Bosses
Bosses are aggressive, resilient enemies intended to offer a substantial challenge to players. Defeating a boss is usually instrumental in advancing the game in some way or another, such as 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 only appear during their respective events and leave when the event ends. Mini-bosses appear only during special events, expressing the same amount of difficulty as many normal bosses. The health of bosses has a huge range: In 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(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), Lepus(3DS version), Turkor the Ungrateful's(3DS version) body, and the Flying Dutchman(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions).
For all non-event bosses, with the exception of the Lunatic Cultist(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), status messages 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 Moon, Frost Moon, and Old One's Army(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), 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 
Desktop version, 
Console version, and 
Mobile version, bosses appear on the minimap, each with a unique map icon and boss health bar that appear on the screen. The boss health bar only shows the health of the most recently-attacked boss if there are multiple. On the 
Old-gen console version, bosses appear as the standard purple blob that signifies enemies.
There are 8 pre-Hardmode bosses, 10 Hardmode bosses, 14 event bosses, and 1 secret world seed boss.
Pre-Hardmode bosses
These are the first bosses the player can encounter. Usually, defeating one of these bosses gives the player items and materials necessary to progress in the game, eventually leading to Hardmode. Although there are 8 pre-Hardmode bosses, only 7 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 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) seeds purchased from the Dryad in Hardmode, and does not use a secret seed(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)).
- Summoned with a
Slime Crown
Music: Boss 1
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. He is summoned with a Slime Crown or after killing 150 (75 if he has already been killed) slimes during a Slime Rain(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions). He can also rarely appear in the outer lateral sixths of the world completely by himself. As with all enemies that can spawn naturally, 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 Desktop, Console, and Mobile, 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 1 GC, one piece of the Ninja set, and one of several slime-related items.
In Expert Mode, King Slime can summon Spiked Slimes, which act similarly to the Spiked Jungle Slime and Spiked Ice Slime.
- Summoned with a
Suspicious Looking Eye
Music: Boss 1
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 1/3 (33.33%) chance of spawning at the beginning of each night as long as at least one player in the world has 200 or more HP and over 10 defense while 3 or more NPCs are living in houses in the world. It will continue to do so until defeated for the first time. It can also be summoned by 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, 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.
- Summoned by using
Worm Food or by breaking 3 Shadow Orbs
Music: Boss 1
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 Desktop version, Console version, and Mobile version, and 7,500 health on the Old-gen console version and Nintendo 
version. It spawns once after every third Shadow Orb is broken or after Worm Food is used. The Eater of Worlds can only be summoned in the Corruption, and can be summoned at any time of the day. If it manages to escape the Corruption, it will flee and disappear.
The 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. The Demonite Ore can be sold for 10 GC for every 100, 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.
- Summoned with a
Bloody Spine or by breaking 3 Crimson Hearts
Music: Boss 3
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. 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. The Brain of Cthulhu's second form attacks by ramming into the player, 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 the Crimson equivalents to the Corruption items Shadow Scale and Demonite Ore, respectively.
In Expert Mode, in the Brain of Cthulhu's second phase, it will start creating illusions of itself to charge at the player. The lower the Brain of Cthulhu's HP gets, the less obvious the illusions become, to the point where they will look exactly like the real Brain of Cthulhu.
- Summoned with an
Abeemination or by breaking its 
Larva
Music: Boss 5
For elaborate strategies on defeating Queen Bee, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Queen Bee strategies.
The Queen Bee is an enormous bee with 3,400 / 4,760 / 6,069 health. She is summoned by destroying a Larva, encased within the walls of Bee Hives located in the Underground Jungle, by the use of an Abeemination anywhere in the Jungle biome. She is the only source of Bee Wax in the game.
The Queen Bee alternates between charging at the player, hovering above them while spawning Bees, and moving left and right while shooting stingers. In Expert Mode, the rate at which she charges the player gets faster the more damage she takes.
Defeating the 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 later boss battles, such as against the Wall of Flesh. One such weapon is the Beenade, which is extremely effective when fighting the Wall of Flesh.
