Picking up and learning fist weapons can be quite daunting, as many of Terraria's enemies deal damage through direct contact with the player. However with a combination of high damage, increased mobility and self-healing, the fist playstyle can be very rewarding.
Starting Out[ | ]
The Wooden Tekko is a great starting weapon as it can be crafted almost immediately, and can be used to practice attacks and parries. The main article describes each of the moves which can be performed with fists.
The next priority is to obtain some armor. There are several armors that can enhance melee capabilities, but one of the earliest and more useful armor sets is the Dobok armor with the Apprentice Headband. This set increases divekick damage as well as negating fall damage, and only requires Silk, Cacti and a Fallen Star to craft.
Another early game starter armor is the Boxing Armor, both body and feet pieces are also crafted with Silk and Blinkroots with the Boxing Helmet that is made with Gel instead of Blinkroot. This set is more defense-oriented as it provides and extra 4 units of defense with the complete set, it grants 10mph extra speed if used with the Apprentice Headband instead.
The benefit of all Fist-oriented armors in this mod is that the helmet piece can be mixed and matched as stated above.
It is also very important to be aware that sprinting accessories such as Hermes Boots and both it's vanilla and modded upgrades influence the punching range and hitbox of a fist. The more speed the accessory gives, the longer the range. This is especially useful for a rushdown tactics on an enemy but be very wary on how fast is too fast as fists can miss their mark with boots that exceedingly increase the player's running speed which makes it impossible to get the combo going or land a hit.
Other early items include the Boxing Gloves which provide a dash ability, and either the Iron or Lead Knuckleduster, which can spend combo power to perform a finishing attack. More on that on the next section.
Combo Power[ | ]
All fist weapons generate combo power on hit, and may activate a special effect when their combo power is reached. The cost and description of which can be found in the weapon's tooltip. It is important to take note that combo power is shared by all the fist weapons. This means that the player can switch between fists on the fly in order to utilize their various abilities, allowing multiple versatile set-ups.
An example of such a set could be the Boxing Gloves, Wooden Tekko and Lead Knuckledusters. A combo can be started with either the Boxing Gloves, for a rushing approach, or play it safely with the Tekko's parry. Both can be switched back and forth mid-combo. Allowing strategy such as parrying through an enemy's attack to create an opening for a combo, then following up with the Boxing Gloves and its ability to inflict Confusion. And ending the combo with a dash through the enemy, switching to the Lead Knuckledusters, and firing spirit energy projectiles with the combo power already built with the other two weapons in order to continue with the offensive.
This tactic can be applied with other fist setups available throughout the game's progression in order to adapt quickly to battle; especially with boss fights.