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PC versionConsole versionMobile versionOld Chinese versiontModLoader versiontModLoader 1
PC/Console/Mobile/Old Chinese/tModLoader/tModLoader 1.3-Legacy-Only Content: This information applies only to the PC, Console, Mobile, Old Chinese, tModLoader, and tModLoader Legacy versions of Terraria.
Moon LordHardmode exclusive
Map Icon Moon Lord
Map Icon
Classic mode icon Classic
Expert mode icon Expert
Master mode icon Master
Statistics
Type
Environment
AI TypeMoon Lord AI
Damage(Varies per attack)
Max Life145000217500277311 (total)
Defense(Varies per part)
KB Resist100%
Immune toConfused
Inflicts debuff
Inflicts debuff
Inflicts debuff
DebuffMoon BiteMoon Bite
Debuff tooltipYou are unable to absorb healing effects
Duration14 seconds16 seconds
Drops
Coins1250
Moon Lord Trophy"Impending doom approaches..."Moon Lord Trophy

The Moon Lord is a Hardmode, post-Lunatic Cultist boss. He is the final boss of the PC version PC, Console version Console, Mobile version Mobile, Old Chinese version Old Chinese, tModLoader version tModLoader, and tModLoader 1 tModLoader Legacy versions of Terraria.

The Moon Lord can be spawned by destroying the four Celestial Pillars or by using a Celestial Sigil in any world where Golem has been defeated. He will then spawn one minute after the status message "Impending doom approaches..." appears, or 12 seconds if spawned using the Celestial Sigil. After this message appears, the screen will go dim, the music will gradually become quieter until it goes silent, and all objects and walls will oscillate back and forth. It will then go back to normal. This will happen 5 times; each time the screen will go darker and all objects and walls will oscillate more violently until the 5th time, when Moon Lord will spawn.

See below for the Moon Bite debuff inflicted by the Moon Lord.

While Moon Lord is alive, his exclusive music Moon Lord will play. When Otherworldly music is enabled, the track Lunar Boss (Otherworldly) will play instead.

Quick Answers

What is the Moon Lord's role in the game Terraria? toggle section
The Moon Lord plays a significant role in Terraria as the final boss of the game. This formidable adversary is summoned either by using a Celestial Sigil or by defeating the Celestial Pillars. The Moon Lord is known for its challenging combat mechanics, requiring players to defeat its two hands and a head by attacking the eyes that appear on them. Once all three eyes are destroyed, a core opens on its chest that also needs to be defeated. The Moon Lord drops a majority of the endgame items, including the Meowmere, and Luminite, an ore used to craft many endgame armor sets and tools. Therefore, learning how to fight the Moon Lord is crucial for players aiming to reach the endgame content of Terraria.
Provided by: Fandom
How can you summon the Moon Lord in Terraria? toggle section
In Terraria, the Moon Lord can be summoned in two ways. The first method is by defeating all four of the Celestial Pillars, which triggers the Moon Lord's arrival after a short delay. The second method is by using a Celestial Sigil, an item that can manually summon the Moon Lord when used. Both methods will lead to an epic showdown with the lord of the moon, so be prepared for a challenging fight!
Provided by: Fandom
What happens after the status message 'Impending doom approaches...' appears in Terraria? toggle section
In Terraria, after the status message 'Impending doom approaches...' appears, it signifies that the Moon Lord, the final boss of the game, is about to spawn. This happens one minute after the message appears. The Moon Lord can be spawned by destroying the four Celestial Pillars or by using a Celestial Sigil in any world where Golem has been defeated. If you're using the Celestial Sigil, the Moon Lord will spawn in just 12 seconds after the message. So, get ready for a thrilling fight!
Provided by: Fandom
What is the significance of the Golem in relation to the Moon Lord in Terraria? toggle section
In Terraria, the defeat of the Golem is a significant event that sets the stage for the appearance of the Moon Lord. Once the Golem is defeated, Cultists spawn at the Dungeon's entrance. When these Cultists are killed, it summons the Lunatic Cultist and then the Lunar Events, provided certain other conditions are also met. This chain of events eventually leads to the summoning of the Moon Lord, the final boss of Terraria. Alternatively, the Moon Lord can be summoned directly using the Celestial Sigil.
Provided by: Fandom
What is the Celestial Sigil and how is it used in Terraria? toggle section
The Celestial Sigil is a boss-summoning item in Terraria, specifically used to summon the Moon Lord, a post-Hardmode boss. It's crafted from 12 / 20 of each of the Lunar Fragments. Unlike other summoning items, the Moon Lord doesn't appear immediately after the Celestial Sigil is used. Instead, it takes 12 / 60 seconds for the Moon Lord to actually show up. The Celestial Sigil can only be used under certain conditions: the world must be in Hardmode, the Golem must have been defeated, and there should be no ongoing invasions.
Provided by: Fandom

