Skeletron Prime is one of the three Hardmode mechanical bosses the player will need to defeat to move on inTerraria. He is also a great source of Soul of Fright and Hallowed Bars and players should considerfarming himfor those supplies.
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For players looking to bring down Skeletron Prime there are a number of tips and strategies that can help. As with any boss the fight comes down to how well the player is prepared, what gear they have, and understanding how this boss ticks.
15How To Summon
Skeletron Prime can be summoned in one of two ways:
Whenever a player destroys a Demon or Crimson Alter there is a 10% chance it will summon Skeletron Prime. Because of this many players will aim for summoning Skeletron Prime manually and save themselves the headache of tracking down Alters. Not to mention that doing so may spawn a Destroyer orthe Twinsinstead.
A Mechanical Skull can be crafted with the following ingredients:
14Fighting Tactics
Players will have to contend with five components to Skeletron Prime:
Only the head needs to be destroyed to win the fight but knowing how to contend with and defeat the other parts may be useful. There are some other parts the player should consider destroying before focusing their attention on the Prime Head.
13Prime Saw
Prime Saw is the Skeletron Prime’s arm. It will lunge at the player dealing incredible damage. Fortunately it’s not as aggressive as the other arm and has an obvious tell. Players can dodge this relatively easily. It’s recommended to simply avoid this arm rather than try and destroy it.
12Prime Vice
Prime Vice deals less damage than the other arm but is far more aggressive. It will attempt to strike multiple times with each lunge. Players may have a hard time dodging this arm even though its attacks are obvious. Players having a hard time surviving or striking the Head may consider destroying this limb. This is especially true on Expert Mode where Prime Vice becomes particularly dangerous.
11Prime Laser
Prime Laser is one of the limbs that hovers above the player firing every now and then. It’s one of the more dangerous limbs in terms of damage and its fire rate increases if Skeletron Prime is enraged. Fortunately it has the lowest health of all limbs at six thousand health. Players should strongly consider eliminating this limb first to make the fight easier and allow more shots to get through.
10Prime Cannon
Prime Cannon is the final limb of Skeletron Prime. It fires bombs that can be stopped by solid blocks. With the right arena this limb is of minimal or zero concern to the player. Players can largely ignore this limb and have no need to destroy it.
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This does become more of a problem on the secretmap seedFor the worthy. Here bombs will destroy the environment. In this case players should place their priority on destroying the Prime Cannon as quickly as possible or risk losing their arena.
9Prime Head
This is the primary target in order to defeat Skeletron Prime. Players should be directing most of their attention to destroying it, though the other limbs can block attacks and cause problems. It will float above the player occasionally spinning to increase attack and defense. If not destroyed by morning the head will enter an infinite spin ramping its damage and defense to nearly unbeatable levels.
This is especially important to consider when destroying a Crimson or Demon Alter. Players should be careful to destroy these in the early parts of the night. Otherwise they risk summoning a Skeletron Prime during the day which will be practically invulnerable and can one hit kill the player.
8General Strategies
Generally speaking the player should focus on taking out the Prime Laser and perhaps prime Vice before focusing entirely on the Prime Head. This minimizes how dangerous the boss is and enables more of the player’s shots to connect with the Prime Head.
While the Skeletron Prime is immune to most debuffs he is vulnerable to Frostburn and Ichor. Players should strongly consider items or weapons that provide these debuffs to end the fight faster. Anything with projectiles that home, spread, or pierce will also help.
Compared to most boss fights this one is fairly straight forward. Dodge the limbs, avoid the bombs, destroy the Prime Laser, and focus all attention on the Prime Head.
7Preparing The Battlefield
An arena is strongly recommended as having a few platforms nullifies the Prime Cannons attacks. It also provides the player with mobility to dodge limbs. A standard arena with proper lighting and boosts is all that’s needed.
It’s important to never venture below the bottom platform to avoid the bombs that end up on the ground. The arena should not have a solid ceiling as Skeletron Prime will simply fall back to a different position forcing the player to leave. Some players have found success with a pockmarked ceiling, but it’s best to leave it open and only fall below when bombs are flying.
6Helpful Boosts
The usual buffs that players should be implementing in every boss are just as important here:
