Calamity, Brick Only (Pre-Hardmode)

The Throwing Brick is a weapon that almost every Calamity player has owned at some point... but this almost entirely consists of them getting it from the starter bag, and then only using maybe 20 or 30 of them before they get something stronger and abandon them entirely

So I wondered how an entire Calamity run would go if I were ONLY allowed to use Throwing Bricks as my only weapon

And this is how it went...

[Prior Notes]

The Throwing Brick is a weapon generally designed for the early-game; good crit chance and knockback, but low damage and range, as to allow the player to defend themselves better from some of the common early-game enemies like slimes and zombies... it is not, however, designed to be carried too much further than that... so I decided to do exactly that


The Throwing Brick is a simple item; low damage, high crit chance, decent knockback, and a stealth strike effect that causes the brick to shatter and release fragments that deal only a small percentage of the brick's own damage

Of course, Stealth Strikes will also be the way to go about most of the challenge to both trigger stealth strike accessory effects and to compensate for its pitiful base damage, meaning my attack speed will also be rather lacking

[Rules]

(!) So, obviously, the primary rule is that our only weapon throughout the entire run are Throwing Bricks. I cannot use any other weapons, nor the Brick's upgrade the Apoctolith; Throwing Bricks and only Throwing Bricks are allowed to be used

(+) To compensate for this run's mild learning curve and overall challenge, I allowed the 'additional accessory slots' rule to be in-place; 1 more Pre-Hardmode, 2 in Hardmode, and 3 Post-Moon Lord. This is mainly due to accessories playing a huge role in this run being possible without exploits, especially regarding some... particular bosses
Of course, having 1/2/3 more accessory slots doesn't make things easy; your weapon still has pitiful range and has to let stealth strikes charge in order to deal any amount of damage to bosses, so I may actually recommend keeping this rule even if you want more challenge for some reason

(-) Additionally, I allowed myself only 9999 bricks to complete the run. This isn't an important rule, but I wanted to see if a stack of bricks would be enough to complete the run or not.
You can give yourself infinite bricks if you want to save time, or make them all yourself, really the choice is yours regarding how you want to manage your bricks

[Boss Rankings]

I figured I'd give the bosses uniquely brick-themed rankings considering the run. What these mean, and the order of difficulty, is listed below

Easily Malleable (Easy)
The easiest tier of boss, generally being those you don't have to worry about at all. While it is entirely possible to lose to them, careful play almost always ensures victory.

Most of the bosses in this tier are, as expected, Pre-Hardmode bosses with limited mobility and/or large hitboxes that allow me to best utilise the Throwing Brick.


Standard Toughness (Easy-Ish)
Bosses that are noticeably tougher than those in the bottom tier, and are for the most part comparable to how the boss would be encountered on a more standard Calamity run.

Mostly limited to Pre-Hardmode, but the occasional Hardmode or Post-Moon Lord boss may be found here if circumstances arise that allow for them to be dealt with reasonably well.


Rock Solid (Normal)
Bosses that are generally noticeably harder than a standard Calamity run, either due to the Brick's lacking damage dragging out intense parts of the fight, or the Brick's arc forcing you to be more creative on how you hit the boss.

Despite only being tier 3, these bosses do have a solid chance of killing the player during the run at least once or twice.


Infernally Forged (Hard)
Bosses that begin reaching into the majorly problematic tier, typically due to a mixture of the bosses' own abilities and lack of counterplay available to the player at that current point in time.

Bosses in this tier likely require a lot of pre-preparation and are more than likely to kill the player a fair number of times before a successful attempt.


Cosmilite Composed (Very Hard)
Bosses that are reaching a point of mild unfairness for the majority of Calamity players, potentially acting as a large, seemingly-unwinnable roadblock for some runs. Most of the time the reasons as to why they are so difficult are the same as the previous tier, though enhanced even further to the point where these bosses may be quite un-fun to deal with.

