Terraria: Moon Lord Boss Guide (2024)

The Moon Lord is the final boss in Terraria. This boss is tough. Really tough. Not only does the fight include dealing with several different parts of the Moon Lord, all of which want to kill you, you will also have to handle the debuffs and unkillable (yes, unkillable) enemies that the Moon Lord spawns.

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This fight is not one that you want to venture into unprepared. The Moon Lord's Phantasmal Deathray, the most powerful attack in the entire game, can easily wipe out half your HP. And that's just one attack. Here's our Moon Lord walkthrough and guide.

Who Is The Moon Lord?

The Moon Lord is the final boss in Terraria. He only spawns once the Celestial Pillars are destroyed, which are only activated once you've defeated the Lunatic Cultist.

There are two parts of the Moon Lord that you can damage: his head, and his hands. In the center of his hands are two eyes that flick between open and closed. They can only be damaged during their open phase when they show their eyeball.

What Happens In The Moon Lord Fight?

You need to defeat all three eyes: the two in its hands, and the one in the middle of the Moon Lord's forehead. After each eye is defeated, it will spawn a True Eye of Cthulhu. These are unkillable enemies that will stay relatively still and fire eyes and bolts at you. Yes, you read that right...they are unkillable.

At the same time, the Moon Lord will be targeting you with its Deathray (don't get hit by it) and firing Phantasmal Spheres at you. These explode for AOE damage after a short period.

The Moon Lord will also spawn Phantasmal Eyes that fly around all over the place before chasing you down. Oh, and it also has a horrible Tentacle tongue that will damage you and inflict you with the Moon Bite debuff, preventing life-steal bonuses, such as you might get from the Spectre armor.

The bolts that come from its eyes are actually the least of your worries, but you should still avoid them if possible.

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How To Defeat The Moon Lord

The Moon Lord fight requires a lot of preparation. Here is everything you need to know about defeating this end-game boss.

Best Armor For The Moon Lord Fight

The armor you take into this fight depends on which class you've decided to spec into. We have clear guides for each of the different classes here:

• Best Mage Build
• Best Ranged Build
• Best Melee Build
• Best Yoyo Build
• Best Summoner Build

There are also some differentials here depending on whether you're playing on the console 1.3 version, or the 1.4 update for PC and mobile.

For PC (the Journey's End 1.4 update) the best armor for each build are as follows:

• Beetle Armor is an ideal melee armor, although you may want to get more creative with a Chlorophyte Mask, and the Valhalla Knight set instead. The Valhalla Knight set is available from the Tavernkeep for just over 200 Defender medals, so it is a bit of a grind to get the gear.
• Spooky Armor, as of the 1.4 update, is the best summoner gear in the game. It's crafted from resources dropped during the Pumpkin Moon event.
• Shroomite Armor, as of 1.4, is the best ranged gear in the game. It's crafted from Shroomite Bars.
• Spectre Armor is recommended for magic users in the 1.4 update.

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Best Weapons For The Moon Lord Boss Fight

Once again, this largely depends on which build you've opted to spec into. The weapons will vary depending on whether you're a melee character, a ranged character, etc. Here's a rough guide of the best weapons for each class in this fight.

• Mage Build - The Nebula Blaze has massive DPS but a large Mana Cost, you should use it alongside Betsy's Wrath, as the Moon Lord is vulnerable to the defense-reduction debuff that Betsy's Wrath inflicts.
• Melee Build - It has to be the Solar Eruption. This weapon deals massive, massive damage and can hit multiple parts of the Moon Lord at once. There isn't really a better option. It's crafted with 18 Solar Fragments at the Ancient Manipulator.
• Ranged Build - There are a couple of different options here: the most powerful gun in the game is the Vortex Beater, or you could opt for the Electrosphere Launcher if you've specced into a more explosive build.
• Summoner Build - This is a difficult fight as a summoner, but you're probably well prepared at this point. Both the Terraprisma and Stardust Dragon Staff are extremely potent weapons in this fight.

Best Accessories And Other Items For The Moon Lord Fight

There are a few accessories and items that you need to take with you to the Moon Lord fight.

• Wings! They are incredibly important because they will be the main way that you dodge the Moon Lord's attacks. Duke Fishron's Wings are not a bad idea, although they can be hard to grind for. The Empress Wings are a good bet. Check out our list of the best wings in the game to get a better idea.
• Super Healing Potions, crafted with Celestial Fragments, can be very useful in this fight. We'd recommend taking four or five with you.
• Rod of Discord is an invaluable Hardmode tool for the Moon Lord Fight. It will instantly teleport to your cursor, which might just be what it takes to escape the Moon Lord's Deathray. Good luck grinding for it, though: it has a 0.2 percent chance to drop from Chaos Elementals.

Best Strategy To Beat The Moon Lord

There are a few different strategies that can be employed against the Moon Lord, but the simplest is often the best. A long Asphalt platform. It's a bit like the wooden platform you build to defeat the Wall of Flesh, although this time you make it in the sky, and out of Asphalt.

This simple method allows you to outrun the Moon Lord and give you time to heal between attacks. The biggest grind is getting together enough Asphalt.

Asphalt is crafted with:

• Two Stone Blocks
• One Gel
• Crafted at a Blend-O-Matic

That doesn't seem too bad, but your platform is going to have to stretch up to 1,000 blocks in each direction from your base. Why close to your base? Well, having the Nurse nearby is always important, as she can come in very clutch if you're just about to die.

Be careful when outrunning the Moon Lord. If you get too far away it will spawn directly onto your head. This is no good if you're talking to the Nurse to get a quick heal, as she will be killed pretty much instantly.

NEXT: Terraria: Complete Guide And Walkthrough