Surviving the Early Game
The Pre-Boss stage is all about gathering the essentials. Players begin by establishing a safe home base, collecting food, and exploring nearby biomes for essential ores and crafting materials. During this stage, the player's tools and armor are typically made of iron or lower-tier materials, note that you're able to make copper tools!
As you explore and defeat mobs, you may earn enough experience to begin investing points in the skill tree, which alongside picking a class with the Spell Binding Table (found naturally in villages, and craftable), will allow you to truely begin your adventure!
The goal during the Pre-Boss phase is to prepare for the first major combat challenge. Upgrading armor to fit your class, and reinforcing your base, and gathering the basics before you take on the Night Lich and Void Blossom. Optionally, the Berserker aswell.
Unsure if you're ready to take on a boss? Try this readiness checker:
Check off the items you have prepared for your first boss fight: