Guide:Duke Fishron strategies

Duke Fishron is a flying fish/pigron boss with very high movement speed and high damage, making it the most difficult boss in the game so far.

It is advised to use life-draining weapons on him and high movement speed.

Terrain preparation

 * Make an arena (like one for Dungeon Guardian). Asphalt blocks are highly recommended. But don't make the arena too high or long or Duke Fishron may disappear.
 * As he flies it is also useful to be able to fly too, the Hoverboard is extremely useful for dodging attacks. Also equip Lightning Boots to move even faster.
 * Teleporters may help you much if you have enough resources.

Fishron will follow you on land as well, so make 300-400 pieces long arena, then when you fight him, just run away with the lightning boots or similar and shoot back at him. Then at the end of the arena or if he catches you, you fly up with wings, hoverboard etc. and avoid him and start running back at the other end of the arena. When you use this correctly, sharknados will be left behind and they won't hit you at all and fishron only hits you in the end of the arena once if you are not able to avoid him.

Recommended for this fight are items that will increase your speed. The Hoverboard is quite useful for dodging his charging attack by simply moving sideways, then down, then the other way again and so forth. Never stop attacking the boss at any time to ensure that all of the bubbles he blows pop. This boss is easier to do with other people, as soloing Duke Fishron is not an easy challenge. However, the boss is a lot easier when you get his Flairon weapon. It is boosted by turtle/beetle armor, and this weapon has an extremely high dps against the boss. Combined with or without a Flask of Ichor, the player can kill this boss in less than 3 minutes

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

Armor

 * For life-draining it is advisable equip the Spectre Armor with the Spectre Hood.
 * For dodging skills it is advisable equip the Titanium armor for Shadow dodge buff and Master Ninja Gear as optional.
 * For melee characters the Beetle Armor with Scale Mail are recommended as they give decent defense paired with attack buffs which stacks as they player damages the boss or the Sharknados.
 * For high defense the Beetle Armor (with Shell) or Turtle Armor are recommended.
 * For ranged characters the Shroomite Armor is highly recommended.

Weapons

 * For magic it's recommended use Homing weapons like Bat Scepter or Spectre Staff, or rapid weapons like Razorpine or Leaf Blower. They must be equipped with many increasing damage bonuses for fast healing. However, lots of Mana potions are required.
 * 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.
 * For melee oriented characters 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.
 * Ranged characters can use the Snowman Cannon or the Chain Gun, or Megashark, paired with Chlorophyte Bullet; as these weapons have homing properties little aim will be required leaving the player to focus on dodging the boss.
 * The Golden Shower spell, Ichor Arrow or Ichor Bullet, and Flask of Ichor are useful to slightly lower Duke Fishron's defense.

Accessories

 * A must is Hoverboard and Lightning Boots or better as primary choice. Also a Shield to prevent knockback from tornados.
 * If you choose magic, equip a Mana Flower and magic or damage increasing items. All equipped items should have damage, crit, or Arcane modifiers.
 * If you choose melee, equip increasing melee damage items like Celestial Stone. All equipped items should have damage or crit modifiers.
 * 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.
 * Spectre Armor characters should consider using Magic Cuffs or Celestial Cuffs as the damage dealt by any of Duke Fishron's attacks will most of times completely restore their MP allowing to attack constantly while restoring HP; although care should be taken as the boss high attack may do a quick work of reckless players.
 * For players who already have defeated Duke Fishron, using the wings he provides will be useful as it will give enough speed to keep a safe distance while attacking.

Potions and Buffs
As with any other Hardmode boss, it would be useful to prepare the following potions:
 * Greater Healing Potions though not entirely necessary with life-draining weapons
 * 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 Pigron 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

First Stage
Basically, just shoot him while running around and jumping and go back to avoid getting hit. Duke Fishron has 50000 health, making it difficult to beat. 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. If you use the Titanium armor, the Shadow dodge buff will help you with tornadoes to avoid getting much damage. If you use Beetle armor with Vampire knives with very high damage bonuses, it can be less difficult to beat him and you are more likely to survive.

Second Stage
In its second form, you have to be more careful as detonating bubbles spray everywhere. Also, beware of the blob as it's extremely fast and follows you. But the most important thing is to avoid bigger tornados 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.

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.

Tips

 * Using Spectre Armor with Spectre Hood and the Bat Scepter and Cross Necklace or Star Veil with the best damage and defense modifiers you gain more health than you lose. Not tested.
 * Vampire Knives may also be used, but the life steal of them appears to work better on his second stage. Not tested 1.2.4.1
 * Duke Fishron's sharknados/cthulhunados can be very hard attacks to dodge, as they shoot sharks very fast and damage you when you touch them. Try to gain some altitude if you have to get past one.
 * If the player so desires, it is possible to build a second layer of blocks above the first for Gravitation Potion purposes.

Strategy 1 (Melee)
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 Chloroplyte 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. Ichor flask recommended.

Strategy 2 (Mage)
Another very easy way to kill Duke Fishron in less than 2 minutes is to use the full Spectre armor set (mask not hood), the Bubblegun(you must have beaten him before), the fishron wings, frog leg,the mana flower(with ~3 full greater mana pots), and lightning boots. Also have the well fed bonus. Using the bubble gun, just closely back away from him and hold m1. With the mana flower you will not run out of mana, and you will get him to his second stage in a matter of seconds. In the second stage, do what you did in the first, but when he does his attack after charges, linger around and do damage to him. You should kill him in about a minute and a half.

Strategy 3 (Mage)
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)

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 4 (Ranged)
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 fishrons 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 sharknados.

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.