In Terraria, armor is essential for survival, enhancing not only your defense but also granting various bonuses based on the set you wear. As a beginner, understanding how to efficiently gather and craft your first sets of armor can significantly improve your early game experience. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to progress through early armor sets up to the point of entering Hardmode.

1. Basic/Starting Armor

• Wood Armor
  • Materials Needed: 75 Wood (25 for each piece: Helmet, Chestplate, Greaves)
  • Total Defense: 3 (1 per piece)
  • Crafting Station: Work Bench
  • Comments: Easily accessible, provides minimal defense. Ideal as your very first armor set.

2. Mining Armor

• Materials Needed: Dropped by Undead Miners (Helmet), or crafted/purchased.
  • Helmet: Dropped by Undead Miners
  • Chestplate and Greaves: Crafted with ores or purchased from the Merchant.
• Total Defense: Varies (Helmet alone provides 1)
• Comments: Not typically a full set early on. Mixed with other pieces, can help with mining speed.

3. Cactus Armor

• Materials Needed: 75 Cactus (25 for each piece)
• Total Defense: 5 (2 for Helmet, 1 for Chestplate, 2 for Greaves)
• Crafting Station: Work Bench
• Comments: Offers a slight improvement in defense over wood and is still relatively easy to obtain. Good for early combat enhancement.

4. Copper/Tin Armor

• Materials Needed: Varies; approximately 60 bars total for a full set (Helmet, Chestplate, Greaves)
• Total Defense: 7 (Copper), 8 (Tin)
• Crafting Station: Anvil
• Comments: Slightly better than Cactus, but requires mining. Choose based on available resources in your world.

5. Iron/Lead Armor

• Materials Needed: Varies; approximately 75 bars total for a full set
• Total Defense: 9 (Iron), 11 (Lead)
• Crafting Station: Anvil
• Comments: Substantial early game armor, providing a decent balance of defense. Recommended for first bosses.

6. Silver/Tungsten Armor

• Materials Needed: Varies; approximately 75 bars total for a full set
• Total Defense: 13 (Silver), 15 (Tungsten)
• Crafting Station: Anvil
• Comments: Higher defense, suitable for mid pre-Hardmode challenges like deeper exploration and first few bosses.

7. Gold/Platinum Armor

• Materials Needed: Varies; approximately 90 bars total for a full set
• Total Defense: 16 (Gold), 20 (Platinum)
• Crafting Station: Anvil
• Comments: The best standard metal armor in pre-Hardmode, highly recommended before challenging the Wall of Flesh or entering the Dungeon.

Special Mention: Meteor Armor

• Materials Needed: Meteorite Bars (crafted from Meteorite Ore, which falls after breaking a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart)
• Total Defense: 16
• Set Bonus: Space Gun costs no mana to fire.
• Crafting Station: Anvil
• Comments: Particularly useful for magic users due to the set bonus with the Space Gun, offering unlimited fire. Great for defeating the first few bosses.

Strategy Tips

• Gather Resources Efficiently: Mine during the day and explore/fight during the night to maximize your use of time.
• Prioritize Upgrades: Always upgrade to the highest possible armor set you can manage before taking on major challenges like bosses or entering new biomes like the Jungle or Dungeon.
• Consider Set Bonuses: Some armor sets provide bonuses that might be more beneficial than just the defense stats suggest, especially for certain play styles (e.g., magic, melee, ranged).

By progressing through these armor sets, you can ensure that you’re well-prepared to face the increasing threats of Terraria’s expansive world as you move towards Hardmode.