Guide:Duke Fishron strategies

Duke Fishron is a flying fish/Pigron boss with very high movement speed and high damage, making it the one of the most difficult bosses in the game so far. It is advised to use life-draining weapons on him and high movement speed.

Terrain preparation
Note: As of 1.3.0.1 skybridge arena will most likely not work due to changes in Fishron's AI. Make a very long skybridge to fight Duke Fishron. Somewhere around 700-1000 should be enough. Asphalt blocks are highly recommended. The basic goal while fighting Duke Fishron is to run away quickly while attacking constantly. Alternatively, you can build a very long zigzag pattern of diagonal blocks.

Multiple layers may assist in avoiding his attacks, though it's not entirely necessary.

If one desires not to spend time making an arena, they can use a Water Walking Potion or Water Walking Boots (Recommended) instead.

Duke Fishron is capable of running away.

For PC players, it is advised to make arena over the ocean (without exiting the ocean biome, since Duke Fishron would get enraged, making it nearly impossible for the player to beat him), consisting of several long platform layers. Heart and star statues, as well as campfire and/or Heart Lanterns can be used to boost one's combat capabilities.

One could also use a minecart to outrun him in limited space above ocean biome.

Armor

 * For magic it is advisable equip the Spectre Armor with the Spectre Hood to drain health, or Spectre Mask if one desires more damage.
 * For melee characters the Beetle Armor with Scale Mail are recommended as they give decent defense paired with attack buffs which stacks as the player damages the boss or the Sharknados. If the player desires high defense, Beetle Armor with Shell or Turtle Armor are recommended.
 * For ranged characters the Shroomite Armor is highly recommended.
 * For summoner characters having both the Spooky Armor and the Tiki Armor is highly recommended, using the Spooky Armor to summon all but the last minion, and wearing the Tiki Armor for the additional minion and higher defense.
 * If the Moon Lord has been defeated, armors constructed from Lunar Fragments may be preferable: Solar Flare armor for melee characters; Vortex armor for ranged characters; Stardust armor for summoners; and Nebula armor for magic or, due to the booster buffs, possibly for any character.

Summoner

 * Due to the ability to always have at least one minion, or two with access to a Bewitching Table, summoning a minion prior to Duke Fishron may be helpful. However, due to his significant defense, weaker minions should be avoided; and due to his extreme speed, slower minions or those who use slower projectiles will be similarly ineffective. The Optic Staff, Tempest Staff, and especially the Deadly Sphere Staff can be quite helpful, where the otherwise impressive Stardust Dragon can have difficulty keeping up with the Duke.
 * Maximize summon damage with buffs from food and potions, armor, and accessories when summoning minions, as the minions retain the increased damage even if the equipment is removed, until the minions are unsummoned or replaced.

Magic

 * Homing weapons like Bat Scepter or Spectre Staff will let you focus on dodging.
 * Rapid weapons like Razorpine or Leaf Blower, rapidly recover health, which is extremely helpful for the fight. Razorblade Typhoon if you have already defeated the Duke, will let you focus on dodging as well, if you have decent enough aim. The only problem with Razorblade Typhoon is that the homing shots cannot keep up with him when he is rushing.
 * It is possible to outheal Duke Fishron if one has equipped a Mana Flower, A few stacks of Greater Mana Potions (Can get from Wizard), and a high rate of fire Magic Weapon (the Laser Machinegun proves useful in this situation).
 * The Golden Shower spell is helpful as it reduces his defense.
 * The Bubble Gun does very well if you have beaten him.
 * If you have good aim the Inferno Fork does a lot of damage.
 * The Blizzard Staff is very good for attacking while he is stationary.
 * The Rod of Discord isn't a weapon, but helps with dodging.
 * Any Minions can only help.
 * Avoid using magic weapons like Magnet Sphere, Wasp Gun, Rainbow Gun and Staff of the Frost Hydra as Duke Fishron's extreme speed will render these attacks nearly useless.

Melee

 * Vampire Knives are very useful for stealing life combined with decent damage, however the life steal effect seems to work better on his second stage.
 * If you have beaten him before and acquired Flairon you can easily beat him by flying away and spamming it.
 * Flask of Ichor is useful to slightly lower Duke Fishron's defense.
 * The Terra Blade also performs well, though not usually as well as the vampire knives.
 * Constantly throwing the Paladin's Hammer or Possessed Hatchet while flying around can defeat him quickly.
 * A stack of Bananarangs are good against the boss for its rapid throw and return. They do not home in on the boss, so speed is key.
 * The Eye of Cthulhu is the best yoyo that can be used by yoyo users, before defeating the Moon Lord.

