Guide:Wall of Flesh strategies

The Wall of Flesh (or WoF) is a huge... well, wall of flesh. It has two eyes, which shoots lasers at you, and one mouth. It also has many small creatures near it called The Hungry. They are connected to the WoF with long tendrils, which break once the Hungry take enough damage, releasing them to fly toward you.

Once you have beaten the Wall of Flesh, you will receive an ominous message and your world will enter Hardmode.

Summoning The Wall of Flesh
To summon the WoF, go to the Underworld, kill a Voodoo Demon carrying a Guide Voodoo Doll and collect it. Drop it into a lava pool in The Underworld to awake the WoF (Wall Of Flesh)

Note that this will not work if the Guide is not currently alive, or if you still have the Horrified debuff from a previous fight for some reason. It has to be the lava in the Underworld. Some people report better success summoning by dropping the doll from their hotbar. A word of warning, the WoF can accidentally be summoned by killing a voodoo demon over lava and allowing the voodoo doll to fall into the lava. When this happens, you have 2 options. Save and quit, or go and stay to fight, and possibly fail.

Preparations
Before you start, make sure the guide is alive and the horrified debuff (if you tried defeating it beforehand) is gone, otherwise the Wall Of Flesh will not be summoned when you throw the voodoo doll into the lava.

There are multiple approaches you can take for fighting this boss, each having several strategic implications.

Full Arena Preparation
The Wall of Flesh, more than any previous boss, benefits from preparing the area ahead of time. An optimal arena is a perfectly flat land bridge of length at least 500 blocks, although you can need as much as 2000 with poor equipment. Lighting is relatively optional as the area will be well-lit from lava and other effects. Note that the height of the bridge does not especially matter, as the Wall of Flesh will move its eyes and mouth to the appropriate height for combat on its own.

Headroom to maneuver above the bridge may be useful, and additional wooden platforms can provide further mobility options. A fancy lava altar for sacrificing the voodoo doll can be a nice touch.

A fully fleshed-out arena allows for extended melee combat and makes the fight go much faster. Conversely, ranged weapons lose many of their advantages.

It also helps tremendously for players who tend to get hit often(or just as a precaution) to station the nurse about halfway through the arena to heal yourself, even if you have the potion sickness debuff. If the house is small enough, you can jump over it easily. The nurse dying is unlikely, especially if she is in her house and the doors are closed; even without her in her house, the wall should pass over her without serious damage.

If you have survived a goblin army by now, a cheap method is to spread Spiky Balls on the bridge of the arena as the WoF will level itself to the bridge and the mouth should run into them. 500 to 1000 is a generous amount, though less can be used.

The following potions are recommended.


 * Ironskin Potions will give the much needed defense boost. Each point of defense is more valuable than the last; the effects of this potion will be quite noticeable to most players.


 * Regeneration Potion is another useful survivability boost.


 * Obsidian Skin Potion is good for when you meet the end of your area. A precaution, really.


 * Several Healing Potions. The fight lasts a few minutes, so bring at least five to be safe.


 * If not using an arena, use a Gravitation Potion and Featherfall Potion and all of the other potions above to help to stay in the air for the time.

Partial Preparation
If a full arena isn't desired, or you're not interested in wasting time on a world you don't intend to keep, you can make less extensive preparations. Run your bridge over any lava pits, make sure there aren't any especially difficult jumps to make, and clear a path through any major outcroppings. You may want to extend your work to closer to 750 blocks, as the fight will drag on while you jump over obstacles.

Partial preparation favors ranged combat, as you won't be within melee range often. You also will need to keep a bigger distance to account for any slow climbing you'll need to do. If you have large flat segments, those would be good times to close to melee.

No Preparation
Diving right in headfirst is not recommended for the first attempt, and has a chance to be fatal regardless of the armor you have, since a large overhang with a lake of lava beneath it can easily deadlock you.

Without any preparation, melee combat is all but impossible, and you may even run into impassible places where you'll have to dig ahead with your pickaxe. Without hardmode gear, the fight becomes nearly impossible for a single player on their first attempts. Experienced players, players looking for a challenge, or simply cocky players are welcome to try this fight without an arena.

With no arena at all, the following potions are recommended:


 * Gravitation Potion. Yes, walking is something you got used to, but it is easiest to hold left or right and press up and down sometimes while concentrating on fighting than planning how not to be smashed into wall.


 * Featherfall Potion is good addition to gravity potion.


 * Obsidian Skin Potion is good thing too, but only if there is exposed lava left.


 * Water Walking Potion may be advisable if you have trouble getting out of liquids, as you will be able to walk on lava.This will allow you to focus on battling the WoF An Obsidian Skin Potion is not needed; just make sure you watch your buff time, as you will fall straight in when the buff ends, easily ruining your run.


 * Shine Potion and Night Owl Potion can help a lot more than you'd think, since Hell is pretty dark.


