The Destroyer

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The Destroyer is a Hardmode mechanical boss which is essentially a more difficult version of the Eater of Worlds. Like the Eater of Worlds, it is a very large worm. Although 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 defeated.

The Destroyer can be summoned manually using a Mechanical Worm at night. Nighttime is the only condition required for summoning (unlike Eater of Worlds, which requires a Corruption biome). It can also spawn naturally upon dusk with a chance of 10% once a Demon or Crimson Altar has been smashed, as long as it has not yet been defeated in the current world. If spawning this way, its arrival is announced by the status message: "" ( alternatively "You feel a quaking from deep underground..."). It must always be killed before dawn, otherwise, it will despawn.

Each of The Destroyer's segments contains a red-lit, which is an independent flying enemy that is launched periodically as The Destroyer takes damage. Probes fire lasers at the player, both while within The Destroyer and when detached. They 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 and its Probes are immune to all debuffs.

While The Destroyer is alive, music Boss 3 will play.

Tips

 * Using a Magic Mirror or other methods to teleport away (e.g. Teleportation Potion) to escape from The Destroyer will not cause it to despawn. It will always follow the player, no matter how far away they are.
 * With that in mind, teleporting around the world is an effective strategy to heal and avoid the boss.
 * Piercing weapons can strike multiple sections, making them especially effective. Similarly, area-of-effect damage can catch multiple sections in its radius. Making a fully-enclosed room and using ricocheting weapons can also be effective.
 * Some highly effective weapons are the Daedalus Stormbow with Holy Arrows, the Nimbus Rod, and the Cannon.
 * The head of The Destroyer has 0 defense. Although it might be very difficult to damage simply the head segment itself, doing so can greatly speed up the battle.
 * Note that in, the head can cause damage. Risky positioning should therefore be avoided.
 * Probes serve as a steady source of Hearts.
 * Using the Minimap to see where the Destroyer will surface may help with dodging.
 * Farming the Destroyer is a quick method for making money, as its drops can be used to craft multiple Light Discs, which sell for each.
 * Probes should not be ignored, as their lasers can cause severe harm. Note that Probes keep spawning as The Destroyer takes damage.

Trivia

 * Although there is no mechanical version of the Brain of Cthulhu, The Destroyer is partially resemblant of it due to its ability to spawn Probes, similarly to how the Brain of Cthulhu spawns Creeper minions.
 * The Destroyer had the most total health of any boss before the was added. It still has the most health of any single enemy, as the Moon Lord's total health is the combined health of all its body parts.
 * On the, on which the Moon Lord is not available, The Destroyer still has the most total health of any boss.
 * The Destroyer will always have 10 times as much health as the Wall of Flesh, even if it is a multiplayer game in.
 * The Destroyer has many small metal devices jutting out of it that can both resemble -like legs or wheels.
 * Despite the status message saying "" or "You feel a quaking from deep underground...", The Destroyer will not spawn if the player is underground.
 * Some teasers for the release included The Destroyer having blue-lit segments instead of red.
 * The Destroyer is not the only boss to drop Souls of Might. On the, Lepus, which can be spawned during Easter, has a 1% chance to drop 3 Souls of Might. However, they are of no use during pre-Hardmode, as crafting any item from them requires a Hardmode Anvil.

History
Der Zerstörer Le Destructeur 毁灭者