The DestroyerHardmode exclusive

Map Icon

 Classic

 Expert

 Master

Statistics

Type	BossBurrowing Enemy
Environment	Surface + Night Space + Night
AI Type	The Destroyer AI
Max Life	80000120000153000
KB Resist	100%
Immune to	All debuffs (except Stunned and Bleeding )

Drops

Coins	1230

• Item (Quantity)Rate
• Soul of Might (25–40)
  100%
• Hallowed Bar (15–35)
  100%
• Horned God Robe
  14.29%
• Greater Healing Potion (5–15)
  100%
• Destroyer Mask
  14.29%
• Destroyer Trophy
  10%
• Treasure Bag(The Destroyer)
  100%
• Mechanical Wagon Piece
  100%
• Destroyer Mask
  14.29%
• Soul of Might (25–40)
  100%
• Hallowed Bar (15–30)
  100%
• Gold Coin (12)
  100%
• Deactivated Probe
  25%
• Destroyer Relic
  100%

Sounds

Hurt
Killed
Death Laser

 "You feel vibrations from deep below..." 

The Destroyer is a Hardmode mechanical boss which is essentially a more difficult version of the Eater of Worlds. Like the Eater of Worlds, it is a very large worm. Although it appears to be similarly made up of many segments, individual segments cannot die, and The Destroyer will not split apart into multiple entities; its segments share a singular health pool. Like other worms, The Destroyer takes increased damage from attacks that damage multiple segments at once.

The Destroyer can be summoned manually using a Mechanical Worm at night (7:30 PM to 4:30 AM). It also has a 10*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. If spawning this way, its arrival is announced by the status message "You feel vibrations from deep below...".

Each of The Destroyer's segments fires lasers at the player. The red-lit segments contain a Probe, which is an independent flying enemy that is launched periodically as the boss takes damage and also fires lasers. Probes can be killed individually once detached, and never return to The Destroyer.

The Destroyer must be killed before dawn, otherwise it flees and despawns.

While The Destroyer is alive, the music Boss 3 will play. When Otherworldly music is enabled, the track Boss 2 (Otherworldly) will play instead.

Segments[]

 Classic

 Expert

 Master

2 values: Pre-Hardmode › Hardmode
3 values: Pre-Hardmode › Hardmode › Post-Plantera

NPC ID	Type		Damage	Defense
134		The Destroyer Head	70/280/420	0
135		The Destroyer Body	55/93/140 (melee) 4472108 (Death Laser [1])	30
136		The Destroyer Tail	40/68/102	35

Behavior[]

The Destroyer spawns coiled up, like most worm enemies, and immediately uncoils and moves toward the player. It follows the player from any distance, and will only despawn if the player dies or if dawn comes (4:30 AM). It quickly travels below the ground until it is off-screen, then despawns.

The Destroyer leaps from the ground and attempts to ram the player. It has limited mobility when fully in the air, requiring blocks or platforms to "burrow" through. It also attempts to surround the player, and if the player is too close to the ground it can usually succeed.

In addition, The Destroyer performs the following attacks:

• It fires Death Lasers from its segments which deal 44 / 72 / 108 damage.^[1]
• It releases flying Probes from its body that fire Pink Lasers which deal 50 / 88 / 132 damage.^[2]

A segment has a 4*1/25 (4%) chance to release a Probe whenever it is damaged, but once a segment releases a probe, it cannot do it again.^[1] The red light goes out when it releases the Probe. Probes will fly towards the player, attempting to maintain a distance while occasionally moving into melee range. They fire with moderate accuracy, able to reliably hit a stationary player. Probes do not die when the boss dies, so they may have to be killed even after The Destroyer has been defeated.

Health in Multiplayer[]

Notes[]

This content is transcluded from Mechanical bosses § Notes.

• There is a 10*1/10 (10%) chance for a random mechanical boss the player has not defeated yet to spawn naturally at dusk.
• When spawning naturally, a mechanical boss spawns exactly 81 seconds after the status message has appeared. Being in a layer lower than the Surface at that moment, or, in singleplayer, exiting the world during that timespan, will prevent the boss from spawning naturally.

