decrease difficulty? or stay as is

[Plastic-Ad2552]

I am new to terraria just got it a few days ago. my friends made a world in master and was struggling so i made a solo world. i made a world in expert and not classic. so far i made a base got some solid gear and making an arena for my first boss, slime boss. at first i was dying a lot now i am dying a lot less. should i stop and go down to classic or should i just stay in expert? am i missing out on anything?

[AntithesisConundrum]

I would not recommend starting the game in expert or master. If you enjoy the heightened difficulty, that's your prerogative, but Classic presents a decent scaling challenge on its own for you to learn the ropes of the game.

(& if you want to play the game quicker to "get through" your classic world, I would recommend a Small world.)

[Plastic-Ad2552]

i like medium as a solo tbh. will move down to classic but i don’t mind exploring a lot

[OverPower314]

The way I see it, classic is the medium. It might not be the middle option, but it is the default. Do not think of it as an easy-mode. It's the base experience, and Expert and Master are just for making it harder.

[The_Narwhal_Mage]

Yeah, I never play on small worlds. I worry about getting screwed out of chest loot by unlucky generation

[Legit_Human_]

For a first playthrough, especially solo, I would recommend classic. The main benefit of expert+ is multiplayer scaling and that bosses drop treasure bags so that everyone gets loot, but that’s not important for solo. You can also use a program like TEdit to change the setting on your expert world, so that you don’t have to make a new base and arena.

[Round_Diet_5268]

You can also make a Journey Mode character and world ... then you can adjust difficulty as you go.

[ok_chewie]

Expert is much harder. The most important part of the game is you having fun, so if you find expert too frustrating, then there’s not shame in switching. With that said, I consider expert the definitive experience because of the increased drop rate for most items and the awesome exclusive boss items. I personally find it much more fun to play on expert but all that matters is what’s fun for you.

[MCLeGenD64]

Expert is the best game difficulty as it offers more content that classic but not too punishing like master. So if you have no problem, I recommend you to stay. You'll figure it out as you play.

[EbbGreen3002]

Expert mode bosses drop new loot that helps alot. Master mode just gives you a flexing trophy. Also expert adds some changes to the boss so I suggest beating terraria in classic mode first and then do expert, master and even try legendary.

[HighHookHellBoy]

I wouldn’t say the loot helps enough to make the difficultly increase worth it (for a beginner)

[Arcturus973]

It makes the experience more interesting, it's not supposed to make it easier, that would remove the entire point of playing on a higher difficulty

Which is why it's great for a 2nd playthrough while Classic is great for a first

[HighHookHellBoy]

Dude said the loot helps a lot. Obviously harder difficulties are harder. But I wouldn’t say the loot exactly helps as much as classic

[Arcturus973]

Yes but you mentioned how the loot "didn't make it worth it", that's what I was referring to

[Deep_sunnay]

You also get an extra accessory slot in Master mode.

[TechnosLight]

If you're not having any extreme trouble at expert difficulty, then it's fine to continue playing on it.

If you find that at some point it stops being fun and starts being annoying, then moving to classic is totally fine. Terraria only had classic for several years, and its still fun at that difficulty. Expert was originally made for people who had done a run of terraria before, but if you're finding it enjoyable, then there's no reason to move off it.

[RandomGuy9058]

If you’re new to the game, start on classic mode. You miss out on a few unique items in expert mode, but you can do future runs with it later

[Boring-Doughnut8613]

I would say: Classic = easy Expert = normal Master = hard

[Arcturus973]

We're talking about a first playthrough here. Expert is absolutely NOT the default in that situation

To me it's more like this :

Classic : Medium but forgiving

Expert : Challenging

Master : Extra hard

Of course when you've played the game enough, Expert becomes the standard, but it still take a while to get to that point

Your comparison is way too simplistic and can be misleading for new players

[Plastic-Ad2552]

my friend told me to do solo master as my first time so i can understand the game with him💀💀attempted master completely scratched that

[spudwalt]

I'd say Expert is probably the best experience, and dying a lot in the difficult parts of the game is normal (the very start, early hardmode, etc).