Expect a fair amount of deaths and reasonable frustration for the bosses listed under this category.


AuBrick Tesla (Absolutely Awful)
Bosses that slowly begin to delve into a tier of difficulty that is borderline-impossible for the majority of players, often caused due to a combination of some form of time limits or general DPS checks combined with a general lack of options.

Only 3 bosses in the entire run are in this tier and, while I'd normally advise skipping bosses like this until later, some of them are tied to progression so... have fun with that...

Pre-Boss

My initial plan for the run was to increase my stealth regeneration rate and damage as much as possible, but also to try and train myself in regards to how the bricks' trajectory was.

I should mention that this run started prior to the 2.0.1 update that reworked Wulfrum Armour, so the Wulfrum Rogue Armour still existed at this point, and thus I went for it so I could use stealth strikes; a key factor throughout the run

During my adventures I also got an Aglet and 240 health from my time exploring the map... however my preparation would be cut short by...

Eye of Cthulhu

Brick-fficulty: Standard Toughness
The Eye of Cthulhu decided to show up almost instantly, long before I had any of the preparation I wanted, but I decided to at least give it an attempt to see how the bricks would do against a boss

Of course, the Servants of Cthulhu were somewhat of a problem, as they could block my throws and forced me to keep moving to avoid both them and the eye, meanwhile the Eye itself was a problem because of my lacking damage and mobility

Once Phase 2 began I intentionally got the Servants of Cthulhu to group up and focused them instead of the Eye so I could remove them before the Eye started its more frantic chain dashes, and once the Servants were dealt with focusing on dodging the Eye itself would be much more manageable

Overall, the chain dashes weren't too bad, as the Eye could dash into the stealth strikes and get hit by both the brick and the fragments it produced, taking significant chunks off its health

Post-Boss
Time: 8:00

After defeating the Eye I can get the Shield of Cthulhu, a nice tool to make up for my poor mobility, and some money for later

Additionally, I now get the chance to finish my gear upgrades; a hook for mobility, the Abyssal Amulet for additional chip damage against bosses, and the Frostspark Boots and the Yellow Horseshoe Balloon for far better mobility in-general

I additionally managed to get the Tinkerer after a very scuffed Goblin Army, reforging all my accessories to Silent for the stealth regeneration bonuses

...I also managed to get a random Slime Staff drop. Not useful for the run but, hey, cool regardless

Desert Scourge

Brick-fficulty: Easily Malleable
The originally-planned first boss of the run, Scourge on-paper seems like it would be a trivial fight considering I have a weapon that splits into several fragments on hit, and because Crush Depth used to annihilate it

However, things didn't quite go to plan. It seems the Calamity devs have changed how damage over time debuffs affect worm bosses, meaning that Crush Depth from the Abyssal Amulet doesn't just make anything and everything insta-shred Scourge anymore, but also that the brick's shattering effect on stealth strikes does a very poor job of hitting Scourge; typically only having the shards connect if I hit its head mid-lunge

However, Scourge was probably among the easiest bosses in the run

Post-Boss
Time: 2:33

With Scourge defeated, I immediately decided to craft a set of Victide Armour. Originally my plan had been to stick with this for a while, but Sulphurous Armours' bonus effects seemed more interesting, so I used Victide to help me farm Acid Rain instead

I did also craft the usual Shield of the Ocean for later, but it's not too important yet

Due to me having to effectively add the Sulphurous Sea myself (Calamity's world gen was broken at the time of making the world) the event was relatively uneventful, though ultimately I was able to get my hands on the Sulphurous Armour

King Slime

Brick-fficulty: Easily Malleable
The easiest boss in the game, both because it's designed to be easy, and because my gear is far too strong for this boss already due to my enhanced mobility and Post-EoC armour

King Slime would've been the first boss but I got Scourge's summon earlier and the Eye summoned itself, so I just guess King Slime was quite unfortunate this run