• It is possible to summon a mechanical boss pre-Hardmode with a summoning item brought in from another world. However, if the Wall of Flesh has not been defeated, Plantera's Bulbs will not start spawning.
• When The Destroyer is off-screen, it can move around freely, even without blocks, similarly to a Wyvern.
• The Destroyer is extremely long, measuring 82 segments including head and tail, or 239 tiles in length.
  • In For the worthy worlds, The Destroyer has twice as many body segments (162 in total), and each segment is bigger.
• The Destroyer can move along platforms as if they were blocks.

Achievements[]

Buckets of Bolts • “Defeat the three nocturnal mechanical menaces: the Twins, the Destroyer, and Skeletron Prime.”

Defeat all three Mechanical Bosses.

Category: Slayer

Mecha Mayhem • “Do battle against the Twins, the Destroyer, and Skeletron Prime simultaneously and emerge victorious.”

Defeat all three Mechanical Bosses simultaneously in a single battle.

Category: Challenger

Ride The Worm • “You have defeated The Destroyer!”

Defeat The Destroyer for the first time.

Tips[]

• Unlike most bosses, The Destroyer does not despawn if players get too far away; it will simply follow them to their position.
  • This means that one can use any means of teleportation (Magic Mirrors, Teleporters, etc.) to easily avoid it during the fight, as it does not teleport either.
  • Keep in mind that The Destroyer can move freely without blocks when off-screen.
• Any weapon that can hit enemies multiple times or damage multiple segments at once will have a much higher effectiveness against The Destroyer compared to single-target weapons.
  • A particularly effective weapon is the Daedalus Stormbow used with Holy Arrows.
  • Another useful (although somewhat dangerous) strategy is to swing a flail in the correct positioning (specifically when it loops around the player) for heavy damage. Be aware that when circling the player, it slowly closes in, meaning there must be a reliable way to dodge.
• Weapons relying on debuffs are to be avoided, as The Destroyer is immune to all debuffs, except Stunned from Heart Arrows. Note that Heart Arrows only freeze The Destroyer if they hit its head segment.
• The head of The Destroyer has 0 defense. Although it causes massive damage to the player (70/280/420) and it might be very difficult to damage only the head segment, focusing it can speed up the fight tremendously. If minions are used, they should be directed to target the head at all times.
• Using a Gravitation Potion can help avoid contact with The Destroyer by hovering just above it.
• Probes should be taken out as soon as possible, since they may greatly interfere with the fight and additionally serve as a steady source of Hearts (50% drop rate).
• Using the Minimap to see where The Destroyer will surface can greatly help with dodging.
• Farming The Destroyer is a quick method for making money, as its drops can be used to craft multiple Light Discs, which sell for 15 each.
• Using the Nurse as a source of health is unreliable when fighting the Destroyer as this boss will very quickly kill any Town NPCs that come too close to its burrowing path. This can be combatted by building your Nurse a levitating house just out of the Destroyer's reach.

Trivia[]

• With 280 / 420 damage, The Destroyer's head has the third-highest damage of any boss in Expert and Master Mode. It is second only to the Moon Lord's Phantasmal Deathray and the enraged Empress of Light. In Master Mode, it can kill players who have no defense enhancements and no Life Fruit health increases in one hit.
• The Destroyer has the most total health of any boss except the Moon Lord. It still has the largest single health bar, as the Moon Lord's total health is the combination of all its body parts, and the Moon Lord's parts all have lower individual health than The Destroyer.
  • This makes The Destroyer a useful target for testing DPS on higher-tier Hardmode weapons with secondary effects that do not work on Target Dummies, like the Phantasm.
  • In Classic worlds, The Destroyer has 10 times as much health as the Wall of Flesh.
• The Destroyer has many small metal devices jutting out of it that can resemble centipede-like legs or wheels, which might explain its ability to move freely within blocks.
• Despite the status message saying "You feel vibrations from deep below...", it does not spawn when the player is underground. However, it seems to appear from underground.
• Some teasers for the  Mobile version release included The Destroyer having blue-lit segments instead of red.
•  – According to the official game lore, The Destroyer was one of the three mechanical recreations of Cthulhu's missing organs. In the Bestiary, it is revealed to be a simulacrum of Cthulhu's spine. Despite being heavily influenced from in design, the Eater of Worlds has no connection to Cthulhu and is not mentioned to be a former body part.

