Bosses

Bosses are aggressive, resilient enemies that offer a substantial challenge to players. Defeating a boss is usually instrumental in advancing the game in some way or another, for example, granting the player a new material for a pickaxe of a higher tier. Each has its own particular way of being summoned. For example, most bosses have associated summoning items that can be used to spawn them manually under certain conditions, while there are others that will appear after the player interacts in a certain way with the environment. Event bosses will only appear during their respective events and leave when the event ends. Mini-bosses also exist and appear only during special events, expressing the same amount of difficulty as many normal bosses. Their health has a huge range: On Classic Mode it ranges from 1,000 to 145,000.

Most bosses and mini-bosses can pass through blocks of all types, with the exception of King Slime, Queen Slime, Lepus, Turkor the Ungrateful's body, and the Flying Dutchman.

For all non-event bosses, with the exception of the Lunatic Cultist, status messages will appear when that boss is about to spawn or has already spawned. Upon spawning, its particular theme music plays. During events, bosses and mini-bosses can appear multiple times and have no distinct spawn message. In the case of wave events like the Pumpkin and Frost Moons and the Old One's Army, status messages that appear at the start of each wave can indicate whether or not a certain boss or mini-boss will appear. Defeating a non-event boss concludes with a congratulatory message and several reward items.

On the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version,  Old Chinese version,  tModLoader version, and  tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version, bosses will appear on the minimap, each with an individual map icon. On the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version, and  tModLoader version, a boss health bar will appear on the screen (it will only show the health of the most recently-attacked boss, if there are multiple).

• However, bosses will still appear as the standard purple blob that signifies enemies on the  Old-gen console version.

Quick Answers

How does defeating a boss in Terraria advance the game?

In Terraria, defeating a boss is a significant event that propels the game forward. Each boss defeated usually grants the player new materials, which can be used to craft higher tier items like pickaxes. This progression allows players to explore new areas, face tougher enemies, and continue their journey towards becoming as strong as possible. The order of bosses in Terraria can vary, but each one presents a unique challenge and contributes to the overall progression of the game.

Provided by: Fandom

What are the conditions for manually summoning a boss in Terraria?

In Terraria, bosses can be manually summoned under specific conditions. Most bosses have associated summoning items that can be used to spawn them. For instance, Skeletron, one of the bosses, is summoned by speaking to the Old Man at the Dungeon's entrance at night and selecting the 'Curse' option. However, it's important to note that each boss has its own unique summoning method and conditions.

Provided by: Fandom

How many bosses are there in Terraria?

There are currently 8 pre-Hardmode, 11 Hardmode, and 14 event bosses (33 in total) in Terraria. Each boss presents a unique challenge and defeating them is usually instrumental in advancing the game in some way. For instance, they often grant the player new materials for crafting higher tier items.

Provided by: Community

What is the progression of bosses in Terraria?

In Terraria, boss progression typically starts with the Eye of Cthulhu, followed by either the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu based on world the Corruption/Crimson. Skeletron must be defeated to enter the Dungeon, and the Queen Bee is found in the Jungle. The Wall of Flesh triggers Hardmode and is followed by the Mechanical Bosses (Twins, Destroyer, Skeletron Prime). Plantera in the Jungle is a key Hardmode boss, leading to Golem and the Lunar Events. The final boss, Moon Lord, concludes the game. Each boss drops unique items crucial for advancing and defeating tougher challenges in Terraria's expansive world. Some bosses (like the King Slime, Duke Fishron, etc.) are optional and it's not necessary to defeat them.

Provided by: Community

Pre-Hardmode bosses

These are the first bosses the player can encounter. Usually, defeating one of these bosses will give the player items and materials necessary to progress in the game, eventually leading to Hardmode. Although there are 7 pre-Hardmode bosses, only 6 can be spawned in the same world, as the Eater of Worlds is exclusive to worlds containing Corruption, and the Brain of Cthulhu is exclusive to worlds containing Crimson (assuming the player does not place an alternate evil in the same world as the other one, e.g. via seeds from another world or seeds purchased from the Dryad in Hardmode, and does not use a secret seed).

King Slime

Summoned with a Slime Crown

Music: Boss 1

King Slime

For elaborate strategies on defeating King Slime, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:King Slime strategies.

King Slime is a giant blue slime with 2,000 / 2,800 / 3,570 health. It is summoned with a Slime Crown, or after killing 150 (75 if he has already been killed) slimes during a Slime Rain, or can also rarely appear in the outer thirds of the map completely by itself. As with all enemies that can spawn naturally, the King Slime has a better chance of spawning while standing near a placed Water Candle or while under the effects of a Battle Potion.

On the  PC,  Console,  Mobile,  Old Chinese,  tModLoader, and  tModLoader Legacy versions, King Slime can teleport to the player if he gets trapped or if the player gets out of his reach for too long.

King Slime does not provide access to game-advancing items upon defeat, but outside Expert Mode will drop one Gold Coin, one or two piece(s) of Ninja clothes, and one of several slime-related items.