Behavior

The Moon Lord has two hands and a head that must be killed before his core becomes available for attack. He positions his two hands on either side of the player some distance away.

Each hand, as well as his head, contains a vulnerable eye-like target that is each periodically closed off and opened via an eyelid. These may only be damaged during their "open" states. The core, which is the only part required to be destroyed in order to defeat the boss, only becomes vulnerable when all eye sockets are destroyed.

The Moon Lord can teleport to players if all of them get too far out of range.

Attacks

  • The Moon Lord's hands move away from the core and their eyes spawn six Phantasmal SpherePhantasmal Spheres. After a couple seconds, they explode, dealing heavy damage. If the player is far enough away, they simultaneously charge at the player before exploding, though they cannot travel at an angle higher than approximately 30 degrees in any direction.
  • The hand eyes also spawn multiple Phantasmal EyePhantasmal Eyes, which move in all directions for a short while before homing in on the player. Like the Phantasmal Spheres, they cannot travel at an upward angle, so they can be evaded by swerving upwards. If they cannot get a direct lock and a player is in range then they will attempt to match the target's trajectory to stay in their path. They explode upon contact with a block or player.
  • The hand eyes also occasionally fire two Phantasmal BoltPhantasmal Bolts in quick succession, aiming at the player, which pass through blocks, requiring swerves to avoid. Another viable option is to quickly drop down before the bolts fire, saving the player from getting hit.
  • When attached to the Moon Lord's head, the head eye opens every 20–21 seconds for a few seconds, and then fires a Phantasmal DeathrayPhantasmal Deathray: a large laser that sweeps 60 degrees upward over the player. This is by far Moon Lord's most damaging attack. Afterward, the head eye blinks a couple times, and fires two Phantasmal BoltPhantasmal Bolts (similarly to those of the hands), and then closes. As of 1.4, the Head eye will also fire two Phantasmal BoltPhantasmal Bolts before performing the Deathray attack, the Deathray can pass through solid blocks as well. In the getfixedboi seed, after the Phantasmal Deathray begins, the Moon Lord will eject around 5 Moon BoulderMoon Boulders, which bounce about very quickly and over long distances and inflict massive damage upon touching the player. These can be devastating if the player is fighting the Moon Lord close to the ground due to the Moon Boulders bouncing rapidly and unpredictably off blocks.
  • After the Deathray attack, the mouth attempts to attach a Tentacle to the player. The Tentacle can reach through solid blocks. Once attached, it spawns multiple Moon Leech ClotMoon Leech Clots, which are enemies that travel from the player to the Moon Lord's mouth. Any Moon Leech Clot that reaches the mouth without being killed returns 1000 health to one of the Moon Lord's parts (one that has not yet been defeated).
    • The Tentacle also inflicts the Moon Bite debuff, preventing any life-steal effects from weapons/armor like Vampire Knives or Spectre Armor for 14 seconds (16 seconds in Expert Mode).
    • Once the Head eye is defeated, the Tentacle attack becomes more common, with only about a 2 second break between attacks.
  • When a hand or head target is defeated, it becomes a thorny crevice that deals damage on contact.
  • Additionally, when a head or hand target is defeated, a True Eye of CthulhuTrue Eye of Cthulhu spawns, which cycles through the following attacks:
    • The eye fires two Phantasmal BoltPhantasmal Bolts at the player, similar to those from the hand eyes.
    • The eye spawns six Phantasmal SpherePhantasmal Spheres in a hexagonal formation around itself, which after a few seconds will charge directly at the player, dealing a significant amount of damage to the player. This is by far the dominant source of damage in the second phase and should be avoided by swerving/dashing.
    • The eye spawns Phantasmal EyePhantasmal Eyes, which behave similarly to when before the eyes were defeated.
    • The eye charges and fires a lesser Phantasmal DeathrayPhantasmal Deathray, smaller and dealing significantly less damage. Unlike the primary laser, these attacks cannot go through blocks.
    • Finally, the eye performs another Phantasmal SpherePhantasmal Sphere attack.
  • The True Eyes of Cthulhu are invincible and will only despawn if either all players die or the Moon Lord is defeated. The eyes remain stationary for most of their attacks.
  • The Moon Lord will teleport to the nearest player if the player he is targeting dies or moves more than 150 tiles away.[2]

