Detailed Tier List: Accessories, Mounts, and Armor

652Graystripe

Plantera
This is a tier list - cautiously based on my own experience and "research" - about the equipable items of Terraria: accessories, mounts, and armor. Unlike past tier list threads, this is not based solely on community input, but if you comment I'll definitely take it into consideration.

I am also strongly considering adding some analysis to each entry to make the tier list more informative (kudos to @Baconfry for his in-depth weapon tier list), but I am also a little bit leery of that since it makes the whole thread considerably more dense. I may add description for some of the more important items and see where we go from there.

Accessories
Accessories being the ones that you stick in the accessory slots, of which you have 5 (6 in Master, and you unlock an additional in Expert/Master Mode). These can make or break your game with a myriad of useful effects.

For the purposes of this thread, I will not be ranking those that don't affect your stats as it pertains to combat. While the Paint Sprayer can be very useful to builders, its utility is also impossible to judge, since it's based solely on the patience of the user. Likewise, the Cell Phone components are less "accessories" and more "things you keep in your inventory." I will also not rank wings individually, since they're relatively balanced as of 1.4 and fulfill mostly the same purpose.

Lastly, it's worth noting that accessories' best prefixes can vary, but the usual two are Warding (+4 Defense) and Menacing (+4% damage). Lucky (+4% critical strike chance) is also worth considering in some very specific situations. Because of this, it may be useful (especially early-game) to use an accessory with a favorable modifier over a slightly more useful one that has no modifier - a Warding Radar versus a normal Flipper, for example.

I rank these based on overall utility and how easy they are to obtain. The former is much more important than the latter, but if an accessory is ridiculously hard to get, I will note that.

Pre-Hardmode
All obtainable before beating the Wall of Flesh. Easy to get? Not always. But they're obtainable.
Aglet.png

Aglet
The +5% speed offered by the Aglet is useful until you get some other accessory to replace it. The only specific scenario where it comes in handy is the Expert Eye of Cthulhu, which requires all the speed you can get. And even then, other accessories will probably take precedent.
Tier: C

Amphibian_Boots.png

Amphibian Boots
These somewhat-useful boots will require you to do some fishing, but once you get them, they give you a good amount of mobility - especially when combined with the bottle jump accessories. Be warned, however, that they can’t be used to make Spectre Boots, so you should have another pair of boots on hand for that purpose.
Tier: B+

Anklet_of_the_Wind.png

Anklet of the Wind
10% extra movement speed is a decent amount, but it doesn’t usually outweigh other accessories. This accessory, which is sometimes annoying to get, is mostly just there to craft the Lightning Boots.
Tier: C+

Arctic_Diving_Gear.png

Arctic Diving Gear
You should only upgrade from the Jellyfish Diving Gear if you happen to have spare Ice Skates, since you’ll be wearing Frostspark Boots more often than diving gear. But if you have the skates, go ahead, and you’ll find that the very small amount of underwater work you do will be a lot easier.
Tier: C+

Balloon_Pufferfish.png

Balloon Pufferfish
Should you get lucky while fishing, you may pull up this endearing little accessory. The extra jump height can be okay, although you should weigh it heavily against other accessories. Also consider making a Sharkron Balloon out of it, which is an easy-to-get mobility item that will prove quite useful.
Tier: B

Blizzard_in_a_Bottle.png

Blizzard in a Bottle
Better than the Cloud due to the horizontal momentum you can get with the double-jump, plus it’s almost as easy to get. Especially without the Shield of Cthulhu, the Blizzard can be extremely handy to get a running start.
Tier: A-

Bundle_of_Balloons.png

Bundle of Balloons
These are completely unobtainable without extensive sky island fishing, so they’re usually not worth it to go for. That being said… the mobility offered is actually very significant, and the quadruple jumps will greatly help you in most all fights. Wings are almost always better, though.
Tier: C+

Climbing_Claws.png

Climbing Claws/Shoe Spikes
The ability to wall-jump gives you great mobility in the very earliest stages of the game, where it can help you avoid having to build your way over obstacles. Rope is easy, but oftentimes wall-jumps are even easier. They do, however, become largely obsolete once you pick up a grappling hook.
Tier: B

Cloud_in_a_Balloon.png

Cloud in a Balloon (and other balloons)
Though getting to a floating island can be a little tough in pre-Hardmode, the increased jump height of these balloons will really help you as you head toward Hardmode. Bear in mind that most worlds will have 1-2 Shiny Red Balloons at most, so you may want to plan for that (although the Sharkron Balloon is a renewable option).
Tier: A-

Cloud_in_a_Bottle.png

Cloud in a Bottle
It’s easy to find and easy to use, although it’s considerably weaker than the Blizzard and Sandstorm in a Bottle. You’ll likely find one of these on your way through the underground, and it will provide your first valuable mobility boost. Then you can replace it.
Tier: B+

Diving_Gear.png

Diving Gear
Is it an acceptable way to explore large bodies of water, which usually don’t have much to explore in them? Absolutely. That’s one thing it does really well.
Tier: B-

Dunerider_Boots.png

Dunerider Boots
I place these separately from the Hermes Boots because 1) they require you to brave the Underground Desert and 2) they make you absurdly fast on sand. If you choose to design your arena for it, this speed can prove invaluable against almost any pre-Hardmode boss. You’ll want some Spectre Boots alongside them, though, for vertical movement and non-sand situations.
Tier: B+

Fairy_Boots.png

Fairy Boots
The Flower Boots have very limited utility, and the Spectre Boots should be kept intact to make into Lightning, then Frostspark, then Terraspark Boots.
Tier: D

Fart_in_a_Jar.png

Fart in a Jar
Aside from making me mildly uncomfy, this accessory provides you with a good double-jump option that's noticeably better than any other (except the rare Sandstorm in a Bottle). If you happen to get a Whoopie Cushion, this is a good accessory to have. Unfortunately, you're not likely to get one before something more powerful has taken this thing's place.
Tier: B

Flipper.png

Flipper
Water can be a bother in the early stages of the game (i.e. before you have a grappling hook or double-jump accessories), so a Flipper can be a welcome addition to your accessories. Once you don’t need it, you should feel free to ignore it, since water is not particularly dangerous once you have mobility items.
Tier: B-

Flying_Carpet.png

Flying Carpet
If you get this from a pyramid chest, you’re 1) lucky and 2) fortunate. The horizontal glide that it offers lets you get the drop on a variety of enemies and enhance the ways you can travel around your world; it will only fall out of favor once you’ve got wings in Hardmode.
Tier: A-

Frog_Flipper.png

Frog Flipper
While swimming is nice, and the Frog Leg is nice, neither of them are usually worth an accessory slot on their own. The same goes for the Frog Flipper, which combines the two of them and doesn’t give the more useful benefits of the Amphibian Boots.
Tier: C-

Frog_Gear.png

Frog Gear
Giving surprisingly good mobility (especially in water), you should definitely think of this accessory if you pick up a Frog Leg while fishing. On the flipside, though, the Tiger Climbing Gear falls off rapidly once you get a grappling hook, and it can also be used to craft the Master Ninja Gear later down the line; likewise, the Flipper has other uses. Is it worth it? I’ll give you a definitive maybe.
Tier: B

Frog_Leg.png

Frog Leg
The increased jump height and fall resistance of the Frog Leg will give you an edge, especially if you combo it with any double-jump accessory. Keep in mind, though, that it isn’t always worth the accessory slot, especially with any balloon in play.
Tier: B

Frog_Webbing.png

Frog Webbing
Like the Tiger Climbing Gear, this accessory becomes rapidly less useful once you get a grappling hook, which should be relatively soon. By crafting it, you also miss out on the excellent Master Ninja Gear later on, as well as better Frog Leg tinkers such as the Amphibian Boots.
Tier: B-

Frostspark_Boots.png

Frostspark Boots
Though the ice mobility they provide is relatively negligible unless you do a lot of fighting in the tundra, the Frostspark Boots are a fantastic accessory thanks to the increased movement speed they offer. They even work with wings to grant additional flight time and speed. You should only drop them if you’re relying on a mount.
Tier: A+

Hellfire_Treads.png

Hellfire Treads
Although they do look absolutely sweet, these will prevent you from crafting the much better Terraspark Boots. Skip ‘em.
Tier: D

Hermes_Boots.png

Hermes Boots
Almost mandatory before you fight your first bosses, the Hermes Boots and equivalents will let you sprint across the ground once you’ve built up speed. Pick them up and use them for exactly as long as it takes to upgrade them to Spectre Boots, which let you take to the skies as well as sprint.
Tier: B+

Honey_Balloon.png

Honey Balloon
Of all the things to use your Shiny Red Balloon for, why this? It doesn’t grant a double-jump and it can’t be tinkered with the Lucky Horseshoe. It doesn’t even make sense as an accessory. Don’t go for it.
Tier: C-

Blue_Horseshoe_Balloon.png

Horseshoe Balloons
Fall damage can be a nuisance, although there are lots of ways (double jump, boots, grappling hook) to mitigate it. Use these to eliminate those worries. If you have designs on the Bundle of Balloons (hope you like fishing), these can’t be used for that, so be cautious.
Tier: A-

Ice_Skates.png

Ice Skates
Navigating the mostly-annoying, sometimes-treacherous terrain of the snow biome? Have some ice skates! Anywhere else? Haha what are you doing! It’s worth noting that these can give you surprising mobility on an ice battlefield, which can combine well with Hermes Boots for early boss fights.
Tier: B

Jellyfish_Diving_Gear.png

Jellyfish Diving Gear
Although you’ll have to go a little out of your way to get the Diving Helmet in the first place, the Jellyfish Diving Gear can provide some useful mobility - and good light - when underwater. If you go underwater a lot.
Tier: B-

Lava_Charm.png

Lava Charm
For those who enjoy playing with fire, the Lava Charm is a fantastic toy. I recommend keeping it on you for whenever you encounter lava, and not wearing it in the interim. Bear in mind that it takes some time to charge up, so you can’t just slap it on and immediately go swimming!
Tier: B+

Lava_Waders.png

Lava Waders
Though Water Walking Boots are painfully rare, the ability to walk on water (and lava) can come in handy… sometimes. You mostly want these for the Lava Charm’s ability, so they earn the same ranking.
Tier: B+

Lightning_Boots.png

Lightning Boots
As the benefits of the Frostspark Boots are not too huge compared to these ones, you should feel perfectly fine about sticking to Lightning Boots. They’re even useful when you have wings, as they boost your flight time and speed.
Tier: A+

Molten_Charm.png

Molten Charm
It’s fine, but the Obsidian Skull’s effect is much easier to obtain through the Obsidian Shield. If you don’t have the Shield yet (you probably will), feel free to use this.
Tier: C+

Molten_Skull_Rose.png

Molten Skull Rose
This accessory is mostly a waste of a Lava Charm, since it can’t be used to craft the Lava Waders. If for some reason you have no hope of getting the Lava Waders and therefore the Terraspark Boots, you can use your Lava Charm on this. Outside of that… don’t.
Tier: D

Obsidian_Water_Walking_Boots.png

Obsidian Water Walking Boots
Like with the Water Walking Boots, the need to walk on water is rare, and the Obsidian Skull’s fire protection is already readily accessible (see: Obsidian Shield). These will really only appear if you’re going for the Lava Waders but haven’t picked up the charm yet.
Tier: B-

Panic_Necklace.png

Panic Necklace
Unlike many accessories that activate when you get hit, the Panic Necklace helps you avoid additional damage, which makes it pretty nice. It’s not exactly the toppest tier of accessories, but it certainly performs well early in the game.
Tier: B

