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Hardmode and Endgame

By ScotUpdated Sources checked

Tactical Quick Answer

Killing the Wall of Flesh flips your world into Hardmode and stamps a diagonal stripe of Hallow plus a stripe of Corruption or Crimson from the top of the world down to the Underworld. Take the Pwnhammer to Demon or Crimson Altars and smash three to seed the Cobalt, Mythril, and Adamantite tiers, with more for extra ore at diminishing returns. Then clear the three mechanical bosses, and that is what makes Plantera's Bulbs appear, and push on through the Jungle Temple, Golem, and the Lunatic Cultist. Destroying all four Celestial Pillars spawns the Moon Lord, the final boss.

The defeat of the Wall of Flesh fundamentally alters the procedural generation and enemy scaling of the world ecosystem. You are now in Hardmode. The complexity of Terraria multiplies exponentially, and you must prepare for aggressive biome spread, massive invasions, and highly lethal mechanical bosses. This guide outlines the immediate consequences of Hardmode and charts a path to the endgame.

The Paradigm Shift​

When the Wall of Flesh dies, the game immediately generates a massive "V-shape" stripe of Hallow and a corresponding stripe of your world's evil (Corruption or Crimson). These stripes slice diagonally from the top of the world down to the Underworld, passing through Space on the way, and instantly convert massive swathes of the map.

If left unchecked, these biomes aggressively spread to nearby blocks. Only the evil stripe drives NPCs out of their houses. The Hallow spreads just as hard but leaves housing alone.

An infected block converts anything vulnerable within a 7 by 7 square centered on it, meaning 3 tiles in every direction, so 3 tiles of non-convertible blocks is a complete barrier. Wood and ash both work. An air-only trench is a different problem, because Corrupt and Crimson thorny bushes grow up to 6 tiles and seed the biome 3 blocks past where they land, so a bare gap near the surface needs to be about 6 tiles wide to hold. Fill the gap and 3 is enough, leave it empty and 3 is not. Run it from the surface down past the Cavern layer. Buy the Clentaminator from the Steampunker once you have beaten a mechanical boss and use Green Solution to reverse anything that got through. Beating Plantera halves the spread rate for the rest of the run.

Forging Hardmode Ores​

Your Pre-Hardmode gear becomes obsolete immediately. To survive, you must seed the world with Tier-1 through Tier-3 Hardmode ores.

Take the Pwnhammer (dropped by the Wall of Flesh) to the Corruption/Crimson biomes and smash Demon/Crimson Altars. Each destroyed altar generates veins of new ores in the world:

  • First Altar: Cobalt or Palladium
  • Second Altar: Mythril or Orichalcum
  • Third Altar: Adamantite or Titanium

The cycle then repeats, with diminishing returns. Altars four through six give half as much ore as the first three, seven through nine give a third, and so on. Three altars is the mechanical minimum to seed all three tiers, and six is a reasonable stopping point and not a requirement. Mine these ores tier by tier to craft a Hardmode anvil, a Hardmode forge, and a new set of armor.

Two consequences the Pwnhammer does not warn you about. Every altar you break spawns one or two Wraiths, at any time of day, so smashing six in a row summons a small crowd of block-ignoring enemies onto a player in fresh gear. And breaking any altar is what switches on natural mechanical boss spawns, giving each undefeated mech a 1 in 10 chance every night. You do not have to smash any at all if you would rather fish, since Hardmode crates carry the same ores.

Do not smash every altar in the world either. They are the crafting station for the Night's Edge, the Void Bag and Void Vault, and several boss summons. Since 1.4.5 the Eye of Cthulhu drops a placeable altar if none are left, so this is recoverable, but it is still a nuisance.

Escalating Event Management​

Hardmode introduces high-density enemy events that disrupt the sandbox loop. The Solar Eclipse is the one you meet first.

It cannot happen until you have beaten at least one mechanical boss, and after that it rolls at a 1 in 20 chance each dawn. A Solar Tablet forces one on demand. The game's own achievement for surviving it calls the enemies creatures of horror, and they are all references to twentieth century horror films. It runs the full day from 4:30 AM to 7:30 PM and sleeping will not skip it.

The cheapest counter is not architecture. The eclipse only affects the surface, so going underground for the day sidesteps it entirely. If you would rather farm it, use the arena you already built and add lava traps and dart traps.

It is not the hardest event in Hardmode, despite its reputation. The Pumpkin Moon and the Frost Moon each run 20 escalating waves, Martian Madness and Old One's Army Tier 3 both sit behind Golem, and the Lunar Events are the endgame. Other events you will meet include the Pirate Invasion, the Frost Legion, and the Goblin Army and Blood Moons carrying over from Pre-Hardmode.

Post-Plantera Progression​

Before Plantera you have to clear the three mechanical bosses, and the guide's ore section above is what unlocks them. The Destroyer is a giant worm, The Twins are a paired flying eye boss, and Skeletron Prime is the mechanical version of the Dungeon boss. Summon them with a Mechanical Worm, Mechanical Eye, or Mechanical Skull at night, or wait for the nightly 1 in 10 roll that altar smashing enabled. Most players find the Destroyer easiest and Skeletron Prime hardest. Beating the first one starts Life Fruit growing in the Underground Jungle and brings in the Steampunker with her Clentaminator.

Plantera's Bulbs only appear in the Underground Jungle once all three mechanical bosses are dead. Her defeat is the second major progression bottleneck.

  1. The Jungle Temple: Plantera drops the Temple Key, unlocking the Lihzahrd Door and introducing the Golem boss encounter.
  2. Post-Plantera Dungeon: The Dungeon receives a massive difficulty upgrade, spawning new enemies that drop rare, class-defining weaponry. One name came off that list in 1.4.5.7: the Kraken no longer drops in the hardmode Dungeon and comes from Duke Fishron instead.
  3. Biome Chests: You can finally open the biome-specific chests in the Dungeon using the Biome Keys you may have farmed.

The Celestial Pillars and Moon Lord​

The final sequence of the game begins by defeating the Lunatic Cultist at the Dungeon entrance. The Cultists only appear there once Golem is dead, so the Jungle Temple is a hard gate on the endgame and not an optional detour. Killing them initiates the Lunar Events, spawning four Celestial Pillars across the map (Solar, Vortex, Nebula, and Stardust).

Each pillar sits inside a shield that blocks all damage. Kill 100 of the enemies that spawn in that pillar's own section and the shield drops, exposing 20,000 health. Dying does not reset the count, but leaving the world does. Once you have beaten the Moon Lord once, later Lunar Events only ask for 50 kills per pillar.

Sixty seconds after the fourth pillar falls, the screen shakes, the music cuts out, and the Moon Lord spawns. Make sure your arena is fully prepared, your potions are crafted, and your class build is ready. Since the 1.4.4 Labor of Love update, pylons work during boss fights and invasions, so you can teleport home and restock mid-event.

Version 1.4.5.7 made the fight far more readable, and any older dodging routine you learned is now partly obsolete. The Moon Lord and the True Eyes of Cthulhu no longer deal contact damage at all. Deathrays from both do no damage for their first second, and Phantasmal Spheres are harmless for the same first second after they spawn. Phantasmal Eyes stop homing after 1.5 seconds and explode in a smaller radius, Phantasmal Bolts lock their direction briefly before firing, and the Deathray locks its target earlier so a multiplayer group can coordinate around it. The True Eyes hold better distance from each other, overlap less, and synchronize their patterns with the boss, closing off some situations that could not be dodged. The void highlight also centers on whichever True Eye is firing a deathray, so the tell is where you are already looking.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What happens right after you beat the Wall of Flesh?

The game generates a massive V-shaped stripe of Hallow and a matching stripe of your world evil, Corruption or Crimson. Both slice diagonally from the top of the world down to the Underworld and convert huge parts of the map instantly.

How do you stop Corruption from spreading to your base in Hardmode?

Spread reaches 3 tiles, so a 3-tile barrier of blocks the game cannot convert, like wood or ash, stops it completely. Leave the gap empty instead and 3 will not do, because thorny bushes grow up to 6 tiles across it. An open trench is not enough on its own, because thorny bushes grow across it. Run the barrier from the surface down past the Cavern layer. Only the evil biomes drive NPCs out, since the Hallow leaves housing alone.

How many altars should you smash in Hardmode?

Three is the minimum, seeding Cobalt or Palladium, then Mythril or Orichalcum, then Adamantite or Titanium. The cycle repeats after that with half yield on altars four through six. Six is a fair stopping point and not a requirement, and each altar spawns Wraiths and raises the nightly chance of a mechanical boss turning up.

What does defeating Plantera unlock in Terraria?

Plantera drops the Temple Key, which opens the Lihzahrd Door and leads to the Golem fight. The Dungeon also gets a difficulty upgrade with new enemies that drop rare weapons, and you can open the biome chests with Biome Keys.

How do you summon the Moon Lord?

Kill Golem first, because the Lunatic Cultist only appears at the Dungeon entrance after that. Defeating the Cultist starts the Lunar Events. Kill 100 enemies at each Celestial Pillar to drop its shield, then destroy all four. The Moon Lord spawns 60 seconds after the last one falls.