Just started Hardmode; ambushed by Skeletron Prime. Now what?

SuperJay

SuperJay

Terrarian
I recently started my first Hardmode playthrough after defeating WoF, and I've been having a blast with the increased challenge, the risks, the new gear and enemies and all that good stuff. So far, I've fought a couple Pirate Invasions and done a bit of Cobalt and Mythril mining, rescued the Wizard, bought the Leaf Wings, and done a lot of exploring just to see how the world has changed (and is changing). Definitely tough but manageable so far, and a welcome challenge after coasting through the latter half of pre-WoF progression.

Then, just before I logged off last night, I had returned to my base after a mining trip when I got an ominous announcement: "You feel the air getting colder around you..." I saved and exited. :)

So. Presumably this is an "No, I expect you to die, Mr. Bond" kind of moment, right? I only have Cobalt Armor and a Cutlass, which were definitely big improvements over pre-WoF gear but I haven't even fought any Hardmode bosses yet, and the game is throwing the toughest Mechanical boss at me first. I have 410 Health and 200 Mana; my primary weapons are my trusty Godly Cutlass and a Laser Rifle from WoF. I can hold my own out in the wild against normal enemies, but the only reason I've been able to farm Pirates is because of my base defenses.

He has 28,000 health. I don't think this is even possible to win, is it? (I don't really care if I die, I'm at home and can retrieve my stuff easily; I'm just wondering what, if anything, I can do in the 1-2 minutes I have before he appears and if it's even worth trying to defeat him.
 
When you leave the game after such a message, i believe he doesn't spawn.

^^ if i'm wrong, just go caving, he can't spawn in caves.

You aren't ready for skeletron yet. :D
 
It doesn't spawn after a save and quit, so don't worry, even if you do die, whatever? Right?
Nothing lost, nothing gained
Oh... Hardmode or hardcore?
 
Run for the Cavern layer as fast as you can, and he won't spawn. My very first hardmode night, not even a Cobalt Pickaxe, and The Twins tried to spawn.

GG Terraria.
 
Thanks, all. It turns out he didn't actually spawn since I did save and exit right when I got the message (I thought that that didn't work anymore, for some reason). Oddly enough, he came right back the next night too, but I just did the same thing. The game really wants me to fight Skeletron Prime long before it's even possible for me to be ready for that encounter. :(

I kind of wish there was a bit more gating to the mechanical boss progression, rather than altar-breaking with the Pwnhammer being the only milestone necessary to allow any one of them to spawn during any subsequent night in-game. I might be in a state where I could take on The Twins, but that's probably about it right now.
 
Fight the Destroyer, make a MegaShark, my good Jay.

Worst case, park all of your cash and let him obliterate you for a night.
 
well...you could you use it as a practice...try to dodge him and see what arena would you need. At least that's what I did when he spawned and I was not ready :p I could beat him in the 4th try, but the previouse fights helped me catching the rythm
 
This sounds like an interesting challenge. With an ok arena it should be easier to beat him. The problem then would be the time... 9 min times the dps, it might work with laser rifle.
 
SuperJay said:
Thanks, all. It turns out he didn't actually spawn since I did save and exit right when I got the message (I thought that that didn't work anymore, for some reason). Oddly enough, he came right back the next night too, but I just did the same thing.
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Just quoting myself to reiterate. The thread title no longer applies. :)

Loki said:
Fight the Destroyer, make a MegaShark, my good Jay.

Worst case, park all of your cash and let him obliterate you for a night.
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That was basically my plan if there was no other way out, really. The death(s) wouldn't have mattered much - I stash my cash constantly, since as you know this ain't my first rodeo :) - but it just kind of amused me to get thrown into a boss battle that early and it did seem rather unlikely I'd emerge victorious. I mean, 28000 hitpoints! I have 410. This wouldn't have ended well.

W-wait.... did you say MegaShark, my brother? Whatever that is, it's absolutely relevant to my interests!
 
