Summon weapons

Not to be confused with Summoning items.

For a sortable list of all available summon weapons, along with their stats for comparison, see List of summon weapons.

Summon weapons are a type of weapon that spawns secondary characters that will aid the player during battle by automatically attacking enemies within range. They deal summon damage and cannot be hurt or killed.

The characters spawned by most summon weapons fall into one of two categories: minions and sentries. Minions are mobile characters that follow the player, while sentries remain stationary. Additionally, the set bonuses of the Stardust armor, Chlorophyte armor, and Forbidden armor will summon an entity to fight for the player in a manner similar to minions.

Whips are related weapons that deal summon damage without summoning any minions. Hitting an enemy with a whip causes a player's minions and sentries to target it immediately. Some whips have bonus effects which can be activated by minions, but not by sentries.

There are currently 26 summon weapons on the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version, and  tModLoader version, 19 on the  Old Chinese version and  tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version, 11 on the  Old-gen console version and  Windows Phone version, and 5 on the Nintendo 3DS version.

Minions

Minions are mobile characters. They follow the player indefinitely until the player dies, summons a replacement minion, manually cancels their buff, or exits the world. There are several different minions available, some of which can walk or fly, and attack using melee or ranged means. A minion costs mana to summon initially, but follows the player indefinitely thereafter at no further cost.

Minions provide an ongoing source of damage against enemies which requires little or no attention from the player. The common limit of all minions is that each has a limited rate of attack and damage, but the different types also have various limits to their movement and/or attacks.

Minions follow players in a manner similar to pets, flying and passing through blocks as necessary to keep pace with the player's movements, though most cannot move through blocks for the purposes of attacking. Exceptions are the minions summoned by Abigail's Flower, Tempest Staff, Xeno Staff, Desert Tiger Staff, Stardust Dragon Staff, Blade Staff, Sanguine Staff, and Terraprisma, all of which can attack through blocks.

Targeting graphic for moving targets

Targeting graphic for stationary targets

On the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version,  tModLoader version, and  tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version, it is possible to press ⚷ Interact with a minion-summoning item. This will direct the respective minion to target the entity nearest to the cursor. As long as the minions have their target within their line of sight, they will specifically attack it. The targeted enemy will show swirling white curves on it. The targeted enemy will show swirling purple particles which will trail behind a moving enemy, or circle in front of a stationary one (see images).

By default, a player can only have a single minion summoned at once. Various boosts can raise the player's minion capacity ("slots"), allowing multiple simultaneous minions. With minion cap boosts in effect, the same minion can be summoned multiple times, or several different minions can be summoned. Minion cap boosts do not affect pets or light pets. If the minion cap later drops below the number of minions in use, minions are randomly chosen and dismissed until the number of minions is below the current cap. Minions vanish when their player leaves the world, and are not re-summoned when the player re-enters that or another world.

The Spider Staff (on  Old-gen console,  Windows Phone,  Old Chinese, and  tModLoader Legacy), Optic Staff, Stardust Dragon Staff, Abigail's Flower, and Desert Tiger Staff have special minion capacity logic. See their pages for details.

Sentries

Sentries are stationary characters. Unlike minions, sentries do not follow the player, and will instead remain rooted in place. In normal use, sentries will last for a fixed ten minutes before vanishing; unlike minions, they can persist even after their owner dies. During the Old One's Army event, this time limit does not apply (see below for details).

By default, a player can only have a single sentry summoned at once. Tavernkeep armor and Old One's Army accessories (see below) can raise the player's sentry capacity, allowing multiple simultaneous sentries. Note that these accessories do not stack with each other, so the maximum sentry limit is 6: 1 by default, +1 from an accessory, +1 from a War Table, and +3 from armor. With sentry cap boosts in effect, the same sentry can be summoned multiple times, or several different sentries can be summoned. On the  Old-gen console version,  Windows Phone version,  Old Chinese version, and Nintendo 3DS version, the player is limited to only summoning one of each sentry type, with no way to raise the cap.

A waiting sentry goes into a reuse cooldown after attacking, before it can try to attack again. This cooldown is bypassed initially on summoning, which can dramatically increase sentry attack speed at the cost of greater mana expense. Since sentries do not suffer from Mana Sickness, this can be a viable way to deliver high damage at long range when using a sentry that attacks instantly.

Tavernkeep's sentries

    

PC/Console/Mobile/tModLoader/tModLoader 1.3-Legacy-Only Content: This section's information applies only to the PC, Console, Mobile, tModLoader, and tModLoader Legacy versions of Terraria.

Sentries summoned by items from the Tavernkeep are associated with the Old One's Army event. They are purchased with Defender Medals (instead of coins), which are awarded only during the event. At first, they can only be used within the event, where they will remain placed until the end of the event. Each sentry summoned will cost 10 Etherian Mana; at the beginning of the event, the player immediately gets the 10 Etherian Mana for their first sentry, and can collect more as they kill enemies. Sentries summoned with Etherian Mana are not subject to sentry limits (see above). Other sentries can be used in the event, but will have their usual mana cost, duration, and sentry limits.

