In Terraria, Moon Lord is the final boss and it usually takes players hours to defeat him, but Speedrunner defeated him in just over an hour. This is achieved through game knowledge, execution, and niche skills such as inventory management and a willingness to reset repeatedly.
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Unfortunately, this run will inevitably be very unlucky as Terraria's main category is Random Seed in Classic mode. While there are other categories such as Journey Mode, All Bosses or Edge of Night, this guide mainly covers the main categories of the leaderboard. That means that in classic mode you have to go through a randomly generated world until the moon lord is defeated.
This guide is based on a guide written by ImmortalZypther using Dacktem, Max Overpower, CrabBar, and Terraria Speedrunning Discord (this is a general guide for most categories). It also builds on Afroman's world record of 1:04:42. For this guide, both are explained in a more beginner-friendly way.
for running
It's never a bad idea to read the classes and game rules before embarking on a speedrun, and check out the Speedrun.com site for Terraria's resources and general runs. Video proof is required for submitting run results, and it's easy to recommend free software like OBS.
Class rules ensure that featured worlds and characters are soft-core characters in classic mode, small crimson worlds. The world generation must be shown in the video upon submission and the seed cannot be changed. Once the world is set up, the run can begin, but remember there are no glitches, major bugs, or similar NMAs (no major abuse).
Begin
The first thing ambitious Terraria speedrunners should do when they spawn is find a tunnel to a surface cave. As you walk, use your ax to chop down trees to harvest fruits. If the desert is found first, it's a good idea to head back to the spawn point and look the other way. However, snow or jungle biomes can work, if a little dangerous. When caves are found, chests must be looted and pots broken.
Players need to buy bombs, looms, and preferably sports gear like Hermes boots or aglet, as well as some potions. Life Crystals and Gems are invaluable at this stage. In general, when acquiring these enemies, try to dodge and use dynamite instead of a pickaxe. When enough material has been collected, you need to reclaim the soil. As a rule of thumb, players should create crafting stations and always keep them in their inventory until needed.
Now it's time to build NPC cases as shown in the image above for maximum efficiency. Start blowing up trees with bombs, then build a platform of wooden blocks in the air. Then go up 9 blocks of platforms and 21 blocks in width, with 4 blocks between the platform lines.
Place the table and chairs next to each other between these lines, with a wooden wall behind it and a flashlight in between. It's never a bad idea to check the NPC enclosure menu to make sure it's a valid enclosure.
Buy trench
Terraria speedrunners must now wait for the NPC, the Demolitionist, to appear before selling unnecessary items. For example, an easy and quick way to make a lot of money is to blow up sand and melt it into glass, then use gems to turn the glass into walls and the walls into stained glass.
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In addition, players must purchase anvils, insect nets, flashlights, grenades, bombs, and dynamite, which are expensive. Dynamite and grenades will be the main damage-dealers during the run until the normal weapons are acquired.
Now the player must use dynamite to create a Hellavator, a large tunnel that leads to the underworld. Make sure to loot all chests, ores, and other valuables along the way. It also makes sense at this stage to use clay pots to make potions for growing herbs.
After getting the water candle from the dungeon, travel to the Crimson and hope to build a platform above the surface. Use this platform and water candles to grow Vertebra until you are 18 years old. Players must now dive into the Crimson and break the Crimson Heart and leave the Musket Ball in their inventory to spawn the Arms Dealer.
Time to go to the underworld and build the classic Hell's Bridge - build a bridge over the underworld from solid blocks, preferably with a bed and a clock. The player must build a small house on the lava and force the guide to move into it. Players may also consider building a small house with a bed inside for quick respawning in an emergency.
Make sure the bridge is long enough, then break the ground under the lead to bring out the wall of flesh, use dynamite and time it to kill it. (This takes a lot of practice. The timing is about one dynamite per second, but it also requires a lot of distance, so any player is advised to watch a run before attempting it.)
difficult mode
After the wall falls, the items it provides determine the level a Terraria player will use for a while during the run. If you get fireworks, you must use Obsidian Armor and Wildclaws. If the Las Rifle falls, the Gem Robe and Mana Restoration Potion should do the trick. Breaker Blade is the sign to get Hel-Fire of Gradient.
