When Should I Explore The Jungle?

Question

On my previous runs of Terraria, I find myself diving into deep caves to get Copper, Iron, Silver and Gold materials first, then taking that loot and going up against an Eater of Worlds, then taking THAT loot along with Meteor equipment to fight Skellitron, then taking on the Dungeon, then taking on Hell, where I get my penultimate equipment from.

But...the problem there is that exploration of The Jungle is completely left out by this order. And I'm not entirely sure where it should go. I think going in without Gold gear would be too dangerous, but Corrupt gear gets me ready for the Dungeon, and after that I usually go to Hell, so...when should I go?

I realize Terraria is an open world, where exploration is entirely dependent on what you want to do, but I feel like I'm not properly optimizing my delving experience by not having a plan for when to explore The Jungle.

Answer 1

I usually immediately farm eaters, get a full set of Shadow Armor, hit up some sky islands, and then head to the jungle (before the dungeon). The Ivy Whip is way too useful to ignore for long, and the Chakram is nice. The blade of grass is solid (great reach, but the lack of knockback can be a problem). As of right now I think the jungle has additional items that are intriguing. The Boomstick (jungle shrine) is an excellent gun; it fires 3 projectiles (in a randomized spread patter) for the cost of 1 ammo. It makes quick work of the Eye of Cthulhu I found, and I am eager to try it on the Wall of Flesh with meteor ammo. It's a great normal mode weapon. You might be interested in what the bee hive has to alter as well. Honey can make some great healing potions, and some of the Queen Bee drops are interesting, but I'm still looking at how I might incorporate her drops into my strategy.

A Demon Bow suits my jungle monster killing needs just fine, even with wooden arrows. In fact, it's the second demonite ore item I make after the Pickaxe. I switched to the Boomstick when I found it. The Jungle used to be great for topping off your hearts, but I found them more plentiful in normal mode this time and so this benefit was reduced (the same is true of the dungeon, both before and after 1.2).

Answer 2

You should explore the jungle after the Dungeon. It is really only useful for the shrines and Blade of Grass, which helps you get the Night's Edge, which you should have before Hardmode. As a result, only go when you are prepared to fight lots of Hornets, which is probably after the Dungeon.