Parts

Moon LordHardmode exclusive
Moon Lord's Head
Classic mode icon Classic
Expert mode icon Expert
Master mode icon Master
Statistics
Type
Boss Part
Environment
AI TypeMoon Lord Head AI
Damage0 (contact)
150300450 (Phantasmal Deathray)
60120180 (Phantasmal Bolt) [4]
Max Life45000/67500/86062
Defense50
KB Resist100%
Immune toConfusedShimmering
Moon Lord's HandHardmode exclusive
Moon Lord's Hand
Classic mode icon Classic
Expert mode icon Expert
Master mode icon Master
Statistics
Type
Boss Part
Environment
AI TypeMoon Lord Hand AI
Damage0 (contact)
80 (contact) (open eye socket)
80160240 (Phantasmal Sphere)
60120180 (Phantasmal Eye)
60120180 (Phantasmal Bolt) [3]
Max Life25000/37500/47812
Defense40
KB Resist100%
Immune toConfusedShimmering
Moon Lord's CoreHardmode exclusive
Moon Lord's Core
Classic mode icon Classic
Expert mode icon Expert
Master mode icon Master
Statistics
Type
Boss Part
Environment
AI TypeMoon Lord Core AI
Damage0
Max Life50000/75000/95625
Defense70
KB Resist100%
Immune toConfusedShimmering
Drops
Coins1250

Aftermath

After defeating the Moon Lord on the PC version PC version, Console version Console version, Mobile version Mobile version, and tModLoader version tModLoader version, the Credits will appear while the song Journey's End plays. Besides his other loot, the Moon Lord always drops Luminite, allowing the crafting of end-game materials.

Additionally:

Health in Multiplayer

  • In Expert and Master modes, the health of bosses depends on the number of players in multiplayer. Please enter the number of players (a whole number between 2 and 256) on your server in the input box below.

    If you don't see the input box and the Calculate button, please check if you have JavaScript enabled in your web browser (instructions for the most popular web browsers). If you're certain that JavaScript is enabled but the button and input box are still not appearing, please contact the administrators on the Terraria Wiki:Admin noticeboard.

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  • Moon Lord

    Notes

    • The Moon Lord can be summoned with a Celestial Sigil before defeating the Lunatic Cultist in any world where the Golem has been defeated.
    • If the player leaves the world after the message "Impending doom approaches...", Moon Lord will not spawn.
      • This could be useful for players who are not ready or willing to fight Moon Lord yet and/or if they do not have enough Lunar Fragments to use.
    • Every NPC takes reduced damage from the Moon Lord, especially the Nurse. They only take 20–35 / 40–60 damage for other NPCs and 10–30 / 25–45 for the Nurse, and for all of them 100–130 / 125–180 for the Phantasmal Deathray attack. However, this changes in later stages of the fight, as the True Eyes of Cthulhu deal around 45–85 / 60–105 damage.
    • While the Moon Lord is nearby, the sky will turn dark and the world will appear hazy and shadowy with blur effects. In multiplayer, this only happens if the player is within 130 tiles of Moon Lord.
    • In Expert Mode, the Treasure Bag will not drop a Portal Gun if the player opening it already has a Portal Gun in their inventory. However, he will always drop it in Classic Mode.
    • If the Moon Lord uses the Phantasmal Deathray, it will still be used even if his head is defeated until finished.
    • The Celebration is replaced by the Celebration Mk2 on the PC version PC version, Console version Console version, Mobile version Mobile version, and tModLoader version tModLoader version.
    • If all players die during Moon Lord's death animation, he will despawn and drop nothing.
    • The Moon Lord appears behind all blocks and walls, similar to a background object.

