Guide:Empress of Light strategies

The Empress of Light is a Hardmode post-Plantera boss fought in the Hallow.

Spawn Conditions
The Empress of Light can be spawned by killing a special critter, which is a rare critter that spawns in the surface Hallow during the night once Plantera has been defeated in the world. As it is a rare creature, it can be detected by the. The Prismatic Lacewing can only spawn between 7:30PM and 12:00AM, and only one can have spawned in the world at any given time.

Like most critters, the Prismatic Lacewing can be caught with any bug net, which can then be released, and killed, by the player manually. This can be used to spawn the boss at a more desired place and time. However, the critter will almost instantly despawn if released outside of the Hallow, so it must be killed quickly in order to summon the boss.

Time of Day
The Empress of Light, if summoned by a natural spawning Lacewing, will be fought at night. She will enrage if still alive or if summoned during the daytime, causing her attacks to do tens of thousands of damage, instantly killing players who are hit by her attacks. This enraged state is indicated by her attacks turning from rainbow to bright yellow.

She will always drop the if all damage dealt to her was during the day.

Attacks

 * Prismatic Bolts – Summons a cloud of prismatic bolts that home in on the player after a short time. These bolts do not have perfect tracking, and will miss if the player makes a sharp turn as they approach. If enraged, extra bolts are created, and they will spread out more before homing onto the player.
 * Dash Attack – Positions herself to the left or right of the player before charging horizontally in the player’s direction.
 * Sun Dance – Hovers above and slightly to the left of the player and emits 6 rays of light (8 if enraged) that slowly rotate clockwise. 3 sets of rays are created per sun dance, each positioned slightly more clockwise from the last.
 * Everlasting Rainbow – Releases a ring of 13 stars that spiral out clockwise, then spiral back in the same direction. These stars leave behind a trail of light that will damage the player.
 * Ethereal Lance – Summons a swarm of swords that launch in the direction the player was headed when they were summoned, telegraphed by colored beams. These swords are summoned behind where the player was moving, or all around the player if they were stationary. The swords do no damage until launched. If enraged, extra swords are summoned, and they will launch faster.

Attack Pattern
The Empress has set attack patterns for both of her phases.

First phase
When spawned, the Empress will hover in place for a few seconds before executing the following attacks in order:


 * 1) Prismatic Bolts
 * 2) Dash Attack
 * 3) Sun Dance
 * 4) Dash Attack
 * 5) Everlasting Rainbow
 * 6) Prismatic Bolts
 * 7) Dash Attack
 * 8) Ethereal Lance
 * 9) Dash Attack
 * 10) Everlasting Rainbow

This sequence of attacks will repeat indefinitely until the second phase starts.

Second phase
When the Empress is below half of her max health, she will disappear for a second, then reappear above the next estimated location of the player before executing a new set of attacks, with slightly shorter attack intervals than before:


 * 1) Ethereal Lance Ver. 2:  Summons four evenly spaced waves of swords that travel across the screen, telegraphed by colored beams. The first wave travels from the left side of the screen to the right, the second from right to left, the third wave from top-left to bottom-right, and the fourth wave from top-right to bottom-left.
 * 2) * If enraged, there will instead be six waves of swords that target specific points around the player instead of traveling from one side of the screen to the other. The first wave travels from the left side of the screen to the right of the player, the second wave from the right side to the left of the player, the third wave from top side to the bottom-right of the player, the fourth wave from top side to bottom-left of the player, the fifth wave from the bottom side to top-right of the player, and the sixth wave from the bottom side to top left of the player.
 * 3) Prismatic Bolts
 * 4) Dash Attack
 * 5) * If enraged, she will cast Ethereal Lance after the dash before resuming her normal pattern (targets where the player is rather than where they will be, or do nothing if the player is stationary)
 * 6) Everlasting Rainbow
 * 7) Prismatic Bolts
 * 8) Sun Dance
 * 9) Ethereal Lance
 * 10) Dash Attack
 * 11) Prismatic Bolts (Cast in a circle around the Empress instead of a cloud directly above her)

This sequence of attacks will repeat indefinitely until she is defeated.

Terrain Preparation
Seeing how Empress of Light's moves (namely Everlasting Rainbow, Prismatic Bolts and Sun Dance) can easily trap you; a wide, a large arena is strongly suggested for the fight against her if you don't possess an infinite-flying mount. The arena should span as far as your hallowed biome can be (this doesn't matter on Expert or Master as she will always use her enraged set, so you can span your arena even to space), and you should make it longer if your hallowed biome isn't large enough. At least long rows of 3-5 platforms fairly separated from each other will do.


