The Viral Sprout is a new weapon added with the Draedon update that has a unique debuff that deals more damage the more minion slots the player has.
 
 
I thought this was interesting and decided to do a whole playthrough only using that item, to see the full potential of this debuff.
 
 
This is how Post-Moon Lord went:
 
 

[Prior Notes]

So, this is the third and final part of the challenge run, covering the part that a lot of people were probably waiting for considering on-paper it is by far the worst… and that’d be right.
 
 
Post-Moon Lord, even after Calamity’s broad nerfs for bosses across the board, is no place for a Hardmode weapon with low base damage and no way to reliably compensate for that fact.
 
 
Anyways, this is how Post-Moon Lord ended up going:
 
 
 

Post-Moon Lord Pre-Boss

Summary:
 
So, at this point Moon Lord has been defeated and thus the Celestial Onion has been consumed. Now, with 7 accessory slots at my disposal and Luminite as well, I can make some extra upgrades before I do anything.
 
 
First, Seraph Tracers will both upgrade my boots and free up an accessory slot from wings, which in turn essentially grants me 2 slots from beating Moon Lord. As previously mentioned I re-equipped the Star-Tainted Generator for the bonus minion slots, but didn’t actually equip anything in other slot just yet of any significance.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★
 
⏲ N/A
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-With everything at the moment, I have a total of 15 minion slots. A default minion, as well as the 4 current bonus minions from the rules. 2 buff minions, one from the Bewitching Table and 1 Summoning Potion. Finally, I get 3 more from armour and finally 5 more from my accessories.
 
-My initial plan right now is fighting Dragonfolly since, being one of the usual Revengeance upgrade carriers, it instead grants me another minion slot as dictated by the rules
 
–There is literally no benefit to fighting the Guardians at the moment. The Relics won’t affect the Folly fight much but the additional minion slot WILL make a difference during the Guardian fight in comparison
 
 
 

Dragonfolly

 
Summary:
 
Dragonfolly has gone from the boss I used to forget about until Pre-Yharon to the first thing I fight after Moon Lord for once.
 
 
Folly itself wasn’t too bad, honestly, even with my comparative lack of experience fighting it this early Post-Moon Lord. While the Folly was fast my minions and their projectiles were numerous and Sage Poison consistent enough to deal reliable damage.
 
 
The Swarmers also weren’t too big of a problem overall. While I had my minions focused on the Folly itself the number of leftover spikes meant that even the Swarmers were taking occasional hits and thus being affected with Sage Poison also.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★
 
⏲ 4:09
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-The only thing I really get from Folly is the 16th minion slot I was after, now reaching a max Sage Poison damage of 573
 
 
 

Profaned Guardians

 
Summary:
 
The Guardians were… actually alright and may be the easiest of the Post-Moon Lord boss roster in this challenge… though that’s not much of a shock considering it’s an early boss with the particular weakness of being several enemies with individual health bars.
 
 
The Viral Sprouts did best when I was just moving in a big circle around the Guardians here, keeping the trio locked in the same general area as spikes rained down upon them and, due to them being 3 targets, getting a total of 1719 damage every time the Sage Poisons decided to trigger.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★
 
⏲ 2:16
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-Now I can fight Providence… that’s all I really did with this boss fight
 
 
 

Providence

 
Summary:
 
Providence manages to take some of the other weaknesses from other bosses, but isn’t exactly vulnerable to them to quite the same degree. It has a large hitbox and a vulnerability to Sage Poison that transcends the cocoon phases, but Providence has more than enough health that, in the grand scheme of things, these small benefits still fail to outweigh the fact our weapon should be woefully inadequate.
 
 
Providence is a large target, so it was primarily about chipping through it with consistent, low-damage attacks and Sage Poison’s ticks of damage that even applied while Providence was in the midst of one of her many highly-defensive phases.
 
 
The Guardian phase was awkward because it was triggered during a cocoon phase and lasted until the next. Fortunately, the Guardians generally retained their weaknesses from their own fight, and thus were moreso just an annoyance as opposed to a major threat.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★
 
⏲ 9:17
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-You can now access Tarragon Armour which is generally an upgrade considering the last useful armour set for this challenge was Pre-Moon Lord
 
-Elderberries can now be obtained for additional max health
 
 
 

Polterghast

 
Summary:
 
Polterghast, after a lengthy but expected Providence fight, makes a triumphant return to being the boss that puts the run into perspective. I already knew I would have an issue with the fight, since the Viral Sprout projectiles are blocked by walls, but I only recently realised just how pitiful my damage is by this point even with Sage Poison.
 
