A spear from Queen Slime could be cool! maybe it shoots 3 crystal shards upon impact?
Oh and a King Slime one would be good, because it will give an early game alternate option!

an accessory that makes a small spear from the back would be cool lol

Well the dev is collecting suggestions from the Steam page and the YouTube comments but I see no reason to not put them all in one place regardless to make that easier, so here's three I had shared on YouTube along with some other ideas:

1) (Repost) Potions that manipulate the weakpoint variables in some way would be neat. Whether they're simple increases or even a potion that greatly increases weakpoint damage but decreases weakpoint size as an example.

2) (Repost) An additional accessory focused on Armor Penetration especially on weakpoint hits. As just an example, combining a Shark Tooth Necklace with bones creates a Shark Jaw Amulet, which increases Armor Penetration by 5 and increases Armor Penetration by 50% on weakpoint hits. Which could then potentially be upgraded again in Hardmode to double Armor Pen on weakpoint hits instead of the 50% increase.

3) (Repost) A spear that gains a stacking damage bonus for every weakpoint hit, but the bonus resets on non-weakpoint hits. (Addition to this) Maybe this could be a side-grade to the North Pole being a post-Plantera Dungeon tier spear that trades off the projectiles for this effect? Like it could be crafted with a Chlorophyte Partisan and Ectoplasm/Spectre Bars.

4) Another side-grade, this time to the Dark Lance. Could be a Deerclops drop and make it a Don't Starve weapon. For example the Obsidian Spear from Don't Starve has a charge mechanic, dealing more damage and producing heat and light for each hit. I could see this being a precursor to the spear I proposed in idea three, gaining damage on weakpoint hits and eventually igniting foes on hit. Though I don't think the part in DS where this weapon could burn you under certain circumstances should be added because that would punish the player for hitting weakpoints too often, which is a bad thing. Either that could just not be transferred at all or be transferred under heavy changes, like a weakpoint hit at max charges creates a high damage flame explosion (that doesn't damage the player of course) and resets the charges.

5) A spear that drops from Vampires in a post-Plantera Eclipse. Has some sort of life drain effect (so that Corruption players can get a life draining weapon because Vamp Knives and Life Drain are Crimson gear). For a bit of reference fun it could be themed after Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula. Going with the Vlad the Impaler + lifesteal effect ideas, weakpoint hits could impale the enemy with a stake, slowing enemies and dealing damage over time that you heal from.

I like idea 5!

Originally posted by Donnchadh4859:

Well the dev is collecting suggestions from the Steam page and the YouTube comments but I see no reason to not put them all in one place regardless to make that easier, so here's three I had shared on YouTube along with some other ideas:

1) (Repost) Potions that manipulate the weakpoint variables in some way would be neat. Whether they're simple increases or even a potion that greatly increases weakpoint damage but decreases weakpoint size as an example.

2) (Repost) An additional accessory focused on Armor Penetration especially on weakpoint hits. As just an example, combining a Shark Tooth Necklace with bones creates a Shark Jaw Amulet, which increases Armor Penetration by 5 and increases Armor Penetration by 50% on weakpoint hits. Which could then potentially be upgraded again in Hardmode to double Armor Pen on weakpoint hits instead of the 50% increase.

3) (Repost) A spear that gains a stacking damage bonus for every weakpoint hit, but the bonus resets on non-weakpoint hits. (Addition to this) Maybe this could be a side-grade to the North Pole being a post-Plantera Dungeon tier spear that trades off the projectiles for this effect? Like it could be crafted with a Chlorophyte Partisan and Ectoplasm/Spectre Bars.

4) Another side-grade, this time to the Dark Lance. Could be a Deerclops drop and make it a Don't Starve weapon. For example the Obsidian Spear from Don't Starve has a charge mechanic, dealing more damage and producing heat and light for each hit. I could see this being a precursor to the spear I proposed in idea three, gaining damage on weakpoint hits and eventually igniting foes on hit. Though I don't think the part in DS where this weapon could burn you under certain circumstances should be added because that would punish the player for hitting weakpoints too often, which is a bad thing. Either that could just not be transferred at all or be transferred under heavy changes, like a weakpoint hit at max charges creates a high damage flame explosion (that doesn't damage the player of course) and resets the charges.

