Infirain
Retinazer
Why?
Deerclops is really forgotten in the community. But it's mainly because of laziness and fighting him too late, "It doesn't drop any good loot". But after fighting him a hundred times (yes, I really fought it 100+ times just to learn the attack patterns
) I disagree. The thing is, it can be fought before any boss, making that half-decent loot a pre-hardmode Duke Fishron, though not as progress-breaking. The boss has a unique mechanic too - it doesn't despawn after death allowing you, with starter gear to kill him easily. This guide will primarily focus on how to beat it without dying, but take that in mind unless you're playing hardcore.
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The Summon
This is where most will give up already. The summoning item isn't too hard to craft, but it requires you 3x Flinx Fur, 5x Demonite/Crimtane Ore (not bar), and 1x Lens at an Altar.
It isn't exactly difficult, but not all players would venture into the ice biome just to get the fur. It was added in 1.4.3 and is optional, so of course, not many will go on their way to get all the materials needed just to craft a Deer Thing. Although if you're playing as the summoner class, it's actually perfect for you. Not only because of the boss' nature and drops, but also because you might have some fur lying in your chest after early game.
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Should I fight it?
The battle is the easiest for summoners as I mentioned earlier, but there are drops for all classes, except melee. You might call the Lucy Axe one or the Piggy Bank pet compensation, but sadly if you're a warrior this fight isn't as useful for you. The best drop is for the summoner class, 2nd is the Weather Pain for mage, and then the somewhat decent Pew-Matic Horn. There's some vanity, one of the best axes in the game - Lucy (plus, she can talk and cheer you up), and a unique pet as a chest that functions like a walking piggy bank.
1st
2nd
3rd
Other
Conclusion: you should look into it if you're a summoner, maybe try to get a cool new weapon if you're a mage or a ranger. You can try to fight the boss earlier for drops earlier than intended. You can fight the boss as melee if you're interested in two new cool functional pets, but there isn't a huge reason to fight it early.
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How to fight it?
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Gear - Correct Place in Progression (before or after Skeletron)
Melee
Platinum/Gold armor is enough, but you can get Evil Biome armor or Molten armor for better bonuses. Flails and boomerangs are awesome here as they have some range. Swords and yoyos are good too, but require playing more aggressively, which isn't too bad in a fight like this. (Read Strategies)
Ranger
Necro (after Skeletron has been defeated) and fossil armor are only "true ranger sets". If you're struggling with the boss or don't want to venture to dangerous places like the desert or dungeon just yet, you can switch to platinum/gold or even evil biome armor for higher defense but no ranger damage bonuses. Bows like Tendon and Molten Fury are good and basically, most weapons at this stage are good (boomstick, the undertaker, hellwing bow, bloodrain bow...) so not much to say.
Mage
Jungle, meteor armor, and wizard set are all good options with the first 2 being more defense-focused. The gem staffs are still viable, Demon Scythe, Book of Skulls, Magic Missile and its underworld variant, Vilethorn, and Space Gun are all good options. Other weapons from the post-Skeletron underworld can be used too.
Summoner
And this is where this gets powerful. If you're post-Skeletron I highly recommend Obsidian Armor as the combo of Snapthorn with Spinal Tap is extremely powerful with some mixed minions. Otherwise, use bee or obsidian armor with mixed minions (e.g. Vampire Frog Staff, Imp Staff, Hornet Staff) and Snapthorn. Sentries are really useful.
All classes
If you have been struggling with dodging try using BoC and BoHB (or BoB). Try different strategies below with different equipment. If you are playing on expert and higher - the shield of Cthulu is almost a must. Dashing for this fight helps a lot.
Gear - Earlier Place in Progression
Focus on mobility, here BoC and bundle of Balloons (BoHB preferred) are much more viable. If you're going with BoB instead of singular balloons, you might also try the Slime Saddle to dodge Shadow Hands better. Jungle weapons are quite good, again, Snapthorn, Thorn Chakram, etc. or you can even try to fight it with weaker equipment - try grabbing some more flinx fur as a summoner, loot some frozen chests as melee and ranger, and try to get some jewels as mage. Set a bed near your arena and use what you found!
