Eater of Worlds

"Screams echo around you..."

The Eater of Worlds is a giant Corruption-themed worm boss. It is summoned using the Worm Food from within The Corruption, or by destroying 3 Shadow Orbs.

The Eater of Worlds is not a single target, but a string of 50 segments (1 head, 48 body, 1 tail) with individual life counters. When any inner segment is destroyed, it splits into multiple smaller worms, each with their own head and tail. Each section of the Eater must be killed in order to defeat the entire boss.

Defeating the Eater of Worlds is the only way to obtain Shadow Scales, as well as usable quantities of Demonite Ore. Individual segments drop some of these when killed, with a larger bonus drop upon defeating the entire entity. The Eater of Worlds is immune to the Poisoned, On Fire!, and Cursed Inferno debuffs.

If your world generated Crimson instead of Corruption, this boss will be replaced by the Brain of Cthulhu.

Tips

 * Weapons that pierce for multiple hits are effective, due to the Eater's large size and multiple parts.
 * Additionally, weapons with a large area of effect such as the Medusa Head or Grenades can be used to great effect. Keep in mind grenades seem to deal much less damage against it in expert mode.
 * The individual worms have a tendency to retreat into the ground when their heads are destroyed.
 * During Hardmode, it is an effective means of farming Soul of Night. One Soul of Night can be dropped per segment, the percentage being the same as with other mobs. The eater of worlds is also a good way of farming the corruption biome key.
 * If possible, try to aim for the head or tails of each section, as if they die first, they will not split into more.
 * Farming the Eater of Worlds is one of the most effective ways of making money prior to Hardmode. Mid-game armor and weapons will make the fight easy, and selling its drops will yield 9 to 11 each time, on average.
 * During Hardmode, fighting the Eater of Worlds in the snow biome is an effective way to farm Amaroks as each individual segment has the 1:80 chance to drop it, each yoyo can sell for 5 depending on the modifier.
 * The Vilethorn (a 20% chance drop from smashing Shadow Orbs) can be effective against the Eater of Worlds as it can pierce through walls and can hit multiple segments of the Eater of Worlds at once.