Guide:Weapon playthroughs

So you know the basic classes, which are Melee, Range, Magic, Summoner and Throwing. However, some of these classes have a specific type of weapon that stands out from others. This guide will cover info for these type of weapons.

Note: this guide is in development and will need support to be updated and accessible for others.

Sword
The Sword is the most basic melee weapon of the game. They have the shortest range of all weapons of the game. There also are swords that can shoot projectiles, which increases their overall range, but they're rarer.

Spear
Spears are relatively versatile weapons, which are used in a stabbing motion rather than swung like swords. Spears have piercing ability, but lack range at times, and although they look like it, they cannot hit enemies through blocks, with a minor exception; the Chlorophyte Partisan's sprite cannot hit through blocks, but the spore cloud it creates can.

There are 16 different Spears, 5 of which are Pre-Hardmode, 11 are Hardmode. Note that one of them is Console/Mobile exclusive.

Pre-Boss
The first spear can be found in a Wooden chest, called "creatively" the Spear. It's high knockback and piercing ability makes it an excellent weapon early-game, but lacks a bit of damage.

It's best to do a Spear playthrough on a Crimson world, as it has The Rotted Fork, a powerful stone skipper if you're lucky enough. If you don't fancy going into the Crimson, the Trident is a fine alternative.

Eye of Cthulhu
Little is required for this fight except range, and that can pose a problem. It's better to dodge all of he Eye's attacks given the gear you have right now, than to tank it all.

You should have the following gear:
 * Iron armor -> Silver armor -> Gold armor (and counterparts)
 * Shackle/Aglet, with damage or crit modifier
 * Hermes Boots/Flurry Boots, with damage or crit modifier
 * A Hook to grapple with in tight situations.
 * >=180 life
 * Ironskin and Regeneration potions, in case of injury
 * Lesser Healing Potions

If dodging skills are great, the Eye shouldn't be too much of a problem. What you lack in damage, you will make up in speed and crits. What you lack in health, you will make up for damage.

Eater of Worlds/Brain of Cthuhlu
You'll likely fight the Brain of Cthuhlu. If you do this on a corruption world, the Eater should be no problem, as long as you don't lack damage. The Brain is slightly harder to control, especially with the randomness of the Creepers. Try lining them up and hitting them all at once to maximize area damage.

You should have the following gear:


 * Silver armor -> Gold armor (and counterparts)
 * Hermes Boots/Flurry Boots
 * Shield of Cthuhlu (Expert mode)
 * Band of Regeneration
 * >= 240 life, you'll be taking a lot of hits, regardless of dodging.
 * Ironskin, Regeneration, Speed potions.
 * Lesser Healing Potions -> Healing Potions

Skeletron
You MUST be very confident in your dodging skills for this fight, as Skeletron's hands will give you a hard time. The spinning head, especially in Expert mode, is very dangerous without good armor. Stick with the Rotted Fork (or whatever spear you have at the time). Alternatively, you can fish in the ocean and get a chance to receive a Swordfish, a quicker spear that, although lacks range, it makes up for DPS.

You should have the following gear:


 * Shadow/Crimtane armor
 * Hermes/Flurry Boots -> Spectre Boots -> Lightning Boots
 * Band of Regeneration
 * Shield of Cthuhlu/Worm Scarf (Expert)
 * Cloud in a bottle (and variants)
 * >= 320 life
 * Healing potions
 * Ironskin, Regeneration, Endurance, Speed potions

Wall of Flesh
What you want in the Dungeon is the Shadow Key and the Cobalt Shield. Dig your way to hell, and find yourself a Shadow chest. What you're looking for is a Dark Lance, a powerful Pre-Hardmode spear.

Molten armor can prove to be very helpful, with the damage increase and defense boost. The Wof, however can still pack a punch, so be careful.

For more elaborate strategies on defeating the Wall of Flesh, see Guide:Wall of Flesh strategies

Pre Mechanical Bosses/Early Hardmode
Welcome to Hardmode. Getting better weapons is now easier because you can FINALLY craft the ore spears. When you begin Hardmode, you'll probably spend most of your time on mining the Hardmode ores, so you can get the spears and armor.