In Expert Mode (and Master Mode), King Slime can summon Spiked Slimes, that are similar to the Spiked Jungle Slime and Spiked Ice Slime.

Eye of Cthulhu

Summoned with a Suspicious Looking Eye

Music: Boss 1

Eye of Cthulhu

For elaborate strategies on defeating Eye of Cthulhu, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Eye of Cthulhu strategies.

The Eye of Cthulhu is a huge eyeball with 2,800 / 3,640 / 4,641 health. It has a 33.33*1/3 (33.33%) chance of spawning at the beginning of each night once the player has 200 HP or more, 3 or more NPCs living in houses, and over 10 defense. It will continue to do so until defeated for the first time. It can also be summoned using a Suspicious Looking Eye at night. If not defeated by the player by the end of the night, it will travel upwards and despawn. This is generally the first boss a player must face. It travels through blocks, and spawns Servants of Cthulhu.

In Expert Mode (and Master Mode), the Eye of Cthulhu will do a fast chain dash in its second phase, using the attack more often the lower health it has. The chain dash attack will also scale in aggressiveness the same way. This can lead to it dashing almost continually at high velocity at very low health.

Eater of Worlds

Summoned with Worm Food or by breaking 3 Shadow Orbs

Music: Boss 1

Eater of Worlds

For elaborate strategies on defeating Eater of Worlds, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Eater of Worlds strategies.

The Eater of Worlds is a colossal worm with 10,050 / 15,120 / 19,224 health in total on the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version, and  tModLoader version, and 7,500 / 10,500 health on the  Old-gen console version,  Windows Phone version,  Old Chinese version, Nintendo 3DS version, and  tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version. It awakens after every third Shadow Orb is broken or after Worm Food is used. Shadow Orbs are found in the Corruption chasms, surrounded by Ebonstone, which requires a pickaxe with 65% pickaxe power or higher to mine, although explosives or Purification Powder can be used to bypass this. Once within range, Shadow Orbs can be destroyed with a hammer or explosives. The Eater of Worlds can only be summoned in worlds containing Corruption, and can be summoned at any time of the day. If it manages to escape the Corruption, it will flee and disappear.

Eater of Worlds is a large worm-type enemy that travels through tiles, and is made up of multiple sections that can each attack separately when cut off. To defeat it, every section must be brought down to less than two body parts to be killed (the smallest possible section is a head and a tail with no body pieces). Due to how helpful Corruption gear is, this will probably be the second boss faced in worlds that have Corruption, rather than those who have Crimson.

The Eater of Worlds is the only source of Shadow Scales in the game, and it drops large amounts of Demonite Ore. They can be combined to make Shadow armor, but it can also be sold for almost 10 per stack of 99, making this technically the best pre-Hardmode boss for farming in the game.

In Expert Mode, the boss is able to shoot dark-green projectiles at the player called Vile Spit, similar to those fired from Corruptors, another Corruption-exclusive enemy.

Brain of Cthulhu

Summoned with a Bloody Spine or by breaking 3 Crimson Hearts

Music: Boss 3

Brain of Cthulhu

For elaborate strategies on defeating Brain of Cthulhu, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Brain of Cthulhu strategies.

The Brain of Cthulhu is a large, flying brain with a mere 1,250 / 2,125 / 2,709 health, giving it the lowest amount of health out of any boss. It spawns once for every third Crimson Heart that is broken or immediately after a Bloody Spine is used. Crimson Hearts are found in the Crimson's chasms, surrounded by Crimstone, which can be bypassed with the same methods Ebonstone can. However, some of the pockets containing these will generate open. Once within range, Crimson Hearts can be destroyed with a Hammer or any tile-breaking explosive. It can only be summoned in the Crimson, but at any time of day.

The Brain of Cthulhu has two forms. In the first form, the brain cannot be harmed, and Creepers will float around it. After all of these are killed, the Brain of Cthulhu will go into its second form, where it will teleport more frantically and move a lot faster, so a ranged weapon may be needed. The Brain of Cthulhu's second attack form is ramming, like the second form of Eye of Cthulhu. Unlike most other bosses, the Brain of Cthulhu is not immune to knockback.

The Brain of Cthulhu is the only source of Tissue Samples in the game (other than the creepers spawned while fighting it), and drops a large amount of Crimtane Ore, which are their equivalents to the corruption items Shadow Scale and Demonite Ore respectively.

In Expert Mode, the Brain of Cthulhu will have more health, and in its second phase, it will start creating illusions of itself to charge at the player. The lower the Brain of Cthulhu's HP gets, the illusions become much less obvious to the point where they will look exactly like the real Brain of Cthulhu. However, the minimap icon will still show the real Brain of Cthulhu, allowing players to bypass this.

Queen Bee

Summoned with an Abeemination or by breaking its Larva

Music: Boss 5

Queen Bee

For elaborate strategies on defeating Queen Bee, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Queen Bee strategies.

