The Terraria boss order, short version: Eye of Cthulhu, then Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu (whichever your world has), then Skeletron, then the Wall of Flesh, which starts Hardmode. After that it's the three mechanical bosses in any order, Plantera, Golem, the Lunatic Cultist and its four Celestial Pillars, and finally the Moon Lord. King Slime, Queen Bee, Deerclops, Queen Slime, Duke Fishron and the Empress of Light are optional. Everything below is the detail: how to summon each one, what you need first, and what beating it gets you.
As of November 2026 the PC version is on 1.4.5.8, and 1.4.5 didn't add any bosses. The last new ones were Mechdusa in 1.4.4 (seed-only), Deerclops in 1.4.3, and Queen Slime and the Empress of Light in 1.4.0.1. The wiki counts 33 bosses in total, but you'll only ever meet 7 of the 8 pre-Hardmode ones in a normal world, because the evil-biome bosses are one or the other.
The whole order at a glance
- King Slime (optional)
- Eye of Cthulhu
- Eater of Worlds (Corruption) or Brain of Cthulhu (Crimson)
- Queen Bee (optional)
- Deerclops (optional)
- Skeletron
- Wall of Flesh, which starts Hardmode
- Queen Slime (optional)
- The Twins, The Destroyer and Skeletron Prime, in any order
- Plantera
- Golem
- Duke Fishron and Empress of Light (both optional)
- Lunatic Cultist
- The four Celestial Pillars
- Moon Lord
That's the path most people take. Nothing forces you to do the optional ones in the spot I've put them. They're just where they make the most sense as gear stops.
Pre-Hardmode boss order
| Boss | How to summon it | Optional? | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Slime | Slime Crown, or kill 150 slimes in a Slime Rain (75 if you've already beaten him) | Yes | Gear and slime items, nothing that advances the game |
| Eye of Cthulhu | Suspicious Looking Eye, at night | No | Meteorites become possible once the evil boss is down too |
| Eater of Worlds (Corruption) | Worm Food, or break 3 Shadow Orbs | One of the two | Shadow Scales and Demonite Ore |
| Brain of Cthulhu (Crimson) | Bloody Spine, or break 3 Crimson Hearts | One of the two | Tissue Samples and Crimtane Ore |
| Queen Bee | Abeemination in the Jungle, or break a Larva in an Underground Jungle Bee Hive | Yes | Bee Wax, the Witch Doctor moves in, and the Beenade |
| Deerclops | Deer Thing in the Snow biome, any time | Yes | Nothing the main path needs |
| Skeletron | Talk to the Old Man at the Dungeon entrance at night and accept the curse | No | Free Dungeon access, and it's needed later for the Lunatic Cultist |
| Wall of Flesh | Throw a Guide Voodoo Doll into Underworld lava while the Guide is alive | No | Hardmode, and a Pwnhammer |
Eye of Cthulhu: the usual first boss
The wiki calls it generally the first boss a player has to face. You can summon it with a Suspicious Looking Eye at night, or just wait. It can show up by itself at the start of a night, until you've beaten it, if you have at least 200 HP, more than 10 defense and at least 3 NPCs living in houses. It leaves at dawn, so fight it at night or not at all.
The wiki's route advice is to build a platform arena, bring a bow or other ranged weapon, and get a hook and some mobility accessories like a Cloud in a Bottle or Hermes Boots. It also says to work toward Gold or Platinum gear before you use that fifth Life Crystal, if you can.
Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu
Your world's evil biome decides this one. Corruption worlds get the Eater of Worlds, Crimson worlds get the Brain of Cthulhu. Break three Shadow Orbs or Crimson Hearts and the boss arrives on its own, or use Worm Food or a Bloody Spine. The first orb or heart you break always drops a gun (the Musket in Corruption, The Undertaker in Crimson) plus 100 bullets.
The Eye isn't a hard gate for these, the wiki just says it's generally the first one you take on. Go in with Gold or Platinum gear and a few accessories and you can walk the evil biome with relative impunity. Meteorites don't start falling until one of these two is dead. After each kill there's a 50% chance a meteor lands that night.