Ranged

 * The Snowman Cannon is powerful against him, if you have defeated the frost moon.
 * The Chain Gun, if you have beat the frost moon, or Megashark, paired with Chlorophyte Bullets do very well; as these weapons have homing properties little aim will be required leaving the player to focus on dodging the boss.
 * The Piranha Gun attaches to Duke Fishron and deals continuous damage, so the player can focus on dodging Duke Fishron's attacks.You must do this at the start of the fight, or else he will be too fast for the piranha to latch on.
 * Ichor Arrows or Ichor Bullets will reduce his defense.
 * If you have defeated Duke Fishron already, the Tsunami with Venom Arrows is useful. Chlorophyte Arrows are good, but piercing weapons give the boss a 1/6 second immunity, and the other arrows may not hit him.  It's best to use none piercing arrows, preferably Venom Arrows because of their high velocity.  (Note, 1/6 of a second is barely any time, and other piercing weapons are still effective, but that 1/6 of a second is barely long enough to only allow 1-2 Chlorophyte Arrows hit, instead of all five.)
 * The Stynger is very effective.
 * Using a Phantasm with Holy Arrows can make the fight extremely easy, to the point where you can kill the boss within less than a minute and without taking major damage. This will be efficient even without Vortex armor or end-game accessories, although will only be possible if the player has already defeated the Lunar Events(which are considered easier to beat than Duke Fishron by some) to acquire the Vortex Fragments necessary to craft the bow.
 * A Tactical Shotgun with Chlorophyte Bullets is good for its wide spread, automatic firing, low ammo consumption, and homing ability.

Accessories
A must is Hoverboard and Lightning Boots or better as primary choice. They are both fairly easy to get at this point. If you have defeated Duke Fishron, Fishron Wings will also help. Frog Leg can be used for more mobility. A shield will prevent knockback from Sharknadoes.

Equip accessories with damage, crit, or—if using magic—arcane, modifiers. Accessories such as the Celestial Stone, Fire Gauntlet, Sniper Scope, and emblems will also greatly improve damage output. Warding accessories can be used if the player desires extra defense.

Cross Necklace or Star Veil is recommended as the boss speed might cause several heavy hits on characters should the boss catch the player. The Sharknados may also flank the player hitting them consecutively especially on Duke Fishron's second phase.

Characters with Spectre Armor should consider using Magic Cuffs or Celestial Cuffs, as the damage dealt by Duke Fishron's attacks will often times completely restore their MP, allowing them to attack constantly while restoring HP. Care should be taken as the boss' high attack can make quick work of reckless players.

Magic users should also consider the Mana Flower.

If you have difficulty dodging his charges and/or bubbles, invest some time in getting a Tabi or Master Ninja Gear.

Charm of Myths will both allow for increased regen and reduced time for the Potion Sickness debuff.

Potions and Buffs
As with any other Hardmode boss, it would be useful to prepare the following potions:
 * Greater Healing Potions are highly recommended, though not entirely necessary with life-draining weapons.
 * Greater Mana Potions are recommended for magic users.
 * Regeneration Potion and Ironskin Potion to survive. Two of each will last enough.
 * Endurance and Lifeforce potions for even greater survivability.
 * Pumpkin Pies will likely last the entire fight, and it's easy to craft.
 * Swiftness Potion helps you a lot to evade the Duke and its attacks.
 * Wrath and/or Rage potions for a boost in damage output.
 * Magic Power Potion and the Crystal Ball's Clairvoyance buff for magic users is recommended.
 * If a player has no arena, they can just use Water Walking Potions.
 * Gravitation Potions can free up an accessory slot, but it's recommended to use Featherfall Potions with them.
 * Melee characters that are good at dodging can use the Tipsy debuff.
 * if you are facing him at night, a Shine Potion and a Night Owl Potion will help a lot so that you don't have to worry about visibility.

The Battle
Duke Fishron will attack in three different ways during his first stage. He will try to charge into the player five times before summonning one of two projectile attacks: Duke Fishron will blow about 20 bubbles that follow the player at a medium speed. They explode and dealing damage on contact. These bubbles can be destroyed via any attack or projectile, however they can be hard to hit. In his other projectile attack, he will summon some liquid blobs by waving his fins that fall through platforms until they travel 1.5x the vertical size of the screen or impact with blocks. Then they will create 'Sharknadoes'- giant water tornadoes that summon several Sharkrons. The Sharkrons have limited flight range, are destroyed on impact with blocks, and can be killed by the player. After a projectile attack, he will proceed to repeat the cycle.

