Guide:Queen Bee strategies

"The matriarch of the jungle hives..."

The Queen Bee is a pre-Hardmode boss. 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.

Spawning Conditions
Queen Bee can be spawned by fulfilling any of these conditions:
 * Break a . These can be found in Bee Hives, which are located in the Underground Jungle;
 * Use.

It must be inside the jungle at the moment of spawning. It can be lured into a safer environment.

The fight
Queen Bee is capable of causing if you get touched by it or by its stingers. While losing 2 health per second doesn't look like much, it can be significant over time. It's also important to not get poisoned because it halts Health regeneration, thus be always ready to heal with your Potions.

The Queen Bee has 4 distinct attack patterns: 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 can Dash, you can stand in its path and charge it just before it reaches you.
 * 1) It will fly left or right to you and charge three times;
 * 2) It will hover above you and spawn tiny  minions;
 * 3) It will behave like a normal hornet and fly around, shooting poisoning stingers at you.
 * 4) It will gain defense and speed in expert mode

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 weapons to deal significant amounts of damage.

If it's using the stinger-shooting phase, keep moving back and forth. If you do get hit by a stinger, the Poisoned debuff will last longer than when you touch the Queen Bee, so make sure to dodge it. Use a melee weapon, and try to track her movements by aiming where it's going to move.

If you're low on health and stayed in the Hive, remember to make use of the honey below you, which increases health regeneration, which will always stack with other regeneration buffs like Regeneration potions.

Expert Mode
As the Queen Bee's health goes down, she will become a lot more aggressive, shooting more stingers and having much faster charges. Her defense will also increase, making weapons with low base damage values like the much weaker. She will also inflict on contact, and its duration from the stingers will double.

Dodging the charges is much harder when the Queen is at low health, since she'll move too fast to be able to move out of the way. However, the makes this part of the fight a lot easier: Successfully dashing into an enemy gives the player brief invincibility frames, so if timed right, the charge attacks can be completely neutralized.

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 is already carved out, and the pool of Honey at the bottom provides a health-regenerating buff which stacks with other buffs.

If you're fighting the Queen Bee in the hive, make sure to clear up the honey and water in and around the hive, or it can be extinguished should you set it on fire. As with most bosses, Wooden Platforms are vital. Having them every 5 blocks is an optimal height but if your jump height is boosted in some way, you can increase the number of spaces between platforms which can save you materials.

A rope can be used to dodge Queen Bee charges if sufficient movement accessories aren't available.

Solid blocks can help to destroy the stingers.

Gearing Up
It's recommended to have at least 300 Health before you try to beat Queen Bee.

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.
 * The Fossil armor or Necro armor are the only armor sets available for rangers, with Necro Armor obtainable in the Dungeon.
 * Crimson armor is excellent due to the high defense values and increased damage. Shadow armor is good too and suits a melee playstyle.
 * The Wizard set, with magic-boosting or defense-boosting leg armor, provides the most damage for magic users. If defense is preferred, the Jungle armor or Meteor armor can be used.
 * Meteor armor's set bonus can make Space Gun and Gray Zapinator much more effective against Queen Bee since it reduces Space Gun's and Gray Zapinator's mana usage to 0.
 * The Obsidian armor is the best summoner armor set at this point in the game
 * Molten armor is the best pre-hardmode armor you can obtain if the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu have already been defeated (You may skip Brain of Cthulhu spawning the boss and just killing the Creepers it spawns).

Weapons
For Melee users:
 * For swords, a solid choice would be the ; However, Queen Bee is immune to the Poisoned debuff.
 * The and  are better, but they are harder to acquire.
 * The /  performs excellently if acquired.
 * or are good at killing Queen Bee, due to their long range.
 * 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 or  are good, and the  is excellent.
 * For Yoyos, the and the  are a good option. The  is slightly better than these, but it requires beating Skeletron and finding one in the dungeon. The  is better than the Valor and is possible to obtain before defeating Queen Bee, but it is pretty difficult.

For Ranged users:
 * Bow users should use a or  if they've got it.
 * Bring along arrows that can pierce, such as or.
 * is an effective choice but requires a big arena to be used properly. It works best with Unholy arrows or Hellfire arrows if obtained. Keep another weapon to get rid of the bees.
 * A or  are decent and the  can also be used. The  is also a very powerful choice.  users that have already beaten Skeletron can get the . However, it is very inaccurate, so staying close to the boss is mandatory if using this.
 * Note that is much less effective in Expert mode, especially in the later stages of the battle.
 * / are the preferred bullets to use with the guns mentioned above.  work better with the former two, since they don't have problems with the invincibility frames caused by piercing attacks.
 * The 's infinite piercing and high DPS makes this a viable choice, however, its ammo requires the user to take ammo conservation measures.
 * A with  is a cheap secondary weapon to apply Poison for a little extra damage, while still providing a fair amount of damage from the darts themselves.
 * Oddly, perform their initial stopping ability, then permanently slow the queen, making them a great way to kill her on, assuming the Valentine Event is happening.