Rocket_Boots.png

Rocket Boots
The upward mobility these give you will come in very handy against the later fights of Pre-Hardmode, including Skeletron and the Wall of Flesh. However, to get the most out of them, you should immediately combine them with Hermes/Flurry/Sailfish/Dunerider Boots to get the Spectre Boots.
Tier: A-

Sandstorm_in_a_Bottle.png

Sandstorm in a Bottle
Although it’s infuriatingly rare, this is the best of the bottle accessories, providing a powerful upward jump that will help you even into early Hardmode. If you can get it, use it.
Tier: A-

Shiny_Red_Balloon.png

Shiny Red Balloon
By itself, this fetching balloon won’t help you a whole lot. Combined with the readily available double-jump items, it’s most certainly a different story.
Tier: B-

Spectre_Boots.png

Spectre Boots
Though they aren’t quite as speedy as the Lightning Boots and upgrades, the Spectre Boots will give you the best mobility available pre-Hardmode. Since they’re easy to obtain once you have the Rocket Boots, you should tinker them right away.
Tier: A

Sweetheart_Necklace.png

Sweetheart Necklace
The main reason my tenth grade sweetheart left me was my complete inability to shoot bees, which this necklace really would’ve helped with. It’s mostly handy for the Panic Necklace’s abilities; the bees are extra. If you’ve got the components, feel free to make it. I can’t stop you.
Tier: B

Terraspark_Boots.png

Terraspark Boots
If you’re lucky enough to get a set of Frostspark Boots (easy) and Lava Waders (more difficult), you can make yourself the Terraspark Boots. They provide the same benefits as the Frostspark (very useful) and the Waders (very useful but only if you’re near liquids). If you can, go for them!
Tier: A+

Tiger_Climbing_Gear.png

Tiger Climbing Gear
Weirdly, Shoe Spikes and Climbing Claws can be a little bit difficult to both pick up, but if you do, you can make the Tiger Climbing Gear. Unfortunately, grappling hooks perform most of the same duties with little hassle, and they’re easy to get. Consider this gear if you really need to wall-slide for some reason, but outside of that, you can skip it.
Tier: B

Tsunami_in_a_Bottle.png

Tsunami in a Bottle
This comes pretty often from Wooden Crates, so if you're prepared to do a little fishing, you should be able to obtain it. It's also marginally better than the Cloud in a Bottle, although it isn't nearly as good as the Blizzard/Sandstorm because of their momentum boost abilities. If you have difficulty getting the others, go ahead and search for this.
Tier: B+

Water_Walking_Boots.png

Water Walking Boots
They’re useful when near water… sometimes. If you manage to get them (they’re annoyingly uncommon). I like to keep these in my vanity slots, just to put on if I need to stay standing on water for whatever reason. Bear in mind that they also allow honey-walking, which gives less Christian metaphor but can theoretically, maybe, help with the Queen Bee fight.
Tier: B-
Band_of_Regeneration.png

Band of Regeneration
This easy-to-find accessory will give you a base 0.5 HP per second - not much, but its real use is that it works immediately after you've been damaged, as well as when you're poisoned or bleeding. The survivability it provides can be pretty handy, especially in Expert Mode (where regeneration is much slower), but it's nothing too spectacular.
Tier: B+

Cobalt_Shield.png

Cobalt Shield
Knockback immunity is a must-have as you move towards Hardmode, and the Cobalt Shield is the first accessory to provide that. You’ll be able to preserve momentum during fights, making you far better at getting out of danger quickly. You should make this into an Obsidian Shield as soon as possible.
Tier: A

Bezoar.png

Debuff accessories
The only two of these that can be found prior to Hardmode are the Bezoar and Nazar. Since debuffs are rarely a major problem except in specific instances, you should feel fine about putting them in a chest to wait for the Ankh Shield. The one exception is using the Bezoar against the Queen Bee, where it can protect from the poison you’ll probably get during that fight.
Tier: C

Honey_Comb.png

Honey Comb
This accessory triggers when you get hit, which means that taking damage (however slight) is crucial to its function. Additionally, the bees it releases aren’t particularly dangerous, although they can provide a little distraction for weaker enemies.
Tier: C+

Obsidian_Shield.png

Obsidian Shield
Once you get the Cobalt Shield, it’s easy to get its obsidian upgrade, which will serve you well for all of the game. Though it is weaker than other shields (notably the Ankh Shield), it is also much easier to get, and will work just fine until you get something else.
Tier: S

Shackle.png

Shackle
The Shackle is trivially easy to get, since it drops off Zombies. One extra defense can be handy in the early stages of the game, and a Warding or Armored Shackle can actually be quite useful for some players. However, if you get something better, don’t hesitate to replace it.
Tier: C+
Black_Counterweight.png

Counterweights
Counterweights are arguably the least important part of the Yoyo Bag, which any yoyo master will carry with them. They’re mainly useful for a small amount of increased DPS and the (iffy) ability to knock nearby enemies away. Because of their close range, they don’t typically help much in anything but invasions, but they’re at least something.
Tier: B

Feral_Claws.png

Feral Claws
+12% melee speed is nothing to sneeze at (unless you’re a yoyo master, in which case it won’t help). If you like your melee weapons, absolutely slap the Feral Claws on to boost that damage output.
Tier: A-

Magma_Skull.png

Magma Skull
If, for whatever reason, you don’t have an Obsidian Shield but have visited the Underworld already, you can have a Magma Skull. Key word can; it won’t serve you too well in combat thanks to the relatively small damage bonus of the Magma Stone.
Tier: C+

Magma_Stone.png

Magma Stone
Obtained at the very end of pre-Hardmode, the Magma Stone contributes a small amount of damage to your melee weapons. Since fire doesn’t affect everything and doesn’t do a whole lot at this point, you would be better off equipping something like the Feral Claws.
Tier: C+

Shark_Tooth_Necklace.png

Shark Tooth Necklace
Giving you five points of armor penetration, the Shark Tooth Necklace can be surprisingly potent as you fight higher-defense enemies; this comes in particularly handy in Expert and Master modes, where it can noticeably boost your DPS.
Tier: B

Stinger_Necklace.png

Stinger Necklace
What else were you going to use that honeycomb with? Maybe the Panic Necklace, but that’s a maybe. If you have a spare Honey Comb lying around, feel free to use it with the Shark Tooth Necklace to make this somewhat-useful accessory.
Tier: B
Band_of_Starpower.png

Band of Starpower
An essential first step for any magic user, the Band of Starpower grants 20 extra mana. That can help you a little bit - for example, you get two extra Vilethorn shots. It’s most useful, however, for its numerous upgrades.
Tier: B

Celestial_Cuffs.png

Celestial Cuffs
Celestial Cuffs will allow you to generate free* mana by being damaged, at the cost of, well, being damaged. They’ll also let you reel in mana stars, ensuring that you’ll almost always be topped off during invasions and the like. Because of how squishy magic users tend to be, you’ll have to watch your health with these, although that can be offset with Spectre Armor’s lifesteal ability.
Tier: A

Celestial Magnet
Celestial_Magnet.png

If the Travelling Merchant shows up with this in his satchel, you should pick up a few, because it has a lot of upgrades. It’s a good start for mages and will help you sustain your damage in several fights, although it takes up space in battles where no stars are dropped (see: Skeletron, Skeletron Prime, the Twins, and others). It’s best for its tinkers.
Tier: B+

Magic_Cuffs.png

Magic Cuffs
Though they’re (annoyingly) only obtainable on Corruption worlds, mages should always consider these. The mana you’ll get from being hit is invaluable, although you should watch how much damage you take. Tinker them with the Celestial Magnet to get the best effects.
Tier: B+

Magnet_Flower.png

Magnet Flower
Whenever the Travelling Merchant shows up bearing Celestial Magnets, you should pick a few up. The Magnet Flower is one of the best accessories you can tinker with the Magnet, especially for use in invasions/Moon events where lots of stars will be dropping. For individual bosses, consider the Celestial Cuffs instead.
Tier: A+

Mana_Flower.png

Mana Flower
One of the great annoyances of mages is having to manually consume Mana Potions (J is the default hotkey). This accessory eliminates that trouble, letting you keep your hands free and mind untroubled during high-pressure fights. Consider it especially if you’re using a higher-mana weapon like the Magic Missile line.
Tier: A-

Mana_Regeneration_Band.png

Mana Regeneration Band
As the next step up from the Band of Starpower, the Mana Regeneration Band is mostly just a crafting ingredient for the Magic Cuffs. It functions alright on an early-game caster.
Tier: B

Nature%27s_Gift.png

Nature’s Gift
6% decreased mana usage seems relatively small, and it is. Many magic weapons cost so little mana already that 6% will only impact them by 1, which usually doesn’t turn the tides. In the case of a few specific mana-heavy weapons, this can give them a little more firing time, but you should mostly pick it up for the Mana Flower.
Tier: B-
Flower_Boots.png

Flower Boots
These are useful only if you plan on getting Strange Plants in Hardmode. Although they are rather fetching, don’t pick them up intending to use them on the daily.
Tier: C

Guide_to_Plant_Fiber_Cordage.png

Guide to Plant Fiber Cordage
Rope is especially handy in the early game, so having more of it is good… right? Given how prevalent normal ropes are from pots and chests, you shouldn’t have any difficulty amassing ludicrous amounts of it. This book mostly just eats up your inventory slots.
Tier: C-

Inner_Tube.png

Inner Tube
Functioning like a discount version of the Water Walking Boots, the Inner Tube will let you stay afloat - but not move particularly fast - in water. If you need to cross a lake or something, feel free to put it on. It also looks darned funny, I’ll give it that.
Tier: B-

Jellyfish_Necklace.png

Jellyfish Necklace
Having light underwater can be really useful, although there are other ways to get it (see: glowsticks, lots of weapons). If you need it in a pinch, feel free to pack this along.
Tier: B-

Lavaproof_Fishing_Hook.png

Lavaproof Fishing Hook
Once you pick this up (if you do), fishing in lava will become a much more lucrative endeavor. If equipped with a solid fishing rod, Master Bait, and a Crate Potion, you should be able to rake in more general loot than fishing aboveground. That's if you get it, though.
Tier: B

Lucky_Horseshoe.png

Lucky Horseshoe
Although fall damage negation is nice, the Lucky Horseshoe truly functions well only when tinkered with a balloon accessory - which you’ll hopefully get at about the same time, since you’ve evidently decided to explore floating islands. By itself, it’s really not much.
Tier: B-

Obsidian_Horseshoe.png

Obsidian Horseshoe
Of all the combos… why this? The Lucky Horseshoe should always be combined with a balloon accessory, which are far more generally useful, and the Obsidian Skull is so much easier to integrate with the Obsidian Shield.
Tier: D

Obsidian_Rose.png

Obsidian Rose
Reduced damage from lava can be nice if you’re clumsy, or in a few cases where you can use lava to exploit invulnerability frames. But the Obsidian Rose finds itself to be a very niche accessory, and there are better options out there if you hate lava.
Tier: C

Obsidian_Skull.png

Obsidian Skull
This is a great accessory if you plan to do Meteorite mining or to traverse the underworld, but that's about it. It should be integrated into the Obsidian Shield as soon as possible.
Tier: B

Obsidian_Skull_Rose.png

Obsidian Skull Rose
This is a serviceable accessory, as it provides you general fire protection. However, like the Obsidian Rose, it isn't too often that you'll be coming into contact with lava, especially not during crucial fights. Likewise, the Obsidian Skull can be better incorporated into the Obsidian Shield.
Tier: C

White_String.png

Strings
If you’re a yoyo master, these can be surprisingly useful to boost your yoyo’s range. This is especially evident in fights like Skeletron and the Wall of Flesh, where staying at a distance is the only way to succeed. Outside of those situations, they aren’t overly useful (especially since they only affect yoyos).
Tier: B-