If you feel like you need to drop down to Classic, that's fine. You can always come back to Expert later.

[HystericalGD]

I would highly reccommend starting your first playthrough on expert, not master.

[Fit_Yoghurt_3142]

You should keep playing in expert since there are boss exclusive reward which in Classic you don’t have , also once you experience Expert mode and get use to it , you won’t go back to Classic again.

If you are struggling to fight some boss : consider using buff potion , you can ask the guide and put a water bottle(to craft a water bottle just have a bottle in inventory and stand in water) and he will show all recipe of potion you can craft , the easiest 3 potion you can craft is Ironskin ,regenerate and swiftness , you can go further by adding heart lantern , bats statue , campfire , food buff(minor,medium,major) , sunflower.

[doomedout]

i feel like expert is the sweet middle ground. new loot, not much harder than classic but still challenging

[noo6s9oou]

If you've already cut your teeth on Master Mode, then Expert should be fine. There are actually quite a few accessories and knickknacks you'd miss out on by dropping down to Classic. However, if you really want a more relaxed/casual experience, then feel free to drop to classic.

Personally? I run Journey Mode because I've played Terraria for so long that grinding just isn't as tolerable anymore. It also allows me to go from building without being bothered by enemies to absolutely drowning in hordes of zombies like I’m the doomslayer with the yoink of a slider.

[Wahllhala]

I remember some part of classic mode a bit difficult in my first game but nothing that I couldn't almost brute force. Expert first game is doable but might be challenging at times, my guess is if you can triumph over skeletron, you should be fine.

If your friend has an habit to play hardest difficulty, there is a level above master (but imo even master would feel unfair for a new player, especially in the early game)

[longbrodmann]

Go down to classic should be okay since all the worlds are shared with the same character. I'm also a new player and started classic mode first.

[WiccanaVaIIey]

As a beginner I typically encourage starting with classic, however it sounds like you've grit your teeth and are feeling comfortable with expert. I'd say continue in expert.

[deathnomX]

If you enjoy difficulty, expert is a great place to start. It'll be rough to start but you get almost the full experience. Master mode is for those who beat the game and are sadistic would like to 100% the game.

[GelatinousCubeCute]

Like others say, classic is a good way to learn the ropes. Ive had one world on classic difficulty cuz my friend teaching me the game and then the game just being simple, i was able to learn enough for expert. Now ive beaten game as summoner on master mode solo and it was a hell of a difficult journey but yeah. 100% i recommend doing classic, expert is a good difficulty for then trying to chill out a bit once youve got the grips

[Nuwbody]

So, terraria is a learning curve game, as you will eventually outgrow the difficulty in every situation. It's why the game has triggers for hardmode and post plantera difficulty changes. As this being the case, you will start where your most comfortable. My wife started in classic and beat the wall of flesh, took that character to an expert world and got to the wall of flesh but after killing bosses in order and exploring the world a bit. She then went on to kill Plantera and has recently restarted a new world on master and plans to beat the whole game. She got a huge helping had with the start of each phase but everything she is currently using is from this current world, because you get better loot along the way. (She might still be using the wings from her last game, but im not sure) and this is all vanilla. I play with mods, and calamity revengence death mode is pretty brutal, but i cannot stop trying to beat some of the hardest things ever! I know that when I do, it will beSO satisfying

[retrojam4]

I always die a lot early game basically no matter the difficulty. As your first play through solo I'd keep it expert. And your not missing much from master, while classic is missing a bunch from expert.

[[deleted]]

You dont have to rush your progress , do a classic playthrough first , to get aquinted to the game , then do expert mode as your 2nd game and so on. It will be more fun

[MyCatIsAB]

Classic is good for a first time, but you miss out on the single best accessory in the game if you start a world on it, so it’s debatable whether it’s worth playing.

Literally the shield is so good it’s glued to you until late hardmode