Guide:Armor progression

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Progression in Terraria is marked by the player gaining access to new weapons, accessories, and armors. While weapons are the main determinant of combat effectiveness, armor also plays an important role by mitigating damage taken and passively boosting damage output. Choosing the ideal armor sets to use at each stage of the game is sometimes straightforward, but not always. This guide will help you decide on which armor sets to use at various points in game progression.

The armor sets listed in this guide are optimized for overall damage and survivability, with consideration given to raw stats as well as set bonuses. As a result, the optimal sets will often be hybrid sets that do not confer a set bonus. That is not to say that unlisted sets like Turtle armor, Solar Flare armor, or Frost armor are unviable, but mathematically, they will fall short in DPS and/or survivability when compared to the listed sets.

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Earlygame

At this point, armor serves little purpose other than to boost your defense. You may obtain up to 20 defense with metal armors such as Platinum armor, but the resources required are better spent elsewhere. Therefore, it's recommended to simply wear Cactus armor or other basic, easy-to-craft armors until you can get your hands on a real armor set; whatever you wear at the start of the game will be replaced very quickly.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
All classes
Mining Helmet	Gi	Obsidian Pants	Practical set for exploring. Use Bombs for Obsidian.
Pumpkin Helmet	Pumpkin Breastplate	Pumpkin Leggings	10% damage boost, equating to about 1 damage. Only during Halloween.
Magic
Wizard Hat	Gypsy Robe	Obsidian Pants	Requires some luck from Traveling Merchant. Use a Diamond Robe otherwise.

Late pre-Hardmode

Sets that can be acquired after smashing at least one Shadow Orb/Crimson Heart, defeating a boss, and/or exploring environments more hostile than the Cavern layer.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
Melee
Crimson Helmet	Crimson Scalemail	Crimson Greaves	Classless set used to regenerate health while exploring.
Molten Helmet	Molten Breastplate	Molten Greaves	Highest defense and melee bonuses.
Ranged
Crimson Helmet	Crimson Scalemail	Crimson Greaves	Classless set used to regenerate health while exploring.
Necro Helmet	Necro Breastplate	Necro Greaves	The only ranged-specific armor set in pre-Hardmode.
Necro Helmet	Gi	Necro Greaves	Slightly more damage output, and only gives up ammo conservation.
Throwing
Ninja Hood	Ninja Shirt	Ninja Pants	Easily destroys the Wall of Flesh and all other pre-Hardmode content with Beenades.
Fossil Helmet	Fossil Plate	Fossil Greaves	Stronger than Ninja armor but requires considerably more effort to obtain.
Bee Headgear	Fossil Plate	Fossil Greaves	Those who don’t care about ammo conservation can improve DPS by adding an extra minion. Throwing set helmets only improve velocity, which is not needed.
Magic
Wizard Hat	Gypsy Robe	Meteor Leggings	Highest magic damage output.
Wizard Hat	Diamond Robe	Jungle Pants	More focused on mana economy, but unnecessary after reaching 200 mana.
Meteor Helmet	Meteor Suit	Meteor Leggings	Ideal for use with the Space Gun.
Crimson Helmet	Crimson Scalemail	Crimson Greaves	Classless set used to regenerate health while exploring.
Summon
Bee Headgear	Bee Breastplate	Bee Greaves	The only option for a summoner.

Early Hardmode

To save resources, it is recommended that you choose one early Hardmode armor set and use it until you defeat your first Mechanical boss. Forbidden Treads make for an excellent filler item in the leg slot, especially for sets like Adamantite armor that lack a useful set bonus. Their +2 bonus to minion capacity will usually outshine the paltry offensive bonuses of other leg slot items.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
Melee
Palladium Mask	Palladium Breastplate	Palladium Leggings	Provides constant regeneration in combat.
Orichalcum Mask	Orichalcum Breastplate	Orichalcum Leggings	Provides innate crowd control, even when using weak weapons.
Titanium Mask	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings	Periodically dodges incoming attacks.
Adamantite Helmet	Frost Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	Trades away melee speed for 2 minions and higher direct offensive bonuses.
Ranged
Palladium Helmet	Palladium Breastplate	Palladium Leggings	Provides constant regeneration in combat.
Orichalcum Helmet	Orichalcum Breastplate	Orichalcum Leggings	Provides innate crowd control, even when using weak weapons.
Titanium Helmet	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings	Periodically dodges incoming attacks.
Adamantite Mask	Frost Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	Ammo conservation does not directly improve DPS, so there is little reason not to break the set bonus and hybridize.
Magic
Palladium Headgear	Palladium Breastplate	Palladium Leggings	Provides constant regeneration in combat.
Orichalcum Headgear	Orichalcum Breastplate	Orichalcum Leggings	Provides innate crowd control, even when using weak weapons.
Titanium Headgear	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings	Periodically dodges incoming attacks.
Wizard Hat	Gypsy Robe	Forbidden Treads	Dangerously frail, but provides maximum damage output along with summons. If this set's low defense is unappealing, use Adamantite armor if the above three sets are unavailable.
Summon
Spider Mask	Spider Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	The best choice available to minion specialists. Summon all your minions with Spider armor, then switch to the Treads for one more.
Forbidden Mask	Forbidden Robes	Forbidden Treads	Poor stats, but an excellent set bonus for crowd control and killing The Destroyer.

