Guide:Skeletron strategies

"The cursed guardian of the dungeon..."

Skeletron is a Pre-Hardmode Boss protecting the Dungeon. It is big, tough, hard to dodge, and can seriously ruin your evening many times over. Like any other daunting task in Terraria, defeating it is largely about smart preparation. Following are some hints, tips, and strategies to help you do so.

Spawn Condition
Skeletron can be spawned by fulfilling one of these conditions: It must then be defeated before all the involved players die, or before 4:30 AM In-Game-Time.
 * Talk with at night. He can be found at the Dungeon entrance;
 * Kill at night, with.

The Fight
Skeletron is a large skeleton, composed of a Skull and 2 Arms. In order to defeat it, you must kill the Skull.

It attacks the player mostly by swiping its hands. This attack is quite easy to predict, as it prepares them by lunging them backward, so you can prepare to dodge them. However, the main issue is their erratic trajectory. You can dodge them by either jumping or running around. It can use both hands to have different timings and trajectories, so you might get caught off-guard by trying to dodge its other hand. You may also try grappling to a wall and then using a piercing weapon to deal damage, then when Skeletron comes closer switch to a melee weapon and grapple to a wall on the other side, dealing damage on the way.

Timing is key in order to defend from the hands: after dodging them, use your piercing weapons to deal damage to both arms (and Skeletron's skull, if it happens to align with them). The arms don't have much health, so they can be detached fairly easily.

After some time, Skeletron will use its signature spinning attack. It's slow, but constantly homes towards you. During this attack, which lasts for quite a bit, it is the most vulnerable; it increases the power of the attack but loses all its defense. As such, use the fastest weapon at your disposal to deal a lot of damage. However, make sure to constantly move; if you get hit by it, you take a lot of damage and you get debuff, which stops Health Regeneration.

During the spin attack, the hands will stay fixed in an uphanded position while Skeletron moves. You can also use this time to deal damage to them, but keep in mind that their defense isn't reduced.

Failing to defeat it before daybreak will make Skeletron permanently spin at you, just like ; it will gain extreme amounts of damage and defense, one-shotting most players while only taking 1 or 2 damage from all attacks.

Target Priorities
Skeletron's head has 60 defense until one of its hands go down. This means that almost every weapon at that point will not do more than 1 damage without a critical hit. As such, you're forced to detach the arms from it in order to progress. Moreover, the hands can inflict the debuff on you, and its spin attack is much faster than in Normal Mode. After one of the arms goes down, Skeletron gains the ability to shoot skulls with a small homing effect when it's not spinning. The frequency of this attack increases as its health goes down and when the other arm falls.

At the beginning of the fight, the arms must be prioritized first, as the Head will barely take any damage with its massive defense. Their attacks have a 50% chance to briefly apply the Slow debuff, which can greatly slow down a player, even if just for a second.

It is recommended to kill both hands at the same time, to minimize the amount of time Skeletron spends attacking with homing skulls alongside its remaining hand.

Mobility
Because of the player's lack of knockback immunity, getting hit by the spin attack can result on a death even at full health due to its massive damage and speed, so the player needs high mobility to avoid it at all costs.

A or its equivalents together with Lightning Boots can provide that mobility, together with the Shield of Cthulhu, or a Featherfall Potion.

It's easier to dodge the skulls of the second stage while Skeletron remains above the player, since they can be dodged like Queen Bee's stingers with a little curve. However, this could make the spin attack connect more easily if the player isn't careful, as the head will stand closer to them. The most effective way to dodge the skull attacks while remaining under the head of Skeletron is to run/dash left and right in quick and alternating succession.

While Skeletron is spinning, running in a straight line with your Boots isn't recommended: it starts firing the skulls as soon as the attack is completed, so the player will most likely get hit by one of them. Because of this, moving in circles using the hover effect and/or double jumps is much safer. Featherfall potions will allow you to stay in the air for much longer, making the circling much easier. If you do have a straight line prepared and you can take a few hits, it is very easy to inflict a lot of damage with a medium-ranged weapon like a yoyo with a string boost or a bow, as you can land many shots in succession without needing to aim.

