How to Farm Mimics Fast (Part 2)
Hallowed Mimic
Advanced Guide

How to Farm Mimics Fast: Arena Builds, Class Strats & What to Farm First

The fast Mimic farm in one line: craft 10 keys up front, fight on platforms over a shallow lava floor, keep moving, and stop attacking when it snaps shut. Summoning and full drop tables live in Part 1. This part is all about kills per hour.

Back to Part 1How to Summon: Keys & Full Drop Tables

Arena Builds

Your arena makes or breaks the farm. Fighting in a cramped tunnel is how Mimics kill you; a proper setup turns each kill into a short, boring loop. Pick the build that matches your gear:

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Starter Arena

100 blocks wide × 50 blocks tall

Good enough for your first few kills. Platforms to run on, regen to not die. Nothing fancy.

  • 3 rows of Wood Platforms, 8–12 blocks apart once you have wings
  • One Campfire + one Heart Lantern in the middle (each covers 170×125 tiles)
  • Walls at both ends so you don't run off the edge
  • Empty chest in the center for summoning
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Lava-Floor Arena

120 blocks wide × 60 blocks tall

A shallow lava floor chips the Mimic every time it lands. Your loot is safe: Mimic weapons and accessories are Pink rarity, and lava only destroys White and Gray items.

  • Thin lava layer across the floor (shallow, so the coin drop doesn't burn)
  • Platform rows above it for you to run on
  • Honey pool at least 2 tiles wide for +1 HP/s between kills
  • Teleporters on both sides for quick resets
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Speed Farm Arena

150 blocks wide × 80 blocks tall

The endgame setup. Lava floor, five rows to dodge on, and a Soul farm next door so keys never run out.

  • 5 platform rows for vertical dodging
  • Lava floor across the full width
  • Water Candle + Battle Potion Soul farm nearby to keep keys coming
  • Nurse room right next to the summon spot
Platform spacing and what each buff station gives you: Boss Arena Building Guide

How to Fight Them

Biome Mimics run a loop: three hops toward you, then one of three moves. A burst of three fast dashes with huge jumps, snapping shut and going invincible, or a pound attack that goes straight through blocks. Learn the loop and they're honestly not that bad. Rule #1: don't stand still.

Kiting (Works for Everyone)

Keep running sideways and shoot behind you. Horizontal movement handles the hops, wings handle the dash jumps.

  • Keep moving horizontally: standing still is how you eat 90 contact damage
  • When the dash combo starts, fly up and over it with wings
  • When it snaps shut it's invincible, and in Expert it reflects projectiles. Stop attacking and reposition
  • Kite in loops inside the arena. Run off in a straight line and it chases you at high speed through blocks

Class Strategies

Melee

Shadowflame Knife / Flying Knife
Titanium / Adamantite Armor
  • Shadowflame Knife is thrown, so you don't have to facetank 90 contact damage
  • Adamantite or Titanium defense lets you eat a few hits without panicking
  • Flying Knife follows your cursor and ricochets off blocks: steer it into the Mimic while you run
  • When it snaps shut, stop swinging and reposition until it opens

Why "Safe Spot" Cheese Doesn't Work

Old guides tell you to stand on a 3-block pillar or box yourself in. Biome Mimics break both: the dash combo includes huge jumps, and the pound and chase attacks pass straight through blocks. Here's what works instead:

  • Open space beats walls: cramped fights are where Mimics kill you
  • Want passive damage? A shallow lava floor does it without trapping you
  • Stay within a screen of it so you never trigger the long-range chase
  • Wings + a dash accessory are worth more than any terrain trick

Speed-Farm Tricks

Once you've got the basics down, these turn "I can beat them" into "I'm farming them on autopilot":

Speed Farm Rotation

A fixed loop with zero downtime between kills. Once you're in the groove, the only thing slowing you down is RNG.

  1. Craft 10 keys in one go (150 Souls) so you never stop mid-session
  2. Drop an empty chest in the arena center
  3. Insert a key, close the chest
  4. Kill it with your prepped loadout
  5. Grab the drop, place the next chest immediately
Lava Chip Damage

A thin lava layer on the floor hurts the Mimic every time it lands. It's immune to On Fire!, so there's no burn, and it takes nothing while phasing through blocks. Treat it as bonus damage, not the kill.

  1. Pour a thin lava layer across the arena floor
  2. Fight from the platforms above it
  3. Mimic weapons and accessories are Pink rarity, so lava can't destroy them
  4. Coins are White rarity and burn if they sink past their midpoint, so keep the lava shallow to keep the 3 Gold
Older guides claim lava deeper than 1 block deletes your drops. Not for Mimic loot: lava only destroys White-rarity items (and Gray since 1.4.5.0), which here means just the coins.
Multi-Summon

Place 2-3 chests, summon several Mimics at once, AoE them down. Double the loot, double the risk.