Pre-Plantera

Aside from Hallowed and Chlorophyte Bars, you now have access to the second tier of the Old One's Army, the rewards of which provide welcome upgrades to every class. However, most players won't be aiming to purchase a full set, because with the exception of Squire armor, the set bonuses of the Tavernkeep's armor sets are lackluster.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
Melee
Titanium Mask	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings
Hallowed Mask	Hallowed Plate Mail	Hallowed Greaves	An easily crafted set that gives significant melee speed bonuses. Can be useful with the Terra Blade and Fetid Baghnakhs.
Chlorophyte Mask	Monk's Shirt	Squire's Greaves	Provides the highest melee bonuses available, and does not rely on set effects. Outclasses many melee sets that are unlocked later in the game.
Ranged
Titanium Helmet	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings
Hallowed Helmet	Huntress's Jerkin	Forbidden Treads	Provides more minions and better raw stats than Hallowed and Chlorophyte sets.
Magic
Titanium Headgear	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings
Hallowed Headgear	Chlorophyte Plate Mail	Apprentice's Trousers	Maximizes damage output.
Hallowed Headgear	Apprentice's Robe	Forbidden Treads	Allocates more damage to the Twins, improving your ability to fight when mana is low.
Summon
Squire's Great Helm	Squire's Plating	Squire's Greaves	Decimates crowds of enemies when used with Ballistas.
Squire's Great Helm	Spider Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	An attempt at a tanky minion-based set, with higher regeneration than Palladium armor. Use Spider armor for summoning sessions.

Pre-Betsy

While Plantera and Golem provide separate advancements to game progression when defeated, they are treated as one milestone by this guide due to their similar difficulty level. At this point you would be expected to have defeated Duke Fishron, Martian Madness, and the Pumpkin Moon. The Xeno Staff in particular provides a noticeable power boost to those who were using Forbidden Treads.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
Melee
Chlorophyte Mask	Monk's Shirt	Squire's Greaves	Highest raw melee bonuses available, surpassing Beetle Scale Mail at its maximum level.
Beetle Helmet	Beetle Scale Mail	Beetle Leggings	Optimal only when used with the Terra Blade, one of the few melee weapons whose firing frequency improves with melee speed.
Beetle Helmet	Beetle Shell	Beetle Leggings	The tankiest armor set for any class, but does not take repeated hits well.
Ranged
Shroomite headpiece	Shroomite Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	Highest DPS available when using the Xeno Staff, and doesn't lose effectiveness while moving.
Magic
Titanium Headgear	Titanium Breastplate	Titanium Leggings	Listed for lack of any better defensive effects for mages.
Spectre Hood	Spectre Robe	Spectre Pants	This set reduces your magic damage, but grants near-immortality as long as you can properly manage your mana.
Hallowed Headgear	Spectre Robe	Apprentice's Trousers	Even without a set bonus, this set's raw magic damage and critical strike bonuses make it offensively superior to the Spectre Mask set.
Hallowed Headgear	Apprentice's Robe	Forbidden Treads	One uninvested UFO is approximately as strong as the Spectre Mask set bonus, making this set viable for those who prefer to use minions and won't be relying on the Spectre Hood.
Summon
Spooky Helmet	Spooky Breastplate	Spooky Leggings	Use for summoning sessions.
Tiki Mask	Tiki Shirt	Tiki Pants	Switch from Spooky armor for one extra minion.
Squire's Great Helm	Tiki Shirt	Forbidden Treads	Switch from Spooky armor for more survivability.
Squire's Great Helm	Squire's Plating	Squire's Greaves	Use for clearing the Old One's Army itself with Ballistas.

