Terraria Summoner Build Guide: Best Weapons, Armors, and Tips & Tricks

(Estimated Read Time: 17 minutes)

The Summoner in Terraria isn’t for everyone because of the class’s low defenses and active playstyle. But with proper planning, Summoners can dish out explosive damage with their Minions and turn the tides of battle in an instant. If you're looking to take on the challenge, this post will guide you in putting together the best Summoner build in Terraria.

The Terraria Summoner Class: An Overview

In Terraria, Summoners don’t have high melee or ranged damage from their normal weapon attacks. Instead, players who dive into this class will utilize Minions to deal decent to significant damage to enemies. Aside from the low damage output from weapons, Summoners also run out of mana faster than other classes like the Melee and Ranged classes. That means players must have a consistent supply of mana potions to ensure they can keep summoning Minions, particularly when facing strong enemies. On top of this, Summoners have to deal with extremely weak defensive capabilities. Even when equipped with the Stardust armor, a Summoner has to avoid enemy attacks to avoid dying where other builds might feel safe.

Minions

In Terraria, Minions keep following the player that summoned them indefinitely. But some instances can occur when a Minion will cease to follow its Summoner, like:

• The player dies
• Another Minion replaces the current summon
• The Summoner cancels the buff manually
• The player leaves the world

Walls and other obstructions to players don’t hinder Minions’ movement. However, most Minions can’t attack through these barriers. A new Summoner can only summon a single Minion at a time. Moving forward with the game allows the player to increase the Minion summon cap to its eventual 11, however, unlocking the full potential of the playstyle.

Pre-Hardmode Minions

Summoner Weapon	Minion Summoned	Damage	How To Get
Abigail’s Flower	Abigail	6	The grassy area near placed tombstones
Finch Staff	Finch	7	Summoners start with this Minion in Journey Mode Also found in Living Wood Chests
Flinx Staff	Flinx	8	Crafted using 6 x Flinx Fur and 10 x Gold or Platinum Bar
Slime Staff	Baby Slime	8	Dropped by slime enemies
Vampire Frog Staff	Vampire Frog	11	Dropped by the Zombie Merman and Wandering Eye Fish
Hornet Staff	Horent	12	Crafted using 14 x Bee Wax
Imp Staff	Imp	17	Crafted using 17 x Hellstone Bar

Hardmode Minions

Summoner Weapon	Minion Summoned	Damage	How To Get
Blade Staff	Enchanted Dagger	6	Dropped by killing the Queen Slime boss
Spider Staff	Spider	26	Crafted using 16 x Spider Fang
Optic Staff	Twins	30	Crafted by using 2 x Black Lens, 12 x Lens, 20 x Hallowed Bar, and 20 x Soul of Sight
Pygmy Staff	Pygmy	34	Dropped by killing the Plantera boss
Sanguine Staff	Sanguine Bat	35	Dropped by killing Dreadnautilus
Xeno Staff	UFO	36	Dropped by the Martian Saucer mini boss
Pirate Staff	Pirate	40	Dropped by killing Pirates and the Flying Dutchman mini boss
Stardust Dragon Staff	Stardust Dragon	40	Crafted using 18 x Stardust Fragment at the Ancient Manipulator
Desert Tiger Staff	Desert Tiger	41	Found in a Desert chest
Deadly Sphere Staff	Deadly Sphere	50	Dropped by the Deadly Sphere
Tempest Staff	Sharknado	50	Dropped by the Duke Fishron mini boss
Raven Staff	Raven	55	Dropped by killing the Pumpking boss
Stardust Cell Staff	Stardust Cell	60	Crafted using 18 x Stardust Fragment at the Ancient Manipulator
Terraprisma	Terraprisma	90	Dropped by killing the Empress of Light boss Additional requirement: All damage should be dealt during the day

Sentries

Unlike Minions, Sentries don’t move from their summoned locations, making them a tricky tool to make use of for any Summoner in Terraria. Typically, Sentries will only last for 10 minutes before disappearing. However, Sentries can persist even if the player that summoned them dies. New Summoners can only summon a single Sentry at a time. Summoning a new Sentry while the previous one is still active will vanish the last summoned Sentry. Progressing through the game allows players to summon multiple Sentries at once with the help of specific equipment.

