TheAlchemistGamer
Terrarian
Introduction
This is a guide on how to beat the Brain of Cthulhu with minimal equipment. This will be part of a series of guide on how to beat all pre-hardmode bosses and is intended to speedrunning, but it can be used to kill the boss easily if you're struggling. This guide does not apply to expert mode. You can try but i don't think it is going to work, i may later try to do a guide just for that.
The Brain of Cthulhu is one of the easiest bosses in the game. With only 1000 HP (1700 in expert mode) has the least health of all of them, so it is ridiculously easy. At the time that this guide is made the world record for killing it is only 9 minutes and 8 seconds by Shawkill.
Spawning
First things first, to spawn it all you need is to break 3 Crimson Hearts with a any hammer. Crafting a Bloody Spine is quite unneeded. You can easily bomb your way through crimson to get to the orbs, plus they will also give you equipment that could really help you kill it even more easily. The only downside about spawning him with the orbs is that you need to run to your arena before he attacks you, or you are going to get stuck and die. This shouldn't be a problem if you have an horizontal chasm. It should be easier to explode the last orb with a bomb or a dynamite by throwing it down a chasm and running instead of breaking it with a hammer.
Preparations
The arena is minimal and sometimes even unnecessary. You are going to want to make it inside a Crimson Chasm. First you need to block the spawn of Crawlers, Crimeras and alike. First you should block the bottom of the chasm with a solid block, just leaving 2 blocks on the sides open so you can get on your way to break the orbs. Ontop of that 2-5 rows of wooden platforms should do. You should really light up the area too with some torches here and there. A campfire is also good but somewhat unnecessary.
Equipment
Now on to equipment. Since the Brain's main form of attack is teleporting and knockback you somewhere you can get stuck on, unless you have a spear (which is a really good weapon against him) , meele is unviable. The brain has two phases, the first one where he is completely invulnerable and is surrounded by Creepers (100 HP, 200HP in expert mode). Until all of them are killed he will not become vulnerable.
To take care of the first phase any bow can be used.
Jester Arrows and Frostburn Arrows are the best you can use, but flaming arrows are also good. Normal arrows aren't going to do the job on the first phase.
The piercing effect of Jester Arrows hits multiple enemies, so it will hit multiple creepers, and Frostburn Arrows inflicts Frostburn, so it will keep damaging the creepers after you've hit it.
If you get an Undertaker from one of the orbs, it is also feasible. It does decent damage and a nice knockback.
Spear is a really good weapon against him. It has a decent damage and the 3rd best knockback of all spears. It is especially good on the second phase, since it doesn't do enough damage to keep the Creepers away.
The Rotted Fork is good in both phases. You would be really lucky to get this thing with one of the hearts. It does a good amount of damage, even though it doesn't do have as much knockback as the other one.
A Trident is also a good one if you can find a water chest, but a Rotted Fork or a Spear is still better.
Battle
Like i mentioned before, in the first phase you can't attack the brain. It will teleport around and slowly approach you before going away. Since you can't knockback him in this phase it is harder to dodge him. Don't ever get caught in a wall or you are going to die easily. If you happen to be hit you will take around 30 damage. Always try to stay far away and focus on the creepers.
The creepers will swarm around him, homing towards you and retreating really fast. At this phase you should use you bow. They aren't as easy to dodge as the brain. If you have enough space behind you shooting them making them retreat won't be a problem . They only have 100HP. If you happen to get hit it should do around 20 damage, so unless you get stuck with multiple creepers attacking you that shouldn't be a problem, since creepers drop hearts and since you can easily recover if you have a campfire. There should be between 20-30 creepers. Using a spear is also a good idea, maybe a better one if you are using Frostburn Arrows or if your aim isn't the best. In this phase a Rotted Fork is the best one you can use, because of the damage (to multiple creepers) it does and because of the range and knockback.
Once all the creepers are defeated the brain will enter the second phase, where the brain will be solid, visible and attackable. In this phase the brain will teleport around even more commonly and a approach you a bit more faster, however dodging it will be easier than dodging the creepers or his first phase. If you have a spear it is a good time to use it. If you don't have one use an undertaker or just the bow, however that is really not recommended . Knockback is extremely important in that phase. Just making sure you are not near a wall and in a stable place to attack (something that is needed since you will be always dodging when he teleports) and attacking from far or a reasonable distance if you are using a spear, always trying to keep him away with the knockback. The hardest time to dodge is when he comes from below. You may get hit sometimes. If that happens using Lesser Healing Potions or any other healing item if you have them is a good idea. If you keep attacking him he will eventually die.