The Bestiary entry for The Destroyer: "A mechanical simulacrum of Cthulhu's spine decorated in laser-armed probes, which detach from its body when damaged."

See also[]

• The Twins
• Skeletron Prime

History[]

 PC version

• Desktop 1.4.0.1: Added Master Mode drops, the Deactivated Probe and the Destroyer Relic.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1:
  • Sprite updated.
  • Added Expert Mode drop, Mechanical Wagon Piece.
  • Can no longer be seen beneath blocks.

• Desktop 1.2.3:
  • Health returned to 80,000 (from 60,000). Damage and defense increased:
    • Head damage increased from 50 to 70.
    • Body damage increased from 35 to 55. Defense returned to 30 (from 26).
    • Tail damage increased from 20 to 40. Defense returned to 35 (from 30).
  • Now has a chance to drop the Destroyer Mask.
  • Drops now appear at the location of the segment that was closest to the player on defeat, instead of at the head's location.

• Desktop 1.2.1.2: Now immune to all debuffs.

• Desktop 1.2:
  • Health reduced from 80,000 to 60,000. Damage and defense reduced:
    • Head damage reduced from 60 to 50.
    • Body damage reduced from 40 to 35. Defense reduced from 30 to 26.
    • Tail defense reduced from 35 to 30.
  • Now has a chance to spawn naturally at dusk with the message: "You feel vibrations from deep below...".
  • Will now drop 25–40 Souls of Might instead of 20–30.
  • Now has a chance to drop the Destroyer Trophy.

• Desktop 1.1: Introduced.

 Console version

• Console 1.0.933.1: Made changes from Console 1.0.750.0. ()

• Console 1.0.750.0: ()
  • Sprite updated to match Desktop 1.3.0.1.
  • Added Expert mode drop, Mechanical Wagon Piece.
  • Can no longer be seen beneath blocks.

• Console 1.06:
  • Health returned to 80,000 (from 60,000). Damage and defense increased:
    • Head damage increased from 50 to 70.
    • Body damage increased from 35 to 55. Defense returned to 30 (from 26).
    • Tail damage increased from 20 to 40. Defense returned to 35 (from 30).
  • Now has a chance to drop the Destroyer Mask.
  • Drops now appear at the location of the segment that was closest to the player on defeat, instead of at the head's location.

• Console 1.02:
  • Health reduced from 80,000 to 60,000. Damage and defense reduced:
    • Head damage reduced from 60 to 50.
    • Body damage reduced from 40 to 35. Defense reduced from 30 to 26.
    • Tail defense reduced from 35 to 30.
  • Now has a chance to spawn naturally at dusk.
  • Will now drop 25–40 Souls of Might instead of 20–30.
  • Now has a chance to drop the Destroyer Trophy.
  • Now immune to all debuffs.

• Console-Release: Introduced.

 Nintendo Switch version

• Switch 1.0.732.3: Fixed a bug where Destroyer segments were desynced for non-host players after a respawn.

• Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced with changes up to Desktop 1.3.0.1.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.2.11212:
  • Now has a chance to drop the Destroyer Mask.

• Mobile 1.2.6508:
  • Now has a chance to spawn naturally at dusk during Hardmode.
  • Will now drop 25–40 Souls of Might instead of 20–30.
  • Now has a chance to drop the Destroyer Trophy.
  • Now immune to all debuffs.

• Mobile 1.1.5536: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced with changes up to Desktop 1.2.

References[]