Each of the Tavernkeep's sentry summon weapons come in three tiers: Rod, Cane, and Staff; with the Staff being the most expensive and the most powerful. The Tavernkeep's various armor sets each enhance one of his four sentry types; see his article for full details.

After the event is completed once, these can be used outside the event, and will then function as normal sentries, costing ordinary mana to summon (5 points per tier) and lasting the usual two minutes. Etherian Mana cannot be used outside the event, so the usual sentry limits apply: By default only one sentry can be summoned at once, but armor sold by the Tavernkeep, and accessories dropped by event bosses such as Ogres, can raise a player's sentry limit. This limit increase does include non-Tavernkeep sentries such as the Queen Spider. Again, the accessories do not stack with each other.

Whips

   

PC/Console/Mobile/tModLoader-Only Content: This section's information applies only to the PC, Console, Mobile, and tModLoader versions of Terraria.

Whips are unlike other summon weapons, and instead act more like a traditional weapon. When used, whips will perform a normal attack which costs no mana, swiping in a wide cone towards the cursor or wherever aimed. Whips deal summon damage, and as such cannot deal critical hits. All whips can pierce infinitely in their range, but will deal progressively less damage to each additional enemy they hit, until they start dealing 1 damage. Whips all vary in size as well. The severity of damage loss from piercing and the size of whips typically goes down and up, respectively, as whips get stronger.

Despite being summon weapons, whips are affected by some effects which only work on melee weapons, only get melee modifiers, and have a limited range like melee weapons. Whips are affected by any boosts to melee speed (such as Feral Claws and its upgrades), as well as flasks and the autoswing toggle feature. Whips are not affected by boosts to melee damage or the Titan Glove's boost to melee weapon size.

A feature of whips is how they make minions and summons target the enemy hit, the same way that other summon weapons can target enemies. Whips can only target enemies by hitting them, unlike those other summon weapons. The enemy targeted will always be the last enemy hit by the whip, usually the furthest enemy away from the player that gets hit.

The main feature of whips is their summon tag damage, which increases the damage of each minion hit by a set amount. Two endgame whips also feature summon tag critical strike chance, which enables summons to deal critical hits. This summon tag critical strike chance cannot be increased by any other boosts to critical strike chance. Summon tag effects will affect both minions and sentries.

Some whips feature unique buffs and debuffs, aside from the common debuffs of Poisoned and On Fire! that two whips can inflict. Two whips feature debuffs which activate an effect when the enemy with the debuff is hit by a minion. These two debuffs are also universal; even universally immune enemies like The Destroyer can be affected by whip debuffs. The buffs that whips have are mostly boosts to melee speed, which get progressively more potent for stronger, later whips. These melee speed buffs are not exclusive to the whips that grant them, and will actually affect not only other whips, but also melee weapons in general. The Cool Whip currently features the only buff that does not affect melee speed; its buff creates a damaging projectile that lasts for 3 seconds after the last time the whip hit something.

Pre-Hardmode

Minions

Item		Minion	Damage	Source	Notes
	Abigail's Flower	Abigail	6	Found on grass near placed Tombstones.	The flower on top of Abigail's head changes shape and/or color every time she is summoned.
	Finch Staff	Finch	7	Found in Living Wood Chests. Starting item in Journey Mode. Throwing a Living Wood Wand into Shimmer.	Does not trigger invulnerability.
	Flinx Staff	Flinx	8	Crafted: 6  + 10  ( @  ) or 6  + 10  ( @  )
	Slime Staff	Baby Slime	8	Dropped by most slime types and Slimed Zombie.
	Vampire Frog Staff	Vampire Frog	11	Dropped by Zombie Merman and Wandering Eye Fish.
	Hornet Staff	Hornet	12 / 9	Crafted: 14  ( @  /  )	Inflicts the Poisoned debuff to most enemies.
	Imp Staff	Imp	17 / 21	Crafted: 17  ( @  /  )	Inflicts the On Fire! debuff to most enemies.

Sentries

Standard

Item		Sentry	Damage	Source	Notes
	Houndius Shootius	Houndius Shootius	24	Dropped by Deerclops.

Tavernkeep's sentries

Item	Sentry	Damage	Source	Notes
Lightning Aura Rod	Lightning Aura	4	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Flameburst Rod	Flameburst Tower	17	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Explosive Trap Rod	Explosive Trap	24	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Ballista Rod	Ballista	30	Sold by Tavernkeep.

