- Not to be confused with Hardcore Mode, the character-specific difficulty setting in which a character has only one life and cannot respawn after death.
Hard Mode is an aptly named world-specific mode that is unlocked by defeating the Wall of Flesh. The Corruption or The Crimson spread more rapidly in Hard Mode (at least until Plantera is defeated), and a new biome known as The Hallow is created. New monsters, bosses, and items are available in Hard Mode as well. This mode cannot be turned off - defeating the Wall of Flesh will permanently set that world to Hard Mode, unless one uses cheats. The only way to convert a world back to Pre-Hardmode is through third party editing.
Activating Hard Mode[]
Defeating the Wall of Flesh (WoF) in the Underworld will unlock Hard Mode in that world only. However, some parts of Hard Mode — most notably, the tougher Dungeon monsters — will not appear in your world until Plantera has been defeated. You would know if you are in Hard Mode when a message at the bottom left of the screen says "The ancient spirits of light and dark have been released."
World Changes[]
Immediately after Hard Mode is active, 2 new biomes called The Hallow, and Underground Hallow will be created. It will reach from the surface to the Underworld. The newly formed path will be diagonal, centering below the spawn point, forming a V or an X of Corruption/Crimson and Hallow. It will affect conveniently positioned floating islands. The Underground Corruption/Crimson and the Underground Hallow will also spawn in the V or X.
Also note that destroying Demon Altars or Crimson Altars will spawn random blocks of Corruption/Crimson or Hallow somewhere underground. However, they will also spawn random pockets of the new Hard Mode ores (Cobalt Ore/Palladium Ore, Mythril Ore/Orichalcum Ore, or Adamantite Ore/Titanium Ore depending on how many Demon Altars you have already destroyed). Every time a Demon/Crimson Altar is destroyed, 1-3 Wraiths will spawn.
Floating Islands can also become hallowed or corrupted/crimsoned.
Palladium does not spawn in the same world as Cobalt, but will replace Cobalt (Tier 1 Hardmode Ore)
Orichalcum does not spawn in the same world as Mythril, but will replace Mythril (Tier 2)
Titanium does not spawn in the same world as Adamantite, but will replace Adamantite (Tier 3)
Blood Moon[]
- Main article: Blood MoonIn hardmode you will now find one monster and one mini-boss while fishing during the blood moon. These are Hemogoblin Sharks and the Dreadnautilus.
The Corruption[]
- Main article: The CorruptionOnce in Hard Mode, The Corruption will become much harder to maintain and will spread faster and more 'thoroughly' (more blocks becoming vulnerable to the corruption including stone blocks and sand blocks) and even underground beyond the initial chasms. New enemies will begin to spawn (with much higher HP and damage than previous foes). Remember that NPCs will move out when Corruption is closer than 50 Blocks.
Monsters[]
As of 1.1.2, Hard Mode adds 8 new Corrupted monsters:
- Clinger
- Corrupt Slime
- Corruptor
- Cursed Hammer
- Dark Mummy (Corrupted Desert only)
- Slimer (has 2 lives)
- World Feeder
- Wraith
Additionally, the Console Version adds stronger Versions of already existing ones. Among them, the new Corrupted Monsters are:
- Shadow Hammer
- Shadow Mummy (Corrupted Desert only)
- Shadow Slime
The Crimson[]
If the world spawned with The Crimson instead of The Corruption, The Crimson will go into a hardmode state as well, with its own enemies, blocks and items, and The Crimson will still follow the same rules of The Corruption. In a Crimson world, the player will not be able to obtain Cursed Flame without an artificially created Corruption biome. Instead, Ichor, dropped from Ichor Stickers, is available, which is similar to Cursed Flames in function but the items crafted will have different properties (e.g. Cursed Flames will make the spell Cursed Flames, while Ichor will make the Spell Golden Shower).
Monsters[]
As of 1.2, the Crimson will gain these enemies upon entering Hardmode:
The Hallow[]
- Main article: The HallowThe Hallow acts very similar to the Corruption as it spreads across the world, taking over a handful of other biomes. The difference is it's not in your world to begin with (the Corruption/Crimson is randomly generated upon world creation). Unlocking Hard Mode will also unlock the Hallow (randomly created, taking over a considerable chunk of a pre-existing slot of land). The Hallow cannot pass through Corruption, however. Spreading the Hallow over the world with hallowed seeds or Holy Water is often preferred over Corruption.
