Terraria's balance patch 1.4.5.7 has grown way beyond a simple numbers tweak

Re-Logic set out to ship a minor balance patch for Terraria, but 1.4.5.7 has long since outgrown that brief. The studio admits that fixing balance inevitably means rethinking how things work — and now the patch is bringing new features alongside the number changes.

In its latest State of the Game blog, Re-Logic wrote: "Sometimes, addressing balance means rethinking some core aspects around how things function — or expanding upon what is already there in new ways." The studio teased two new items to illustrate the point: a portable sentry that blasts enemies with fire, and some kind of ammo randomiser. Re-Logic says these are a "nice representation of this dynamic" and signal the broader "scope of the changes being made around the balancing goals," adding plainly that "this is not just about adjusting a few numbers here and there." Last month the studio also promised new tools to address combat "frustrations" — invisible hitboxes, awkward boss attacks and the like — plus reworks for underused gear and a new minion that looks like a walking turnip.

Terraria's enormous 1.4.5 patch landed in January after three years of development, billed at the time as the game's final update. That didn't last long — Re-Logic has since committed to supporting the game beyond 1.4.6, meaning at least one more major update and further smaller patches are coming. What 1.4.6 actually contains hasn't been confirmed yet.

Crossplay is also on the way, which will open up a whole new dimension for a game that has stubbornly refused to stop growing. At this point, betting against Re-Logic shipping "just a small patch" seems like the safer wager.