Post-Boss
Time: 1:30

As usual, King Slime's defeat grants the Slime Hook and Slimy Saddle as the two main direct drops from the boss. Unlike other runs, however, I didn't go and get the Bundle of Balloons using the Solidifier because it was moved to Post-Perforators and because I already had the Yellow Horseshoe Balloon at this point

Instead, after King Slime, I went hunting for both the Trinket of Chi and the Luxor's Gift; the former because building stealth already meant standing still often (which I could get away with, at least this early on) so I could use its effects, and the latter because extra projectiles could help with my lacking damage later in the run

Additionally, 2.0.1 came out at this point, bringing a few weapon tweaks. None of the stuff I'd done before really changed, minus the loss of Wulfrum Armour, but I figured it was such a small change that it wasn't worth restarting the run for

Brain of Cthulhu

Brick-fficulty: Standard Toughness
The Brain was not a fight I was particularly worried about, so I was mainly using it as a test to see how my new accessories would fare against an actual boss... with unfortunate results

For whatever reason, it seemed the Trinket of Chi would not activate, regardless of how long I stood still, making it entirely worthless for some reason. Meanwhile, the arc of the Luxor projectiles was different to my bricks and was much flashier, making it much harder to aim, which was not worth the potential bonus damage it would provide

Aside from that, the Brain went relatively smoothly, though dealing with the Creepers was generally awkward to do since the bricks struggled against their sheer numbers. The Brain's 2nd phase was also a little tricky since I didn't attack frequently enough to keep the Brain at bay sometimes, so I actually had to move

Post-Boss
Time: 2:31

With the Brain defeated I could craft the Deathbringer Pickaxe for later, but aside from that few additions could be made to my gear

In regards to subtractions, however, both the Trinket of Chi and Luxor's were banished to the accessory chest for the remainder of the run and didn't end up being used again

Crabulon

Brick-fficulty: Easily Malleable
I wish I could say more about Crabulon itself, but really the only trouble I had was that certain parts of my arena didn't count as the mushroom biome, so it'd occasionally enrage itself during the fight

That aside, now that I was coming to understand how Rogue works and, more specifically, how to best use the bricks, a generally slow, grounded boss was very weak to them

Post-Boss
Time: 2:30

With Crabulon down, it was time for me to begin preparing for one of the scariest Pre-Hardmode boss fights for this run

Sadly, Crabulon itself provides nothing for the run since the Fungal Clump is banned and all its other drops are weapon drops

Perforators

Brick-fficulty: Rock Solid
The beginning of what I consider the latter half of Pre-Hardmode, and the first boss to be higher than one of the lower 2 tiers. Perforators are an interesting fight because you generally need to be careful how you approach it.

Firstly, the Hive itself floats above the player just out of the Throwing Brick's range, even though some throws do seem like they should hit it. The way to hit it, therefore, is to bait its movements; e.g. moving down before jumping back up, as to temporarily bring its hitbox closer to you. Do bear in mind, however, that its projectiles may hit you if you do this too carelessly.

The first and third worms were fairly standard, acting much like Desert Scourge where the best way to damage it was to aim for the head since the shattering fragments of the brick would often miss if thrown against the body.

The second worm was interesting, since two direct stealth strikes against the head would often cleanly kill the head, allowing you to prevent it from splitting up.

A long fight, and the first one that requires a bit more strategy, but good practice nonetheless.

Post-Boss
Time: 9:15

Once Perforators is defeated I can get my hands on both the Bloodstained Glove, which generally helps with my Stealth Strike-oriented playstyle, as well as Aerialite for the Aerospec Armour and the Feather Crown.

Additionally, unlike the previous two accessories I tried, these ones actually do help a lot for the run going forward.

Queen Bee

Brick-fficulty: Rock Solid
Queen Bee is generally an awkward fight on challenge runs anyways due to her scaling defence stat provided by Expert Mode, however this run manages to somehow actually make it even worse than before.