    Achievements

    Achievement Champion of Terraria
    Champion of Terraria • Defeat the Moon Lord.
    Defeat the Moon Lord for the first time.
    Category: Slayer Slayer
    Achievement Slayer of Worlds
    Slayer of Worlds • Defeat every boss in Terraria.
    Defeat every boss in the game.
    Category: Challenger Challenger

    Tips

    For more elaborate strategies on defeating Moon Lord, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Moon Lord strategies.
    • Dodging the Moon Lord's attacks is crucial. In particular, the Phantasmal Deathray should be avoided at all costs.
    • Teleporting away from the Moon Lord to get healing from the Nurse might result in her death, because Moon Lord will immediately teleport to the player.
      • In multiplayer, the Moon Lord will attack the nearest player. Players can take turns teleporting home to get healing from the Nurse.
    • In Journey Mode, fighting the Moon Lord in a low difficulty, then changing the difficulty during the exploding animation will still give the player the rewards of the new difficulty.
    • The Moon Lord is vulnerable to almost all debuffs, most notably Ichor and Betsy's Curse, which can dramatically speed up the fight. However, since the Moon Lord's eyes remove all debuffs when they close, the player will have to reapply them accordingly.
    • It is advisable to kill the eye on the head first. It is the only eye capable of firing the Phantasmal Deathray and remains closed for significantly longer than the eyes in the hands. If the player waits to kill the head last, they may have to deal with two True Eyes of Cthulhu for a longer amount of time.
    • While the frequently-applied Moon Bite debuff disables the healing effects of Vampire Knives and the Spectre Hood, it does not disable health regeneration boosts, hence the effects of Nebula Armor and the Life Drain are not affected.
    • Some of the Moon Lord's attacks can be avoided using the 200 NPC limit.
    • The Moon Lord's attacks bypass typical invincibility frames, requiring special setups to bypass his attacks.
    • Moon Leech Clots will always reach the Moon Lord's mouth in the same amount of time. They travel toward it at a variable rate, remaining completely stationary (or at least apparently so) if the Moon Lord is in his default position behind the player. As a result of this, though it may seem counterintuitive, it is actually beneficial to be closer to the mouth to destroy Moon Leech Clots, as they will not move away as quickly.
    • Moon Lord's eye sockets still deal contact damage during his death animation. It is wise to move away from the boss after he is defeated.
    • The entire fight can be trivialised in Expert Mode via the use of the Mechanical Cart. Setting up a minecart track across the sky with bumpers at both end will force Moon Lord to constantly teleport to the player, and allow them to avoid nearly every attack. Using Beetle armor and the Vortex Beater with Chlorophyte Bullets will allow the player to shoot at the reeling Moon Lord, while keeping them relatively safe.

