What is your Favorite Stage of Terraria?

[Shyguymask]

Pre-Mech and Pre-Golem

 

[MrQuackMan]

Between the Mechs and Plantera

 

[Random Fellow]

My favorite stage of Terraria has got to be Pre-HM. It introduces you to a whole new world, where you come across unpredictable traps, valuable treasure, and life-threatening enemies, it makes you feel like a wandering traveler, learning the basics of the world you live in. it feels so satisfying to find your next life crystal, craft your next mana star, get an OP weapon like the minishark, etc. Defeating a new boss feels rewarding, especially because most bosses in these stages are optional, other than the fact that some are more powerful than others. It makes you feel like a defender of the world ready to slay anything in your way.

The excitement carries on until the beginning of hardmode. HM makes you feel like a grinding machine, forced to continue looking for resources to survive. You already know the world you've inhabited, and sure, there are some new things to discover, but these new elements being introduced by HM are undermined by the feeling of having to spend 2 hours looking for this thing, and 3 hours looking for another thing. Also, most of the HM bosses don't have any new abilities or AI behavior introduced on Expert mode, which makes it inferior to Pre-HM in terms of the feeling of being introduced to something new.

Also, Post-ML is just boring. There isn't anything new after Post-ML, and you can't go back to Pre-HM conditions. Corruption and Crimson still spread like Post-Plantera, and there isn't any other objective anymore. However, some people can find other activities like building towns and cleansing the world.

I do feel like it would be cool if you got some extra reward from beating the moonlord twice. But I like the feeling of absolute emptiness the world has after defeating him. you are a god, you know that, the game doe not have to tell you. You can appreciate your status and truly take over the world as a sandbox or respectfully leave, realising there is nothing there for you anymore and that it's time to move on. It really reflects on the type of player playing the game, most RPG's or sandboxes are like this, still giving you the opportunity to relive seeing the world and maybe grind for more items or whatever. But unlike a game like Paper Mario or Earthbound you can make the choice to continue, and I like that.

 

[Yui the Summoner 🪓]

Early Hardmode & Post-Mechs. Wall of Flesh - particularly in Expert/Master mode - is a bit of a milestone to have killed (unless you're dedicated to farming an ungodly amount of Beenades), so there's the high of having accomplished that to start things off. And it's at this point, after killing the Wall of Flesh, that Terraria immediately reminds you that you ain't , this game is only halfway over, sit back down and don't you dare think you're the king of this world. Once Hardmode starts, everything goes wild. The Hallow is introduced, and new and stronger enemies dot the biomes and events you were trampling just moments ago. To cope with all this, you're gonna have to get some cool new ores (or kill a lot of spiders) to make some cool new gear. This includes the Spider Staff for summoners, which is easily one of my favorite summons in the game.

It's not just about the enemies stepping up their game though. The entire world steps up its game, including Angler quest rewards, items sold by the other NPCs, wings, the ability to get new ores by destroying altars, and the introduction of new NPCs, starting with the Wizard, Truffle, and Pirate, all before having killed a single mechanical boss. Once you've prepped up for the new bosses, it's time to fight the mechs, who are mechanical replicas of three pre-hardmode bosses, and have the AIs to match, effectively being their organic counterparts with new tricks up their sleeves. After you've beaten any singular mech, the Old One's Army event upgrades to tier two, the Steampunker is introduced, and your world will be graced with Life Fruits and Solar Eclipses alike. All of that is huge, since you can now fully cap out your health, rake in those eclipse profits, and set up teleporters for those places where you just can't slap down a pylon. Not to mention those boss souls can be used for a cool new piece of gear!

The post-mechs phase of the game continues onward to defeating all of the mech bosses, eventually netting yourself a set of Hallowed Armor in the process, which is debatably the best pre-Moon Lord armor set for summoners and certainly the best for killing enraged Empress of Light (very important)! Finally, this phase of the game culminates in the fight against Plantera, who just so happens to be my favorite boss in the game between her gameplay, her place in progression, and her absolute beast of a theme song. After that point, post-Plantera is pretty much not a phase since you'll immediately dunk on Golem, post-Golem is when late-game truly begins, and post-Cultist is just a fancy way of saying "about to fight Moon Lord". The time spent between Wall of Flesh and Plantera is the most exciting part of Terraria because it's when the game really starts to open up, starting with one major achievement and ending with another.

