The Destroyer


 * This article is about the boss. For the painting, see The Destroyer (Painting)

 is the Hard Mode version of the Eater Of Worlds that was added in the 1.1 update. It has a total of 80,000 health and is made of metal, just like Skeletron Prime's head and hands and The Twins in their second form. The Destroyer sends out small flying enemies called Probes that shoot lasers as they lose health.



The Destroyer, unlike the Eater of Worlds, does not break apart when individual pieces lose all of their HP. Instead, it dies as one entity with loot dropping from the segment closest to the player.

The Destroyer sometimes spawns at night during hardmode, with the message "You feel vibrations from deep below..." appearing the previous dusk.

Tips

 * Base level, recommended equipment for this fight is Adamantite Armor. At least 2 potions of each kind that increase your stats or help you fight (Ironskin Potion, Thorns Potion, Gravitation Potion, Hunter Potion, Swiftness Potion, Shine Potion, Night Owl Potion ) and Greater Healing Potions for recovery.
 * It is advised to use weapons that can pierce through multiple targets, such as Holy Arrows, Unholy Arrows, Jester Arrows, Flamethrower, the Demon Scythe, or just a broadsword or spear. The Flamethrower is effective because it rapidly inflicts high damage and passes through at least 3 segments per shot. The Magical Harp,Cursed Flames and Golden Shower are also efficient against this boss.
 * The boss is immune to debuffs, but the probes aren't, so cursed attacks or the Dao of Pow will be very effective on them.
 * Much like its lesser form, The Destroyer is not very effective when faced with players on platforms. Making platforms with 15 spaces in between each will ensure the boss itself doesn't reach the player, however its lasers can still shoot you, and be sure to give yourself plenty of running space, about 80 blocks wide.
 * Probes are useful for healing (33% chance of dropping a heart). If you have good defense and ration these hearts, it is possible to win without using any potions.
 * It is advised to fight the probes and other projectile shooting monsters such as Gastropods as the lasers combined can finish you off from The Destroyer's attack.
 * A Nimbus Rod can be used to deal some extra damage while the player attacks the boss with other weapons, but if used correctly, can take the destroyer down all by itself.
 * Recommended accessories for this boss are Star Cloak, Philosopher's Stone, Cross Necklace or their upgrades to increase survivability. For more defense, all accessories should be reforged to Warding.

Ranged 'Death From Above' Methods

 * 1) You'll need: an Adamantite/Titanium Repeater and/or a Clockwork Assault Rifle, a large number of Hellfire Arrows and/or Crystal/Exploding Bullets, and a few Gravitation Potions.
 * 2) * Start the battle and fly over The Destroyer, firing away with your ranged weapon of choice.
 * 3) * A long sky bridge built away from your house with a hole to shoot through would also aid with this method.
 * 4) * You can also use spells with piercing abilities using this method. Magical Harp, Golden Shower and Demon Scythe are considered good choices. Combining them with a Nimbus Rod will increase your DPS. For best effect, aim the spells so they pass through multiple segments of its body.
 * 5) Make a giant ceiling just out of its reach, grapple onto it and shoot it with a powerful weapon such as the Star Cannon or the Hallowed Repeater.
 * 6) * Instead of grappling, you can drink a Gravitation Potion for ease of maneuverability.
 * 7) * Laser shooting probes will still be able to reach you with this method; have a plan to deal with them.
 * 8) * Alternatively, use a Rope line for ease of maneuverability. Allow for possible slips by making 'safety' lines further down.
 * 9) * With this method, a Nimbus Rod is very helpful, as you can build a skybridge, make a hole, put in platforms, and the rain will go through, and hit him.

Explosives Method
Each individual block of Explosives inflicts about 500-800 damage. About 2-3 groups of explosives should be enough to kill the boss.
 * 1) Rig up a wire system with Explosives in several groups and a lever.
 * 2) Place the clusters of explosives about 15 blocks apart.
 * 3) Activate the trap when The Destroyer is crossing them.

Fireworks Method
This method is similar to the Explosives Method, although easier and quite alot more colourful. Fireworks deal heavy damage to the boss, and because The Destroyer is so long, he should be very easy to hit. Note: More or less fireworks may be needed depending on how many fireworks hit the boss, but if you do this correctly, the boss goes down relatively quickly and you do not have to use any form of ammunition. Also, the fireworks make the boss kill quite marvellous to look at.
 * 1) Buy about 200-300 fireworks from the Party Girl (any colour will do)
 * 2) Place all of your fireworks along a flat piece of land where you wish to fight The Destroyer
 * 3) Summon The Destroyer, and let loose all of your fireworks when the boss is above you.