Arena
You basically have 2 options here:
1. Build a platform above the boss.
or
2. Make a flat surface (or use the natural surroundings).
If you choose the 1st one, 5 Shadow Hands can be summoned near your location. They can block your way causing you to get a hit. Therefore, it makes you less fragile to the Ice Spike attack, but Shadow Hands can be annoying. The second removes the Hand Issue as you no longer are above her, but this makes you be able to be more easily hit by the Ice Spikes. This fits well for setups with less mobility, but a higher focus on damage (e.g. the Spinal Tap + Snapthorn combo with Obsidian Armor and Pygmy Necklace), but you gotta play a game of jump rope. Every third attack also spawns the spikes shorter but in 2 directions, so watch out, keep your distance but don't be too close or far.
Attack Patterns
and how to deal with them
The boss is one of (if not the most) complex in all pre-hardmode, but not too difficult when you understand her mechanics. She has 4 (5, if expert+) total attacks and after a bunch of testing, I have a solution for all.
Ice Spikes
Notes: She will raise her two hands and then strike the ground. Don't be confused with the Debris animation, as there she puts down her hands and then raises them - only then the attack starts.
The attack: She summons a wave of ice traveling in your direction with quite fast speed. Every 3rd time, however, the wave gets shorter and goes in both directions. The next time it's back to normal.
How to dodge: for the first scenario, dash to the opposite side, use BoHB (BoB) if needed. You can also use two risky ways (in case Shadow Hands block your way for example): jump up or dash to the side where the wave is going and quickly jump using your balloon. This can hopefully be enough to get as high, if you fail (either you jumped too late and the wave reached you with method 1 or the balloon wasn't as fast and the ice touched you while you were trying to get away with method 2) the spikes will give the frozen effect for a few seconds.
Roar
The attack: she will stand in place and roar, inflicting the slow debuff on players within 50 tiles.
Notes: she will only do that if you do not have that debuff already.
How to dodge: almost impossible and not needed.
Debris
The attack: happens when she tries to use Ice Spikes but you are too far away. Summons a lot of debris flying your way and dealing heavy damage on hit.
An example before it spreads out with a Shadow Hand below the Debris
How to dodge: you should avoid this in general, as the Spikes are much easier to dodge. If it happens that you're not too far, dash to the opposite side, you might have to jump to avoid getting hit. If you can't do that, run away so that the gaps are bigger and you can squeeze through them. You can run away even further to avoid them completely, though you still have to get back as she gains invincibility after 30 tiles. So, if you choose to use the second method, dash and get back swiftly when you can. If you don't, she might throw some more debris and spawn more Shadow Hands as you are likely still above her. You really don't want to make a loop of debris > run away > debris > run away > debris
Shadow Hands
1. Expert+ only, occasional 1 Shadow Hand
This one spawns regardless of if you are above her or not. It can either:
1. Move slightly, then rotate in place.
2. Move slowly towards you.
3. Move fast with a curve.
They always predict the movement of the player, so watch out when running in one direction!
2. Any mode, 5 hands.
This is what I meant by "blocking your way". This attack only appears if you're above her. One strategy I have is this:
If you see her suddenly stop, grab your slimy saddle (or just simply without) and jump. She will then roar and spawn in 5 hands at your position. Now you can get down and continue fighting. If you didn't jump, the hands appeared at your position, so they would block your way and hit you while you're trying to dodge the Ice Spikes.
Thank you!
Andddd, that's it. I wanted for it to be detailed, but also simple. So what do you think? Do you agree with me?
Deerclops is really forgotten in the community. But it's mainly because of laziness and fighting him too late, "It doesn't drop any good loot". But after fighting him a hundred times (yes, I really fought it 100+ times just to learn the attack patterns
) I disagree. The thing is, it can be fought before any boss, making that half-decent loot a pre-hardmode Duke Fishron, though not as progress-breaking. The boss has a unique mechanic too - it doesn't despawn after death allowing you, with starter gear to kill him easily. This guide will primarily focus on how to beat it without dying, but take that in mind unless you're playing hardcore.-|-
The Summon
This is where most will give up already. The summoning item isn't too hard to craft, but it requires you 3x Flinx Fur, 5x Demonite/Crimtane Ore (not bar), and 1x Lens at an Altar.