Pre-Hardmode Sentries

Summoner Weapon	Sentry Summoned	Damage	How To Get
Houndius Shootius	Houndius Shootius	24	Dropped by killing the Deerclops boss
Lightning Aura Rod	Lightning Aura	4	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Flameburst Rod	Flameburst Tower	17	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Explosive Trap Rod	Explosive Trap	24	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Ballista Rod	Ballista	30	Buy from the Tavernkeep

Hardmode Sentries

Summoner Weapon	Sentry Summoned	Damage	How To Get
Queen Spider Staff	Queen Spider	26	Crafted by using 24 x Spider Fang
Staff of the Frost Hydra	Frost Hydra	100	Found in an Ice Chest
Lunar Polar Staff	Lunar Portal	50	Dropped by killing the Moon Lord boss
Rainbow Crystal Staff	Rainbow Crystal	130	Dropped by killing the Moon Lord boss
Lightning Aura Cane	Lightning Aura	11	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Flameburst Cane	Flameburst Tower	42	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Explosive Trap Cane	Explosive Trap	59	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Ballista Cane	Ballista	74	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Lightning Aura Staff	Lightning Aura	34	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Flameburst Staff	Flameburst Tower	88	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Explosive Trap Staff	Explosive Trap	126	Buy from the Tavernkeep
Ballista Staff	Ballista	156	Buy from the Tavernkeep

Best Armor for Summoners in Terraria

The Obsidian Armor, Bee Armor, and Stardust Armor sets are excellent for any Summoner in Terraria. These armors grant Summoners decent defense and survivability, despite falling short of better armor sets like the Solar Flare.

Obsidian Armor

The Obsidian Armor has the following stats:

• 15 base defense
• +31% Minion damage
• +1 Minion slot
• +15% whip speed
• +30% whip range

Despite being an armor set, it doesn’t grant a set bonus. Players also need to gather the following materials to craft it:

• 60 x Obsidian
• 30 x Silk
• 20 x Shadow Scales or Tissue Samples

Bee Armor

The Bee Armor has the following stats:

• 13 base defense
• +23% Minion damage
• +2 Minion slots
• +20% summon damage (full set bonus)

Players need to gather 30 Bee Wax to craft this armor set. Summoners can acquire the Bee Wax item by defeating the Queen Bee boss at least twice.

Stardust Armor

The Stardust Armor is only obtainable after defeating the Moon Lord. Its stats are as follows:

• 38 base defense
• +66% Minion damage
• +5 Minion slots
• +1 sentry slots
• +30% whip range
• A Stardust Guardian Minion appears and protects the player from enemies (full set bonus)

Crafting the Stardust Armor requires players to gather and combine 36 x Luminite Bars or 144 x Luminite and 45 x Stardust Fragments.

Other Armor Options

Aside from the armor sets already mentioned, other armor that Summoners can craft to increase their chances of survival in Terraria are the Flinx Fur Coat and the Spooky Armor. The Flinx Fur Coat is a good choice for a new Summoner to the game. Although it doesn’t provide additional defense, the Flinx Fur Coat grants the player +5% summon damage and +1 Minion slot. As for the Spooky Armor, this Hardmode armor set has the following stats:

• 30 base defense
• +4 Minion slots
• +58% Minion damage
• +20% movement speed
• +25% summon damage (set bonus)

Crafting the Spooky Armor requires players to gather and combine 750 x Spooky Wood. The Stardust Armor is the only armor that beats the Spooky Armor in terms of base defense.

Best Weapons for Summoners in Terraria

A Summoner primarily uses a whip to deal damage to enemies in Terraria. However, it doesn’t mean this character class can only use that weapon type. Some weapons in the game pack better damage and utility than many of the available whips.

Zenith

The Zenith is arguably the best weapon in the game, and Summoners can equip it. It has the following stats:

• 190 base melee damage
• 6.5 knockback
• 14% critical chance

Creating the Zenith is quite arduous, as players need to gather different materials, including various swords, to craft this weapon. Once crafted, swinging it will generate the swords used to prepare this weapon to attack on-screen enemies. Be mindful because this weapon doesn’t provide bonuses to summoning Minions or the damage they deliver. Nonetheless, its unique effect should be more than enough to deal additional damage numbers to groups of enemies. Read our Zenith crafting guide to know the requirements to make this weapon.

Leather Whip

The Leather Whip is a good starting weapon for a new Summoner in Terraria. Players can buy it from the Zoologist for 10 gold pieces. It also has a base weapon damage of 14.

Slime Staff

Like the Leather Whip, the Slime Staff is a good starting weapon for Summoners. It also grants the player the ability to summon the Baby Slime Minion. However, getting the Slime Staff is rare since it is less than 1% likely to drop from slime enemies.

