Torres The Devourer
Official Terrarian
Hello there guys! This isn't your run of the mill "favorite class" discussion (although you can certainly share and discuss that if you want to!) but rather a discussion on the progression of each class and what you like and dislike about them. I'm talking about armor, weapons, accessories, and even personal things such as personal preference or whatever strikes you fancy about a particular class. I'd like to start by asking a couple questions and giving my own thoughts on the topic. Keep in mind that this isn't a guide, tier list, or review, but rather to get my thoughts out while also hearing yours! While I'm no pro (so I apologize in advance for any trash opinions), I'm improving each time I play, and being able to hear what others think of the game is always helpful and interesting. I do plan on getting more practice with each class, of course, so as I learn and grow as a player, I can gain a deeper understanding of each class's inner workings. Without further Ado... Lets jump right into it!
Melee:
The labor of love update made me really like this class. I remember doing a play through with my friends where I played melee and I enjoyed it enough. Then I played a melee playthrough myself when 1.4.4 came out and I can't imagine going back. I went from loathing the early game as melee to using melee weapons even if I am not going for a melee build. The WoF went from something I despised to something I didn't mind fighting at all with a nights edge and golf cart. Early hardmode to me was probably the most challenging as getting all the items and ores I want was very annoying. After that I found that it was smooth sailing with my high defense.
As for load outs there is the max swing speed build for the Terra blade, and the standard and classic mechanical glove+fire gauntlet+warrior emblem setup, and the tank build. I really like the tank build because it's sometimes comedic with what you can get away with. With mixed armor sets focused on maximum survivability, all the shields I could get my hands on, and my beloved beserkers gloves, it feels really nice to just be able to tank safely. It's also nice that I get to truly appreciate mounts more as the winged slime and witches broom are very useful when you don't wear boots or wings. I do feel like I was being carried by my high defense at times, but other than that I loved the melee class. As for weapons, anything in the zenith crafting tree is a treat to use, especially the true Excalibur.
Also the vampire knives are better than the scourge of the corrupter. Don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise.
Also, melee introduced me to mixed armor sets for not just melee, but for ALL classes. The terraria wiki has a great armor progression guide and this tier list made by J Bame are great references if you want to learn more.
Ranged:
Ranged is pretty cool man. I find that Ranged shines in pre-hardmode (like in general), pre-mech boss, and post plantera. At least; I think so. A boomstick, evil biome guns, and a decent bow is enough to get the ball rolling and continue rolling until you get better weapons. Pre-Mech boss also has some nice options for you. Some notable examples include but are not limited to: the dart pistol/rifle, the Daedalus strombow, and the onyx blaster. After plantera you can get your hands on some cool weapons from the dungeon, pumpkin and frost moon, and even the empress of light if your feeling up to it. I'm a big fan of the gun weapons (the chain gun is always a blast to use and is my favorite alongside the eventide bow) but the bows and launchers are cool too. Then you got the pillars and martians from there on out and you're good to go! I find that ranged has possibly the smoothest progression out of all the classes in the game with it's variety of solid weapons found throughout the game.
I also noticed that ranged, like melee, has quite a few good mixed armor set ups. Of course we have the classic adamantite mask, frost breastplate, and mythril greaves combo, all the way to the little red riding set with the adamantite mask. Taking a look at the class set-ups the accessory for the ranger includes: Ranger Emblem, Magic Quiver, Molten Quiver, Stalker's Quiver, Sniper Scope, and Recon Scope. How many quivers do you need? sniper and recon scope plus ranger Emblem I get because they stack just like with the classic melee set up, but how many quivers do I need? Ah, oh well. I'm sure I could replace something with a mobility item or something.
Magic:
I've been going through a wizard magic phase so giving mage another shot is very fun indeed. Magic definitely picks up some steam in hardmode because in pre hardmode I find that mage's options are quite lacking in the weapon department. This is fine, of course as an amber/diamond staff will do just fine against the first bosses, but I found myself using the blade of Grass and star fury often, as they are reliable weapons for taking out the evil biome bosses and day to day threats you may encounter. After that you can nab the meteorite armor and space gun which will help you through the rest of pre hardmode. I found that I all but replaced my amber Staff with the space gun when I got it, and it handled queen bee quite well. Of course you can get the zapinator but you have to be luck with traveling merchants for that thing. However, after defeating Mr. Bones (skelletron) you get the book of skulls, aqua scepter, and magic missile (and soon the flame lash). After the wall of flesh you have many options at your disposal. Make sure you get a good weapon for the mech bosses because my first solo mage play through (which I later abandoned and started anew out of sheer frustration). Then, the class really opens up to several awesome weapons. The rainbow rod is a great starting point for all the cool things you'll collect on the way. Whether it be the laser machine gun or the specter staff, there are many cool weapons that you can grab after the mech bosses and plantera. I think mage is a weird class, but man, does it get super cool or what?!
Also I love the nebula armor set so much. All the endgame armor sets look cool but God DAMN this one is my favorite.
As for accessories, the celestial emblem, celestial cuffs, and mana cloak are the standard mage accessories. That leaves us with four open accessory slots to play with! You could get a sorcerers emblem to further boost your damage, wings for flight and even the soaring insignia, or perhaps go with a good 'ol trusty dash or star veil! Also, I don't see too many opportunities for armor mixing. specter armor is really good and it looks like the hardmode ores should do just well. Maybe I'll use the adamantite headgear and breastplate with the forbbidin grieves for like 6% extra damage over full titanium..? I don't know if it's worth or not.
And specter armor is really cool.