Basically, just shoot him while running around, jumping, flying, and go back to avoid getting hit. Don't run too far or he may despawn. A good way to avoid Duke Fishron's attacks is to fly up when Duke Fishron starts dashing, and drop when he gets close to you, which is usually on the third dash. When it uses detonating bubbles is not much of a problem if you run and dodge its attacks. Tornadoes may be painful obstacles, but you can recover your health quickly if given enough time, and Sharknados are not a problem as they are more likely to die very quickly. Focus on popping bubbles when they spawn. Remember, KEEP MOVING AND KEEP ATTACKING, otherwise you will die.

When Duke falls below 25,000 health, he will stay stationary for a second, then his eyes will glow as he enters his second stage. His damage, and speed increase significantly, however his defense drops to 40. His lunges become faster, and are only performed three times instead of five before executing one of his projectile attacks, which are also upgraded. The detonating Bubbles are now fired while Duke Fishron flies in quick loops, which leave a trail of the bubbles behind. Instead of several blobs that create Sharknadoes, he will summon one blob that chases the player, creating a powerful 'Cthulunado' upon contact. It will summon twice as many Sharkrons as in the first stage.

In Duke's second form, you have to be more careful as detonating bubbles spray everywhere. Also, keep moving as he's extremely fast and follows you. But the most important thing is to avoid bigger tornadoes because they can do massive damage-up to 150 or more, even with better armor. On the other hand, you also have to fire more accurately because Duke Fishron moves and dodges faster than before, and sometimes it can evade homing projectiles. Like before, keep moving and keep attacking.

Care should be taken even after the boss has been defeated as he might summon a last set of Sharknadoes, which can kill an unsuspecting player. Additionally, the loot can fall inside the tornadoes that Duke Fishron may have created, forcing the player to wait if they don't want to take damage.

Minecart Strategy (without skybridge; works on 1.3)
This strategy differs from others in that it doesn't use skybridge, replacing it with looped minecart track above the ocean, so the player won't have to deal with his enraged behavior. It does, however, need some more work than other ones, especially when building arena.

Materials

 * 600-1200 normal minecart tracks for building loop + 2 booster tracks
 * 10-30 Greater Healing Potions
 * Any kind of hammer

Weapons
Ranger: Mage: Melee:
 * Tactical Shotgun, Uzi or Megashark with Chlorophyte Bullets
 * Chlorophyte Shotbow with Venom Arrows
 * Spectre Staff
 * Shadowbeam Staff or Heat Ray
 * Leaf Blower
 * Possessed Hatchet
 * Scourge of the Corruptor
 * Vampire Knives

Arena Preparation
The essence is to make looped minecart track approx. 60 tiles above Ocean itself. It should consist of at least 600 tiles; while shape is pretty loose, it should have at least two places in which player drastically changes altitude, as well as at least 100 tiles long flats. One should also make a "Starter" - a short molo with boosters, from which player will summon Duke Fishron and quickly escape to the loop. Placing Campfires and Heart Lanterns could prove to be difficult, but will help player if something goes wrong. It should be noted also that arena shouldn't exceed Ocean biome.

Execution
When everything's done, player should sit in a minecart on "Starter" and summon the Fishron. As soon as it's done, one should quickly go to loop (boosters will help). At this point, everything that remains is to shoot Fishron while maintaining speed on track, healing a/o replenishing mana when needed. Some tips:
 * Use homing weapon, especially if arena is pretty large. Fishron will be most time off-screen, and high speed will often change directions you're facing.
 * Though stock minecart shouldn't be used, Mechanical Cart is not a good choice. Even though with it provides defense bonus, as well as speed to avoid Fishron's charges, it will propably outrun him so much that he will despawn, what is especially possible on larger arenas. Higher speed means also that You will more often run into Sharknados.
 * Try to make arena consisting of approx. 800 tiles, but don't make it horizontally-long. If You do so, Fishron will frequently run into You, and Cthulunados in his second stage will quickly kill You, as there won't be any way to dodge them.

Strategy One
Use Beetle armor with Shell along with Vampire Knives, using a Flask of Ichor, and anything to give the Well Fed and Tipsy buffs. Run away and throw Vampire Knives at him, and it will take about 2 minutes to defeat him. Another Melee strategy is to use full Chlorophyte armor, the Hoverboard, and the Paladin's Hammer until you get Flairon. Use the speed flight with the hoverboard during the fight along a long sky bridge, make sure he doesn't get too far away, but continually throw back you Paladin's hammer. Once you have flairon, this fight takes less than a minute.