It isn't exactly difficult, but not all players would venture into the ice biome just to get the fur. It was added in 1.4.3 and is optional, so of course, not many will go on their way to get all the materials needed just to craft a Deer Thing. Although if you're playing as the summoner class, it's actually perfect for you. Not only because of the boss' nature and drops, but also because you might have some fur lying in your chest after early game.
Note: Deerclops can spawn by itself, but with extremely specific requirements:
-During a blizzard in the snow biome, on surface
- At midnight.
- At least one player in the world has at least 9 defense or at least 200 health.
- There is a player at the surface Snow biome.
- There must be no town NPCs within a 240×135-tile rectangle centered on that player.
- There must be no other bosses or hostile events (except the Blood Moon) active.
- If Deerclops has previously been defeated in the world, there is only a 1/4 (25%) chance for her to spawn naturally.
-During a blizzard in the snow biome, on surface
- At midnight.
- At least one player in the world has at least 9 defense or at least 200 health.
- There is a player at the surface Snow biome.
- There must be no town NPCs within a 240×135-tile rectangle centered on that player.
- There must be no other bosses or hostile events (except the Blood Moon) active.
- If Deerclops has previously been defeated in the world, there is only a 1/4 (25%) chance for her to spawn naturally.
Should I fight it?
The battle is the easiest for summoners as I mentioned earlier, but there are drops for all classes, except melee. You might call the Lucy Axe one or the Piggy Bank pet compensation, but sadly if you're a warrior this fight isn't as useful for you. The best drop is for the summoner class, 2nd is the Weather Pain for mage, and then the somewhat decent Pew-Matic Horn. There's some vanity, one of the best axes in the game - Lucy (plus, she can talk and cheer you up), and a unique pet as a chest that functions like a walking piggy bank.
1st
Conclusion: you should look into it if you're a summoner, maybe try to get a cool new weapon if you're a mage or a ranger. You can try to fight the boss earlier for drops earlier than intended. You can fight the boss as melee if you're interested in two new cool functional pets, but there isn't a huge reason to fight it early.
-|-
How to fight it?
-|-
Gear - Correct Place in Progression (before or after Skeletron)
Melee
Platinum/Gold armor is enough, but you can get Evil Biome armor or Molten armor for better bonuses. Flails and boomerangs are awesome here as they have some range. Swords and yoyos are good too, but require playing more aggressively, which isn't too bad in a fight like this. (Read Strategies)
Ranger
Necro (after Skeletron has been defeated) and fossil armor are only "true ranger sets". If you're struggling with the boss or don't want to venture to dangerous places like the desert or dungeon just yet, you can switch to platinum/gold or even evil biome armor for higher defense but no ranger damage bonuses. Bows like Tendon and Molten Fury are good and basically, most weapons at this stage are good (boomstick, the undertaker, hellwing bow, bloodrain bow...) so not much to say.
Mage
Jungle, meteor armor, and wizard set are all good options with the first 2 being more defense-focused. The gem staffs are still viable, Demon Scythe, Book of Skulls, Magic Missile and its underworld variant, Vilethorn, and Space Gun are all good options. Other weapons from the post-Skeletron underworld can be used too.
Summoner
And this is where this gets powerful. If you're post-Skeletron I highly recommend Obsidian Armor as the combo of Snapthorn with Spinal Tap is extremely powerful with some mixed minions. Otherwise, use bee or obsidian armor with mixed minions (e.g. Vampire Frog Staff, Imp Staff, Hornet Staff) and Snapthorn. Sentries are really useful.
All classes
If you have been struggling with dodging try using BoC and BoHB (or BoB). Try different strategies below with different equipment. If you are playing on expert and higher - the shield of Cthulu is almost a must. Dashing for this fight helps a lot.
