Guide:Plantera strategies

Plantera is a boss that can be spawned after defeating all three Mechanical bosses.

Spawn Condition
Plantera can only be spawned by breaking a, by a Pickaxe, Drill, or various other means.

She must then be killed within the Underground Jungle, otherwise she will become enraged.

The Fight
Plantera will attempt to chase after the player, always trying to make her main bulb overlap the player's space. This results in a very linear kiting fight. She moves fairly slowly when compared to a player with speed-boosting equipment. This means a player in a large enough arena can easily keep a distance, assuming they just keep moving. As such, a good arena can make the fight much easier. Do keep in mind that if your arena gets too large, the middle of it may no longer be detected as Underground Jungle. This can be avoided while maintaining a comfortably large arena by making the space more long and narrow rather than square (or by simply somewhat widening a natural jungle cave then letting the jungle grass grow back over the surface). Also, cutting the edge of the arena with notches rather than a clean edge produces more jungle grass tiles on the perimeter and helps to maintain the jungle biome recognition.

The second stage begins when Plantera reaches 50% remaining health. The pink petals fall off to reveal a ferocious green maw and Plantera's speed is greatly increased.

Currently, Plantera will enrage and gain more defense, attack more frequently and deal massive amounts of contact and ranged damage if the player leaves the Underground Jungle (including to go to the surface), so surface-level arena strategies are impractical. One exception is taking advantage of Plantera's need to "grapple" to move by building a large enough space that Plantera cannot grapple up after you, and then firing down upon her. However, Plantera can grapple onto background walls, and since they extend down to the underworld, you would have to clear them out first.

The player will want to focus on dodging attacks while shooting constantly at Plantera. Once Plantera reaches her second form, the player should be very wary and attempt to dodge Plantera's lunges.

Ranged characters should try to kill tentacles as soon as they appear. Due to the generally low defense of Ranger sets, getting caught by tentacles often will kill the player very quickly.

Terrain Preparation
The actual shape of your arena depends on how you want to fight:


 * For a player who wants to have plenty of evasive space, excavating around a screen's worth of space inside the Underground Jungle and filling it with rows of Platforms can work well.
 * For more aggressive players, a smaller space excavated right next to a bulb can work too.
 * Others will just use a stack of bombs to excavate a large area for flying and grappling.
 * One fairly simple arena is simply widening a natural jungle cave enough to dodge and kite. The player can kite Plantera back and forth running a figure-8 pattern.

Regardless, mobility is normally key during her battle, but enough of a damage output can kill her fast enough to make evasion less important.

Plantera's spike balls do significant damage and are used frequently during Plantera's first phase, however, they can only bounce off solid surfaces. If you do not mind taking the extra time, consider digging a hole at least 2 times deeper than you would use for the fight and stick to the top half of your arena (that is, your actual arena has a large space beneath it for the spike balls to fall into and stay away from you). Without the added threat of Plantera's spike balls, she is much easier to defeat.

Make sure the arena is not too big and empty, as taking out too many Mud blocks might turn the Underground Jungle into just regular caverns, enraging Plantera and making the fight much more difficult. Honey can be used for its regeneration, so you can make little pools for the regeneration benefit. If you have the Party Girl, you can buy Bubble Blocks, and make a small pocket to put honey in. Bring a Hammer to remove the jungle walls so that in Plantera's second phase, the hooks can only grapple on to the blocks so she cannot reach you with her hooks, and thus you will not take damage from them.

Gearing up
It is recommended to increase your maximum life to 500 before trying to tackle Plantera and later challenges after her defeat. are very common if many days have passed after defeating one of the Mechanical bosses.