Whips

Item			Damage	Source	Notes
	Leather Whip		14	Purchased from the Zoologist (10).	4 summon tag damage. Damage reduced by 50% each hit in a single swing.
	Snapthorn		18	Crafted: 12  + 3  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 15  + 3  + 12  ( @  /  )	6 summon tag damage. Hitting enemies increases attack speed with the Jungle's Fury buff. Damage reduced by 40% each hit in a single swing.
	Spinal Tap		27	Crafted: 90  + 55  ( @  )	7 summon tag damage. Performs better against multiple targets than most whips. Damage reduced by 10% each hit in a single swing.

Hardmode

Minions

Item		Minion	Damage	Source	Notes
	Spider Staff	Spider	26 / 25	Crafted: 16  ( @  /  )	Inflicts the Venom debuff. Each spider counts for 75% of a slot, though the player still cannot summon one with less than a full slot remaining.
	Sanguine Staff	Sanguine Bat	35	Dropped by Dreadnautilus.	Stays in the same position in relation to the player.
	Pirate Staff	Pirate	40 / 32	Dropped by Pirates and Flying Dutchman.	Does not trigger invulnerability.
	Blade Staff	Enchanted Dagger	6	Dropped by Queen Slime .	Ignores 25 defense. Does not trigger invulnerability. Stays in the same position in relation to the player, flies through blocks to attack enemies.
	Optic Staff	Twins	24	Crafted: + 2  + 12  + 20  ( @  /  )	Crafted: 1  + 2  + 12  + 20  ( @  /  )
	Pygmy Staff	Pygmy	40 / 34 / 27	Dropped by Plantera.	Inflicts Poisoned or Venom debuff to most enemies.
	Desert Tiger Staff	Desert Tiger	41	Found in Desert Chest.	Does not trigger invulnerability. Will change form at 4 and 7 summoned minions. It will increase damage and the tigers speed for each summon for up to 9 summons. Zap through blocks to attack enemies.
	Deadly Sphere Staff	Deadly Sphere	40	Dropped by Deadly Sphere.
	Raven Staff	Raven	55 / 37	Dropped by Pumpking.	Does not trigger invulnerability.
	Xeno Staff	UFO	36	Dropped by Martian Saucer.	Attacks are instantaneous and cannot miss.
	Tempest Staff	Sharknado	50	Dropped by Duke Fishron.	Both Sharknado and Mini Sharkrons can hit an enemy.
	Stardust Dragon Staff	Stardust Dragon	40	Crafted: 18  ( @  )	Each extra minion summoned adds a segment to the main Dragon, increasing damage. Flies through blocks to attack enemies.
	Stardust Cell Staff	Stardust Cell	60	Crafted: 18  ( @  )	Launches additional projectiles at enemies the player hits.
	Terraprisma	Terraprisma	90	Dropped by Empress of Light if all damage is dealt during the day.	Does not trigger invulnerability. Stays in the same position in relation to the player, flies through blocks to attack enemies.

Sentries

Standard

Item		Sentry	Damage	Source	Notes
	Queen Spider Staff	Queen Spider	26 / 19	Crafted: 24  ( @  /  )	Spiders accumulate, inflicts the Acid Venom debuff.
	Staff of the Frost Hydra	Frost Hydra	100	Found in Ice Chest.
	Lunar Portal Staff	Lunar Portal	100	Dropped by Moon Lord.
	Rainbow Crystal Staff	Rainbow Crystal	130 / 150	Dropped by Moon Lord.

Tavernkeep's sentries

Item	Sentry	Damage	Source	Notes
Lightning Aura Cane	Lightning Aura	11	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Flameburst Cane	Flameburst Tower	42	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Explosive Trap Cane	Explosive Trap	59	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Ballista Cane	Ballista	74	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Lightning Aura Staff	Lightning Aura	34	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Flameburst Staff	Flameburst Tower	88	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Explosive Trap Staff	Explosive Trap	126	Sold by Tavernkeep.
Ballista Staff	Ballista	156	Sold by Tavernkeep.

Whips

Item			Damage	Source	Notes
	Firecracker		37	Dropped by Wall of Flesh.	Instead of increasing summon damage, a struck enemy is surrounded by fiery energy which explodes the next time a minion attacks it, which deals 2.75× / 3× the minion's usual damage. Damage reduced by 33% each hit in a single swing.
	Cool Whip		45	Crafted: 8  + 8  + ( @  /  )	Hitting enemies summons a snowflake minion that attacks that enemy and any nearby enemies, doing 10 damage and ignoring 30 defense. Also inflicts Frostburn debuff for 4 seconds. Damage reduced by 30% each hit in a single swing.
	Durendal		55	Crafted: 12  ( @  /  )	9 summon tag damage. Hitting enemies increases attack speed with the Durendal's Blessing buff. Damage reduced by 20% each hit in a single swing.
	Dark Harvest		100	Dropped by Pumpking.	Hitting an enemy adds dark energy to it. When minions attack an enemy with dark energy, the dark energy flares and damages nearby enemies (not the original target) for 10 damage per hit. This damage ignores up to 50 defense. Hitting enemies increases attack speed with the Harvest Time buff. Damage reduced by 10% each hit in a single swing.
	Morning Star		165	Dropped by Blue Armored Bones, Hell Armored Bones, and Rusty Armored Bones.	5 summon tag damage. +5% summon tag critical strike chance. Damage reduced by 5% each hit in a single swing.
	Kaleidoscope		180	Dropped by Empress of Light.	20 summon tag damage. +10% summon tag critical strike chance. Damage reduced by 10% each hit in a single swing.

