Terraria Summoner Class Guide: Dominate Pre-Hardmode

Embarking on your Terraria adventure as a Summoner presents a unique and rewarding playstyle. While often perceived as challenging in the early stages, the Summoner class offers a distinct approach to combat, relying on summoned minions to do your bidding. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to thrive as a Summoner in Terraria’s pre-hardmode phase, setting you up for success as you progress further.

Pre-Hardmode Summoner Essentials

Pre-Hardmode Summoner gear is limited but crucial for establishing your foundation. Focus on acquiring these key items to kickstart your journey:

Hornet Staff: A potent early-game summon weapon.
Slime Staff: A highly sought-after minion summon for its early availability.
Imp Staff: The pinnacle of pre-hardmode summoning power.
Bee Armor: The essential armor set tailored for Summoners in pre-hardmode.

These items are your arsenal for surviving the initial nights and preparing for the challenges ahead. Let’s delve into how to obtain them and make the most of your early Summoner experience.

Surviving Your First Night as a Summoner

As a fledgling Summoner, direct combat is not your strength. Your initial focus should be on survival and preparation. Here’s how to navigate your first nights:

Exploration and Looting: Scour the surface of your world. Open every chest you encounter, even if the items seem irrelevant to a Summoner at first. Resources are key, and you never know what might be useful later. Don’t venture into dangerous biomes like the Jungle or Corruption/Crimson early on, especially in hardcore mode.
Resource Gathering: Mine every ore deposit you find. These raw materials are essential for crafting tools, armor, and essential infrastructure.
Base Establishment: Hopefully, you started with a Recall Potion. Use it to return to your spawn point and begin building a basic base a short distance away from your initial spawn house. Construct at least three rooms to accommodate the Guide, NPC, and Nurse NPCs. These NPCs will provide crucial services and guidance as you progress.
Merchant and Early Purchases: If you accumulate 50 silver coins or more during the daytime, wait for the Merchant to spawn.

If night falls, open any chests you’ve collected and place one or more in your base to store excess items. Deposit any non-Summoner weapons or gear you’ve acquired. Once the Merchant or even the Nurse arrives:

Sell unwanted items to amass coins. Aim to reach 1 gold coin to purchase a Piggy Bank from the Merchant. This is crucial for safe coin storage, preventing loss upon death.

Crafting Essentials: Craft a Work Bench, followed by a Furnace. If you lack materials, venture out briefly to gather wood, stone, and surface resources.
Smelting and Basic Gear: Smelt your collected ores and craft essential equipment. Prioritize crafting a pickaxe and axe to expedite resource gathering. Craft basic armor if you have surplus ores, but don’t worry about set bonuses at this stage. Your immediate armor goal is the Bee Armor set.
Daybreak and Continued Journey: Wait for daybreak to resume your exploration and 본격적으로 Summoner progression.

Obtaining Key Summoner Weapons

With the initial survival phase behind you, it’s time to focus on acquiring your first significant Summoner weapons: the Slime Staff and the Imp Staff.

Slime Staff Guide

The Slime Staff is an early pre-hardmode summon weapon that, while weak initially, provides a valuable minion for early combat. It is dropped by Slimes with a very low drop rate (1 in 7,000 to 10,000 from Blue Slimes, with varying rates for other colored slimes and the Slime King). To effectively farm for the Slime Staff, you have two primary options:

Option 1: Slime Statue Farm (Active Farming)

This method is more efficient if you can locate a Slime Statue.

Find a Slime Statue: Explore caverns, particularly in the Jungle biome, to increase your chances of finding a Slime Statue. This statue resembles a stone trophy with a slime sculpture.
Dart Trap Integration: Locate a dart trap in the caverns and remove it. Place the Slime Statue in the dart trap’s original location.
Pressure Plate Setup: Find the pressure plate that triggered the dart trap and build a small enclosure above it, just large enough for your character to stand in. Jump inside the enclosure to activate the pressure plate. When slimes start spawning, the farm is working.
Lava Trap Construction: Build an 8-block long and 3-block wide box to either side of the Slime Statue.
Lava Acquisition: Obtain a bucket and descend to the deep cavern layer until you find a lava pit. Collect lava with the bucket.
Lava Placement: Return to your Slime Statue farm and carefully place a thin layer of lava in the box beside the statue. Ensure the lava is shallow enough to damage slimes but not burn item drops.
Active Farming: Jump onto the pressure plate repeatedly, causing slimes to spawn continuously. Allow the slimes to fall into the lava and die. Persist until a Slime Staff drops.