Queen Bee is an enormous bee with 3,400 / 4,760 / 6,069 health. She is summoned by destroying her larva, encased within the walls of Bee Hives located in the Underground Jungle. She can also be summoned by the use of an Abeemination anywhere in the Jungle biome. She is the only source of Bee Wax in the game. Queen Bee is immune to knockback.

Queen Bee alternates between charging at the player, hovering above them whilst spawning Bees, and moving left and right whilst shooting stingers. In Expert Mode, the rate at which she charges the player gets faster the more damage she takes.

Defeating Queen Bee will allow the Witch Doctor to spawn; other than this, she does not advance the game in a major sense, though defeating her does provide some decent loot that can further help the player prepare for the boss battle against the Wall of Flesh. One such weapon is the Beenade, which is extremely effective when fighting the Wall of Flesh.

Skeletron

Summoned by killing the Clothier with a Clothier Voodoo Doll equipped or by activating the Old Man's curse

Music: Boss 1

Skeletron

For elaborate strategies on defeating Skeletron, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Skeletron strategies.

Skeletron is a large skeletal head with 4,400 / 8,800 / 11,220 health and two hands. It is summoned by speaking to the Old Man NPC at the entrance of the Dungeon and activating his curse at night. Skeletron will alternate between attacking the player with its hands and performing a spinning attack. Its hands can be attacked and defeated to make the battle easier, although this is not required. If it has not been defeated before the night is over, Skeletron will attack and usually kill the player in one hit. It will then despawn.

Defeating Skeletron will stop the Dungeon Guardians from spawning, allowing free access to the Dungeon. It can be summoned again by killing the Clothier with the Clothier Voodoo Doll equipped at night.

In Expert Mode, Skeletron's head is more resistant to damage until its hands are destroyed. Once they are destroyed, it will start shooting homing skulls at the player. Expert mode Skeletron is much faster. Its hands inflict the Slow debuff, and its head inflicts Bleeding. If the player gets caught by its head-spin attack, Skeletron can "stun-lock" them, a lethal situation that can only be escaped by high mobility, e.g. with a hook.

Wall of Flesh

Summoned by throwing a Guide Voodoo Doll into lava

Music: Boss 2

Wall of Flesh

For elaborate strategies on defeating Wall of Flesh, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Wall of Flesh strategies.

The Wall of Flesh is a towering wall that spans the entire screen height. It has 8,000 / 11,200 / 14,280 health. It is summoned by throwing a Guide Voodoo Doll into a pool of lava while the Guide is alive. It is the final boss of pre-Hardmode, because defeating it will irreversibly enable Hardmode in the world. It can drop several powerful items, one of them being the guaranteed drop Pwnhammer which can be used to break Demon Altars or Crimson Altars in order to spawn various game-advancing Hardmode ores.

Upon summoning the Wall of Flesh, the player will be afflicted with the Horrified debuff, which prevents fleeing from the battle – any attempt to do so will result in severe damage via The Tongue or instant death if the player tries to teleport away, and the debuff will not be removed until either the player or the Wall of Flesh is killed. The Wall of Flesh will then sweep across the map, moving faster as its HP gets lower. It must be killed before it reaches the end of the map, otherwise it will despawn and any living players in the Underworld will instantly die. Additionally, the Wall of Flesh's eyes fire lasers, with the rate of fire increasing as it takes damage. Its mouth burps Leeches that will chase the player, and it has small mouths attached to it called The Hungry, which will also move toward and damage the player.

In Expert Mode, the Wall of Flesh will greatly increase its movement speed as its health decreases, eventually surpassing even players riding the Bunny Mount or horse mounts in movement speed. The Hungry will rapidly respawn, thus seemingly blocking the wall from attacks, and can deal significant damage themselves. The faster the Wall of Flesh moves and the quicker The Hungry respawn, the more the player will have to focus on dealing damage and moving across a decent terrain.

Hardmode bosses

Hardmode bosses are significantly stronger than previous bosses.

Queen Slime

Summoned with a Gelatin Crystal

Music: Queen Slime

Queen Slime

For elaborate strategies on defeating Queen Slime, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Queen Slime strategies.

Queen Slime is a giant slime with 18,000 / 28,800 / 36,720 health. She is available to battle at the start of Hardmode, and is summoned from Gelatin Crystals in the Underground Hallow. She is an optional boss fight and is a small gap to challenge before facing the mechanical bosses, warranting equipment upgrades and other items. There is a very strong resemblance to the pre-Hardmode King Slime, and is one of two Hallowed bosses featured in the game. As she takes damage she spawns Crystal Slimes, Bouncy Slimes, and Heavenly Slimes to aid her. While her first form is straightforward with attack patterns similar to that of King Slime's, the second phase poses much more of a threat as the boss begins to fly in the air, shooting projectiles from above.

The Twins

Summoned with a Mechanical Eye

Music: Boss 2

The Twins

For elaborate strategies on defeating The Twins, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:The Twins strategies.

