Terraria - Plantera Boss Guide (2024)

Boss Strategies, Fight Tips, and Unlocks

Plantera is a key boss in Terraria's Hardmode

Once you've defeated the three mechanical bosses and have seen the message, "The Jungle Grows Restless", you are able to battle Plantera. This boss is found deep in the Underground Jungle, which is fairly easy to find so long as you've gone east or west in your world. It is on the opposite side of the dungeon. The entrance will be at the surface, and deep below you'll find powerful chlorophyte ore to create new gear and life fruit that can extend your character's life by 5 each, from 400 to 500. You'll also find pink bulbs, which will be used to summon Plantera as many times as you'd like to fight it.

Preparing for the Battle
Plantera allows you to progress, and is effectively a gear/skill check to make sure you're ready for the hardest parts of Terraria. Farm the Mechanical Bosses - whichever you find easiest - by summoning them multiple times at night until you're able to craft a full set of Hallowed Armor, then move up to Chlorophyte by mining some in the Jungle with a Hallowed Pickaxe. At least get yourself some so that you can farm it (it grows in mud by converting blocks). This powerful set will help immensely as you battle the Jungle's many monsters, which can be quite deadly. Additionally, you will want at least a few buff potions - your choice, but I load up on them and partake heavily in herbology so that my experience is more laid back. As in, slaughtering the boss as opposed to running for my life, screaming as a giant plant climbs the cavern walls seeking to eviscerate my poor character.

Plantera's Bulbs
If you've already explored the Underground Jungle seeking some Chlorophyte ore, Plantera's bulbs will be visible on the minimap as small pink squares along cavern floors (you've got to zoom in to see them well). They can appear practically anywhere in the immense jungle, so it may take some exploration and time on your part. Once you've found one, you can break the bulb with a pickaxe to begin the fight. Don't worry, for these bulbs will respawn throughout the jungle and Plantera can be fought again by repeating the process.

Setting up a big open area in the middle of the Jungle seems odd, but it makes the Plantera fight trivial and you get some good gold and loot while you set it up, especially if you're wearing Chlorophyte gear which features a spirit that fires automatically!

Preparing an Arena for the Boss
For the first Plantera boss fight, I carve out a section of Jungle near a Plantera Bulb that will not affect too much. Platforms built across and about one screen in size, maybe 1.5 screens width wise. This takes a good deal of wood, but that is a renewable resource and you can lure future Plantera fights to this area. As always, I recommend the ever-useful Heart Lantern (heart crystal + 4 chains) be placed somewhere in order to stack with campfires and give you more life regeneration. It's better to use them for this purpose than sell them, as you can harvest lanterns with a pickaxe. Spread them out so that no matter where you are in the arena, you're getting the extra regen. Add a life regeneration potion and other potions on top of this and you're almost overpowered so long as your defense is over 50-60.

Plantera starts with a ranged attack, all while approaching you. I think it's mixed up. The boss will shoot and fire bouncy spores, neither of which are very harmful in good armor.Kiting Plantera in a large open area is the best route for ranged, whether caster or bow/gun.

Plantera Phase 1
Break a bulb and Plantera will arrive shortly. In phase one, Plantera is not very difficult. You will want to kite it unless melee, and simply fire away at the main body mass. The main attack (poison spit) coupled with the bouncing balls can be a challenge for squishy characters, but this boss can definitely be brought down melee if using the best gear available. It will begin to shoot faster as it takes more damage. Use your arena or the Jungle's existing tunnels to your benefit and fire/melee attack backward. At around half health, the boss will enrage.

Plantera sure gets ugly when enraged. It wants to make contact, so don't let it - kite a bit even if melee to avoid some damage.

Plantera - Enraged Ugly Plant Boss
When Plantera enrages, it changes forms and reveals how truly nasty it is inside. It will try to ram you with its massive mandibles(??), so kite it around and avoid contact or else take big damage on contact. Use health potions as soon as you can benefit from the full amount of healing, not when you're about to die. Use at 250 health or so, and try to get some distance between you so that you can stand still for a moment to recover a few extra health from passive regen. Using potions earlier lets you have another chance to use one before death. Plan your moves so that you do not lead yourself into a corner and force contact with it, and it will be dead in due time.

With Plantera's defeat, your options open up once more and you have the choice to explore the dungeon or take on Golem. I recommend the latter.

What Happens Afterward?
Plantera's death will give you some potentially great loot, but most importantly the Temple Key, which leads to the next boss - Golem. Plantera's death will give you a message akin to, "You hear screams coming from the Dungeon". This means hard-mode enemies are now spawning there, and they have some truly great drops and can let you get gear like Spectre armor/wings. However, you should do Golem first. He's easier than what awaits in the dungeon.

The Cyborg NPC will move in should you have a home available. With Plantera defeated, the Hallow, Crimson, and Corruption will stop spreading so fast in your world - according to the wiki, it slows down to 33% of its usual rate. That's a good thing for control freaks. Additionally, biome keys can be used in the dungeon, meaning you can get each biome-specific item found there so long as you (a). find the chests and (b). have farmed the keys. There's a 1/2500 chance of a key dropping from enemies in each major biome.

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