Ballista sentry summons

The Ballista Rod, Cane, and Staff are special sentry summon weapons that summon a Ballista sentry minion at the point clicked. Each Ballista sentry is a large automated crossbow device on the ground that fires piercing spears at approaching enemies. The Rod is sold by the Tavernkeep for 5 Defender Medals, the Cane for 25, and the Staff for 100.

The Rod is always available. The Cane becomes available after defeating one Mechanical Boss, and the Staff becomes available after defeating Golem. The three different versions cause an identical effect, but with varying statistics, with the Staff being the most expensive and the most powerful.

These weapons can only be used outside of the Old One's Army event after the event has been successfully completed. Completing the event on any difficulty allows Rods, Canes, and Staves alike to be used outside of the event.

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.

Its best Modifier is Ruthless. The Mythical modifier presents a wider array of stat bonuses, but most of these apply to the initial summoning, and not to the resulting Ballista. Additionally, Minions cannot deal critical hits. The only significant advantage the Mythical modifier has over Ruthless is in knockback.

Ballista sentries are boosted by the Squire armor and Valhalla Knight armor set bonuses, which grant Ballista Panic! when the player takes damage. Ballista Panic! doubles the fire rate of Ballista sentries for 3 seconds after taking damage.

Tips

 * The Explosive trap fires instantly after its attack cooldown ends. This also means it will attack instantly on being summoned. Rapid summoning will dramatically increase its natural firing rate at the cost of high mana consumption. This style of usage can be effective against mobs that are too powerful to die to a single shot, and can be useful in boss fights as long as there are suitable placement options. To maximize this effect, this sentry can be set directly on an enemy that is near the ground.
 * Despite piercing it doesn't add invincibility frames.