This is a guide on how to beat the Brain of Cthulhu with minimal equipment. This will be part of a series of guide on how to beat all pre-hardmode bosses and is intended to speedrunning, but it can be used to kill the boss easily if you're struggling. This guide does not apply to expert mode. You can try but i don't think it is going to work, i may later try to do a guide just for that.
The Brain of Cthulhu is one of the easiest bosses in the game. With only 1000 HP (1700 in expert mode) has the least health of all of them, so it is ridiculously easy. At the time that this guide is made the world record for killing it is only 9 minutes and 8 seconds by Shawkill.
Spawning
First things first, to spawn it all you need is to break 3 Crimson Hearts with a any hammer. Crafting a Bloody Spine is quite unneeded. You can easily bomb your way through crimson to get to the orbs, plus they will also give you equipment that could really help you kill it even more easily. The only downside about spawning him with the orbs is that you need to run to your arena before he attacks you, or you are going to get stuck and die. This shouldn't be a problem if you have an horizontal chasm. It should be easier to explode the last orb with a bomb or a dynamite by throwing it down a chasm and running instead of breaking it with a hammer.
Preparations
The arena is minimal and sometimes even unnecessary. You are going to want to make it inside a Crimson Chasm. First you need to block the spawn of Crawlers, Crimeras and alike. First you should block the bottom of the chasm with a solid block, just leaving 2 blocks on the sides open so you can get on your way to break the orbs. Ontop of that 2-5 rows of wooden platforms should do. You should really light up the area too with some torches here and there. A campfire is also good but somewhat unnecessary.
Equipment
Now on to equipment. Since the Brain's main form of attack is teleporting and knockback you somewhere you can get stuck on, unless you have a spear (which is a really good weapon against him) , meele is unviable. The brain has two phases, the first one where he is completely invulnerable and is surrounded by Creepers (100 HP, 200HP in expert mode). Until all of them are killed he will not become vulnerable.
To take care of the first phase any bow can be used.
Jester Arrows and Frostburn Arrows are the best you can use, but flaming arrows are also good. Normal arrows aren't going to do the job on the first phase.
The piercing effect of Jester Arrows hits multiple enemies, so it will hit multiple creepers, and Frostburn Arrows inflicts Frostburn, so it will keep damaging the creepers after you've hit it.
If you get an Undertaker from one of the orbs, it is also feasible. It does decent damage and a nice knockback.
Spear is a really good weapon against him. It has a decent damage and the 3rd best knockback of all spears. It is especially good on the second phase, since it doesn't do enough damage to keep the Creepers away.
The Rotted Fork is good in both phases. You would be really lucky to get this thing with one of the hearts. It does a good amount of damage, even though it doesn't do have as much knockback as the other one.
A Trident is also a good one if you can find a water chest, but a Rotted Fork or a Spear is still better.
Battle
Like i mentioned before, in the first phase you can't attack the brain. It will teleport around and slowly approach you before going away. Since you can't knockback him in this phase it is harder to dodge him. Don't ever get caught in a wall or you are going to die easily. If you happen to be hit you will take around 30 damage. Always try to stay far away and focus on the creepers.
The creepers will swarm around him, homing towards you and retreating really fast. At this phase you should use you bow. They aren't as easy to dodge as the brain. If you have enough space behind you shooting them making them retreat won't be a problem . They only have 100HP. If you happen to get hit it should do around 20 damage, so unless you get stuck with multiple creepers attacking you that shouldn't be a problem, since creepers drop hearts and since you can easily recover if you have a campfire. There should be between 20-30 creepers. Using a spear is also a good idea, maybe a better one if you are using Frostburn Arrows or if your aim isn't the best. In this phase a Rotted Fork is the best one you can use, because of the damage (to multiple creepers) it does and because of the range and knockback.
Once all the creepers are defeated the brain will enter the second phase, where the brain will be solid, visible and attackable. In this phase the brain will teleport around even more commonly and a approach you a bit more faster, however dodging it will be easier than dodging the creepers or his first phase. If you have a spear it is a good time to use it. If you don't have one use an undertaker or just the bow, however that is really not recommended . Knockback is extremely important in that phase. Just making sure you are not near a wall and in a stable place to attack (something that is needed since you will be always dodging when he teleports) and attacking from far or a reasonable distance if you are using a spear, always trying to keep him away with the knockback. The hardest time to dodge is when he comes from below. You may get hit sometimes. If that happens using Lesser Healing Potions or any other healing item if you have them is a good idea. If you keep attacking him he will eventually die.