 
I had to essentially frankenstein together a strategy halfway between my usual Plantera and Polterghast strategies, moving in a long rectangular motion around the arena when it was charging and circling it closely when it was firing projectiles to ensure the maximum amount of spikes landed on it. It also helped that you can poison this ghost somehow but I’m not complaining.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★
 
⏲ 15:05
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-Polterghast gatekeeps the final base minion upgrade Pre-Yharon on the run. However, as listed below, there is a reason this doesn’t increase my max minions higher
 
-Bloodflare Armour can now be obtained, as could Omega Blue. I opted for the former this time due to the minion slots and the mines
 
-I also got both the Phantomic Artefact and the Reaper Tooth Necklace, ultimately replacing the Statis’ Curse for only 14 minion slots but, in turn, housing higher base damage due to the Artefact’s buffs and the Necklace’s armour piercing
 
 
 

Ceaseless Void

 
Summary:
 
Unfortunately, while the Sprouts would’ve been a perfect answer to a lot of old Void’s shenanigans, new Void’s cleaner fight and, primarily, an existing healthbar make this fight a little trickier.
 
 
While they matched up decently well against Void’s Dark Energies in terms of damage, it wasn’t quite the same for Void itself where their damage was quite lacking compared to Void’s large healthbar. Manageable, though, with careful movement.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★
 
⏲ 5:03
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-The player is now 1/3 of the way to DoG, but that’s the only thing to really note of this current run
 
 
 

Storm Weaver

 
Summary:
 
One of those fights that either ends up going horribly or perfectly fine, and it’s all down to where the lightning orbs choose to spawn.
 
 
Phase 1 was okay, mainly since Sage Poison still triggered frequently enough to mildly offset the surprising number of spikes being blocked as Weaver decided to coil around itself, thus protecting its tail.
 
 
Phase 2 generally went better. I could keep my Sprouts focused on the head which ensured all my spikes would hit; the ones beneath or to the side of the head hit the head, and the other spikes simply rained down on its body as it pursued me.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★
 
⏲ 4:31
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-The player is now 2/3 of the way to fighting the Devourer, but that’s really all for this run
 
 
 

Signus

 
Summary:
 
Signus was undoubtedly the simplest and quickest of the trio, taking the least time to fight and having the least things to possibly go wrong.
 
 
The main strategy was limiting Signus’ movements to a confined area to maximise spike damage from the Sprouts, which worked for all of his phases due to their similarities to the Brimstone Elemental at this point.
 
 
The charges could’ve been an issue, but I used a figure-eight motion and some dashes to minimise any self risk while also minimising Signus’ horizontal movement.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★
 
⏲ 2:35
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-It is now time for the player to face the Devourer…
 
 
 

The Devourer

 
Summary:
 
As usual, I will be breaking down this fight into its distinct phases, beginning with
 
Phase 1:
 
This phase was moreso just annoying than actually hard, and essentially displayed all my toughest issues all in 1 boss fight. The Devourer is immune to Sage Poison, so consistent ticks of damage are once again out of the question, and its body segments only take single-digit damage even with the Reaper Tooth Necklace, forcing me to manual-target the head or autotarget to go after its tail which, at least for the Devourer, is also bearable.
 
 
Sentinel Phase:
 
The Sentinel phase was once again fighting the weaker Sentinels, primarily since I had a hunch they’d all take over 2 minutes at full strength and I am glad I checked, since I’d rather not have to fight Phase 2 Devourer alongside what might’ve been all 3 Sentinels.
 
 
2/3 took less than a minute, with Void once again being persistent as ever. At least Signus wasn’t the fastest to fall this time.
 
 
Phase 2:
 
Phase 2 actually somehow went faster than Phase 1, though I’m not entirely sure how. Part of it may have been that the Devourer did decide to headbutt more mines from the Bloodflare Armour, which in turn deal around 1% of the Devourer’s health on each of these, but otherwise no changes to strategy or items from Phase 1.
 