Image showing an example of a Slime Statue Farm setup for Terraria.

Positive Effects of Slime Statue Farm:

Efficient Spawning: Guaranteed slime spawning ensures a more consistent and faster farm compared to relying on natural slime spawns.

Negative Effects of Slime Statue Farm:

Statue Rarity: Slime Statues can be challenging to find, especially early in the game.
Active Farming Required: This method requires active input (jumping on the pressure plate), which can be tiring, particularly on PC where rapid spacebar presses might strain your keyboard.

Option 2: Natural Slime Spawn Farm (AFK/Passive Farming)

This method is less efficient but easier to set up and allows for passive farming.

Room Construction: Create a wide, open room at ground level. Leave the roof open and ensure the walls are high enough to prevent slimes from hopping out easily.
Lava Box (Optional but Recommended): Similar to the Slime Statue farm, create a box and place a thin layer of lava to expedite slime elimination and item collection.
Platform Placement: Build a platform above the open roof of your room, out of reach of ground enemies.
Water Candle (Optional, Enhances Spawns): Venture into the Dungeon biome and acquire a Water Candle. Place the Water Candle near your platform in your farm to increase enemy spawn rates.
AFK Farming: Stand on your platform and wait. Slimes will naturally spawn within the room, especially during the day (daytime reduces unwanted enemy spawns).

Positive Effects of Natural Spawn Farm:

Easy Setup: Simple to construct, requiring no rare Slime Statues.
AFK Capability: Allows for passive farming while you are away from the game.
Versatile Farming: Can also farm other surface mobs that spawn in the area.

Negative Effects of Natural Spawn Farm:

Slower Spawn Rate: Relies on natural slime spawn rates, which are less consistent than statue-forced spawns.
Reduced Efficiency at Night: Slime spawn rates are generally lower at night, making daytime farming more effective for this method.

Imp Staff Guide

The Imp Staff is a significant step up in pre-hardmode Summoner power. It summons an Imp minion that hurls fireballs, dealing considerably more damage than the Slime Staff. Obtaining it requires venturing into the Underworld (Hell) to mine Hellstone.

Reaver Shark Acquisition (Fishing Method): Hellstone requires at least 65% pickaxe power to mine. Early game pickaxes are insufficient. The fastest pre-hardmode method to obtain a suitable pickaxe is fishing for the Reaver Shark.
- Merchant Purchase: Ensure you have a Merchant NPC in your town. Buy a Bug Net from him.
- Fishing Rod: Obtain a fishing rod. Early options include crafting a Wooden Fishing Pole, Fiberglass Fishing Pole, or obtaining the Sitting Duck Fishing Pole (from the Traveling Merchant).
- Bait Collection: Catch bait using the Bug Net by destroying grass or finding worms during rain.
- Ocean Fishing: Travel to the Ocean biome located at either edge of your world. Build platforms extending over the ocean surface to create a safe fishing spot. Fish until you catch a Reaver Shark. This pickaxe has 100% pickaxe power, sufficient for Hellstone and even early hardmode ores. Also, gather a decent number of Water Buckets while near water.
Underworld Access: Reach the Underworld (Hell). There are two common early game approaches:
- Deep Cave Exploration: Explore deep caverns, following downward paths. The Jungle biome often provides efficient routes to deeper layers.
- Hellevator Construction: Dig a straight vertical shaft (Hellevator) downwards. Upon reaching a lava layer, search for cave systems that connect further down into the Underworld.
Obsidian Mining (If Necessary): In both Underworld access methods, you will likely encounter lava pools. To navigate lava safely and potentially mine Obsidian (though not essential for Imp Staff), use Water Buckets to pour water onto lava, converting it to Obsidian. Mine Obsidian with any pickaxe if needed for pathing.
Hellstone Mining: Once in the Underworld, locate and mine Hellstone.
- Lava Hazard: Be aware that Hellstone blocks release lava upon being mined. Prepare by placing blocks adjacent to Hellstone veins before mining to contain the lava flow, or use an Obsidian Skin Potion for temporary lava immunity.
Hellforge Acquisition: Locate and “steal” (mine) a Hellforge in the Underworld. These are commonly found in Ruined Houses within the Underworld.
Crafting Imp Staff: Return to your base using a Magic Mirror or Recall Potion. Place the Hellforge. Craft Hellstone Bars from Hellstone ore at the Hellforge. With sufficient Hellstone Bars, craft the Imp Staff.

