Overview
Start safe, develop the workshop, then learn combat and exploration before choosing a boss.
How it works
The early game has no quest log forcing you toward one boss. Exploration, crafting and NPC arrivals are connected; learning how materials unlock recipes prevents needless grinding.
How to use it
Treat day one as a logistics problem: wood, light, shelter, basic armor and a safe underground entrance. Improve maximum life and mobility before picking a boss.
Mistakes to avoid
Do not sprint straight into Dungeon or Underground Jungle before establishing reliable recall and recovery.
Beginner Survival Walkthrough: detailed guide
First hour: secure a foothold
Collect wood and build a Workbench near spawn. Create enough enclosing walls, doors and lighting for safe shelter, but use the housing query when creating NPC rooms. Mark storage chests by role, especially ore, potions, boss materials and accessories. Craft a Furnace when you have stone, wood and torches. Returning with useful materials is better than dying with a completely unorganized inventory.
Explore beneath the surface
Bring torches, platforms, rope, a weapon that can hit enemies at range and Recall Potions. Search connected caverns for Life Crystals and movement accessories before mining the deepest possible layer. When you find metal ore, smelt bars and compare the costs of armor against weapon upgrades. Use the Guide NPC to inspect material recipe trees rather than following random recipes blindly.
Choose your first real battle
Prepare an outdoor arena with several platform lanes, campfires and enough horizontal room to retreat. Fight King Slime if a suitable opportunity presents itself or prepare Eye of Cthulhu at night. Practice changing direction between attacks rather than running only to the edge of the arena. Saving a backup set of potions and ammo will make repeat attempts much less frustrating.
Develop a sustainable town
Build spare houses to unlock merchants, a Nurse and later specialist NPCs. Keep dangerous arena fights away from town entrances, and save coins for the Goblin Tinkerer and weapon supplies. After defeating a world evil boss, begin planning Dungeon and Jungle exploration. This sets up the route to Skeletron and the Wall of Flesh without turning a sandbox into a rigid corridor.