What is the North Pole in Terraria?
The North Pole is a Hardmode, post-Plantera spear that fires an icy spear projectile, which costs no mana or ammunition. This spear projectile travels in a straight line in midair for half a second before being affected by gravity. Additionally, it can pierce up to two enemies before dissipating upon contact with a solid block or upon impacting a third enemy. Moreover, the icy spear leaves behind a trail of damaging snowflakes that fall downwards and dissipate upon contact with an enemy or surface.
Weapon Rarity and Drop Information: The North Pole is dropped by the Ice Queen during the Frost Moon event with a 4.44%–7.78% (15.56%–31.11%) chance depending on the current wave. It is the only weapon obtainable from the Frost Moon event which has a rarity of 07*; the other weapons have a rarity of 08*. Its best modifier is Godly or Demonic, which increases the average damage output by the same amount.
Damage and Effects: The North Pole’s spear projectile inflicts 85% of the weapon’s base knockback (5.695 Average), while the snowflakes inflict 46.75% of its base knockback (3.132 Weak). The spear projectile deals 100% of the weapon’s base damage, and the snowflakes deal 70% of the weapon’s damage (56 damage).
Trivia: Interestingly, the North Pole is traditionally noted as the northernmost point of the Earth and the location of Santa Claus’s home and workshop. The weapon’s name serves as a pun, as it is a spear—like a pole—and is dropped during the Christmas-themed Frost Moon event.
Gameplay Insights: The North Pole excels in combat against grounded Santanks, and it shows comparable performance in aerial combat. Although the snowflakes deal less damage as more of them appear on the screen, it remains a formidable choice, especially when compared to the Terra Blade.
Additionally, the North Pole can be sold for 9 Gold Coins, and it is considered the strongest spear in the game.
How to obtain the North Pole: Drop Rates Explained
The North Pole is dropped by the Ice Queen during the Frost Moon event. The drop rate for this item is:
- 5.19%–10.37% (15.56%–31.11%) chance depending on the current wave.
- Alternatively, some sources state a drop rate of 4.44% ~ 7.78% (15.56% ~ 31.11%).
It’s important to note that:
- Most enemies drop loot when the player kills them. Besides dropping money, some of them also drop items.
- In short, you’ll never have a guaranteed drop of anything. Even with a drop rate of 50%, the game could very well drop nothing 10 times in a row.
The Significance of the Frost Moon Event
The Frost Moon is a Hardmode, post-Plantera, Christmas-themed event summoned using a Naughty Present at any time during the night, ending at dawn (4:30 AM). It can be summoned throughout the year, irrespective of the actual Christmas season. During this event, unique and highly difficult enemies spawn at high rates and attack players.
Similar to the Pumpkin Moon event, the Frost Moon comprises 15 waves, followed by 5 bonus waves. Particularly in the final waves, players encounter multiple boss-level enemies simultaneously. This event is notably challenging, requiring mid-to-late Hardmode equipment, testing players’ skills and strategies.
The goal of the event is to progress through all 20 waves before it concludes. However, players achieve a milestone at wave 15, where reaching it by 4:30 AM presents the message, ‘The spirit of Christmas spreads cheer…’. Conversely, at 4:30 AM of the following day, players see the message ‘The spirit of Christmas fades…’, signaling the end of Christmas effects until the next occurrence of the event or subsequent waves are completed.
Throughout the event, Frost Moon enemies drop powerful weapons, as well as pet and vanity items. Most of these drops are of extreme rarity, indicating that players might need to engage in the event multiple times to obtain desired rewards. This event also provides an opportunity for players to acquire a substantial amount of coins quickly.
A useful item during the Frost Moon is the Warmth Potion, as it significantly decreases the damage taken from enemies. It’s important to note that the Frost Moon is harder than the Pumpkin Moon, yielding less money but dropping more powerful weapons.
Top Strategies for Battling the Ice Queen
The Ice Queen in Terraria presents a unique challenge, but understanding her attack patterns can significantly improve your chances of defeating her.
Vulnerability:
- The Ice Queen is most vulnerable while executing her Ice Twirl attack. During this phase, she spins in place rapidly, shooting Frost Shards in all directions. This is the only time she stays in one spot.
Movement and Defense:
- Using wings and possibly movement-enhancing accessories for chasing and dodging is crucial.
- Combining a Cross Necklace or Star Veil with healing items, such as Spectre armor or Vampire Knives, proves to be very effective.
- Wings with hovering abilities, like Betsy’s or the Hoverboard, are helpful; however, using mounts tends to be more effective.
Debuff Management:
- Both of the Ice Queen’s attacks inflict the Chilled debuff, which slows the player’s movement speed.
- Additionally, Frost Waves can sometimes inflict the Frozen debuff, immobilizing the player completely.
- To mitigate these effects, players can drink a Warmth Potion, equip a Hand Warmer, or use an Ankh Shield in PC, Console, Mobile, Old Chinese, tModLoader, and tModLoader Legacy versions.
