The Sorcerer Priests in charge of protecting and maintaining the compact between the Colossal Bee Hives and the human settlements are a brutalist bunch who perform their duties above all else with no regard for honour or fairness to their foes, for should but one hive fall, it would spell doom in the shape of a migration of whole populations through the treacherous terrain of the Jungle, as the protection the Bees provide with their mere presence vanishes the moment the Queen relocates to a distant territory.
As a consequence, hive poachers, honey thieves, bee hunters and the voracious fauna and flora that dare target the Hives are met with a swift and brutal response. Beekeepers don a wax moulded plate created from the very Hives’ produce, granting them a unique affinity over the Evocation arts, allowing them to call forth whole hosts of voracious man-sized vespids in defence of the hive and the settlement’s denizens.
Even when found without their host of venomous hornets, Beekeepers are not without the willingness to jump amid the fray and paint themselves with the blood and viscera of their opponents. Gaining one up on their foes by fighting in hazardous terrain or deep bodies of liquid where their Water Walking Boots and Wings give them the edge, they dance and weave around their prey like the very hornets they summon, striking at any weakness to slick their blades with the vitae of their enemies.
With the summoner class being upgraded a lot in 1.4 and 1.4.1 everyone is now starting summoner playthroughs I may be a little late but for the people still in Pre-Hardmode, I am gonna answer the question: what is the best late Pre-hardmode summoner armor? Well, it's a fight between Obsidian armor VS Bee armor.
Edit: This guide doesn't include whips. It's purely based on minion damage.
Now, let's take a look at the stats. Shall we?
| Obsidian armor | Bee armor | |
|---|---|---|
| Extra Minions | +1 | +2 |
| Minion Damage | +43% | +23% |
| Defense | 15 | 13 |
| Whip Range and Speed | +50% | +0% |
That's some nice stats... Keep in mind that Obsidian armor can be obtained right after the Eater of worlds/Brain of Cthulhu but Bee armor can only be obtained after Queen bee and also may require grinding Queen bee. Now we get to the DPS calculations.
Obsidian armor DPS = 100 × 1.43 × 2 = 286
Bee armor DPS = 100 × 1.23 × 3 = 369
Calculation Overview: let me clear some things up. The summon damage is 100 just so it's easier to calculate. And by default, you have 1 summon because these armors add more summons the amount of summons you have is 1+(The amount of summons the armor adds). It looks like bee armor is the superior armor. Let's try to do the same calculations but with 2 extra summons! (Summoner Potion and Bewitching table.
Obsidian armor DPS = 100 × 1.43 × 4 = 572
Bee armor DPS = 100 × 1.23 × 5 = 615
Now the DPS difference is closer but Bee armor still wins. The DPS Difference used to be 86 DPS But now it is 43 DPS. Still, The Bees win. After all, It makes sense because Bee armor is obtained later in the game. That's it for today. Man, this took me a long time to make.
P.S. I am also posting this on Steam guides.