  1. Place 2-3 empty chests at least 10 blocks apart
  2. Insert keys into each chest quickly
  3. Use AoE or piercing weapons to hit them all at once
  4. Way better with a lava-floor arena backing you up
High risk: two Mimics means 180 contact damage coming at you. Don't try it until your gear is solid.
Low-Effort Summoner Farm

There's no true AFK Mimic farm: they phase through blocks, so no box keeps you safe. The closest thing is summoner gear on a lava-floor arena, where you only dodge and the minions plus lava do the damage.

  1. Build the lava-floor arena
  2. Equip summoner gear so you never need to aim
  3. Focus only on movement while minions and lava work
  4. Collect the drop, re-summon, repeat
Slower than active farming, and you still need hands on the keyboard.

What to Farm First

Every kill drops exactly one item from that Mimic's pool: 20% each, or 25% for Hallowed on 1.4.4. Your world's evil decides whether Key of Night gives you the Corrupt or the Crimson pool. Here's what to spend keys on first:

Full drop pools for all three Mimics are in Part 1

Farming Priority

  1. Daedalus Stormbow (Hallowed): ranged mains, this is your Destroyer answer
  2. Flying Knife (Hallowed): the melee pick, it follows your cursor so you steer damage while you run
  3. Fetid Baghnakhs (Crimson worlds): melee speed demon, shreds everything
  4. Putrid Scent (Corruption worlds): enemies target you less, plus 5% damage and crit for every class
  5. Flesh Knuckles (Crimson worlds): +8 defense and enemies target you more, tank builds want it
Hallowed items are 20% each on 1.4.5.7+ (5 kills on average) and were 25% on 1.4.4 (4 kills). Corrupt and Crimson items are 20%. Bad streaks happen: 10 keys gives you about an 89% chance at one specific 20% item, and 8 keys about 90% at 25%. Craft 10 before you start.

TL;DR & Next Steps

Farm these and your mid-Hardmode gear problems are basically solved. Here's the short version:

  • Build a proper arena: platforms, Campfire + Heart Lantern, shallow lava floor
  • Kiting is the safest strategy and works for every class
  • Stop attacking when it snaps shut, Expert reflects your projectiles
  • Stormbow is THE mid-game ranged weapon, don't skip it
  • Batch your keys: 10 keys = 150 Souls, about 89% odds at one specific drop

Recommended Farming Route

  1. Set up in the Hallow, farm Souls of Light → craft Keys of Light
  2. Farm Hallowed Mimics for Stormbow (ranged) or Flying Knife (melee)
  3. Move to your world's Corruption or Crimson, farm Souls of Night → craft Keys of Night
  4. Farm Corrupt or Crimson Mimics for accessories and weapons
  5. Once you have what you need, go fight the Mechanical Bosses
What's Next
With Mimic gear in your inventory, you're ready for the Mechanical Bosses. Start with Destroyer or Twins — Stormbow absolutely demolishes Destroyer.

These guides go hand-in-hand with Mimic farming:

Soul Farming Guide

How to efficiently stock up on Souls of Light and Night

Mechanical Bosses Guide

The next challenge after you're geared from Mimics

Back to Part 1How to Summon: Keys & Full Drop Tables

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Mimic farming arena?

A platform arena 100-150 blocks wide and 50-80 tall with one Campfire and one Heart Lantern in the middle, plus a shallow lava floor. The lava chips the Mimic every time it lands, and you fight from the platforms above it.

Which class farms Mimics the fastest?

Ranged with the Daedalus Stormbow + Holy Arrows, by a mile. Melee runs Flying Knife (you steer it with the cursor), magic goes Golden Shower or Cursed Flames depending on your world's evil, and summoner uses Spider Staff with the Firecracker whip.

Can you AFK farm Mimics?

Not truly. Biome Mimics pass through blocks during their pound and chase attacks, so no box keeps you safe. The closest you'll get is summoner gear on a lava-floor arena, where you only dodge and the minions plus lava deal the damage.

Will lava destroy Mimic drops?

Not the gear. Lava only destroys White-rarity items (Gray too since 1.4.5.0), and every Mimic weapon and accessory is Pink. Coins are White, though, so keep the lava shallow if you want the 3 Gold per kill.

Can I summon multiple Mimics at once?

Yes, just use separate empty chests. But two or three at once means 90 contact damage each coming from several directions. Only try it with solid gear, AoE weapons and a lava floor helping you.

How many keys do I need for a Daedalus Stormbow?

It's 20% on 1.4.5.7+ (25% on 1.4.4), so 5 kills on average (4 on 1.4.4). Bring 10 Keys of Light for about an 89% chance; on 1.4.4, 8 keys already gets you about 90%. That's 150 Souls of Light.

Which Mimic is the most worth farming?

Hallowed, hands down. The Daedalus Stormbow carries you through The Destroyer, and Flying Knife is a great melee pick. After that, farm whichever evil your world has: Putrid Scent from Corrupt Mimics or Flesh Knuckles and Fetid Baghnakhs from Crimson Mimics.