The Twins are a pair of cybernetic Eyes of Cthulhu. They exist as two individual entities, known as Retinazer and Spazmatism, with the former having 20,000 / 30,000 / 38,250 health and the latter having 23,000 / 34,500 / 43,987 health. The Twins are summoned using a Mechanical Eye at night. It is worth noting that they will gain defense in their second forms, unlike the Eye of Cthulhu.

The two eyes have different fighting styles. Retinazer focuses on shooting the player with Death Lasers like the Destroyer's Probes. Once it reaches 40% HP, it will transform into its second form, replacing its pupil with a laser cannon. During this form, it will shoot lasers extremely fast, sometimes having the same fire rate as a Megashark.

The other eye, Spazmatism, focuses on slamming into the player and firing cursed flames. Once it reaches 40% HP, it will transform into its second form, resembling a mechanical version of the Eye of Cthulhu's second form. It will deal a lot more damage, and the flames it shoots are more consistent like the Flamethrower instead of the Cursed Flames, but the flames will still inflict Cursed Inferno debuff on the player. The last Twin destroyed will drop all of the loot.

In Expert Mode Spazmatism's charging attack will be similar to the Eye of Cthulhu's chain dash ability in its second form, and Retinazer will shoot lasers almost as rapid as the Wall of Flesh at extremely low health.

The Destroyer

Summoned with a Mechanical Worm

Music: Boss 3

The Destroyer

For elaborate strategies on defeating The Destroyer, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:The Destroyer strategies.

The Destroyer is a colossal mechanized Eater of Worlds with 80,000 / 120,000 / 153,000 health. It is considered the easiest Hardmode boss by many players, despite having the second-highest health. Although it is similar to its pre-Hardmode counterpart, the Eater of Worlds, it has some key differences: it will not divide into smaller segments, will shoot lasers from its body if space is available, and will deploy Probes to attack once a segment is destroyed.

The Destroyer is summoned by crafting and using a Mechanical Worm anywhere, but can only be spawned at night. The Destroyer will shoot Death Lasers, increasing in attack speed as it loses health. Weapons that deal damage to multiple segments like Flails, Daedalus Stormbow, and the Demon Scythe are recommended, because they will hit multiple sections of The Destroyer at once.

In Expert Mode, The Destroyer shoots fast lasers at the player when it has less than half of its maximum health. The head of The Destroyer can also deal damage as high as 280 / 420, crippling the player if they are hit head-on.

Skeletron Prime

Summoned with a Mechanical Skull

Music: Boss 1

Skeletron Prime

For elaborate strategies on defeating Skeletron Prime, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Skeletron Prime strategies.

Skeletron Prime is a weaponized mechanical variation of Skeletron, with the head alone having 28,000 / 42,000 / 53,550 health. Instead of two hands, it has four limbs – a vice, laser gun, saw, and cannon. With the head and all limbs combined, Skeletron Prime has 59,000 / 88,500 / 112,836 HP. However, like Skeletron, only the head has to be defeated. Skeletron Prime can be summoned as many times per world as needed, by crafting and using a Mechanical Skull, but it can only be summoned at night. It is more mobile than its predecessor, and it regularly flies off-screen, making targeting more difficult. It is also worth noting that when its head spins, its defense increases, unlike Skeletron, whose defense is dropped to 0 when spinning.

Skeletron Prime will drop Hallowed Bars and Souls of Fright upon being defeated, which are both used to craft many kinds of armor and tools. Like Skeletron, if Prime is not killed before the night ends, it will spin and target the player, generally killing the player in one hit, and will despawn afterwards.

In Expert Mode, Skeletron Prime follows around the same guidelines as Skeletron; it is less resistant to damage after its hands are destroyed, but its skull gains twice the amount of defense compared to normal mode Skeletron Prime when in its spinning attack.

Plantera

Summoned by destroying a Plantera's Bulb

Music: Plantera

Plantera

For elaborate strategies on defeating Plantera, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Plantera strategies.

Plantera is an enormous flower with 30,000 / 42,000 / 53,549 health. She is awoken by destroying a Plantera's Bulb, which is found in the Underground Jungle after defeating all three mechanical bosses. If the player exits the Underground Jungle, Plantera becomes "enraged", gaining a significant boost to her stats.

Plantera has two phases. In her first phase, she clings to solid blocks using vine-like hooks and fires Seeds (and eventually Poison Seeds), which are much like Spiky Balls. In her second form, Plantera has increased speed and charges at the player. She will also release tendrils from her main body. In Expert Mode, the seeds can go through walls and the tendrils are attached to each hook instead (3 on each), adding approximately 9 tendrils.

Once Plantera is defeated, the Dungeon will automatically spawn stronger Hardmode enemies, such as the Paladin, and more varieties of loot can be dropped.

Golem

Summoned by using a Lihzahrd Power Cell at a Lihzahrd Altar

Music: Golem

Golem

For elaborate strategies on defeating Golem, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Golem strategies.

