Ballista sentry summons

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Ballista sentry summons
  • Ballista Rod.png Ballista Cane.png Ballista Staff.png
1
Statistics
Type
Weapon
Damage(Varies each tier) (Summon)
Knockback4.7 (Average)
Use time30 (Average)
Velocity1
TooltipSummons a sentry
A slow but high damage tower that shoots piercing bolts
Costs 10 Etherian Mana per use while defending an Eternia Crystal
Research1 required

The Ballista Rod, Cane, and Staff are special sentry summon weapons that summon their respective sentries. Each Ballista sentry fires Ballista Shot projectiles towards enemies, which pierce three times. Ballistas deal high damage but have a slow firing speed. The higher the tier, the more damage the Ballistas deal.

The Rod is sold by the Tavernkeep for 50000*5 Defender Medal. The Cane is sold for 150000*15 Defender Medal after defeating one mechanical boss. The Staff is sold for 600000*60 Defender Medal after defeating Golem.

During the Old One's Army event, Etherian Mana can be collected, which allows the placement of multiple Ballistas that remain permanently until the event is over. Etherian Mana cannot be used outside the event. These weapons cannot be used outside of the Old One's Army event until the event has been successfully completed.

Ballista sentries are boosted by the Squire armor and Valhalla Knight armor set bonuses, which increase the velocity of the Ballista Shot projectiles by 31.25% and allow them to pierce through maximum of six enemies, before dissipating on the seventh hit.[1] In addition, they grant the Ballista Panic! buff for 5 seconds when the player takes damage[2], which increases the sentries' fire rate. The Valhalla Knight armor also greatly increases the fire rate.

Their best modifier is Fabled. The Ballista Staff's best modifier is Ruthless if tag damage cannot be reliably applied, or if the player has at least 75% summon damage bonuses.

Tiers

Ballista RodTier 1
  • Ballista Rod item sprite
9999
Statistics
Type
Weapon
Damage30 (Summon)
Knockback4.7 (Average)
Use time30 (Average)
Velocity1
TooltipSummons a sentry
A slow but high damage tower that shoots piercing bolts
Costs 10 Etherian Mana per use while defending an Eternia Crystal
RarityOrange (Rarity level: 3)
Buy50000*5 Defender Medal
Sell1 GC
Research1 required
Projectiles created
  • Ballista (tier 1)
    Ballista (tier 1)
  • Ballista Shot
    Ballista Shot
Sounds
Use
Tower shot
Ballista CaneTier 2
  • Ballista Cane item sprite
9999
Statistics
Type
Weapon
Damage74 (Summon)
Knockback4.7 (Average)
Use time30 (Average)
Velocity1
TooltipSummons a sentry
A slow but high damage tower that shoots piercing bolts
Costs 10 Etherian Mana per use while defending an Eternia Crystal
RarityPink (Rarity level: 5)
Buy150000*15 Defender Medal
Sell5 GC
Research1 required
Projectiles created
  • Ballista (tier 2)
    Ballista (tier 2)
  • Ballista Shot
    Ballista Shot
Sounds
Use
Tower shot
Ballista StaffTier 3
  • Ballista Staff item sprite
9999
Statistics
Type
Weapon
Damage156 (Summon)
Knockback4.7 (Average)
Use time30 (Average)
Velocity1
TooltipSummons a sentry
A slow but high damage tower that shoots piercing bolts
Costs 10 Etherian Mana per use while defending an Eternia Crystal
RarityYellow (Rarity level: 8)
Buy600000*60 Defender Medal
Sell15 GC
Research1 required
Projectiles created
  • Ballista (tier 3)
    Ballista (tier 3)
  • Ballista Shot
    Ballista Shot
Sounds
Use
Tower shot

Crafting

Shimmer transmutation

ShimmerShimmer(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
OutputInput
Ballista CaneBallista Cane(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Ballista RodBallista Rod(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Ballista StaffBallista Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Explosive Trap CaneExplosive Trap Cane(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Explosive Trap RodExplosive Trap Rod(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Explosive Trap StaffExplosive Trap Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

Notes

  • The Ballista sentries will be summoned on the closest blocks directly below the cursor's position.
  • Completing the Old One's Army event on any difficulty sets a hidden attribute for both the world it was completed on and the character who completed it. Any characters, including newly made ones, who visit that world may then use Rods, Canes, and Staves on any world. The character who completed the event may also use Rods, Canes, and Staves on any world.
  • The Ballista has a cooldown of 2.67 seconds after attacking. If the player is wearing the Valhalla Knight armor, this cooldown is reduced to 1.67 seconds. With the Ballista Panic! buff active, it is reduced to 1 second. If the buff is active and the player is wearing Valhalla Knight armor, the cooldown is reduced even further to 0.5 seconds.[3]
    • The Ballista's attack takes 0.42 seconds[4], so its attack interval is 3.1 seconds (by default), 2.1 seconds (with Valhalla Knight armor), 1.43 seconds (with the Ballista Panic! buff), or 0.93 seconds (with both the armor and the buff).
  • The Ballista Shots applies -1 ticks of local invincibility frames. Local invincibility frames mean that they will not interfere with other projectiles, nor with each other, and -1 ticks mean that a Ballista Shot cannot hit the same target more than once.

Tips

  • The Ballista is slower than the rest of the Tavernkeep's sentry summons, but its damage, range, and piercing capability make it one of the best sentries in the game, especially at higher levels. When combined with the boosts and healing power of the Valhalla Knight armor and an arena with good positioning, they can tear through bosses even up to the Moon Lord.
  • An effective strategy against the Old One's Army is to set up Lightning Aura sentries near the Mysterious Portals and Ballistas closer to the center.
  • Ballistas are often inaccurate against fast-moving targets. In addition, flying enemies during Old One's Army can distract the sentry. To counter this, place a few Ballistas behind the Mysterious Portal so Ballista Shots land within the path of incoming enemies.

Gallery

The Ballista Rod in action.
The Ballista Cane in action.
The Ballista Staff in action.

See also

History

  • Desktop 1.4.4:
    • Reduced Cane and Staff costs from 25 to 15 and 100 to 60 Defender Medals, respectively.
    • Damage increased from 27/67/140 to 30/74/156.
    • Attack cooldown reduced from 3 seconds to 2.67 seconds.
    • Knockback increased from 4.5 to 4.7.
    • Now has a short delay on firing after being summoned.
    • Ballista sentry summons are now used to craft Explosive Trap sentry summons of their respective tier via shimmer.

References

  1. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method NewProjectile() in Terraria.Projectile.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.5.5.
  2. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method Hurt() in Terraria.Player.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.5.5.
  3. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, methods AI_134_Ballista() in Terraria.Projectile.cs and GetBallistraShotDelay() in Terraria.Projectile.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.5.5.
  4. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method AI_134_Ballista() in Terraria.Projectile.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.5.5.
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