Terrain Preparation


Warning: Don't make significant edits to the dungeon floor. Doing so can stop the Endgame Cultists from spawning, potentially blocking progression. Plan your arena above the Dungeon roof instead.

The entrance area to most dungeons can often be modified into a more desirable arena if needed. Most important is that you have room to dodge the hands, as well as enough vertical space to avoid getting trapped when Skeletron's head begins to spin. 

Gearing up
It's recommended not to try to fight Skeletron without at least 300 Health, however on Expert mode 400 health is almost mandatory.

Armor
The best armor available before the fight is Shadow or Crimson armor. They provide high defense and powerful set bonuses. is available if the player chooses to mine Hellstone before entering the Dungeon.

Rangers on the may want to use Necro armor, since skeletons drop bones. Otherwize, rangers should use Fossil armor.

Magic users have several powerful options available, such as the Wizard set, Jungle, and Meteor armor.

Summoners can use the Bee armor, or the.

Weapons
For Melee users:
 * such as are excellent against Skeletron, as they can deal high damage from a distance. Eliminating the hands first can be done very rapidly as the hands tend to push yoyos around, making additional contact and dealing more damage.
 * The /  can deal very high damage, but its short range makes it risky.
 * Boomerangs like the  work well but they are more effective when thrown past the Skull.
 * The is also available if the player has mined Hellstone.
 * Flails can work due to their long range and ability to hit both the arms and head with a single attack. The only viable flails available at this point are the and.

For Ranged users:
 * The and  are the most accessible Bows at this stage. Use them with  and.
 * The is very strong if the player has already gotten Hellstone.
 * is a great choice as the Bees can deal massive damage, especially during Skeletron's spinning attack.
 * The Blood Rain Bow can be used in some arena setups to deal damage while protected from flying skulls in Expert Mode, but otherwise deals relatively low damage.
 * The and the  are very effective against Skeletron. Use them with  or  for maximum damage.


 * are very effective due to their high damage and firing speed.
 * can be used to deal large amounts of damage to Skeletron.
 * can be used to deal damage without needing to aim.
 * The  is the most powerful weapon in Pre-Hardmode, limited only by its scarce ammunition.

For Magic users:
 * Using a with Meteor Armor frees you from the constraints of Mana and deals reasonable damage.
 * The is stronger than the Space Gun, and benefits from the Meteor Armor's set bonus as well. Its only downside is its limited availability from the Travelling Merchant.
 * If the player is lucky to get one in, the  is an excellent choice.
 * The and  can be effective, requiring very little mana while dealing decent damage.
 * The is also a very effective method of damaging Skeletron, even allowing it to be used in combination with other weapons. If carefully placed, the cloud created by the rod can cause 100 damage per second. However it will only be available in a Crimson world.

For Summoners:
 * The and the  are the only viable weapons available, unless the player has already gotten the  from the Underworld. Fighting with Hornets alone is not recommended.
 * Its also recommended in harder difficulties that you bring a backup items. like to maximize your chance of success.

Accessories

 * ,, Frostspark Boots.pngspark Boots, or are very useful for their hover effect and running speed.
 * The or any of its upgrades and their counterparts are recommended, especially on Expert mode. If you went fishing in the sky lake then you may have  Fledgling Wings as a replacement.
 * The behaves similarly to Fledgling Wings, with the added benefit of receiving the Honey buff whenever you are struck as well as helpful bees.
 * The is extremely useful for the Expert Mode fight, as the dash makes dodging the skulls and the spin attack much easier.
 * The and/or  can significantly increase damage output, especially when using weapons with high attack speed.
 * The gives a boost to the damage and velocity of some of the bees spawned by Queen Bee's drops.
 * and on the  reduce damage taken, making them invaluable for Expert and Master Mode.

Potions

 * , and  will make the job easier for any player and are highly recommended. Two potions will last for the entire night, provided the player stays alive the entire time.
 * The helps for outrunning the spinning attack.
 * is mandatory for magic users. are also helpful.
 * If you're using a melee weapon, / provides a decent boost.
 * Any food item that grants the / buff is very helpful, especially on Expert mode since it will bring regeneration back to normal.
 * An gives a very good damage and velocity bonus to bows.
 * and also increase damage output.
 * can aid your air mobility and give you basic flying abilities.
 * Summoners should use . If they will use re-summon strategy, Mana Regeneration Potion is also recommended.
 * Surviving off of pure Health regeneration is not recommended, thus making it important to use . Players can also use, but it is not recommended.

Others

 * The helps with dodging and it can also be used to escape the spin attack. The  can be used for a similar purpose with its flight.
 * A good is also useful for enabling sudden bursts of movement.

Minecart Strategy
An alternative to high-maneuverability armor or accessories which can even work against Expert mode Skeletron is to craft a for the extra speed and build a large, diamond-shaped, such as one having in the middle on each side three Minecart Tracks with a Bumper on the outer end, and the inner end connects using a switch track to two diagonal tracks, with both connected and the preferred direction up on one side and down on the other, and with a total width of roughly 90-100 blocks. After the Skeletron battle begins, mount the Minecart and accelerate to maximum Minecart speed. While collisions can occasionally occur, they should be uncommon enough that healing will not be a problem. Using attacks at range is highly preferred, though unlike a Hoik system, a Minecart might not move fast enough to allow a boomerang to do all of the work as in some Dungeon Guardian strategies. If using pre-Hardmode weapons, the Molten Fury with Frostburn Arrows is highly recommended.

If using the Minecart strategy and for whatever reason the battle lasts until dawn, the Dungeon Guardian A.I. will actually cause the Skeletron head to follow you at such a slow and steady pace that it should never catch up. In such a case, however, you will take fatal damage from contact and deal 1 damage with every landed attack, or 2 from critical hits, causing fast attacks at range to become essential (such as the Space Gun with the full set of Meteor armor); thus, having a set of accessories with critical chance modifiers becomes far more important than damage, defense, or mobility, should it come to this.

Circle Strategy (Expert/Master)
Mobility and damage matter the most in these modes.

Near the dungeon, make two or three long rows of platforms, about one screen high and two screens wide. Use a horseshoe balloon and Spectre Boots or Lightning Boots, a combination that is essentially like wings in pre-hardmode. Featherfall Potion is also a plus. The Shield of Cthulhu is the last essential accessory. An optional item is the Umbrella if you can obtain it.

During the fight, use your platforms to move in circles around Skeletron, flying over and around him and running underneath. The Shield of Cthulhu will allow you to dash away from the skull and accelerate instantly.

The Bee's Knees and Bee Gun with the Hive Pack are especially effective weapons, as accuracy is not as important with these weapons. The Space Gun is another effective alternative.

Using this method, just keep circling and attacking the hands; once the skulls start shooting, you will still be circling and dodging will still be easy.

Explosive Bunny Strategy (Classic/Expert)
This strategy only works on the Desktop and Mobile versions of Terraria.

Although this is quite cheesy, this strategy will one-shot Skeletron the moment he spawns if done correctly. First, trap the Old Man in a box with an inner area of 2x3 blocks so he can't move from his spot. Then, right on top of it, build a second box with an inner area of 2x3 tiles, but leave the top open. Finally, fill the top box with 50 Explosive Bunnies, then jump out of it and make a roof for the box to prevent mobs from killing the bunnies. Note that Explosive Bunnies are placed at your feet, not at the location of the cursor. The finished contraption should look like the image on the right.

When the setup is complete, simply speak to the Old Man and summon Skeletron. If done properly, he should spawn right on top of the explosive bunnies and die instantly. This also works on multiplayer.

It should be noted that, even with the maximum 130 explosive bunnies, Skeletron will not be one-shot on Master Mode. More specifically, prior to destroying the hands, the head will only take 1 or 2 damage from any individual attack. This causes this strategy to be completely nonviable in Master Mode.