Golem is a large boss with a combined total of 60,000 / 90,000 / 114,749 health. It is summoned by using a Lihzahrd Power Cell at the Lihzahrd Altar in the Jungle Temple. In order to access the Jungle Temple, Plantera must be defeated to obtain the Temple Key.

Golem has two phases. During the first phase, its two fists and its head can be attacked. Like Skeletron, destroying the fists is not needed, but can be helpful. Once the head's health is depleted, it begins flying above the body while shooting fireballs and eye beams, leaving the body open to attack. The body will jump around and punch madly in this phase. Defeating the body will defeat Golem.

Empress of Light

Summoned by killing a Prismatic Lacewing

Music: Empress of Light

Empress of Light

For elaborate strategies on defeating Empress of Light, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Empress of Light strategies.

The Empress of Light is a Hallow-themed boss with 70,000 / 98,000 / 124,950 health. She can be summoned from killing a Prismatic Lacewing, and is one of two Hallowed bosses present in the game. This boss is meant to be a small gap in between Plantera and Golem, but can be fought later or skipped altogether, as it is an optional fight. However, if the player fights her the moment she is available, they will face a major difficulty spike and numerous attack patterns. This boss can also be fought in the day, which will make her "enraged", greatly increasing her attack damage to an instant-kill, but will drop the Terraprisma once 100% of damage is dealt during the day.

Duke Fishron

Summoned by fishing in the Ocean biome with the Truffle Worm as bait

Music: Duke Fishron

Duke Fishron

For elaborate strategies on defeating Duke Fishron, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Duke Fishron strategies.

Duke Fishron is a mutant shark-pig-dragon hybrid with 60,000 / 78,000 / 99,450 health. He is summoned when a Truffle Worm is used as bait for fishing in the Ocean.

In his first stage, Duke Fishron will attempt to ram the player five times before either firing explosive bubbles or summoning Sharknados. In his second stage, Duke Fishron gains glowing eyes and a boost to attack and defense. Although his ramming attacks remain the same, instead of shooting bubbles directly at the player, he flies quickly around in circles, sending bubbles everywhere. Instead of summoning Sharknados in this stage, Duke Fishron summons larger Cthulhunados. These remain in place until Duke Fishron is defeated.

In Expert Mode, when Duke Fishron gets to low enough health, he enters his third phase. In this phase, the screen turns dark, Duke Fishron becomes invisible, and only his glowing eyes are visible. He teleports and tries to ram the player with high speed few times, before he teleports again.

Lunatic Cultist

Summoned by killing all the Cultists at the Dungeon entrance

Music: Golem

Lunatic Cultist

For elaborate strategies on defeating Lunatic Cultist, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lunatic Cultist strategies.

The Lunatic Cultist is a comparably small boss with 32,000 / 48,000 / 99,450 health. It is summoned by killing the four cultists, which reside at the entrance of the Dungeon after Golem is defeated. When the Lunatic Cultist is defeated, the Lunar Events will begin.

The Lunatic Cultist's attacks become more powerful as it loses health. The Lunatic Cultist flies around randomly, cycling between shooting fireballs, creating a ball which shoots lightning at the player, shooting a giant snowflake which shoots ice shards around it, shooting shadowflames, and shooting five destructible projectiles twice in a row. The Lunatic Cultist will also create fake copies of itself, which will summon a Phantasm Dragon when damaged. If a Phantasm Dragon is still alive and the player damages these copies, it will summon an Ancient Vision instead. Waiting too long to attack the real Lunatic Cultist will also cause the Phantasm Dragon or Ancient Vision to be summoned.

In Expert Mode, the Lunatic Cultist will spawn Ancient Dooms along with its other attacks.

Moon Lord

Summoned with a Celestial Sigil or by defeating the Celestial Pillars

Music: Moon Lord

Moon Lord

For elaborate strategies on defeating Moon Lord, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Moon Lord strategies.

The Moon Lord is the final boss of Terraria, and drops a majority of the endgame items, such as the Meowmere. It also drops Luminite, an ore used to craft many endgame armor sets and tools. It is summoned by defeating all four of the Celestial Pillars from the Lunar Events, or by using a Celestial Sigil. It has a combined health of 145,000 / 217,500 / 277,311, the most health of any boss in the game.

Moon Lord has two hands and a head which must be killed by attacking the eyes on them, and when killed will release invincible True Eyes of Cthulhu. When the three eyes are destroyed, the Moon Lord's core opens up on his chest, which must then be destroyed to defeat the boss.

Moon Lord's hands shoot two projectiles at once which home onto the player, and summon phantom versions of the True Eye of Cthulhu and throwing them at the player. Moon Lord's top eye will occasionally fire a Phantasmal Deathray that will sweep across the entire screen. Being very deadly to players, it can be avoided by hiding under solid blocks (it will pass through blocks on the  PC version,  Console version,  Mobile version, and  tModLoader version), or by trying to escape its wrath on a flying mount. When the True Eyes of Cthulhu are released, the places where they used to be will inflict minor contact damage. The True Eyes of Cthulhu will fire less damaging versions of many of the same attacks as they did when they were still enclosed within the Moon Lord.