 
The Guardians were annoying, but nothing too serious. They were prioritised and fought like miniature versions of Storm Weaver and, once all 3 were defeated, I returned to focusing down the Devourer for the final part of the fight.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★
 
⏲ 11:54 (Phase 1)
 
⏲ 1:28 (Void)
 
⏲ 0:35 (Weaver)
 
⏲ 0:40 (Signus)
 
⏲ 10:08 (Phase 2)
 
⏲ 24:45 (Total)
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-With the Devourer defeated, a lot of stuff can be unlocked, both via the Cosmilite Bars dropped directly or from the buffed lunar events
 
–Fearmonger Armour was ultimately chosen. While Silva has a minion and doesn’t lose minion slots, the minion feels inconsistent and losing 1 minion for ma*sive health regen was hard to pa*s up on. We are down to 13 minions, though only very briefly.
 
—Furthermore, the ‘immunity to all forms of frost and flame’ helped in farming the Devourer, since it grants immunity to his debuff which both helps for more regen and allows me to dash through him without consequence
 
–I also crafted the Elysian Tracers, Elysian Aegis, The Sponge, The Rampart of Deities and, finally the Nucleogenesis which brings me back up to 15 minions
 
 
 

Old Duke

 
Summary:
 
Unlike Calamitas, whose skip was accidental, the Old Duke being held back a little was entirely intentional. The Duke’s mobility, combined with the fact that Sage Poison was proportionally quite pitiful at this point in the game, worried me greatly since I was unsure if my minions could’ve handled it at all at the usual point in progression, not helped by my own comparative inexperience with the boss.
 
 
Old Duke was a slow fight, as expected, but one of the slow fights I really didn’t want to be slow since I’m not very good at it. My strategy was mostly keeping away, though at times I’d intentionally risk facetanking damage as to bait the Duke into large crowds of stars spawned by the Nebulous Core.
 
 
Aside from that, there was 1 incident where all of my minions despawned part-way through the fight, though I am not sure if it was because some of my buffs ran out and it messed with the minion spawns or something. Either way, only a small setback, so I just had to re-summon them on the fly.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★
 
⏲ 10:40
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-There is still no reward for defeating this boss in most of these challenge runs, mainly since the Mutated Truffle is banned…
 
 
 

Jungle Dragon, Yharon

 
Summary:
 
Yharon was an interesting case in this run. It is the first boss to enter the clause of ‘endgame bosses’ that grant +1 minion slot for the challenge rules, which finally signifies we have truly entered the endgame for the run.
 
 
Yharon, as expected, was a gauntlet of a fight that lasted over 20 minutes per successful run, and because I ran out of Soul Fragments I had to fight it more than once.
 
 
Yharon is a boss I still have to keep my distance from, which my minions do not like, which meant a lot more balancing out my strategy between going in close to allow my minions time to attack, or keeping away to avoid devastating damage from Yharon’s attacks, mainly its charges.
 
 
Overall, bearable, but perhaps only due to my previous runs making lengthy Yharon fights feel like the norm.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★★
 
⏲ 24:10
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-I get 1 more minion slot from Yharon, getting to 16
 
-I can get Auric Tesla now, as well as Dragonfruit for the final health upgrade
 
–I got the Celestial Tracers, as well as summoner Auric Tesla for +3 more minion slots, capping out now at a ma*sive 20 minions, and in turn 717 Sage Poison damage
 
 
 

Supreme Calamitas

 
Summary:
 
Supreme Calamitas, considering the contents of the fight, should be an absolute nightmare for this challenge; a small hitbox, lots of minions, and a boss that deals hits like a freight train should realistically be a roadblock but, somehow… she wasn’t.
 
 
SCal managed to only take 1 attempt by some unknown means. Maybe it was practice, or maybe it was just that I underestimated the Sprouts, I don’t know.
 
 
SCal’s actual fight was fairly standard. Her hitbox is still large enough to reliably hit, the Sepulcher phases were surprisingly quick despite my lacking DPS, and while the brothers did cause a little trouble being able to focus them down one at a time was appreciated as ever.
 