 * Swiftness Potion This is extremely useful to keep outrunning the WoF, especially once it's low on health and moving far faster than normal. Though,  Swiftness Potions are only ever needed if you haven't reforged any of your accessories to a movement increasing prefix.

Equipment
While the Horrified debuff has the effect of instantly killing you when you use your Magic Mirror, it does so after you return to spawn, allowing you to recover your money and (on mediumcore) items instantly. Obviously, it's a last-ditch strategy, and one that serves no purpose for hardcore players.

Defense
Molten Armor is recommended, though Necro or even Shadow are valid options. A Cobalt Shield and Obsidian Skull are recommended accessories (or an Obsidian Shield). Having the Warding/Armored tags on your accessories is a huge big boon here. As previously mentioned, use of an Ironskin Potion is recommended in all cases.

Mobility
Choose mobility accessories as appropriate for your preparations. Spectre Boots are a very good accessory, especially if you have a bridge to run on. Though Rocket Boots alone may be better given they make a light particle and you probably will not benefit from the speed boosts of Hermes Boots without a flat area. If you do not have any of these items, a Gravitation Potion will work in a pinch, or may simply be a helpful addition.

Melee Weapons
A primary concern about melee in this fight is that you are constantly moving away from the boss. As it is impossible to back up while swinging a sword, weapons like Night's Edge are forced to stay dangerously close to the boss and catch it on the backswing if they wish to damage it directly.

A melee weapon especially helps when fighting the numerous Hungries, as one swing can hit many at once. Balanced characters may wish to start with a melee weapon to clear out the little creatures before switching to range or magic to fight the boss. The Wall of Flesh has a low defense, so the player isn't limited to necessarily using the strongest weapon that they have available.

Non-sword melee weapons, on the other hand, are at their best here. Spears like the Dark Lance and flails like Sunfury are devastating to this boss's large body and numerous small creatures. The player can keep a comfortable distance away, keep pace with its movements, and push out steady multihit attacks for massive damage. Getting either the Dark Lance or the Sunfury is recommended if the player intends to focus on melee.

The speed and auto-attack of the Muramasa and the spread damage of the Starfury make them viable options for thinning out the Hungries. Their low damage output and frontal swing makes them suboptimal for damaging the wall directly. Starting the fight by wiping out a large number of the Hungries with one of these two weapons is an option.

While they are obviously weapons of considerable range, the Flamarang and Thorn Chakram are considered melee, thus they benefit from the damage bonus of the Molten Armor set. They can be used after the Hungries have been mostly dealt with, as they are a safe, reliable, and inexpensive way to whittle him down. If several players are available for the fight, equipping each with a Flamarang is an easy way to take this boss down with minimal risk of death, or running out of ammo.

Night's Edge, despite being the third strongest weapon available to the player at this point, (behind the Phaseblade and Blade Of Grass) is not as powerful in this fight as it is in others. It is viable for fighting the Hungries, and thus is a good way to start the fight, but probably shouldn't be relied on for completing the entire battle.

Using melee weapons will probably mean that you are going to be taking damage, thus you might as well use a Thorns Potion to return some of that damage back.

Ranged Weapons
The ranged approach is safer but slower for this fight. When choosing ranged weapons consider taking the Necro Armor, as the set bonus will reduce the ammo consumed, and the lowered defense should be mitigated by the distance between you and the wall.

To avoid being overwhelmed when dealing with The Hungry make sure you are taking ammunition that has considerable piercing or explosive power. Gun users will want to use Meteor Shot with a Phoenix Blaster, while Bow users will want to use Hellfire Arrows or Jester's Arrows with a Molten Fury, and take advantage of the Archery Potion. With any choice, you will want to bring a significant amount of ammunition (about 1,500 to 2,000) to ensure you do not run out.

Once the Hungries have been thinned out, breaking out a Star Cannon can speed up the fight immensely. A Minishark also performs exceptionally well here due to the Wall of Flesh's low defense. Though a bit more cash consuming, the bullets are dealt out quickly for good damage in a decent amount of time. If done on multiplayer with more people it grows even quicker. As the weapon is automatic, it also allows the player to focus more on their movements.

Magic Weapons
Magic weapons are good as a ranged option for a melee character. Depending on your options, they can be quite potent. In all cases, a Magic Power Potion should be used to increase damage output and a Mana Flower along with plenty of Mana Potions and a Mana Regeneration Potion should be used to mitigate mana loss.

Jungle Armor can help increase your damage output, while decreasing your mana use, however its low defense makes it risky. Meteor Armor combined with the Space Gun is another option, but its defense is even less than the Jungle Armor. You can increase your defense with various defensive items and an iron skin potion.

When selecting your spells, use something that pierces or hits multiple enemies. Demon Scythe is considered the best option for this fight if you have it, since it can hit multiple targets and has a lot of range.

Flamelash and Magic Missile perform poorly in this fight. The rate of damage is abysmal when dealing with Hungries or the wall itself. They are good at hitting mobile enemies in a static environment, which is the exact opposite of the situation here.

