Crate Potion

Crates are the only reason to keep fishing past the first hour, so treat this as an ore multiplier rather than a fishing item. Two windows pay off hardest. The first is the run up to the Wall of Flesh, where a stockpile of unopened crates converts into free Hardmode ore the moment the world flips. The second is straight after, when you want mechanical boss gear without spending a week digging.

• Do not open crates as you catch them. Contents are rolled at the moment you open one, so anything you bank before Hardmode still pulls from the Hardmode table later.
• The Angler throws these out as quest rewards often enough that a regular quester may never need to brew a single one.
• Run a fishing power potion and a sonar alongside it so the timer is not burning on junk catches and quest fish you have to inspect.