Arena Methods

 * 1) Build a room or arena out of dungeon bricks, buy as many explosives as possible and throw Grenades, Dynamite or Bombs.
 * 2) * An arena that has several small rooms can prevent The Destroyer from firing lasers at you, effectively reducing taken damage, however you must still avoid the rest of The Destroyer's body as well.
 * 3) * You could make a room for the Nurse at the top to help you with healing. Prepare some coins for this
 * 4) * Note that a Wyvern could spawn and kill the Nurse.
 * 5) Any weapon that can bounce off the walls multiple times (Water Bolt, Crystal Storm or Cursed Flames) will be useful with this method.

Tanking Methods
The below strategies require that you have a high defense rating (50+), which can be achieved with accessories reforge to warding and Adamantite/Titanium Armor. Additionally, you may also use Nimbus Rod with this setup for extra DPS.
 * 1) Simply battle him on the ground, melee him and retreat when your health falls to dangerous levels (it'll take a good while though). Auto-swing weapons like the Cutlass, Phasesaber are the best choice with this method.
 * 2) * A flail(ideally, the Dao of Pow) can also be used with this method. Simply use the flail and keep it out, and let the boss run through both you and the flail.
 * 3) * Death Sickle is also a good choice for this method, as it deals massive DPS against the boss
 * 4) *Making a small box and fill it with Spiky Balls so when the destroyer comes, he'll deal more damage to himself than you.
 * 5) For this method you will need approximately 50-60 armor and the Crystal Storm spell. Create a tower and just stand inside it for the entire battle.
 * 6) * The Destroyer will pass through you and you can use the Crystal Storm weapon to deal immense amounts of damage to him really quickly.
 * 7) * You will likely be heavily harmed, but the probes will die quite quickly and can be relied upon for healing.

Coil Method
A method that takes advantage of the Destroyer's unusual spawning tendencies, the coil method is one of the fastest ways to kill the Destroyer in late-game play, when farming for souls and money.
 * This strategy takes advantage of the fact that the Destroyer spawns in a single "coil", with half or three-quarters of its body overlapping within a 5-10 block space.
 * To begin with, create a thin layer of 10-20 blocks (optional) for the boss to spawn on, positioned a good bit off the ground. The Destroyer tends to spawn on whatever "structure" is closest to the player, but still off-screen, and this will ensure the coil is created aboveground.
 * Next, position yourself well above the ground. Use any type of Wings to carry yourself up to a platform ,and summon the boss using a Mechanical Worm. It is recommended for the ground to be well out of your view.
 * Finally, fly down to the ground where you created the block layer. If done correctly, you should see the coil of Destroyer parts aboveground. Fire at this with a penetrating weapon (Golden Shower, Magical Harp, etc.), and massive damage should ensue.

Cannon Method
A method used to take advantage of the Destroyer`s body length, with each shot dealing a high amount of damage. This strategy is also in version 1.2 or higher.
 * This strategy takes advantage of the fact that the Destroyer is really easy to hit.
 * First, create 2 or 3 levels of wooden platforms. Then, somewhere near the center on the top level, add a cannon (pointed upwards).
 * Then, go to the pirate and buy a lot of cannonballs from him. Also, make sure you have a decent amount of potions and a relatively high defense stat.
 * Before summoning the Destroyer with the Mechanical Worm, go to the cannon. Finally, continuously launch cannonballs into the air, and you should easily defeat the Destroyer

Summoner method
This method includes using summoned minions to aid in the boss fight, spiders to be exact since they are the best obtainable minion before killing any of the mechanical bosses.
 * First you will need the Spider Staff and a whole set of Spider Armor. The maximum number of minions used with this setup will be 4. The Queen Spider Staff is optional since the damage done by it is underwhelming and since it despawns after time, it will need to be placed again. This can cause distractions which can cost you health. Place background walls in your arena to allow the spiders to roam free and attack Destroyer with greater efficiency.
 * Combining this method with other weapons with high DPS is quite effective.

Trivia

 * The highest possible DPS against the Destroyer can be achieved using a Rainbow Gun (preferably reforged to "Mythical") along with damage-boosting accessories (Sorcerer Emblem, Avenger Emblem, Destroyer Emblem, etc.) reforged to "Menacing" or "Lucky".

Bugs

 * If the Destroyer is summoned when the player is on a Floating Island and the player jumps off, the Destroyer's body will be stuck in one place in the air.
 * A bug causes the Destroyer's head to get detached from the body if more than two are spawned at a time.
 * Sometimes, The Destroyer will get stuck for a short time for no reason.
 * There is a very rare chance that when you summon a Destroyer it may look like an Eater of Worlds. It will still act like the Destroyer and have exactly the same health as the Destroyer.
 * Rarely the Destroyer will die and the achievement/trophy will be given "The jungle will grow restless" but no drops will be given.