When the Clockwork Assault Rifle drops, the player receives Infernal Missiles, High-Explosive Rounds, and an optional Shotgun from the weapons vendor. Of course, instead of struggling with the Wall of Flesh loot, players can opt for the shotgun by default. Badges earned can also be important, but if the player finds it necessary, they can use Shimmer to find the Aether biome to convert it into their class.
In Hell you shoot Hellstone, Obsidian and a Hellforge. When playing as a ranger, you need 240 ore to buy armor, a pickaxe, and a bow. The player must surface and build another five houses, mainly for the steampunks, but the dryads can bake pumpkin pies.
Players must now take a cave diver potion and mine hard ores to get cobalt diamonds. Then it's time to kill enemies until there are 21 Souls of Night nights and seven weeks of pus left and right.
Nine Light Souls can be farmed in the same way, and with both farms, proximity to the underworld improves spawn rate, so it's recommended to run them in the lowest biome possible. It's time to return to aboveground Crimson and destroy at least 7 altars, then mine 45 cobalt/palladium ores for drilling, then mine mithril/orichalcum for anvils.
mechanical boss
Craft 3 mechanical worms with souls, iron/lead and swirls. Put some crates on the ground, walk a long way over them with a rope, and build a crate with a hole in the bottom. Then summon the Destroyer and throw the dynamite at the chest, which should quickly kill the Destroyer. Players must repeat this boss 3 times to get enough Sacred Bars to get the full armor, drill and shoot action set.
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If no set of Dev Wings is purchased, the player must purchase the Steampunker's Jetpack. Then when you play a ranger, make some secret darts. You should also have a huge supply of health and nine light souls. Next, the player must go to the dungeon, destroy Skeletron and craft 30 bones.
If the player does not have enough shots, he must wait until night, go up and kill the eyes with water candles. Optionally, suspicious eyes can be brought to dusk for lenses.
Speedrunners must now summon the Skeletron Prime and fight it by dodging and hitting it with their chosen damage type. The twins are essentially the same, but the walls and housing serve to block the laser light from the retinal laser. After both bosses are killed, a full set of Holy Armor can be crafted, along with a Drillaxe and Holy Repeater.
Appendix
Players must take their Holy Bolt Action Rifle and Drax into the jungle to mine 250 Chlorophyte Ore for ammo reserves later in the game. First, the player must find any Plantera sphere and form a long stem around it. Sleeping on a bed is a good way to spawn more orbs. Then break out the Plantera bulbs and get ready for battle.
With the Hallowed Repeater, the player must shoot Plantera (preferably with Holy Arrows or Sekret Arrows) as it flies through the tunnel, and use it to circle the plants. Hopefully, Plantera won't stop players from flying around him and dodging the big hitboxes of his tentacles and body.
Marionette
Now it's time for the player to find the Jungle Temple. This may take some time. During this part of the run, it is very helpful to check the map for black spots and use lots of dynamite and Dangersense potions. Golems are as easy as ever once you find the shrine, especially when Plantera drops the grenade launcher, which is overkill.
Oral event
Players can now return to the dungeon and use items dropped by the golem against the crazed cultists. However, be careful not to hit the wrong clones and dodge excess projectiles. Once the cult is defeated, the pillars will appear. The Moon Lord will spawn after the pillars are destroyed, so it's a good idea to make all the preparations now.
The Vortex Strut is easy to drop by simply dodging projectiles and hitting enemies. After obtaining Vortex Fragments, Terraria Speedrunners can use Chlorophyte Orbs to create Vortex Bats and Phantasm using Secretion Darts. The other three pillars should be easier, so after the last one is destroyed, the player can use the remaining fragments to create a super healing potion.
The Moon Lord will return soon and can be taken down quickly in classic mode by blasting wards with the Vortex Striker, using Mirage with Secretion Darts and dodging lasers with Wings. If the player's health is low, he can run to the nurse after her respawn and spend money on the cure. After many heals, bullets and dodges, the moon lord will fall and the flight will end.
Terraria is available for Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, macOS, PC and more.
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