Terrariais a 2D sandbox game with an emphasis on exploring different biomes and battling the memorable variety of bosses lurking there. The recent 1.4.4 update has altered pre-existing content and also added in a few more bosses, which means reaching the endgame poses an even bigger challenge.
The following strategy guide lists each main boss thatTerrariaplayers will need to face off in a standard playthrough, plus advice on how to defeat them.Terraria’s side bosses are not in this list, since defeating them doesn’t immediately progress the game despite useful reward drops.
Players should note this guide is based on the 1.4.4 PC and console version ofTerraria; variations may be present between previous versions and platforms. There are also preexisting articles dedicated tospecificTerrariabuilds and strategies, so not every viable tip will appear here.
15Pre-Hardmode Bosses
1.4.4 now boasts three separate difficulties: Normal, Expert and Master. In Expert Mode,Terrariaboss AI can enter into more difficult battle phases and use different attacks, whereas Master Mode pushes the health and damage levels higher.
This guide accounts for both Normal and Expert boss phases, since players attempting a ‘Master Boss Run’ are likely experienced players already. Therefore, newer players would benefit from exploring the entire game world in between boss encounters to have a suitably strong loadout for defeating the tough bosses.
Examples of ‘practice’ bosses include Eye of Cthulhu, King Slime, or Skeletron, all of which are technically unnecessary for unlocking Hardmode. Ultimately, it is up to player choice depending onhow many non-main bosses they decide to battlebefore exploring the Underworld.
On a standard playthrough, a world seed will be randomly generated for players to explore to their heart’s content.Terrariamakes a distinction between worlds that have a Corruption biome and a Crimson biome, since both Brain of Cthulhu and Eater of Worlds will not naturally spawn in the same world.
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14Brain of Cthulhu - Phase One
Assuming this is the first boss that players are attempting to tackle, and theirTerrariamap has generated a Crimson biome, Brain of Cthulhu (BoC) serves as a good wake-up call to test players. After avoiding attacks from pesky Crimson monsters, players have to destroy three Crimson Hearts in order to spawn the BoC.
The BoC is impervious to attack during Phase 1, meaning players first need to focus on destroying the Creeper minions that surround it. Weapons with the On Fire! debuff are a useful choice for this battle, as Creepers are susceptible to damage from early game weapons such as Molotov Cocktails and Flaming Maces.
Destroying a Crimson Heart and other Crimson crates also gives a 20-25% chance of dropping the Rotted Fork weapon, which is very effective during both BoC battle phases. Another useful strategy against defeating the Creepers isgetting the Demolitionist to move into theTerrariaworld, which allows the player to buy grenades from the Demolitionist.
Using fiery/explosive weapons allows the Creepers to be taken out in quick succession, especially if the player decides to craft Sticky Grenades using Slime gel. The Creepers also have a 50% chance to drop a Heart if the player is below full health, so healing during battle is made easier no matter the difficulty setting.
13Brain of Cthulhu - Phase Two
After destroying all Creepers and triggering Phase 2, the BoC will attempt to ram the player and teleport in random directions, which makes targeting and attacking it more difficult. The aforementioned Rotted Fork and explosive weapons are also useful for dealing effective damage to the BoC, with combined knockback and fiery debuffs allowing the player to keep clear from ramming attacks.
In Expert Mode, the BoC will spawn three mirror images of itself which become less distinct as the boss loses health. However, while they can all deal damage on contact, only the real one will possess a visible health bar.
Observant players will notice several impactful changes to the BoC compared to previous versions. As well as a notable HP increase, it no longer has a map icon during Phase 2 and Expert/Master illusions now become opaque much faster than before. Thankfully, there is also a safe teleportation range around the player during Phase 1, preventing BoC from teleporting directly onto the player.
With enough preparation, the Brain of Cthulhu can be defeated by the player early on and yield useful early game loot for progress. This includes Crimtane Ore, Lesser Healing Potions, and potential trophies with a lower drop rate. Crimtane Ore, much like its Corruption counterpart, is a vital step to progression.