Having arenas is necessary for mechanical bosses. Make several long lines of platforms about 100 wide and 6-10 blocks apart vertically, then add a bunch of health regeneration items like campfires, heart lanterns, and heart statues (if you found any). Being able to move freely in all directions is the key to fighting them. I would also highly suggest using projectile attacks of some sort. It doesn't matter if they are melee, ranged, or magic, just so long as you aren't right in the bosses face.
 
SuperJay said:
W-wait.... did you say MegaShark, my brother? Whatever that is, it's absolutely relevant to my interests!
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Yup. It was the godmode weapon of 1.1...and the easiest (at the time) mech boss dropped the stuff to make it. Still owns mech bosses.
 
To me, he's pretty much the easiest mech boss to deal with since he's has a lot less speed and need to multitask [Twins need the least to multitask, but they're extremely fast to make up for it]. There's no need to be afraid of him given his predictability.

That said, you should take these as an opportunity to figure out his behaviors and weaknesses.

With enough knowledge of his movements [especially knowing how the melee arms behave], it's possible to beat Skeletron prime with nothing but a few platforms in mid-air and a hook for mobility, and everything else focused on improving damage.

Piercing attacks work especially well against him as he can easily block non-piercing projectiles with his arms. But even then, destroying his arms makes the fight much easier. Golden Shower, Cursed Flames, Laser Rifle, etc. are great magic weapons against him. Meteor Bullets work great against him with Clockwork Assault Rifle and Gatlingator, or possibly even the Shotgun. Melee-wise, I would recommend avoiding him and switch, but it's still rather possible with Flails, Boomerangs, and even Spears. Bananarangs, Gungnir, Dao of Pow, Terra Blade and its prerequisites, and early beam swords will be handy.
 
Twak said:
When you leave the game after such a message, i believe he doesn't spawn.

^^ if i'm wrong, just go caving, he can't spawn in caves.

You aren't ready for skeletron yet. :D
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He actually CAN, but all mech bosses don't spawn in the underground
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CinamonPizza said:
Kill Destroyer. Craft MegaShark. Make a Platform. Get Crystal Bullets. Get Skeletron Prime to spawn. Complete Pwnage
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Isn't that the difficult part?
 
As others said, just logging out won't accomplish much. You'll be safe for that night, but he (or his friends) could be back next night. There's an old saying, "practice makes the master," meaning if you don't get practice, no level of gear you could achieve without cheating progression will help you overcome these challenges.

Save & Exit will only get you so far, you still need to kill those bugs to progress.
 
Razor Knight said:
As others said, just logging out won't accomplish much. You'll be safe for that night, but he (or his friends) could be back next night. There's an old saying, "practice makes the master," meaning if you don't get practice, no level of gear you could achieve without cheating progression will help you overcome these challenges.

Save & Exit will only get you so far, you still need to kill those bugs to progress.
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But hiding is a good alternative
 
Try to get The Destroyer to spawn, go to an open space with platforms scattered around, and use your cutlass on the destroyer.
Once you beat it, you can make the megashark, and beat the other bosses quite easily.
 
Razor Knight said:
As others said, just logging out won't accomplish much. You'll be safe for that night, but he (or his friends) could be back next night. There's an old saying, "practice makes the master," meaning if you don't get practice, no level of gear you could achieve without cheating progression will help you overcome these challenges.

Save & Exit will only get you so far, you still need to kill those bugs to progress.
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What an oddly pompous response. Where did you get the idea I didn't think I needed to kill bosses - or didn't enjoy boss battles - in order to progress?

Obviously I'll "practice" when the time comes that I actually want to fight this boss, but there's point in "practicing" when you don't have an arena, don't have the gear, and most importantly, don't have the desire to be forced into an encounter. I could have either gone along with the ambush and likely died right away given that I was barely out of my pre-WoF gear - which wouldn't have meant much in the way of practice - or I can come back later when I'm actually ready and willing, and get some real practice because I can actually survive. (And stand a good chance of defeating the boss the first time because I'm actually prepared. Even in HM, it's not like Terraria is all that tactically challenging, it's mostly a matter of numbers.)
 
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