For Magic users:
 * Crimson worlds will benefit from having the, as you can fire it once and then switch to another weapon, increasing damage output.
 * The is an excellent weapon, especially when combined with Meteor armor. Its piercing effect will help with taking out the bees.
 * is also an excellent weapon, thanks to its high damage output, especially with Meteor Armor.
 * Make sure that there are no larva within the vicinity of the arena, as to not accidentally break a larva, summoning another Queen Bee.
 * The or  are both decent choices due to their low mana cost and decent piercing damage.
 * The is a fantastic weapon if you're fighting inside of the Hive, due to how many times it can ricochet off walls. Additionally, it can be helpful for taking out bees due to how many times it can pierce.
 * The is perfect for dealing with the bees she shoots at you.
 * This weapon should not be used on Expert and Master mode, as her massive defense will significantly reduce damage taken.
 * and its upgrade,  can be used to quickly and repeatedly strike her with great accuracy.
 * The is a very strong option, while more difficult to obtain. If the Queen Bee uses its charge attack, it can potentially take several hits from a single scythe projectile. It also helps kill the summoned Bees. However, The Underworld must be visited.
 * The is a decent option due to its homing and piercing capabilities.

For Summoners: In the, summoners can't make use of any of its tools to kill Queen Bee, as it lacks gear of doing so. Meanwhile, the tips mentioned can be used for now, as Queen Bee drops materials needed for summoners to be viable.
 * The earliest minion Summoning weapon is the . The slime staff is extremely rare, and this weapon is very weak.
 * You could try to farm The Underworld for Hellstone to get the, which is also the only good choice on expert mode, as the Slime Staff does not have enough base damage.

In the, summoners have access to the , whips, and several summon weapons, not to mention even stronger equipment such as Obsidian Armor.  For Throwing users:
 * Summoners should use the / or, preferably, the, together with one of the early Whips. If the Brain of Cthulhu/Eater of Worlds has been defeated, the is also available.
 * The combined with the  can deal tremendous amounts of damage, otherwise, the Snapthorn itself can be used.
 * The sentries sold by the Tavernkeep are available if the Old One's Army event has been beaten at least once. These sentries can be used to kill the bees that she releases or repeatedly summoned to do damage.
 * deal high amounts of damage, but you should be mindful of taking damage yourself. Combining this with gel will make which will be helpful for defeating the boss.
 * are good choices which deal On Fire! to the Queen.
 * can poison the Queen, increasing your DPS.
 * stick to the queen and deal 3 damage every second. The more you throw into her, the higher the sticking damage becomes.
 * are useful as they will pierce through her bees.
 * are useful against the Queen Bee since she will take damage while dashing through the platforms.

Accessories

 * Anything that increases your vertical mobility is a godsend. The is good, but better choices would be the  or the . Having a  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. The  would be a great addition. You can also use the  for flight, and the  for flight and speed.
 * The is a very good increase to DPS, especially on Expert Mode.
 * The, while equipped, removes the Poisoned debuff; if you are short on accessory slots, equip it whenever you get poisoned.
 * If you are going for a melee approach, the and  enables autoswing and increases DPS respectively.
 * Feral Claws also enables autoswing for whips, making it a viable choice for summoners.
 * Anything that reduces damage is very helpful, including Expert Mode-exclusive, and defensive reforges on accessories.
 * The 's dash is essential throughout the fight.

Potions

 * Lifeforce Potions are extremely effective for survivability, assuming you have already found a Shadow Key and have visited The Underworld.
 * Ironskin Potions, Endurance Potions and Regeneration Potions will help tremendously with survivability.
 * A food item that provides Well Fed, Plenty Satisfied, or Exquisitely Stuffed is very useful.
 * Swiftness Potions will aid in your dodging.
 * 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.
 * Flipper Potion lets you swim swiftly through the honey, using it for its buff.
 * Ammo Reservation Potions and Archery Potions are good for rangers, and Archery Potions specifically for bow users.
 * Magic Power Potions and Mana Regeneration Potions are must have for mages.
 * If you already have a minion, a Summoning Potion lets you bring an extra to the fight.
 * Rage Potions or Wrath Potions are useful for almost all classes.
 * Water Walking Potions, like the boots, let you walk on Honey.
 * Honeyfins heal more than the average Healing Potion and can prove valuable.

Explosive Bunny Strategy
This only works on the Desktop and Mobile versions of Terraria.

Once you have obtained a way to summon Queen Bee (either by Larva or Abeemination) get a recall potion and 50 explosive bunnies (Master Mode will require over 60) and make a temporary home (or already made NPC home) on the farthest beach from your jungle to set your spawn in, along with a box to contain the explosive bunnies. Once you have prepared this, summon the Queen Bee and quickly use your recall potion, you'll have plenty of time to place the bunnies in their box before the Queen Bee arrives. Once you've filled the box, move 2 or more blocks away from the box on the opposite side of where Queen Bee is approaching, once she arrives she should die instantly to the explosive bunnies.

This method no longer works in version 1.4.4.9

Another viable strategy is to use a Magic Conch, Demon Conch, and Magic Mirrors, or a Shellphone to avoid deaths by teleporting away from Queen Bee, as she doesn't despawn when the player is far from her. By teleporting away and waiting for her to approach, following her icon on the map; you are able to make continuous visits to the Nurse to return to full health without risking dying in the process, or the Nurse's death.

This strategy is more useful in Expert/Master mode and the For the worthy and Zenith seeds as your health will deplete faster than you can heal with potions due to the damage and health boosts monsters have.

It isn't necessary to make an artificial jungle, as with proper timing of health potions for surviving the teleport away, this strategy also works while she is enraged.