Bosses are a vital part of the game’s progression. These bosses have an order in which you need to defeat them to progress in the game. In addition to granting loot to strengthen your character, these creatures lead you into the later stages of the game, in which you defeat powerful enemies.
Ready to face the world of Terraria and all of the glory that comes with it? Follow this guide to achieve that goal!
Bosses Disclaimer
This guide will only include the essential bosses to defeat to progress in the game. Some optional bosses will be excluded from the list as they’re not necessary to defeat for progression. You can read more about these enemies here.
This guide will also focus on the drops the bosses give in Expert Mode as it’s the middle of Classic and Master Mode.
Eye of Cthulhu
The start of your journey is the Eye of Cthulhu. This foe is the game’s first progression point as it drops the loot required to craft the essential equipment for the next boss. Prep work is critical to defeating this boss. This creature floats around as it attacks you, so long-range weapons are a must. It would be best if you had an arena and plenty of arrows for your bow.
You can use the loot from its treasure bags to craft equipment based on whether your world has the Crimson terrain or the Corruption terrain.
Depending on the world that you reside in, the Eye will drop one of the following. For Crimson worlds, it will drop Crimtane Ores. At the same time, Corruption worlds will drop Demonite Ores.
Brain of Cthulhu
If your world spawns in the Crimson terrain, you must fight the Brain of Cthulhu. This monster is the next point of progression in the game. Defeating this boss will grant you considerable amounts of Crimtane Ores and Tissue Samples for your arsenal from its treasure bags.
This boss has two stages when you decide to challenge it. The first phase of this monster is initially invincible. It will spawn Creeper minions as the Brain teleports near players as its attacks. Defeating the minions is essential for the next phase of the fight. In the second phase, the Brain will be vulnerable to attack and knockback. It will also aggressively ram players as it teleports around the area.
Eater of Worlds
Journeying into the Corruption will eventually lead you to the Eater of Worlds, so prepare to fight! This boss is a feisty worm that roams around the area while it tries to end your life. Unlike the Brain, this creature has no phases throughout the fight. But this foe has one trick up its sleeve; it will divide into multiple Eater of Worlds once you defeat one segment!
As you defeat this foe, you can expect to receive a treasure bag with plenty of Demonite Ores and Shadow Scales. These can further your progression to defeating more powerful opponents in the game’s later stages.
Skeletron
The skeletal behemoth that’s Skeletron is the next boss to conquer before facing off the Wall of Flesh. Defeating this creature is required to progress further into the game as it makes the Dungeon available. As you fight this enemy, you’ll have to deal damage to his head and two hands.
Although not required, destroying the hands will make your fight easier. As you defeat the monster, like other bosses, it will always spawn a treasure bag.
The treasure bag will contain a guaranteed chance to drop a Skeletron Mask, Skeletron Hand, and a magic weapon called Book of Skulls.
Wall of Flesh
As your journey to the Underworld begins, you must face the Wall of Flesh. It’s the next step to unlocking Hardmode. This beast is a towering beast that spans the entire screen height. The creature will give a Horrified debuff which will make it difficult, or sometimes, impossible to flee from the fight. Escaping the battle will cause The Tongue to deal severe damage. Teleporting away will cause you to die instantly.
This boss sweeps across the Underworld as it tries to attack you. As its HP draws lower, it will increase its speed. The rate at which the lasers of this monster fire will also increase as it takes damage. It’s essential to defeat this boss before it reaches the end of the map, as it will despawn once it has reached the threshold.
The enemy also spawns The Hungry to block damage to itself. As the boss drops in health, it will generate more minions rapidly. These creatures significantly damage players, so it’s best to defeat the Wall of Flesh rather than clear the minions.
Defeating the Wall of Flesh will trigger Hardmode for your world. Once this happens, it cannot be reversed and will spawn more challenging opponents. It would be best to gear up before the boss fight to survive this harsh mode.
Defeating the Wall of Flesh will guarantee you a Demon Heart (assuming you haven’t consumed one) and a Pwnhammer. You will receive one Emblem of the four classes.
You will also have an equal chance to receive one of these items: Breaker Blade, Clockwork Assault Rifle, Laser Rifle, and Firecracker.
The Twins
The first of the Hardmode bosses, The Twins, is the next hurdle to your journey—the cybernetic equivalent to the Eye of Cthulhu. As the name suggests, you will face off with two opponents: Retinazer and Spazmatism. The Twins start as conjoined eyes, one shooting lasers and the other shooting fireballs. As you lower its HP to a certain level, it will transform to its second phase.
The second phase of this fight triggers Retinazer to transform with a laser cannon. At the same time, Spazmatism transforms into a mechanized second form of Cthulhu. Its attacks are more powerful, and Spazmatism’s fireballs fire more consistently akin to a flamethrower while ramming faster.
Defeating The Twins will spawn its respective treasure bag. You are guaranteed to receive these items: Mechanical Wheel Piece, Soul of Sight, and Hallowed Bars.
The Destroyer
If The Twins are Cthulu’s counterpart, The Eater of Worlds has one too! The Destroyer is a mechanized worm considered one of the easier bosses in Hardmode. This worm will float around, shooting lasers from every segment of its body. Unlike the Eater of Worlds, when you destroy one of its segments, it will not divide. Destroying segments will cause the enemy to spawn Probes.
