Guide:Lunatic Cultist strategies

The Lunatic Cultist is a post-Golem boss. Defeating him will summon the Celestial Towers. Though he is a very small boss and has less health than Golem and Duke Fishron (as well as Plantera in expert mode), do not underestimate him, as he makes up for the relatively low health with very powerful attacks that are hard to dodge.

Summoning
He spawns after the 4 other Cultists are slain. The Lunatic Cultist will be invincible when he first spawns. After he moves away from his spawn point, you can begin to deal damage to him.

Attack Pattern
After moving away from his spawn point, the Lunatic Cultist will begin to cycle through three attacks: Once the Lunatic Cultist is damaged enough, he adds a fourth attack, which summons in two spreads of five destroyable Ancient Light projectiles. In Expert Mode, the Cultist may also spawn Ancient Dooms that fire purple projectiles in a cross shape.
 * A rotating ball of ice that fires six shards at equal intervals before disappearing
 * Three homing fireballs that explode on impact
 * A stationary orb similar to the Magnet Sphere that summons streaks of lightning in a straight line

After performing 4 to 5 of his attacks, the Cultist will spawn in duplicates of himself that remain stationary. If one of these duplicates are damaged (or after a certain amount of time without damaging any one of them), a Phantasm Dragon will spawn, or an Ancient Vision if a Phantasm Dragon is already present. If the actual Lunatic Cultist is damaged, neither of these two powerful minions will spawn in. The amount of duplicates the Lunatic Cultist spawns in increases, the more clones you hit. It is recommended to fight the Cultist at night, as the fake cultists will glow.

Side Note: Moving in circles around him with the UFO mount can allow you to dodge his attacks for the most part.

Gearing Up
This boss can be very difficult to defeat, even with the gear used to beat Plantera and the Golem. Gear dropped from the Pumpkin Moon and Frost Moon events is recommended. Gear dropped from Duke Fishron and the Martian Madness event is ideal, and will make this fight much easier. Homing ranged attacks are preferable. The UFO Mount is also recommended to easily dodge the Lunatic Cultist's attacks. As with all boss fights, Ironskin, Regeneration and Lifeforce Potions only help and should be used, as well as any item that gives the Well Fed buff. Basically, it is a good idea to have as many potions as you can get that you think will be helpful in the fight. You may also want a Campfire to help regenerate life faster. If fighting in the dungeon, put up 2-5 Heart Lanterns.

Melee

 * Flairon is the preferred choice for melee characters. The Terra Blade can be used as well if you prefer not to defeat Duke Fishron first, but you should be cautious about aiming well. The Influx Waver will work even better because of its multi-hit ability, if you are willing to take on the Martian Madness event before fighting this boss.
 * The Eye of Cthulhu (yoyo), deals high damage and will help with taking out the Lunatic Cultist and the Phantasm Dragon he summons.
 * Also, you can use Vampire Knives. They are very effective, as you can stand still and shoot and still not lose much life as well as leeching life from the Phantasm Dragon. But due to the low damage output, a different weapon should be used.
 * Possessed Hatchet is also useful if you accidentally damage the fake cultists with stray projectiles from the Flairon. It homes in within a small cone and autoswings, allowing you to focus less on hitting him and more on dodging his projectiles.

Ranged

 * For bullet class rangers, it is highly recommended to use the Chain Gun with Chlorophyte Bullets as it will track/follow the Lunatic Cultist and is a good weapon to fight the Lunar Pillars' minions when you have killed the Lunatic Cultist. Also it should be noted that, because the Lunatic Cultist stays stationary when summoning duplicates, the Sniper Rifle can be used in this situation to deal some extra damage before switching back to the Chain Gun.
 * For rocket class rangers, use the Snowman Cannon, as its projectiles will also home in on the Cultist. It is very useful in taking out the Phantasm Dragon in a few short seconds, because the rockets do splash damage and will hit multiple segments of the Dragon at the same time.
 * For arrow class rangers, the Tsunami bow (if you can get it) or the Chlorophyte Shotbow with Holy Arrows are recommended. Using the Piranha Gun will help as it deals continuous damage to the Cultist and prevents him from summoning minions. However, all in all, it is recommended to stick to guns for this fight.