Attack Patterns:
- The Ice Queen exhibits astonishingly fast movement and evasive maneuvers, launching constant ranged attacks.
- She randomly cycles through various attacks, including sweeping across the screen while shooting frost waves, and hovering over the player to rain down frost shards.
- The frost shards from her hovering attack deal significantly more damage (74 / 148 / 222).
Weakness:
- The Ice Queen is weak to Magic. Players struggling to damage her can poison her.
- Utilizing a safe spot can help, although repeated re-poisoning may be necessary.
By incorporating these strategies, players can significantly enhance their effectiveness in battling the Ice Queen.
Comparing the North Pole to Other Weapons in Terraria
The North Pole is a weapon dropped from the Ice Queen during the Frost Moon event. Currently, it is the strongest spear in the game.
This weapon shoots icy spears that are affected by gravity. Additionally, it rains down snowflakes that deal damage to enemies. The North Pole is extremely useful for attacking hordes of enemies due to the spear’s length, which allows it to pierce through multiple foes.
Not only that, the snowflakes produced from the spear provide great area-of-effect damage.
The name of this weapon is a reference to the place where Santa Claus lives, the North Pole.
The drop rate for the North Pole is between 4.44% and 7.78%, depending on the current wave, with a possible range of 15.56% to 31.11%.
Its best modifier is Godly or Demonic, both of which increase the average damage output by the same amount.
Is the North Pole Worth the Grind?
The North Pole is a unique item in Terraria that has a specific rarity classification. It is a weapon dropped from the Ice Queen during the Frost Moon event and is currently the strongest spear in the game.
The North Pole shoots an icy spear that rains snowflakes. Its best modifier is Godly or Demonic, both of which increase the average damage output by the same amount. Moreover, compared to the grounded Santanks, the North Pole outperforms by a considerable margin. It’s likely to perform similarly in aerial combat since snowflakes deal less damage the more of them are on the screen. When compared to the Terra Blade, the North Pole is definitely better.
Furthermore, players often struggle with the rarity classification in Terraria. For example, items that seem equivalent in power or function have vastly different rarities. The Valor, a dungeon chest item, is classified as orange rarity, while other similar items like Muramasa are green. This inconsistency leads to confusion and frustration among players trying to determine if the grind for certain items is truly worth it.
Additionally, many items in Terraria exhibit arbitrary rarities. Notably, the Bone Feather, classified as pink rarity, is stronger than other wings with yellow rarity. This lack of consistency in the rarity system can detract from the overall experience, making players question whether it’s worth the effort to pursue items labeled with seemingly random rarities.
In conclusion, the North Pole demonstrates exceptional utility as a weapon, but the broader rarity system can complicate players’ perceptions of worth and grind associated with obtaining various items in the game.
Tips for Maximizing DPS with the North Pole
To maximize DPS with the North Pole in Terraria, consider the following tips:
- Focus on one class for better synergy. Many armors, accessories, and buffs benefit a specific class, especially later in the game. However, backup weapons from other classes can be helpful if the situation requires it.
- Utilize minion slots effectively. Each class can summon at least one minion, so it’s advisable to have that slot utilized at all times.
- Make use of all available resources. Players are encouraged to acquire a gun or magic weapon early on by smashing corruption or crimson orbs.
- Utilize buffs, especially for boss fights. Buffs are extremely useful for overcoming bosses and are almost necessary in master mode.
- Understand the capabilities of the North Pole. The North Pole shoots icy spears affected by gravity and rain. The snowflakes deal 64% of the weapon’s damage, translating to approximately 139 damage with gear. However, be mindful of the projectile cap, as exceeding it will decrease damage output.
- Equip the best modifiers. The best modifier for the North Pole is either Godly or Demonic, as both increase average damage output equally.
- Combat strategy is crucial. Fight enemies in open areas to take full advantage of the North Pole’s capabilities. In the Old One’s Army, the North Pole can defeat Betsy even in Master Mode with the right farming of medals for good armor.
Common Myths about the North Pole’s Rarity
Rarity: Lime
- Type: Weapon
- Type of Weapon: Spear
- Damage value: 80 (desktop, mobile, console) / 73 (3DS, old-gen consoles)
The North Pole can only be acquired by killing the Ice Queen during the Frost Moon. You can begin the Frost Moon event by crafting a Naughty Present.
Not only does it look pretty neat, its attack is unique. The North Pole is both a melee and ranged weapon. When you attack, an ice spear flies from the weapon itself and drops a damaging snowflake trail in its wake. The snowflakes fall and do a fair amount of damage on their own.
Furthermore, the North Pole is the only weapon obtainable from the Frost Moon event which has a 07* rarity while the others have the 08* rarity.
There is unused and disabled code for the North Pole that gives it a slash similar to that of the Gungnir. Additionally, it is currently the strongest spear in the game. It shoots icy spears that are affected by gravity and rain down when launched.
Although the North Pole is both a melee and ranged weapon, it is at the very least B Tier; there’s nothing comparable to the utility of this weapon. However, it’s useless underground, but it’s a very, very good weapon in the overworld.
