Hi all. So I wanted to create a new character on Expert mode, and of course try out the new items. I made it to a marble biome early on and I wanted to share a relatively safe and reliable method of farming medusa EARLY in the game. This is a simple setup that does not require traps etc.
Here are screenshots:
http://imgur.com/mv6Q7YI,v85U5H4#0
http://imgur.com/mv6Q7YI,v85U5H4#1
Note that I said RELATIVELY safe. You can see the tombstones in this picture. If you are playing hardcore I recommend avoiding medusa at all cost, even staying several screens away from marble biomes if you see them spawn. But on softcore/ mediumcore once I got the farming technique nailed down though I died very rarely.
What you need before starting (basic): I would recommend lead armor, a magic weapon (e.g. Amethyst staff), 2 heart crystals (140 health), plenty of healing potions, and basic weapons to fight cavern enemies (e.g. good broadsword for bats).
Recommended before starting: Silver armor, silver or tungsten rod, 3+ heart crystals
Steps:
1. Gather what you need. 100-500 grenades from the demolitionist, 500 dirt blocks, 100 wood blocks, 100 rope, 10 iron/lead bars, torches, etc.. These are not exact quantities but should be enough
2. Find a marble biome. I recommend a hellevator, I will not cover this in this guide. The marble biomes spawn in the lower caverns and it should be obvious when you find one.
3. Build a *safe* means to enter the upper area of the marble biome. Medusa and hoplites are very dangerous, and they can spawn outside of your farm. This should be a narrow passageway so that they cannot jump around. My hellevator was just outside of the marble biome so this was not difficult for me.
4. Build an enclosed tunnel that goes alone the top of the marble biome. This should be a tunnel 3 blocks high that is parallel to the floor of the marble biome. It should be at least 20 blocks away from the floor, but close enough that you can see what is underneath you. When you start building, place wooden doors along the tunnel so you do not get gibbed by hoplites that spawn in the tunnels. Any mob you fight is easier in an enclosed space.
5. Dig out the bottom of your tunnel and replace it with wooden platforms. You should have a clear line of sight to what is beneath you.
6. Clear out the space beneath you, kill the enemies so you can build. More on this below.
7. Suspend a rope from beneath your wooden platforms so you can collect loot. Level the area directly beneath your platform so that mobs will move horizontally beneath you.
8. Using a hammer, remove marble walls inside your tunnel and replace them with player made walls. This will ensure that your tunnel is a safe area.
9. Place whatever else you want inside of your tunnel, including torches, campfires, etc.
10. If enemies end up above your tunnel you will want some way of getting them below you. Using a combination of doors and trapdoors you can safely remove the solid blocks underneath them so that they fall, or you can have them walk off the horizontal edge of your tunnel and fall below.
Now comes farming. This is not 100% safe but it is much safer than trying to fight medusa/ hoplites any other way. You will have 3 weapons here, grenades, a magic staff, and hoplite spears.
Grenades are the easiest to use, and useful as a panic button for when there are too many mobs on screen or your health is low. Run past your wooden platform murder holes, drop a grenade, and then go in the opposite direction, dropping a grenade. The explosion will knock back medusa, preventing them from using their attack, and you will mostly end up facing away from them. Because you are not standing still you can dodge hoplite spears easily. Because the mobs are directly below you, their movement and behavior is more predictable.
For a magic staff / hoplite spears it will behove you to flatten the area beneath your platforms. Stand outside of the platform until the mobs are underneath you, once you move on the platform they will follow you. Both medusa and hoplites will stay in one spot and you can stunlock them easily. Using just a tungsten staff I can do about 90% of a medusa's health in damage and finish them off in expert mode. For hoplites you can shoot at an angle to defeat them, before they get in range to shoot their spear. They have much lower health than medusa and do not run as fast, so it is feasible to stunlock them outside their range.
The dye merchant liked my farm so much that he moved in
. You do not want an NPC nearby because they will decrease spawn rates, but he moved in after I finished farming my head so I let him stay.
Note that once your farm is built, if you stand in front of dirt walls it may reduce the spawn rate of medusa/hoplites. I have not been able to confirm this. Just hang on the rope below your platforms (in front of marble walls) so you can escape in case of trouble.
11. Collect loot. That is what the ropes are for. At the first sign of trouble get back into your safe zone.
What farming will get you:
I have averaged about 20 silver per Medusa, which is a 13 silver profit even if it takes 10 grenades to kill one.
Hoplites drop about 50 javelins apiece. Javelins do significant damage, fire fast, and pierce, you will end up collecting a lot of javelins while farming.
Medusas have a 1% chance of dropping their head. The medusa head is invaluable because it always hits, does significant damage, and illuminates a medium sized area - which is rare for a normal mode weapon.
I was able to get my medusa head after 20-40 medusa kills, before I killed a single boss with a relatively new character. For a better geared character this may be easier, but if you want a powerful magic weapon early on you can farm medusa in relative safety using this method.
