I'm necroing this thread since new content has been released.
New content has been released! Not only has the brand-spanking-new 1.3 patch dropped, but the ports for Mac and Linux have entered open beta. I took this opportunity to begin a new playthrough and I decided to torment myself with the new Expert mode. In short, it makes Terraria hard. As in really hard. Every enemy has double health and double damage. That includes bosses, who also have newly revamped AI, making them even tougher!
The huge increase in difficulty really broke the way I play games. I always try to go as fast as possible. I rarely subscribe to nuance. My method in previous playthroughs of Terraria involved me brute forcing through every obstacle in my way. But with the difficulty spike I could no longer succeed using this method. I was forced to be patient, I had to watch for patterns. I had to build boss arenas and farm the materials to make potions! I actively worked to ensure the best buffs and reforged accessories to provide maximum defense. Even then, I lost many times and had more than one occasion where I survived a boss encounter with less than ten health points. It has been a refreshing way to play a game and I have had a lot of fun.
Even disregarding the revamped bosses, so much has been added. They have mounts, brand new bosses, new npcs and tons of new weapons, armor and crafting materials. It feels as though they may have increased the size of the game by at least 50%.
It amazes me that Redigit have added so much new content yet again, and completely for free. If you haven't already, I recommend checking out the new expansion.