How Do You Summon The Destroyer In Terraria?

ByExpert Answer Last Update on

To summon The Destroyer in Terraria, you need to use a Mechanical Worm. This item can only be used during the night, specifically between 7:30 PM and 4:30 AM.The Mechanical Worm can be crafted at a Mythril Anvil or Orichalcum Anvil crafting station using the following ingredients:

  • 6x Rotten Chunk or 6x Vertebra
  • 5x Iron Bar or 5x Lead Bar
  • 6x Soul of Night

It's important to note that using another Mechanical Worm while The Destroyer is already summoned has no effect.In addition to manual summoning, The Destroyer also has a 10% chance to spawn naturally at dusk once a Demon or Crimson Altar has been destroyed, as long as it has not yet been defeated at least once in the current world. If spawning this way, its arrival is announced by the status message “You feel vibrations from deep below…”.

Remember, if The Destroyer is not defeated by dawn, it will disappear.

Featured Answers

The Destroyer can be summoned manually using a Mechanical Worm at night (7:30 PM to 4:30 AM). It also has a 1/10 (10%) chance to spawn naturally at dusk once a Demon or Crimson Altar has been destroyed, as long as it has not yet been defeated at least once in the current world.

Answered from Rae A. Samillano

 

The Destroyer is one of Terraria's most formidable mechanical bosses. This giant, snake-like metal worm has 80,000 health and is extremely deadly with its barrage of lasers, probes, and ramming attacks. Defeating The Destroyer is an essential rite of passage in Hardmode, unlocking new tiers of equipment and progression for your character.

This comprehensive guide will provide everything you need to know about summoning The Destroyer and strategies to take it down for maximum loot rewards.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction to The Destroyer
  • Requirements for Summoning
  • Crafting the Mechanical Worm
  • Optimal Summoning Conditions
  • Recommended Arenas and Preparations
  • Weapons, Armor Sets and Accessories
  • Buff Potions and Consumables
  • Boss Phases and Behavior Patterns
  • Expert Mode Considerations
  • Ideal Class Strategies and Playstyles
  • Loot and Reward Drops
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction to The Destroyer

The Destroyer is one of the three Hardmode mechanical bosses added in the 1.1 update, along with The Twins and Skeletron Prime. It has the highest health pool of all three at 80,000 HP (88,000 in Expert). The Destroyer consists of many miniature body segments amounting to a length of approximately 400 tiles long. These segments are held together by an inner, destructible spine which must be killed to defeat the boss.

When initially summoned, The Destroyer will rapidly burrow through blocks and circle around players while firing lasers and releasing probes. Its large, armored body also inflicts heavy melee damage if touched. The Destroyer is notoriously difficult to defeat due to its size, defenses and mobility. However, defeating The Destroyer allows progression to more powerful items and triggers the next stage of Hardmode bosses.

Requirements for Summoning

Before The Destroyer can be summoned, the following requirements must be met:

  • Hardmode successfully activated by defeating Wall of Flesh
  • At least one Demon or Crimson altar smashed in the world
  • Mechanical Worm consumable item obtained
  • Nighttime between 7:30pm – 4:30am in-game
  • The Destroyer not previously defeated in current world

Hardmode is triggered upon defeating Wall of Flesh for the first time in that world, indicated by a spreading V-shaped stripe of Hallow/Corruption. Destroying Demon altars in Hardmode causes harder enemies and ores to spawn, as well as enabling mechanical bosses to appear.

The Mechanical Worm item is needed to manually summon The Destroyer. It can only be summoned at night, and will despawn at dawn unless defeated. Once defeated for the first time, it can no longer spawn randomly and must be re-summoned with more Mechanical Worms.

Crafting the Mechanical Worm

The Mechanical Worm is a consumable summoning item that is crafted at a Mythril or Orichalcum anvil as follows:

  • 6 Iron or Lead bars
  • 5 Rotten Chunks (Corruption worlds) or Vertebrae (Crimson worlds)
  • 12 Soul of Might

This recipe yields one Mechanical Worm which can then be used to manually spawn The Destroyer during nighttime. Like other boss summoning items, it is consumed on use. Craft multiple Mechanical Worms so you can re-summon the boss or have backups available.

