The Terraria 1.4.4 update coatings system promises to revolutionise creation potential for one of the best crafting games on PC. The Labor of Love update is due to arrive in late September, bringing a whole wealth of quality of life updates including a huge increase to your Terraria inventory cap. Re-Logic has given an in-depth look at the previously announced new coatings system courtesy of two popular community builders, showing off the potential for some really clever Terraria builds using the new Illuminant and Echo coatings.
Terraria YouTubers Khaios and CheesyPaninie showcase the new coatings, Illuminant Coating and Echo Coating, in a new video. Illuminant Coating replaces Illuminant Paint – causing a glow-in-the-dark effect on anything it is applied to. Unlike Illuminant Paint, however, this new coating can be applied on top of other paints, meaning that you are no longer restricted to the item’s default colour if you want to apply the Illuminant effect.
Even more dramatic, perhaps, is Echo Coating. As previously shown, Echo Coating allows players to turn any object invisible by replicating the effect of the Echo Blocks introduced in the Terraria 1.4 update. Any object covered with Echo Coating will vanish, and only reappears when the player is wearing the Spectre Goggles accessory or standing in range of the brand new Echo Chamber item. Crafted with 20 Echo Blocks, 6 Wire, and 10 Gray Bricks, the Echo Chamber can be toggled on to cause every Echo Block and Echo coated item to appear.
As Khaios explains, there’s actually even more nuance to Echo Coating. Unlike Echo Blocks, items with Echo Coating are treated as if they are no longer there while invisible. This should be a huge boon for builders because it means they will create a distinct visual appearance. In addition, Echo Walls can now be used to trim and reshape visible walls by placing them adjacent to your current structure, which will cause the visible pieces to trim nicely to their smaller tessellated size and shape.
In addition, you can apply both Echo Coatings and Illuminant Coatings to the same blocks – allowing for items to be crafted that can be switched on at will and glow brightly upon appearance. Khaios gives some very cool examples of the uses of Echo Coating, such as hiding torches while still maintaining their light in tunnel networks. He also shows how he uses it to redesign the Legend of Zelda style enchanted sword shrine built using the new Terraria Rubblemaker item that also promises to offer huge building potential.
You can check out the full Terraria 1.4.4. coatings showcase below:
While you wait for Terraria 1.4.4 to arrive, why not check out some of the best Terraria mods, or a sneak peak at the future of one of the best sandbox games courtesy of a rather unique-looking piece of Terraria 2 concept art? We’ve also got guides to all Terraria bosses and how to maximise your Terraria happiness stats for NPCs and build those useful pylons, if you’re still learning how things work.