Terraria boss order and how to summon each boss
The accepted boss progression order with summon items or conditions, and which bosses are optional.
Applies to: All bosses on 1.4.5
Quick answer
Terraria has 33 bosses. The required pre-Hardmode route is the Eye of Cthulhu, then either the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu depending on your world evil, then Skeletron, then the Wall of Flesh, which permanently starts Hardmode. In Hardmode the three mechanical bosses lead to Plantera, then Golem, then the Lunatic Cultist and the Moon Lord. Queen Bee, Deerclops, Queen Slime, Duke Fishron and the Empress of Light are optional.
Pre-Hardmode bosses
Terraria has 33 bosses in total, split across pre-Hardmode, Hardmode, events and one seed-exclusive fight. Of the eight pre-Hardmode bosses, four form the required spine.
| Boss | How to summon | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| King Slime | Slime Crown, or kill 150 slimes during a Slime Rain, or find it naturally near the world edge | No |
| Eye of Cthulhu | Suspicious Looking Eye at night, or it can appear on its own in the early game | Yes |
| Eater of Worlds | Worm Food, or break the third Shadow Orb — Corruption worlds only | Yes |
| Brain of Cthulhu | Bloody Spine, or break the third Crimson Heart — Crimson worlds only | Yes |
| Queen Bee | Abeemination, or break a Larva in a Bee Hive in the Jungle | No |
| Deerclops | Deer Thing in the snow biome, or it can appear during a midnight blizzard | No |
| Skeletron | Talk to the Old Man at the Dungeon entrance at night, or kill the Clothier with a Clothier Voodoo Doll equipped | Yes |
| Wall of Flesh | Throw a Guide Voodoo Doll into lava in the Underworld, with the Guide alive | Yes — ends pre-Hardmode |
A world has either Corruption or Crimson as its primary evil, so you will normally fight the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu, not both. The evil biome boss is what unlocks the ore tier below Hellstone.
Hardmode bosses
Hardmode has ten bosses. Three are mechanical, two are required gates, and three are optional side fights with strong rewards.
| Boss | How to summon | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Slime | Gelatin Crystal, found in the Underground Hallow | No |
| The Twins | Mechanical Eye, at night | Yes — one of the three mechanical bosses |
| The Destroyer | Mechanical Worm, at night | Yes |
| Skeletron Prime | Mechanical Skull, at night | Yes |
| Plantera | Break a Plantera’s Bulb, which only appears after all three mechanical bosses are dead | Yes — also halves biome spread |
| Golem | Lihzahrd Power Cell at the Lihzahrd Altar, inside the Jungle Temple | Yes |
| Duke Fishron | Fish in the Ocean using a Truffle Worm as bait | No |
| Empress of Light | Kill a Prismatic Lacewing, available after Plantera | No |
| Lunatic Cultist | Kill the four Cultists at the Dungeon entrance, after Golem and Skeletron | Yes — starts the Lunar Events |
| Moon Lord | Defeat all four Celestial Pillars, or use a Celestial Sigil | Yes — final boss |
The order that matters is the gate chain: all three mechanical bosses, then Plantera, then Golem, then the Lunatic Cultist, then the Pillars, then the Moon Lord. The optional fights can be slotted in wherever your gear can handle them.
Optional bosses
Optional does not mean skippable. Several of them are the easiest route to gear that makes the required fights easier.
| Boss | Why it is worth the trip |
|---|---|
| King Slime | Early boost if you find it before the Eye of Cthulhu. |
| Queen Bee | Jungle-tier loot, and it is what lets the Witch Doctor move in. |
| Deerclops | Snow-biome fight with early-game drops. |
| Queen Slime | An early-Hardmode option that does not require the mechanical bosses. |
| Duke Fishron | One of the strongest Hardmode gear sources, available before the later gates. |
| Empress of Light | Optional Hardmode fight gated behind Plantera. |
Two of these — King Slime and Duke Fishron — also now grant villagers stat bonuses as of 1.4.5, alongside Deerclops. That makes optional fights slightly more valuable than they used to be.
Event bosses
Fourteen bosses belong to events rather than to the progression spine. They are summoned by running the event, not by a single item.
| Event | Bosses |
|---|---|
| Old One’s Army | Dark Mage, Ogre, Betsy |
| Pirate Invasion | Flying Dutchman |
| Pumpkin Moon | Mourning Wood, Pumpking |
| Frost Moon | Everscream, Santa-NK1, Ice Queen |
| Martian Madness | Martian Saucer |
| Lunar Events | Solar, Nebula, Vortex and Stardust Pillars — the four required for the Moon Lord |
All of them except the four Celestial Pillars are classed as mini-bosses and are not required for progression. The Pirate Invasion can also start on its own at the beginning of a day once at least one Demon Altar has been smashed, so you do not always choose when that fight happens. See the early Hardmode checklist for that side effect.
Seed-only boss
One boss exists only in a specific seed combination: Mechdusa, summoned with Ocram’s Razor in a world running both the For the Worthy and Remix seeds together. Every other boss is available in a normal world. The world seeds page explains how seeds are now combined.
Sources and review scope
- Official Terraria wiki — Bosses — used for the boss count, the pre-Hardmode and Hardmode groupings, summon methods, the required and optional split, and the event and seed-exclusive categories.
- Official Terraria wiki — Hardmode — used to cross-check the mechanical boss gate and the Plantera and Golem sequence.
- Official Terraria wiki — 1.4.5.0 patch notes — used for the added villager bonuses from King Slime, Deerclops and Duke Fishron.
The wiki is community-maintained rather than an official Re-Logic publication. This page lists summon conditions and progression gates only. It deliberately does not include fight strategy, arena layouts or damage numbers, because those are judgement calls rather than facts.
Checked against linked Re-Logic announcements, the official Terraria wiki and store listings on October 12, 2026. Dynamic details should be rechecked before publication.
Not independently play-tested. This is not a claim that every platform or game version was tested. Source review: Oct 12, 2026.
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