    Trivia

    • Despite a mid-development comment by Cenx that this would not be the case, the Moon Lord resembles common depictions of Cthulhu, a creature first imagined by H. P. Lovecraft in his story The Call of Cthulhu. Fans commonly speculated prior to the release of 1.3 that Cthulhu would be the final Terraria boss (which in turn arose partly due to an early concept design floated by the development team).
    • Terraria's final boss was originally going to be the moon itself descending on the world, but Cenx later stated that this idea had been scrapped.[5][6]
    • Due to the colors of the boss and the names of a few of his projectiles, this boss may have been inspired by the Vortex Pillar.
    • Despite being the final boss, the Moon Lord has the fewest debuff immunities, being immune only to Confused.
    • Official Terraria Lore – According to the official game lore, though it was initially theorized (and joked by staff) that the Moon Lord was Cthulhu's brother, it appears that he is Cthulhu itself, or at least is what it implies. This entity was detrimental to existence and was finally banished by the Dryads, an ancient race of who the Dryad NPC is the only survivor, after they ripped out his organs and exiled him to the moon. It further appears that the Celestial Events and eventual battle are his final attempt at total conquest, as stated directly.
      • In the same post where the developers, namely Arkhayla, joked that the Moon Lord was Cthulhu's brother. They also said his name was Steve. However, this has been confirmed to not be true.
    • NPCs are unable to attack the Moon Lord.
    • According to Cenx, spriting the Moon Lord took over a month.[7]
    • The Moon Lord is the only boss with a unique death animation sequence.
    • Redigit has stated that, if 10,000 signatures and 15 dollars are gathered, he would make the lower half of the Moon Lord a boss. However, the validity of this statement is questionable as both criteria have since been met.
    • The Moon Lord seems to share some mechanics of two bosses in pre-Hardmode including Skeletron, having multiple parts that each are destroyable, and the Brain of Cthulhu, requiring the player to defeat separate parts before truly damaging the boss.
    • The Moon Lord is one of 7 bosses with exclusive music, the others being the Queen Bee, Deerclops, Queen Slime, Empress of Light, Plantera, and Duke Fishron.
    • He is the only boss that drops three Expert-exclusive items in his Treasure Bag.
    • The Moon Lord drops the most coins of any boss, and overall any enemy, in the game.
      • In Expert Mode and Master Mode, his coin drops are higher than the total coin drops of all the Hardmode bosses in the game.
    • Desktop only While fighting the Moon Lord, an eye, presumably the True Eye of Cthulhu, appears on RGB-enabled keyboards.
    • According to Redigit, the Moon Lord is the father of the Guide. It's unknown whether this is to be considered official lore.[8]
    • If a body part of the Moon Lord is spawned in separately, e.g. using mods or hacks, the music track Boss 1 plays instead of the Moon Lord track. Autopause needs to be enabled for this.
    • While the Moon Lord is spawning, music volume is decreased.
    • While the Phantasmal Spheres the Moon Lord shoots can pierce all NPCs, the Phantasmal Bolts get destroyed upon contact with an NPC, potentially being a viable option for players trying to avoid the bolts.
    • The Moon Lord's summon message "Impending doom approaches..." is redundant; "impending" and "approaching" are synonyms. Thus, an equivalent message would be "Approaching doom approaches..."

    The BestiaryBestiary entry for the Moon Lord: "The mastermind behind all terrors which befall the world, freed from his lunar prison. Practically a god, his power knows no limits."

    History

    • Desktop 1.4.4:
      • Phantasmal Sphere damage reduced by 20%.
      • Phantasmal Sphere hitbox size reduced slightly.
      • Will now always drop 2 non-identical weapons.
      • Now spawns after 12 seconds if summoned by the Celestial Sigil instead of the previous 60 seconds.
      • Worlds in the World Menu where Moon Lord has been defeated now have a golden border around their icon.
    • Desktop 1.3.0.4:
      • Moon Lord will now teleport to the player once they are far enough away.
      • Body parts now properly show display names.
      • Cultists now cannot respawn while Moon Lord is alive or spawning.
    • Desktop 1.3.0.3:
      • Moon Lord's leeching effect has been massively buffed.
      • Added the Moon Bite debuff, which prevents any healing from weapons.
    • Desktop 1.3.0.2: The death message now properly displays "Moon Lord has been defeated!", instead of "Moon Lord Core has been defeated!".

    References

    1. Information taken from the PC version PC 1.4.4.9 source code, method RegisterBoss_MoonLord() in Terraria.GameContent.ItemDropRules.ItemDropDatabase.cs.
    2. Information taken from the PC version PC 1.4.2.1 source code, method AI() in Terraria.NPC.cs, under aiStyle == 77. There may be inaccuracies, as the current PC version PC version is 1.4.4.9.
    3. Information taken from the PC version PC 1.4.0.5 source code, method AI() in Terraria.NPC.cs, under aiStyle == 78 There may be inaccuracies, as the current PC version PC version is 1.4.4.9.
    4. Information taken from the PC version PC 1.4.0.5 source code, method AI() in Terraria.NPC.cs, under aiStyle == 79 There may be inaccuracies, as the current PC version PC version is 1.4.4.9.
    5. An update on things. Jun 30, 2014
    6. I am Redigit - Creator of Terraria. Ask Me Anything! Sep 27, 2013
    7. Cenx' message in #terraria-chat-1 on the official Terraria Discord server Apr 05, 2019
    8. Red's message on the official Terraria Discord server (link to message)
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