 

[Dragrath]

Hmm Terraria as it is now really feels like its best divided into 3 "Acts"

The first act is prehardmode which is all about exploration and preparation getting to know your world and finding out what is where for later on. The bosses here are also quite diverse thematically with a relatively clear progression intended. (unlike the Mechs) with stepwise difficulty though none aside from expert+ Skeletron (which requires more mobility than the other bosses) are too hard to deal with. This is fun but can be a bit grindy outside of Journey mode though the latter mode needs some restraints on its use else things get broken quickly. In the end the WOF is the biggest and final challenge for this mode cumulating the experience with an epic boss battle. Would be better of the WOF had its own unique Boss theme but alas

The second act early hard mode begins with victory versus the WOF here everything gets far more difficult as new stronger enemies appear and the Corruption/Crimson go berserk and face off against the Hallow. Its intense but is fairly rewarding as almost all of the world gets upgraded. (Poor Ocean gets left out duke withstanding). That said I hate the way the evils screw up and destroy the Jungle not cool really wish the devs had rectified that more chlorophyte helps prevent the loss of the jungle but still allows the evils to rage through the jungle a while since chlorophyte takes time to generate. There are four bosses Queen slime an optional boss and the 3 mechs which one all 3 are killed starts the final fight for the act Plantera which is its own terrain oriented challenge with a more intense tempo than the mechs or queen slime. This is probably the best phase of the game difficulty wise many more deaths and can be a bit grindy but its generally fair with only a few glaring exceptions.

Act 3 starts with defeating Plantera again leveling enemies on higher difficulties and adding hardmode foes to the dungeon. Some would argue Golem is the real upgrade but lets be real Golem is a boss only in the sense it drops a trophy and treasure bag. It is unfortunate that the weapon diversity becomes quite poor at this point of the game but archers really gain a lot of potential here so there is that. But the combat potential is intense. Sadly the Lunar events feel pretty weak to me with too few viable weapon options to feel truly fun.

 

[Lmao.itzkrystal]

I personally love that stage just before hardmode when you feel so powerful, could literally stomp out the wall of flesh with ease. But deep down you know it’s really just the beginning, and once you take that step into hardmode you still have far more work to do. Truly one of my favorite experiences to feel powerful in the game but retain the knowledge it’s not over

 

[EaterofBurgers]

I love post plantera grind. Least favorite is early pre-hardmode

 

[Random Fellow]

I love post plantera grind. Least favorite is early pre-hardmode

Probably my least favorite to. But I have to be fair, its really fun exploring the world for the first time even if speed is at the mercy of world gen a little bit, I wouldn't say I dislike it. Just that in a game like this with fast combat and long term progression the beginning will almost always be the worst part as long as the game is well designed, not always. But most of the time since its before you can really start shovelling out damage and minimax in certain areas as much

 

[leafsaber47]

Hardmode between the beginning of it to pre-Plantera. Once you get to post-Plantera you'll evidently find out DPS spikes up the roof upon defeating her, even though she is the hardest boss for me to even beat. It's easy to tell that DPS amounts are the same anymore because the Razorpine exists and can be gotten as early as post-Plantera. The Razorpine seealed the deal in how much the power creeps up upon reaching this stage.

As for least favorite? Hard to say honestly, but if my modded Terraria "obsession" is anything to go by, often most mods' attempt at post-Moon Lord content seems like slogs in hindsight...

 

[TheObsidianOutlaw]

Early Hardmode
Grinding and working your way up to defeating the mech bosses is so fun

And farming those GOD DAMN HALLOWED MIMICS FOR THE DAEDELUS STORMBOW SERIOUSLY WHY WOULD I NEED AN ILLUMINANT HOOK AND 63527253 FLYING KNIVES!

 

[CDR_Xavier]

Pre-Hardmode as a whole only scratches the surface of the game.

I somewhat disagree.
Yes, you start out with a broken copper shortsword. But there is nothing like building whatever towering structure while wearing full set molten armor, with a Legendary Night's Edge at the sides, Architect Gizmo Pack with another Extendo Grip at the hand, and everything reforged to Warding. Obsidian Shield? Terraspark Boots? PDA/Cellphone? Golden FishingRod/bugnet? Critter collection?

Mid-late pre-hardmode is also awesome, you can rule the place with some quite powerful (pre-hardmode) weapons, have access to mechanisms and quite some building materials, so this is an amazing time to build and prosper.

Agree. There are not much creature out there that poses a threat. Plus, with Hardmode on the edge, you would need to build a LOT of things.