Pre-Lunar Events

With the Old One's Army vanquished and a good supply of Defender Medals in your pocket, you can now purchase the best armor available before challenging the Lunar Events. The most notable of these armor pieces is the Valhalla Knight's Breastplate, which drastically increases the survivability of all classes.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
Melee
Chlorophyte Mask	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Valhalla Knight's Greaves	The best melee set in the game for overall offense and survivability.
Shinobi Infiltrator's Helmet	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Valhalla Knight's Greaves	Increases sentry capacity while providing comparable melee bonuses to the Chlorophyte Mask.
Chlorophyte Mask	Monk's Shirt	Valhalla Knight's Greaves	Forgoes regeneration to maximize melee DPS.
Shinobi Infiltrator's Helmet	Monk's Shirt	Forbidden Treads	Similar to the above set, but focused more on minion and sentry based offense.
Beetle Helmet	Beetle Scale Mail	Beetle Leggings	Optimal only when using the Terra Blade.
Beetle Helmet	Beetle Shell	Beetle Leggings	Somewhat outclassed by the Valhalla Knight's Breastplate, but usable for tanks.
Ranged
Shroomite headpiece	Shroomite Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	Highest DPS available when using the Xeno Staff.
Shroomite headpiece	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	Barely qualifies as a ranged set, but has survivability.
Magic
Hallowed Headgear	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Dark Artist's Leggings	Offensively superior to the Spectre Mask, and has constant regeneration.
Spectre Hood	Spectre Robe	Spectre Pants	A fallback option for rapidly healing yourself and your teammates.
Summon
Spooky Helmet	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	A regenerating, minion-based set. Summon minions while wearing Spooky armor.
Shinobi Infiltrator's Helmet	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	More sentry-based than the above set. Use with Frost Hydra and Queen Spider.
Squire's Great Helm	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Forbidden Treads	A passive set specialized entirely towards regeneration, healing 12 health per second instead of 8.

Endgame

All Luminite-tier armors except for Solar Flare armor are the best offensive armors for their respective classes. However, the Valhalla Knight's Breastplate can still be worn by ranged users and summoners, who do not receive any defensive benefits from their respective endgame armors.

Head	Chest	Legs	Notes
Melee
Chlorophyte Mask	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Valhalla Knight's Greaves	Remains defensively superior to Solar Flare armor against any attack with less than 172 / 192 base damage.
Shinobi Infiltrator's Helmet	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Valhalla Knight's Greaves	Improves your newly obtained Lunar Portals, and still has higher melee DPS than Solar Flare armor.
Chlorophyte Mask	Solar Flare Breastplate	Valhalla Knight's Greaves	Specialized entirely towards dealing melee damage.
Nebula Helmet	Nebula Breastplate	Nebula Leggings	Nebula armor's incredible damage and regeneration bonuses make it arguably a better melee set than Solar Flare armor.
Ranged
Vortex Helmet	Vortex Breastplate	Vortex Leggings	Immense DPS when stealthed, but only reaches full potential in multiplayer with other players acting as decoys.
Shroomite headpiece	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Vortex Leggings	Singleplayer set that emphasizes survivability.
Nebula Helmet	Nebula Breastplate	Nebula Leggings	While it can’t compete in damage with Vortex stealth, Nebula armor compensates with health regeneration, and synergizes with rapid-fire ranged weapons.
Magic
Nebula Helmet	Nebula Breastplate	Nebula Leggings	Arguably the best armor set in the game, providing immense damage and regeneration bonuses to yourself and your teammates.
Hallowed Headgear	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Dark Artist's Leggings	For use in multiplayer if you already have a teammate using Nebula armor.
Hallowed Headgear	Stardust Plate	Dark Artist's Leggings	Similar to the above, but specialized entirely towards dealing damage.
Spectre Hood	Spectre Robe	Spectre Pants	Mildly useful for pinch healing, but mostly outclassed. Technically, it still carries the highest healing potential (36/30 health per second).
Summon
Stardust Helmet	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Stardust Leggings	In contrast to the full Stardust set, this set provides survivability (though at the cost of 2 minion slots).
Shinobi Infiltrator's Helmet	Valhalla Knight's Breastplate	Stardust Leggings	Trades one minion for two extra sentries.
Shinobi Infiltrator's Helmet	Stardust Plate	Stardust Leggings	Specialized entirely towards dealing damage.