Strategy Two
This strategy requires any Wings,along with high-defense armor and a high DPS melee weapon, such as Vampire Knives, Paladin's Hammer, or a Terra Blade. Also, accessories that increase speed are highly recommended. Recommended gear:
 * Any Wings
 * Lightning Boots or better
 * Turtle armor or Beetle armor
 * Terra Blade, or other melee projectile weapons
 * Flask of Ichor

Using the wings, simply flee from Fishron. Do not worry about him despawning, he will keep up. Using the terra blade, fire the projectile sword while avoiding the charges, bubbles, and sharknadoes. During the second stage, use a zigzag pattern in the air to avoid Duke Fishron's now faster charges. Continue to swing the Terra blade and fire its ranged projectile. Repeat as necessary.

Strategy Three
This strategy also focuses on the Vampire Knives, but requires no arena or terrain preparation. No potions are required, but the Flask of Ichor is quite useful. The items you will want are:
 * Hoverboard (or Fishron Wings if you have already defeated Duke Fishron), its high speed hovering is necessary unless you want to make a skybridge
 * Beetle Armor, with the scale mail, its great increases in melee damage will definitely affect your healing and make the fight shorter
 * Frostspark Boots or Lightning Boots
 * Celestial Stone
 * A few Greater Healing Potions (not completely necessary)

After you summon Duke Fishron keep hovering away from him while throwing Vampire Knives at him. If you are accurate, you can even increase the Beetle Might Buff to 30%.

Strategy One
Use a full Spectre Armor set (with mask), Fishron Wings (or another high-tier wings), the Magic Cuffs and Frostspark Boots/Lightning Boots. In your hotbar you should have (preferably with the Mythical modifier):


 * Blizzard Staff
 * Razorpine
 * Golden Shower
 * If possible, the Razorblade Typhoon
 * If possible, the Rod of Discord
 * Magnet Sphere (optional)
 * Raven Staff or Tempest Staff (optional)
 * If possible, the Flairon

Ensure that you have:
 * Several Greater Healing Potions
 * Ironskin Potions
 * Regeneration Potions
 * Mana Regeneration Potions
 * Magic Power Potions
 * Any item that grants the Well Fed buff
 * At least 10 Greater Mana Potions
 * A Crystal Ball for the Clairvoyance buff

Before summoning the boss, use the Crystal Ball and the Raven Staff or Tempest Staff; these flying minions are the strongest available in terms of base damage. Upon summoning Duke Fishron, press your Buff hotkey, which will automatically use all available resources to grant all available buffs to the player. The moment he appears, use the Golden Shower to lower his defense (and make him more visible, if fighting at night without Hunter Potions). When he charges at you, fire the Razorpine (or the Razorblade Typhoon) at him, and when he is stationary, switch to the Blizzard Staff. Summoning a Magnet Sphere and remaining near it in midair can help to deal extra damage. Whenever the Golden Shower's effect wears off, hit the boss again.

Combined with the Golden Shower and good aim, the Blizzard Staff can deal thousands of damage very quickly, seeing as each individual icicle will deal ~80+ damage per hit. The Razorpine is useful if Duke Fishron is directly visible, while the Razorblade Typhoon will home in and hit multiple times even if the boss is offscreen.

If he charges at you and your fly time has expired, you should use a Rod of Discord (if available) to teleport to his other side so that he charges away from you. Simply dropping is also effective in open airspace.

Using this strategy, it is possible (though not advised) to solo Duke Fishron without an arena.

Video

Strategy Two
Use a full Spectre Armor set (with both, the mask and the hood), Fishron Wings (or another high-tier wings), the Magic Cuffs and Frostspark Boots/Lightning Boots. In your hotbar you should have:


 * If possible Tempest Staff, otherwise Optic Staff
 * Nimbus Rod
 * Blizzard Staff (Optional)
 * If possible Razorblade Typhoon, otherwise Bat Scepter
 * If possible Bubble Gun or Razorpine
 * Golden Shower (Optional, helps a lot)
 * Magnet Sphere (Optional, not that useful since Duke Fishron moves way too fast)

Acessories (all reforged to Lucky Prefix):


 * If possible Fishron Wings, otherwise Lava Waders (Or any water walking accesories)
 * If using Fishron Wings, Equip a Celestial Emblem or Sorcerer Emblem, otherwise Equip any Wings
 * Celestial Cuffs
 * Star Veil or Celestial Stone
 * Frostspark Boots or Lightning Boots

Since you have water walking ability or increased underwater mobility you shouldn't need any arenas, the Celestial Cuffs will help with mana, however some Greater Mana Potions will be useful, upon summoning the Duke Fishron, use the Bubble Gun or the Razorpine (using the Razorblade Typhoon or the Bat Scepter is also an option if you don't have any of the other two). Start with the Spectre Mask for damage and switch to the Spectre Hood when lower than 200 health. You shouldn't have much problems dodging his attacks, except for the Cthulhunado, you should be able to kill him in 3 minutes or less.