In Expert Mode, Moon Lord's Phantasmal Deathray attack deals a lot more damage, enough to kill most players in one hit.

Event bosses

Event bosses are classified as mini-bosses, except for the Celestial Pillars.

Dark Mage

Event initiated with an Eternia Crystal

Dark Mage

For elaborate strategies on defeating Dark Mage, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Dark Mage § Tips and Guide:Old One's Army strategies.

The Dark Mage is a mini-boss that appears during the final wave of the Old One's Army Tier 1 event. It has three attacks, from hurling dark energy at the player, to summoning a rune which heals nearby enemies in its vicinity or summoning multiple Old One's Skeletons around it.

Ogre

Event initiated with an Eternia Crystal

Ogre

For elaborate strategies on defeating Ogre, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Ogre § Tips and Guide:Old One's Army strategies.

The Ogre is a mini-boss that appears during the final wave of the Old One's Army Tier 2 event. The mini-boss has three attacks, consisting of flinging snot at its targets inflicting Oozed, leaping in the air creating a damaging shockwave when landing, and swinging its large club at enemies in front of it.

Betsy

Event initiated with an Eternia Crystal

Betsy

For elaborate strategies on defeating Betsy, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Betsy § Tips and Guide:Old One's Army strategies.

Betsy is the final boss that appears during the final wave of the Old One's Army Tier 3 event. The wyvern attacks in similar manner to Duke Fishron, dashing at the player and spiting streams of flames. She also has different attacks as well, launching fireballs at its targets and summoning two Etherian Wyverns alongside it.

Flying Dutchman

Event initiated with a Pirate Map

Flying Dutchman

For elaborate strategies on defeating Flying Dutchman, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Flying Dutchman § Tips.

The Flying Dutchman is the mini-boss of the Pirate Invasion. It will initially spawn after 65% of the invasion is completed. It spawns various Pirate enemies to attack the player, and has four cannons which fire cannonballs at that must be destroyed before it can die, similar to the Martian Saucer. The Flying Dutchman does not disappear after the invasion is over, but it will explode if it has not been engaged before said ending occurs. Several Flying Dutchmen can appear at once.

Mourning Wood

Event initiated with a Pumpkin Moon
Medallion

Mourning Wood

For elaborate strategies on defeating Mourning Wood, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Mourning Wood § Tips and Guide:Pumpkin Moon strategies.

Mourning Wood is a mini-boss that spawns during the Pumpkin Moon. It shoots flaming projectiles at the player which pass through blocks. It also spits a jet of flaming spikes out of its head which stay on the ground for a while, dealing fire damage on contact.

Pumpking

Event initiated with a Pumpkin Moon
Medallion

Pumpking

For elaborate strategies on defeating Pumpking, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Pumpking § Tips and Guide:Pumpkin Moon strategies.

Pumpking is the second and final mini-boss in the Pumpkin Moon event. Multiple Pumpkings can be out at the same time, up to six at the final fifteenth wave (or even more in multiplayer). The mini-boss possesses two arms with scythes which swing and fire projectiles at the player, similarly to Skeletron. It cycles through modes of attack from swinging at the player to firing jets of flaming spikes, indicated by the face carved in the pumpkin it uses as a head.

Everscream

Event initiated with a Naughty Present

Everscream

For elaborate strategies on defeating Everscream, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Everscream § Tips and Guide:Frost Moon strategies.

Everscream is a mini-boss that can be found during the Frost Moon event. Its attacks alter between firing pine needle projectiles, and dropping bouncing ornaments on the ground that burst into shards.

Santa-NK1

Event initiated with a Naughty Present

Santa-NK1

For elaborate strategies on defeating Santa-NK1, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Santa-NK1 § Tips and Guide:Frost Moon strategies.

Santa-NK1 is a mini-boss that appears during the Frost Moon event. It attacks by rapidly firing bullets from its chain gun at the player, launching presents that rain and parachute from the sky and shooting rockets at the player which pass through blocks. Its face disappears to reveal a robotic one during its second phase.

Ice Queen

Event initiated with a Naughty Present

Ice Queen

For elaborate strategies on defeating Ice Queen, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Ice Queen § Tips and Guide:Frost Moon strategies.

Ice Queen is the third and final mini-boss that appears during the Frost Moon event. Multiple Ice Queens can spawn during the event. Her attacks involve spinning rapidly firing ice bolts in several directions, and shooting multiple ice waves at the player.

Martian Saucer

Event initiated by letting a Martian Probe escape after a player is detected

Martian Saucer

For elaborate strategies on defeating Martian Saucer, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Martian Saucer § Tips.