5) A spear that drops from Vampires in a post-Plantera Eclipse. Has some sort of life drain effect (so that Corruption players can get a life draining weapon because Vamp Knives and Life Drain are Crimson gear). For a bit of reference fun it could be themed after Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula. Going with the Vlad the Impaler + lifesteal effect ideas, weakpoint hits could impale the enemy with a stake, slowing enemies and dealing damage over time that you heal from.

I like idea 5! maybe have it so the spear gets stuck in the enemy like how a javelin does? Maybe like it stacks to 50 damage, over double of the average javelin?

Oooo
That could be cool!

Grouping ideas is cool, thank you :)

np :)

So I have some more thoughts I've been brainstorming that I want to put out there:

1) I was thinking that towards endgame Ranger gets armor with alt pieces for different ranged weapon types, I was thinking about the possibility of alternate helmets for select melee armors built for the spear subclass in particular. Just as an example, an alternate Solar Helmet (styled after a Corinthian helmet) trading crit chance for weakpoint damage (since weakpoint hits auto crit anyway) and even, if you wanted to go a little farther, changing up the set bonus so instead of a shield allowing for a dash and exploding when enemies touch you, it builds up charges that discharge on weakpoint hits (and still allow the dash for reasons I'll get into more in my second idea).

2) Since a core part of this mod is maneuvering around enemies to hit weakpoints, extra movement options is key (which is why in the above option the dash is still there) from grappling hooks, to multiple jumps, to dashes. There's already a tiny bit of this shown in the Trident's increased mobility in liquids, which is why I want to suggest possible additional spears that have movement abilities on right click. Some example ideas I had are:
a) A Phaseblade/Phasesaber equivalent spear that on weakpoint hits builds up a charge (up to 1/3 for blade/sabers respectively) and on right click it consumes a charge to make the player dash towards the cursor.
b) An underground-themed spear that on right click slams the player to the ground and (if possible) knocks nearby enemies upwards.
c) A lategame spear that restores a fraction of your wing time on weakpoint hits based on a portion of the damage dealt (just as an example, half a second of flight time per 100 damage or so).

3) Now this last idea also is a spear with a movement option but I'm listing it separately because it's a lot more out there and is probably less fitting (but is also one I really like a lot and I've been taught in my engineering classes to share any of my ideas because even if they aren't used, they could inspire a different idea). A Hardmode upgrade to the Storm Spear called the Thunderhead. Crafted with the Storm Spear, a Nimbus Rod, and some rain clouds at a Crystal Ball (or maybe Hardmode Anvil). Right clicking with the Thunderhead creates a cloud at the cursor that acts as a grapple point. Thunderhead lacks the bolt of electricity that the Storm Spear fires with every thrust, instead on weakpoint hits a bolt of lightning fires from the deployed cloud to the struck enemy. Thunderhead can later be upgraded again using a Daybreak and a Sky Fracture at the Ancient Manipulator to create the Silver Lining. The Silver Lining shares a similar but improved grapple point cloud mechanic but on weakpoint hits fires Daybreak (or Daybreak-like) spears at the struck enemy.

Originally posted by Donnchadh4859:

So I have some more thoughts I've been brainstorming that I want to put out there:

1) I was thinking that towards endgame Ranger gets armor with alt pieces for different ranged weapon types, I was thinking about the possibility of alternate helmets for select melee armors built for the spear subclass in particular. Just as an example, an alternate Solar Helmet (styled after a Corinthian helmet) trading crit chance for weakpoint damage (since weakpoint hits auto crit anyway) and even, if you wanted to go a little farther, changing up the set bonus so instead of a shield allowing for a dash and exploding when enemies touch you, it builds up charges that discharge on weakpoint hits (and still allow the dash for reasons I'll get into more in my second idea).