Armor Summons

Certain armor sets will summon a unique minion when the full set is worn:

• All armor summons can be obtainable on  PC, and the Stardust Guardian is also obtainable on  Console and  Mobile. The Leaf Crystal (see bottom of this section) is obtainable on all platforms.
• Each player can only have one armor minion that remains active as long as the armor is worn, and can be directed by double-pressing the ▼ Down key.
• They do not count against either minion or sentry caps.
• See also the Leaf Crystal from Chlorophyte armor; This is not controllable like a minion, but does provide ongoing attacks against nearby enemies.

Item	Minion	Damage	Source
Forbidden armor	Forbidden Sign	25	Crafted: 3 / 46 ( or )
Stardust armor	Stardust Guardian	20	Crafted: 36 / 45

Boost gear

Basegame Armor

Appearance / Name	Total Minion Boost(s)	Head	Chest	Legs	Total Defense	Source
Flinx Fur Coat	+1 minion capacity +5% summon damage	n/a	1	n/a	1	Crafted: 10  + 8  + 8  ( @  ) or 10  + 8  + 8  ( @  )
Obsidian armor	+1 minion capacity +31% summon damage +15% whip speed and +30% whip range	4	6	5	15	Crafted: 60 + 30 + 20 ( or )
Bee armor	+2 minion capacity +23% summon damage	4	5	4	13	Crafted: 30
Forbidden armor	+2 minion capacity +25% summon damage +Ancient Storm	6	12	8	26	Crafted: 3 + 46 ( or )
Spider armor	+3 minion capacity +28% summon damage	5	8	7	20	Crafted: 36
Hallowed armor (with Hood)	+3 minion capacity +10% summon damage +7% (all) damage	1	15	11	27	Crafted: 54
Tiki armor	+4 minion capacity +30% summon damage +30% Whip Range	6	17	12	35	Sold by Witch Doctor after Plantera has been defeated.
Spooky armor	+4 minion capacity +58% summon damage	9	11	10	30	Crafted: 750
Stardust armor	+5 minion capacity +66% summon damage +Stardust Guardian minion	10	16	12	38	Crafted: 36 + 45

Tavernkeep's Armor

Appearance / Name	Minion Boost(s)	Head	Chest	Legs	Total Defense	Source
Apprentice armor	Flameburst sentry field of view and range are dramatically increased +2 Sentry capacity +30% summon damage	7	15	10	32	Sold by Tavernkeep
Monk armor	Lightning Aura sentries can deal critical hits and strike faster +2 Sentry capacity +30% summon damage	8	22	16	46	Sold by Tavernkeep
Huntress armor	Explosive Trap sentries "oil" enemies: Set oiled enemies On Fire! for extra damage. +2 Sentry capacity +30% summon damage	7	17	12	36	Sold by Tavernkeep
Squire armor	Ballista sentry projectiles pierce more targets Grants Ballista Panic buff when you take damage, doubling the fire rate of Ballista sentries for 3 seconds. +2 Sentry capacity +30% summon damage	12	27	17	56	Sold by Tavernkeep
Dark Artist armor	+3 Sentry Capacity +60% summon damage Greatly enhances Flameburst effectiveness	7	21	14	42	Sold by Tavernkeep
Shinobi Infiltrator armor	+3 Sentry Capacity +60% summon damage Greatly enhances Lightning Aura effectiveness	10	26	18	54	Sold by Tavernkeep
Red Riding armor	+3 Sentry Capacity +60% summon damage Greatly enhances Explosive Traps effectiveness	8	24	16	48	Sold by Tavernkeep
Valhalla Knight armor	+3 Sentry capacity +60% summon damage Greatly enhances Ballista effectiveness	14	30	20	64	Sold by Tavernkeep

