So I finally got to Hardmode Post-1.4...

[Xylia]

Took me almost a year, but I finally got a new playthrough to Hardmode in 1.4.

At first, I was kinda annoyed at how they nerfed ore fishing. I can understand some nerfs, like, you shouldn't be able to fish a ton of crates in easymode and then have t3 gear within 5 minutes of killing the WoF, but yet I think the nerf was a little too much. Titanium crates are almost impossible to find (you get like 1 per game day if you're lucky, maybe two in the same day if you won the lottery, and when you open them you got like a 20% chance of getting some kind of t3 materials).

Now, after doing some wiki research, I did find out about the Queen Slime, which does drop a nice suit of armor that is a decent alternative to ore armors (still need to make a furnace though, for Chlorophyte later) and it even looks like it might be good enough to kill the three mechs, especially with the help of the extra mobility from the mount and the extra damage from the minion she drops too.

I had briefly considered the frost/ice set (forget what it's called, it's made from shards dropped by golems IIRC), but after a good dozen+ game days and zero rain (except for the very first day after I killed the WoF), that plan was shot to crap pretty quickly. You guys really either need to make rain happen more consistently, or give us an item that summons rain if one doesn't already exist (I haven't found it yet).

Also, was the Amarok drop nerfed or something? My Hallow went right through the underground ice biome and I've been farming in there, killing lots of stuff while hunting gelatinous crystals and I haven't seen a single Amarok yet. I would estimate I am probably getting close to 100 souls of light (along with 3 ice bows, and that dagger from the hallow mimic), but no amaroks which I find a bit strange.

Before anybody asks about smashing altars, I've always hated doing it. One, it causes impromptu boss fights and I personally despise that mechanic so I avoid it at all costs until lategame when I'll smash 1 altar just to cause the occasional pirates to spawn, and I don't like random evil blocks spawning everywhere messing up my carefully quarantined safe areas (esp. now with how they ask us to build a bunch of towns all over the world; I already lost my underground settlement to the V spread and am waiting on the clenteminator to fix it).

So other than smashing altars, any other early hardmode stuff I might look out for? I already have a Bladetongue so I got pretty much everything I need for Destroyer, likely make a Megashark (unless the Queen Slime has any other weapons that I've yet to get ahold of) for the other two mechs, and then once they're out of the way I'll have to smash at least 3 altars to get the t3 furnace built.

 

[Toxophilite [East]]

Seems like you're doing a mostly Melee playthrough, an area in which I have little-to-no experience with. Still, I can offer some suggestions, if your question wasn't totally rhetorical (LoL).

• I'm still not 100% sure if the Truffle NPC is locked behind a Boss, but if not, he sells a pretty powerful-ish Spear for like 55-60 gold.
• A whole year huh? Well, since you don't seem to be in a rush, I recommend the Squire Set from the OOA Event; especially if you wanna railroad the Destroyer and bypass mining for HM Ores (+ Sentries are getting buffed in 1.4.4).
• Also, if you're into farming for gold, you can just keep repeating the OOA Event to see if they drop a Melee Weapon for you. "Brand OTI" is pretty fun, and I think it got buffed in like 1.4.2... maybe?? It'll also be a good opportunity to get some related Accessories, if you're super lucky.
• Going up against Queen Slime with Melee seems like a huge pain in the , but if you must, then I really do suggest Squire Set again. I think having some form of projectile will be very helpful in this fight, without breaking "form".

That's pretty much the extent of my knowledge on Melee Class. I know for a fact I've seen some decent Melee Weapons, but have no idea which NPCs sell them, what Bosses or Enemies drop them, or how to even craft most of them. I do recall there being a Hardmode version of "The Meatball" that you can get during a Blood Moon (dropped by either Blood Eel or Goblin Shark), but relying on rare Events for Weapons is like relying on News Channels to to practice anti-sensationalism.

 

[DeDZahar]

Mushroom spear is post 1 mech weapon. Frozen armor is just orichalcum\mythril with frostburn. Also this debuff does boost only ranger damage (I mean by amout that you could spot right at the moment of equipping it) Further more, for getting needed amount of bars it can take about 25 of master bait with angler accessory and gold pole since titanium\adamantite is rare drop and with 99% you will make one piece of armor from different material. If you are not lucky enough it will take ~10-25 bait for fishing up ore for forge. (tested with crate potion)

 

[Admiral Voidzuli']

Ah
The Amorak
My LEAST favorite weapon to farm for
So, until you get the Clentaminator, you’re absaloutley ed on the Amorak
It only drops in pure Ice Biome
So, the Amorak is out of the question currently

 

[Xylia]

Meh, that's kinda stupid that they have it pure only.