The Martian Saucer is a large flying mini-boss that spawns during the Martian Madness event. It has two phases, the first phase requiring its turrets to be destroyed before its core can be damaged. During its first phase, the saucer cycles through three attacks, wherein it either fires a barrage of lasers at the player, fires homing rockets or attempts to disintegrate the player with a large laser from its bottom. In Expert Mode (all difficulties on  Old Chinese and  tModLoader Legacy), once the turrets have been downed, the mini-boss begins to quickly chase the player, rapidly sweeping and firing its death ray upon them.

Solar Pillar

Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist

Solar Pillar

For elaborate strategies on defeating Solar Pillar, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lunar Events strategies.

The Solar Pillar is one of the four bosses that spawn during the Lunar Events that start once the Lunatic Cultist has been defeated.

After all 4 Celestial Pillars are defeated, the Moon Lord will spawn.

The Solar Pillar itself doesn't do much to attack the player, mainly summoning enemies instead, but it does cause solar fragments to rain non-stop from the sky. It is surrounded by a large, impenetrable force field until 100/150 of its minions have been slain. The enemies it spawns are melee-based. It is highly recommended to stay on the ground, as the Crawltipedes it spawns only target airborne players. After 100/150 minions are killed, the force field around it will dissipate, allowing players to attack it.

The Solar Pillar spawns the following enemies:

• Selenian
• Drakanian
• Corite
• Sroller
• Crawltipede
• Drakomire

Nebula Pillar

Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist

Nebula Pillar

For elaborate strategies on defeating Nebula Pillar, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lunar Events strategies.

The Nebula Pillar is one of the four bosses that spawn during the Lunar Events that start once the Lunatic Cultist has been defeated.

After all 4 Celestial Pillars are defeated, the Moon Lord will spawn.

While the Nebula Pillar itself doesn't do anything to attack the player, it spawns magic-based enemies. It is surrounded by a large impenetrable force field until at least 100/150 of its minions are slain. After the 100/150 minions are killed, the force field dissipates, allowing the player to attack it directly.

The Nebula Pillar spawns the following enemies:

• Nebula Floater
• Brain Suckler
• Predictor
• Evolution Beast

Vortex Pillar

Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist

Vortex Pillar

For elaborate strategies on defeating Vortex Pillar, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lunar Events strategies.

The Vortex Pillar is one of the four bosses that spawn during the Lunar Events that start once the Lunatic Cultist has been defeated.

After all 4 Celestial Pillars are defeated, the Moon Lord will spawn.

The Vortex Pillar itself doesn't do much to attack the player, only occasionally spawning a Giant Magnet sphere sort of attack, similar to the Lunatic Cultist's one. It spawns ranged-based enemies. After 100/150 of its minions have been slain, the force field around it will dissipate, leaving it open to the player's attacks.

The Vortex Pillar spawns the following enemies:

• Vortexian
• Alien Queen
• Alien Hornet
• Alien Larva
• Storm Diver

Stardust Pillar

Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist

Stardust Pillar

For elaborate strategies on defeating Stardust Pillar, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lunar Events strategies.

The Stardust Pillar is one of the four bosses that spawn during the Lunar Events that start once the Lunatic Cultist has been defeated.

After all 4 Celestial Pillars are defeated, the Moon Lord will spawn.

The Stardust Pillar itself doesn't attack the player much, but it is the only pillar with a damaging enemy-spawning animation. It spawns summon-based enemies. As with the other pillars, it is surrounded by an impenetrable force field that is only broken when 100/150 or more of its minions are slain. Once the force field is broken, the player can attack the pillar at will.

The Stardust Pillar spawns the following enemies:

• Star Cell
• Flow Invader
• Twinkle Popper
• Twinkle
• Stargazer
• Milkyway Weaver

Old-gen console version, Windows Phone version, and Nintendo 3DS version exclusive

Ocram

Summoned with a Suspicious Looking Skull

Music: Boss 5

Ocram

For elaborate strategies on defeating Ocram, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Ocram strategies.

Ocram is a boss that exists on the  Old-gen console version,  Windows Phone version, and Nintendo 3DS version of Terraria. It is generally considered the hardest boss of those versions. It is summoned by using a Suspicious Looking Skull. The boss attacks by lunging at the player, firing barrages of lasers and summoning Servants of Ocram. After it has taken enough damage, it switches to its second phase, thus increasing its attack rate and damage. Furthermore, its attacks are now initiated closer to the player.

Windows Phone version and Nintendo 3DS version exclusive

Lepus

Summoned with a Suspicious Looking Egg

Music: Underground HallowBoss 1File:Music-Underground HallowBoss 1.mp3

Lepus

For elaborate strategies on defeating Lepus, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Lepus strategies.

Lepus is a large, rabbit-like, Easter-themed boss exclusive to the  Windows Phone version and Nintendo 3DS version of Terraria. It is summoned with the Suspicious Looking Egg, which is dropped by Corrupt Bunnies and Diseaster Bunnies during the Easter season. Lepus lays two types of Easter Eggs: small ones that hatch Diseaster Bunnies, and bigger ones that hatch another weaker Lepus. These eggs can be damaged and destroyed by the player before hatching. A maximum of 5 Lepus can be spawned from the large eggs laid by the original Lepus, and after there are five, no more large eggs will be laid. Only the last remaining Lepus will drop items. Its drops include the Suspicious Looking Egg, Egg Cannon, and Boots of Ostara.