The optional gear stops: Queen Bee, Deerclops, King Slime
None of these moves the story forward, and that's the point. Queen Bee doesn't advance the game in a major sense, but the wiki calls her Beenade extremely effective against the Wall of Flesh. Deerclops can appear on its own at midnight in a Blizzard if a player has 9+ defense or 200+ HP, or you can use a Deer Thing in the Snow biome. King Slime is a warm-up: he drops gear and slime items, nothing that moves you forward. If you're short on gear, fight these. If you're doing fine, you can skip all three. One Reddit player's order: Skeletron, Queen Bee, the snow boss, then Wall of Flesh.
Skeletron
Don't skip him. He's a requirement for the Lunatic Cultist much later, and he opens up the Dungeon: once he's dead the Dungeon Guardians stop spawning at the entrance. Fight him at night and kill him before dawn, because if he's still alive when the sun comes up he spins and will usually kill you in one hit.
The wiki calls him a tough fight and wants Demonite, Crimtane, Meteorite or Jungle gear with a fair range of weapons and accessories.
Wall of Flesh: the Hardmode gate
This is the big one. Kill a Voodoo Demon in the Underworld for the Guide Voodoo Doll, then throw it into the Underworld lava while the Guide is alive. Beating the Wall of Flesh turns Hardmode on in that world, and you can't turn it off again. You also get a Pwnhammer, which smashes Demon and Crimson Altars for Hardmode ores.
Two things the wiki flags. Summoning gives you the Horrified debuff, so you can't run: teleporting away kills you. And you have to kill it before it reaches the end of the map. Build a long, bridged, lava-free runway in the Underworld first, and show up with your best weapons, accessories and potions.
Hardmode boss order
| Boss | How to summon it | Optional? | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Slime | Gelatin Crystal in the Underground Hallow | Yes | A warm-up before the mechanical bosses |
| The Twins | Mechanical Eye, at night | No (any order) | Hallowed Bars, Souls of Sight |
| The Destroyer | Mechanical Worm, at night | No (any order) | Souls of Might |
| Skeletron Prime | Mechanical Skull, at night | No (any order) | Souls of Fright |
| Plantera | Destroy Plantera's Bulb in the Underground Jungle | No | Temple Key, Ectoplasm, Pumpkin and Frost Moons |
| Golem | Lihzahrd Power Cell at the Lihzahrd Altar in the Jungle Temple | No | Opens up the Lunatic Cultist |
| Duke Fishron | Truffle Worm as bait in the Ocean | Yes | Nothing the main path needs |
| Empress of Light | Kill a Prismatic Lacewing in the Hallow, after Plantera | Yes | Nothing the main path needs |
Queen Slime
Use a Gelatin Crystal in the Underground Hallow. The wiki describes her as an optional fight, and a small gap to challenge before the mechanical bosses, a good reason to upgrade your equipment. I'd take the hint: if the mech bosses feel like a cliff, fight her first.
The three mechanical bosses, in any order
The Twins, The Destroyer and Skeletron Prime all get summoned at night and all leave at dawn (the Destroyer just can't despawn by distance). The wiki is blunt that it doesn't really matter which order you take them in. What matters is how many you've beaten.
- After the first one: the Steampunker arrives, Life Fruit grows in the Underground Jungle (+5 max HP each, up to 500), Solar Eclipses begin, and Old One's Army moves up to tier 2.
- After all three: Plantera's Bulbs start growing, and Chlorophyte becomes minable.
The Destroyer is the one where piercing or splash weapons are recommended. That makes it a decent pick if you've got one of those handy.
Plantera
The Bulb only appears in the Underground Jungle once all three mechanical bosses are dead. Destroy it to summon her. She gets enraged if you leave the Underground Jungle, so keep the fight there. Beating her is a big milestone: she drops the Temple Key you need for the Jungle Temple, Ectoplasm starts dropping (which unlocks the Pumpkin Moon, Frost Moon and Spectre Bars), Biome Chests can be opened with Biome Keys, the Dungeon gets stronger Hardmode enemies, and the Empress of Light becomes fightable. The Cyborg NPC also becomes available.