 * Teleporters are recommended to easily avoid getting clustered by her moves, but be wary of her dash. Her prismatic bolts should also be taken note of due to them homing quite quickly and having a fair range.
 * Fighting her in the Ocean provides a large open space to move around which can help a lot.
 * A reliable strategy to defeat the Empress during the day is to lay down Minecart Tracks in a large loop. This has a distinct advantage over using Asphalt Blocks, because enemies cannot spawn on Minecart Tracks. Booster Tracks can also be used to quickly accelerate to full speed upon summoning the Empress. This is especially helpful on Expert or Master mode since the Mechanical Cart is available.

Armor

 * provides very solid stats and its incredible Holy Protection set bonus makes it a solid choice for all classes. This armor is especially useful when fighting her at day time when attempting to get the Terraprisma, as Holy Protection can consistently allow the player to survive the Empress' hits.
 * for a melee character will be better for maximum offense or defense, depending on the chest piece used.
 * The, and  make for the best magic armor in the game due to Valhalla's regeneration and the solid DPS found in the other two armor pieces. The  may be preferable instead to use two extra minions at the cost of regeneration.
 * is the best armor for Summoners.

Weapons
All classes can fare well with the Empress of Light.

For Melee users:

 * The is the best sword available with a fairly strong projectile that can hit three times. The  is a weaker alternative.
 * The is also viable thanks to its good damage and homing capabilities.
 * may also be used for good damage, although its reach is lacking.

For Ranged users:

 * The is a very strong option with great accuracy and power when using  or . The  can be seen as a weaker alternative.
 * The is the strongest gun available, with very high damage and good accuracy.  are the strongest available for use.
 * The Chain Gun with crystal or Chlorophyte Bullet s can be seen as weaker, but easier to use.
 * The is another good option, providing consistent and strong DPS with homing capabilities.
 * The is great to use against the Empress of Light while she's using her Sun Dance.

For Magic users:

 * is ideal due to its powerful defense-lowering Debuff.
 * The is a very good choice due to its consistent and high DPS on the fight. The  is an alternative with roughly the same mana cost/DPS ratio but shorter range. The  is a weaker version of both but can still be viable.
 * The may be utilized due to its homing capabilities at long range. However its very lacking DPS makes it a bad choice as a main weapon.

For Summoners:
Summoning Weapons are great for the Empress of Light during the day due to the fact that they'll target the Empress of Light and occur consistent damage. Use Summoning Weapons if you aren't great at dodging and attacking at the same time.


 * The is the best summoning weapon that you can use against the Empress of Light due to its constant DPS and perfect accuracy.
 * The may be used as a 'weaker alternative', losing the perfect accuracy for some more raw damage.
 * For whips, the is your best bet for boosting your minions' damage. The  may be utilized for you to be able to damage the Empress of Light yourself.

Accessories

 * Wings are a necessity in this fight, the or  being the best available for a boss fight.
 * The is the best accessory for Whips, giving them autoswing and boosting secondary melee weapons used after tagging the Empress.
 * The must be used for The Eye of Cthulhu.
 * The is an incredibly useful mobility item due to its dash alongside its dodge chance.
 * The and the  are great items for survivability.
 * During day time, the and  can allow the player to dodge an attack that would normally instantly kill them.
 * As a rangers, equipping both the and the  will maximize DPS. Due to their multiplicative increases, the  and its upgrades are slightly better choices for the.
 * The  is a very good choice for all classes due to its solid boosts to both offensive and defensive stats.
 * The is a solid magic damage item that can be solid with Star Statues for mana economy.
 * The and the  are good offensive summoner combat accessories, giving a total of 2 extra minion slots with better damage.
 * The give a very noticeable ascent speed boost and some utility on the ground with its extra running speed. They can be used together with a or one of its tinkers for even higher ascent speed.
 * The can be used for free by keeping it on a vanity slot and only swapping to it when a Healing Potion is used.
 * The is the best knockback immunity shield due to its high defense and  effect.
 * If you have already fought her at night and you are looking to challenge yourself during the day, the Soaring Insignia can help immensely if you are in a large, open space.
 * Note that this is an Expert Mode exclusive item.

Potions

 * The, , , , and are very helpful for their respective classes. Mana Regeneration in particular is by far the most important buff for magic users.
 * The, , and  will assist in survivability.
 * Any item that provides a buff, such as  and, can be used.

Others

 * The ability to teleport from the and the  can be useful to dodge hits.
 * In master mode worlds, the Hexxed Branch mount is useful to move quickly, as it very quickly reaches its max speed even while in the air. However, it cannot fly or double jump, using it without wings is not a good idea.
 * The and  mounts allow the player to quickly descend during the fight, making them the best mounts to use alongside Wings.

Minecart Strategy
Build a Minecart around the whole world. After summoning the Empress of Light, ride the Minecart around. The only dodging you'll do is when she starts using Prismatic Bolts, as the other attacks won't reach you.

You and What Army Strategy
Use multiple summoning items that give you attack minions. As they'll target the Empress of Light, you'll be free to focus on dodging. The Stardust Dragon is recommended for this.

As well, you can combine the Minecart Strategy with this for extra power and dodging.