Consider getting Titanium armor, for its shadow dodge ability is perfect for withstanding hits. The Titanium Trident is a very powerful spear that can be easily obtained. It's HUGE and it's knockback is ferocious, making it a very powerful weapon to have. If you don't have Titanium, Frost armor with an Adamantite Glaive will work as well.

Mechanical Bosses
Destroyer

The fight is immensely easier with a spear, as you can pierce many segments at a time, resulting in a kill in less than 2 mins, provided you setup correctly.

Twins

Get in the air and close to the Twins with a Gravitation potion or Wings. It helps to dodge the attacks in the air so that you have more mobility.

Skeletron Prime

Center yourself with Prime and kill his limbs only if they are a nuisance. Time is key as well as damage.

It is noted that you can create a Gungnir using Hallowed Bars, which can be used with devastating effect. Also, you can purchase the more powerful Mushroom Spear from the Truffle after a Mechanical Boss is defeated.

Plantera
If you couldn't afford a Mushroom Spear, you have two options: 1, make a money farm and get the money required, or 2, mine chlorophyte and make a Chlorophyte Partisan. Fishing in lava can give you an Obsidian Swordfish, a powerful spear like the Swordfish, but stronger.

You can get a Tonbogiri, a very powerful spear worthy late game.

Get Chlorophyte -> Turtle armor to withstand Plantera's attacks. Make sure you make a clear area to fight in, so you have space to move and dodge around.

Frost Moon
The Frost Moon holds the North Pole, a very useful and powerful weapon to use Post-Golem. It is dropped by the Ice Queen.

Flails
There are currently 13 different types of Flails, 6 of which are Pre-Hardmode, 7 of which are Hardmode. Flails are exceptional, excellent weapons that are thrown, piercing and high-damaging. There are two types of Flails; thrown and launched. Thrown Flails are affected by gravity, but can potentially last forever. What they lack in control, they make up for their piercing ability. Launched Flails aren't affected by gravity, but retract when the flail hits an enemy, or it reaches its maximum range. What they lack in range, they make up for autofire, with the Chain Knife being an exception.

Pre-boss
Much like Spears and Yoyos, it is recommended to get some decent armor before you attempt to fight bosses.

The first Flail you'll need to acquire is the Chain Knife, a Launched Flail that can be obtained by killing Cave Bats. If you don't want to use a weapon other than a flail, a simple lava farm will do. The Chain Knife will help greatly, as it is thrown with great accuracy, as well as doing decent damage.

Eye of Cthulhu
Another suggestion is to break two Shadow Orbs in a Corruption world to possibly get a Ball O' Hurt, an excellent weapon that will help all the way to the Dungeon.
 * Breaking Shadow Orbs will also have a chance to send a Meteor crashing down, giving the player the opportunity to mine it out for Meteor armor.

Fighting the Eye of Cthulhu is long if you have a Chain Knife, due to its lack of damage, however, you can get in from virtually all angles, including throwing the knife behind you as you run. As for this, Hermes Boots are a recommended choice, especially for expert mode.

Post-Eye of Cthulhu
After beating the Eye of Cthulhu, you have 2 options:

1) Fight the world's evil boss (Brain/Eater) The Eater can be easily dealt with by making 2-3 long platforms and using the Ball O' Hurt. Easily dispatch of the segments by holding the mouse button and allowing the flail head to stay out, dealing enough damage to kill the boss.

Yoyo
There are 20 different types of Yoyos in the game, 8 of which are from Pre-hardmode, 12 in Hardmode. As their name suggests, Yoyos are "thrown" melee weapons that deal damage a small distance away from the player. Unlike Beam swords, their range is limited.

Pre-Boss
Few yoyos are quite useful before any boss has been defeated, but it is possible to go into the Underground Jungle and get enough materials to craft the Amazon, a powerful yoyo that can be crafted with a few jungle items easily found.

