Guide:Skeletron strategies

"The cursed guardian of the dungeon..."

WAAAHH! WAAAAAAHHHH!!! I CAN'T BEAT SKELEHEAD! WAAAAAAA-

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

The Fight
Skelehead is easy. Use zenith and use cheats to beat. haha.

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,(15 hearts) however on Expert mode 400 health is almost mandatory.

Armor
The best armor available before the fight is Shadow or Crimson armors, because of their high defense, great speed with the former or better regeneration with the latter. is available if the player chose to mine Hellstone before entering the Dungeon.

Rangers on the may want to use Necro armor, since skeletons drop bones.

Magic users, however, should use the Wizard set due to its massive offensive stats, surpassing both Jungle and Meteor armor. Summoners can use the Bee armor, or the  and focus on whips.

Weapons
For Melee users:
 * such as are excellent against Skeletron, as they can be directed easily to the target and held there for rapid repeated damage. Eliminating the hands first can be done very rapidly with a yoyo as the hands tend to push them around, making additional contact with the weapon.
 * The / does very high damage against him provided the player has obtained it, however it isn't recommended on Expert mode.
 * like the  work well but they are more effective when throwing past the Skull.
 * The is also available if the player has mined Hellstone already.
 * Flails can work due to their long range and ability to hit both the arms and the head with a single attack. The only ones available at this point are the, , , or.

For Ranged users:
 * / 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 is also strong as it is pretty much an underpowered, pre hardmode daedalus stormbow. it may not be the best choice though.
 * The and the  are very effective against Skeletron.


 * are some of the best weapons available, due to their high damage and firing speed.
 * can be used for a devastating effect on Skeletron.
 * are useful for the fight, thanks to the homing bees that it releases. This makes dealing damage almost automatic without much need to aim.
 * can also be effective.
 * The  is the most effective, the player must have obtained Meteorite though.

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

 * ,, 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. is 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.

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 (Any Difficulty)
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. 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, even on Master mode. This also works on multiplayer. (Master Mode requires over 64 Explosive Bunnies.)

fr:Guide:Stratégies du Squeletron