This is a long guide but the medusa is IMO the most dangerous non-boss enemy in normal mode, and hoplites are way up their too. But if you read this guide you should be able to farm them relatively safely.
Here are screenshots:
http://imgur.com/mv6Q7YI,v85U5H4#0
http://imgur.com/mv6Q7YI,v85U5H4#1
Note that I said RELATIVELY safe. You can see the tombstones in this picture. If you are playing hardcore I recommend avoiding medusa at all cost, even staying several screens away from marble biomes if you see them spawn. But on softcore/ mediumcore once I got the farming technique nailed down though I died very rarely.
What you need before starting (basic): I would recommend lead armor, a magic weapon (e.g. Amethyst staff), 2 heart crystals (140 health), plenty of healing potions, and basic weapons to fight cavern enemies (e.g. good broadsword for bats).
Recommended before starting: Silver armor, silver or tungsten rod, 3+ heart crystals
Steps:
1. Gather what you need. 100-500 grenades from the demolitionist, 500 dirt blocks, 100 wood blocks, 100 rope, 10 iron/lead bars, torches, etc.. These are not exact quantities but should be enough
2. Find a marble biome. I recommend a hellevator, I will not cover this in this guide. The marble biomes spawn in the lower caverns and it should be obvious when you find one.
3. Build a *safe* means to enter the upper area of the marble biome. Medusa and hoplites are very dangerous, and they can spawn outside of your farm. This should be a narrow passageway so that they cannot jump around. My hellevator was just outside of the marble biome so this was not difficult for me.
4. Build an enclosed tunnel that goes alone the top of the marble biome. This should be a tunnel 3 blocks high that is parallel to the floor of the marble biome. It should be at least 20 blocks away from the floor, but close enough that you can see what is underneath you. When you start building, place wooden doors along the tunnel so you do not get gibbed by hoplites that spawn in the tunnels. Any mob you fight is easier in an enclosed space.
5. Dig out the bottom of your tunnel and replace it with wooden platforms. You should have a clear line of sight to what is beneath you.
6. Clear out the space beneath you, kill the enemies so you can build. More on this below.
7. Suspend a rope from beneath your wooden platforms so you can collect loot. Level the area directly beneath your platform so that mobs will move horizontally beneath you.
8. Using a hammer, remove marble walls inside your tunnel and replace them with player made walls. This will ensure that your tunnel is a safe area.
9. Place whatever else you want inside of your tunnel, including torches, campfires, etc.
10. If enemies end up above your tunnel you will want some way of getting them below you. Using a combination of doors and trapdoors you can safely remove the solid blocks underneath them so that they fall, or you can have them walk off the horizontal edge of your tunnel and fall below.
Now comes farming. This is not 100% safe but it is much safer than trying to fight medusa/ hoplites any other way. You will have 3 weapons here, grenades, a magic staff, and hoplite spears.
Grenades are the easiest to use, and useful as a panic button for when there are too many mobs on screen or your health is low. Run past your wooden platform murder holes, drop a grenade, and then go in the opposite direction, dropping a grenade. The explosion will knock back medusa, preventing them from using their attack, and you will mostly end up facing away from them. Because you are not standing still you can dodge hoplite spears easily. Because the mobs are directly below you, their movement and behavior is more predictable.
For a magic staff / hoplite spears it will behove you to flatten the area beneath your platforms. Stand outside of the platform until the mobs are underneath you, once you move on the platform they will follow you. Both medusa and hoplites will stay in one spot and you can stunlock them easily. Using just a tungsten staff I can do about 90% of a medusa's health in damage and finish them off in expert mode. For hoplites you can shoot at an angle to defeat them, before they get in range to shoot their spear. They have much lower health than medusa and do not run as fast, so it is feasible to stunlock them outside their range.
The dye merchant liked my farm so much that he moved in
. You do not want an NPC nearby because they will decrease spawn rates, but he moved in after I finished farming my head so I let him stay.Note that once your farm is built, if you stand in front of dirt walls it may reduce the spawn rate of medusa/hoplites. I have not been able to confirm this. Just hang on the rope below your platforms (in front of marble walls) so you can escape in case of trouble.
11. Collect loot. That is what the ropes are for. At the first sign of trouble get back into your safe zone.
What farming will get you:
I have averaged about 20 silver per Medusa, which is a 13 silver profit even if it takes 10 grenades to kill one.
Hoplites drop about 50 javelins apiece. Javelins do significant damage, fire fast, and pierce, you will end up collecting a lot of javelins while farming.
Medusas have a 1% chance of dropping their head. The medusa head is invaluable because it always hits, does significant damage, and illuminates a medium sized area - which is rare for a normal mode weapon.
I was able to get my medusa head after 20-40 medusa kills, before I killed a single boss with a relatively new character. For a better geared character this may be easier, but if you want a powerful magic weapon early on you can farm medusa in relative safety using this method.
This is a long guide but the medusa is IMO the most dangerous non-boss enemy in normal mode, and hoplites are way up their too. But if you read this guide you should be able to farm them relatively safely.