If going into the jungle is impossible for you, or if you aren't brave enough, it's best if you stick to a Wooden Yoyo, find heart crystals to increase life, and mine for ore to make armor.

Eye of Cthulhu
If you have the Amazon, this fight should be no problem, although you should mind your armor and health.

However, if you stuck to the wooden yoyo, keep in mind that it doesn't do much damage, so the fight could be a bit tedious.

You should have the following gear:

If using wooden yoyo
 * Iron armor -> Silver armor -> Gold armor (and counterparts)
 * Shackle, preferably with damage or defense modifiers.
 * Aglet -> Hermes Boots/Flurry Boots, mobility is important.
 * Other accessories optional, but can prove nice for the fight.
 * Lesser Healing Potions, save higher tiers for beefier bosses.
 * Swiftness and Ironskin potions, mobility and defense are important for a long fight.
 * >=140 life. Depends on dodging skills.

For a quicker battle, use damage-increasing modifiers for accessories.

If using Amazon


 * Same types of armor and accessories above, though you'd probably tough out the fight easily with lower-tier armor.
 * Lesser Healing Potions, although these could prove unnecessary combined with great mobility.
 * ≥140 life

Accessories are best reforged to speed or defense modifiers, these prove to give a safer fight.

If you can get your hands on other potions, i.e. regeneration, these can prove useful, but are best saved for another fight.

While mining, it is possible to get a Rally, a better yoyo than the wooden yoyo, but still relatively weak.

Eater of Worlds/Brain of Cthuhlu
If you just defeated the Eye with the Wooden Yoyo, it's time to switch that with something more powerful. In a Corruption world, take your Demonite Ore and then craft the Malaise using Bars, or in a Crimson world, use your Crimtane Ore and then make an Artery using the Bars. These are both nice upgrades to get before fighting the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu.

If you defeated the Eye of Cthulhu with the Amazon, you can continue on and defeat the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu, but get some better armor and accessories to ensure protection against these bosses. Alternatively, the Traveling Merchant can sell the Code 1, a slightly better yoyo than the Amazon.

You should have the following gear:


 * Silver armor -> Gold armor (and counterparts)
 * Hermes Boots/Flurry Boots
 * Band of regeneration
 * Shield of Cthulhu (If you're doing an Expert Mode playthrough)
 * Anklet of the wind (Jungle)/Aglet (with good modifier)
 * Lesser Healing Potions -> healing potions, only if you're bad at these bosses
 * >=200 life. If not careful, the Eow/Boc can actually dish out a lot of damage if one's not careful.
 * Ironskin, Speed, Regeneration potions. If you've gone fishing, endurance potions make the fight easier.

Eater of Worlds

Without a piercing weapon, the Eow is not as efficient to kill, so focus on damaging segments when the Eow is arching. When head areas are low, hack them off with your Yoyo.

An arena is advisable, but unnecessary, as long as you can withstand the Eow's hits. Campfires can help and always remember, especially in Expert mode, that the head does the most damage of all the worm's segments.

Brain of Cthuhlu

Your Yoyo should make killing Creepers easy, as the Yoyo gets knocked around, damaging more Creepers at a time. As the Brain gets into second form, focus on predicting the Brain's movements, as a hit from the Brain can lead you into the hungry mouths of Blood Crawlers.

The central cavern of the chasm makes a pretty good arena, once make some improvements. Just wall off the tunnels, install some platforms, and place conveniences like a campfire and bed. An arena of some sort is a good idea, as the Creepers are easier to hit as long as you can maintain their height, and the Brain is easier to dodge.

Skeletron
At this point, you may wish to boost your Yoyo with a couple of accessories: White String, (which can be crafted at a loom with cobwebs), will increase your range, and Counterweights double your attack. A variety of counterweights can be bought from the Skeleton Merchant and/or Traveling Merchant. Later (in Hardmode), the Skeleton merchant will sell you the Yoyo Glove, and you can combine the three items into a Yoyo Bag.

If you haven't already, the Amazon is a crucial upgrade, proving necessary to destroy Skeletron with.

