Like many other players, I love the new rework to gem staves/robes and the enchantment system it added. However, I find myself wishing that these items were viable further on in the game, as it feels like a shame to leave such a cool mechanic in pre-Hardmode. So I'm proposing the addition of upgraded, Hardmode equivalents of all the gem staves and robes in the form of Gem Power Rings and Gem Guardsmen armor, as well as a new accessory in the form of the Gem Power Lanterns!
Just like how the Phaseblades and Phasesabers are clearly homages to the Lightsabers from Star Wars, I thought it would be cool to theme the upgrade gem magic around another multicolored sci-fi technology, the Lantern Rings from DC Comics. Because the rings and the Lanterns who wield them are themed around spectrums of light and hard light constructs, I made these gem items craftable from Terraria's own assortment of light-themed items:
- The Gem Power Rings are crafted from gems, light shards, and souls of light.
- The Gem Guardsmen armor sets are all crafted from Gemspark Blocks and Hallowed Bars, in reference to the DC Lanterns' hard-light constructs, as well as souls from each of mechanical bosses, in reference to the Green Lantern oath ("...escape my *sight*...", "...evil's *might*...", "...*beware* my power...").
- The Gem Power Lanterns are crafted from large gems, Mana Crystals, and Hallowed Bars, in refence to DC's Lantern Power Batteries, which are used to recharge Power Rings.
The Power Rings are intended to start out as early-Hardmode mage weapons in a very similar vein to the Sky Fracture, but eventually grow beyond other weapons from that point in progression by way of the post-mech Guardsman Armor and Power Lantern.
The Guardsman Armor is intended as a side-grade to Hallowed Armor, like how the Forbidden/Frost sets are sidegrades of the Adamantite/Titanium armor, sacrificing Hallowed Armor's Holy Protection set bonus in favor of more power/versatility. Guardsman Armor can mix and match pieces from any gem type, but it will only enchant a Power Ring's attacks if a full set is equipped, and only with the enchantment associated with the gem type of the Mask, similar to how different head pieces of certain armor sets create different set bonuses.
The Power Lantern is intended as an accessory that helps the mage class generally with additional mana and reduced mana cost, while also giving the Power Rings an enchantment option that isn't limited by armor; the biggest weakness of the pre-Hardmode gem enchantments is that the gem robes are terrible defensively, and so can't be used very far into progression. By creating an enchantment option that's accessory-based, the Power Rings could theoretically stay useful even after the Guardsman set becomes obsolete defensively.
Importantly, only one Power Lantern can be equipped at a time, meaning the total possible number of active enchantments is three: one from the Power Ring, one from the Guardsman Armor, and one from the Power Lantern. This gives players an additional enchantment "slot" compared to pre-Hardmode, allowing for even more creativity/customization.
Ultimately, these items would of course need to be playtested, and the various stats of the rings and armor would likely need to be tweaked to make sure they are balanced for this stage of progression. The numbers I added are just there as examples, based around other weapons/armor available at this stage.
I also wanted add a few little things for flavor:
- Each piece of gem equipment has a different line from the Green Lantern Oath, and when all of them are used together, they grant an achievement with a name referencing the final line "Green Lantern's Light!", here changed to "Gem Guardsman's Light!"
- The Gem Soarlights are a set of "wings" that would give the player a glowing outline and particles during flight instead of actual wings, similar to how DC's Lanterns look when flying using their rings.
But those are just my thoughts, let me know what you think of this concept!
(Note: none of these sprites belong to me, they are all just recolors of sprites that already exist in the game used for demonstration. Were this idea actually implemented, these items would of course have unique sprites made for them.)