Successfully defeating this foe will drop you a treasure bag with a few guaranteed drops. Mechanical Wagon Piece, Soul of Might, and Hallowed Bars are the following items.
Skeletron Prime
If Skeletron isn’t scary enough, wait till you face off Skeletron Prime! The mechanized version of the boney creature is a challenge to beat. This creature has four weapons with each limb: a vice, laser gun, saw, and cannon. Like Skeletron, you will only need the head to defeat the boss. Fighting this enemy is tricky as it regularly drifts off screen, making targeting challenging.
As you slay this boss, you are guaranteed a treasure bag with the following: Mechanical Battery Piece, Soul of Fright, and Hallowed Bars.
Plantera
A flowery opponent, Plantera is a force of nature driven with fury. It’s an enormous flower that clings to solid walls as it moves around the terrain. The first phase of this monster will shoot Seeds at the player.
The second form causes her to increase movement and aggressively attack players, while her Seeds become Poison Seeds. In Expert mode, the seeds can go through walls and homes slightly to the player.
Slaying this beast grants you a treasure bag with a Spore Sac and the Temple key. With it, you may also receive one of the following items:
Grenade Launcher (With Rocket I), Venus Magnum, Nettle Burst, Leaf Blower, Flower Pow, Wasp Gun, Seedler, Seedling, The Axe, Pygmy Staff, and Thorn Hook.
Golem
Next up on the list is the Golem. This boss is a simple one, but not an easy one. This creature has two phases. Its first phase is simple; it’ll jump around and punch you with its fists. The hand and the head are vulnerable to damage. Although the player can defeat its fists, it’s not required.
The second phase is tricky, as the boss’s head will separate from its body and start shooting fireballs and eye beams. The body will also jump around and punch aggressively. In this phase, you must deplete the body’s health to defeat the Golem.
Defeating this boss will result in dropping a treasure bag with a guaranteed chance to receive Beetle Husk and a Shiny Stone with an opportunity to drop a Picksaw.
One of the seven items will also drop from the treasure bag. The following are: Stynger (With Stynger Bolt), Possessed Hatchet, Sun Stone, Eye of the Golem, Heat Ray, Staff of Earth, and Golem Fist.
Lunatic Cultist
It’s almost time for the endgame, and the Lunatic Cultist is the precursor to that achievement. This boss is one of the most difficult of the bunch, so preparation is a must. Defeating it will also spawn the Pillars to summon the Moon Lord, so be prepared to fight once it’s defeated.
The Lunatic grows powerful as you deplete its health; prolonging the fight isn’t ideal. The Lunatic has a series of attacks that cycle as the battle continues. It will first start by shooting fireballs and then creating balls that shoot lightning. The enemy will then shoot snowflakes that produce ice shards and attack with shadowflames. At the end of its attack cycle, it will shoot five destructible projectiles twice.
The Lunatic will also have a phase where it generates clones. Damaging the clones will cause the enemy to spawn a Phantasm Dragon. When the Dragon is still alive, and you damage one of its clones, it will generate an Ancient Vision. Attacking the genuine Lunatic is a must as it will automatically summon a Phantasm Dragon if you wait too long.
In Expert mode, The Cultist will spawn Ancient Dooms alongside its attacks.
Once defeated, The Cultist will drop an Ancient Manipulator.
Moon Lord
The end-all-be-all of Terraria, the Moon Lord, is your final opponent. Once you have defeated the Pillars, in just a minute, you will spawn the Moon Lord itself. You must face this last challenge to reach the endgame truly.
The Moon Lord has two hands and a head, which is necessary to defeat to spawn True Eyes of Cthulhu. These three eyes are critical to opening up the core of the Moon Lord. Once you expose the core, you must deplete its health to defeat the Moon Lord.
The enemy’s attacks are deadly. Its hand will shoot two projectiles at once and home to the player. It will also summon phantom versions of the True Eye of Cthulhu, throwing it to the player. Moon Lord’s top eye will occasionally fire a Phantasmal Deathray and will sweep across the entire screen. The player cannot avoid this as it will pass through blocks, and you cannot avoid it with a flying mount.
The True Eyes of Cthulhu will also fire less damaging versions of the same attacks. It would be best if you were careful when these creatures spawn.
Expert mode will make things more challenging as Phantasmal Deathray can kill most players in just one hit.
Slaying this beast will grant you a treasure bag with the guaranteed chance to receive a Gravity Globe, Suspicious Looking Tentacle, and a Celestial Starboard.
Also, you may receive one of these items in the treasure bag.
The following are Meowmere, Terrarian, Star Wrath, S.D.M.G., Last Prism, Lunar Flare, Rainbow Crystal Staff, Lunar Portal Staff, Celebration Mk2, Celebration, Portal Gun (If there is none in your inventory), and Luminite.
Conclusion
This guide is an extensive list of bosses, and it may take a while to prepare for most of them. Taking your time to strengthen is a must to challenge most of these enemies. You must collect as many resources and weapons as possible to compete with these bosses. The optional bosses that the guide didn’t include in this list are also a viable way to farm high-tier items to challenge these foes.
Now that you know what bosses to conquer in Terraria. Go on ahead and start your new game with this guide! Be brave, and don’t be afraid to try again if you fail. Show your skill and fight on!