After defeating the Eow/Boc, you should make Shadow/Crimtane armor for their melee benefits. These armor will prove lifesaving in later situations.

Before you fight Skeletron, it's best to build an arena to fight him with ease, especially in his spinning attack. Campfires are good for regeneration, and multiple layers of platforms should help with dodging the hands.

It is very helpful to use a Grappling Hook, as they can put you up to full speed easily with Hermes Boots equipped.

You should have the following gear:
 * Shadow/Crimtane armor
 * Hermes Boots/Flurry Boots -> Spectre Boots -> Lightning Boots, if you can get your hands on them.
 * Tiger Climbing Gear, optional but can be effective to scale up walls
 * At least one component of the Yoyo Bag
 * Shield of Cthulhu & Worm Scarf (Expert mode corruption), this will be great for absorbing the damage expert Skeletron can do.
 * Band of Regeneration
 * Any type of Cloud in a bottle. Great for dodging.
 * 360-400 life
 * Healing potions, conserve them.
 * Ironskin, Speed, Endurance, Regeneration, Heartreach potions, and if possible, Rage/Wrath potions

Two main factors: damage and mobility. Defense is only a last resort, especially if your dodging skills are great, because even at this stage, Skeletron is relatively powerful, especially in Expert Mode.

Wall of Flesh
Every meleer knows that the Wof is annoying to fight, and the Yoyo is no exception. If you haven't already, go and loot the dungeon, so you can get two crucial items; a Cobalt Shield, and a Valor, a nice yoyo to have with you.

The dungeon can also place you closer to the underworld, so mine down if you haven't made a hellevator. If you can, a Cascade could help nicely, as it does lots of damage, as well as giving the On Fire! debuff.

Molten armor is optional, but can be useful in terms of damage. For speed, choose Shadow armor (Corruption only), and for ease of regenerating life, Crimtane armor (Crimson only). Anything under this gear is practically suicide for you.

You should have the following gear:


 * Any armor listed above
 * Spectre Boots -> Ligtning Boots
 * Cobalt Shield -> Obsidian Shield
 * Shield of Cthuhlu/Worm Scarf (Expert Mode)
 * Lava Charm -> Lava waders, only if you don't make a bridge, or you don't use proper potions
 * Healing Potions
 * At least 380 life
 * Swiftness, Ironskin, Endurance, Regeneration, Obsidian Skin, Water Walking potion. If you can get your hands on them, Rage/Wrath and Inferno potions greatly help.

When you fight, focus on hitting the eyes for a quicker fight. It's worth taking the damage than risk being licked.

Watch your potions when you can, the worst scenario is when you're walking on lava and your Water Walking buff runs out.

Pre-Mechanical/Early Hardmode
Welcome to Hardmode! Things are going to get a lot harder from now on. Enemies will get tougher, so you're going to need better gear to ward off monsters.

A good start would be to farm more monsters in the underworld, so you can get a Hel-Fire, a great yoyo to get. An alternative is the Amarok, a similar yoyo found in the ice biome. While you're in the ice biome, it's nice to get an ice feather so you can craft Frost Wings, which will help greatly with movement.

Destroy at least three altars, then use the ore to make Pickaxes/Drills, and use only ores better than Cobalt/Palladium for armor. Adamantite for stat buffs, Titanium for survivability, Orichalcum for offense, and Mythril as a minimum.

Go find the Skeleton Merchant to buy your Yoyo Glove and make a Yoyo Bag. If you don't like grinding for Yoyos, he can sell you a couple of decent ones as well, namely Format C and Gradient. If you want something more damaging, collect a few Crystal Shards from the Hallow, salvage the dinky Wooden Yoyo you put away before, and craft a Chik, a nice damaging yoyo. However, it is still recommended you get a Hel-Fire or an Amarok, as they both inflict status effects, as well as do more damage.

Mechanical Bosses
In preparation of destroying some Mechanical bosses, get some good armor, good mobility and a Yoyo Bag to take down these bosses quicker. Also, use good potions to help yourself in these battles.

