The Destroyer

. The Destroyer is a Hardmode Boss, and is a harder version of the Eater of Worlds. Like the Eater of Worlds, The Destroyer is a very large Worm. Though it appears to be similarly made up of many segments, individual segments can not die, and The Destroyer will not split apart into multiple enemies. The entire enemy instead has a single shared Health, and will remain at full size until it is killed.

The Destroyer is summoned using a Mechanical Worm at Night. Night time is the only condition required for summoning, unlike the Eater of Worlds, which must be summoned and fought in The Corruption. The Destroyer must be killed before dawn, otherwise it despawns.

Each of The Destroyer's segments contains a red-lit Probe, which are independent flying enemies that are launched periodically as The Destroyer takes damage. They fire lasers at the player, both while within The Destroyer and when detached. Probes can be killed individually. If the red light is missing from a segment, it means the Probe was already launched from that segment.

Tips

 * The Destroyer is considered the easiest of the Hardmode bosses, despite it being the Hardmode version of the mid-difficulty Eater of Worlds. The Twins have a lower combined Health, but they can fly around with fewer movement constraints. Skeletron Prime also has less combined health, and only one part (his head) needs to be destroyed in order to beat him, but his arms constantly get in your way.
 * Out of the three Hardmode bosses, The Destroyer is the only one whose movement can be somewhat controlled. Being a worm-type, it needs blocks in order to maneuver, and can only launch above-ground for a limited height. For The Destroyer, that height can be sizable; around 3/4 of the screen (even in 1680x1050 resolution), but this weakness can still be exploited.
 * Grappling yourself against a block of Meteorite or Hellstone is extremely helpful, because while you take damage from the blocks, the invulnerability period between the damage keeps you almost entirely safe against the damage dealt by the Destroyer itself. This effect is made even better if you are using the Cross Necklace and Star Cloak, as this will further reduce damage from the Destroyer, while the Star Cloak is dealing extra damage.
 * Setting up a bridge of Wood Platforms high enough above ground can prevent The Destroyer from reaching the player, or at least cause it to reach the player less often, while still allowing the player to fire downward. The fight then becomes more about dodging lasers and Probes while firing a Ranged Weapons downward, which makes things significantly easier. If you've collected Dart Traps, they can be set up beneath the platform, wired to a 3 Second Timer, for some constant extra damage, as the player will never be in their path. They will also inflict the Poisoned debuff on many of the Probes upon their launch. Set any Heart Statues you have on the Platform with you, wired to any Timer.
 * Consider using penetrating ammo such as Meteor Shot with the Phoenix Blaster, Clockwork Assault Rifle, Shotgun or Flamethrower. Crystal Bullets may also be an option. The Minishark is not recommended due to its low base damage.
 * Holy Arrows and the best Repeater you can craft will work well, as all of the stars that fall (two per Arrow) will always impact The Destroyer due to its immense size.
 * The Cross Necklace is of great use, mitigating a significant amount of the rapid attack damage inflicted by any Boss.
 * Magic-oriented Armor sets along with the Demon Scythe can dish out quite respectable amounts of damage to the Destroyer, as the Destroyer is so large that multiple hits per Scythe are guaranteed.
 * Due to its large size, Boulders can pack quite a punch against it.
 * The Megashark has a very high damage rate and can be used once The Destroyer is defeated, as it drops multiple Soul of Might which are required to create the weapon.
 * If The Twins are already defeated and the player has access to the Magical Harp, it can kill the Destroyer considerably quickly as the notes pierce infinitely, fly slowly and do high damage.
 * Weapons that can do multiple hits while it is in use is great for the destroyer. Some include the Dao of Pow, Breaker Blade, and also Hellfire Arrows(Explode on impact causing it to deal more damage).