How to EASILY defeat Pre-Mech DUKE FISHRON in Terraria (1.4.4)

Duke Fishron is one of the most powerful and difficult bosses in Terraria. Something that makes him special is that you can summon him very early in the game and defeat him, rewarding the player with loot that can effortlessly demolish the rest of the bosses in the game.

Many players dare to challenge Duke Fishron early on, and it takes lots of practice, because even getting hit once by him can be incredibly devastating.

I do not own any of the music used in the video.

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:30 - Preparation
1:50 - Equipment
3:45 - Phase 1
4:30 - Phase 2
5:24 - Phase 3
6:25 - Conclusion

[Galaksyz]

on honey pools: you can also just use a flipper potion to minimize the slow they give!

alternatively, you can bring a bunch of honey bottles and quick buff every 30 seconds to keep the buff active, though this only works while potion sickness isnt active

[Shyguymask]

Finally, a GREAT guide with optimal gear choices, as well as valuable tips for Duke's attacks. Hope this gets the views it deserves.

[nonexistentnathan]

probably the best premech fishron guide I’ve seen yet

[freybrann]

This is a really good guide, especially for newer players! I would only add a few notes:
- Always bring a food item that boosts your stats, at least moderately. Additionally, luck boosts for overall improvement, Inferno potions for blocking most incoming detonationg bubbles, Bast and Heart Statues for free survivability, and class-specific damage boosts, such as Flasks or Archery, are a must-have for higher difficulties.
- Shield of Cthulhu makes such a big difference in this fight. You can dash into Duke at any point for brief invulnerability, but if he's moving towards your location just after the dash, you'll get hit for massive damage. If Duke is diagonally above you about to dash, you can safely Shield Bash him. If he's parallel or diagonally below you, Shield Bash towards him while flying to fly past him, giving yourself good distance and speed.
- For weapons, there's one weapon that I was shocked to not see on the list, one so powerful in this fight that I use it even when not playing its respective class: The Uzi. You can farm for it just after WOF, and it offers great damage, range, consistency, and the High Velocity bullets it fires can pierce through multiple bubbles. It's also low-commitment in terms of what accessories boost its output, allowing for a much more efficient defense or mobility build.
- You can set up teleporters on each side of your arena hooked up to each other. That way, you can safely create a massive gap from Duke to give yourself some breathing time during the fight. Especially handy if you're about to recover Potion Cooldown or if you suck at baiting Sharknados, like me.
- If your arena is too small, you can utilize the entire Beach biome without suffering from Enraged Duke. This extends to wherever the background changes. This really only applies to upper platforms, as most people use this space for housing.

[rivelli]

As someone who always goes for Duke Fishron pre-mech, I can say that this is a great guide.
If I could just add a few things, it would be that for the arena, bast statues, gnomes and peace candles are always good to have, and during the fight I recommend counting the number of dashes so you can predict Duke Fishron's next attack more easily (5 in phase one and 3 in phase 2).
Also, try to get into a "loop" where you lure him to the side of the arena so he can spawn his sharknadoes there, go back to the middle when he shoots his bubbles and get him to the other side of the arena for the next sharknadoes, this way you won't even have to deal with the small sharks. This strat is essential in legendary mode.
I highly recommend using the spirit flame so you can focus on dodging thanks to the homing, with the golden shower to pop the bubbles and lower his defense.

[egg.]

Another fun tip: duke fishron, in his 3rd phase, will always teleport to the side of you he isn't already on, and he will always be above you, so if you keep track of him you can predict his exact teleportations and movement

[lasgna]

this video perfectly sums up why Duke Fishron is my favorite boss in the entire game. You don't *need* to use a shit ton of OP weapons like Terra Blade or Chain Gun to just remotely stand a chance against him, you just need to have actual dodging skills and you can beat it easily. I remember deciding to face it after beating the Mech bosses while only using a Water Walking potion and I legit got it to under 1000 health before i died

[SanitelTheSanitiser]

0:32 the ultrakill music took me by suprise

[nothinghjkhjk]

now THIS is what i call a boss tutorial! great job you are very underrated!

[kevin-]

Finally a pre mech Fishron guide that tells you how to fight the boss, and not some cheese setup

[Porkey_Minch]

I've found that an inferno potion is great for destroying the bubbles so you don't have to worry about any slipping past your other weapons. The nimbus rod is also good for destroying some bubbles and increasing your damage output a little, although it's not as reliable as inferno is for bubble pops.

[wrxth]

Every single playthrough, I always come back here and prepare for pre mech duke, its tradition now, thanks!

[blu.sorrow]

no cheesing method, no exploit abuse, just a normal guide for everyone. big appreciation!

[WPS]

I can confirm, I used the ichor book with titanium armor before finding this guide, and got down to last phase on expert, solo, in a multi player server (the other person on was afk, it was after all of us beat it together dw)

[jasonnics]

damn, this is a really underrated fishron guide that can help new players excel in the game. Great vid! I loved watching through the entire thing, and I hope you can produce as good or even better content in the future ❤

[astrgamr]

2:28 You can actually get the Cool Whip at this point in the game, which is better than the Firecracker.

[Michaelify]

From my experience, the marrow is one of the best choices for ranged, and it outclasses both of the options in the video. Just make sure to use an arrow with the highest damage number you can find, since it will always shoot bone arrows.

[shoejlejing]

very helpful, I will definitely try this in my next playthrough

[utkuciyanci]

This guy totally deserves more than 50k subs

[nvsp]

another thing id like to add is that chain guillotines are also a pretty good weapon for melee, although it has less range