Treasure_Magnet.png

Treasure Magnet
This accessory can function like a budget Heartreach Potion or Celestial Magnet, since it draws in hearts and mana stars in addition to items (it has a 10-block radius). However, beyond that, its combat utility is virtually nil.
Tier: C
Brain_of_Confusion.png

Brain of Confusion
After its buff in 1.4, the Brain of Confusion has become a very viable accessory for Expert and Master Mode players. While wearing it, you have a ⅙ chance to dodge any damage, which also confers a brief crit chance buff. In addition, being struck may confuse nearby enemies, which provides welcome relief from hordes of attackers. You need a little bit of luck, so it’s not as reliable as the Worm Scarf, but it will absolutely save your life many times.
Tier: A+

Hive_Pack.png

Hive Pack
The Hive Pack, if you’re willing to take up an accessory slot, can make your bee-based weapons and accessories slightly better. The Honey Comb and its tinkers aren’t very powerful, and the bonus damage only makes them very slightly better, but the Queen Bee’s weapon drops - particularly the Bee Gun - can become actually kind of fearsome with the Hive Pack. Since it’s so situational, though, it has very little utility once you drop the bee weapons. And no, unfortunately, it doesn’t work with the Hornet Staff.
Tier: B-

Royal_Gel.png

Royal Gel
Slimes can be bothersome at times, but they’re rarely dangerous. That’s why an accessory that makes them neutral isn’t especially good. Put it on if you don’t have anything else or if you want to make an impromptu Slime Staff farm, but that’s pretty much it.
Tier: C

Shield_of_Cthulhu.png

Shield of Cthulhu
This shield is the accessory that allows you to survive Expert Mode. The instant acceleration of the shield dash lets you dodge attacks better than anything else, which is crucial when enemies are dealing ludicrous amounts of damage. It should only be replaced if you rely on mount movement, where it can’t be used to dash.
Tier: S

Worm_Scarf.png

Worm Scarf
For years, the Corruption was the lesser (greater? better?) evil for Expert Mode players thanks to the fantastic 17% damage reduction that the Worm Scarf offers. It lessens the blows dealt in the game’s deadliest settings, making it an all-important survival accessory all the way through the game.
Tier: S

Hardmode
Which is to say: post-Wall of Flesh.

Master_Ninja_Gear.png

Master Ninja Gear
Though the wall-climbing abilities are forgettable by this stage of the game, the powerful dash of the Tabi and the (small) auto-dodge chance of the Black Belt will help you in any fight. It can even be used to replace the Shield of Cthulhu in Expert/Master Mode, at the cost of a few defense points.
Tier: A

Neptune%27s_Shell.png

Neptune’s Shell
If you happen to be near water, why not have a Neptune’s Shell equipped? It’s almost guaranteed to drop in any solar eclipse, and it’s the be-all end-all of water mobility accessories. Which are pretty situational, since Terraria is mostly made of not-water.
Tier: B-

Tabi.png

Tabi
What a dash! If you’re not in Expert/Master mode, this dash will give you the mobility you need to survive fast fights like the Empress of Light and Lunatic Cultist. Even if you are in those modes, the dash provided is longer and doesn’t bounce off of enemies - for better or worse in that last case.
Tier: B+

Angel_Wings.png

Wings
Once you get into Hardmode, wings are a must-have due to their mobility far outstripping the Spectre Boots you probably had before. Although they’ll start off small, the horizontal movement they provide is a lifesaver in almost every fight from here on out.
Tier: S
Ankh_Charm.png

Ankh Charm
The Ankh Charm’s debuff immunity is helpful, but it’s even more helpful when crafted with a readily available Obsidian Shield to produce the Ankh Shield. If you don’t have that by now, you should absolutely pick it up.
Tier: B

Ankh_Shield.png

Ankh Shield
Getting it is painful, that’s true. But the Ankh Shield is an easy contender for the strongest shield in the game, providing appreciable defense while also rendering you completely immune to a variety of very unpleasant debuffs. Not many of these debuffs come from bosses, mind you, so you might be better off with the Paladin’s or Frozen Shields; but for day-to-day adventuring, you will find no better protection.
Tier: A+

Bee_Cloak.png

Bee Cloak
Unfortunately, the stars and bees summoned by this accessory don’t deal very much damage, so they won’t provide any particularly strong retribution for losing your health. You can safely skip this, since both components have better tinkers anyway.
Tier: C

Black_Belt.png

Black Belt
Reenact your favorite action movies with the Black Belt, which gives you an 11% chance to dodge any damage. Unfortunately, since it triggers randomly, you may not look very cinematic if you rely on it.
Tier: B

Charm_of_Myths.png

Charm of Myths
Providing nice health regeneration and promoting your health potion addiction, the Charm of Myths is a good accessory for everyone. If you have something that works better for your playstyle, though, you can safely drop it.
Tier: B+

Cross_Necklace.png

Cross Necklace
The power of Christ compels you… to get this stylish, useful necklace! It’ll make invasions much more forgiving, plus allow you to deal better in boss fights that have a tendency for rapid hits (see Skeletron Prime). It can function well as a generalist accessory well into the late game, although it faces stiff competition for the slot.
Tier: A-

Flesh_Knuckles.png

Flesh Knuckles
Can you be any tankier? These knuckles give you a whopping +7 defense before modifiers, making you quite a bit more damage-absorbent. In multiplayer, they’ll also allow you to get hit more (oh) instead of your squishier friends (that’s the good part).
Tier: A-

Frozen_Turtle_Shell.png

Frozen Turtle Shell
This uncommon accessory makes you a lot tankier when you drop to critical health, which can save you in a pinch. But don't count on it for long-term fights, since taking hits will reset your regeneration. Just use it to stall if you need to.
Tier: B

Frozen_Shield.png

Frozen Shield
The Frozen Shield is a viable alternative to the Ankh Shield if you’re willing to look for it. Although it doesn’t give debuff immunity, it’s a lot more tanky, making you a lot beefier for endgame fights. Notably, most late-game bosses don’t inflict many debuffs, so the Frozen Shield can be a handy option for those fights.
Tier: A+

Hero_Shield.png

Hero Shield
Competing against the Berserker Glove and Frozen Shield, the Hero Shield really doesn’t stack up that well. It provides only one more defense than the latter, which also happens to be 4 less than the Paladin’s Shield with the Flesh Knuckles. In general, it really provides nothing that you won’t get from something else.
Tier: B-

Paladin%27s_Shield.png

Paladin’s Shield
Although it is strictly inferior to the Frozen Shield, the Frozen Turtle Shell can be a bit of a pain to find, making this the next best option. It provides excellent tanking abilities, which make it superior to the Ankh Shield in many endgame boss fights. Just be a little cautious with how you use it in multiplayer, where it can cause you to take unwanted damage from teammates.
Tier: A+

Philosopher%27s_Stone.png

Philosopher’s Stone
You’ve probably raced against the one-minute cooldown of a healing potion before, and the Philosopher’s Stone can really help with that by bringing it down to 45 seconds. Bear in mind, though, that the Charm of Myths is trivially easy to craft from this, so you should immediately upgrade.
Tier: B

Pocket_Mirror.png

Pocket Mirror
If you happen to get this, it won’t hurt to equip it if you’re fighting a Medusa, but that’s the only time it’s at all useful. Considering that Medusas are not the worst thing you’ll have to deal with anyway, you can probably ignore this one.
Tier: C

Star_Cloak.png

Star Cloak
Is this… defense? I don’t know. But the stars deal so little damage that you won’t be using it for offense. Additionally, its reliance on being hit means that it shouldn’t be in use too often. It’s only useful if tinkered with the much better Cross Necklace.
Tier: B-

Star_Veil.png

Star Veil
Although the increased invulnerability window provided by the Cross Necklace will help you in many situations, the stars of the Star Cloak deal pitifully little damage. Added to the fact that you need to take damage to activate them, you’d be fine just sticking with the better half of this accessory.
Tier: A-
Avenger_Emblem.png

Avenger Emblem
For those of you who fear commitment/like flexibility, the Avenger Emblem is here to give you a flat 12% damage boost. Could it be better for specific scenarios? Yeah. Is it a great amount of damage for generalists? Absolutely. But consider crafting it into something more potent (say, a Destroyer Emblem, Mechanical Glove, or Celestial Emblem).
Tier: B+

Berserker%27s_Glove.png

Berserker’s Glove
You’re the best it is at what you do, and what you do isn’t very nice. Boasting a great defense boost on top of solid melee speed and knockback increases, this clawed glove is an alternative to the Mechanical Glove for the defense-focused player. Or make both, if you have enough Power Gloves. They’re not terribly hard to get.
Tier: A-

Celestial_Emblem.png

Celestial Emblem
As one of many Celestial Magnet tinkers, the Emblem stands out due to its superb +15% magic damage on top of the good mana regeneration offered by stars. Keep in mind that many boss fights (especially the Empress of Light and Moon Lord) will not provide many stars, so you may opt for something else if you need mana. But damage… you’ve got it here.
Tier: A-

Celestial_Shell.png

Celestial Shell
The Celestial Shell is one of the most potent combination accessories in the game, giving across-the-board buffs, boosting melee characters during the night, and giving formidable mobility in water. Although you can swap it out for something more specific, it’s a fantastic general-use accessory.
Tier: S

Celestial_Stone.png

Celestial Stone
As a generalist accessory, the Celestial Stone excels. Blanket stat boosts are always useful, and both the Sun and Moon Stones are pretty easy to get along the way through the game. It’s worth noting that, if you’re comfortable swapping every day cycle, the individual stones will provide more buffs, provided it’s the right time.
Tier: S

Sorcerer_Emblem.png

Class emblems
You can’t get much better than +15% damage in a weapon group of your choice, although it may not confer the same boosts as more specialized accessories. Once you fight the Wall of Flesh enough to get the one(s) you need, you’ll have a valuable asset for the rest of the game.
Tier: A+

Destroyer_Emblem.png

Destroyer Emblem
Its damage boost is lower than that of the Avenger Emblem (or more class-specific items), but the crit boost makes up for it. In almost all scenarios, the Destroyer Emblem is a great all-around choice; be prepared, however, to pick up a few extra Avenger Emblems if you want the Mechanical Glove and/or Celestial Emblem.
Tier: A-

Eye_of_the_Golem.png

Eye of the Golem
The bonus to crit chance can increase your DPS more than you’d think, but that’s still not very much. This should be going into your Destroyer Emblem instead of being used on its own.
Tier: B

Fire_Gauntlet.png

Fire Gauntlet
Boasting an uncanny resemblance to the Infinity Gauntlet, the Fire Gauntlet is unfortunately a bit weaker than its precursor, the Mechanical Glove. Fire damage is just not that powerful at this stage in the game, so you’d be better off with the extra 2% swing speed. But that doesn’t mean you can’t stack them if you have the resources…
Tier: B

Hercules_Beetle.png

Hercules Beetle
If you’re prepared to fork over some cash (a recurring trend for summoners at this stage), you can get yourself the powerful Hercules Beetle. Your minions will be doing a lot more damage with it equipped, which is good, because you have the defense of a paper bag. Zing!
Tier: B+

Magic_Quiver.png

Magic Quiver
If you enjoy your archering, the Magic Quiver is a great accessory for you. The improved damage and velocity will turn the tides if used with any of Terraria’s powerful bows: the upper-tier repeaters, Chlorophyte Shotbow, Tsunami, Eventide, and Phantasm all come to mind. If you’re comfortable with these bows - and lots of people are! - be happy for the Magic Quiver.
Tier: B+

Mechanical_Glove.png

Mechanical Glove
Granting tremendous melee boosts that are almost always better than the Fire Gauntlet, you should absolutely use the Mechanical Glove if you like your melee weapons. The only exception is if you’re using yoyos, which can’t have their speed modified.
Tier: A+

