The Center of Cthulhu is one of the first bosses players are likely to go up against in Terraria. Every bit a event, it'due south go 1 of the most iconic foes in the game. Information technology'south as well a litmus test for how well players are progressing through the game and where some weaknesses may be.

For players tackling this boss for the first time it tin be a serious stride up in difficulty from the more typical enemies they'll face. Once the player understands the thing'due south behavior, knows how to prepare, and what triggers its appearance they should be ready to take it on and come out victorious.

Updated June 20th, 2022 past Russ Boswell: Terraria is i of the near expansive Indie games ever created. Even a decade later on its release, players still flock to the sandbox-style second procedurally generated adventure alone and with friends, acquisition bosses and building impressive bases. Terraria nonetheless continues to stand the test of fourth dimension, even with Starbound available and filled to the brim with content and mods. Players that have even so to dive into the game volition find themselves inundated with powerful bosses to defeat, like the Center of Cthulhu. To better prepare players for this battle and showcase what types of items they may receive, the post-obit listing for how to beat the Eye of Cthulhu has been updated with more information.

How To Summon

Terraria Eye Battle

The Center of Cthulhu will most probable appear the commencement fourth dimension automatically. Meeting the requirements for a summoning are fairly easy and most players volition exercise it by accident. For it to announced the following conditions need to be met:

  • Role player must have a max wellness of at least 200.
  • Histrion must accept at to the lowest degree 10 Defense.
  • Three Town NPCs take been caused.
  • The Eye of Cthulhu hasn't already been killed in that world.
  • The role player must be well-nigh the surface and not too far underground.
  • It must exist night.

When these atmospheric condition are met in that location is a one in three chance that the Eye of Cthulhu will appear on any given nighttime. Players tin can put it off past going deep underground when nighttime is about to fall.

Players will know the summoning has been successful when the message "You experience an evil presence watching you…" has appeared.

Terraria Suspicious Looking Eye

The but other mode to summon the Center of Cthulhu is to manually summon one by using a Suspicious Looking Eye at night. The Suspicious Looking Eye can exist obtained the following ways:

  • Crafting one at a Demon or Crimson Alter with half-dozen Lens.
  • Found in a Aureate or Frozen Chest in:
    • Cavern
    • Dungeon
  • Establish In Ivy Chests underground in the Jungle.

Players should annotation that the Center of Cthulhu volition despawn if the player gets too far away from information technology or dark ends.

1st Stage Of The Fight

Terraria Eye Of Cthulhu Phase 1

In the outset stage the Heart of Cthulhu will float above the histrion and summon three to four Servants of Cthulhu. Once the last Servant has been summoned the Middle of Cthulhu volition immediately accuse the histrion iii times in rapid succession.

After the third accuse it volition float above the thespian again and summon more Servants. Information technology will echo this wheel until the thespian has eliminated more 50% of its health. The Eye of Cthulhu will have an armor rating of 12 in this fight meaning weapons must have at least six damage to be able to accept any effect.

In Proficient Mode the Centre of Cthulhu has more wellness and will summon iv to 5 Servants at a fourth dimension. It volition also spawn a handful when it transforms into the 2nd phase. When the role player does more than 35% damage it will enter the 2d Stage.

In Master Mode the same as Practiced applies except it has more wellness. Damaging the creature more than 35% enters the 2nd Stage.

2nd Phase Of The Fight

Terraria Eye Of Cthulhu Phase 2

One time the role player has done more than than fifty% damage on Normal, 35% on Expert and Master Mode, the Eye of Cthulhu will enter its 2d form. The pupil volition separate into a fanged oral cavity gaining greater attack harm and shedding all of its armor.

In Normal Mode it no longer summons Servants. Instead the Eye of Cthulhu will charge aggressively three times before hesitating in the air for a few seconds.

In Practiced Fashion the Centre of Cthulhu gains a rapid dashing attack it volition perform in addition to its usual charge. This nuance attack will grow faster every bit the Eye of Cthulhu'south health drops. When it is nearly death the animal will dash nearly continuously. Its health is also much higher.

In Primary Mode the Eye of Cthulhu behaves the aforementioned as information technology does in Skillful with even more than health.

General Strategies

Terraria Eye Of Cthulhu Charge

The Eye of Cthulhu is in a vulnerable state when it'southward summoning Servants in the 1st phase or hesitating in the second. Players should use this window to do every bit much impairment as possible.

Dodging and evasion is primal to survival. The actor should be waiting only be attacking if the Center of Cthulhu is stationary or after successfully dodging an assault.