Optimal Summoning Conditions

While The Destroyer can technically be summoned anytime night falls in Hardmode, there are certain conditions that will give you the best chance of success:

  • Prepared arena – Clear out an open area with platforms/rows, campfires, heart lanterns, honey pools etc.
  • Max health – Ensure you have 400+ health by collecting Life Crystals, and make healing potions.
  • Full buffs – Activate all relevant potion buffs, campfire regen bonus, etc.
  • Proper gear – Equip your best armor, weapons and accessories for the fight.
  • Clear weather – Make sure it's a clear night without storms or events like a solar eclipse.
  • ** Time it well** – Summon during early night to have the maximum amount of time before despawn at dawn.

Following these tips will help you have the most favorable conditions before starting this epic boss battle!

Recommended Arenas and Preparations

Proper ahead-of-time arena building and gearing up will make The Destroyer fight much easier. Here are recommendations:

Arenas

  • Long flat bridge arena – Build a long open bridge, around 200 blocks wide, with multiple layers of platforms and rows. Leave space to dodge attacks.
  • Campfires and heart lanterns – Place these every 100 blocks for health regeneration.
  • Honey pools – Have a pool every 100-150 blocks for extra health regen.
  • No barriers – Remove all nearby walls, blocks, ceilings that obstruct movement or block attacks.
  • Light it up – Use torches or other light sources so you can see clearly.

Weapons, Armor and Accessories

  • Ranged or magic weapons – The Destroyer is easiest to take down using piercing, multi-hit weapons that can damage several of its body segments at once. Consider the Daedalus Stormbow, Magical Harp, Crystal Serpent, Sky Fracture, etc.
  • Adamantite/Titanium armor – A full set of the best armor you can mine/craft pre-Destroyer will make a big difference. Reforge for additional damage or defense.
  • Mobility accessories – Wings and mobility accessories like the Shield of Cthulhu are extremely helpful for avoiding hits.
  • Damage bonuses – Use a Ranger/Magic Emblem, Sorcerer/Avenger/Destroyer relics and other items that boost your attack power.
  • Nurse nearby – Have a house for the Nurse nearby so you can quickly teleport and heal during the fight if needed.

Buff Potions and Food

  • Ironskin – Essential for extra defense against the barrage of damage.
  • Regeneration – Continually heal while fighting to counter hits taken.
  • Lifeforce – Extra health boost above normal maximum.
  • Endurance – Reduces cooldown between hits.
  • Rage/Wrath – More critical chance to deal damage faster.
  • Archery – For rangers, increases arrow velocity and damage.
  • Magic Power – Boosts magic damage output.
  • Well Fed – Pumpkin Pie, Fish/Seafood Dinner or other food.

Boss Phases and Behavior

When initially summoned, The Destroyer will briefly emerge before submerging and rapidly circling around while staying primarily underground. It exhibits phases and attack patterns:

  • Burrowing Phase – Zips around underground, creating a maze of tunnels and damaging players on contact. Occasionally surfaces to fire lasers.
  • Surface Phase – Hovers exposed on screen while firing spreading barrages of death lasers.
  • Damaged Phase – At 75%, 50%, 25% health becomes more aggressive with faster burrowing and more frequent laser attacks.
  • Segment Detachment – Damaged segments autonomously fly off and kamikaze charge players after being destroyed or severed.
  • Probe Release Phase – Periodically deploys 5-10 flying probes from its body which chase and fire lasers at players.

Learning these phases and attack patterns allows you to effectively position yourself and employ the appropriate strategy at key times. Beware of its increased speed and laser frequency when transitioning into damaged phases at lower health.