- Summoned with a
Deer Thing
Music: Deerclops
For elaborate strategies on defeating Deerclops, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Deerclops strategies.
Deerclops is a large, upright, one eyed deer with 7,000 / 11,900 / 15,172 health. It is summoned by using a Deer Thing at any time while in the Snow biome, or can spawn naturally at midnight during a Blizzard if at least one player in the world has at least either 9 defense or 200 health. If Deerclops has previously been defeated in the world, there is only a 1/4 (25%) chance for it to spawn naturally. Deerclops has both close-range attacks and projectile attacks to attack the player at all ranges. It will become immune to all damage if the player is too far away. Deerclops can rise through solid blocks if the player is above it and far away enough, despite normally being unable to pass through solid blocks.
If all players are dead or there are none nearby, Deerclops will wander around instead of immediately despawning. It will despawn if no player is nearby after one in-game day (24 real-world minutes) has passed since Deerclops's spawn. Leaving and re-entering the world will also cause it to despawn.
- Summoned by activating the Old Man's curse or by killing the Clothier with a
Clothier Voodoo Doll equipped
Music: Boss 1
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 initially summoned by speaking to the Old Man NPC at the entrance of the Dungeon and activating his curse at night, but can be summoned again by killing the Clothier while equipped with the Clothier Voodoo Doll 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 gain a massive amount of defense and spin at players at a high speed, dealing very large amounts of damage that usually kill the player in one hit, until either all players are dead or it is defeated.
Defeating Skeletron will stop Dungeon Guardians from spawning, allowing free access to the Dungeon.
In Expert Mode, Skeletron's head is more resistant to damage until its hands are destroyed. Once at least one hand is destroyed, it will start shooting homing skulls at the player. It is also 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.
- Summoned by throwing a
Guide Voodoo Doll into lava while the Guide is alive
Music: Boss 2
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, and 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 and 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 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 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(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) in movement speed. The Hungry will rapidly respawn, thus often 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.
- Summoned with a
Gelatin Crystal
Music: 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 which can be found 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. 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 those of King Slime, the second phase poses much more of a threat as the boss begins to fly in the air, shooting projectiles from above.
- Summoned with a
Mechanical Eye
Music: Boss 2
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.
The two eyes have different fighting styles. Retinazer focuses on shooting the player with Eye Lasers like the Wall of Flesh's Eyes. 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 Death 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 which inflict the Cursed Inferno debuff. 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.
Unlike the Eye of Cthulhu, The Twins will gain defense in their second forms. After they are defeated, they will drop Hallowed Bars and Souls of Sight which can be used to craft various armor and weapons. The last twin destroyed will drop all of the loot. If not beaten before daytime, The Twins will flee from the battle and despawn.
In Expert Mode, Retinazer will shoot lasers faster, and Spazmatism charges faster in its second form.
- Summoned with a
Mechanical Worm
Music: Boss 3
For elaborate strategies on defeating The Destroyer, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:The Destroyer strategies.
The Destroyer is a colossal mechanized worm with 80,000 / 120,000 / 153,000 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's head can deal damage as high as 280 / 420, crippling the player if they are hit head-on.
- Summoned with a
Mechanical Skull
Music: Boss 1
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 by crafting and using a Mechanical Skull anywhere at night. It is more mobile than its predecessor, and it regularly flies off-screen, making targeting more difficult. When its head spins, its defense doubles from 24 to 48, 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 Skeletron 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 moves significantly faster during its spinning attack, similarly to Skeletron.
- Summoned by destroying a
Plantera's Bulb
Music: 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). In her second form, Plantera has increased speed and moves more aggressively torwards the player. She will also release numerous "Plantera's Tentacle" minions that are attached to her main body.
In Expert Mode(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), the seeds can go through walls and have slight homing, and extra Plantera's Tentacles are attached to each hook (3 on each) in her second phase, adding 9 tentacles in total.
Once Plantera is defeated, the Dungeon will automatically spawn stronger Hardmode enemies, such as the Paladin, and more varieties of loot can be dropped. Additionally, the spread of Crimson, Corruption and Hallow are slowed to half.
