Terraria, Re-Logic’s 2Dpixel-art sandbox game, is one of the best of the genre, even years after its release. Players can let their imaginations run wild or tackle the myriad of bosses in the game. There are 17 bosses for players to battle against, each with unique mechanics and eccentric character designs. Plantera is an early-Hardmode boss and is necessary for players to defeat to progress through to the game’s later stages.
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Defeating Plantera is no easy feat; she is essentially considered a skill-check to ensure players are prepared for the most challenging parts ofTerraria.The cramped spaces of the Jungle, coupled with constantly spawning Hardmode Jungle mobs, make Plantera a tough fight. Luckily, this guide provides players with the optimal combat setups and strategies to make the fight against this botanical boss a walk in the park.
How To Summon
After all three mechanical bosses have been slain, Plantera’s Bulbs will randomly begin tospawn in the Underground Jungle biome, as indicated by the status message “The jungle grows restless.” Small purple squares indicate these Bulbs on the minimap and typically take several in-game days to spawn.
Players must explore the Jungle biome’s deepest depths to find one. Destroying one of these purple bulbs will cause Plantera to spawn slightly off-screen immediately, and players should be able to see her boss icon on their minimap. Destroying these bulbs is the only way to spawn Plantera, though players can build their Underground Jungle biome by planting Jungle Seeds in mud to farm Plantera Bulbs reliably.
Gearing Up: The Best Combat Builds
Terrariafeatures different weapons, armor, and accessories, giving players the freedom to personalize their characters and combat builds. As such, the optimal weapons and armor when preparing to fight Plantera depend entirely onthe combat classthe player has decided to explore. Below is a rough guide on the best combat builds for this Hardmode fight and is by no means exhaustive.
Wings are a must-have for this fight, allowing for more mobility and dodging Plantera’s attacks; the best wings players can obtain in early Hardmode are Flame Wings, which can be crafted using Souls of Flight and one Fire Feather.
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Hallowed armor is the overall best gear available to equip for all classes, with the respective helmet to suit their build. It gives the Holy Protection buff, allowing them to dodge the next attack. Chlorophyte armor is another potential option due to its higher offensive and defensive bonuses, spawning a turret above the player’s health.
The Actual Fight
Players should prepare a large open arena in the Underground Jungle, complete with platforms for the player to drop between and maneuver around easily. They should also place plenty of Campfires for some crucial passive health regeneration. If players envision themselves struggling with this boss, they should havethe Nurse NPC on standbyto heal them back up.
Plantera has two phases that players need to consider. Once she spawns, Plantera initially moves incredibly slowly using her vines, also known as Plantera’s Hooks, to grapple onto blocks. Her Hooks are invincible and cannot be damaged.
First Phase
Plantera creeps after the player, dealing damage upon contact if the player stands too close. Her attacks are more ranged-focused as she keeps a fair distance from the player, as she fires out purple Seeds, green Poison Seeds and Thorn Balls when she is below 80% health. As her health is whittled down, her attacks become more frequent.
Players must be especially wary of her Thorn Ball attack. These erratically bounce once they come into contact with a surface and can deal lethal damage to an unsuspecting player.
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Second Phase
Once Plantera has been reduced to half her maximum health, she will transform into her second phase, which can deal massive damage if players aren’t careful. Herpink petals will fall awayto reveal her thorny gaping maw.
She will move more aggressively, quickly latching onto background tiles in a bid to reach the player, with her contact damage greatly increased. Players should remove all the background tiles to reduce Plantera’s movement speed, giving her fewer walls to grapple. Players with wings equipped should easily be able to kite around Plantera in a circle, attacking her as they go.
Upon transformation, Plantera also sprouts eight additional mouths that reach towards the player. Players should destroy these first, as they can block the players' attacks.
Rewards
The table below details all the possible and guaranteed drops awarded from defeating Plantera,some of which are quite rare. This includes a brief description of the item and its drop chance.
Only one of the seven weapons will drop at a time, so if players want to obtain all of these powerful weapons they will need to defeat Plantera several times.*
Grants access to the Jungle Temple
100%
Pygmy Staff
Summoner weapon - Spawns a pygmy minion that attacks enemies with a ranged spear.Deals 40 damage.
25%
14.29%
Grenade Launcher
Ranged weapon - Consumes rockeys as ammo, launching grenades with a timed fuse.Deals 60 damage. It is a guaranteed drop the first time Plantera is defeated.
14.29%*
Venus Magnum
Ranged weapon/gun - Consumes musket balls and bullets as ammo.Deals 50 damage.
Wasp Gun
Magic weapon - Fires 2-6 honing wasp projectiles that can bounce from nearby surfaces, like an upgraded Bee Gun.Deals 31 damage.
Nettle Burst
Magic weapon - Fires a long-ranged vine projection that can pierce through blocks and lingers.Deals25 base damagethat can go up to250 damagetotal to enemies.
Leaf Blower
Magic weapon - Fires a rapid barrage of leaf projectiles.Deals 48 damage.
Flower Pow
Flail - Can be swung around rapidly with the unique ability to also shoot lethal petals towards enemies.Deals 130 damage.
Seedler
Sword - Fires out grenade-like seed projectiles which exploding after one second or when they collide with an enemy.Deals 50 damage.It is also acomponent to craft the legendary Zenith sword.
10%
Seedling
Pet summoning item that summons a Pet Sapling to follow the player.
5%
A hamaxe - hammer/axe.
2%
A status message saying “Screams are echoing from the Dungeon” will appear once Plantera has been defeated. Moreenemies will begin spawning in the Dungeon, hoarding powerful new weapons and accessories. Biome Keys will also become available, allowing players to unlock Biome Chests within the Dungeon.
Once Plantera is defeated, players can also move onto the Jungle Temple with the Temple Key, granting them access to Golem, the next boss.
Terrariais available to play on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, iOS and Android devices.
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