Officially, this game doesn’t have leveling or classes. You progress by getting better gear and improving your base stats. Each player can grab just about any weapon and start pummeling foes without any penalties.
However, there are some differentiations in terms of weapons and armors. Each one of them is geared towards a specific role, increasing your defense, offense, speed, mana, etc. So, by wielding a particular artifact, your character can be placed in a certain class.
If I had to pick a certain role, I would go with the ranger as Terraria’s best class. He has incredibly high damage per second, especially against a single target. This makes it ideal for tough bosses. As if that wasn’t enough, he has a long-range allowing you to play at a distance and sacrifice your defense for offense.
Regardless, each class can finish the game. Even if you start struggling, you can simply swap out your gear and start playing a different role. The game gives you a lot of flexibility, so the question of Terraria’s best class is more of a technicality.
What are the classes in the game?
By taking a look at the available weapons and armors, we can categorize all characters into 4 classes: melee, magic, ranged, and summoning. Keep in mind there are no wielding restrictions. In other words, a player that classifies himself as a melee can also use ranged, summoning, or magic weapons.
Melee class in Terraria
Like in many other games, the melee class is the most simple and straightforward class in the game. However, unlike some other RPGs, the melee class in Terraria can use short-ranged weapons. These characters are very durable, with incredible offense and defense. Melee characters also have nice crowd control, to boot.
Aside from swords, these characters can also use yoyos, boomerangs, flails, and spears. The melee class is nice throughout the game, but it can sometimes feel sluggish. Wielding a large sword is always cool but can be a hassle against certain mobile bosses.
Mage class in Terraria
Mages suffer at the start of the game due to a low mana pool and limited weapons. As you can presume, they have very little to no defense, which makes them prone to being one-shot. You might also struggle if you overdo it with mana potions, as this will cause Mana Sickness, a debuff that reduces magic damage output.
Although they are not Terraria’s best class, mages are definitely the most fun. They use wands, magic guns, and spell books to create numerous devastating effects. They also have a high level of flexibility as you can simply swap out weapons and, thus, the main spell, depending on an enemy.
Ranged class in Terraria
Rangers are an extremely powerful class for several reasons. They can pick off enemies on the other side of the screen without ever getting in harm’s way. In that sense, you might be able to finish the game faster with ranger than some other classes as you won’t have to hassle with increasing health and mana.
If you find the right ammo, a ranger can become the most devastating force in the game. Unfortunately, this also means you will have to grind a lot. Preparation is everything for this class and depending on how much time you’re willing to invest before a big battle, you will be stronger or weaker.
Another cool feature of rangers is that they toggle between piercing, single-target, and splash effects.
Summoner class in Terraria
Summoners are Terraria’s best class if you don’t want to click a lot. They are especially great for players who just want to take it easy and enjoy their afternoon. Like summoner classes in other games, you don’t have to do a lot once you summon all the creatures. Just sit back in enjoy the show.
The class has a few advantages, though. It doesn’t need a lot of resources, and you can fight at a relatively long distance. Summoners require mana until you summon all the allies. Generally speaking, they are much less mana-intense than mages.
Unfortunately, you have very little, if any, control over your minions. The class doesn’t have much defense, so the powerful enemies can easily pick you off. What’s even worse, you might have to whips and other weapons to compensate for your minions doing nothing.
What is Terraria’s best class?
Most fanatics will agree that ranger is Terraria’s best class. However, there is some room for debate. The choice of class might vary depending on the stage of the game and the boss. Certain classes are much better in the early game, while others become better as the story progresses.
The reason why I would give rangers an advantage is simply because they’re so easy to play. You can dish a lot of damage from a distance without ever glancing at your health. That is, as long as you have ammo. Keep in mind that the ammunition is the class’s biggest problem, but it becomes negligible as the game goes on.
Although some people will give an advantage to the melee class due to its high defense, this is a very relative thing. Generally speaking, melee warriors have to get close to an opponent to deal damage which means they will have to absorb a lot of punishment to do so. In that regard, rangers who have lower health can feel like the class with much more defense than melee characters.
Another cool thing about rangers is that they’re very agile. You can run away from just about anything, even if you get in a pinch.