2) Since a core part of this mod is maneuvering around enemies to hit weakpoints, extra movement options is key (which is why in the above option the dash is still there) from grappling hooks, to multiple jumps, to dashes. There's already a tiny bit of this shown in the Trident's increased mobility in liquids, which is why I want to suggest possible additional spears that have movement abilities on right click. Some example ideas I had are:
a) A Phaseblade/Phasesaber equivalent spear that on weakpoint hits builds up a charge (up to 1/3 for blade/sabers respectively) and on right click it consumes a charge to make the player dash towards the cursor.
b) An underground-themed spear that on right click slams the player to the ground and (if possible) knocks nearby enemies upwards.
c) A lategame spear that restores a fraction of your wing time on weakpoint hits based on a portion of the damage dealt (just as an example, half a second of flight time per 100 damage or so).

3) Now this last idea also is a spear with a movement option but I'm listing it separately because it's a lot more out there and is probably less fitting (but is also one I really like a lot and I've been taught in my engineering classes to share any of my ideas because even if they aren't used, they could inspire a different idea). A Hardmode upgrade to the Storm Spear called the Thunderhead. Crafted with the Storm Spear, a Nimbus Rod, and some rain clouds at a Crystal Ball (or maybe Hardmode Anvil). Right clicking with the Thunderhead creates a cloud at the cursor that acts as a grapple point. Thunderhead lacks the bolt of electricity that the Storm Spear fires with every thrust, instead on weakpoint hits a bolt of lightning fires from the deployed cloud to the struck enemy. Thunderhead can later be upgraded again using a Daybreak and a Sky Fracture at the Ancient Manipulator to create the Silver Lining. The Silver Lining shares a similar but improved grapple point cloud mechanic but on weakpoint hits fires Daybreak (or Daybreak-like) spears at the struck enemy.

Silver Lining is kinda like a Zenith Tier Spear, But Y'know, Unique? I Like It!

Hi. I really enjoyed your mod. It is a brilliant idea to rework the spearman subclass by using these weak points. I spent a whole day testing this mod and if I may, I would like to suggest how you can improve this great mod.

While I was testing this mod I found that cooldown of weak points is independent of whether the weak point was used or not. We can use this mechanic as a trick by waiting 8-9 seconds, then hit a weak point and new one will appear 1-2 seconds later. But also, it can be extremely annoying during a fight with fast enemies. You can try to get into position to hit the weak point of an enemy, but as soon as you get a chance to hit the weak point, it will disappear because it took more than 10 seconds to get into position for a strike. Moreover, when using Studies in Mechanical and Universal Anatomy together we have only 1 second to maneuver and hit the weak point. The truly genius idea of reworking spears by using weak points loses a bit of its logic because, in the vast majority of cases, the player has no chance to maneuver and hit the weak point in just one second. We should understand that the main goal for a player is still not to take damage from the boss. That's why most players won't play around enemy weak points that are constantly changing, regardless of whether they were triggered or not. Players will simply fight the boss using only the weak points that will appear right in front of them.

A simple and, IMHO more logically correct solution is to have a cooldown for weak points that only starts when the current weak point has been used. That way we give players the ability to constantly play around weak points. But now (playing with the two hi-end accessories from this mod) weak points look like a random chance to do extra huge critical damage if a player is lucky enough to get a weak point right in front of him.

And we still have a trick to change a weak point by swapping an active slot to anything other than a spear and going back to a spear. This trick will be extremely useful in boss fights with bosses like Twins, as it's almost impossible to hit the weak point without taking damage if it's behind the eye (I've tested this a lot😅).

Sorry for the long post, but I am truly excited about the idea of this mod and really wanna help to improve it. It's funny, but it took me about three hours to put my idea into words and write this post.🙃
I hope it is clear, because my English is not good enough.🥲

@Despair This is definitely something I noticed while testing, and could be tweaked easily
I will be updating the mod sometime in the (near) future, and will make this change when that happens 👍
Right now, Orchid is eating all of my modding time

@Verveine Yes, thank you. Also, I'd like to suggest a slight rebalancing of the accessory recipes. Particularly Parrot Quill - I think it should be combined with Studies In Anatomy, because we can summon Pirate Invasion and get Parrot Quill much sooner than defeating all three mechanical bosses to create Studies In Mechanical Anatomy. Also, big weak points will help a lot with difficult battles with mechanical bosses, especially if you play on Master Mod difficulty or even Legendary with FTW or GFB world seeds (I would really like to play through GFB using only spears with your mod).

