Dark Artist's Hat

This set is not crafted. The Tavernkeep sells the three pieces for Defender Medals, which only come out of the Old One's Army, and the tier that pays enough of them opens after Golem. So despite being a straight purchase it arrives late. Think of it as the finished version of the Apprentice gear you were buying earlier in the same event chain.

Everything about the set points at sentries. It hands you extra sentry slots, so four staffs can be planted at once instead of one, and it rewrites what the Flameburst line does. The turrets reach much further, throw faster, watch a far wider arc in front of them, and their explosions cover a much bigger square. The Phantom Phoenix gets the same explosion upgrade. In practice you set up before the fight starts and the arena keeps shooting while you concentrate on staying alive.

This is the mage set for players who lose runs to dodging. Spectre asks you to keep attacking to heal and keep aiming to do damage, and if kiting a mechanical boss already takes all your attention, that is a lot to hold at once. Dark Artist takes the damage output off your mouse hand. Defense matches the Spectre mask variant, and it wins outright on magic damage and by a wide margin on critical rate, so you are giving up very little for the change in style. What you do not get are the Spectre set bonuses, so no healing and no homing.

The summon damage is high enough to edge past Spooky armor, which makes this a real minion option even though it adds no minion slots. A Xeno Staff or Stardust Dragon Staff worn under it hits noticeably harder. Stack the usual accessories, Papyrus Scarab with Necromantic Scroll or Pygmy Necklace, then top up from a Bewitching Table and a Summoning Potion before a boss. The missing slots are the one thing Spooky still does better.