Magic

 * The Razorblade Typhoon is recommended for mage characters. Mage characters can use the healing variant of the Spectre armor with the Leaf Blower or Razorpine as well. The Laser Machinegun will work even better if you can get it. With this setup you can stay still and not lose much life due to the healing effect.
 * Another good strategy is to use the Magnet Sphere with the Spectre Hood as the sphere deals rapid damage allowing you to recover some health. This can also be used with the Spectre Mask due to the Magnet Sphere's high damage output.
 * Do NOT use the Nimbus Rod, as the rain the cloud makes could accidentally damage a duplicate of the Cultist, causing the Phantasm Dragon or Ancient Vision to spawn in. However, this can be used to your advantage as the Rainbow Gun combined with the Spectre Hood can leech life off the dragon, healing you while you wait for the Potion Sickness cooldown.
 * A strategy if you want to start the event pre-Duke Fishron is to use the Shadowbeam Staff, Spectre Hood, and the Nimbus Rod (you can also use the Rainbow Gun, but it is unnecessary). The staff is very accurate, making it easier to hit the correct cultist. If you hit the wrong one, use the nimbus rod and life steal from the Phantasm Dragon and/or Ancient Visions using the spectre hood. You will eventually win a war of attrition.

Summoner

 * For summoners, the Deadly Sphere Staff, the Raven Staff and the Xeno Staff are good choices. However, the deadly spheres and ravens deal contact damage and may accidentally provoke the Phantasm Dragon or Ancient Vision into spawning.

Armor
For melee users, use Beetle armor with the shell as it gives more defense, or you can use the scale mail with Philosopher's Stone/Charm of Myths with Vampire Knives for more damage, and stable health. Ranged users should use Shroomite armor with the preferred headpiece. For mages, a recommended strategy is to use a rapid-fire but not very potent magic weapon to heal life with the Spectre Hood (like the Leaf Blower) before switching to the Spectre Mask to deal more damage. Summoners can use Spooky armor or Tiki armor, but Tiki Armor is best to use for summoners in this situation. If you have already defeated the Moon Lord then use the fragments according to your character class.

Accessories

 * The Ankh Shield is not needed, but the defense it gives will definitely help (try to get the Warding modifier on it for a grand total of 8 defense for the accessory). The Flesh Knuckles, though hard to get, has more defense than the Ankh Shield and will greatly help as it can give an extra 11 defense if reforged with the Warding modifier.
 * Lightning Boots or Frostspark Boots can be useful to dodge the attacks as well.
 * Fishron Wings, another Duke Fishron drop, are recommended if you have obtained it prior to fighting, although the drop rate makes this paradoxical, with a measly 6.66% drop rate. Regardless, they have 50% extra max ascent speed and excellent flight time, making it especially useful for dodging its projectile attacks.
 * The Master Ninja Gear greatly helps in dodging the attacks and is recommended for all classes.
 * The Yoyo Glove or Yoyo Bag can be extremely useful for melee characters with The Eye of Cthulhu as it can double the damage output
 * The Avenger Emblem or Destroyer Emblem can be useful, though you can just use the emblem that suits your attack style (eg. Warrior Emblem for melee users)
 * For magic users, the Mana Flower and/or Celestial Cuffs are great choices, especially with the Leaf Blower (don't be fooled by the low rarity on both accessories)as you can continuously hit the Lunatic Cultist without pause.
 * The Cross Necklace or Star Veil can help when battling the Phantasm Dragon,as it is a Wyvern-like enemy that hits hard and fast.
 * The Charm of Myths reduces the Potion Sickness cooldown as well as providing some extra health regen, meaning that this is also a good accessory to have handy. A good strategy is to only use the Charm of Myths when you need to heal, and then switch to another accessory until you need it again.