Armor

 * At minimum, players should use the with the helmet to suit your class. On the, it gives you the  buff, making it a great choice.
 * is also a great choice, due to slightly higher offensive and defensive bonuses, and also spawns an automatic turret over your head.
 * is a good choice since it provides the highest raw defense at this point in the game, but you will need to defeat enough Giant Tortoises to get three Turtle Shells.
 * is a decent choice due to the buff (formerly the  buff.)
 * The best offensive set for melee users consists of the, , and.
 * and are acceptable substitutes.
 * The best offensive set for magic users consists of the, , and.
 * The best offensive set for ranged users consists of the, , and.
 * and/or on the / on the   can be substituted into any of the above hybrid sets for additional regeneration or minion-based offense, respectively.
 * is a powerful and tanky armor set with a set bonus that triples the attack speed of Ballista sentries after taking damage.
 * Dedicated summoners on the should summon as many minions as possible while wearing, and then equip  and , in that order.
 * can be worn instead of the Spider Breastplate, sacrificing 1 minion to gain an additional 19 defense.

Weapons

 * For Melee users:
 * The is the best choice for melee, being able to tear through both Plantera and her Biters fairly easily.
 * The is very useful, as it can rip through her first phase very quickly, especially with a Yoyo Bag.
 * The is a good choice for high damage as well. To help obtain one Pre-Plantera, there are several ways to enter the Jungle Temple early and obtain Solar Tablets or Solar Tablet Fragments to summon Solar Eclipses.
 * Alternatively, on the, the and the  are both strong choices.
 * and the are good choices as well, allowing for secure kiting from a comfortable range to avoid damage while wearing high defense melee armor.
 * With enough damage Modifiers, the can defeat Plantera in less than half a minute if the player doesn't move. Using a  and enough health regeneration and defense, the player is capable of enduring Plantera's damage for the short duration of the fight. You can use a  to decrease the boss' defense and a  and  for maximum healing. A  is also preferable to increase the player's damage output.
 * In the, it is possible to win the fight even faster using melee speed modifiers. In the , the effect of those modifiers on the Baghnakhs is highly reduced.


 * For Ranged users:
 * The, , or are the best guns available. When used with  they can deal massive damage.
 * Ichor Bullets can also be useful in this fight.
 * A, with or  can be used to great effect.
 * You can excavate a tall arena and use a paired with Holy Arrows, which will be great against Plantera.
 * The can be useful for killing Plantera's Tentacles in her second phase.
 * will freeze Plantera, making the fight incredibly simple.
 * The paired with  or  can be deadly against Plantera.
 * Using a Chlorophyte Shotbow paired with the Chlorophyte Arrows, along with other Ranger accessories can by an extremely powerful weapon.


 * For Magic users:
 * The and  are solid weapons against Plantera.
 * Using the every so often can prove to be very helpful as it inflicts the, increasing your damage output even more.
 * The is always useful (even for non-magic users). It can deal continuous damage which can greatly help the fight, especially in vertical arenas.
 * The and  are very effective for the second phase, as they deal with the Tentacles while also damaging Plantera. The  can also be effective.
 * The is even more effective as it can home on them both while dealing a good amount of damage.
 * The can easily deal with Plantera's Biters in the second phase while also healing the player in the process.


 * For Summoners:
 * The and are the best options to summoners, especially the, if one is willing to use whips to increase its damage output. This is especially noticeable when using the.
 * On, the and  are the most reliable summons.
 * The or can prove to be incredibly powerful when used with a Tavernkeep's armor set.

Potions

 * ,, , and s will help you survive much longer.
 * Anything that gives the, , or buff is welcomed help.
 * and s give very welcomed damage upgrades.
 * s may be helpful for preventing spores from reaching you.
 * s and are very effective for Melee users.
 * Likewise with s, for Rangers who choose to use arrows.
 * and are a must have for Magic users.
 * s are very useful for summoners.

