Tinkers Tools for 1.10+

[GreenZombie]

Tinkers Construct for 1.10 and later has changed a lot. Especially with the addition of Embossment, and the massive changes to the repair mechanism I would have expected far more discussion on what the current "good" tools are (never mind weapons).

I like tools, I really like tools, that don't ever break - or at least last long enough for my average burst use and then repair themselves while I occupy myself in my base.

But the new repair mechanisms are, use a component with 'ecological' (i.e. a wooden handle). This works for very low use tools. Apply Moss - but this doesn't actually repair the tool anymore unless you are picking up XP. Which you don't get even slightly enough of while mining, so you ALSO need to add a copper component for "Well Established". But then the durability is typically so compromised, especially as it still doesn't repair itself fully so you need to add a wooden handle or something.
Or you can go with Petramour via Ardite (iirc) - which - well, the tool has a chance to repair itself for each block its used on, but again I can't - for high use tools like the pickaxe or hammer - achieve a balance point where the repair amount is enough to prevent me having to repair the tool occasionally.

 

[GamerwithnoGame]

Tinkers Construct for 1.10 and later has changed a lot. Especially with the addition of Embossment, and the massive changes to the repair mechanism I would have expected far more discussion on what the current "good" tools are (never mind weapons).

I like tools, I really like tools, that don't ever break - or at least last long enough for my average burst use and then repair themselves while I occupy myself in my base.

But the new repair mechanisms are, use a component with 'ecological' (i.e. a wooden handle). This works for very low use tools. Apply Moss - but this doesn't actually repair the tool anymore unless you are picking up XP. Which you don't get even slightly enough of while mining, so you ALSO need to add a copper component for "Well Established". But then the durability is typically so compromised, especially as it still doesn't repair itself fully so you need to add a wooden handle or something.
Or you can go with Petramour via Ardite (iirc) - which - well, the tool has a chance to repair itself for each block its used on, but again I can't - for high use tools like the pickaxe or hammer - achieve a balance point where the repair amount is enough to prevent me having to repair the tool occasionally.

I think the reason why the "best tool" mod discussion is pretty limited is because Tinker's Construct 2, with the Embossment and Sharpening Kits, as well as the much wider range of material traits, was designed around building the tools that are right for YOU. There's no one perfect tool (though some will be better than others), and like you said you can't achieve the perfect balance anyway! Unbreaking tools are possible with 5 of the reinforcement plates; they aren't super high level, but they can be used in things like farming stations where you just want a simple tool you don't have to keep replacing!

 

[GreenZombie]

I don't buy that. Outside of a small set of min-maxers the community at large is mostly full of people who "can't be bothered".

A lack of discussion then means a lack of interest. And a lack of interest means the mechanism is too complex with too little return to bother with.

Based on some YT videos there are in fact, some very OP combinations. But mostly any freeform combination of things you throw together with TiC now is severely gimped as there are more 'wrong ways' to make a thing now than right ways.

 

[mathwiz617]

Regardless of whether you buy it or not, TInker’s 2 was designed for more balanced tools. There is no more “best combination” for everything, only situational combinations. Yes, there are OP combinations, but they aren’t perfect in every situation.

Besides, if you’re looking for better tools, there are more mods than just Tinker’s.

 

[WTFFFS]

The single most overpowered Tinkers tool is the Stone headed Stone Plated Wooden Handled Hammer, the instant you have 36 iron.
Followed closely by the Obsidian sharpened Stone headed Stone binding Wooden Handled pick the instant you have the 39th iron.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I don't buy that. Outside of a small set of min-maxers the community at large is mostly full of people who "can't be bothered".

A lack of discussion then means a lack of interest. And a lack of interest means the mechanism is too complex with too little return to bother with.

Based on some YT videos there are in fact, some very OP combinations. But mostly any freeform combination of things you throw together with TiC now is severely gimped as there are more 'wrong ways' to make a thing now than right ways.

You've got a flaw in your logic. Lack of discussion on this forum does not indicate a lack of interest, and a lack of interest most certainly does not mean the mechanism is too complex with too little return to bother with. It could simply be that it is so intuitive that no one feels the need to discuss, at least that's how it felt to me.