So, as was probably obvious, Queen Bee's speed is generally a problem since it makes aiming shots with my slow, clunky, gravity-affected projectiles quite tough to do consistently. What was surprising, however, was that the defence boosts the Queen Bee accumulated didn't actually affect the fight that much purely due to the damage buffs from charging stealth.

However, there was one more unaccounted for thing in this fight; Queen Bee's minions. The bees she spawns are typically easy to deal with even in their large numbers due to their low health, and their inclusion can help provide hearts and mana stars to players. However, with me being forced to charge stealth for optimal damage, a swarm of bees would typically force me to sacrifice my stealth charging to deal with them before they begin swarming the arena too much.

Post-Boss
Time: 8:01

Queen Bee doesn't help too much with this run overall, as she doesn't provide any items I'd find particularly useful, and because she also doesn't gatekeep any sort of new ore or drops from other enemies like a lot of Calamity bosses do.

However, she is a boss, so I decided to fight her regardless.

Skeletron

Brick-fficulty: Rock Solid
So, Skeletron is a little perplexing for this challenge, but I will address this as I go.

Skeletron's hands ended up being weirdly problematic, as their movements ended up being slightly more unpredictable than I'd initially bargained for, either due to their ever-changing acceleration or just my own incompetence.

Skeletron's head was fine enough, with the main debate being how best to attack it; stealth strikes are obviously great while it attacks you with skulls, but it was debatable whether brick spam or stealth strikes were best during the headspin.

However, a problem stuck. 4:30 AM was reached while Skeletron still had 800 HP. A stray fallen star or perhaps better management and of my stealth charges and throws could've potentially killed it before Skeletron enraged. So what do I do? Surely it'd be best to restart the next night, right?

Well, for whatever reason, I decided not to.

I managed to make a consistent figure-eight movement pattern around skeletron and slowly brick spammed it to death for the next 10 minutes. Was it hard? No, not really. Was it practical? Probably not.

But did it work? Yes.

Post-Boss
Time: 17:06

Skeletron's defeat grants access to the Dungeon, meaning both bones and chest items are now obtainable. Bones are used for the Skyline Wings, meanwhile the Dungeon chests themselves contained the Cobalt Shield, which I immediately upgraded.

Deerclops

Brick-fficulty: Standard Toughness
Wow, this truly does mark my first proper challenge run recorded after Deerclops' inclusion, huh?

Deerclops was a long fight, but not exactly a tough one. My build, while not overly-defensive, provided more than enough survivability for Deerclops, but its smaller, singular hitbox and large health pool meant that killing it would take a long time.

Unfortunately there's not really too much to discuss, as the boss was for the most part a walking simulator only occasionally broken up by flying over its head when it was safe to do so in order to walk back in the direction I came from.

Post-Boss
Time: 10:27

Another boss that doesn't really give me anything too useful for the run, though like Queen Bee I feel it should still be recorded for record's sake.

Slime God

Brick-fficulty: Rock Solid
The first boss I actually died at a couple of times while trying to get a feel for both the new fight and for how the bricks would contend with it.

Slime God is now less weak to the old strategy of simply luring the big slimes into a platform a short distance above you like they used to be, as they now teleport and will actively try to cut off the player's escapes, but in-turn the Core is now a lot less dangerous.

The best strategy I found was to focus on a specific slime and chip that one down specifically, as the slimes speed up as they lose health. Once it splits, focus down each of the smaller slimes one at a time until they're dealt with, then focus on the other big slime.

The minions can actually be a small issue in the fight, as they can occasionally get in the way and either absorb stealth strikes or hit the player, though spending a couple of seconds and a stealth strike or two to deal with the more annoying minions like the winged and spiked ones is entirely justifiable.

Post-Boss
Time: 12:09

The main thing obtained from this fight is access to Statigel Armour; the final new armour set for Pre-Hardmode
I also now realise the Silencing Sheath could've been made post-Brain of Cthulhu, so I finally remember to craft that as well

Wall of Flesh

Brick-fficulty: AuBrick Tesla
The Wall of Flesh is a boss that, on-paper, seems mildly challenging but nothing too serious, however for the purposes of this run the three big things about the Wall are actually majorly problematic and all of them work together to make it debatably the worst boss in the run.