Accessories

 * will allow you to dodge Plantera's attacks. can be used as a substitute.
 * Damage can be greatly boosted through combat accessories such as any or the.
 * Melee users who choose to use swords can use the to greatly increase their damage and attack speed. It can also be equipped together with the  for an even larger increase. On, the Fire Gauntlet should not be used alone as its stats are inferior to the Mechanical Glove.
 * The will significantly increase a Yoyo's  and range.
 * The can be used for increased regen and the reduction of the Potion Sickness debuff time from one minute to 45 seconds. In order for the Philosopher's Stone effect to be applied, it only has to be equipped the instant a Healing Potion is drunk.
 * or the can reduce the amount of damage taken.
 * The is very useful for preventing knockback in the second phase. The  is an alternative, only losing the situational immunity to the Poisoned debuff.
 * The / can be used to extend the invulnerability period after being attacked. This can prove to be useful during the second phase due to the large amount of Biters.
 * The is very useful for preventing knockback in the second phase. The  is an alternative, only losing the situational immunity to the Poisoned debuff.
 * The / can be used to extend the invulnerability period after being attacked. This can prove to be useful during the second phase due to the large amount of Biters.

Teleportation trick
Make a long hallway, and place a Teleporter with a pressure plate on each end.

When she is climbing down toward you on one side, jump on the pressure plate used to activate the Teleporter. You will teleport to the other side, and Plantera will need to climb back at you.

Boomerang-type weapons can fly indefinitely when using a teleportation trick, though there are not many hardmode-effective boomerangs available. Before the boomerang returns, the player can teleport to the other end of the hall, and the boomerang will change directions and pierce enemies along the way.

Note that if the hallway is too long, Plantera will despawn. This was observed in a hallway as small as 200 tiles. If you use the mobile version, you should make the hallway around 125-150 tiles long, as Plantera will despawn within a shorter range of the player.

This method is more difficult in Expert mode, as her seeds can pass through blocks, all of her projectiles are now homing, and her 'mouths' spawn on her legs, closer to the player.

Tank and Claw
Plantera can be trivially beaten with the Fetid Baghnakhs and the Star Veil/Cross necklace (even with the melee speed nerf).

For armor you will want either very high defense or use the Hallowed/Titanium armor's set bonus. For accessories forgo wings/boots and minions you want to load up on melee speed (like the mechanical glove) and damage reduction (worm scarf, brain of confusion).

The fight: use your hook to attach to a wall near the bulb this prevents knockback and locks you in place. Break the bulb. Plantera will come right to you and sit on top of you. Hold down the attack key until she dies. That's it, You might have to use a potion mid-fight particularly on PC where the Baghnakhs are less powerful. This works even on Expert.

Firework Rockets
Plantera is particularly easy to lure into the path of Firework Rockets, making them good options for defeating her quickly. This requires only a large sum of money, and can kill Plantera in a matter of seconds.

If each firework deals its full 150 damage, 200 fireworks will suffice to kill her in Classic mode, 280 in Expert, and 357 in Master.

Minecart tracks
If you can locate a Plantera's bulb nearby a row of minecart tracks, you can easily annihilate Plantera at a distance while riding the tracks. This was observed with a natural generated minecart track, where Plantera was stuck in blocks due to the narrow hall and the varying heights.

Plantera can then be dodged at the end of the rail by using a bumper and ramming through her, suffering minimal loss on health.

This was done using a Chlorophyte Shotbow, along with Frost Armor and an Endless Quiver.

The pros being miminal terrain preparation, cons being depends on chance and rails may lead out of the jungle, resulting in an enraged Plantera.

Circle and run
This is a technique used by several youtubers in Expert mode, including Gellot.

Make an arena in the underground jungle about 2 screens wide and high with platforms, making sure to have the bottom row by platforms, letting the spiky balls she fires fall to the ground harmlessly. Nearby, place a Bed at one end of a long tunnel.

In Phase 1 of the fight, circle around Plantera using Wings, firing at her with projectiles.

When Phase 2 begins, use a Magic Mirror to teleport to your spawn point (making sure you don't go so far away as to make Plantera despawn) and progress down the tunnel, firing behind you as you go.

Bee

Using bees a player may use invincibility frames to become invincible. If they mine bee hive blocks until they are surrounded taking 1 damage in honey they can survive long enough to defeat Plantera or golem. To attack they must use a flying knife or weapon that does not have to return to player so the bees do not die.

fr:Guide:Stratégies de Plantera