Seekers of the Storm Nerfs

A item-tweaking mod targetting Seekers of the Storm items for v1.3.7, following the first & second balance waves. All stats are fully configurable, and item changes can be individually disabled. This is my first mod, so expect many bugs, and please report any that you find!

Mod Goals

• Bring the power level of the SotS items more in line with that of the base game.
• Remove any bugs or seemingly unintended item effects associated with these items.
• Provide configuration options that both tweak existing stats, and can provide additional functionality.

Tweaks - Tier 1

• Note that tweaks for all items are simply the default values that are set when the config file for this mod is created. You can change them to your heart's content via text editor, r2modman, Gale or Risk of Options!

Bolstering Lantern

• Additional Functionality: Grants 10% attack speed (+10% per stack).
• Attack Speed per Nearby Ally/Enemy: 7.5% => 10%.
• Max Allies/Enemies: 4 (+2 per stack) => 1 (+1 per stack).
• Range: 20m (+5 per stack) => 10m (+5 per stack).
• Range Scaling: Hyperbolic => Linear.

Bolstering Lantern's first stack is very powerful, offering up to 30% attack speed, whereas later stacks become very hard to justify over soldier's syringe, especially with the hyperbolic range scaling. These changes should tone down the power of the first stack, but make subsequent stacks feel more consistent.

Chronic Expansion

• Damage per Kill: 3.5% (+1% per stack) => 5%.
• Max Kills: 10 (+5 per stack) => 5 (+5 per stack).
• Buff Duration: 7s => 7s (+0.5s per stack).
• Refresh Method: On Damage Dealt => On Kill.
• Config option for disabling the timeout sound effect.

Chronic Expansion not only outpaces all other tier 1 damage items, but also scales exponentially. To make other damage items more competitive with this item, it now gives a maximum of 25% damage per stack, still outpacing watches and crystals, but only if you're able to keep up with the ever-increasing kill requirement. Refresh method has been changed to on kill to make it less easy to maintain a killstreak, and increased timeout duration at high stacks to compensate.

Elusive Antlers

• Base Movement Speed: 0% => 5% (+5% per stack).
• Movement Speed per Wisp: 12% => 15%.
• Max Wisps: 3 (+1 per stack) => 1 (+1 per stack).
• Orb Interval: 10s (-10% per stack) => 10s.
• Buff Duration: 12s => 15s.

This item is in an odd state post v.1.3.7, as the first stack is very powerful, but all subsequent stacks are less powerful than a Goat Hoof. To rectify this, each stack of Elusive Antlers is more powerful than a Goat Hoof, but requires more effort to maintain a high movement speed bonus.

Warped Echo

• Additional Functionality: Only activated by instances of damage that deal more than 25% max health, after armour.
• Additional Functionality: The first echo is delayed by 2s.
• Damage Reduction: 20% => 3% (+3% per stack) (scaling hyperbolically).
• Echo Count: 3 (+1 per stack) => 4 (+2 per stack).
• Echo Interval: 0.75s => 0.25s.
• Cooldown: 15s => 30s.

Warped Echo suffers from an identity crisis post-v.1.3.6-rework, clashing with opal in it's functionality. These changes give it a solid niche - allowing the player to better react to large bursts of damage. Cooldown has been increased to a flat 30s to compensate for it's increased power, and the damage reduction now stacks to give more value to stacking the item. It should only activate when opal fails to block enough damage.

Tweaks - Tier 2

Breaching Fin

• No changes, but has many config options!

Post v.1.3.7 this item is, in my opinion, a balanced item.

Chance Doll

• No changes, but proc chance can be changed via the config.

Definitely strong, but not overtuned in my opinion.

Luminous Shot

• Proc Coefficient: 1 => 0.7.
• Strike Interval: 0.2s => 0.1s.
• Config option for charging upon Utility and Special usage.

Adjusted proc coefficient to prevent this item from being a proc machine, and reduced strike interval to prevent fast enemies like elders from simply walking out of the AoE, or flying enemies getting knocked out of the AoE via damage force.

Noxious Thorn

• Range: 20m (+5m per stack) => 12 (+4m per stack).
• Config option for adding an independent burn chance.

As much as I love this item and didn't want to nerf it, it is fundamentally too strong. It's range has been adjusted to bring it in line with Gasoline and Will-o'-the-wisp.

Prayer Beads

• Item description overhaul to include previously hidden information.
• Bonus Stats: 20% (+5% per stack) => 10% (+10% per stack).
• Bonus Stat Calculation: Based on stacks before removal => Based on number of stacks removed.

This item has always been a little vague in it's functionality, so the item description has been updated to include more information. Furthermore, each stack of the item is consistent and grants stats based on the number of stacks removed, no longer requiring you to gamble on printers to see substantial effects.

Sale Star

• No changes, but base bonus items and chance of extra items can be tweaked via the config.

Definitely a strong item, but adds a lot to the decision space of the game, so IMO doesn't need nerfing.

Unstable Transmitter

• Adjusted item description to correctly reflect the shield it grants.

Post v.1.3.7, this is still a strong item, but far more balanced IMO, so hasn't warranted any changes. Has config options for reverting it to v1.3.6 functionality.

