The Destroyer

"You feel vibrations from deep below..."

The Destroyer is a Hardmode Mechanical Boss which is essentially a harder version of the Eater of Worlds. Like the Eater of Worlds, The Destroyer is a very large Worm. Though it appears to be similarly made up of many segments, individual segments cannot die, and The Destroyer will not split apart into multiple enemies. The entire body has a single shared health bar, and The Destroyer will remain at full size until it is killed.

The Destroyer can spawn randomly on any given night once Hardmode begins, as long as it has not yet been defeated in the current world. It can also be summoned manually using a Mechanical Worm at night. Night time is the only condition required for summoning (unlike Eater of Worlds, which requires a Corruption biome). Its arrival is announced by one of two messages: "You feel a quaking from deep underground..." or "You feel vibrations from deep below...." It must be killed before dawn, otherwise it will despawn. If this message pops up and you log out, it will not spawn.

Each of The Destroyer's segments contains a red-lit Probe, which are independent flying enemies that are launched periodically as The Destroyer takes damage. They fire lasers at the player, both while within The Destroyer and when detached. Probes can be killed individually once detached. If the red light is missing from a segment, it means the Probe was already launched from that segment. On the, The Destroyer's body is immune to all debuffs, though the launched Probes are not.

Tips

 * Using a Magic Mirror to escape from The Destroyer will not cause it to despawn. It will follow the player back to their spawn, no matter how far away it is. Because of this, a great strategy for players is to set their spawn point near a Nurse and use a Magic Mirror when their health is low and to heal back up.
 * Piercing weapons can strike multiple sections, making them especially effective. Similarly, explosive weapons can catch multiple sections in their blast radius. Making a fully-enclosed room and using ricocheting weapons can also be effective.
 * The Fetid Baghnakhs, Slime Mount, Nimbus Rod, and Cannon are all effective.
 * The Destroyer spawns off-screen bunched-up like a coil. If the player is quick enough, they can reach the Destroyer in that state and end the fight in a matter of seconds using a piercing weapon.
 * Building a long skybridge of Asphalt Blocks and using a ranged weapon can make the fight easier &mdash; simply run continuously in one direction while firing backwards.
 * Weapons such as the Crystal Serpent can hit multiple times against different segments and can decimate the Destroyer with correct Mage equipment.
 * A Shotgun with Crystal Bullets can do massive damage to the segments.
 * In Expert Mode, avoid its head at all costs, as it can cause massive damage (nearly 200).
 * On the, using a Daedalus Stormbow with Holy Arrows and the Magic Quiver, a player can defeat The Destroyer in a matter of seconds, and is obtainable right after defeating the Wall of Flesh.
 * On the, firing Heart Arrows at its head will immobilize it entirely.

Trivia

 * The Destroyer had the most total health of any Boss before the Moon Lord was added. It still has the most health of any single enemy.
 * The Destroyer is the mechanical version of the Corruption's Eater of Worlds, while there is no mechanical version of the Brain of Cthulhu from The Crimson.
 * The previous record for killing The Destroyer was 2.8 seconds with a Heat Ray, but this was beaten by 2 seconds with a Last Prism.

History

 * Drops now appear at the location of the segment that was closest to the player on defeat, instead of from the head.

Le Destructeur