Defeating the Wall of Flesh is no easy feat, but don’t count your chickens in Terraria before they hatch. Pre-Hardmode is like the game's tutorial. Now, you can play the rest of Terraria with new challenges in Hardmode. So, keep reading, as we guide you into surviving Hardmode and eventually defeating the Moon Lord.

Terraria Hardmode Guide

Before anything else, it’s important to mention that transitioning from Pre-Hardmode to Hardmode is permanent. In other words, there’s no other way in Vanilla Terraria to return to Pre-Hardmode, unless by traveling to another world seed that hasn't undergone that change. So, ensure that you finish everything to complete in Pre-Hardmode before taking on the Wall of Flesh.

Preparation and The First Steps

Prepare for a significant difficulty spike upon entering Hardmode. Certain players might even find it difficult to defeat some enemies in Hardmode, even with the best pre-Hardmode armor and weapons equipped. Nonetheless, knowledge about what’s to come can help save a lot of headaches. For starters, know that the Hallow and Corruption or Crimson biomes start to consume the world. These regions “eat” the Terraria seed in a V-shape, and each corrupted location will have detrimental effects. For instance, an infected Jungle will have its Mud Blocks transformed into regular Dirt Blocks, reducing the number of farmable spots if you're collecting these resources. Note that these Blocks can be repaired, albeit it's significantly time-consuming and requires much effort to complete. Thankfully, the Jungle biome can no longer be destroyed as of Update 1.4.4. So, your first priority should be defeating one of the three Hardmode Mechanical Bosses: The Destroyer, The Twins, and Skeletron Prime. Defeating any of these bosses summons the Steampunker, letting you access the Clentaminator. Buy this weapon for 2x Platinum Coin to start healing the world. Then, use Green Solution to restore the corrupted blocks. Note that restored blocks can be re-corrupted. Note that other special ammunition for the Clentaminator exists, although each ammo type has varying effects:

• Yellow Solution: Spreads Desert, converting snow/dirt to sand and stone/ice to sandstone.
• White Solution: Spreads snow, converting dirt/sand to snow and stone/sandstone to ice.
• Brown Solution: Spreads Forest, converting snow/sand to dirt and sandstone/ice to stone.
• Dark Blue Solution: Converts Jungle to the Glowing Mushroom biome.

Other solutions exist for the Clentaminator, but aren’t advisable to use since they promote the spread of the Hallow and Corruption or Crimson biomes. The solutions to watch out for are the following:

• Blue Solution: Spreads the Hallow.
• Purple Solution: Spreads the Corruption.
• Red Solution: Spreads the Crimson.

Note: Throw the Clentaminator into the Shimmer to convert it into the Terraformer. This new weapon shares the same effect as its predecessor, albeit with a larger range, and has the chance not to consume solutions upon use.

Smashing Altars and Collecting Ores

With the Clentaminator or Terraformer secured, your next step is to look for and smash Demon or Crimson Altars. Remember, it’s possible to craft various special items using these altars. So, complete your crafting first before smashing these rare workstations. Also, use the Pwnhammer received from defeating the Wall of Flesh to smash the altars. But be prepared, as smashing an altar has a chance of summoning a mechanical boss. Each destroyed altar summons different ores in various underground locations. Destroying one altar spawns Cobalt or Palladium ores. Eliminating another altar after that spawns Mythril or Orichalcum. The next altar destroyed spawns Adamantite or Titanium. These events happen in order and will reset each time a third altar is destroyed. Farm these ores to make better gear as you progress through Hardmode. Below is a short checklist of objectives to consider before dealing with additional Hardmode bosses:

• Craft and wear Palladium and Titanium armor sets, as these generally have good defensive stats.
• Craft and wear Adamantite and Orichalcum armor sets, if possible, to take advantage of their effects in optimizing DPS.
• Obtain and equip Wings, as many boss attacks are tougher to dodge without them.
• Equip accessories with good defensive effects and stats, such as the Ankh, Frog Leg, Philosopher’s Stone, or the Emblem of your chosen class.

Hardmode Boss Progression

As mentioned earlier, your first boss to defeat upon entering Hardmode should be one of the three Mechanical Bosses. Assuming that you’ve defeated your third Mechanical Boss in Hardmode, your boss progression in Terraria looks like this:

• Plantera: Spawns only after defeating the three Mechanical Bosses.
• Golem: Gain entrance to its location, the Jungle Temple, by defeating Plantera and obtaining the Temple Key.
• Lunatic Cultist: Defeat the Four Cultists in front of the Dungeon entrance after defeating Golem.
• Moon Lord: Defeat the Lunatic Cultist and the four Celestial Pillars that spawned after.

Apart from these mainline bosses, players can find, summon, and defeat three optional bosses (excluding those in invasions):

• Queen Slime: Summon using a Gelatin Crystal (found in the Underground Hallow) in the Hallow biome.
• Duke Fishron: Fish this boss using a Truffle Worm as bait in the Ocean biome.
• Empress of Light: Kill a Prismatic Lacewing in the Hallow.

Post-Hardmode in Terraria: What’s Next?

Defeating the Moon Lord isn’t the end of your playthrough in Hardmode Terraria. Other activities and objectives still exist for you to complete, such as the following:

• Complete Angler or Fishing quests.
• Acquire all achievements.
• Play with friends in a dedicated Terraria server.
• Build the best base for your NPCs.
• Purify the Corruption or Crimson biomes.
• Min-max your gear.
• Complete the Bestiary.
• Try other character classes, such as the Magician, Ranger, or Summoner.
• Activate and complete invasions.