There are loads of different bosses in Terraria. These resilient and sometimes totally bizarre creatures are the main driving force of progression in the game; everything you do in the game is basically prepping yourself for the next boss fight.
From the very early days of battling Green slimes with a copper shortsword to finally defeating the Moon Lord and crowning yourself a ruler of Terraria, the adventure through Terraria's many bosses can seem confusing for brand-new players. Here's everything you need to know about boss progression in Terraria. You should aim to defeat the bosses in the order presented in this guide, but it's not the end of the world if you switch around a few bosses.
Updated April 29, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: With all these dangerous bosses in Terraria, it can still be hard to decide the order. We've updated this guide with a clear walkthrough of the order you should defeat the Terraria bosses. Additionally, we've separated the optional bosses that aren't required to defeat as you make your way to the Moon Lord.
Pre-Hardmode Boss Order
There are eight pre-Hardmode bosses in Terraria, with two of them being completely optional. Defeating the required bosses is crucial to progressing through the game with the intention of eventually entering Hardmode. The bosses on this list are presented in the order it's recommended to fight them.
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Boss |
How To Spawn |
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The Eater Of Worlds (Corruption Worlds) |
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Brain Of Cthulhu (Crimson Worlds) |
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Speak with the Old Man outside of the Dungeon at Night |
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Throw the Guide Voodoo Doll into Lava (the Guide must be alive) |
Optional Pre-Hardmode Bosses
In addition to the six pre-Hardmode bosses listed above, there are a few optional ones that you can battle. Below, you can find these two optional bosses and their spawn conditions.
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Boss |
How To Spawn |
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Hardmode Boss Order
Once you've defeated the Wall of Flesh, you head into Hardmode. Everything gets a lot trickier here, including the boss fights. Before you even consider taking down any of the Mechanical Bosses, you should begin by gathering loot and sourcing new powerful items.
You could head to the Hallowed biome to look for Mimics, buy the Leaf Wings from the Witch Doctor in the Jungle, or begin smashing Altars to spawn Hardmode ores.
When you feel ready and strong enough to start taking down Hardmode bosses, here's the order you should approach them in.
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Boss |
How To Spawn |
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Summoned with the Mechanical Eye at Night |
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The Destroyer |
Summoned with the Mechanical Worm at Night |
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Skeletron Prime |
Summoned with the Mechanical Skull at Night |
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Spawns in Underground Jungle after defeating the previous three Bosses |
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Summoned with the Lihzahrd Power Cell at the Lihzahrd Altar (at Jungle Temple)
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Kill Four Cultists (in front of the Dungeon entrance after the Golem is defeated) |
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Optional Hardmode Bosses
Like pre-Hardmode, there are three Hardmode bosses that are optional. Since bosses in Hardmode are... hard, we are going to have an additional column explaining the best time to defeat them.
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Boss |
When To Defeat? |
How To Spawn |
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This boss can be defeated right after your world switches to Hardmode |
Summoned with Gelatin Crystals in the Hallow Biome |
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We recommend that you at least defeat the Golem before facing the Duke To be extra prepared, you could also defeat the Duke right before facing the Moon Lord |
Use the Truffle Worm for bait while Ocean Fishing |
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Defeat after Plantera |
Kill a Prismatic Lacewing in the Hallow |
Is Mechdusa A Hardmode Boss?
If you've spent time browsing through the Terraria bosses online, you may have seen references to Mechdusa. Who is this though?
Mechdusa is a Hardmode boss that will only appear in the "Everything" seed when you use Ocram's Razor. This boss combines the three Mechanical Bosses; the Twins, the Destroyer, and Skeletron Prime.
This means that Mechdusa is quite difficult, but if you are not on the "Everything" seed, then you will not have to worry about this tough boss. If you are playing on the seed, you can check out our complete walkthrough for facing and defeating Mechdusa here.