Quite frankly, the fact that there is no one 'best' tool is an indication of the quality of the balancing the team has done, which is entirely to their credit.

For a low-maintenance 'tunnel bore', you can try making a hammer with a Slime hammer head. This has several advantages over the stone one many people put forth as 'the best'. First, it has WAY more durability, which means repairing less. Second, it will spontaneously spawn little slimes, that you can then kill to obtain slimeballs needed to repair it with, meaning the primary advantage to using stone (ease of access to repair materials) has been superseded, almost to the point where I'd consider Slimy to be on par with Repair, and like a Stone hammer, it doesn't have the 'punch' to mine things like Redstone, so you can go in with your Silky Crystal pick to pick them out individually. Toss on a Vertical and a Horizontal addon, and you've got something that bores out a 5x5 minus the corners, which makes a neat looking tunnel shape. The last modifier could either be for Speed (assuming you don't help that out with something like a Cobalt plate) or Lapis for Fortune (although counter-productive since you're wanting to silk touch things that would normally be fortuned) or Silky itself for simply collecting smooth stone instead of cobble as well as giving it the opportunity to put obsidian sharpening on it so it just does all the things.

If you want the tunnel bore to go faster, swap out the slimy core with an iron one, the magnetic property also helps in collecting everything it spews out, and repairs with Iron, which shouldn't be any sort of problem by the time you get to unlocking hammers in the first place.

The Mattock is strictly superior to the hatchet, though. It chops down trees, and acts as a hoe, and has better durability numbers. Start out with a basic one with stone heads and wood handle, and work your way up to something that chops faster.

 

[GreenZombie]

I love Magnetic II, but Iron doesn't have a good mining level or durability, so I'm all for embossmenting an Iron head of some kind onto my tools.

My utility pickaxe - for doing work around my base non destructively - is a cobalt head, copper binding and wooden tool rod. Embossment is an Iron head, It has a silky jewel, moss and redstone.

It has good durability and mostly self repairs, lets me harvest glass and other breakables, can harvest things over drops or near lava safely and is fast without being uncontrollable.

 

[WTFFFS]

The Mattock is strictly superior to the hatchet, though. It chops down trees, and acts as a hoe, and has better durability numbers. Start out with a basic one with stone heads and wood handle, and work your way up to something that chops faster.

There is one thing the Hatchet does far better than the Mattock, which comes up often enough to notice, the Hatchet clears leaves instantly. But otherwise yeah the Mattock (now) is a great multitool for around a base

I love Magnetic II, but Iron doesn't have a good mining level or durability, so I'm all for embossmenting an Iron head of some kind onto my tools.

My utility pickaxe - for doing work around my base non destructively - is a cobalt head, copper binding and wooden tool rod. Embossment is an Iron head, It has a silky jewel, moss and redstone.

It has good durability and mostly self repairs, lets me harvest glass and other breakables, can harvest things over drops or near lava safely and is fast without being uncontrollable.

I always add or the pack already has Reliquary so magnetic once I get my mob farm up and running or get very lucky with a random Enderman is not needed and for me a mob farm comes usually as the next thing after initial ore processing, sometimes it's first. The Coin of Fortune from Reliquary is about the best 'magnet' I've found, it is easily togglable and has the ability to grab at a greater range if you sneak, which is surprisingly useful.

My other two cents is that Knightslime is a fantastic material, a binding/plate/tool rod with a high end head (Iron/Cobalt are my usual stops) makes for a ridiculously fast utility tool on absolutely everything.

 

[GreenZombie]

Adding the "Alien" trait gives (ultimately) the tool 800 points distributed between speed, durability and damage (where 1 point assigned to damage or speed grants 0.007 speed, or 0.005 attack). This makes it an interesting embossment for weapons (points assigned to damage on a tool are just wasted really).

Assuming that the points are distributed equally, thats +1.3... attack, +1.86... speed
Oh wait. The speed is given to harvest speed, not attack speed.
So 1/3 of the points are wasted on weapons or tools. And 266 durability is not really anything to write home about. +1.3 attack or +1.9 harvest speed seems pretty weak to waste your 1 embossment on.