Oh well. I killed the Destroyer last night with the Bladetongue (easy-ish fight), and Skelly Prime with the Golden Shower and Megashark (easiest fight ever, never lost more than 2 hearts and spent half the battle at full health). Ran out of time before taking the twins on. Looks like that Queen Slime set is easily a replacement for the ore armors.

And yeah, mostly melee is how I go, though I do carry around other choice weapons from the other classes (like the Megashark and Golden Shower, and a Nimbus Rod if I had one, stupid rain never spawning anyhow).

Also, it kinda looks like they really janked with the drop rates on stuff, not sure if I like. A Solar Eclipse spawned, and yes I know it's Pre-Plantera, but still... out of some 500+ mobs, I only got 1 and only 1 item (a Neptune's Shell, which I'm happy to get). Almost 50 vampires and none of their drops? Oh, and I'm up to just shy of 150 werewolves... no Moon Charm (and not even a bandaid!).

I get that RNG will be RNG, but this is starting to get old, especially considering that they (the werewolves) only spawn for 9 minutes out of every ~3 hours of /played time.

 

[Toxophilite [East]]

Also, it kinda looks like they really janked with the drop rates on stuff, not sure if I like. A Solar Eclipse spawned, and yes I know it's Pre-Plantera, but still... out of some 500+ mobs, I only got 1 and only 1 item (a Neptune's Shell, which I'm happy to get). Almost 50 vampires and none of their drops? Oh, and I'm up to just shy of 150 werewolves... no Moon Charm (and not even a bandaid!).

...because I mostly just buy my equipment, or just fish it up, I hardly notice the mostly-agreed-upon, harsh, RNG of Terraria. What's weird though, is when I do engage with it, which is rare, I normally don't have any issues. That being the case, allow me to share my "formula" when it comes to 'farming Enemies'.

1. Kit yourself out to farm, which means, you gotta lean into boosting your luck, coin drops and killing efficacy. I know this is a controversial thing in this community, but I come from the Souls games where "Item Discovery" is very similar to Terraria's mechanics, it's pretty much accepted as a feature in those games, which is likely why I don't mind it, but also won't bother defending it either (well, not entirely).
   • Be sure to hang your Enemy Banners, especially for the Enemies you're specifically farming.
   • Use your Luck Potions, or try obtaining some whenever you plan on farming for loot.
   • There's new Biome torch mechanics that boost luck, but that's all I know...
   • Also, there's certain times of the day, insects and other "weird stuff" that boost luck.
2. You should have a designated 'farming spot', this'll typically maximize the likelihood of you receiving what you want under certain circumstance. There's a TON of ways to do this, but I figured the more obscure stuff would be more useful than the obvious.
   • Don't leave any 'gaps' or holes in the area you wish to farm, where Enemies can spawn-in, get "stuck", and be placed out-of-reach; fill 'em up with Dirt or some other expendable block/ tile. Doing this ensures you get the most out of every spawning-session, even on the Overworld.
   • Use your Battle Potions and Water Candles, obvious I know, but easy to forget-to-do. If you're 'farming' for a specific item, you should definitely be doing this (which is why a designated spot works well, set-it and forget it).
   • Keep in mind also that there are some features that passively reduce Enemy Spawns, like time-of-day, critters, NPCs and "tile count". Simply moving one inch left or right can drastically change spawn-rates without you knowing about it, so again, try having a designated spot.
3. Don't farm yourself into exhaustion. If the game says "NO", then go after something else, there's a LOT of comparable items in 1.4+ to still justify grinding. Also, I believe the Band-Aid can drop from HM Piranhas and maybe one other enemy-type now.

I get that RNG will be RNG, but this is starting to get old, especially considering that they (the werewolves) only spawn for 9 minutes out of every ~3 hours of /played time.

There's a LOT of good accessories in 1.4+, I wouldn't get too hung-up over a Moon Charm. If however you're trying to do something very specific, I assure you that playing the-waiting-game will happen to you in almost any other game with RNG mechanics. Still, there's a number of things you can do if leaving-well-enough-alone isn't in your DNA, set up a farm... (see above).