Accessories

Item	Boost(s)	Source
Pygmy Necklace	+1 Minion capacity	Sold by Witch Doctor during night in Pre-Hardmode Sold by Witch Doctor during night after Plantera has been defeated. Sold by Witch Doctor when spoken in the Jungle after Plantera has been defeated and there is a Pygmy Staff in the player's inventory.
Summoner Emblem	+15% summon damage	Dropped by Wall of Flesh.
Putrid Scent	+5% (all) damage In multiplayer, makes enemies less likely to target you over other players.	Dropped by Corrupt Mimic
Apprentice's Scarf	+1 Sentry capacity +10% summon damage	Dropped by Ogre.
Monk's Belt	+1 Sentry capacity +10% summon damage	Dropped by Ogre.
Huntress's Buckler	+1 Sentry capacity +10% summon damage	Dropped by Ogre.
Squire's Shield	+1 Sentry capacity +10% summon damage	Dropped by Ogre.
Avenger Emblem	+12% (All) Damage	Crafted: () 1 or 1 or 1 or 1 + 5 + 5 + 5 or () 1 + 1 + 1
Hercules Beetle	+15% summon damage Increases Minion Knockback by 2	Sold by Witch Doctor when spoken in the Jungle after Plantera has been defeated. Sold by Witch Doctor when spoken in the Jungle after Plantera has been defeated and there is a Pygmy Staff in the player's inventory.
Necromantic Scroll	+1 Minion capacity +10% summon damage	Dropped by Mourning Wood.
Papyrus Scarab	+1 Minion capacity +15% summon damage Increases Minion Knockback by 2	Crafted: 1 + 1
Moon Stone	+10% (All) Damage +10% Whip and Melee speed Increases Minion Knockback by 0.5 (Bonuses only activate during the Night or a Solar Eclipse) Does not stack with Celestial Stone or Celestial Shell	Dropped by Vampire.
Sun Stone	+10% (All) Damage +10% Whip and Melee speed Increases Minion Knockback by 0.5 (Bonuses only activate during the Day) Does not stack with Celestial Stone or Celestial Shell	Dropped by Golem.
Celestial Stone	+10% (All) Damage +10% Whip and Melee Speed Increases Minion Knockback by 0.5 Does not stack with Celestial Shell or either Sun or Moon Stone	Crafted: 1 + 1
Celestial Shell	+10% (All) Damage +10% Whip and Melee speed Increases Minion Knockback by 0.5 In Werewolf form, at Night or during a Solar Eclipse: +5.1% Whip and Melee speed, total of +15.1% at Night. Does not stack with Celestial Stone or either Sun or Moon Stone	Crafted: 1 + 1
Destroyer Emblem	+10% (All) Damage +8% increased critical strike	Crafted: 1 + 1

Additionally, any accessories which boost melee speed also boost whip speed, and the autoswing property of Feral Claws and its upgrades applies to whips. There are some melee accessories which have small boosts only to whips, not to the summons themselves.

Item	Whip and Melee Boost(s)	Source
Feral Claws	+12% Whip and Melee speed All Whips and Melee Weapons now Autoswing	Found in Ivy Chests, Jungle Crates and Bramble Crates
Power Glove	+12% Whip and Melee Speed All Whips and Melee Weapons now Autoswing Increased Melee weapon size/range	Crafted: +
Mechanical Glove	+12% Whip and Melee speed All Whips and Melee Weapons now Autoswing Increased Melee weapon size/range +12% Melee damage Increased Melee knockback (doubled)	Crafted: +
Fire Gauntlet	+12% Whip and Melee speed All Whips and Melee Weapons now Autoswing Increased Melee weapon size/range +12% Melee damage Increased Melee knockback (doubled) Additional fire damage (Hellfire / On Fire!)	Crafted: +
Berserker's Glove	+12% Whip and Melee speed All Whips and Melee Weapons can now Autoswing +8 Defense In Multiplayer, enemies are more likely to target you Aggro effects make this better in singleplayer, where aggro doesn't matter.	Crafted: +
Moon Charm	+5.1% Whip and Melee Speed (Boost only activates at Night or during a Solar Eclipse) (Does not stack with Celestial Shell)	Dropped by Werewolf on a Full Moon

Buffs

Buff	From	Minion Boost(s)
Well Fed	Foods	+5% (All) Damage Increases Minion Knockback by 0.5
Plenty Satisfied	Foods	+7.5% (All) damage +0.75 minion knockback
Exquisitely Stuffed	Foods	+10% (All) damage +1 minion knockback
Wrath	Wrath Potion	+10% (All) Damage
Cute Fishron Mount	Shrimpy Truffle	+15% (All) Damage - (In Water / Under 50% Health)
Feral Bite	Some Bats and Duke Fishron	+20% (All) Damage
Damage Nebula	Damage Booster	+15%/30%/45% (All) damage for 8 seconds
Summoning	Summoning Potion	+1 Minion capacity
Bewitched	Bewitching Table	+1 Minion capacity
Weapon Imbue: Confetti	Flask of Party	Melee and whip attacks cause a burst of confetti
Weapon Imbue: Cursed Flames	Flask of Cursed Flames	Melee and whip attacks inflict Cursed Inferno debuff on enemies
Weapon Imbue: Fire	Flask of Fire	Melee and whip attacks inflict On Fire! debuff on enemies
Weapon Imbue: Gold	Flask of Gold	Melee and whip attacks inflict Midas debuff on enemies
Weapon Imbue: Ichor	Flask of Ichor	Melee and whip attacks inflict Ichor debuff on enemies
Weapon Imbue: Nanites	Flask of Nanites	Melee and whip attacks inflict Confused debuff on enemies
Weapon Imbue: Poison	Flask of Poison	Melee and whip attacks inflict Poisoned debuff on enemies
Weapon Imbue: Venom	Flask of Venom	Melee and whip attacks inflict Venom debuff on enemies

Achievement

You and What Army? • “Command nine summoned minions simultaneously.”

