Stardust Dragon Staff

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Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.
Stardust Dragon Staff
  • Stardust Dragon Staff item sprite
Auto-use
Stack digit 1.png
Statistics
Type
Damage40 (Summon)
Knockback2 (Very weak)
Mana10
Use time36 (Very slow)
Velocity10
TooltipSummons a stardust dragon to fight for you
'Who needs a horde of minions when you have a giant dragon?'
RarityRarity level: 10
Sell10 GC
Research1 required
Grants Buff
BuffStardust DragonStardust Dragon(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Buff tooltipThe stardust dragon will protect you
Projectiles created
  • Stardust Dragon 1
    Stardust Dragon 1
  • Stardust Dragon 2
    Stardust Dragon 2
  • Stardust Dragon 3
    Stardust Dragon 3
  • Stardust Dragon 4
    Stardust Dragon 4
  • Internal Item ID: 3531 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
  • Internal Buff ID: 188 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
  • Internal Projectile ID: 625, 626, 627, 628
Stardust Dragon minion (1 summon).png
Stardust Dragon minion (2 summons).png
The Stardust Dragon minion summoned once (top) and twice (bottom).
The Stardust Dragon Staff in use.

The Stardust Dragon Staff is a Hardmode, post-Lunatic Cultist summon weapon that summons a Stardust Dragon minion that attacks enemies. The Stardust Dragon constantly flies around the screen surrounding the player and flies through blocks, attacking enemies by flying through them. It leaves a trail of blue sparkles that provide periodic bursts of light as it moves.

The Stardust Dragon Staff is special in that if summoned more than once, multiple Stardust Dragons do not spawn — instead, the first spawned Dragon becomes longer and stronger for each additional summoning, broadening its area of attack and increasing its damage output. The initial summon will spawn a Stardust Dragon with four segments, and each additional summon adds two segments. The damage of the Dragon is calculated by the following formula:[1]

Damage = Base damage × [ 1 + 0.23 × (total segments -1)]

So, the initial damage of a Stardust Dragon would be 67, and each additional summon will increase the damage by 46% of base damage (18 / 19 damage). The Stardust Dragon also hits an enemy ten times per second.

Its best modifier is Ruthless. The Mythical modifier provides the widest array of stat bonuses, but these primarily affect the initial summon rather than the resulting minion. Additionally, minions cannot deal critical hits. The only lasting advantage a Mythical Stardust Dragon Staff has over a Ruthless one is knockback.

Crafting

Recipes

ResultIngredientsCrafting station
Stardust Dragon StaffStardust Dragon Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Ancient ManipulatorAncient Manipulator(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

Notes

  • The Stardust Dragon's size slightly increases after each additional summon.[2]

Tips

  • The Stardust Dragon Staff is useful for farming, as high-level summons of it are capable of killing even the toughest non-boss enemies.
  • With proper summon damage bonuses, the Stardust Dragon can easily take out all bosses, including the Moon Lord.
  • The Dragon will inadvertently damage any entities it flies over, including critters and cultists, which will be killed quickly or instantly. Dispel the Dragon minion or hold the Guide to Critter Companionship in the inventory if one is trying to avoid killing them.
  • The Stardust Dragon has a frequent habit of attacking off-screen enemies. Keep that in mind in case the player is searching for a specific rare item drop.
  • Due to its high amount of damage with many segments, the Firecracker's tag can deal immense amounts of damage in one hit when used alongside it.
  • When picking armor and accessories to maximize the Stardust Dragon's damage, as a general rule, increasing the length of the dragon with additional summons is almost always better than increasing its damage by some percent.

Trivia

  • Although impossible to reach during normal gameplay, the Stardust Dragon's base damage is capped at 500, reached at 51 segments.[1]
  • The Stardust Dragon buff icon is also used internally as the Daybroken debuff icon. It is merely a placeholder icon, as it cannot be inflicted upon players, so the icon never actually displays in-game.
  • The Desert Tiger Staff and Abigail's Flower are the only other summon weapons that do not spawn a new minion but rather enhance the existing one.
  • Its buff tooltip is similar to the buff tooltip for the Stardust Guardian, being "The stardust guardian will protect you" and "The stardust dragon will protect you" respectively.

See also

History

  • Desktop 1.3.0.6:
    • Fixed certain issues with the Stardust Dragon's damage and rebalanced it to be more in line with other minions.
    • Damage decreased from 60 to 40.
  • Desktop 1.3.0.4:
    • Fixed size bugs of the Stardust Dragon.
    • Changed sell price from 20 SC to 10 GC.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method Damage() in Terraria.Projectiles.cs.
  2. Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method AI_121_StardustDragon() in Terraria.Projectiles.cs.