrows truly shine with fast firing bows and repeaters. Perhaps 3 Pixie Dust + 1 Unicorn Horn should be per 100 arrows instead of 200, but their performance is actually okay and shouldn’t be nerfed. It’s some other arrows that need a looking at.
Chlorophyte Arrow: These are the arrows I really don’t get. A bar gives out 150 of these, and they have this slight penetration effect that is enough to ruin Tsunami/Phantasm and not actually achieve much. In my opinion, they need a drastic buff and take the Holy Arrows’ spot as the best Hardmode arrows after Luminite Arrows. The damage should probably be increased to 20 a shot, and they should release spores like those from the Spore Sac along their route so they would sort of be like the Rainbow Gun in area denial.
These would cover large areas and deny movement to the enemy while packing a real punch. Spore dispensing rate should increase with arrow velocity so the player isn’t penalized for using Magic Quiver or other effects that make arrows go faster. And then, same as Chlorophyte Bullets, a bar should give only 70 of these arrows. They should be truly strong and used on occasion while Holy Arrows maintain their “workhorse” position.
Cursed Arrow: This thing baffles me. You trade the wonderful Ichor Arrow for a Venom Arrow that’s… worse. They are pretty cheap to make but that’s not enough when you are competing with Holy Arrows. The debuff needs to be much stronger, like Daybroken strong (probably shouldn’t stack however) for this to be a worthwhile option. It would make more sense to make this Frostburn+ and buff Venom instead but Cursed Flames are the underground Corruption drop already and you can’t change an entire crafting tree for an arrow eh.
Ichor Arrow: The Ichor debuff doesn’t apply to a few enemies that would matter, but it applies to Douche Fishron, the second hardest boss in the game, so it is worth a mention. It clogs your inventory to take clusters of 10-15 ichor arrows (not to mention unreliable with your percentage based ammo conservation) in between your Holy Arrows, but if you do that your damage output gets better. On their own, they are not bad, they are just not optimal.
Personally, I use a melee weapon with a decent range (Shadowflame Knives, Possessed Hatchet etc.) and a Flask of Ichor for my Ichoring needs, but Ichor Arrows on their own are not bad at all, and they are pretty cheap. The only thing I can recommend for these is a more convenient way to mix arrow types.
Luminite Arrow: I don’t have experience with these as I haven’t beaten Moon Lord yet (and I refuse to do it on normal mode). Secondhand knowledge and hearsay suggest that they are the best arrow in the game, essentially doubling themselves when they hit. Seems appropriate for a post-game arrow especially in comparison to some of the items dropped by Moon Lord.
So that’s a review of all arrow types in the game and potential changes to them to make them fit their own place in the game. Here are some arrow types I feel could be added:
Frostburnt Quiver: Basically Endless Quiver for Frostburn Arrows. Frostburn Arrows are reasonably effective but suboptimal, and when the ease in making Holy Arrows is considered, there’s not much of a reason not to do this. Crafted at the Crystal Ball by combining 3996 Frostburn Arrows. You probably wouldn’t use that many arrows as a stopgap measure anyway.
Spectre Arrow: 1 Spectre Bar would get you 70 of these. These would go through blocks and not be affected by gravity, and killing an enemy would make them drop their soul, which would be worth 10% of their HP. This healing is so ranged isn’t the only class without a way to self-heal. It’s limited by having to go in to pick the health up (even though you are ranged), activating on a kill and not just dealing damage, and having half the healing of the Spectre Armor. Damage seems to be appropriate at 13, same as Holy Arrows but without the extra damage from the stars.
Let me know what you think.
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