Destroyer

Same strategy for defeating the Eow, but since the whole destroyer shares one bar of health, hit anywhere you please. A higher arena will help, but not so high you can't reach the Destroyer itself.

Probes could serve a problem without a Yoyo Bag. One Yoyo isn't good enough to take down several probes, and the lasers don't help, either.

Twins

Treat them like two REALLY powerful Eyes of Cthulhu, one that shoots lasers (keep distance) and one that spits cursed fire (dodge well). The Twins are best fought in a sky battle, so if you don't have wings, use a Gravitation potion.

Spazmatism's second form's "flamethrower" can be a big problem, so only attack him when he's ramming, or position your Yoyo so that it's over or under the Eye's fire (requires practice without burning to a crisp).

Skeletron Prime

Skeleton Prime is relatively hard without range, and the Yoyo is no exception. Always stay center to Prime, so you can hit his head more than his limbs. If the limbs become a nuisance, remove them, but at the cost of time.

It is worth noting that after a Mechanical Boss has been defeated, the powerful Yelets becomes available in the Jungle, as well as the infinite-flying Code 2, sold by the Traveling Merchant. Also, after defeating one Mechanical Boss, life fruits can appear, which can increase total life to 500.

Plantera
Before you fight Plantera, obtaining a Yelets or Code 2 is really helpful, and if you're in Expert mode, Red's Throw and Valkyrie Yoyo are sweet deals as well. Use Hallowed armor as a BARE MINIMUM. Without good dodging skills, you will be quickly torn to shreds by Plantera. Chlorophyte or Turtle armor is ideal.

When fighting Plantera, make a large arena with honey, heart lanterns and campfires. This way, it's easier to dodge Plantera's attacks, and you have the best health regeneration.

Golem
After defeating Plantera, you now have access to two better Yoyos; the Kraken, found in the Dungeon, and The Eye of Cthulhu, dropped in a Solar Eclipse by Mothron. The Eye of Cthulhu is the more damaging Yoyo, doing 115 base damage, however the Kraken has more knockback. The Pumpkin/Frost Moon events are irrelevant in this playthrough, because it drops nothing the player can benefit from, other than coins and familiars.

When defeating the Golem, you can go close, but only when he's not jumping. Always maintain good mobility, as the Golem's attacks are unpredictable and quick. In his first stage, use regeneration and wrath/rage potions to tank down the Golem fast.

As soon as the Golem is in its second form, kick in the defensive buffs (ironskin, endurance, lifeforce) as the Golem can now attack from two points. You'll likely soak up many hits, so these potions prove beneficial.

Moon Lord/Endgame
After Golem is defeated, the Beetle Armor set will prove useful to fight the Moon Lord with. Before you do, reformed all your accessories and Yoyos to damage or crit modifiers, as they will make quick work of the Moon Lord. Do not attempt Martian Madness, because it's a time waster, unless you want to get the UFO mount.

After activating Lunar Events, it's crucial that you reserve your solar fragments to create Solar Flare Armor, with the Lunar Hook and Super Healing Potions being exceptions.

For more elaborate strategies on defeating the Moon Lord, see Guide:Moon Lord strategies.

Once you obtain the Terrarian from the Moon Lord, you should rake up your Luminite (Defeat Moon Lord as many times as needed) and craft Solar Flare Armor.

Bows
Bows are the earliest type of ranged weapon that the player can obtain. It's the hardest of the four, due to it's projectile travelling slowly, requiring players to aim.

Guns
Guns are another type of ranged weapon, which becomes available by smashing the first Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart. It's the easiest of the four, due to projectiles being very fast, making aiming easier.

Rockets
Rockets are a Hardmode subclass of Ranged, which becomes available by defeating Plantera. It's the most damaging ranged subclass, but also the most risky and expensive one.

Magic
The mage class is a mana-consuming class, and requires you to have maximum mana at some point in the game for maximum DPS. You use mana-consuming weapons, and accessories are important to keep mana high.

