Guide:Queen Bee strategies

The Queen Bee is a pre-Hardmode boss that can be summoned either by breaking a Larva in a Bee Hive, or by using an Abeemination anywhere in the Jungle. It does not need to be killed to progress the game, but it has some useful drops and the Witch Doctor NPC will spawn when it is killed.

Terrain Preparation
Even if you summon the Queen Bee by breaking a Larva, you do not need to stay in the hive to fight it -- you can get out of the hive and fight it in the wide-open areas of the Underground Jungle if you'd prefer. However, most Hives offer an easy arena:  A decent amount of space already carved out for you, and the pool of Honey at the bottom provides a health-regenerating buff which stacks with other buffs.

As with most bosses, Wooden Platforms are vital. One of the Queen Bee's attacks is to charge at you very quickly from off-screen. Considering it's about as tall as you can jump, you need the platforms to give you a chance to quickly jump out of the way. Having them every 4-5 blocks is an optimal height but if your jump height is boosted in some way (say, via the Shiny Red Balloon) you can increase the number of spaces between platforms which can save you materials. Remember to place a Campfire (and Heart Lantern if you have one) to boost regeneration, and don't forget the honey below you. If you're using magic, add a Star in a Bottle.

The Fight
The Queen Bee has 3 distinct attack patterns.
 * 1) It will fly off-screen and charge at you three times.
 * 2) It will hover above you and spawn tiny Bee minions which are especially hard to kill due to their small size and relatively high damage
 * 3) It will behave like a normal hornet and fly around, shooting stingers which have a chance to poison you.
 * When it charges you, use platforms and/or a double jump or better to dodge upwards. You can stand perfectly still upon landing which gives you a short moment to regenerate health faster. If you have the Shield of Cthulhu, you can stand in it's path and charge it just before it reaches you.
 * When it summons its bees, use a weapon that can pierce targets and aim for its backside to stop the bees the moment they spawn. If any bees manage to escape then use a Sword with a large swing to clear them out. The Queen is at its most vulnerable in this state, so use powerful ranged and magic weapons to deal significant amounts of damage.
 * If it is using the stinger-shooting phase, keep moving back and forth. A Swiftness Potion and/or a running Accessory like Hermes Boots can give you the upper edge in this stage. Use a ranged weapon, and try to track her movements by aiming where it is going to move, not where it currently is.
 * In expert mode, all of her attacks become faster, especially at low health. Poisoning and/or burning her is recommended to deal damage while she is outside the hive in her charge attack
 * The Minimap can be used during the fight to know where and when she is charging

Armor

 * When it comes to HP, at least 300 Health is recommended, but lower amounts can be offset by better armor.
 * A full set of at least Gold Armor should be acquired, but better armor is always an option. Other armor sets with set bonuses can be effective as well.
 * If one is offensively minded they can use armors that boost the damage of their weapons, such as Necro armor for rangers and Jungle armor for mages.
 * In Expert Mode, Crimson armor is excellent due to the high defense values and increased damage. Shadow armor is good too and suits a melee playstyle.

Accessories

 * Anything that increases your vertical mobility is a godsend. The Cloud in a Bottle is good, but better choices would be the Blizzard in a Bottle or the Sandstorm in a Bottle. Having a Shiny Red Balloon will also greatly help as it will increase your jump height, it will be better if The Shiny Red Balloon is combined with any of the Cloud in a Bottle type accessory. You can also use the Rocket Boots for flight, and the Spectre Boots for flight and speed.
 * Hopefully, you have managed to find a Bezoar. While equipped, it removes the Poisoned debuff; if you are short on accessory slots, you can equip it for a moment whenever you get poisoned.
 * If you are going for a melee approach, the Magma Stone is great for an increase to your DPS.
 * Anything that reduces damage is very helpful, including Expert Mode-exclusive Worm Scarf and defensive reforges on accessories.
 * You may also want to get flippers so you can swim in the honey. For more mobility, a Water Walking Boots will be better since with this, you can walk on the honey.
 * If you are in Expert Mode, a Shield of Cthulhu can be used to dash into her charge attack, which negates the damage you would have taken, which is useful when her attacks get very fast in Expert Mode.