- Summoned by using a
Lihzahrd Power Cell at a 
Lihzahrd Altar
Music: 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.
- Summoned by fishing in the Ocean biome with the
Truffle Worm as bait
Music: 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. While he can therefore be summoned as soon as the player enters Hardmode, defeating him will generally require gear obtained later on.
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 a longer time than Sharknados.
In Expert Mode, when Duke Fishron drops below 15% (11700 / 14917) 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 a few times, before he teleports again.
- Summoned by killing a
Prismatic Lacewing
Music: 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 which spawns in The Hallow once Plantera is defeated. She is generally fought at night, and becomes "enraged" with greatly increased damage during the day. Defeating the Empress of Light is not required for game progression, but she drops powerful loot.
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 / 61,200 health. It is summoned by killing the four cultists, which reside at the entrance of the Dungeon after Golem and Skeletron are 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.
- Summoned with a
Celestial Sigil or by defeating the Celestial Pillars
Music: 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. He also drops Luminite, an ore used to craft many endgame armor sets and tools. He is summoned by defeating all four of the Celestial Pillars from the Lunar Events, or by using a Celestial Sigil. He has a combined health of 145,000 / 217,500 / 277,311, the most health of any boss in the game.
The 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.
The Moon Lord's hands shoot two projectiles at once which home onto the player, and summon phantom versions of the True Eye of Cthulhu before throwing them at the player. The 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 fast movement. 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.
Worlds in which the Moon Lord is defeated will receive a special border in the world selection menu.
Event bosses
Event bosses are classified as mini-bosses, same for the Celestial Pillars. In most situations, event bosses can spawn multiple times during a single event.
- Event initiated with an
Eternia Crystal
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.
- Event initiated with an Eternia Crystal
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.
- Event initiated with an Eternia Crystal
For elaborate strategies on defeating Betsy, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Betsy § Tips and Guide:Old One's Army strategies.
Betsy is a mini-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.
- Event initiated with a
Pirate Map
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.
- Event initiated with a
Pumpkin Moon
Medallion
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 stays on the ground for a while, dealing fire damage on contact.
- Event initiated with a Pumpkin Moon
Medallion
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. It possesses two arms with scythes which swing and fire projectiles at the player, similar 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.
- Event initiated with a
Naughty Present
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.
- Event initiated with a Naughty Present
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, shooting rockets at the player that pass through blocks, and dropping lingering spiky balls along the ground. Its face disappears to reveal a robotic one during its second phase.
- Event initiated with a Naughty Present
For elaborate strategies on defeating Ice Queen, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Ice Queen § Tips and Guide:Frost Moon strategies.
The Ice Queen is the third and final mini-boss that appears during the Frost Moon event. Her attacks involve spinning rapidly while firing ice bolts in several directions, and shooting multiple ice waves at the player.
- Event initiated by letting a
Martian Probe escape after a player is detected
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. Four turrets are mounted on it when it first spawns, and it will cycle through three attacks: firing a barrage of lasers at the player, firing rockets, or attempting to disintegrate the player with a large laser from its bottom. In Expert Mode, it has a second phase, entered when all the turrets have been downed, during which it quickly chases the player and fires its laser rapidly.
- Event initiated by defeating
Lunatic Cultist
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 attacks the player by spewing fireballs. The enemies it spawns mainly use melee-style attacks.
The Solar Pillar is surrounded by a large impenetrable shield at first. After at least 100 of its enemies are slain, the shield dissipates, allowing the player to attack it directly.
The Solar Pillar spawns the following enemies:
- Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist
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.
The Nebula Pillar itself does not do anything to attack the player. The enemies it spawns mainly use magic-styled attacks.
The Nebula Pillar is surrounded by a large impenetrable shield at first. After at least 100 of its enemies are slain, the shield dissipates, allowing the player to attack it directly.
The Nebula Pillar spawns the following enemies:
- Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist
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 attacks by opening a portal above the player that spawns two Alien Hornets or a bolt of lightning. The enemies it spawns mainly use ranged-style attacks.