Spell Tome
Spell tomes are weapons that resemble books. The earliest accessible one is the Water Bolt. Via. Dungeon searching. Typically post-Skeletron, but if you're lucky, you can find it on the top of your dungeon. But generally not the most common of the mage weapons.

Staffs
Staffs are generally a little more common than the Spell Tomes, but its pretty evened out in rarity. The earliest obtainable staff is the Amethyst Staff.

Magic Guns
These are generally gun shaped, and still do consume mana and not ammo/bullets. The earliest accessible one is the Space Gun.

Pre-Boss
You will want to have Gold/Platinum armor, and the Topaz or Amethyst Staffs. If accessible at that given time the Water Bolt is also recommended. If you break a Crimson Heart or Shadow Orb, there is a chance a meteorite will hit. This allows you to access the Space Gun, before any boss fight. If possible, obtain a full set of Meteor armor and use the Space Gun, and it will never consume Mana. Here's a quick summary of what you need:


 * Gold/Platinum/Meteor armors
 * Topaz/Amethyst Staves
 * Water Bolt (if accessible)
 * Space Gun (if desired)
 * Lesser Mana Potions
 * Nature's Gift (or even Mana Flower, if accessible)

Pre-EoC
So you wanna get a Dryad and fight the Eye of Cthulhu, huh? Well, fear not! Help is near. The Meteor Armor and Space Gun are good to keep if you got them, if you didn't I recommend getting them soon. Make an arena for EoC, as it's gonna be a rough fight. Switch out your Topaz or Amethyst Staff for a Emerald Staff. Finding a Water Bolt is worth making a new world for, but for maximum DPS you need to make a specific type of arena. Get the band of Starpower via Chests, and craft the Mana Flower (if you haven't already). Try to get Meteor armor, but you may keep Gold or Platinum armor at this point.


 * Gold/Platinum/Meteor armors
 * Emerald Staff
 * Space Gun
 * Water Bolt (if accessible)
 * Lesser Mana Potions
 * Band of Starpower
 * Mana Flower

Pre-EoW or Brain of Cthulhu
At this point I advise getting a Vilethorn. Try to get the Jungle Armor set. You should have close to max mana at this point if you decided to make some Mana Stars. Other than that keep all of your stuff that you had before, only switch your Emerald Staff for a Ruby Staff.

Thrower
The thrower is a tough class to play as. It is similar to the ranged, although you use throwing weapons. Accessories are most important in the run!

Pre-boss
Upon joining a new world, you need to get some weapons. Your options are to either obtain snowballs, which you can get from snow blocks, or you can open chests/pots to get shurikens and throwing knives. Building houses for NPCs are the most important thing in this run, as you buy your weapons from them. Fishing is your friend in this run, as the Extractinator is found in wooden crates, and frost daggerfish are found in snow biomes this way.

Armor
So you got the Extractinator! Time to do one of the most tedious mining quests possible. Hopefully you got a Reaver Shark while fishing, because you need one (or an evil ore pick) to mine desert fossils. You need 75 sturdy fossils, and they have a 14% drop from desert fossils in the Extractinator. It's worth it though, because it's the best Thrower armor you can get. At all.

King Slime
After getting armor, you're going to need a lot of gel for sticky grenades. Where to look..... The giant slime is still an easy fight, and if you have a big enough stack of weapons, you should be fine.

Queen Bee
The boss progression is much different as a thrower. As with King Slime, the fight is easy when you're prepared. Poisoned Knives made from Throwing Knives and the powder of the world's evil should be a good weapon. Bee Wax is good for making Beenades. Speaking of bees, if you play in Expert, then it drops the Hive Pack. An extra 7.5% damage from bees is nothing to cough at.

Eye Of Cthulhu
Well, it's time to fight the usual bosses now. Fight as you would with a bow. On Expert mode, it gives the Shield of Cthulhu, the dash of which is useful for all classes.

Eater Of Worlds
Sticky Grenades. Kaboom. Easiest fight in the game. On Expert mode, however, explosives do a lot less damage against it. Other piercing weapons like Spiky Balls or Molotov Cocktails should be used.