Spinal Tap

If they equip the Spinal Tap, more prominent can start delivering more significant damage points to enemies after moving forward with the Leather Whip or Slime Staff. It has the unique ability to allow summoned Minions to focus on the struck enemy. This weapon also has a base damage of 27, which is decent for a new player.

Stardust Dragon Staff

The Stardust Dragon Staff is a Hardmode staff that can summon a dragon with the same name as this weapon. The summoned Minion will continuously fly on the player’s screen to damage enemies. It can also pass through blocks and surfaces, damaging hidden enemies as it moves.

Dark Harvest

The Dark Harvest whip has a unique ability to apply a “dark energy” aura to an enemy that it hits. The enemy with an active dark energy aura will receive additional damage when struck by a summoned Minion. Also, the Summoner using the Dark Harvest that hits an enemy with an active dark energy aura will receive the “Harvest Time” buff. This buff increases the player’s attack speed by 35% for 3 seconds. Each hit to the same enemy will refresh the buff’s timer. This whip also has a substantial base damage of 100. Players can kill the Pumpking boss during the Pumpkin Moon event for a chance to receive this whip.

Terraprisma

The Terraprisma is a sword with a base attack power that slightly falls short of the Dark Harvest. Despite this drawback, a Summoner wielding this weapon can summon a copy of the sword that autonomously damages nearby enemies.

Kaleidoscope

The Kaleidoscope is a Hardmode whip with the unique ability to grant summoned Minions critical hits to struck enemies. The chance to deal a critical blow is at a fixed 10% for all summoned Minions. This weapon also has a base attack of 180, making it one of the highest damaging whips in the game. Players have the chance to acquire the Kaleidoscope by defeating the Empress of Light boss.

Best Accessories for Summoners in Terraria

Accessories, like any other piece of equipment in Terraria, are important to help a Summoner increase their fighting advantage against enemies. Several accessories even offer benefits specifically to Summoner builds. With that, some of the best accessories for Summoners are:

Cloud in a Bottle

Obtainable from searching Gold Chests in the Cavern and Underground layers, the Cloud in a Bottle accessory grants players an extra jump. It allows new to intermediate players, regardless of class, to reach new heights and create openings for evading attacks.

Feral Claws

A Summoner that prioritizes using whips can take advantage of the Feral Claws accessory. It grants the player a 12% attack speed boost for melee weapons. Players need to search Ivy Chests, Bramble Crates, and Jungle Crates in Jungle Shrines and the Underground Jungle for a chance to find this accessory.

Hermes Boots

Players must explore the Underground and Cavern layers for chests containing the Hermes Boots. Like the name of the Greek god, this accessory grants the player wearing it a significant movement speed boost.

Celestial Shell

The Celestial Shell is a Hardmode accessory. Its effect combines the features supplied by the two accessories used to make it, which are:

• Celestial Stone: +10% melee speed, +10% damage, +2% critical hit chance, +1 HP/sec life regeneration, +4 defense, +15% mining speed, +0.5 Minion knockback
• Moon Shell: Turns the user into a werewolf at night and merfolk when entering bodies of water, along with stat boosts of +2% melee critical hit chance, +5.1% melee damage, +5.1% melee speed, +5% movement speed, +3 defense, +0.5 HP/sec life regeneration, and a slight increase to jump height and speed

Players can craft the Celestial Shell at the Tinkerer’s Workshop after acquiring the Celestial Stone and Moon Shell accessories.

Papyrus Scarab

Like the Celestial Shell, the Papyrus Scarab fuses the effects of the features supplied by the two accessories used to create it, which are:

• Necromantic Scroll: +1 Minion slot and +10% damage to all summoned Minions
• Hercules Beetle: +15% damage to all summoned Minions and +2 knockback for them

Summoner Emblem

The Summoner Emblem is a Hardmode accessory that grants the wearer +15% increased summon Minion damage. Players can only acquire this item by defeating the Wall of Flesh boss.

Additional Tips & Tricks

Players that don the best weapon, armor, and accessory in the game for the Summoner class may still have problems in beating Terraria’s difficult enemies. Here are some tips and tricks that may help increase survivability while dishing out as much damage as possible:

• Ditch the pure Summoner build if you’re having trouble. Players can start with a hybrid character until they get better gear to beef up their Summoners.
• Practice dodging. As a Summoner, don’t rely on your armor too much, as you still have paper-thin defenses, especially compared to a pure Melee build.
• Target your Minions. Right-click on an enemy to let the summoned Minions attack the target.
• Summoned Minions can snapshot. That means that the summoned entities will keep the bonuses and effects from the time of summoning, regardless of the changes that occurred from the Summoner’s equipment and stats.

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