Gif showing the Imp Staff projectile in Terraria.

Essential Early Game Activities

Beyond weapon acquisition, several activities are crucial for early Summoner progression.

Merchant Guide

The Merchant NPC is invaluable in the early game.

Gel and Torch/Potion Conversion: You will likely accumulate Gel from slimes. Craft Torches or Lesser Healing Potions using Gel and other readily available materials.
Tool Upgrades: Purchase a better pickaxe from the Merchant if available, and consider buying an Axe upgrade as well.
Piggy Bank Purchase: As emphasized earlier, the Piggy Bank is essential for safe coin storage.
Bug Net Purchase: Crucial for bait collection for fishing, which is important for obtaining the Reaver Shark.
Selling Miscellaneous Items: Sell any unwanted items to the Merchant to generate income for essential purchases.
Money Trough (Later): While not immediately relevant in early pre-hardmode, keep in mind that the Money Trough (obtained during Blood Moons) provides portable Piggy Bank access, which becomes useful later.

Exploring the Caverns

Cavern exploration is vital for resource gathering and character progression.

Ore Mining: Mine all ores encountered in caverns for crafting upgrades, especially Lead/Iron Ore for Ironskin Potions.
Chest Looting: Open all chests in caverns for valuable accessories, potions, and other helpful items. Take spare chests with you for storage.
Life Crystals: Caverns are a primary source of Life Crystals, essential for increasing your maximum health.
Minecart Tracks (Optional): If you find Minecart Tracks, riding them can often lead you to interesting locations and underground structures.
Underground Houses: Explore Underground Houses for potential accessory and potion finds.
Pot Breaking: Break pots in caverns for a chance to spawn a Coin Portal. While rare, Coin Portals are extremely beneficial for generating wealth, which is helpful for the potentially expensive Summoner class later on.

Exploring the Jungle

The Jungle biome, while dangerous early on, contains essential resources and items for Summoners.

Staff of Regrowth: Locate Jungle Chests for the Staff of Regrowth. This tool is invaluable for alchemy and potion ingredient gathering.
Hermes Boots: Jungle Chests can also contain Hermes Boots, which increase movement speed, useful for general exploration and dodging.
Potions and Miscellaneous Items: Jungle Chests often contain various potions and miscellaneous items like the Umbrella.
Fishing Pool Preparation: Find or create a large pool of water in the Jungle for fishing. Fishing becomes increasingly important for Summoners later. Build platforms above the pool for safe fishing, protecting you from ground enemies.
Seed Gathering: Collect stacks of Moonglow Seeds and Jungle Grass Seeds, as well as mud blocks to establish a herb farm for potion ingredients.
Bee Hive Location: Search for Bee Hives in the Jungle. Locate a hive with an accessible entrance that allows you to enter without immediately triggering the Queen Bee boss fight.

Preparing for the Queen Bee

The Queen Bee is a crucial pre-hardmode boss for Summoners. Defeating her grants access to Bee Armor and the Hornet Staff, significantly boosting your summoning capabilities.