Tweaks - Tier 3

Electric Boomerang

• Base Damage: 124% (+124% per stack) => 100% (+100% per stack)
• Spin Percentage Damage: 40% => 25%.

This item is very good for activating other items, but deals a tad too much damage for the value it adds to a build.

Growth Nectar

• Stat Boost: 4% => 4% (+4% per stack).
• Max Buffs: 4 (+4 per stack) => 10.

Post v.1.3.7 this item actually feels a little underpowered for a legendary. To change this, I've vastly raised the limit on max buffs, and attached scaling to the stat boost instead of the max buffs. This will make the item noticeably more powerful on survivors with the ability to acquire extra buffs, like Bandit, Seeker and Void Fiend.

Runic Lens

• Activation Chance: 3% => 2%.
• Overspill Activation Chance: 3% (+3% per stack) => 2% (+2% per stack)

Runic Lens' damage potential alongside it's 0.5 proc coefficient makes it extremely strong, so toning down it's activation chance seems appropriate.

Sonorous Whispers

• Boss Drop Chance: 100% => 65% (+5% per stack)

Guaranteed boss drops are simply far too strong given the existence of combat and mountain shrines, the tendency for the game to spawn 3+ bosses after looping, in addition to the chance of elites dropping items. 50% proved too weak, and 75% proved still too strong.

War Bonds

• Additional Functionality: Now grants 10 (+10 per stack) gold on shrine use, scaling with time.
• Damage: 2.5% max health (+2.5% per stack) => 2500% base damage.
• Base Missiles: 5 => 1.
• Max Missiles: 20 (+5 per stack) => 10 (+5 per stack).
• Missile Gold Requirement: 50 => 150.
• Missile Interval: 0.3s => 0.75s.
• Now explodes on contact with enemies.
• No longer deals pass-through damage.
• Can no longer gain additional missiles on stages where the teleporter has begun charging.

The item's %health damage is a little too strong, and is able to chunk final bosses like Mithrix, Voidling and False Son with ease. Vastly upping the gold requirement and changing missile damage to base damage makes the item scale differently - the missiles are strong early game when it is hardest to acquire them, and become weaker in the late game where enemies have a lot of health but it is much easier to gain them. A small bit of utility has been added to the item to give it value beyond boss-killing.

Potential Future Changes

• Include configuration options for Longstanding Solitude and Seed of Life.
• Fix Bolstering Lantern's somewhat inaccurate enemy detection.
• Provide configuration options for Warped Echo to respect Armor and Block.
• Provide configuration options for Chance Doll to tweak shrine of chance success.
• Fix War Bonds projectiles consistently whiffing against Magma & Overloading Worms.
• Fix the NREs associated with Elusive Antlers

Known Bugs

• Disabling Chronic Expansion timeout sound effects also disables the visual flashing timeout effect.
• The first echo of Warped Echo does not register if the first hit delay is set to less than ~0.2s.
• Increasing the area of effect of Luminous Shot and Runic Lens does not update the VFX.
• War Bonds Missiles deflect erratically off Xi Construct shields (it does look cool as hell though).
• More to come, I'm certain.

Changelog

v.1.2.0

• Mod updated for v1.3.7!
• Tweaked a few default stats.
• Removed Config option for remove bleed on Electric Boomerang as this bug has been fixed in vanilla.
• Added additional Config options for Unstable Transmitter to reflect it's changed functionality:
  • Can consume one, or all stacks of the item upon use.
  • Can set the ready buff to visible to indicate when a charge is ready.

v1.1.1

• Fixed a couple incorrect default values.

v1.1.0

• Added a whole bunch of new War Bonds configuration options!
  • Can deal Base damage instead of %Health damage. This is enabled by default!
  • Can grant a small portion of gold on shrine use. This is enabled by default!
  • Gold scaling exponent to adjust how the item scales into the late game.
  • Chat notifications for gold requirement.
  • Fixed a bug where War Bonds would only require 25 gold for the first missile gained each stage, regardless of the config setting.
• Growth Nectar now correctly boosts acceleration alongside speed. This is enabled by default!
• Warped Echo now displays the ACTUAL cooldown (30s instead of 10s) in the README. Oops.
• Default stat tweaks:
  • Elusive Antlers movespeed: 6% (+6% per stack) => 7% (+7% per stack).
  • Noxious Thorn range: 20m (+5m per stack) => 12 (+4m per stack).
  • Sonorous Whispers boss drop chance: 75% (+5% per stack) => 65% (+5% per stack).
  • Unstable Transmitter cooldown: 75s => 90s.

v1.0.2

• Correctly updated the BepInEx plugin version. Whoops.

v1.0.1

• You can now actually disable the unconditional Bolstering Lantern attack speed in the config.
• Updated information on Sonorous Whispers in the README to correctly reflect its changes.
• Reverted default Luminous Shot damage and secondary CDR to vanilla (125% => 175% and 25% => 20% respectively)
• Changed default Warped Echo damage reduction from 4% (+4% per stack) to 3% (+3% per stack).

v1.0.0

• Now exists!

Credits

• .score for creating a Plugin Config template.
• iDeathHD for creating a helper for getting pesky anonymous methods.