The Vortex Pillar is surrounded by a large impenetrable shield at first. After at least 100 of its enemies are slain, the shield dissipates, allowing the player to attack it directly.
The Vortex Pillar spawns the following enemies:
- Event initiated by defeating Lunatic Cultist
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 attacks by spawning extra enemies. The enemies it spawns mainly use summon-style attacks.
The Stardust Pillar is surrounded by a large impenetrable shield at first. After at least 100 of its enemies are slain, the shield dissipates, allowing the player to attack it directly.
The Stardust Pillar spawns the following enemies:
Secret world seed-exclusive boss
- Summoned with an
Ocram's Razor
Music: Boss 1 (Otherworldly)
For elaborate strategies on defeating Mechdusa, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Mechdusa strategies.
Mechdusa is a boss with the appearance of an amalgamation of the three mechanical bosses. It can only be summoned with the Ocram's Razor in a Get fixed boi world.
Old-gen console and 3DS-exclusive boss
- Summoned with a
Suspicious Looking Skull
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 and Nintendo 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, increasing its attack rate and damage. Furthermore, its attacks are now initiated closer to the player.
3DS-exclusive bosses
- Summoned with a
Suspicious Looking Egg
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 Nintendo 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 itself will also drop a Suspicious Looking Egg on its death. 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.
- Summoned with a
Cursed stuffing while a Pet Turkey is active
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 Nintendo 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 = truein Terraria's source code; - Mini-bosses: the other trophy-dropping characters.
- Bosses:
- 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..."
- Mechdusa: "What a horrible night to have a curse."
- 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 36 different/unique bosses ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 33 / (Old-gen console version) 19 / (3DS version) 21) in the game.
- Some enemies are particularly difficult to defeat, yet are not classified as bosses.
Achievements
Challenger
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Explorer
Collector
Slayer
Challenger
Slayer
Slayer
Collector
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Slayer
Explorer
Challenger
History
- Desktop 1.4.4: Added Mechdusa.
- Desktop 1.4.3: Added Deerclops.
- 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 a Hardmode boss is defeated 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.
- Desktop 1.0.4: Added King Slime.
- Desktop-Release: Introduced Eye of Cthulhu, Eater of Worlds and Skeletron.
- 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.
References
King Slime (- Spiked Slime(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Eye of Cthulhu 
Eater of Worlds 
Brain of Cthulhu ()
Queen Bee ()
Skeletron 
Deerclops(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Wall of Flesh ()
Queen Slime(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) (- Bouncy Slime(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Crystal Slime(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Heavenly Slime(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
The Twins
The Destroyer ()
Skeletron Prime
Plantera ()
Golem
Empress of Light(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Duke Fishron 
Lunatic Cultist(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) (- Ancient Vision(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Phantasm Dragon(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Ancient Light(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Moon Lord(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) (- True Eye of Cthulhu(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Moon Leech Clot(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Ocram(Old-gen console and 3DS versions) (
- Servant of Ocram(Old-gen console and 3DS versions)
- Mechdusa(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Flying Dutchman(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)- Dark Mage(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) (
- Old One's Skeleton(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Ogre(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Betsy(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Martian Saucer(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Mourning Wood
Pumpking
Everscream
Santa-NK1
Ice Queen- Celestial Pillars(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Lepus(3DS version) (
- Diseaster Bunny(3DS version)
- Turkor the Ungrateful(3DS version)
Guide
Merchant
Nurse
Demolitionist
Dye Trader(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Angler
Zoologist(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Dryad
Painter
Golfer(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Arms Dealer
Tavernkeep(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Stylist(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Goblin Tinkerer
Witch Doctor
Clothier
Mechanic
Party Girl
Wizard
Tax Collector(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Truffle
Pirate
Steampunker
Cyborg
Santa Claus
Princess(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Traveling Merchant(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Skeleton Merchant(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Old Man
- Sleeping Angler
- Bound Goblin
- Webbed Stylist(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Bound Mechanic
- Unconscious Man(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Golfer Rescue(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bound Wizard
- Old Shaking Chest(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Clumsy Balloon Slime(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Eternia Crystal(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)