Have nine minions summoned at the same time.

Category: Challenger

Notes

• While all Summon weapons can obtain the Mythical modifier, the Ruthless modifier offers the most effective minion boost by solely increasing a minion's hit damage. The reduced mana cost, increased speed, critical strike chance, and knockback provided by Mythical are less useful because Summon weapons use mana only once (on the initial summoning rather than the minion attacks themselves), minions cannot deal critical hits, and their knockback is negligible even with modifiers. Three exceptions are the Slime Staff, Finch Staff, and the Flinx Staff, as damage rounding causes the bonus provided by Ruthless and Mythical to be equal.
  • Weapon speed is not very useful for minion or sentry-summoning weapons, as it will only decrease the time it takes to summon a minion. Minions/sentries won't attack faster with a speed-boosting modifier.
• Minions count as buffs and contribute to the 22 Buff/Debuff limit. As such you can potentially lose your minions in the middle of a fight if they get pushed off by potions or debuffs. This can be mitigated by managing your total number of buffs:
  • Turning off non-combat buffs (pets, light pets)
  • Limiting number of active potions to only the most important potions
  • Using only one or two types of minion at a given time
  • Not activating un-needed buffs (like ammo crate if you don't intend to use ammo based weapons)
  • Removing extraneous buff granting items from arenas (like sunflowers if you don't need the speed or water-candles in event arenas)
  • Using debuff immunity items to prevent aquiring a debuff
• Minions will never attack other players, making them useless in PvP. Some minion weapons can still damage players if specifically targeted (Frost Hydra, Rainbow Crystal Staff, etc.), or if they deal incidental contact damage (Ravens, Sharknados, etc.).
• All mounts that can attack are classified as summon damage. This includes the following: Painted Horse Mount, Majestic Horse Mount, Dark Horse Mount, Goat Mount, Pirate Ship Mount, Tree Mount, Santank Mount, Slime Mount, Winged Slime Mount, Basilisk Mount, Unicorn Mount, and Scutlix Mount.
• Only some minions have piercing attacks: Slime, Imp, Twins, the Stardust Dragon, Terraprisma, and all three Ballistas. This may be relevant if a player is using other piercing weapons.
• Once summoned, the minion's attack will not change even if the player adds or removes damage enhancing equipment (or buffs). It is worthwhile to load up all available damage bonuses and buffs (for both minion damage and damage in general) before summoning minions, even with no intention of using that equipment in the field. (No longer applies as of 1.4)
• It is unnecessary to upgrade an Avenger Emblem to a Destroyer Emblem for the purpose of summon damage, as they cannot deal critical hits. However, the Destroyer Emblem may benefit players if they are using non-summon weapons. Players may also want to use a Destroyer Emblem if they want to stack its damage bonus with the bonus provided by an Avenger Emblem.
• Note that when trying to obtain the "You And What Army" achievement, Spiders do count as full minions, but the Twins do not.
•  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version, and  tModLoader version As of 1.4, the strategy of summoning minions with accessories that have 'Menacing' prefixes applied and then switching to 'Warding' accessories to efficiently maximize damage and defense no longer works, as minions will now update their damage according to the accessories the player is wearing. This can, however, be useful in some situations.
• Whips are affected by Melee Speed increases, and can be autoswung with the Feral Claws or other accessories that enable autoswing.
• Players may want to avoid using minions in some situations, as they may accidentally trigger events.
  • Minions that deal contact damage may inadvertently spawn the Queen Bee if they accidentally touch the Larva present in Bee Hives.
  • In the Underworld, minions may inadvertently spawn the Wall of Flesh by killing a Voodoo Demon, causing its Guide Voodoo Doll to fall into lava.
  • While minions will not explicitly target the Cultists, minions that deal contact damage may inadvertently damage them, causing them to become hostile. It is also possible for minions to kill all four Cultists, causing the Lunatic Cultist to spawn.