Partition/barrier for the existing evil, partition/barrier for the future evil. Build towering (or barely-visible) bases. Clusters of NPC houses (you need at least 20 of them, all spaced up right.). Pylons, too. And areas for Chlorophyte farm. Perhaps tidy up the world for a bit.
______
The mech boss doesn't really give you anything too special. Beside the True Night's Edge. And the Drax, which give you chlorophyte stuff (which is quite neat)

That goes like that until post-plantera/golem, yeah, with more and more, stronger, awesome weapons and gadgets to get, and with tons of possibilities for every classes.

Plantera is like the turning point in the story. It unlocks a wide variety of things. Melee, magic, or ranger.
Melee was the go-to, but right after Plantera, magic rose up to be basically unstoppable. Ranger goes much more interesting. Summon all gets more powerful as well.
Golem? He does not really give you anything on its own. Just a "interesting event" in term of Martian Madness.
And beyond, you have the lunar events. And then it's basically the end.

And after you get the full whatever moon-lord-tier armor?
Like if you want to try to tackle a frost moon with the intention to clear it. pumpkin moon ...

I bet you do NOT have Zenith the moment you down moon lord. You can go and reach out for that.
Maybe cleanse the evil (and/or contain the evil/hallow, at the incredible least?)
Maybe go on and collect all critters? Maybe go on and collect all items? Maybe go on and complete the bestiary (at least, fill out all entries)? Try some golfing? Fly (but you gotta collect the kites in the first place) kites?

I like periods of settlement. Like extremely late pre-hardmode. Or post-plantera pre-golem. It allow you to slow down and enjoy the game.

 

[Creep2dj]

Hardmode...
And I've gotten pretty good at speeding through pre-hardmode to get there...

 

[Mental Mouse]

I probably like the late pre-Hardmode best, where you can explore the rest of your world and while you're prepping your world for Hardmode, why not do a few builds? After that , it would just be the endgame, where you have more-or-less All The Stuff and are just going for builds and prestige challenges..

 

[Random Fellow]

I probably like the late pre-Hardmode best, where you can explore the rest of your world and while you're prepping your world for Hardmode, why not do a few builds? After that , it would just be the endgame, where you have more-or-less All The Stuff and are just going for builds and prestige challenges..

So you're a sandbox type-a guy huh. Neat

 

[Mental Mouse]

So you're a sandbox type-a guy huh. Neat

First time I've heard it phrased quite like that, but I guess. ;-) My experience is mostly that bosses and other challenges are best won before they're fought -- so I prep the hell out of them and grind for resources. I'm big on money-making too -- I'm expecting to have 30 plat before Hardmode, and with the reforge costs I'll be facing, I don't think that's necessarily excessive. (Admittedly, this round I'm being more restrained about expensive pets and such. Even so, lurve them gemtrees!)

 

[Toxophilite [East]]

My opinion on Terraria has changed somewhat, being away for a while (one of the reasons I take breaks from games) and I'd like to give a newer take on my favorite stage of progression in the game, compared to my older views on the matter.

First I'd like to agree with @Dragrath that the game is indeed divided into Acts, but I think there are actually "five (5)" instead of three.

Act 1: "What's going on here?" This will be true for a large number of players, because 1.4+ changed everything, and not just in a general sense. How you start the game will depend on a rather LARGE number of variations. 1.) World Map Difficulty, 2.) Starter Character Difficulty, 3.) World Seed type (i.e. Drunken, NotTheBees, FTW, Party Island), 4.) Playstyle (because there are now many valid ways to progress in pre-Hardmode, such as fishing and Township Building), 5.) Spawn/ starting point.

• The rules for each of these combinations of settings will oftentimes determine where your character ends-up; the number of useful starter items has been significantly increased, so your Journey to pre-WoF may look different from game-to-game (I hear rumors that certain World Map Difficulties have locked chests in the Sky Islands too).

Act 2: "The Endgame (Part 1)" I know, I know, this isn't necessarily new information, but it's certainly more definitive IMHO. I'm certain most builders like myself can agree that, most of the goodies for building a functional network for Townships, were locked behind Hardmode in 1.3.5. This is obviously NOT the case anymore. It's now possible to build an entire Township Network, before ever fighting WoF; it can now be argued that this Boss is more of a "check-off box" than it is the start of pre-Hardmode.