Expert Mode Considerations

On Expert Mode worlds, The Destroyer has the following changes:

  • 88,000 health instead of 80,000
  • Damage increased by 25%
  • Defense increased by 8
  • All probes must be killed before it can be defeated
  • Will drop one random wall from Hardmode on death
  • Has a chance to drop the Worm Scarf accessory

The increased health and damage makes fights longer and surviving more difficult. Killing probes quickly helps reduce laser barrage. Prioritize mobility with wings and items like the Shield of Cthulhu to avoid taking excessive hits. Utilizing nurse heals mid-fight may be necessary.

Ideal Class Strategies and Playstyles

Certain approaches, weapons and gear work best for particular classes against The Destroyer:

Melee

  • Yoyos and flails that can attack through blocks are effective
  • Use high mobility to weave between body segments
  • Focus on attacking the head and tail sections

Ranged

  • Daedalus Stormbow with Holy Arrows shreds The Destroyer quickly
  • Crystal or Cursed Bullets work well with repeaters/guns
  • Stay below it to avoid the death laser sweep

Mage

  • Crystal Storm homes in and pierces through segments
  • Sky Fracture and similar high-velocity weapons work well
  • Bounce projectiles off blocks to hit more parts

Summoner

  • Optic Staff eye lasers pierce multiple segments
  • Spider minions attack while you dodge
  • Whips can hit body parts through blocks

Regardless of class, prioritize damage bonuses, critical chance and mobility over defense. Dodge attacks while attacking as much as possible, and take advantage of any piercing effects.

Loot and Reward Drops

Defeating The Destroyer unlocks new tiers of progression and drops rare items including:

  • 12-21 Souls of Might
  • 15-30 Hallowed Bars
  • Greater Healing Potions (5-15)
  • Greater Mana Potions (5-15)
  • Unholy Trident
  • Laser Rifle
  • Hallowed Plate Mail
  • Ranger Emblem
  • Light Discs (10-20)
  • 20-40 Souls of Fright
  • 1-3 Hallowed Masks
  • Wisp in a Bottle
  • Illuminant Hook

The Souls of Might are used to craft many end-game armor sets, weapons and items. Hallowed Bars allow you to make Hallowed-tier gear, the next step up from Adamantite/Titanium. The drops also include useful consumables, powerful weapons like the Laser Rifle, and rare accessories.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the recommended arena size and shape?

A: A long flat bridge around 150-200 blocks wide and 500+ blocks long works well. Multiple platforms and rows give space to move.

Q: Should I use ranged, magic, melee or summoner gear?

A: Ranged and magic piercing weapons are easiest due to hitting multiple body parts easily. But melee and summoner are viable with the right mobility gear.

Q: How can I avoid taking excessive damage?

A: Prioritize mobility and dodging rather than tanking hits. Use wings, Shield of Cthulhu, running boots and other movement accessories.

Q: Can The Destroyer go through blocks?

A: Yes, unlike most bosses The Destroyer burrows rapidly through blocks, walls, and the ground itself.

Q: Does The Destroyer despawn during the day?

A: No, it remains active even during daytime until it is defeated or you die, unlike most nighttime bosses.

Q: Should I use potions and campfire/heart lantern buffs?

A: Absolutely! Buff potions like Ironskin and Well Fed provide major stat improvements, while campfires/lanterns regenerate health over time.

Q: Can The Destroyer be summoned before defeating Skeletron?

A: No, you must defeat Skeletron before getting into Hardmode, which is required to summon The Destroyer.

Q: Is Crystal Storm or Cursed Flames effective?

A: Yes, they both pierce through multiple body segments dealing rapid damage. Cursed Flames also provide damage over time.

Q: Can I cheese it safely using Daedalus Stormbow?

A: Yes, by making a box high enough up that lasers can't reach you. Then shoot down at it while dodging probes.

Conclusion

The Destroyer is a formidable foe, but defeating it unlocks essential Hardmode progression. With spacious arenas, piercing weapons, mobility accessories and defense-boosting buffs, it becomes very achievable. Focus on dodging its attacks while dishing out consistent, rapid damage. Refer to this guide anytime you need to brush up on optimal Destroyer summoning strategies and gear recommendations!

Let us know if you have any other Destroyer-related questions.

Similar Posts