Molten_Quiver.png

Molten Quiver
In singleplayer, this serves as a straight upgrade to the Magic Quiver, so if you have a spare magma stone lying around, you should go ahead and make it. Like its predecessor, it gives great boosts to your arrow weapons, which will make them very deadly. Fire damage is usually not much to talk about at this stage of the game, but every little bit helps.
Tier: B+

Moon_Charm.png

Moon Charm
The benefits of being a werewolf are many, especially if you enjoy melee combat. So put this on - it can give you a nice set of buffs (at night). Or, better yet, use it to make the Celestial Shell.
Tier: B-

Moon_Shell.png

Moon Shell
As mentioned with the Moon Charm and Neptune’s Shell, the transformations are usually not worth an accessory slot unless you’re doing something specific. So, why not use this to make the much-better Celestial Shell?
Tier: B-

Moon_Stone.png

Moon Stone/Sun Stone
These are notable for the considerable buffs they provide during their half of the day. They are, strictly speaking, better than the Celestial Stone if you can remember to shift them on and off as the wheel of time turns. Better set a timer.
Tier: B+

Necromantic_Scroll.png

Necromantic Scroll
Another minion is another chunk of damage, so in this case, more is more. Assuming it isn’t replacing something life-saving, you should invest in the Necromantic Scroll. The Pumpkin Moon can be a pain, but you’ll likely get more than one scroll, so you can also make the Papyrus Scarab.
Tier: B+

Apprentice%27s_Scarf.png

Ogre accessories
If you happen to get these during the Old One’s Army event, they can give you a little oomph. Coupled with the handy turrets available (chiefly the Queen Spider), they’ll help enhance your utility if you enjoy quasi-summoner play. I said “if” a lot in this description, which should tell you something.
Tier: B

Papyrus_Scarab.png

Papyrus Scarab
If you like your minions, this is the ultimate accessory. Equip it to gain an extra minion slot and some potent stat boosts for your little flock. Bear in mind, however, that it is rather summoner-specific.
Tier: A-

Power_Glove.png

Power Glove
Although it doesn’t provide the bonus damage of the Mechanical Glove, the Power Glove is not as “so bad” as that old movie claimed it was. Its valuable melee speed and knockback bonuses will make any melee character happy they have it.
Tier: A

Putrid_Scent.png

Putrid Scent
5% extra damage is something, but it doesn’t add up to much against accessories like the class emblems. Keep in mind that this one’s benefits are chiefly multiplayer-based, where it will encourage enemies to attack and maim your friends.
Tier: B-

Pygmy_Necklace.png

Pygmy Necklace
Pay up to the Witch Doctor, and you’ll get another minion. This can be very useful, plus it’s easier to get than the Necromantic Scroll, but it of course takes up an accessory slot. Balance your options.
Tier: B+

Recon_Scope.png

Recon Scope
For the discerning ranger on a Corruption world in multiplayer, the Recon Scope can be a potent asset. Notice those qualifiers; if you’re not in multiplayer, it’s identical to the Sniper Scope. Both of them are useful options for rangers, though, boosting damage and crit chance by a solid 10%.
Tier: B-

Sniper_Scope.png

Sniper Scope
It lacks the multiplayer-only benefit of the Recon Scope, but the Sniper Scope provides a potent boost for rangers. And only rangers. While it’s sliiightly better than the Destroyer Emblem used to craft it, it really isn’t much to write home about. The zoom ability is okay, but it can change the spawning radius and cause all kinds of havoc to farms; plus, good luck using it on a touchpad or some kinds of mouse.
Tier: B

Stalker%27s_Quiver.png

Stalker’s Quiver
You should only consider using this Magic Quiver upgrade if you’re on multiplayer, where it will send the enemies chasing after your silly tank friends instead. In that regard, it can be better than the Molten Quiver, whose fire damage is relatively small; but if you’re alone, go Molten.
Tier: B

Titan_Glove.png

Titan Glove
The autoswing provided is nice in some cases, and the knockback will help keep you alive as you journey through early Hardmode. But consider immediately tinkering it with the Feral Claws to get a Power Glove.
Tier: B+

Yoyo_Bag.png

Yoyo Bag
Providing absurd bonuses to any yoyo you use it with, the Yoyo Bag is a must if you want to play what we affectionately call the “yoyo lord.” Be sure to check out the Skeleton Merchant whenever he appears if you want to obtain its components!
Tier: A+

Yoyo_Glove.png

Yoyo Glove
The real power of the Yoyo Bag is in the Glove, which doubles your yoyoing. Just hit an enemy, and another yoyo will come out and spin around the original. It gives you crowd control in a weapon that needs it, and damage in a weapon that has a lot already.
Tier: A
Arcane_Flower.png

Arcane Flower
The Arcane Flower is an upgrade to the Mana Flower only if you’re playing multiplayer, where it will encourage enemies to attack your tankier friends. Because of the existence of better Mana Flower tinkers (i.e. the Magnet Flower), you should skip this one if you’re not with friends.
Tier: B+

Mana_Cloak.png

Mana Cloak
Consider not using this. With the negligible damage of the falling stars and the much better Mana Flower upgrades out there (see: Magnet Flower), the Mana Cloak is really not a great option.
Tier: B-
Coin_Ring.png

Coin Ring
Though picking up coins from afar is kind of nice, the addition of the frustratingly rare Lucky Coin makes this accessory mostly unviable. Fighting the pirates over and over again to get it gives you more money anyway.
Tier: C

Discount_Card.png

Discount Card
What can I say? It’s free money. If you happen to get it, you should always keep the Discount Card on hand for your shopping trips. Just don’t keep it equipped for fights!
Tier: A+

Gold_Ring.png

Gold Ring
Increasing coin pickup range isn't a real big deal, especially not in the heat of combat. You can use this for AFK farms, I guess.
Tier: C+

Greedy_Ring.png

Greedy Ring
The best pirate drop is really the Discount Card, so adding in the other two (particularly the rare Lucky Coin) makes this accessory kind of unwieldy. If you get it, that’s fine, but chances are you don’t need money by that point anyway.
Tier: C+

Lucky_Coin.png

Lucky Coin
Although it’s fiendishly rare, this can help fill your pockets if you’re particularly fond of long-term farming. You’ll usually accumulate far more money trying to get it, really.
Tier: C+

Rifle_Scope.png

Rifle Scope
Not only can it break automatic farms due to altering the spawn radius, it’s also hard to aim while zooming. Also, good luck doing that if you don’t have a standard mouse.
Tier: C-
Gravity_Globe.png

Gravity Globe
The “flight” offered by the Gravity Globe is theoretically infinite, which is cool and all, but you really need something a little more dynamic - wings or a mount - if you want to survive in Expert Mode. Then again, you’ve beaten the Moon Lord, so do what you want.
Tier: C+

Soaring_Insignia.png

Soaring Insignia
Wings suffer next to endless-flight mounts because they force you to land occasionally, but the Soaring Insignia lets you get the best of both worlds by keeping you in the air indefinitely. This allows you to use the superior mobility of wings and the Shield of Cthulhu to dodge many attacks. Only swap it out if you’re in a fight that requires the steadier movement of a mount - such as the Moon Lord fight - or if you really, really want another accessory.
Tier: S

Shiny_Stone.png

Shiny Stone
Although it may seem extremely potent, this Expert accessory has one caveat: it doesn’t improve regeneration while you’re attacking, which in most fights should be almost always. You can put it on to recover during brief pauses in invasions, I guess?
Tier: C+

Spore_Sac.png

Spore Sac
Surprisingly enough, the damage of these spores can be quite formidable, and they travel freely through walls, but they aren’t exactly fast and may even get in the way of your piercing weapons’ damage due to invincibility frames. Moreover, you’ll be hard-pressed to justify this over other accessories in late Expert Mode.
Tier: B-

Volatile_Gelatin.png

Volatile Gelatin
A bouncy orb of gel is a slight addition to your DPS, and the Volatile Gelatin really shines at keeping you safe while fishing or mining. But for situations where you actually want to deal damage, you’ll be better off with something else.
Tier: C+
 
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Armor
You know - you wear it.

Armor is ranked based on its overall utility as well as competing sets and, less importantly, how difficult it is to obtain. I haven't subdivided the tiers here since there's far less armor sets than there are accessories. I've also split it up into hardmode and pre-hardmode.

Because class systems in Terraria are flexible, I've chosen to rank armors not just against others of their class, but against all other armors. Class loyalty can, in some cases, be a real handicap. Although I get that a lot of people like to play that way, I prefer to adapt as necessary, and if that means dropping a mediocre armor set that fits my preferred class, so be it.

Pre-Hardmode
All obtainable before beating the Wall of Flesh. Not included are the Mining and Angler Armors, since those serve purposes outside of combat.

Pumpkin_armor.png

Defense: 7
+10% damage

Who would've guessed that pumpkins make good armor? This is really only viable in Halloween season, as only the one-boss-defeated Dryad sells pumpkin seeds outside of spookytime, but it's almost a pigeonhole armor if you're early-game and it's Halloween (or you set your clock to Halloween).

Tier: A-

Wood_armor.png

Defense: 3

It's easy to find. But the other wood armors are almost as easy, and they give more defense. The numbers don't lie.

C+

Cactus_armor.png

Defense: 4

The surface is relatively easy to deal with, and most woods or cactus come cheap. Why not make some armor out of them? These armors will give you a modicum of protection, and they're easy to find and comfy to wear.

Tier: B+

Shadewood_armor.png

Defense: 5

It has defense comparable to the early ore sets and is acceptably easy to obtain; just watch out while you're in the Corruption/Crimson. Swap it out soon, though.

Tier: B+

Rain_armor.png
Snow_armor.png

Rain Armor/Snow Armor
Not worth searching for. By the time you've got them, you'll have something better.

Gladiator_armor.png

Defense: 10

Hoplites are easier to fight than they used to be, and if they're nice about it you'll get some sweet-looking, solid armor. Hoplite Armor is definitely one you can fight the first bosses with, although it isn't always the easiest to find.

Tier: B

Obsidian_armor.png

Defense: 13

Though it's very cool, it's also not particularly easy or intuitive to obtain. If you want to get it pre-Eater/Brain, you'll need bombs (not too difficult, but any effort is kind of wasted here). Better as a vanity set.

Tier: C+

Fossil_armor.png

Defense: 8
+9% ranged crit chance, 20% chance not to consume ammo

Its bonuses are relatively weak, and the Underground Desert can be a real pain to exist in. Fossil armor is not worth going out of your way for.

Tier: C

Copper_armor.png

Defense: 6

It very nearly gets outshined by shadewood, and other ores are nearly as common. Probably skip it.

Tier: C-

Tin_armor.png

Defense: 7

Marginally better than copper, but still very weak and quickly replaced by something better, even if that something is lead.

Tier: C-

Iron_armor.png

Defense: 9

Unacceptably weak for how much grinding you need to do to get it, even if iron is common. You're better off with silver/tungsten, or maybe ninja armor.

Tier: C

Lead_armor.png

Defense: 11

Is it better than iron? Yes. Is it better than armors that are just as easy to get? No.

Tier: C

Silver_armor.png

Defense: 13

Slightly more attainable than gold or platinum, silver will give you solid utility. It's an easy armor to beat the first bosses in.

Tier: A-

Tungsten_armor.png

Defense: 15

Better than silver by a noticeable amount, but it serves largely the same purpose. Use it for your first boss fights.

Tier: A-

Gold_armor.png

Defense: 16

If you manage to scrounge up the painfully boring amount of gold, which isn't too difficult except to your sanity, you can get this metallurgically improbable armor. It'll carry you well past the first bosses, at which point you can start getting specialized armor.

