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.