Strategy Three
This strategy uses full set of Spectre armor and Gravitation Potions along with Featherfall Potions to dodge Fishron's attacks, and does not requires you to do the Pumpkin moon or the Frost moon before. Requires:
 * Mana flower
 * Inferno Fork
 * Golden Shower
 * 3-10 Greater Healing Potion
 * 50-75 Greater Mana Potion
 * Full Spectre Armor (Both types of helmets)
 * 1-3 Gravitation Potion
 * 1-3 Featherfall Potion

Advised:
 * 1-2 Ironskin Potion
 * 1-2 Regeneration Potion
 * 2-4 Magic Power Potion
 * Well Fed buff
 * The Crystal Ball buff
 * Celestial Stone
 * Destroyer Emblem
 * Sorcerer Emblem
 * Charm of Myths/Celestial Emblem

Use the gravitation potion to go up and down at incredible speed to dodge fishron attacks while using inferno fork and once for a while golden shower to lower his defense. While Fishron isn't enraged, use your offensive helmet , once he's enraged , switch to your deffensive helmet. It's recommanded to get the Warding modifier on all of your accesories for extra defense.

The One Ranged Strategy
If you have beaten Duke Fishron before, use full Shroomite Armor with Headgear, and the Tsunami with any ammo. If you have not beaten Duke Fishron before, use the Helmet instead with the Stynger. If you would prefer to have high defense over high damage, use the Beetle Armor with Shell instead. Your damage will suffer, but the extra defense is worth it. Accessories:
 * Fishron Wings/Hoverboard
 * Ranger emblem/Avenger Emblem
 * Sniper Scope
 * Charm of Myths/Band of Regeneration
 * Star Veil/Cross Necklace

Using the hoverboard, use the hovering to avoid Duke fishron's attacks. With the wings, just fly upward and in either direction and drop while still moving when he gets too close. When he gets close, fire at him. Fire directly at him. If you are using the Stynger, this will cause most of the explosive shards to hit. Be sure to keep high altitude so you can dodge his sharknadoes.

The battle can last a very long time as a ranger, but it can sometimes be easier to avoid damage. Also, since ranger doesn't have a way of life stealing, it is recommended you bring 5-20 greater healing potions just in case. If you are bad at dodging, bring more.

Advanced Ranged Strategy
This should only be attempted if you are experienced with the game and don't mind breaking the natural sequence of progression. With this strategy, you can defeat Duke Fishron as the first hardmode boss, granting you exceptionally early access to some of the best weapons in the game.

Preparation
Before you begin hardmode, you'll either need plenty of Crates from fishing or you will simply have to mine for your hardmode metals. Only open these crates after hardmode begins. This will ensure you get some hardmode metal. Then, build a Truffle Worm farm if you please. This will be almost impossible if you try to do it straight away in hardmode. It's optional but it will make hunting down truffle worms easier.

Items you will need

 * The hoverboard will allow the quickest flight possible.
 * Some accessory with a Shiny Red Balloon. This is absolutely critical.
 * Frog Leg (optional but highly recommended)
 * Titanium or Adamantite Repeater
 * Plenty of Hellfire Arrows (around 2,000)
 * Hardmode metal armor with melee headware, at least Mythril/Orichalcum or better. Ideally Titanium, but a mix of different sets will do. Do your best to maximize defense, set bonuses are less important here.
 * Some decent potions, like Greater Healing Potions (can be found in golden crates or crafted) or Honeyfins
 * Spectre Boots/Frostspark Boots (These are again, optional, but will make your fight much easier.)
 * Any buffs you can get ahold of.

Execution
Now, summon Duke Fishron. Your strategy will basically be to run as fast and far away as possible. The best way to do this is fly in large diagonals up and down along the surface of your world. This way, the Duke should stay close behind but out of reach. Shoot behind at him. If you lose sight of him, don't worry, he will catch up. In order for this to work, you must have the flight benefits of the balloon and/or frog legs, or else you will not be able to fly upward fast enough, and you will die. Be sure you have plenty of space along the surface of your world. Be mindful of where the Duke is in terms of his attack pattern. Be careful not to land on a sharknado while turning around at the ends of the world. If all goes according to plan, it will probably take you at least ten minutes to defeat the boss. Good luck! Also, remember to have a small house or hiding hole ready once Fishron is defeated, as he will most of the time spawn in a large sharknado and spam sharks very quickly killing any player who was targeted.