Tier: A-

Platinum_armor.png

Defense: 20

So much better than gold that it's not even funny (if your world has gold), platinum armor is similarly annoying to obtain but will serve you considerably better. It's almost not worth getting since it'll get you to Shadow/Crimson so fast.

Tier: A-

Jungle_armor.png

Defense: 17
+80 maximum mana, +12% magic crit chance, -16% mana usage

The Jungle Armor makes being a mage a lucrative proposition; despite its rather low defense, the increased mana and damage output is enough to make you a real powerhouse. The Underground Jungle can be rough, but you shouldn't have too much trouble amassing the necessary spores, stingers, and vines to craft this.

Tier: S

Ninja_armor.png

Defense: 9
+9% crit chance, 20% increased movement speed

It comes from the easiest boss in the game and provides a solid movement speed bonus, so you'd be remiss not to consider this. If it falls into your hands, that is.

Tier: B-

Crimson_armor.png

Defense: 19
+6% damage, greatly increased life regeneration

This armor confers multi-class bonuses, making it the last generalist armor in pre-hardmode. It also provides very solid defense and good regeneration, which will increase your survivability quite a bit. Although it lacks specialized damage, you won't find yourself having much trouble while wearing it. It's also obtained as a natural part of progression, being crafted from the Brain of Cthulhu's drops.

Tier: S

Molten_armor.png

Defense: 25
+17% melee damage

Although Hellstone farming can be a little boring, it's not that difficult, and the armor you get for it is the tankiest in pre-Hardmode. In classic mode, it'll also take you into Hardmode pretty effectively. Though the additional bonuses are melee-only, the increased defense makes it easily possible to play with other weapons.

Tier: A+

Meteor_armor.png

Defense: 16
+21% magic damage, Space Gun/Zapinator cost no mana

Although it doesn't provide the same level of versatility as the Jungle Armor, Meteor Armor is easy to obtain - meteorites are pretty natural parts of progression, after all - and gives solid bonuses. Most noteworthy is the synergy with the Space Gun and Zapinator, both of which are very powerful weapons. Although it's locked behind the Eater/Brain since 1.4, meteor armor remains a powerful choice.

Tier: A

Necro_armor.png

Defense: 16
+15% ranged damage, +15% ranged crit chance

Obtained from Dungeon drops, the Necro Armor is usually the last of the pre-Hardmode armors you will get (save perhaps Molten). It doesn't disappoint, though, giving acceptable defense and conferring great boosts to several powerful ranged weapons.

Tier: A+

Shadow_armor.png

Defense: 19
+21% melee speed, +15% movement speed

The Shadow Armor, although optimized for melee users, is a good all-around armor thanks to its good defense and huge movement speed increase. There are better specialized options out there, but since it's so easy to get, you should consider shadow armor.

Tier: A+

Bee_armor.png

Defense: 13
+2 minion capacity, +23% minion damage

The summoner struggles in pre-Hardmode, not least because they have a defense like wet tissue paper. That being said, the Bee Armor is decently easy to find, comes at the same time as a solid minion, and will allow you to dish out some good damage. Just make sure you're good at dodging.

Tier: B+

Hardmode
Second verse, same as the first.

These armors are all obtainable without beating Plantera. Queen Slime and the mechs may still be necessary (but are not in a majority of the situations).

Pearlwood_armor.png

Defense: 8

Please do not use this. It's considerably worse than the armor you are probably already wearing.

Tier: D-

Spider_armor.png

Defense: 20
+3 minion capacity, +28% minion damage

Although its defense is a little lacking, spider armor is relatively easy to obtain (even easier than ore armors) and confers great bonuses. Good news, too, because if you plan to be a summoner, you'll need them.

Tier: S

Cobalt_armor.png

Defense: 17/19/26
+3% crit chance, +10% move speed
+40 max mana, +9% magic crit chance, -14% mana usage (Hat)
+10% ranged damage, +6% ranged crit chance, 20% chance not to consume ammo (Mask)
+7% move speed, +27% melee speed (Helmet)

Cobalt armor is not always worth it to obtain, but it gives solid benefits; it's just that mythril/orichalcum is almost as easy to obtain and is much stronger. It's worth noting that cobalt especially shines in the melee speed area if using the Helmet, which can make flails in particular very dangerous. However, the frailty of even the Helmet set will make you wish you had something sturdier.

Tier: B

Palladium_armor.png

Defense: 21/23/32
+5% damage, +3% crit chance, rapid healing when striking enemies
+7% magic damage and crit chance, +60 max mana (Headgear)
+9% ranged damage and crit chance (Helmet)
+8% melee damage, +12% melee speed (Mask)

Like its counterparts, the Palladium Armor trades class-specific benefits for general advantages, making it far more flexible. It also offers a very nice regeneration boost, which will keep you alive in many situations - it's great for boss fights in particular. Like cobalt, it's a little frail, but you should be able to deal with the mechs in a palladium set.

Tier: A

Mythril_armor.png

Defense: 24/27/37
+5% damage, +3% crit chance
+60 max mana, +15% magic damage, -17% mana usage (Hood)
+12% ranged damage, +7% ranged crit chance, 20% chance not to consume ammo (Hat)
+13% melee crit chance, +10% melee damage (Helmet)

Mythril is most suited to players who prefer to stick to their class, since the benefits offered to specific damage types far outweigh those of the alternate ores. With acceptable defense, you'll find yourself absorbing more damage than before, but Hardmode is a time of drastically increased damage anyway. Mythril will, however, get you past the mechs in a pinch.

Tier: A-

Orichalcum_armor.png

Defense: 27/30/42
+6% crit chance, +11% move speed, flower petals will sweep across the screen when you hit an enemy
+18% magic crit chance, +80 max mana (Headgear)
+15% ranged crit chance, +8% move speed (Helmet)
+7% melee damage, move speed, and melee speed (Mask)

Orichalcum boasts a very impressive damage output, since the flower petals will put a dent into things no matter where they are on the screen. Combined with the bonuses to class features, it is one of the best sets in early Hardmode, and relatively easy to get too.

Tier: A+

Adamantite_armor.png

Defense: 32/36/50
+6% damage, +4% crit chance, +5% move speed
+80 max mana, +11% magic damage and crit chance, -19% mana usage (Headgear)
+14% ranged damage, +8% ranged crit chance, 25% chance not to consume ammo (Mask)
+7% melee crit chance, +14% melee damage, +18% melee speed, +18% move speed (Helmet)

Adamantite armor offers unparalleled bonuses to class features and is actually bulkier than titanium, making it a good choice for those who need to get to the mechs. That being said, adamantite can be a pain to mine, and you're probably much better off devoting that ore to Frost or Forbidden armor - both fantastic candidates.

Tier: B+

Titanium_armor.png

Defense: 30/34/49
+7% damage, +6% crit chance and move speed, titanium shards will encircle you when you deal damage
+16% magic damage, +7% magic crit chance, +100 max mana (Headgear)
+16% ranged damage, +7% ranged crit chance (Helmet)
+8% melee damage, speed, and crit chance (Mask)

As one of the last hardmode ore armors, titanium holds up very well, with the shards keeping you safe from a lot of ground-based enemies. The class bonuses are pretty solid as well. As with adamantite, however, it competes with Frost and Forbidden Armor, which require less titanium to craft and can often be stronger. Don't, however, disregard titanium: it's very tanky and has great attributes.

Tier: A

Crystal_Assassin_armor.png

Defense: 36
+15% damage and crit chance, +25% increased move speed

Dropped by Queen Slime (in pieces, so you'll have to fight her more than once), the Crystal Assassin set provides decent all-around damage and fantastic move speed increase while also boasting a defense stat that can be a bit lacking in Hardmode. For those who treasure their versatility, it does the job pretty well. However, you're usually better off using a couple of weapons, usually from one or two classes, and not branching out too much.

Tier: B-

Frost_armor.png

Defense: 43
+16% melee/ranged damage, +11% melee/ranged crit chance, +8% move speed, +7% melee speed, melee and ranged attacks cause frostburn

Frost Armor is probably the best set you can get before fighting the mechs, and it will hold up all the way through the Plantera fight. Although the defense is bested by a few of the ore sets, it's appreciable, and the combination of melee and ranged weapons will make you a very potent force. The frostburn is the icing (ha) on the cake, resisted by almost nothing and supplementing your damage nicely. Ice Golems are easy to farm and, once you get enough titanium/adamantite, this armor will let you power through all of the early- to mid-Hardmode threats.

Tier: S

Forbidden_armor.png

Defense: 26
+15% magic/summon damage, +80 max mana, +2 minion capacity, can call an ancient storm

Although it's hard to compare to Frost Armor, the Forbidden Armor is also an excellent choice. Though it can take a while to obtain thanks to the rarity of sandstorms, it gives you a powerful arsenal of magic- and minion-based attacks. Unfortunately, the ancient storm lacks the overall utility of frostburn, and resummoning it can be a pain; it also doesn't perform too well versus the Twins and Skeletron Prime, who are the primary threats you're facing at this stage.

Tier: A

Apprentice_armor.png

Defense: 32
+2 sentry capacity, -10% mana usage, +30% minion damage, +20% magic crit chance, +10% magic damage, +20% move speed, Flameburst range is dramatically increased

Though sentries are not especially integral to gameplay, the other bonuses conferred by this armor are rather nice for mage/summoners. It's also pretty annoying to get, requiring three defeats of the Old One's Army at its second tier. Not especially easy, but doable.

Tier: B

Squire_armor.png

Defense: 56
+2 sentry capacity, +15% melee damage, +30% minion damage, +20% melee crit chance, +20% move speed, increased life regeneration, Ballista pierces more and rapid-fires when you take damage

It's nicely tanky and offers some useful bonuses that summoners don't usually get, but relying on sentries is inadvisable in the upcoming fights. You could do better.

Tier: B-

Huntress_armor.png

Defense: 36
+2 sentry capacity, +20% ranged damage, +20% move speed, +10% ranged crit chance, +30% minion damage, Explosive Traps oil enemies

As one of the Tavernkeep staffs that isn't very good, the Explosive Trap rod does not make this armor any better. Thankfully the existing bonuses are enough to give it some utility, but Frost, Hallowed, and Chlorophyte Armor will all outmatch it in most situations.

Tier: B-

Monk_armor.png

Defense: 46
+2 sentry capacity, +20% melee damage and speed, +20% move speed, +10% melee crit chance, +30% minion damage, Lightning Aura can crit and strikes faster

The notable melee damage increase is what really stands out here, but it's hindered by the general mediocrity of the Lightning Aura (even in the Old One's Army). You would do better with another light melee set such as Frost or Chlorophyte.

Tier: B

Hallowed_armor.png

Defense: 27/31/35/50
+7% damage/crit chance, +8% move speed, hitting an enemy will give temporary immunity (30-second recharge)
+3 minion capacity, +10% minion damage (Hood)
+100 max mana, +12% magic damage and crit chance (Headgear)
+15% ranged damage, +8% ranged crit chance (Helmet)
+10% melee damage, crit chance, and speed (Mask)

The Hallowed Armor can be found as a normal part of progression, as its ingredients drop from the mechs. It's also a very powerful set, providing occasional invulnerability and good class-specific bonuses. Unless you're packing something you really don't want to give up, you should seriously consider Hallowed gear.

Tier: S

Chlorophyte_armor.png

Defense: 38/44/51
+5% damage and move speed, +15% crit chance, summons a leaf crystal that shoots at your enemies
+80 max mana, -17% mana usage, +16% magic damage (Headgear)
+16% ranged damage, 20% chance to not consume ammo (Helmet)
+16% melee damage, +6% melee crit chance (Mask)

Chlorophyte Armor is superb, providing excellent damage (that leaf crystal is surprisingly strong) and allowing you to handle Plantera well. It can be troublesome to farm for (especially given how much chlorophyte you need for it plus the later armors), but it's almost always worth it.