First, Wall has a hard time limit, realised when it travels to the edge of the world. Unlike other bosses where either they'd enrage once their time limit is up, Wall will despawn once reaching the border and cannot be prevented from doing so.

Secondly, the Wall's ever-increasing speed is an issue. While you only spend a short while having to deal with a hyper-speed Wall normally, being stuck with poor damage and having to wait for stealth strikes means you'll be dealing with this phase for a fairly long while.

Finally, and worst of all, the Hungries. Normally a minor inconvenience, Hungries actually manage to spawn at about the same speed as you can kill them and, due to their number and ability to infinitely spawn, they will very quickly begin absorbing a lot of your stealth strikes; something they easily have enough health to tank a couple of each.

These factors combined make the Wall almost impossible to kill, likely unkillable under the rules on small worlds, and probably outright impossible in-general for this run without some... rather cheesy pre-preparation.

Firstly, the entire underworld was removed and replaced with a few rows of platforms. This in-turn gives me ~12,000 blocks to kill the Wall and no terrain around to potentially get in the way of throws. However, the more impressive thing, was a statue-utilising spawn suppressor that allowed the Wall and ONLY the Wall to spawn; no Hungries for the entire fight.

Did this make it easy? By no means, as the issues with its large health pool and speed remain, plus its constant movement made charging stealth a lot harder as well.

By the end of the fight less than 1,000 blocks remained from the edge of my world and I was in real bad shape, but with some faith, hope, and stealth strikes, I was able to bring the Wall down (rather ironically) quite literally brick-by-brick.

Post-Boss
Time: 7:55

With the Wall of Flesh defeated, the world enters Hardmode and the second part of the challenge rears its head, but in-turn I do get some new tools to help me out.

Firstly, I get a total of 2 new accessory slots; 1 from the Heart from the wall itself, and another 1 from the challenge rules. Trust me, you'll probably need them.

Rogue Emblems are crucial for later in the run, which does unfortunately mean farming the Wall. However, I don't want to do that at my current point, so I'll do it later. I did get 1, though, which is nice.

[Final Notes]

And thus ends Part 1 of 3 of the Brick-Only Calamity run

I know it has been a while since I've written one of these out, but I have actually been playing Calamity in the background and looking at some potential things for the future.

Additionally, some projects were almost made into pages, but were scrapped. Most of these are under the 'Misc Calamity 1.3 Runs' Guide, all bundled together for the sake of tidiness.


Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the beginnings of the brickenning, and I hope to see you next time for when Part 2 is finished

See you then :)

[Nightshade]

Good Job! Now kill god

[Okami Tomato]

Cubic you might wanna check the next page if you're interested - Hardmode and Post-Moon Lord pages have been completed

[The Cub1cal]

good job, but... you don't stand a chance against bosses like the twins, or plantera, or the moonlord. But you will find a way somehow.

[Valkyrie]

the wall of flesh: ok what weapon will you use?
him: IM GONNA KILL YA BRICK BY BRICK
the wall of flesh: what?- *proceeds to die brick by brick*

[Phantasmal]

bro imagine being the seal to keeping the dark secrets of the world locked away and some idiot kills you by throwing bricks at you

[Lovely01]

ok thanks!

[Okami Tomato]

If you want the full rundown check out the Post-Moon Lord page - Any important notes about the fight will be there if you want more specific things

[Lovely01]

ah ok. thought it would be harder but guess i was wrong

[Okami Tomato]

No the phase 1 tail thing is still a thing, but given its limited attack pool and reduced movement speed in that phase circling it to hit it isn't too bad

[Lovely01]

i thought storm weaver would be hard due to the player needing to hit his head to damage it in the early phases? or is that a Revengeance only thing?