Tips

• Minions do not differentiate between enemies summoned by Statues and normal enemy spawns. This causes them to sometimes interfere with enemy-based engines, as they will zip off to slaughter any statue-summoned enemies in range (The Stardust Dragon is especially prone to this behavior).
• Summon weapons are the only weapon type that is not regularly available in the first parts of the game. While the first summon weapon, the Slime Staff is technically the earliest obtainable weapon, it is extremely rare, and is likely to go unseen until far later in the game. It can, however, be farmed by the use of a Slime Statue as soon as the Mechanic shows up.
• Even if not playing as a Summoner, it is always good to keep a minion around to help pick off minor or weakened enemies. Having a minion taking out some of the passing bats, slimes, zombies, and so on can sharply improve the player's quality of life while wandering around in the nighttime surface, Caverns, Jungle, and so on. Doubly so if the player is trying to build, gather bait, chop wood, or otherwise do something besides fighting -- indeed, for such projects it may be worth adding a second minion to help fend off interruptions.
• Note that minions will attack Slimes even during the day, when the Slimes are nominally "neutral". In areas where King Slime can spawn in place of a regular slime (surface layer, outer thirds of the map), the turnover can lead to repeat visits from the King.
• All the Tavernkeep's Sentries can be constantly resummoned to automatically refresh their attack. This is, however, less efficient than using a weapon from another class.
• In an Expert mode world, summoners can usefully wire a Bat Statue to a switch near the base or spawn zone. Spawning a bat and tanking a few hits (to contract the Feral Bite) lets the player summon their minions with an extra 20% damage bonus, but that's best done while safe at home. However since 1.4 this is no longer a viable strategy, due to the fact that the additional damage provided by Feral Bite will be gone once the effect is over, rendering it practically useless, since you wouldn't want the Feral Bite debuff in battle.
•  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version, and  tModLoader version The Kaleidoscope whip can prove to be more useful than the Morning Star, as the Kaleidoscope has higher drop rates from a specific boss than the Morning Star, the summon tag damage is higher and it's faster with more critical strike chance, which is better than simply a slightly longer range and more damage. The Morning Star, however, has high knockback and can be useful in events to keep enemies back.
• In order to delete a minion without having to die or reload the world you can set a key bind in the miscellaneous tab and set a key bind for "remove buff" since every minion counts as a buff you can delete them without having to die or reload but in order for this to work you need to set another key bind for "cycle next buff" to hover over the intended minions buff and press the designated key bind for "remove buff" this will delete the minion easily

Maximizing minions

Minion Count

The maximum possible minion capacity is 11. It requires equipping Stardust armor (not counting its Stardust Guardian), the Papyrus Scarab, Necromantic Scroll, and Pygmy Necklace accessories while being under the effects of the Summoning Potion and the Bewitching Table.

• 3DS The maximum possible minion capacity is 9. It requires equipping Tiki armor, the Papyrus Scarab, Necromantic Scroll, and Pygmy Necklace accessories while being under the temporary effects of the Summoning Potion.
• Before 1.4, spiders counted for 75% of a slot, though they couldn't be summoned with less than a full slot remaining.

Minion Damage

Note that damage is calculated in a two-step process. First the weapon damage itself is adjusted for the weapon modifier (and rounded to the nearest integer). Only after that are all other modifiers added and applied to the weapon damage.

Damage bonuses only need to be active while actually summoning the minions. This allows summoning some minions at maximum damage, and then unequipping some of the damage bonus for limit increases, to summon more minions at slightly lower damage.

Update 1.4.0.1 changes the damage bonus to be calculated concurrently, meaning any damage bonus that is removed while a minion is active will be removed from the minion. Thus, the following loadout is no longer useful as a "setup" procedure, though it remains a powerful summoner build.

A Ruthless modifier on the minion-summoning staff yields +18% up front.

Other modifiers can be maximized as follows:

• A mixed armor set:
  • + 22% from the Stardust Helmet.
  • + 30% from either the Dark Artist's Robes or the Valhalla Knight's Breastplate.
  • + 25% from Red Riding Leggings.
• Accessories:
  • + 15% from the Papyrus Scarab.
  • + 15% from the Hercules Beetle.
  • + 15% from the Summoner Emblem.
  • + 12% from the Avenger Emblem.
  • + 10% from any of the following accessories: Necromantic Scroll, Destroyer Emblem, Celestial Stone, Celestial Shell, any of the Ogre accessories (Apprentice's Scarf, Huntress's Buckler, Monk's Belt, Squire's Shield), or either the Sun Stone (during the day), or the Moon Stone (at night).
    • These all offer the same damage bonus for the actual summoning of minions, but they have different features for continued use: The Necromantic scroll grants players an extra minion slot, the Ogre accessories grants players an extra sentry slot, while the other accessories extend their damage bonus to other damage types, and provide other bonuses.
  • + 20% from reforging all five accessories to have Menacing (+4% damage).
• Buffs:
  • + 5% from Well Fed (from eating food).
  • + 10% from Wrath (from drinking a Wrath Potion).
  • + 45% from a 3-stack of Damage Booster buffs from Nebula armor (a teammate's, or see below).
• Expert mode only:
  • + 14% from a second accessory from the "10%" list above, likewise reforged to Menacing.
  • + 15%from Cute Fishron Mount (riding the Cute Fishron in water and for 6 seconds afterwards).
  • + 20% from the Feral Bite debuff (inflicted by Bats in Expert Mode).

Total maximum: +224% (+273%). On top of the bonus for a Ruthless weapon, this will yield approximately +282% (+340%).