Summoner Potions

Potions play a vital role for all Terraria classes, and Summoners are no exception. Crafting and utilizing specific potions will greatly aid your progression, especially in boss fights like the Queen Bee.

Summoner Potion: Increases your maximum minion slots, allowing you to summon more minions simultaneously. This is essential for increasing your damage output, especially in boss encounters.
Ironskin Potion: Provides a significant defense boost (+8 defense). Crucial for Summoners who lack strong early-game armor sets. Ironskin Potions remain valuable even in later stages of the game to mitigate damage.
Mana Regeneration Potion: Summoning minions consumes mana. Mana Regeneration Potions help ensure you have sufficient mana to continuously summon minions during combat, especially in prolonged boss fights.
Lesser Healing Potion/Healing Potion: Essential for general survival and boss fights. Lesser Healing Potions restore 50 health, while Healing Potions restore 100 health. Use Lesser Healing Potions for regular damage and Healing Potions for boss encounters.
Regeneration Potion: Provides passive health regeneration. Combined with Campfires and Heart Lanterns, Regeneration Potions help offset damage taken, especially important for Summoners who often have lower defense in early game.

Killing the Queen Bee

The Queen Bee is a manageable boss, especially with Summoner preparations. You can attempt this fight relatively early in pre-hardmode, even before facing the Eye of Cthulhu if you are well-prepared.

Arena Preparation: Locate a Bee Hive in the Jungle. Clear out an area inside or immediately outside the hive to create an arena. Platforms are essential for maneuverability. If building an outside arena, consider bringing honey with a bucket and placing a honey block (2 blocks wide, 1 block high) to gain the Honey buff (increased life regeneration) during the fight. Place Campfires and Heart Lanterns within the arena to further enhance life regeneration.
Buffs and Preparations: Before initiating the fight, consume buff potions: Summoner Potion and any other beneficial potions you have crafted (Ironskin, Regeneration, Healing, Mana Regen).
- Bezoar (Highly Recommended): If you have managed to obtain a Bezoar (dropped by Hornets in the Jungle), equip it in an accessory slot. The Bezoar grants immunity to poison, negating the Queen Bee’s poison sting attack.
Initiate the Fight: Enter the Bee Hive and destroy the Larva inside to summon the Queen Bee.
Queen Bee Attack Patterns: The Queen Bee has two primary attack patterns:
- Horizontal Charge: She flies horizontally across the arena, attempting to ram into you. Dodge by jumping or using a grappling hook to quickly change vertical position.
- Bee Barrage: She hovers above you and spawns bees and fires stingers downwards. Dodge these by moving horizontally beneath her.
Combat Strategy:
- Minion Focus: When the Queen Bee hovers above you to spawn bees, position yourself directly beneath her and focus your minion attacks on her.
- Dodging Charges: When she charges horizontally, prioritize dodging. Summoners are less reliant on direct weapon attacks, so focus on survival and letting your minions deal damage.
- Honey Buff (If Available): If you have a honey block in your arena, briefly stand in the honey to refresh the Honey buff for increased regeneration if you take damage.
Post-Battle Loot: Upon defeating the Queen Bee, she will drop:
- Beeswax: Used to craft Bee Armor and other bee-themed items.
- Bee Gun (Semi-Summoner Weapon): A ranged weapon that fires bees. While not a pure Summoner weapon, it can be useful in early hardmode.
- Honeycomb: Used in various crafting recipes.
Armor Progression: Craft the Hornet Staff first using Beeswax, if you don’t already have the Imp Staff. The Queen Bee is not immune to poison, making the Hornet Staff effective against her and other early hardmode enemies. With remaining Beeswax, craft pieces of the Bee Armor set. Equipping the full Bee Armor set increases your minion capacity, allowing you to summon two minions at once, significantly increasing your damage output. Continue fighting the Queen Bee until you have enough Beeswax to craft the complete Bee Armor set.

With the Bee Armor and either the Hornet Staff or Imp Staff, you are well-equipped to face the challenges of early hardmode as a Summoner! Stay tuned for guides on progressing your Summoner build in hardmode Terraria.