Tier: A+

Turtle_armor.png

Defense: 65
+14% melee damage, +12% crit chance, reduces damage taken by 15%, enemies take damage equal to double inflicted, enemies are more likely to target you

The Turtle Armor is the quintessential tank armor, absorbing more damage than anything else at its level. However, you may find some difficulty outlasting bosses, and mobility is still the way to go in most situations. Additionally, it's rather annoying to obtain, requiring turtle grinding in the dangerous Jungle.

Tier: B+

These are available post-Plantera, moving up to the endgame armors.

Tiki_armor.png

Defense: 35
+4 minion capacity, +30% minion damage

Easily obtainable (for some coin) after you beat Plantera, the Tiki Armor is useful insofar as it will get you to the Pumpkin Moon. Oh, and it functions pretty well for the events in between. But there's better options available.

Tier: B+

Spooky_armor.png

Defense: 30
+4 minion capacity, +20% move speed, +58% minion damage

At the cost of having defense like a newborn baby, the Spooky Armor gives you a ridiculous damage output, and since it's summon-based you can take the time to dodge. You better be good at it, though. And you must have been, to get enough resources from the Pumpkin Moon.

Tier: A

Shroomite_armor.png

Defense: 51
+25% ranged crit chance, +12% move speed, +20% chance not to consume ammo, stealth effect (increases ranged damage and crit chance) while standing still
+15% arrow/mask/rocket damage (Headgear/Mask/Helmet respectively)

Although its bonuses are powerful, it really only shines in multiplayer, with a dedicated tank player to draw fire. Not moving, and being knocked out of stealth when being hit (plus not gaining stealth while firing), makes the Shroomite gear somewhat lackluster. It's got useful abilities nonetheless, but rangers do suffer at this stage of the game.

Tier: B+

Spectre_armor.png

Defense: 30/42
+15% magic damage, +7% magic crit chance, +8% move speed
-40% magic damage, 20% of magic damage done heals you/nearby allies (Hood)
+60 mana capacity, -13% magic usage, +5% magic damage/crit chance, magic damage done to enemies damages nearby enemies as well (Mask)

I remember when this armor was... cartoonishly, absurdly overpowered. That's not now, but it's still very good. The Hood gives you extreme survivability, while the Mask supplements your damage to great levels. Both are valid choices (or swap between them at will). Mages do pretty well for themselves here.

Tier: S

Beetle_armor.png

Defense: 61/73
+6% melee damage/melee speed/move speed, enemies are more likely to attack you
+8% melee damage, +8% crit chance, +6 move speed and melee speed, beetles will appear to increase melee damage and speed (Scale Mail)
+5% melee damage, +5% crit chance, beetles will increase damage reduction (Shell)

This armor makes you what the young'uns call a "heckin' chonker." The tanking abilities are fantastic, although the armor can fall to repeated hits thanks to the Shell's beetles taking time to regenerate after damage. You should absolutely consider this set, especially in multiplayer.

Tier: A

Dark_Artist_armor.png

Defense: 42
+3 sentry capacity, +25% magic damage/crit chance, +60% minion damage, enhanced Flameburst

Hahaha, look at that minion damage! But it's only on one minion, and that minion had better be the Stardust Dragon. It's not as bad as some of its compatriots, but it's not particularly easy to get and, more importantly, lacks the immense utility of the Spectre set.

Tier: B-

Valhalla_Knight_armor.png

Defense: 68
+3 sentry capacity, +30% move speed, +20% melee crit chance, +60% minion damage, massively increased life regen, enhanced Ballista

This can be an absolutely devastating armor set to use with the Stardust Dragon in particular. Unfortunately, its sentry abilities are somewhat wasted outside of the Old One's Army, but its tanking capabilities and great move speed make it a valuable asset for melee players.

Tier: A

Red_Riding_armor.png

Defense: 48
+3 sentry capacity, +25% ranged damage, +10% ranged crit chance, +20% move speed, +60% minion damage, enhanced Explosive Trap

The Explosive Trap is a bad sentry, and that weighs this armor down heavily. However, +25% ranged damage (without needing to be in stealth like with Shroomite) is nothing to sneeze at, and if used in conjunction with a strong minion (say, the Stardust Dragon) you can handle the pillar events well.

Tier: A-

Shinobi_Infiltrator_armor.png

+3 sentry capacity, +20% melee damage/speed/crit chance, +20% move speed, +60% minion damage, enhanced Lightning Aura

The Lightning Aura is quite bad and not worth using even with this armor. While the other attributes are solid, it's not usually worth it to obtain this armor set, especially compared to the Beetle and Valhalla Knight armors.

Tier: B-

Solar_Flare_armor.png

Defense: 78
+22% melee damage, +17% melee crit chance, +15% move speed and melee speed, enemies are more likely to target you, solar shields will generate to explode on contact/reduce damage/allow dashing

The Solar Flare Armor will turn you into an absolute behemoth, both offensively and defensively. It's only gotten better since 1.4. Of course, you need to beat the Moon Lord to get it, but it will make subsequent fights much, much easier.

Tier: S

Vortex_armor.png

Defense: 62
+36% ranged damage, +27% ranged crit chance, +10% move speed, 25% chance not to consume ammo, toggle stealth to increase ranged ability at the cost of movement

Unlike Shroomite armor, the bonuses on this set are much more accessible, and you don't even need to be in stealth (which doesn't disappear every time you get hit) to get most of them. The stealth mode is not overly useful except in multiplayer, but the set as a whole is still a powerful asset, especially coupled with weapons like the S.D.M.G. and Phantasm.

Tier: S

Nebula_armor.png

Defense: 46
+26% magic damage, +16% magic crit chance, +10% move speed, -15% mana usage, +60 max mana, hurting enemies will spawn buff boosters that can be picked up for buffs

Though it was nerfed in 1.4, the Nebula Armor lets you amass fantastic bonuses to mana regen, health regen, and damage. It's not a dazzling star like it used to be, but it functions very well. Of course, you've beaten the Moon Lord by this time anyway, but...

Tier: A+

Stardust_armor.png

Defense: 38
+66% minion damage, +5 minion capacity, summons a Stardust Guardian to defend the player

Look at that damage! And the Stardust Guardian functions very nicely since 1.4 came along. Your defense is, of course, miniscule; but thankfully, minions let you focus on dodging. Go for it.

Tier: S

Mounts
All equipable in the "Mounts" slot. Though they are typically mobility enhancers, some of them also have other effects. All of them can be equipped from the "Mounts" slot by pressing a hotkey (default R).
The Drill Mount is not listed here, as it's endgame and isn't used the same way as other mounts.

All obtainable before beating the Wall of Flesh.

Slime_Mount.png

The Slime is probably the first mount you'll get, as killing King Slime is pretty darn easy. The high jump and Mario-bounce abilities can prove really useful in combat, especially against the Eater of Worlds and other bosses that move laterally. That being said, the slime moves very slowly horizontally, and if you're not careful you may find yourself taking unwanted fall damage.

Tier: B+

Bunny_Mount.png

Obtained from the Angler after five quests, the Bunny is an entirely serviceable mount that can propel you to decent speeds and has a good jump ability. Its main drawback is that it accelerates rather slowly, so you need to use your grappling hook (or Shield of Cthulhu) carefully to make the most of it. Usually, Spectre Boots will fare better against most bosses due to their more controlled flight and faster acceleration.

Tier: B

Turtle_Mount.png

The Turtle is the slowest mount on land, with a pathetic jump to boot. However, it moves pretty fast in the water, making you extremely maneuverable against the many deadly fights the Ocean has in store... wait, there aren't any til Hardmode? And there are other mounts then that work better?

Never mind. You probably shouldn't use the Turtle.

Tier: C

Flamingo_%28mount%29.png

The Flamingo is essentially an upgraded version of the Bunny that'll set you back 20 gold rather than five agonizing Angler quests. It moves just as fast and accelerates faster, making it slightly more viable in boss fights; it also handles water well and has a good jump. Plus, it's stylish. However, like the Bunny, there are usually better alternatives for boss fights, the most obvious being Spectre Boots. But for daily use, the Flamingo excels.

Tier: A-

Majestic_Horse_Mount_%28mount%29.png

The three varieties of Horse are the second-fastest mounts in this stage of the game, and they function very well. As long as you pilot them carefully, you should be able to keep afield of most boss fights. The ram ability isn't overly useful except against the Goblin Army, but it's there.

Tier: A+

Pogo_Stick_Mount_%28mount%29.png

Pretty much an upgrade to the slime that happens to travel a good bit faster, although not as fast as with Hermes Boots. The vertical movement can be nice, although it can be difficult to pilot easily against bosses.

Tier: B+

Bee_Mount.png

Although it's a very rare drop from the Queen Bee, the Honeybee is a niche pick at best. Flying is incredibly helpful in reaching areas that you wouldn't otherwise be able to access, but the maneuverability provided by this insect is usually subpar. As it slows down, which will happen faster than you'd like, many enemies can easily catch up to and outmaneuver you. To add to the problem, it also prevents you from using your Shield of Cthulhu in Expert Mode, so you lose a lot of your dodging ability.

Tier: B+

Golf_Cart_%28mount%29.png

Although it isn't the easiest to obtain unless you like playing golf, the Golf Cart moves quickly and has a ram ability, a little like an upper-class mechanical horse. The light doesn't hurt either. However, it's only barely faster than the Horse mounts and requires substantially more gold (plus Skeletron's defeat) to get.

Tier: B-

Lava_Shark_Mount.gif

In addition to looking incredibly cool, the lava shark will give you infinite lava immunity, which makes it a wonderful utility while caving and in the Underworld. It can also reach impressive speeds both in lava and in water, which makes it surprisingly fun in the Ocean. It's even possible to use against Duke Fishron(!)

However, with a slow movement on land and a jump of exactly one-block, it's extremely limited in its utility. Keep it on hand if you need to deal with lava, but it's no good for pretty much anything else.

Tier: B

All obtainable post-Wall of Flesh. These are very spread out; about half are pre-Mechs and half are post-Golem.

Basilisk_Mount.png

If you adventure in the Underground Desert in Hardmode, you may find yourself with a basilisk mount. And it's decent, too, with a nice jump and appreciable max speed. However, it finds itself very quickly outmatched by the Unicorn, which some may find even easier to get.

Tier: B

Unicorn_Mount.png

The Unicorn is the bread-and-butter of early Hardmode, with great speed and a powerful jump. Since the mech fights are a primarily aerial affair, you probably won't want to use it for those, but it can actually hold up surprisingly well if given a good arena - it can move just as fast as the Twins, for example.

For getting somewhere in a hurry, the Unicorn is your very best bet.

Tier: A+

Pigron_Mount.png

If you're fishing in the underground (contaminated) snow biome, you may - may - find this wonderful beast. It has good speed on the ground and can fly relatively well, although it isn't as fast as some wings (or the Winged Slime, its main competitor).

Tier: A-

Winged_Slime_Mount.gif

In terms of aerial mounts, the Winged Slime is a fun but not-very-good pick. Its hovering ability actually moves slower than its standard flight, so you'll find yourself at the mercy of the bosses you hope to outspeed; your best bet is manually keeping your altitude, which is an imperfect solution. It does, however, fly faster than the Pigron and some wings, with the drawback of needing to refresh its flight often.

Tier: A

Rudolph.png

Haha, good luck getting him. You'll need to farm the dangerous Frost Moon pretty hard if you want Rudolph, which is a bit of a bummer considering that he's not incredibly good. His main advantage over the UFO, which is a fantastic mount, is his great speed, which will allow you to play cat-and-mouse with celestial pillars. That being said, he does need to recharge every so often, which can put you in a major bind.