12Eater of Worlds
If theTerrariaworld seed doesn’t spawn a Crimson biome, it will instead spawn a Corruption biome, with its own unique layout and boss. Unlike Brain of Cthulhu, the Eater of Worlds (EoW) boss boasts a high health bar and much larger body, but beating EoW can be achieved with a bit of arena preparation.
The EoW may seem daunting due to its size and large health bar, but this is because it is made up of multiple body sections that all have a small amount of health. Its AI is also somewhat simplistic and therefore easy to exploit even in early game, provided the player has patience to hollow out parts of the Corruption for this purpose.
The EoW spawns after three Shadow Orbs have been destroyed, tunneling through the ground and occasionally re-emerging in order to attack the player. Destroying a Shadow Orb also has the chance to drop a Vilethorn, a magic piercing weapon which is extremely useful for battling EoW from a distance.
Since the EoW boss doesn’t have phases, players can focus on building platforms or a terrain loop in the Corruption to lure it above the ground but out of reach from the player character. This technique works regardless of difficulty as it causes EoW to loop above and below ground periodically, but players should be mindful of Vile Spit attacks on Expert Mode and above.
Destroying the head or tail also reduces speed, which means using arrows and other ranged weapons like flails can damage the head and body sections in a row. It is recommended to attack EoW in a straight line rather than its midsection, as this can cause it to split into multiple worm bodies and harder to beat as a result.
Every Eater of Worlds section that is destroyed drops a few Demonite Ore and Shadow Scales. Note that it isn’t necessary to completely destroy the boss to progress, but the more Demonite Ore that is collected will yield more crafting and selling opportunities.
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11Wall of Flesh
Those seeking the endgame will need to activateTerraria’s’Hardmode' by killing the Wall of Flesh. This is technically the only pre-Hardmode boss that needs to be defeated, but doing so is almost impossible without the Deathbringer Pickaxe or the Nightmare Pickaxe (hence the pre-requisite for defeating Brain of Cthulhu/Eater of Worlds).
Using these pickaxes, the player can journey deep beneath the surface tofight the Underworld enemiesand mine out Hellstone. This becomes an important step for successfully battling the Wall of Flesh (WoF) on any difficulty; the boss design ensures that a pre-built arena path is almost a requirement.
Starting from one side of the Underworld, players should build a long wooden platform path several blocks above the lava, and mining out the Hellstone blocks in the vicinity where necessary. Placing passive regenerative health items (i.e: Heart Lanterns, Campfires) at frequent points can make the battle more bearable, especially with the random Hungry attacks protruding from the WoF.
The WoF boss battle is triggered by a Guide Voodoo Doll being dropped into lava, which is obtained from Voodoo Demons in the Underworld with a 100% drop rate. As a result, players should be careful about killing Voodoo Demons before they are ready to battle the WoF, as well as ensuring the Guide is alive before attempting to take on the boss.
In battle, the WoF can only be damaged by attacking either of the eyes or the mouth, meaning weapons with a ranged attack and high piercing ability are recommended. Examples include the Sunfury flail (which can be found in Shadow Chests in the Underworld to keep the Hungry at bay) and the Molten Fury bow with Jester’s arrows (both of which can be crafted with relative ease after reaching the Underworld.)
While play styles vary, a combination of powerful weapons and lots of healing items plus a spacious arena will make theWall of Flesh an easier foe to defeatfor many players.
10Hardmode Bosses
After beating the Wall of Flesh,Terraria’sHardmode will activate, giving the player access to stronger weapons and emblems. This also means the game can be beaten, but not before progressing through a series of tougher bosses that are unlocked sequentially.
It is highly recommended that players make good use of time exploring biomes and crafting more defense items to match the increase in attack/defense stats from boss monsters. For example, the Hallow biome spawns after WoF has been defeated, and killing Hallowed enemies can result inuseful but rare item drops for powerful weapons(e.g: Unicorn Horn and Pixie Dust for crafting Holy Arrows).
Depending on the chosen play style (Melee, Ranged, Magic, Summoning), the wide selection of armor and weapons allows for the player to experiment with what they find most effective. The next step in reachingTerraria’sendgame requires all three of the following mechanical bosses to be destroyed: The Twins, The Destroyer and Skeletron Prime.