Gear - Earlier Place in Progression
Focus on mobility, here BoC and bundle of Balloons (BoHB preferred) are much more viable. If you're going with BoB instead of singular balloons, you might also try the Slime Saddle to dodge Shadow Hands better. Jungle weapons are quite good, again, Snapthorn, Thorn Chakram, etc. or you can even try to fight it with weaker equipment - try grabbing some more flinx fur as a summoner, loot some frozen chests as melee and ranger, and try to get some jewels as mage. Set a bed near your arena and use what you found!
Arena
You basically have 2 options here:
1. Build a platform above the boss.
or
2. Make a flat surface (or use the natural surroundings).
If you choose the 1st one, 5 Shadow Hands can be summoned near your location. They can block your way causing you to get a hit. Therefore, it makes you less fragile to the Ice Spike attack, but Shadow Hands can be annoying. The second removes the Hand Issue as you no longer are above her, but this makes you be able to be more easily hit by the Ice Spikes. This fits well for setups with less mobility, but a higher focus on damage (e.g. the Spinal Tap + Snapthorn combo with Obsidian Armor and Pygmy Necklace), but you gotta play a game of jump rope. Every third attack also spawns the spikes shorter but in 2 directions, so watch out, keep your distance but don't be too close or far.
Attack Patterns
and how to deal with them
The boss is one of (if not the most) complex in all pre-hardmode, but not too difficult when you understand her mechanics. She has 4 (5, if expert+) total attacks and after a bunch of testing, I have a solution for all.
Ice Spikes
Notes: She will raise her two hands and then strike the ground. Don't be confused with the Debris animation, as there she puts down her hands and then raises them - only then the attack starts.
The attack: She summons a wave of ice traveling in your direction with quite fast speed. Every 3rd time, however, the wave gets shorter and goes in both directions. The next time it's back to normal.
How to dodge: for the first scenario, dash to the opposite side, use BoHB (BoB) if needed. You can also use two risky ways (in case Shadow Hands block your way for example): jump up or dash to the side where the wave is going and quickly jump using your balloon. This can hopefully be enough to get as high, if you fail (either you jumped too late and the wave reached you with method 1 or the balloon wasn't as fast and the ice touched you while you were trying to get away with method 2) the spikes will give the frozen effect for a few seconds.
Roar
The attack: she will stand in place and roar, inflicting the slow debuff on players within 50 tiles.
Notes: she will only do that if you do not have that debuff already.
How to dodge: almost impossible and not needed.
Debris
The attack: happens when she tries to use Ice Spikes but you are too far away. Summons a lot of debris flying your way and dealing heavy damage on hit.
An example before it spreads out with a Shadow Hand below the Debris
How to dodge: you should avoid this in general, as the Spikes are much easier to dodge. If it happens that you're not too far, dash to the opposite side, you might have to jump to avoid getting hit. If you can't do that, run away so that the gaps are bigger and you can squeeze through them. You can run away even further to avoid them completely, though you still have to get back as she gains invincibility after 30 tiles. So, if you choose to use the second method, dash and get back swiftly when you can. If you don't, she might throw some more debris and spawn more Shadow Hands as you are likely still above her. You really don't want to make a loop of debris > run away > debris > run away > debris
Shadow Hands
1. Expert+ only, occasional 1 Shadow Hand
This one spawns regardless of if you are above her or not. It can either:
1. Move slightly, then rotate in place.
2. Move slowly towards you.
3. Move fast with a curve.
They always predict the movement of the player, so watch out when running in one direction!
2. Any mode, 5 hands.
This is what I meant by "blocking your way". This attack only appears if you're above her. One strategy I have is this:
If you see her suddenly stop, grab your slimy saddle (or just simply without) and jump. She will then roar and spawn in 5 hands at your position. Now you can get down and continue fighting. If you didn't jump, the hands appeared at your position, so they would block your way and hit you while you're trying to dodge the Ice Spikes.
Thank you!
Andddd, that's it. I wanted for it to be detailed, but also simple. So what do you think? Do you agree with me?
