What is the strongest item?

[cybers2001]

Bundling wrap is very strong but also very unfun to use.

[Lovens]

I think the two strongest items in the game are Charged Elding Spear and Alarming Clock. They are character-specific but incredibly strong and convenient compared to other weapons. Once you got them, you never have to worry about crafting another weapon ever again. They both are very strong damage-wise but also have unique combat qualities. Before Wigfrid rework I thought nothing can beat the convenience Alarming Clock provides (high damage, increased range, incredibly satisfying sound when used as old Wanda, runs off nightmare fuel, doesn't spoil, doesn't break, doesn't de-equip when reaches 0%, cheap to refuel). But what's even better than refuelling a weapon is just restoring its durability naturally during combat! Charged Elding Spear can be even recharged during boss fights if you use the special attack every once in a while. Outside of boss fights it's easy to recharge on weak mobs like bees/spiders/small tentacles. And the dash plus electric damage is also super satisfying, right on par with Alarming Clock.

Every other weapon in the game is nowhere close to being so great. You either have an infinite use hambat that slowly spoils and needs to be replaced when it rots, or stuff like tentacle spikes/dark swords/glass cutters that straight up break mid fight and the new one won't even get equipped automatically. With dark swords you always have to keep crafting them, so you need nm fuel and living logs on you, and sometimes stop mid-fight to craft. Shield of terror is annoying since you need to keep an eye on it and feed it so it doesn't break, also breaks faster from tanking, and has incredibly unsatisfying attack animation which somehow even feels slower even though it's not. Finally, rift weapons are definitely an improvement but they unequip at 0% and need a special kit to repair, which only stacks to 10 and would take up an additional inventory slot. 

[Balter]

This thing 

Most OP early game weapon, it wont ever break if you are attacking something while not moving. Plus it doesn’t cost any flint.

[NPCMaxwell]

As much as I disliked the Maxwell rework (I just don't like changes on my favourite character's gameplay unless I use a mod on purpose), I truly love the function of the magician's tophat and the magician's chest. They make it easier for someone like me who sometimes feels like he has to compulsively "clean up"  the biome from drops before some other creatures "steals" them from me, no matter how little use I have for them now, to not having to struggle to much between the options. Dropping items or placing chests / minibases / backpacks everywhere is so annoying when I suddenly feel the urge to go on my exploring-the-map-without-a-goal-in-mind adventures.

[W0l0l0]

Tumbleweed.

[Frosty_Mentos]

Depends on what you mean by "strength"

Armor wise? Marble.

Sustain? Mandrake soup.

Utility? Brightshade smasher.

Survival? Life giving amulets.

Etc. I don't think there's one, but if I were to pick one item in the game that makes a difference between not wasting my time or losing the world - Meat Effigies.

Meat effigies are very resource efficient and are a huge lifeline when it comes to survival worlds or if you die and got no other ways to go around. The fact that it's a lifeline you can make as insurance of your world is pretty huge imo. It used to be Touchstones for that they do same effect, but they act as location specific life giving amulets which is useful till you realize how far they can be.

[cybers2001]

In terms of frequency of use, the polar bearger bin is the only true perma-slotted item. Beyond that, my most carried items by far are: krampus sack, bundle wraps, brightshade smasher, lantern, umbrallah, and brightshade sword, in that order.

[Cr4zyFl4mes]

Backtrack watch. Definitely.
- Are you in trouble?
Right click and you are not in trouble anymore.
- Do you need to get somewhere fast?
Right click and you are there instantly / after shard hopping loading screen.
- Are you in need of a specific item from your base?
Dismantle one of your backtracks, make new temporary tp spot, hop to base and back.
- Is your teammate in trouble near base or nearby other Backtrack endpoints? Did they accidentaly start a wildfire during summer? Did a griefer came to burn your base just before the new day begins so that you can't rollback?
Tp back, put out the fire, little-to-no repair needed.
- Did I mention it is free to use and has an upgraded option to tp entire team?

Items for everyone are harder, but probably Polar bearger bin. At least in terms of general use (Lazy Explorer / Saddle are contenders for the first spot as well). I guess you could argue that you wouldn't defeat many bosses and other enemies without a weapon and therefore any weapon > Polar bearger bin, but i would argue you wouldn't be able to get far without any food, light source or basic resources. And we would end up arguing what single item would get you the furthest in the game. And I don't think there are any that would singlehandedly get you significantfly far unless consumables did not count as "items". If food didn't count (basic resources like crafting material would still count) and you could survive off of butterflies, honey and berries, then it would probably be Tentacle spike. You can get one without the use of any items whatsoever, you can technically survive the night by staying near lava pond / running between fireflies, and if you got lucky worldgen, you could join caves by using a rook to break the entrance and then surive the nights by dropping lightbulbs or eating glowberries or swapping between shards. With tentacle spike you could technically defeat all seasonal bosses, probably Dragonfly?, clear the ruins and defeat Ancient Guardian. I don't think there would be a better single item that would get you this far.

[AliceShiki]

I'll go with the incredibly boring answer of... Flint.

No Flint? No Axes, no Pickaxes which essentially means no nothing.

Obviously Flint isn't particularly relevant as the game goes on, but it's definitely the game-defining early game resource that can absolutely kill your run if you're unlucky with getting it.

If we aren't counting natural resources and are instead going only with craftable stuff though... Then Thermal Stone. I can't think of any item that is as powerful as the Thermal Stone in letting you endure the seasons.

[reddocc]

 

[cybers2001]

3 hours ago, Pedro cc said:

 

I’ll take these over a dead glommer flower