Desert Tiger Staff

**PC/Console/Mobile/tModLoader-Only Content**: This information applies *only* to the **PC**, **Console**, **Mobile**, and **tModLoader** versions of *Terraria*.Desert Tiger Staff*

Statistics

Grants Buff

Projectile created* Desert Tiger
* Desert Tiger
* Desert Tiger (tier 1)
* Desert Tiger (tier 2)
* Desert Tiger (tier 3)
Sounds

* Internal Item ID: **4607**
* Internal Buff ID: **263**
* Internal Projectile ID: **818, 831, 833, 834, 835**

The **Desert Tiger Staff** is a Hardmode, post-Plantera summon weapon. It summons a **Desert Tiger** that deals contact damage to enemies. Every six seconds, the tiger can curl up and perform a pounce attack at nearby enemies, dealing 61 damage (1.5× the base damage), and passing through blocks to reach them. Additionally, it can deal critical hits with this attack. The Desert Tiger Staff can always be found inside the Dungeon's Desert Chest, which can only be unlocked by a Desert Key after Plantera has been defeated.

The Desert Tiger Staff is special in that if used more than once, multiple tigers do not spawn – instead, the spawned tiger becomes stronger ( +16/+17 damage; 40% of the base damage) and faster for each additional summon. The tiger will appear as a baby if summoned 1 to 3 times, an adult if summoned 4 to 6 times, and an armored adult if summoned 7 or more times. Other minions may be used in addition to the Desert Tiger.

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 Desert Tiger Staff has over a Ruthless one is knockback. Note that the minion does deal critical hits when pouncing, though this attack is performed rather infrequently, in comparison.

## Notes

* Although classified as a ground melee minion, it can still attack aerial enemies because of its pouncing ability.
* The cooldown of the pounce attack is reduced to five seconds for a tiger of tier 2, and to four seconds for a tiger of tier 3.
* The tiger can only pounce at enemies that are within a 100×50-tile rectangle centered on the player.
* The tiger will pounce at enemies instantly once it is summoned; re-summoning the tiger will allow it to pounce repeatedly.

## Tips

* The reforge cost of this weapon is disproportionately high compared to other summon weapons.
* The tiger's contact damage is high enough that it kills any critters it comes in contact with. This may lead to a very surprising and unwanted Empress of Light summon, should the Prismatic Lacewing get pounced on by the tiger while it is engaging other enemies; this can be avoided by keeping a Guide To Critter Companionship in the inventory.
* It is better suited for singular targets rather than crowds. This is because, unlike most other summon weapons, additional summons only strengthens the initial summon, rather than summon additional minions. As such, for events or farming, the player may wish to use a different summon weapon instead of, or alongside the Desert Tiger, such as the Pygmy Staff.

## Trivia

* The Stardust Dragon Staff and Abigail's Flower are the only other summon weapons that do not spawn a new minion but rather enhance the existing one.
* The tooltip of this weapon reads "fights besides you" instead of "fights for you".
* There is an unused projectile #832, whose sprite is a duplicate of projectile #818 (pounce).
* The Desert Tiger bears resemblance to real-life white tigers.

## History

PC version
* Desktop 1.4.3.3: Fixed an issue where Desert Tiger did not bounce on enemies correctly if the Journey Mode's time settings were set to paused or sped up.

* Desktop 1.4.1.2:
	+ Now "bounces on" its current target if that target is in the air, staying more firmly latched on and dealing damage
	+ Increased scaling damage per "minion slot" expended slightly (from 33% of base damage to 40% of base damage).

* Desktop 1.4.1:
	+ Base damage increased from 33 to 41.
	+ Hitbox size while using the pouncing attack increased.
	+ Can no longer deal magic critical hits while pouncing, only regular critical hits.

* Desktop 1.4.0.1: Introduced.

Console version
* Console 1.4.0.5.4.1: Introduced.

Mobile version
* Mobile 1.4.0.5.0: Introduced.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information taken from the PC 1.4.1.2 source code, method `AI_067_FreakingPirates()` in `Terraria.Projectile.cs`. There may be inaccuracies, as the current  PC version is 1.4.4.9.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Information taken from the PC 1.4.1.2 source code, method `Damage()` in `Terraria.Projectile.cs`. There may be inaccuracies, as the current  PC version is 1.4.4.9.
3. ↑ Information taken from the PC 1.4.1.2 source code, method `AI_067_TigerSpecialAttack()` in `Terraria.Projectile.cs`. There may be inaccuracies, as the current  PC version is 1.4.4.9.

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