Tier: C+

Scutlix_Mount.png

It's usually less common than the UFO and can't fly, which is a real bummer. Its jump is okay and its max speed is lacking, but the lasers at least supplement your damage... a little. In a stage of the game where most fights are aerial, the Scutlix really falls behind.

Tier: C+

UFO_Mount.png

Here it is, the mount to end all mounts. The infinite flight and steady movement of the UFO is absolutely integral to endgame fights, where keeping on the move steadily is usually more important than quick dodging (Fishron is the exception). However, it does lack the maneuverability that wings offer, so you'll want to be cautious with how you use it. That being said: you absolutely want this mount.

Tier: A+

These are only obtainable if you're playing Expert or Master mode (I'll mark which is which). Because of this, I will grade them based solely on their performance in those modes.

Witch%27s_Broom_%28mount%29.png

Like the UFO but better in most every way, the Witch's Broom will likewise provide infinite flight. Like the UFO, it lacks quick maneuvering abilities, but its steady 41 miles per hour is usually the way to go in endgame fights. If you prefer the Pumpkin Moon to the Martian Invasion (why would you?) this is a very handy item.

Tier: A+

Cute_Fishron.gif

It's adorable, that's what it is. Obtained from a difficult boss fight, the Cute Fishron will move noticeably slower than the UFO or Witch's Broom... until it touches water or you drop below half health, at which point it will zip around the screen. It can be a fantastic mount to use in almost all situations; just be careful to watch your health.

Tier: S

Book_Mount.gif

As the only pre-Hardmode Master mount, the Book holds up quite well. Dark Mages aren't the end of the world to fight, and their signature mount gives you flight in the same way the Flying Carpet does. Relatively fast horizontal speed is fantastic against certain fights (most notably invasions), but you'll find it lacking against bosses that need to be dodged by going up or down (say, Skeletron or the Wall of Flesh).

Tier: A-

Goat_Mount.png

Nothing is cooler than this goat, which also happens to move as fast as a Unicorn mount and confer the same general bonuses. Like the Unicorn, it needs some clever play to do well against bosses, but its speed can be a major lifesaver through the early parts of Hardmode.

Tier: A+

Pirate_Ship_Mount_%28mount%29.png

You have never had a mount this good. Moving ridiculously fast (and having pretty awful turning), the Flying Dutchman mount will make every fight up to Plantera - and several after her - trivial. Simply moving in a straight line and firing, with room for making U-turns, can defeat all three mechs with relative ease. There is no better mount.

Tier: S

Tree_Mount_%28mount%29.png

For all of you who want to ride a mourning wood, the Tree is here, moving almost as fast as the Flying Dutchman mount. However, it also comes at a time in the game where vertical movement is usually preferred to ground-based tactics (although those are also manageable if you build carefully). It's acceptable, but the lack of flight hurts it badly.

Tier: B-

Santank_Mount_%28mount%29.png

As with the Tree, the Santank comes at a time when ground-based mounts are suffering badly - especially those that move slower than the unicorn or goat you got six bosses ago. However, in a few select fights (like... the martians, I guess) its guns will provide a very helpful addition to your DPS. If you have an arena intended for it. But for everything else, put it on the naughty list.

Tier: C+

25/6/20: Thread created. Armor section then refurbished to be based on progression rather than tier. Mounts to be added soon.
26/6/20: Titanium Armor up to A and Shinobi Infiltrator Armor up to B-. Many thanks to @Sslras and @Tripoli for showing me that I hadn't given either of them a chance.
26/6/20: Mounts added.
30/6/20: Spoilers added to armor/mounts post. Rework of accessories still in progress.
6/7/20: Analysis for accessories added, rearranged the thread layout.
7/7/20: Lavaproof Fishing Hook, Fart in a Jar, and Tsunami in a Bottle added. Added rankings for Master Ninja Gear and Papyrus Scarab. Couple of small tier adjustments.
 
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Why is Molten Charm in D tier? It can be upgraded into Lava Waders and grants immunity to fire the same.
 
>Obsidian Shield: S
>Ankh Shield: A+
That's weird. I know, that OS is good enough for entire game, but AS' ability to prevent Poisoned, Cursed, Broken Armor and Slow makes it significantly better, esp. on Expert. And not on optional level, btw — these buffs will be encountered in areas you have to go to during natural progression. OS in Dungeon and Jungle (and some other less difficult areas) is just as useful as Cobalt Shield.

Edit:
>Titanium Armor: B+
Titanium armor allows you to melee your way up to Lunatic Cultist though, which is what? 3 tiers of progression?
 
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Ok, let's take a better look now.
More based on opinion/experience/stat analysis, so feel free to disagree.

Gold/Platinum armor: May be a little overrated due to the rarity of the metals, which I feel it definitively counts towards it's performance, especially gold, which doesn't provide significant increases to stats. However, if it's the player's first playthrough, they likely will explore a lot more and find enough gold/platinum to build it anyway, and new players may need the extra defense. I would put both in B tier anyway.

Meteor Armor: The nerf doesn't hold this armor potential at all. Space Gun owns a lot to it, and you either give credit to one or both. I think that due to the sheer power of this combo, it deserves an S.

Titanium Armor: Definitively underrated, the thing holding it back isn't the better uses you have for titanium, frost armor provides much worse stats to a single weapon (especially ranged, Ttitanium has about 33% more ranged damage boosts), and the Titanium Set bonus is incredibly powerful, you just need a fast hitting minion to keep it rolling and make most enemies unable to get close to you.

Frost/Forbidden: I think you got them switched. To me it was always frostburn set bonus which was terrible and the ancient storm which was amazing. It really isn't hard to put the tornado on, and it's basically a lot of free damage. The stat bonus, unlike frost armor, can be used at the same time since you can deploy minions and use magic weapons. With that said, I don't think neither deserves an S, I did even consider putting frost below A based on stats, but oddly it seems to work quite well for me.


Squire Armor: You can easily see this as an upgrade to frost/adamantite armor, it has much better defense, regeneration, adds minion damage and the melee damage is near the same.

Monk Armor: Like Squire, but trades defense for an insane melee damage boost, the increases in damage may beat any set bonus you can find, and it has minion damage.

Chloropyte Armor: This is where I think that the "there are better alternatives" argument is valid. The set bonus in no doubt powerful, but it pales in compassion to Titanium/Hallowed, and the stats in these two armors are actually higher than most of what you get for Chloropyte Armor (except defense, which it also gets outclassed due to hallowed set bonus). In experience, I can tell it works quite well, but since we're comparing it to other armors, I think it should be B+/A-

Shroomite: Yeah, the set bonus is terrible, but it has very high damage and defense and works very well in experience. Also, you're right about multiplayer, it works extremely well there.

Spectre Armor: In theory, the Mask would give a really broken set bonus... if you could use a sniper with magic damage. The orbs stop spawning if you attack with a fast firing weapon, which makes the dps of it comparable to Hallowed Armor. It's a huge letdown for me really, and I really like this armor, but the damage boost of Spectre armor is terrible and the defense is only slightly better than Chloropyte (which has better stats in nearly everything else too, and arguably a better set bonus still), and Hallowed can easily outclass it.
Spectre Mask and Hood should be ranked separately, since the difference in power between them is pretty clear. Though, with all that said, I don't think Spectre Mask is bad, but it definitively isn't as good as Hallowed or Spectre Hood, the best use of it is indeed to be able to switch to hood quickly whenever you need it.

Dark Artist: The damage boost this gives is insane, and it tops nearly everything mage can get, it may be enough to negate most of the mana sickness debuff in comparassion to other armors, though, the lack of mana improvement makes up for it, it's still an armor I did consider using more often for it's dps potential.

Valhalla: The only good thing about this is the regenearation, it's like a worse beetle armor in everything else, and you did much, much rather use Shinobi for the minion boost.

Red Riding: It's decent, but it's damage boost isn't as great as the other OOA sets, though it is arguably better than Dark Artist since ranged doesn't really need the "ammo/mana conservation" that is so essential to mages. I think it may be well placed, just writing that as a reference point.

Shinobi: You forgot to add the minion damage and defense to the description. And I gotta say, this should really be switched with Valhalla. The latter is only good for OOA, Shinobi offers melee bonus like in no other armor. It only loses in defense.

Nebula: I did still leave it on S, the nerf doesn't take much from it. In fact I did say it's still the best post Moon Lord set.
 
>Obsidian Shield: S
>Ankh Shield: A+
That's weird. I know, that OS is good enough for entire game, but AS' ability to prevent Poisoned, Cursed, Broken Armor and Slow makes it significantly better, esp. on Expert. And not on optional level, btw — these buffs will be encountered in areas you have to go to during natural progression. OS in Dungeon and Jungle (and some other less difficult areas) is just as useful as Cobalt Shield.

Edit:
>Titanium Armor: B+
Titanium armor allows you to melee your way up to Lunatic Cultist though, which is what? 3 tiers of progression?
The Ankh Shield suffered because it's tiresome to grind for some of the pieces, although "tiresome" isn't necessarily "difficult." I may opt to raise it to S on those grounds.

Titanium is that good? Was that pre- or post-rework? I remember beating Plantera with it before the rework, but the 1.4 set doesn't really take me as far.
 
The Ankh Shield suffered because it's tiresome to grind for some of the pieces, although "tiresome" isn't necessarily "difficult." I may opt to raise it to S on those grounds.

Titanium is that good? Was that pre- or post-rework? I remember beating Plantera with it before the rework, but the 1.4 set doesn't really take me as far.
Titanium Barrier may be very well the second best set bonus not including the celestial armor sets (behind Holy Protection). It may not look like much since it has mediocre range, but it chips away a lot of health, it used to allow you to kill Plantera without moving (which was an exploit involving target dummies that apparently has been fixed, but there might be other ways to do it). But the best of it, is like I said, most enemies can't even touch you due to knock back if you have a minion to keep the barrier running. You can also probably keep using Titanium during post Planetera events since the stats are so good, you will be taking more damage when you're hit due to the lack of defense, but would take even more by playing summoner.

Also... Brain of Confusion. I can tell from experience it's a better Worm Scarf. The damage reduction is about the same, but Brain also gives you bonus damage and the confusion effect is somewhat useful even during Hardmode. If you get both Scarf and Brain, you're almost unstoppable.
 
The Ankh Shield suffered because it's tiresome to grind for some of the pieces, although "tiresome" isn't necessarily "difficult." I may opt to raise it to S on those grounds.
It's up to you to decide whether grind should be an important factor. Same goes for Titanium set btw
Titanium is that good? Was that pre- or post-rework? I remember beating Plantera with it before the rework, but the 1.4 set doesn't really take me as far.
It's in 1.4.0.5. Baghnakhs with Titanium and Warding accessories reliably tanks Plantera at least on Expert. I haven't actually tried it with Golem, but i know that every build that kills Plantera also kills Golem and afaik Golem 1.4 rework haven't changed this fact.
 
-snip-

Also... Brain of Confusion. I can tell from experience it's a better Worm Scarf. The damage reduction is about the same, but Brain also gives you bonus damage and the confusion effect is somewhat useful even during Hardmode. If you get both Scarf and Brain, you're almost unstoppable.
On titanium: that's definitely something I haven't really considered; I've both used it (once) and seen it in action, but never in the Plantera fight or anything beyond. I knew that the shards could keep things at bay extremely well, but I didn't really notice much damage coming out of them. Honestly, it may not have performed well because I never gave it the chance to perform well.

It's in 1.4.0.5. Baghnakhs with Titanium and Warding accessories reliably tanks Plantera at least on Expert. I haven't actually tried it with Golem, but i know that every build that kills Plantera also kills Golem and afaik Golem 1.4 rework haven't changed this fact.
God I love the baghnakhs. I'll absolutely take this into consideration; I typically play on Master ever since the update, so I haven't really paid attention to how things work in Expert or Classic. That's been my failing, it seems.

