Rework idea for nightmare saddle with new ability

[Jakepeng99]

The initial planar damage bonus has been removed and replaced with ramping planar damage like the scyth. The damage reduction has been nerfed to 20% to make room for another mechanic.

When you are on your maximum ramp, being hurt will make you not take knockback/stuns and you will take 40% less damage, but will reset your ramp. The higher your ramp, the higher your damage reduction will be, with a max of an extra 50% less damage taken.

 

I like this more because it makes you earn the benifits, and adds new strategies for the saddle without replacing old ones. It is still overall the best, especially in the right hands, but there is still reasons to use the rest.

[SOS-Ouroboros-K]

I personally don't think such a change - immune repelling and gradually increasing damage - is appropriate.
Given the nature of the nightmare saddle and the nature of Beefalo itself, a direct attack from Beefalo deserves its own punishment. Otherwise, even if the player activates Fissure, their battle mode will remain in the previous stage, which will discourage the exploration of new items and even prevent the addition of new items in the future.
As it stands now, after Fissure, the benefits of domesticated Beefalo are better suited to further focus on riding while limited optimization of its other capabilities, including direct combat. If the player needs to fight as a bull cavalry, the improvement should be in the direction of adding and balancing ranged weapons, rather than Beefalo itself by using the saddle -- the former obviously brings more strategic tradeoffs.
(PS: It's also possible to design a hand-held gun for extra damage, which seems more reasonable than a saddle.)
In addition, if we really need a mount with a direct attack at its core, consider domesticating Koalefant and Grass Gator, distant Cousins of Beefalo who are in an even more awkward position.