 

[Xylia]

Well, the thing about a Moon Charm is that it is an ingredient for the Celestial Charm, and surely you aren't meaning to say that the Celestial Charm isn't probably the best overall accessory in the game? I mean, infinite movement and breath in water, plus the sun charm, plus a damage boost at night, among other things...

Usually I don't have this much trouble trying to get this stuff -- this isn't my first time in the rodeo, afterall. I had done nearly a dozen playthroughs before 1.4 and I had gotten the Ankh Shield, Cell Phone, and Celestial Charm in almost every single one of them.

I'm just saying in 1.4 it seems like they did something with the drops, or at least it just feels that way after multiple items that just refuse to drop whatsoever.

 

[Toxophilite [East]]

Well, the thing about a Moon Charm is that it is an ingredient for the Celestial Charm, and surely you aren't meaning to say that the Celestial Charm isn't probably the best overall accessory in the game?

Well, as blasphemous as it might sound... yes.

There's simply too many other alternatives that make up for potential DPS loss, that I personally wouldn't commit a large portion of my time, grinding for either charm. Also, and only if I'm following you correctly, it doesn't seem as if any of the Bosses are pushing you to min-max, you know what you're doing, right? What circumstance do you believe calls for Celestial Charm to be a necessity?

Usually I don't have this much trouble trying to get this stuff -- this isn't my first time in the rodeo, afterall. I had done nearly a dozen playthroughs before 1.4 and I had gotten the Ankh Shield, Cell Phone, and Celestial Charm in almost every single one of them.

Interesting that you should say this but, I do agree that there's some things that've changed in 1.4.2+ that I can't quite put a finger on. What I can say, is that Fishing is definitely easier, as that's where I spent a large bulk of my "grinding" on initial release; but I do still hear complaints about some item still being 'too rare' (Special Crates, etc), which I really believe is a case of Players being non-committal, and not a fault of 1.4 Fishing itself.

I want to suspect that it's the same for "item farming", but I also got this item to drop twice so... there might be some bias on my end.

Spoiler: Rare Item

I'm just saying in 1.4 it seems like they did something with the drops, or at least it just feels that way after multiple items that just refuse to drop whatsoever.

 

[Xylia]

Well, Biome crates seem to be pretty much the same. Sometimes you can go a crate potion and get 0 ... and then the next potion, you get 2 in a row and then another one 5 catches later.

Now, Hardmode Ores gotten from those crates.... seems like it's either Hallow, Dungeon, or nothing. The other biomes have abysmal chances of giving you any kind of ore/bars.

Thankfully, there's usually at least one flooded spike pit in the Dungeon, so there's that I suppose. A little tweaking and Post-WoF and Pre-Plantera Dungeon makes for some decent crate fishing.

As for why I "need" a Celestial Charm, well...

It's just too.. I don't know.. awesome to pass up? Maybe I don't "need" it per se (tho, I dunno, there's Empress of Light which I've yet to try), but it sure makes things smoother and easier having one, heck, even just random exploration around the world, especially anywhere near water. And who doesn't like being a werewolf at night? The transformation is kinda neat too, plus the damage boost.

 

[Toxophilite [East]]

As for why I "need" a Celestial Charm, well... just random exploration around the world, especially anywhere near water. And who doesn't like being a werewolf at night? The transformation is kinda neat too, plus the damage boost.

Normally I would respond with "as long as you're having fun, then...", but you seemed to be frustrated. If this was still 1.3.5, I'd fully understand, the way you feel about the Celestial Charm is probably the same way I felt about Fishron Wings, but that's kinda where I'm going with this, in most cases when it comes to "Legacy Items", there's likely to be a "Big Three" that'll always be somewhat "comparable".

For example:

Fishron Wings

various Mounts*

Betsy's Wings

How about one more:

Celestial Stone+

Frozen Turtle Shell+

Avenger/ Destroyer Emblem+

At least one of these items will be more-than-enough to progress through the game comfortably IMO, with unique benefits here and there, the only way I see this differently, is if you're trying to do something very specific, I will say this though, I personally find most pre-Avenger Emblems (whichever Class you'd benefit the most from getting), works extremely well with Crystal Assassin's Set.

Agree or disagree, one thing for certain is that we're spoiled-for-choice in 1.4! Grinding for specific items (for the most part), isn't nearly as necessary anymore.