These bosses can appear in any order, so players should make good use of making space for battles, regardless of enemy type. It is also highly recommended to explore the Jungle biome after defeating one of the mechanical bosses to obtain Life Fruit, which offers a permanent health boost.
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9The Twins - Phase 1
The Twins consist of two separate eye-shaped monstersthat will attack the player in combination. They have a 10% chance of spawning at nighttime if a Demon/Crimson altar is destroyed (depending on Corruption/Crimson biome generation) and have two phases similar to the Eye of Cthulhu.
The Twins are named Retinazer and Spazmatism, differentiated by their respective red and green irises: Retinazer shoots lasers at the player, while Spazmatism fires green Cursed Flames. As well as increased health and attack powers, The Twins possess rapid-fire attacks and charges that can be difficult to dodge.
Due to the speed and flying height that The Twins can reach, mobility items such as Lightning Boots and Wings are a must for rapid movement and dodging attacks. Farming for potions is a useful tip for any boss, but with the Twins in particular Swiftness and Archery potions are recommended for keeping your distance while dealing high damage.
It is recommended when fighting these bosses to focus purely on one eye first rather than battling both simultaneously. This is because Phase 2 begins once Retinazer and/or Spazmatism reach roughly 40% of their health, causing their forms to change and become even tougher to defeat.
8The Twins - Phase 2
In the second phase, both Twins will speed up and attack with more sporadic patterns. Retinazer shoots more lasers which deal greater damage, while Spazmatism charges rapidly like the Eye of Cthulhu’s second phase. Even with a high-tier collection of items, the Phase 2 speed of both Twins can catch players off guard.
Tricks like the ‘Retinazer Cheese’ strategy can make the second phase easier, but it does require focusing attacks on Spazmatism first (preferably during Retinazer’s Phase 1) to leave only Retinazer behind. Since Retinazer doesn’t charge attack in either phase, the player can build a protective later of blocks around them to easily deflect lasers and use magic summons to kill instead.
7The Destroyer
The Destroyer resembles the Eater of Worlds, except it is much longer and mechanical. Trying to use similar tactics on the Destroyer boss offer limited success, as the Hardmode variety comes with increased difficulty parameters.
The Destroyer is immune to all debuffs (apart from being stunned by Heart Arrows), so it is recommended to equip weapons that do multiple piercing attacks instead such as the Daedalus Stormbow or the Star Cannon. This is also beneficial for taking out the probes which appear during the battle, which also have a 50% drop rate of Hearts to assist players.
Keeping your distance is vital in this battle; therefore it is advised that players build a minimum of two long platforms that they can easily jump/hover/fly between when fighting the Destroyer. to reduce risk of NPCs getting damaged, these battle platforms should be built above ground and far away from any buildings.
Other optional battle bonuses include a teleporting device such as a mirror to get distance from the Destroyer, because it won’t despawn until the player kills it. Ensuring players can overcome the speed of attacks and deal continuous damage, the Destroyer can go down easier than the other mechanical bosses.
6Skeletron Prime
The Skeletron Prime battlecan be considered the most demanding mechanical boss for first time players, but beating it can be done with patience and a good stockade of Ichor weapons. This battle factors into a similar way to the pre-Hardmode Skeletron; despite technically being one of the side bosses, newer players may benefit from getting practice before handling Prime.
As well as using Ichor weapons periodically for the debuff, Summon weapons are incredibly useful for consistent ranged attacks thanks to the targeting function. Focused attacks on one arm at a time are beneficial, because random un-targeted attacks can result in wasted ammo and missed attack opportunities; splash damage weapons are a good secondary contender if players are not experienced with targeting.
Another important factor is the order that players attempt to destroy Skeletron Prime in. Beginning with the Prime Laser arm first is doubly useful for removing the speedy laser projectiles quickly, and ensuring the head has less defense in battle.
It is not necessary to destroy all four arms before battling the head, but it is advised to remove at least the Prime Laser and Prime Vice arms for the best chance of attacking Skeletron Prime’s head at a rapid pace. With sufficient arena space and healing items, Skeletron Prime should be easy enough to take down with the rest of the Mechanical Bosses.
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