Turkor the Ungrateful

Summoned with a Cursed stuffing while a Pet Turkey is active

Music: Boss 1

Turkor the Ungrateful

For elaborate strategies on defeating Turkor the Ungrateful, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Turkor the Ungrateful strategies.

Turkor the Ungrateful is a Thanksgiving-themed boss exclusive to the  Windows Phone version and Nintendo 3DS version of Terraria. It is summoned with a Cursed stuffing while a Pet Turkey is active. Its drops include the Horn o' plenty, and a few Feathers.

Notes

• Boss classification is determined as follows:
  • Bosses: boss = true in Terraria's source code;
  • Mini-bosses: the other trophy-dropping characters.
• The status messages that appear when the bosses are about to spawn are as follows:
  • Eye of Cthulhu: "You feel an evil presence watching you..."
  • Eater of Worlds and Brain of Cthulhu: "A horrible chill goes down your spine..." after the first and "Screams echo around you..." after the second Shadow Orb/Crimson Heart is broken. The third only produces a standard summon message.
  • The Destroyer: "You feel vibrations from deep below..."
  • The Twins: "This is going to be a terrible night..."
  • Skeletron Prime: "The air is getting colder around you..."
  • Moon Lord: "Impending doom approaches..."
• As of 1.2.3, worlds generated in earlier versions, in which a player defeated all mechanical bosses before upgrading, will not have those bosses register as defeated; for instance, Plantera's Bulbs will not spawn, and the Steampunker will not arrive.
• There are currently 34 different/unique bosses ( 31, 29, 19, 21) in the game.
• Some enemies are particularly difficult to defeat, yet are not classified as bosses. These include:
  • Dreadnautilus
  • Dungeon Guardian
  • Goblin Summoner
  • Ice Golem
  • Mothron
  • Sand Elemental
  • Paladin

Achievements

Slayer of Worlds • “Defeat every boss in Terraria.”

Defeat every boss in the game.

Category: Challenger

Exterminator • “You have defeated every boss!”

Defeat every boss in the game.

Back for Second • “You have defeated all the prime bosses twice!”

Defeat all of the Mechanical bosses twice.

History

 PC version

• Desktop 1.4.0.1:
  • Added Queen Slime and Empress of Light.
  • Martian Saucer is no longer considered a boss internally.

• Desktop 1.3.4: Added Dark Mage, Ogre and Betsy.

• Desktop 1.3.0.5: Added Celestial Sigil, used to summon Moon Lord.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1:
  • Added Lunatic Cultist and Moon Lord.
  • New mini-bosses for the Pirate Invasion, the Martian Madness and the Lunar Events.
  • All regular bosses are more difficult and drop new items in Expert Mode.

• Desktop 1.2.4: Added Duke Fishron.

• Desktop 1.2.3.1:
  • Mechanical bosses no longer spawn randomly if another boss is alive (multiple bosses can still be summoned manually).
  • Hardmode bosses will no longer spawn if no player is above ground.

• Desktop 1.2.3:
  • Various boss changes and/or bug fixes.
  • Mechanical bosses are now slightly more difficult.
  • Boss summoning items are no longer wasted by using them after that boss has spawned.
  • Fixed a bug where numerous NPCs could spawn if you beat a hardmode boss in a non-Hardmode world.

• Desktop 1.2.1.2: Some Plantera and Destroyer changes.

• Desktop 1.2.1.1: Mechanical bosses will no longer spawn during Pumpkin Moons.

• Desktop 1.2.1: Reduced the chance for a mechanical boss summoning item to drop during Hardmode.

• Desktop 1.2.0.3:
  • Hardmode Crimson, Corruption, and Hallow spread is now slowed after killing Plantera instead of any mechanical boss.
  • Slightly increased chance for a Solar Eclipse to happen after defeating a mechanical boss.

• Desktop 1.2:
  • Added 4 bosses: Brain of Cthulhu, Queen Bee, Plantera, and Golem.
  • Each boss has a rare chance to drop a placeable boss trophy.
  • Hardmode bosses have a chance to spawn on their own to help players progress through the game.
  • Current hardmode bosses now do slightly less damage and have had their health decreased.

• Desktop 1.1: Added 4 bosses: Wall of Flesh, The Twins, The Destroyer, and Skeletron Prime (the three mechanical bosses are Hardmode upgrades of the original ones).

• Desktop 1.0.4: Added King Slime.

• Desktop-Release: Introduced Eye of Cthulhu, Eater of Worlds and Skeletron.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.3.0.7: Removed Lepus and Turkor the Ungrateful.

• Mobile 1.1.6255: Added Turkor the Ungrateful.

• Mobile 1.1.91: Introduced Lepus.