Brain Of Cthulhu
Might be an idea to pull out those Daggerfish now, as the 3x pierce they grant is good against the Creepers.

Goblin Invasion
Worth mentioning because of 2 useful items. Spiked balls, and the Tinkerer's workshop from the Goblin Tinkerer.

Blood Moon
Skeletron's hands have high defense, so you need something to counteract that. (Of course, you could use bombs instead) The Shark Tooth Necklace is dropped by Blood Moon foes, so hopefully you can rely on your strength for this.

Skeletron
Aiming may be tough in this fight. To compensate, high-velocity weapons such as the Bone Javelin are recommended. If you manage to pull the fight off in Expert, congrats! You got the Bone Glove.

Endgame
You've now got one challenge left. The Wall of Flesh. First off, you're going to need good accessories. Recommended set: Frostspark Boots, Obsidian Shield, Shark Tooth Necklace, variants of the Cloud in a Balloon, and if playing Expert Mode, Shield of Cthulhu or Worm Scarf. The Wall of Flesh is a difficult fight, as you'd expect. More than ever, an arena is required. Start the fight at the world's edge, and throw spiky balls for when it moves over them. Keep throwing Beenades, javelins, or bones from the glove at the eyes until it's dead.

Hardmode
Due to the complete lack of Hardmode gear for throwers, it is almost impossible to beat the rest of the game as the class, so you should switch to another one at this point.

Minions
Summoner Playthroughs are very difficult, especially in the beginning, due to an extreme lack of weapons. Keep in mind that summoners can still use many weapons from other classes, but a "true" summoner playthrough is possible, but nearly impossible.

The most sensible way to go about Pre-Hardmode is to first go fishing in the Ocean for the Reaver Shark and go to the Underworld to mine some Hellstone for the Imp Staff. Then it's straight to the Queen Bee.

Queen Bee
For this fight, you are going to need a huge arena. Dodging the Queen Bee's attacks is necessary for survival. While fishing for the Reaver Shark, you probably got a lot of metals. Silver/Tungsten armor is a minimum. If you found some gems going to the hive or stumbled upon a Goblin Army, than some sort of hook is a good idea. Some good accesories to have: Frog Leg, Band of Regeneration, Hermes/Spectre/Lightning Boots, Panic Necklace, Cloud in a Bottle, Blizzard in a Bottle, Tsunami in a Bottle, Sandstorm in a Bottle, and Flying Carpet. As long as you avoid Queen Bee's attacks, you'll be fine. After the fight, immediately craft Bee armor.

Wall of Flesh
Not much is different between the Queen Bee and Wall of Flesh fights. If you can get the Witch Doctor to spawn in, you can buy the Bewitching Table and use a Summoning Potion to achieve the maximum amount of Pre-Hardmode minions, 5. A large number of buffs is recommended for this fight, because doing it with 5 Imps is very tricky. Once in Hardmode, locate a Spider Nest and get Spider Armor and the Queen Spider Staff. You can go up to a Floating Island and farm Wyverns for Wings. The Twins are the first Mechanical Boss you should fight.

The Twins
With the right preparation, you can easily take these guys down. Afterwards, you can craft the Optic Staff and take on the other two Mechanical Bosses.

Plantera
For Plantera, you can either use the Optic Staff, Spider Staff, or the Pirate Staff. Nothing will ever change in fighting bosses, so no further explanation is necessary.

Golem
Golem can easily be killed with any Hardmode summon, but after he dies, you can get the very useful Xeno Staff. At this point, get Tiki Armor, Papyrus Scarab, Cosmic Car Key, Necromantic Scroll, and Pygmy Necklace, and get ready for the Lunar Events.

Lunar Events
The Lunatic Cultist is easy. Just run away from him. The Lunar Events are a matter of dodging attacks. Do Stardust first so you can get the Stardust Dragon Staff. As long as you can dodge the Moon Lord's attacks, you can tear through him in seconds.