Potions

 * Swiftness Potions will aid in your dodging.
 * Ironskin Potions will help mitigate any damage you take.
 * Endurance Potions work similarly to Ironskin Potions but completely block out 10% of all damage rather than increasing defense.
 * Regeneration Potions will help you recover from attacks that are hard to avoid, like the needles and bees. However, it does not help while you are poisoned.
 * However, the Honey buff will reduce poison damage, and allows healing while poisoned. If you don't have a Bezoar this is your key to survival.
 * Ammo Reservation Potions and Archery Potions are good for rangers.
 * Magic Power Potions and Mana Regeneration Potions are good for mages.
 * If you already have a minion, a Summoning Potion lets you bring an extra to the fight.
 * Rage Potions increase your critical strike chance but can only be made in worlds generated with the Crimson.
 * Water Walking Potions, like the boots, let you walk on Honey.
 * Honeyfins heal more than the average Healing Potion and can prove valuable.

Melee

 * For swords, the best sword would be the Blade of Grass; despite inflicting it, the Queen Bee is not immune to the Poisoned debuff. The Fiery Greatsword or Night's Edge will make mincemeat of the Queen but they are harder to acquire (especially the Night's Edge). If you can get one, an Enchanted Sword works too.
 * For boomerangs, a Thorn Chakram or Flamarang are excellent. If you have played during Halloween you might have found a Bloody Machete.
 * Flails are good choices for when the Queen is firing Bees at you, as they will pierce through the bees and hit the Queen too. A Blue Moon or The Meatball are good, and the Sunfury is excellent.
 * For Yoyos, the Amazon is a decent option -- again, the Queen Bee is not immune to poison.

Ranged

 * Oddly, Heart Arrows perform their initial stopping ability, then permanently slow the queen, making them a great early way to kill her on Mobile, assuming the Valentine Event is happening.
 * If you are using bows, you should use a Demon Bow or a Tendon Bow. You can also use a Molten Fury if you've got it. Bring along arrows that can pierce, such as Jester's Arrows or Unholy Arrows. About half a stack is enough.
 * If you are using guns, A Musket or The Undertaker are decent, but if you want raw damage or speed, a Boomstick can be used for the former or a Minishark can be used for the latter. The Handgun and its upgrade the Phoenix Blaster find a happy balance between these two stats but are slightly harder to acquire (especially the Phoenix Blaster, which requires visiting the Underworld). Players using the Minishark or Boomstick will want to use Silver Bullets, as Meteor Shots have a piercing ability, thus they activate invincibility frames as such the Minishark will only hit 1/3rd of the time and the Boomstick around halve. Players using the Phoenix Blaster can use them though, as it doesn't hit fast enough to have the frames hinder it's ability
 * A blowpipe with poison darts is a cheap secondary weapon to apply poison for a little extra damage, like when the queen is inside a wall and cannot be hit with bullets or arrows, while still providing a fair amount of damage from the darts themselves.

Magic

 * At this point, your Mana should be at the maximum, or at least close to it. You can increase your Mana up to 280 with Jungle armor.
 * The Crimson Rod is a good secondary weapon as you can fire it once then switch to another weapon.
 * The Meteor armor/Space Gun combo is always an excellent choice. The piercing effect of the Space Gun will help with the bees.
 * The Water Bolt is a fantastic weapon if you're fighting her in the Hive, due to how many times it can ricochet off walls.
 * The Demon Scythe takes a little bit of practice to use but its high damage and piercing ability is very good.
 * The Aqua Scepter is a good weapon with large range but has a fairly high mana cost.
 * The Vilethorn is perfect for dealing with the bees she shoots at you.

Summoner
At this point, if the player does have a minion, it will be a useful support for one of the other three strategies. The earliest minion summoning weapons are the Slime Staff (you get from killing lot's of slimes) (rare), and the Imp Staff (which requires daring the Underworld). Afterwards though, is another story: Defeating the Queen Bee a few times can make a summoner! She drops Bee Wax, which can be crafted into a Hornet Staff (a worthwhile first minion) and Bee Armor for summoning bonuses.

Throwing/Consumables

 * Grenades deal high amounts of damage, but you should be mindful of taking damage yourself. Combining this with gel will make Sticky Grenade which will be helpful for defeating the boss.
 * Molotov Cocktails are good choices which deal fire damage to the Queen.
 * Poisoned Knives can poison the Queen, increasing your DPS.
 * Bone Javelins stick to the queen and deal 3 damage every second. The more you throw into her, the higher the sticking damage becomes.
 * Spiky Balls are useful against the Queen Bee since she will take damage while dashing through the platforms.
 * Bone Throwing Knives are useful and will pierce through her bees and can deal multiple hits.