But honestly, I would fundamentally change the accessory recipes if I were on your place. I think it would be more logical to give the "Spear weakpoints are lager" property to Magnifying Glass, and add a new accessory that will increase spear weakpoint damage - maybe like Sharp Shark Fin that will be dropped by sharks.
This way we can create Studies in Organic Anatomy from Anatomical Doll, Magnifying Glass and Sharp Shark Fin.
IMHO, the bonus of large weakpoints is especially necessary before hardmode, because particularly pre-hardmode game character have quite serious problems with mobility (due to the lack of wings, fast maunts, etc.).
The ability to increase the area of weak points will be especially useful in the battle with the Wall of Flesh, and will allow you to play around weak points in the hardest situations even at an early stage of the game.

What about Studies In Mechanical Anatomy? In my opinion, we can make this recipe: Anatomical Doll, Magnifying Glass and Mechanical Glove. With the Mechanical Glove, our Studies would be a little more mechanical, lol.

And what about Studies In Universal Anatomy? Wait, let's save that upgrade for the post-Plantera game stage. I was thinking how else would we boost spears while still leaving them as true melee weapons? And realized it's time to bring up the Parrot Quill, and turn it into a Giant Parrot Quill! What would it do? Nothing!😆 What can one feather do by itself? But we'll need it for the Bunch of Giant Feathers! Okay, we already have the Giant Harpy Feather in the vanilla game. But I don't think two feathers are enough for a Bunch of Feathers, so we can add another one - Giant Vulture Feather (but it's something you'll have to add to the game like you did with Parrot Quill, if you like my idea and decide to implement it).

So, now we can craft Bunch of Giant Feathers and according to my idea this accessory will significantly increase the size of the spear, something like +50% to the size. But this accessory could have another function if you come up with something more interesting. For example, I was reading ideas of other guys in Steam and on YouTube, they mentioned the ability to throw spears, this ability just can be provided by this accessory, which makes sense like Giant Feathers + Giant Spears = Giant Flying Spears, lol.

Okay, now we have 3 components to make Studies In Universal Anatomy, but I said I'd save this upgrade for the post-Plantera game stage.
So I suggest that we can add a few more feathers to our bunch. Particularly, I'm referring to the three other unique feathers that we already have in the vanilla game.
Ice Feather, Fire Feather and Bone Feather + Bunch of Giant Feathers = Bunch of Universal Feather!
My idea is that with this bunch our melee attacks will inflict 3 debuffs to the enemy - Hellfire, Frostbite and Shadowflame for 10 seconds.

Now our Bunch of Universal Feathers looks like something that can be combined with Studies in Organic Anatomy and Studies In Mechanical Anatomy to create the long awaited Studies In Universal Anatomy!😱

If you'd like to implement my ideas and suggestions, I've sketched out the specs for the new and affected accessories, for your convenience (as I see them to be +-balanced)😊

Magnifying Glass provides:
-Spear weakpoins are larger

Sharp Shark Fin provides:
-30% increased spear weakpoint damage

Studies in Organic Anatomy provides:
-Spears weakpoints cycle 30% faster
-Spear weakpoins are larger
-30% increased spear weakpoint damage

Studies In Mechanical Anatomy provides:
-Spears weakpoints cycle 30% faster
-Spear weakpoins are larger
-Doubles melee knockback
-12% increased melee damage & weapon swing speed
-Enables auto swing for melee weapons & whips
-Increases melee weapon size by 10%

Bunch of Giant Feathers provides:
-Bonus like ability to throw spears or just +n% to the size of spears

Bunch of Universal Feathers provides:
-Bonus like ability to throw spears or just +n% to the size of spears
-Melee attacks inflict Hellfire, Frostbite and Shadowflame for 10 seconds

Studies In Universal Anatomy provides:
-Spears weakpoints cycle 90% faster
-Spear weakpoins are MUCH larger (x2 of Magnifying Glass glass boost)
-100% increased spear weakpoint damage
-Doubles melee knockback, 12% increased melee damage & weapon swing speed
-Enables auto swing for melee weapons & whips
-Increases melee weapon size by 10%
-Melee attacks inflict Hellfire, Frostbite and Shadowflame for 10 seconds
-AND Bunch of Giant Feathers bonus like ability to throw spears or just +n% to the size of spears