Examples

• An ordinary Stardust Cell Staff would summon a Stardust Cell hitting for 60 summon damage. After reforging the staff to have the Ruthless modifier, the staff would summon a Stardust Cell hitting for 60 + 18% = 71 summon damage. After wearing the above gear, eating food, drinking a Wrath Potion, entering a body of water while riding the Cute Fishron, getting bitten by a bat (in Expert mode), and picking up a 3-stack of Damage Booster buffs in multiplayer, the staff would summon a Stardust Cell hitting for 265 damage.
• A Ruthless Stardust Dragon has a modified damage of 47. With a Summoning Potion and Bewitching Table, the above will allow up to six summons (188 base damage). With the above damage bonuses, the resulting dragon will do an average of 609 (701) damage per hit.

The Procedure

To achieve "maximum minion power" in single-player, follow the following procedure. (auto-pause will help a lot; comments about extra spiders should be ignored as of 1.4.):

1. All accessories being used to achieve maximum minion power must be reforged to Menacing, and all summoning weapons to Ruthless.
2. Prepare a bat generator; set up one or two Bat Statues wired to (staggered) 1-second timer(s) in an enclosed area.
   • Expert mode: Set up a water poolnext to the bat generator. Make sure the statue(s) can be triggered from within the pool. Enter the water pool and use the Shrimpy Truffle mount.
3. Arrange the desired summoning weapons on the hotbar.
4. Wear the following accessories: Papyrus Scarab, Hercules Beetle, Summoner Emblem, Avenger Emblem, Necromantic Scroll. Keep a Pygmy Necklace handy for later.
   • For Expert mode's sixth accessory, any of the other "10%" damage accessories from the list above can be used. When the procedure below to "ice the cake" is followed, the sixth accessory will be traded for the Pygmy Necklace.
5. Armor: Start off in Nebula armor, with the mixed set handy (Stardust Helmet, Dark Artist's Robes/Valhalla Knight's Breastplate, Red Riding Leggings). Keep the rest of the Stardust armor set handy.
6. Use the potions: Food, Wrath, Summoning. Additionally, use a Bewitching Table to provide an extra minion slot.
7. Start the timer(s) to spawn some bats.
   • In Expert mode: Let the bats bite until they inflict Feral Bite before continuing.
   • Kill the bats until the Nebula Set's Level 3 Damage Booster is achieved. If possible, leave some extra damage boosters for future usage.
8. Rush: All of the following steps need to be finished before the Damage Boosters start to expire. If the Damage Boosters expire, reequip the Nebula armor and kill more bats to replenish them.
9. Switch to the mixed armor set as above.
   • In Expert mode: Jump in the pool and use the Shrimpy Truffle mount.
10. Summon the desired minions. In total, there should be six minions (or pairs of twins, or Dragon segments, or 7 spiders and a ¾ slot) at the maximum of +224% (+273%) damage over the Ruthless damage rating.
    • Minion sources: Default, Stardust Helmet, Papryus Scarab, Necromantic Scroll, Summoning Potion, Bewitching Table.
11. To ice the cake with five more minions at slightly lower damage:
    1. Replace the Avenger Emblem (or in Expert mode, the sixth accessory) with the Pygmy Necklace. This brings damage values down to +212% (+263%). (If ¾ of a minion slot is available, a spider can be summoned to fill it) Summon another minion.
    2. Wear the Stardust Leggings, and summon another two minions at +209% (+260%) damage.
    3. Wear the Stardust Plate, dropping to +201% (+252%) damage. (If those last three minions were spiders, summon another spider now.) Summon two more minions.
    4. Note: If the player later loses some of the many extra-slot bonuses in use (removing accessories or armor, letting buffs expire), the minion(s) that vanish will be chosen randomly. Each individual minion will keep the damage bonus in effect when it was summoned.
    5. Results: If the chosen summons are all Stardust Dragon segments, the "icing the cake" phase will likely reduce the damage bonus for the dragon as a whole,^Verify but even so this will yield diminishing returns rather than an actual drop in damage. An 11-segment Dragon will end up doing an average of 893 (1045) damage per hit. If all minions used were spiders, there will be 14 in total, half doing the max of 100 (115), the rest trailing down to 93 (109)

Trivia

• All minion-summoning items (with the exception of Abigail's Flower, Houndius Shootius, and the Terraprisma) and the Tavernkeep's tier three sentry summoning items have the word "Staff" in their names.
  • The Tavernkeep's tier two sentry summon items also all have the word "Cane" in their names. Same goes for the tier one items, which share the word "Rod". This can be used to help tell the difference between the sentry tiers.
  • That said, a number of other magical weapons and tools are also called "Staff" or "Rod". (e.g Nimbus Rod, Frost Staff)
• The Sharknadoes summoned by the Tempest Staff turn translucent when going through blocks, similar to what Duke Fishron and Pigrons do.