 
Long fight still, sure, but one that actually turned out remarkably possible.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★
 
⏲ 11:11
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-The player receives another bonus minion slot due to the challenge rules, making 21 minions and a max of 754 Sage Poison damage
 
 
 

Draedon

 
Summary:
 
Draedon was another fight I was very worried about, since it has a combined health higher than SCal and multiple machines that likely had immunities to Sage Poison to hinder my damage further, but regardless I had to prevail; I was so close to the official end of the challenge now losing here would be devastating.
 
 
Each of the Exo-Mechs had their own notes for me to reference, which I shall do.
 
 
Thanatos:
 
The Mech I started with most of the time, and one that worried me since it could both raise its shields consistently enough to nullify a lot of the spikes raining down upon it, and also because it was the Mech immune to Sage Poison, as expected. Thanatos was best fought moving slowly since I was not using the ‘giant pit’ that works best, so I had to improvise on the fly a lot.
 
 
Ares:
 
The worst Mech to fight due to the fact that Ares alone is a little overwhelming. However, while it was the Mech that could hit me hardest, I could also hit it hard, too. Targeting the main body caused all my spikes to hit it since its torso was so large the whole circle of Sprouts remained within it at almost all times.
 
 
Artemis/Apollo:
 
The Mech that acted the opposite role to Ares; being mobile enough to evade a lot of my Sprouts’ spikes, but in-turn dealing the least damage overall to compensate. My strategy was mainly moving at Artemis quickly until it began launching arcs of lasers, then moving slowly back towards Apollo until I felt it was comfortable to repeat the cycle.
 
 
Overall, still a tough fight as to be expected, but far from impossible, even in a challenge run like this.
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★★
 
⏲ 5:15 (Ares)
 
⏲ 8:38 (Thanatos)
 
⏲ 12:41 (Artemis/Apollo)
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-With Draedon’s defeat, the run is officially deemed to be a success
 
-I do get 1 more minion slot for a max of 22, bringing me just shy of 800 Sage Poison damage… but there’s a reason I’m not as hyped about this buff
 
 
 

Post-Game

 
Summary:
 
[This section covers BOTH the Adult Eidolon Wyrm and Terminus, since both are optional Post-Game content]
 
Unfortunately, this is another run where both AEW and Terminus are not realistically possible, at least not with my own level of skill.
 
 
Adult Eidolon Wyrm:
 
The Eidolon Wyrm is actually a unique case since only the head can deal contact damage, and only the head can take damage as well. This means that this Wyrm does not have the usual worm weakness of being able to hit lots of its segments at once, which really hurts considering its mobility.
 
 
Another fight where the enraged fight is too long to reliably beat, and the non-enraged fight is once again a greater issue of time… or lack thereof.
 
 
Terminus:
 
Terminus’ Draedon update upgrades are the main run-killer for this part of the challenge being possible. The faster, more aggressive bosses are both harder to dodge, which is bad since each fight here is going to probably be taking 10+ minutes, but also because the speed benefits them in much the same way as the Wyrm; allowing bosses to reliably dodge many of the Sprouts’ far slower projectiles.
 
 
While it is a bit of a letdown that neither endgame event seemed reliably possible, the fact we could even reach this point to make these observations still tells me this run was ultimately a success, and I hope it looks much the same way to you guys, too!
 
 
Difficulty Increase:
 
★★★★★★
 
⏲ N/A
 
 
Aftermath:
 
-This is now the end of the run, there is nothing beyond here.
 
 
 

[Final Notes]

And thus, that was the third and final part of the Viral Sprout run. I really hope you enj-
 
 
wait? what’s that? they’re- they’re called ‘Sage Spirits’? I’ve been calling them the wrong thing the whole time?
 
 
huh.
 
 
Ok that aside, I hope you enjoyed reading through the third and final part of the run, as well as my first ‘Guide’ to be released in 2022!
 
 
Hope to see you guys next time for whatever it is I upload next! 😛
 
 

 
 
This is all we can share for Calamity, Viral Sprout Only (Post-Moon Lord) – tModLoader for today. I hope you enjoy the guide! If you have anything to add to this guide or we forget something please let us know via comment! We check each comment! Don’t forget to check SteamClue.com for MORE!