It's recommended to apply ranged weapons and aim at the student while the Eye of Cthulhu is summoning in the 1st stage. This volition harm the Servants as they spawn and damage the Eye of Cthulhu itself.

Damage over fourth dimension is very helpful in either phase as they animal will often propel itself underground and out of range. It too serves to shorten the fight overall and allows the player to focus on evading and dodging.

Choosing A Battleground

Terraria Battle Arena

There are two philosophies when it comes to preparing the battlefield for fighting the Middle of Cthulhu:

  • Dodge Horizontally
  • Contrivance Vertically

Dodging horizontally has the player set up a battlefield that's a long and flat environment. This allows the actor to dash side to side in social club to avoid the Middle of Cthulhu'south attacks. This simply really works if the role player has access to speed boost items like Hermes Boots or Swiftness Potions.

Dodging vertically is the go-to choice if thespian'due south don't take access to speed boost items. Information technology involves building tiers of wooden platforms for the player to leap to and climb down to avoid the Eye of Cthulhu'southward attacks.

Preparing The Battlefield

Terraria Long Flat Arena

In one case the player has either created a long flat arena or tiered platforms the next pace is to thoroughly light the area with some of the following items:

  • Torches
  • Campfires
  • Heart Lanterns (Which also provide wellness regeneration)
  • Stars In Bottles (Which besides provide mana regeneration)

Afterward the player tin place a number of helpful boosting items:

  • Bast Statues (Defense)
  • Garden Gnomes (Harm Reduction & Increased Damage related to Luck)
  • Honey Pools (Health Regeneration)
  • Sunflowers (Movement Speed)
  • Heart Statues (Middle Pickups)
  • Star Statues (Star Pickups)

The actor tin too use the help of the Mechanic to place a number of traps to damage the Middle of Cthulhu.

Helpful Boosts

Terraria Boosts

It helps to use some items to snag a number of boosts before entering this fight:

  • Sharpening Station (Sharpened)
  • Ammo Box (Ammo Box)
  • Crystal Ball (Clairvoyance)
  • Bewitching Table (Bewitched)
  • Slice of Cake (Carbohydrate Rush)

Potions/Food

Terraria Food Market

It'south worth taking some time to farm a few potions earlier entering the fight:

  • A stack of the best quality Healing Potions the actor can get.
  • A stack of the best quality Mana Potions.
  • Regeneration Poiton
  • Ironskin Potion
  • Endurance Potion
  • Wrath Potion
  • Swiftness Potion
  • Any nutrient that offers a Well Fed buff (especially on harder difficulties)
  • Archery Potion (if using Bows)
  • Magic Power (if using magic)
  • Mana Regeneration Potion (if using magic)

Armor

Terraria Ninja Armor

The best armor for this fight is the Ninja Armor. It provides a helpful boost to Speed which helps with evasion. It besides nudges upwardly critical hitting chances to practise more impairment over the class of the fight.

If the player doesn't have a set of Ninja Armor in that location are alternatives:

  • Full Fix of Silver or Tungsten
  • Wizard Set (if using magic)
  • Fossil's Armor (if using ranged/throwing weapons)
  • Flinx Fur Coat (if using summons)

Weapons

Terraria Weapons

There are a number of options at this indicate in the game and depending on the histrion's build and playstyle

Bows are probably the all-time every bit they tin can pierce Servants and damage the Eye of Cthulhu while information technology flies around or floats above the player. Gold Bows or Platinum Bows should be easy to obtain this early and exercise well. The following Arrows are highly recommended:

  • Frostburn (do the best impairment and inflict Frostburn)
  • Jester's Arrow (allows the role player to pierce the Servants and hit the Middle of Cthulhu in one shot)
  • Flaming Arrows (causes harm over time through Burning)

Throwing Weapons are also fantastic weapons as they let the thespian fight at a range. The post-obit are strongly encouraged:

  • Shurikens (tin can kill a Servant and hit the Eye of Cthulhu once or twice)
  • Throwing Knives/Poisoned Knives
  • Grenades
  • Javelins (1st Phase)
  • Molotovs & Spiky Balls (2d Stage)

Magic works swell against the Middle of Cthulhu but struggles a scrap against the Servants. Players are likewise unlikely to have a expert staff when compared to other weapons. For those going this route there are some things to consider:

  • Gem Staves (best at this point)
  • Diamond/Cherry-red/Emerald/Sapphire (do enough impairment to overcome the 1st Stage armor)
  • Amethyst/Topaz (volition not penetrate the 1st Phase armor)

Melee Builds will do well confronting the Servants but struggle against the Centre of Cthulhu. Weapons that bargain impairment over time or launch projectiles are strongly recommended. Here are probably the best choices:

  • Flaming Mace
  • Enchanted Sword
  • Water ice Bract
  • Starfury

Summoners are in for a actually tough fight. It's difficult to obtain good summons at this point that can penetrate the Eye of Cthulhu's armor and most of the good weapons are hard to come by. For players running a Summoners build it's strongly encouraged to utilize others weapons as only the Whip is a viable choice at this point. The Flinx Staff can be used in a platformed battlefield.

General weapons that can exist used in this fight are anything that striking at range and tin can bargain with Servants. Here are some options for players who are running a niche build or find their weapons don't hit hard enough:

  • Minishark
  • Snowball Cannon
  • Boomerangs
  • Yo-yos
  • Spears

How To Filibuster The Fight

Terraria Underground

Sometimes information technology happens that players run into the boss summoning requirements and aren't prepared to fight it. It might exist a bit ho-hum just there are ways to delay or put it off until the player is sufficiently prepared:

  • Be deep underground when night falls.
  • Remove any items that bring Defense to a higher place 10 before sunset.

What Does The Eye Of Cthulhu Drop?

Terraria Eye Of Cthulhu Teeth

Preparing to fight the Eye of Cthulhu can be pretty taxing for most players. Those that have still to fight and defeat a major dominate in Terraria tin consider it one of the first existent "challenges." The prospect of edifice an entire arena just to challenge the foe is something that players will utilise many times throughout their adventure, equally bosses can be incredibly punishing and arenas make it possible to survive while withal dishing out decent damage.

But why exactly should players have downwardly the Eye of Cthulhu? Thankfully, those that manage to defeat the dominate will be rewarded for their trouble. Here's a look at all of the possible things that the flying brute will driblet when slain. Those that defeat the creature in a Corrupt World volition gain access to:

  • Corrupt Seeds - ane - 3 Quantity / 100% Drop Rate
  • Demonite Ore - 30 - 90 Quantity / 100% Drop Rate
  • Unholy Pointer - 20 - l Quantity / 100% Drib Rate

If Eye of Cthulhu falls in a Crimson World, it will drop:

  • Crimson Seeds - 1 - 3 Quantity / 100% Drop Rate
  • Crimtane Ore - 30 - 90 Quantity / 100% Driblet Rate

In both worlds, the Eye of Cthulhu has a chance to drib:

  • 0x33's Aviators (100% Drop Rate - Available but in Main Fashion) - A vanity particular, aviator sunglasses.
  • Annoy'due south Hat (100% Drop Rate if players defeat Eye of Cthulhu and Wall of Flesh during the same day) - A colorful corrective item.
  • Binoculars (2.5% Drop Rate) - This item can increase a player's view distance when held.
  • Heart Of Cthulhu Mask (14.29% Drop Rate) - A mask cosmetic.
  • Eye Of Cthulhu Relic (100% Driblet Charge per unit) - A Furniture Detail / Statue.
  • Eye Of Cthulhu Trophy (x% Drop Charge per unit) - A Furniture Item / Wall Trophy.
  • Gold Money - iii x Quantity (100% Drop Rate - Only in Practiced in Master Modes)
  • Lesser Healing Potion - one - v Quantity (100% Drop Rate)
  • Shield Of Cthulhu (100% Drib Rate - Simply bachelor in Expert and Master Modes) - A shield that volition harm enemies if players nuance into them
  • Suspicious Grinning Eye (25% Driblet Rate - Only available in Master Mode) - Summons an Eye of Cthulhu pet.

Final Thoughts

Terraria Eye Of Cthulhu Attacks Base

Being the first boss can make the Eye of Cthulhu a flake of a challenge for players that are underprepared. If the player is struggling as well much than making amend preparations, finding meliorate weapons, and gaining more boosts while delaying the fight is the best course.

Once players can reliably beat the Centre of Cthulhu information technology tin can be a corking way to brand coin as it drops three Gilt Coins on normal and seven Gold and fifty Silvery on Expert. The Demonite and Crimtane ores also fetch for a high price and tin exist used to craft powerful items.

Considering of this it really is recommended to gear up a dedicated arena for fighting the Eye of Cthulhu. It'll help in the first fight and can exist used for farming later on.

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