Drops
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Every 50th kill of this enemy drops Present Mimic Banner.how it gets into the event
It appears only during the Frost Moon, which puts it past Plantera by default, and it ignores the schedule everything else in that event follows. Where other enemies are tied to particular waves, a present mimic can turn up from the earliest wave onward, taking the slot a wave appropriate enemy would have used. The one limit is a cap on how many can be out at once, so a few is all you will ever face at a time.
why you rarely see one
Like every mimic, it starts as scenery and sits perfectly still. During the Frost Moon that is deeply unusual, since everything else charges the moment it spawns. So a present mimic usually appears somewhere off screen and simply stays there, quietly holding one of its slots and never bothering you. Walking near it or hitting it switches it on. After that it chases until one of you is dead, provided it keeps sight of you.
it hits harder than any other mimic
This is the heaviest hitter of the family, biome mimics included, and it arrives in an event where you are already juggling several large threats. Waking one accidentally while a wave is on top of you is how a good run ends. If you are clearing corners of the arena, be aware that a gift box lying in the dark may not be loot.
hearts are the real reward
It leaves a pile of hearts, which during the late waves is worth more than anything on its loot table. Potion cooldowns and scarce healing are what actually stop a Frost Moon run, and one of these is a refill. The catch is timing: with a Heartreach Potion active, the widened pickup radius drags those hearts in whether you need them or not, so keep your distance while you are near full health rather than walking straight over the drop.
after the night ends
- It does not run away at dawn like much of the event does, so it can still ambush you while you wander the arena collecting drops.
- Its gift drops are locked to the Christmas season. Pushing deep into the late waves triggers a day of Christmas, which is what allows them once daylight arrives.
- It is the only enemy in the event left out of the announcement when a new wave starts, so there is no warning that one is around.
- Score per kill goes up in Expert and again in Master, so on the higher modes it pushes the wave counter noticeably harder.