• There are a number of definitive reasons to support the idea that pre-WoF has it's own endgame. 1.) There are now definitive Mounts to obtain pre-WoF, to include an additional Mount, depending on World Map Difficulty. 2.) It's possible to make more definitive "Class Builds", Summoner Class being the most shining example of this (Sweet or Spicy? [Bee Armor/ Obsidian Armor]).
• Pre-Hardmode Wings and definitive "speed boots" are now a thing, in addition to the old-style of play, which would include the Bundle of Balloons and Frog Accessories; defining your style of "movement" pre-Hardmode, wasn't really a thing in 1.3.5.

Act 3: "Your pre-Hardmode choices matter (Hardmode)!" Again, I know, this isn't new stuff, but I have to emphasize just how much more meaningful your pre-Hardmode choices will be in Hardmode, because there're a LOT more engaging mechanics happening in the background than ever before; how you chose to deal with them (if you chose to at all), will really matter now. It doesn't end there either, because now you get to choose "upgrade paths"! What does this mean?!

• It could've been debated at one point-in-development that going after Queen Slime was a waste of time... and resources; however, this simply isn't debatable anymore. The major buff to Crystal Assassin's Armor, the indisputable power of Blades Staff and the amazing utility of Winged Slime Mount make her a perfect contender to the Mech Bosses. This means that, killing them isn't nearly as essential for an obvious upgrade.
• Once you do get around to killing the Mechs, the obvious upgrades are still waiting for you, but now you've got access to alternative movement options, meaning, early-Hardmode Wings are not nearly as essential as they used to be, they can be entirely skipped if the players chooses to spend time elsewhere, desperately grinding for Souls of Flight are a thing-of-the-past.

Act 4: "The Endgame (Part 2)" I don't feel as if much has changed in relation to the "killing things" portion of Terraria, as any methods that worked pretty well in 1.3.5, will still work in 1.4+. However, there's a number of different systems for progression that're also happening alongside this, such as Township, building a World Economy (NPC Happiness), establishing Farming Areas, Fishing Spots, travel networks, to name several. I bring this up only to suggest that, if at any time a player is complaining about "money", they likely neglected a big portion of this "Endgame".

• Also, this part of the game will be a nice reflection to what a player has been doing with their time up until this point. For example: 1.) Did the Princess NPC arrive in your world, 2.) do you have access to the Universal Pylon yet?, 3.) is your world overrun with any of the World Evils/ Hallow?, 4.) are resources hard to come by/ are you financially stable, rich, poor?
• In addition, depending on "Difficulty (World Map/ World Seed/ Character/ Act)", the answers to these questions above will be the difference between some players running into a brick wall or winning by the skin-of-their-teeth; upgrades to equipment and access to resources (i.e. Potions/ Mounts/ NPCs) play a BIG role in difficult scenarios.

Act 5: "Pillars or Empress?" Though I don't think one necessarily has to choose, I think we can all agree that if the player can consistently defeat either enemy type, they've likely reached the limit to how much more they can progress and killing the Moon Lord is the final "checkbox".

All this to say, "I'm not entirely certain anymore". Give me some time to conquer all the different World Seed-Types and I can probably give you a more accurate answer; cards-on-the-table though, it's the Party Island seed that makes me reconsider my position the most, because water exploration has always been extremely lacking in Terraria. Having access to it from-the-start might be a major gamechanger for me.

 

[CDR_Xavier]

looks like "pre hard" is actually on quite a few person's list.
Official Release nostalgia, huh?

 

[Daikonradish]

looks like "pre hard" is actually on quite a few person's list.
Official Release nostalgia, huh?

Sometimes, the changes introduced can overwhelm Terrarians (myself included). There exists a thrill in preparing for the future ahead by sacrificing the Guide which takes long. Long to appreciate a generated world before good and evil biomes clash.

 

[Mental Mouse]

looks like "pre hard" is actually on quite a few person's list.
Official Release nostalgia, huh?

Naah, I came in at 1.3.1 or so, and I still like late pre-Hardmode best. I'm there with my current game now, prepping for hardmode (diggy diggy hole!) and doing occasional builds. I recently got 3 gnomes at once at my slightly-modified living trees, and I'm considering turning my meteorite "shield" (currently a pool of ore atop those same trees) into a proper build.

 

[ZeldaUwU]

Probably early hm and post golem.
Early HM introduces you to new enemies, npcs, and new biomes, which give a sense of a new adventure.
Post golem is the complete opposite, you know the adventure is almost to a close, with only two bosses and an event ahead of you, so you prepare for the final boss, giving a sense of excitement.