What about ancient shadow armor?

I think it should also be A+; defeating a not-so-hard boss is as easy as killing an enemy a hundred times
Typically I lump ancient armor (i.e. Shadow/Cobalt) together with the main set, just because it's a different way of getting it. It can be nice sometimes, but it's usually more tiresome and less difficult. Evens out relatively well.
 
Mounts have now been added. Since they're a less integral part of your Terrarian existence, I had a little more difficulty ranking them, but I did my best. I may have to add a ratings guide to them.

Also, does anyone know how I can make links to individual headings? It can be bothersome to scroll through a bunch of stuff. Or I might just condense it all into spoilers.

Additionally: I have been working on the analyses for the accessories, which I plan to reformat similarly to the armor/mounts sections. If this is gonna be detailed, I want to do it right.
 
I see you changed the descriptions for the item ranks to account for durability over early access, I like that.

I don't get the hate for the Lightning Aura -- while it doesn't shoot at a distance, the baliista and flameburst both have restricted field-of-fire anyway, and the Aura ignores defense for repeated hits. It's great for blocking a pasageway, handles crowds well, and has a nice utility in probing for caverns. Great for farming Spider Nests, too. Especially with Tavernkeep buffs, I find it quite useful.

PS: You didn't rank the Frost Hydra -- did you do any of the Biome-Chest weapons? They're all pretty powerful. Wait, where'd the weapon list in general go?
 
Didn't notice the Lightning Aura ignored defense, but that's kind of a cool feature. I've always had great difficulty using it outside of the Old One's Army, where it performs... somewhat well? I've never been able to lock down one side of the arena with it like I have with the Ballista and Flameburst.

Weapon lists should be accessible through the megathread (hopefully).
 
I have (finally) reorganized the accessories! They're now displayed by phase of the game and general purpose (defense, mobility, damage, etc.). I've also added the detailed analysis, making this much more helpful.
 
I have (finally) reorganized the accessories! They're now displayed by phase of the game and general purpose (defense, mobility, damage, etc.). I've also added the detailed analysis, making this much more helpful.

Reorg is good, but I notice a spelling/word error in the very first entry, for the Aglet: "And even then, other accessories will probably take precedent." That should be "precedence" -- The Aglet may fall behind in importance, but you don't want to set a precedent for misusing words in your guidelines! :dryadwink:

For the Bundle Of Balloons: The Sky Island fishing is just a bit of grinding, and not much of that, now that biome crates are guaranteed a rare item. The real gate for the Bundle is the "Sandstorm In A Bottle", which is only found in Pyramids (and not all of those), and Pyramids themselves are found in only a minority of worlds.

The Flower (and Fairy) boots do not produce bait anymore. Indeed, the scruff of flowers they produce are guaranteed not to spawn critters. These are now vanity items with negative utility.

Guide to Plant Fiber Cordage: Yeah, you don't wear it all the time, but it's worth keeping in your Piggy Bank for when you need to restock your rope supply. It can be consigned to a chest when you've roped everything you need to and your Rocket Boot Upgrades have made rope that much less important.

Lava Charm: Never mind the other upgrades, its True Purpose is to follow the upgrade chain through Lava Waders to the Terraspark Boots, which basically own the Underworld. (That said, all its upgrades stack with it to extend the immunity duration.) It's worth grinding for, and unless you're very lucky, you will need to grind for it by fishing in lava (see below). It's stupid-rare regardless, but fishing for it in your private lava pool is way better than hoping to find one in a deep-Cavern chest. (It is no longer dropped by enemies.)

Treasure Magnet: While not strictly combat relevant, it does save the need for a lot of back-and-forth (and squinting) in collecting loot, especially as it pulls items through blocks (Worms, Skulls, that lava pool in the next cavern...).

And a possible omission: The Lavaproof Fishing Hook. If you don't find one in a Shadow Chest, catch Hellbait and fish for Obsidian Crates until you get one. Then you can continue lava-fishing with your Golden Rod+Master Bait, and collect all the lava-related tools, including the above-mentioned Lava Charm. (Recall and Inferno potions are also pretty useful....) Not everything's about combat... yes this one is a stepping-stone, but an important one.

And the Hardmode pirate items -- The point of the Gold Ring is not needing to bother with collecting coins, especially during an event -- as long as you get to both sides of the field once in a while, you'll get all the cash without needing to worry about it. What with item despawning, this can make a significant difference in your take during events or when farming. And when shooting your way through the Underground biomes, you can collect the cash in passing -- you don't have to "go all the way over there" for anything but worthwhile items. The Lucky Coin is a money-farming tool extraordinaire, but likewise increases your take in general, especially during events and invasions, or any crowds of weak enemies. And they do combine well.
 
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Reorg is good, but I notice a spelling/word error in the very first entry, for the Aglet: "And even then, other accessories will probably take precedent." That should be "precedence" -- The Aglet may fall behind in importance, but you don't want to set a precedent for misusing words in your guidelines! :dryadwink:

For the Bundle Of Balloons: The Sky Island fishing is just a bit of grinding, and not much of that, now that biome crates are guaranteed a rare item. The real gate for the Bundle is the "Sandstorm In A Bottle", which is only found in Pyramids (and not all of those), and Pyramids themselves are found in only a minority of worlds.

The Flower (and Fairy) boots do not produce bait anymore. Indeed, the scruff of flowers they produce are guaranteed not to spawn critters. These are now vanity items with negative utility.

Guide to Plant Fiber Cordage: Yeah, you don't wear it all the time, but it's worth keeping in your Piggy Bank for when you need to restock your rope supply. It can be consigned to a chest when you've roped everything you need to and your Rocket Boot Upgrades have made rope that much less important.

Lava Charm: Never mind the other upgrades, its True Purpose is to follow the upgrade chain through Lava Waders to the Terraspark Boots, which basically own the Underworld. (That said, all its upgrades stack with it to extend the immunity duration.) It's worth grinding for, and unless you're very lucky, you will need to grind for it by fishing in lava (see below). It's stupid-rare regardless, but fishing for it in your private lava pool is way better than hoping to find one in a deep-Cavern chest. (It is no longer dropped by enemies.)

Treasure Magnet: While not strictly combat relevant, it does save the need for a lot of back-and-forth (and squinting) in collecting loot, especially as it pulls items through blocks (Worms, Skulls, that lava pool in the next cavern...).

And a possible omission: The Lavaproof Fishing Hook. If you don't find one in a Shadow Chest, catch Hellbait and fish for Obsidian Crates until you get one. Then you can continue lava-fishing with your Golden Rod+Master Bait, and collect all the lava-related tools, including the above-mentioned Lava Charm. (Recall and Inferno potions are also pretty useful....) Not everything's about combat... yes this one is a stepping-stone, but an important one.

And the Hardmode pirate items -- The point of the Gold Ring is not needing to bother with collecting coins, especially during an event -- as long as you get to both sides of the field once in a while, you'll get all the cash without needing to worry about it. What with item despawning, this can make a significant difference in your take during events or when farming. And when shooting your way through the Underground biomes, you can collect the cash in passing -- you don't have to "go all the way over there" for anything but worthwhile items. The Lucky Coin is a money-farming tool extraordinaire, but likewise increases your take in general, especially during events and invasions, or any crowds of weak enemies. And they do combine well.
Yeah there are a number of accessories I couldn't find on the list Least of all being the Lava Charm and the lava Waders/Hellfire Treads(the latter is effectively the same as the former just with an added vanity effect sort of like how the Fairy Boots are Vanity Spectre boots) and the environmental protection accessories, there is also the Molten Skull Rose and its intermediary components as an example of a particularly bad tinker probably should be mentioned so as to warn against using it as it technically counts as a combat accessory from the Magma stone's effect.

Also no mention of the Fart in a Jar or Tsunami in a bottle despite mentioning the Cloud, Blizzard & Sandstorm bottles separately and it should at least be mentioned their effects stack. (Pity there is no ultimate Bundle of balloons)

Also doesn't the Mana Cloak drop mana stars if its stars hit a surface? Oh it seems there is a cap of one at a time that seems needlessly limiting... I guess that could justify its low rating. Regardless there is probably a missed opportunity to tinker it with the Celestial Cuffs for an ultimate mana recovery accessory.

While it probably isn't the place for it but I feel the Pyramid loot really should have been given a small nonzero chance for them to be obtained from Oasis Crates but given that all the other chests are generally renewable but alas nope Really it kind of urks me that they are separate from the Sandstone chest loot pool at all. Doing either would make the Sandstorm in a bottle more reliably obtainable.
 
Gotcha. I'll revise as needed; you make some good points, and I do tend to be a little too combat-focused. You're entirely correct that some of these have good uses that I overlooked.
Molten Skull Rose and its components are included, as are the Lava Charm/Waders/Treads. They're in the "misc" section, but you're right, I could definitely move them around. The two other bottles will be added as well.

What do you mean by environmental accessories? Like the PDA components? I opted not to add those since they aren't conventional accessories and don't compete for a slot (although, not gonna lie, they can crowd your inventory).
 
Ice Skates -> B
Molten Charm -> C+
Will have to say that Molten Charm really does feel like a much better accessory to navigating it's respective biome than Ice Skates. You mostly want it for the Lava Charm powers anyway, and since it's easier to find the Lava Charm than Water Walking Boots, it is a more viable route to build this imstead of Obsidian Boots (besides Molten Charm is better for navigating the underworld). I would out it on the same tier as Obsidian Boots.
Also Lava Waders. It can be used to fight WoF without a bridge (personally, I find easier to get Lava Waders than to build a bridge everytime, though it's argubably a harder fight). It's ability to walk on lava is what is really good here, not the Lava Charm power. Though, you could use two potions to get the same effect, so maybe is rightfully placed, but I don't agree with the reasoning.

Sandstorm in a Bootle and Flying Carpet: Both are equally as rare, and on the same tier, but I think the carpet is a lot better. Not that sandstorm is bad, but I think most players would prefer to find a carpet than sandstorm.

Master Ninja Gear and Papyus Scarab: no tier
 
Ice Skates -> B
Molten Charm -> C+
Will have to say that Molten Charm really does feel like a much better accessory to navigating it's respective biome than Ice Skates. You mostly want it for the Lava Charm powers anyway, and since it's easier to find the Lava Charm than Water Walking Boots, it is a more viable route to build this imstead of Obsidian Boots (besides Molten Charm is better for navigating the underworld). I would out it on the same tier as Obsidian Boots.
Also Lava Waders. It can be used to fight WoF without a bridge (personally, I find easier to get Lava Waders than to build a bridge everytime, though it's argubably a harder fight). It's ability to walk on lava is what is really good here, not the Lava Charm power. Though, you could use two potions to get the same effect, so maybe is rightfully placed, but I don't agree with the reasoning.

Sandstorm in a Bootle and Flying Carpet: Both are equally as rare, and on the same tier, but I think the carpet is a lot better. Not that sandstorm is bad, but I think most players would prefer to find a carpet than sandstorm.

Master Ninja Gear and Papyus Scarab: no tier

Hm.. my first thought was "dead-end", but apparently you can also use the Molten Charm to make Lava Waders, (wasting a bit of obsidian, oh horrors) so yeah, it's a good stepping stone toward the Terraspark Boots. The Waders' walking on lava combines well with the brief immunity -- if you slip into the lava for a moment (like you do sometimes), no biggie.

Regarding the bottles, yeah, Fart In a Bottle is a nice upgrade to the Cloud in a Bottle, if you don't mind the noise. Sandstorm IAB is more notable as the key to the Bundle.
 
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