Summoner:
I don't want to say anything about summoner yet, because I'm not all too familiar with the class. My fine motor skills aren't the best so I have trouble stacking whips, and because I got so used to the high defense of melee, I got my
whooped by events and the like. I'd like to go back and redo some of my mistakes, but I don't want another playthrough to juggle. If any expert summoners could give me what they think of their class and it's progression, please do tell! I'd love to hear you!
alright, that's all. A long thread for sure, but I hope you like it. It took way too long to write, so I hope you found it fascinating regardless.
Melee:
The labor of love update made me really like this class. I remember doing a play through with my friends where I played melee and I enjoyed it enough. Then I played a melee playthrough myself when 1.4.4 came out and I can't imagine going back. I went from loathing the early game as melee to using melee weapons even if I am not going for a melee build. The WoF went from something I despised to something I didn't mind fighting at all with a nights edge and golf cart. Early hardmode to me was probably the most challenging as getting all the items and ores I want was very annoying. After that I found that it was smooth sailing with my high defense.
As for load outs there is the max swing speed build for the Terra blade, and the standard and classic mechanical glove+fire gauntlet+warrior emblem setup, and the tank build. I really like the tank build because it's sometimes comedic with what you can get away with. With mixed armor sets focused on maximum survivability, all the shields I could get my hands on, and my beloved beserkers gloves, it feels really nice to just be able to tank safely. It's also nice that I get to truly appreciate mounts more as the winged slime and witches broom are very useful when you don't wear boots or wings. I do feel like I was being carried by my high defense at times, but other than that I loved the melee class. As for weapons, anything in the zenith crafting tree is a treat to use, especially the true Excalibur.
Also the vampire knives are better than the scourge of the corrupter. Don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise.
Also, melee introduced me to mixed armor sets for not just melee, but for ALL classes. The terraria wiki has a great armor progression guide and this tier list made by J Bame are great references if you want to learn more.
Ranged:
Ranged is pretty cool man. I find that Ranged shines in pre-hardmode (like in general), pre-mech boss, and post plantera. At least; I think so. A boomstick, evil biome guns, and a decent bow is enough to get the ball rolling and continue rolling until you get better weapons. Pre-Mech boss also has some nice options for you. Some notable examples include but are not limited to: the dart pistol/rifle, the Daedalus strombow, and the onyx blaster. After plantera you can get your hands on some cool weapons from the dungeon, pumpkin and frost moon, and even the empress of light if your feeling up to it. I'm a big fan of the gun weapons (the chain gun is always a blast to use and is my favorite alongside the eventide bow) but the bows and launchers are cool too. Then you got the pillars and martians from there on out and you're good to go! I find that ranged has possibly the smoothest progression out of all the classes in the game with it's variety of solid weapons found throughout the game.
I also noticed that ranged, like melee, has quite a few good mixed armor set ups. Of course we have the classic adamantite mask, frost breastplate, and mythril greaves combo, all the way to the little red riding set with the adamantite mask. Taking a look at the class set-ups the accessory for the ranger includes: Ranger Emblem, Magic Quiver, Molten Quiver, Stalker's Quiver, Sniper Scope, and Recon Scope. How many quivers do you need? sniper and recon scope plus ranger Emblem I get because they stack just like with the classic melee set up, but how many quivers do I need? Ah, oh well. I'm sure I could replace something with a mobility item or something.
Magic:
I've been going through a wizard magic phase so giving mage another shot is very fun indeed. Magic definitely picks up some steam in hardmode because in pre hardmode I find that mage's options are quite lacking in the weapon department. This is fine, of course as an amber/diamond staff will do just fine against the first bosses, but I found myself using the blade of Grass and star fury often, as they are reliable weapons for taking out the evil biome bosses and day to day threats you may encounter. After that you can nab the meteorite armor and space gun which will help you through the rest of pre hardmode. I found that I all but replaced my amber Staff with the space gun when I got it, and it handled queen bee quite well. Of course you can get the zapinator but you have to be luck with traveling merchants for that thing. However, after defeating Mr. Bones (skelletron) you get the book of skulls, aqua scepter, and magic missile (and soon the flame lash). After the wall of flesh you have many options at your disposal. Make sure you get a good weapon for the mech bosses because my first solo mage play through (which I later abandoned and started anew out of sheer frustration). Then, the class really opens up to several awesome weapons. The rainbow rod is a great starting point for all the cool things you'll collect on the way. Whether it be the laser machine gun or the specter staff, there are many cool weapons that you can grab after the mech bosses and plantera. I think mage is a weird class, but man, does it get super cool or what?!
Also I love the nebula armor set so much. All the endgame armor sets look cool but God DAMN this one is my favorite.
As for accessories, the celestial emblem, celestial cuffs, and mana cloak are the standard mage accessories. That leaves us with four open accessory slots to play with! You could get a sorcerers emblem to further boost your damage, wings for flight and even the soaring insignia, or perhaps go with a good 'ol trusty dash or star veil! Also, I don't see too many opportunities for armor mixing. specter armor is really good and it looks like the hardmode ores should do just well. Maybe I'll use the adamantite headgear and breastplate with the forbbidin grieves for like 6% extra damage over full titanium..? I don't know if it's worth or not.
And specter armor is really cool.
Summoner:
I don't want to say anything about summoner yet, because I'm not all too familiar with the class. My fine motor skills aren't the best so I have trouble stacking whips, and because I got so used to the high defense of melee, I got my
whooped by events and the like. I'd like to go back and redo some of my mistakes, but I don't want another playthrough to juggle. If any expert summoners could give me what they think of their class and it's progression, please do tell! I'd love to hear you!alright, that's all. A long thread for sure, but I hope you like it. It took way too long to write, so I hope you found it fascinating regardless.
