The Destroyer

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"You feel vibrations from deep below..."

The Destroyer is a Hardmode Boss, and is 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 enemy instead has a single shared Health, and will remain at full size until it is killed.

The Destroyer is summoned using a Mechanical Worm at Night. Night time is the only condition required for summoning. It must be killed before dawn, otherwise it despawns. In the PC version it can also spawn naturally and spawns following the prompt 'You feel a quaking from deep underground...' or 'You feel vibrations from deep below...'.

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. If the red light is missing from a segment, it means the Probe was already launched from that segment.

In the PC version the Destroyer is immune to all debuffs. However, the probes are not.

Tips
Due to its unlimited piercing ability, the Heat Ray can deal over 8000-10000 damage per shot if it hits most to all of the segments and the right accessories are used, killing the destroyer within 3-5 seconds. necessary are: Starband of regeneration and obsidian shield. The Cutlass is a rapid swing melee weapon and will continuously swing so aiming at the part where multiple segments of The Destroyer come in contact is crucial!
 * The Destroyer is considered to be the easiest of the Hardmode bosses, despite it being the Hardmode version of the mid-difficulty Eater of Worlds. However, if you are not good at dodging attacks, this boss can be troublesome, as it (as well as its probes) will shoot A LOT of lasers.
 * Because of this, this boss is the easiest to farm for Hallowed Bars and Souls of Might, and can be a very profitable way of making money. By crafting Gungnirs and selling them (30 gold per Gungnir, possibly even more with a modifier) and selling the Souls (2 gold per soul), one can make more than a platinum per boss battle.
 * You can stand in place to destroy The Destroyer, but you need the following armor and weapons: Titanium Armor and Cutlass. The Cutlass can be obtained from Pirate Invasions! Make sure your defense is higher than 55 and he'll do one to five damage. Other items

The Destroyer is the only one whose movement can be somewhat controlled. Being a worm-type, it needs blocks in order to maneuver, and can only launch above-ground for a limited height. For The Destroyer, that height can be sizable; around 3/4 of the screen (even in 1680x1050 resolution), but this weakness can still be exploited, for example by setting up a bridge of Wood Platforms high above the ground, preventing The Destroyer from reaching the player.
 * Consider using penetrating weapons, such as the Poison Staff, Demon Scythe, Magical Harp, Golden Shower, Dao of Pow, Star Cannon, Ice Sickle, or even Boulders. Additionally using ammo like Meteor Shot, Hellfire Arrows, Jester's Arrows and Holy Arrows can deal damage to multiple parts causing major damage. The Stake Launcher is particularly effective, and with the right equipment can eliminate The Destroyer in under a minute.