When using magic you should probably have a backup plan for while your mana recharges. Use of the Mana Flower and many Mana Potions should mitigate your mana issues but it is best to be prepared. Ranged weapons are probably the best choice here, as gearing up for magic has probably left you low in defense. However if you kept a highly defensive armor then melee weapons are still valid. See the other sections for ideas on backup weapons that would work for you.

An easy strategy for magic users is to quickly cast a lot of spells and then retreat backwards and hide in an obsidian tower until the Wall of Flesh catches up with you. The walls will protect you from the lasers, allowing you to stand still and quickly regenerate mana.

Other considerations
If everything just not working out for you, try tackling this beast with friends. It will definitely help, considering that the WoF has three separate damage points sharing the same health. This will be more efficient if you just want the Pwnhammer, as you can trade with the player who gets it, or just grab it by yourself. If you feel like going lone wolf, try using all the buffs at the same time. The default key for quickbuff is b. Using quickbuff will save you time nitpicking which potion to use. Using quickheal (default h) will heal you with the healing potion closest to the top-left of your inventory (not including the hot-bar).

Explosives are an additional effective option. Grenades work particularly well if you're on a wooden platform, since they do not destroy tiles. If your platform is made of Hellstone or Hellstone Bricks, (which it's probably not, since there just isn't enough time to mine for that much ore) use of Bombs or Dynamite will work just fine. Hellstone will not be destroyed by Dynamite, making it a perfect choice for those who want to make quick work of WoF. Unlike the Grenade, the Bomb and Dynamite will not explode upon contact with WoF. Timing is of the essence when using those two explosives.

If you want to use a combination of weapons, the Demon Scythe and Star Cannon are your best choices. Another expensive way to kill the Wall of Flesh, (Or at least the hungry) is to set up explosives near where he will spawn. Step back to a spot you'll be safe with a lever,and when he's on the explosives pull the lever.

Threat Analysis

 * It has two large eyes. They shoot lasers at you, so it is good idea to be as far away from them as possible.
 * These share health. Defeat these to defeat the boss.
 * The eye lasers do not penetrate blocks, so a land bridge effectively eliminates half of the lasers.
 * There is also a mouth, which will deal heavy damage to you if you get caught inside.
 * This shares health with the eyes.
 * It seems to have a slightly higher defense, so you may favor attacking an eye instead.
 * There are many small creatures in front of it called Hungry, held to the wall by long tendrils.
 * If you kill them, they disconnect with one third health and will fly toward you.
 * These small creatures mostly block you from being able to attack the WoF until they are killed.
 * As you whittle down the WoF's health, the tendrils on any still-attached Hungry can reach out further, making it easier for them to reach you as well as interfere with ranged attacks.
 * WoF's travel speed will increase as its health is diminished, allowing it to catch up faster/forcing the player to retreat quicker.
 * The WoF's Mouth will spit leeches, which can damage you, but will also always drop a heart, making them useful to kill when you're low on health, but it is good to kill them almost immediately by aiming a ranged weapon at the mouth, as the leeches are one of the main sources of damage per second (DPS).

Strategy
The Wall will steadily move toward you, so keep your distance and plan ahead. If you get behind the Wall, it will pull you in front of it. You will be a little bit disoriented and possibly heavily damaged, so staying in front of it is absolutely a top priority. Magic users are recommended to run ahead of the wall when out of mana and take cover in a building, allowing them to stand still to regenerate mana without having to worry about lasers.

In general, the fight should start with the player unloading attacks in the general direction of the WoF. The first minute of the fight benefits strongly from piercing and explosive weapons, as the dozens of Hungry creatures block you from being able to damage the boss directly. (Grenades are great for taking down the Hungry, as grenades are relatively cheap [4 silver] and deal large amounts of splash damage.) Flails and lances are moderately effective here. The best weapon of all, perhaps, is the Demon Scythe or Water Bolt.

When the little creatures have been mostly eradicated, you can now focus on the eyes and mouth. Ranged players should, from about this point, take very little damage for the rest of the fight. Melee players, in contrast, may take hits from newly spawned Hungry and the occasional direct hit from the Wall, but will start to deal massive damage if they have a spear or flail. Swords are ineffective during this phase unless you are skilled and have a well-prepared arena.

Note that the Hungry tend to drop hearts when killed, so focusing on these can help you survive if you get low on health. The most common ways to die during this fight are falling into lava, or the WoF catching up with you. If you are unable to kill this boss, try making or improving an arena bridge. Don't forget about leeches that come out of the mouth, for they can kill you if you try to run away.

Keep in mind that the Wall becomes faster and the eyes shoot lasers more often as you defeat the wall. The leeches get faster also.

After defeating the boss, the loot will be enclosed suspended in a box, so lava is not a problem. Even if the loot does happen to fall in lava because of the item rarity only the coins and hearts will be destroyed.