Golem
You need the Temple Key from Plantera to get into the Jungle Temple, then use a Lihzahrd Power Cell on the Lihzahrd Altar. Once he's down you're in late game territory. The Lunatic Cultist can appear at the Dungeon entrance, Martian Probes start (careful, they can trigger Martian Madness) and Old One's Army reaches tier 3.
Duke Fishron and the Empress of Light
Both optional. Duke Fishron can technically be summoned with a Truffle Worm as soon as Hardmode starts, but the wiki says beating him generally takes gear from later on, so I'd leave him for after Golem. The Empress of Light is not required for game progression either. She's fought at night, since she's enraged and hits much harder in daylight. The wiki suggests fighting her after Golem if you want an easier time.
Lunar Events and Moon Lord
With Golem and Skeletron both dead, kill the cultists at the Dungeon entrance to bring out the Lunatic Cultist. Beating it starts the Lunar Events: the Solar, Vortex, Nebula and Stardust Pillars spawn. Each pillar is shielded until you've killed about 100 of its enemies, and they don't despawn until you finish them off. A tip from the wiki's progression guide is to start with the pillar that matches your class: Solar for melee, Vortex for ranged, Nebula for magic, Stardust for summoner.
Kill all four pillars and the Moon Lord arrives. You can also summon him later with a Celestial Sigil. He's the final boss of Terraria and has the most health of any of them (145,000 HP, 217,500 in Expert). He drops Luminite for endgame gear and weapons, and always the Portal Gun. The Zenith can be crafted afterwards. Beat him and your world gets a special border on the world select screen.
Events that count as progression
These aren't bosses, but they matter to the path:
- Goblin Army: can start once a player has 200 HP and has broken a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart. Beating it unlocks the Goblin Tinkerer.
- Old One's Army: optional. The Tavernkeep is found after you beat the evil-biome boss. Tier 1 ends with the Dark Mage, tier 2 (after one mechanical boss) with an Ogre, tier 3 (after Golem) with Betsy.
- Pirate Invasion: uses a Pirate Map in Hardmode, with the Flying Dutchman showing up past 50% progress. Beating it unlocks the Pirate NPC.
- Pumpkin Moon and Frost Moon: need Plantera down and Ectoplasm. You start them with a Pumpkin Moon Medallion or a Naughty Present. Not required for progression.
- Martian Madness: optional, and only after Golem.
Is the boss order different on console and mobile?
No. The wiki's Bosses page covers PC, console and mobile together, and even the newest bosses (Deerclops, Queen Slime, the Empress of Light) are tagged for all three, right up to the Moon Lord. As of the September 2026 updates, PS4, Xbox One and Switch are on 1.4.5.8.1, which matches PC 1.4.5.8, and so are iOS and Android. Same bosses, same summons, same order.
One mobile oddity: before Hardmode, the day is shorter (15 minutes) and the night is 9 minutes, and boss and event fights can stretch the night. Once Hardmode starts the cycle matches the other versions.
Old-gen consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, Vita, Wii U) stopped at the PC 1.2.4.1 equivalent, and the 3DS at 1.2.1. Neither has had an update since 2016, and on those versions Ocram is the last mandatory boss instead of the Moon Lord. Playing across platforms? Is Terraria cross-platform? covers who can join whom.
Mechdusa and the seed-only boss
Mechdusa is a combined mechanical boss that only exists in worlds that combine the For the Worthy and Remix seeds, summoned with Ocram's Razor. It's not part of normal progression, so ignore it unless you're deliberately playing one of those worlds. Fancy a different kind of world? My Terraria secret seeds and best Terraria seeds pages cover what's out there.
Playing with Calamity? The order changes
Calamity adds its own bosses, some of them after the Moon Lord, so don't use this list as-is for a Calamity run. For the modded path, see my Terraria Calamity mod guide, and the best Terraria mods if you want to see what else is worth installing.
What to fight next
If you're stuck mid-run, find your last kill in the list at the top and take the next non-optional boss. Haven't beaten the Wall of Flesh? Get your Underworld runway ready. Beaten all three mechanical bosses? Plantera's Bulb is waiting in the Jungle. Done with Moon Lord and wondering what else is out there? Games like Terraria is my roundup.