Bosses[]
Monsters[]
As of 1.1.2, there exist 8 hallowed monsters: Surface:
- Gastropod (at night)
- Pixie
- Unicorn
- Light Mummy (Hallowed Desert only)
Underground Hallow:
Among the stronger Console-Variants, the new Hallowed Monsters are:
- Spectral Elemental
- Spectral Gastropod
- Spectral Mummy (Hallowed Desert only)
Standard Biomes[]
Once Hard Mode is activated, additional monsters will also appear in the pre-existing biomes.
Monsters[]
Surface:
- Clown (Only on Blood Moons.)
- Mummy (Desert only)
- Wandering Eye (Night only)
- Werewolf (Only on Full Moons)
Underground:
Any:
- Angler Fish
- Green Jellyfish
- Possessed Armor
- Mimic (Can spawn pre-Hardmode by activating Chest Statues with wire, but will not drop anything)
These monsters are not to be underestimated as they can pose a threat against even skilled players with good defenses.
NPCs[]
Hardmode grants access to more NPCs.
Bosses & Events[]
There are some bosses and events that come with Hard Mode:
- Queen Slime (Hallowed Boss)
- The Twins (Boss)
- The Destroyer (Boss)
- Skeletron Prime (Boss)
- Ocram (Boss)Console
- Empress of Light (Hallowed Boss)
- Golem (Boss)
- Plantera (Boss)
- Duke Fishron (Boss)
- Lunatic Cultist (Boss)
- Celestial Towers (Celestial Event bosses)
- Moon Lord (Lunar Events boss)
- Pirate Invasion (invasion event)
- Pumpkin Moon (invasion event)
- Frost Legion (invasion event during Christmas)
- Frost Moon (invasion event)
- Martian Madness (invasion event)
The Twins, The Destroyer, Skeletron Prime, and Queen slime are all revised and beefed up versions of old bosses. None of these bosses should be taken lightly. Once you have killed all of the 3 Mechanical Bosses, in chat you will see "The jungle grows restless...", indicating that Plantera's Bulbs will spawn in the underground jungle, allowing the player to fight Plantera. Wyvern is a Hard Mode enemy. It may spawn when you are at an adequate height (Floating Islands for instance). After gaining Mythril Armor and weapons (Or better), the Wyvern becomes very easy to defeat if you use tactics like those against the Eater of Worlds or Destroyer, and the Wyvern always drops Souls of Flight (Which, even if you don't need you can always sell for 2 silver each and 1 gold coin or so). Souls of Flight are very useful as they are used to craft wings.
Ice Golem[]
Ice Golem is a rare Hard Mode mini-boss. It may spawn in Snow biomes, but only during a blizzard (when raining in other biomes).
Ice Golem Drop Frost Core (Always Drop) Ice Feather, Frost Staff And the Frost Armor (Only At 3DS)
Mothron[]
Mothron is a Hardmode post-Plantera mini-boss. It will only spawn in a Solar Eclipse after all of the 3 Mechanical Bosses have been defeated. It will lay eggs that will turn into Baby Mothrons after a while. It also charges at you in a similar pattern to the Queen Bee.
Solar Eclipse[]
The Solar Eclipse is a randomly occurring event, much like the Blood Moon, but it can only occur during Hard Mode after you've defeated any of the mechanical bosses(Destroyer, The Twins or Skeletron Prime). However, as of 1.3, it can be summoned with the Solar Tablet. Unlike the Blood Moon that spawns during night time, Solar Eclipses spawn during day. Because of this, it's possible, albeit extremely rare, for a Blood Moon to immediately come after a Solar Eclipse, or vice versa. There are 5 monsters that spawn during this event after defeating 1 mechanical boss:
- Swamp Thing
- Vampire
- Frankenstein
- Reaper
- Eyezor
- The Possessed {desktop and console exclusive}
- Fritz {desktop and console exclusive}
- Creature from the Deep {desktop and console exclusive}
- Mothron*
- Baby Mothron (Spawned by Mothron)
*Mothron only drops Mothron Wings and The Eye of Cthulu after defeating Plantera.
During Blood Moons[]
The Clown, an enemy which throws Bombs, cannot destroy blocks. (Their bombs can no longer destroy tiles as of PC patch 1.2). This is typically prevented by creating a barrier of indestructible blocks such as dungeon bricks.
Additionally, ghost-like monsters called Wraiths will spawn in greater numbers during a Blood Moon. They are a great threat as they pass through walls and are difficult or impractical to kill with traps. However, Wraiths can be dealt with by building a floating house, or otherwise creating a large gap between the player's house and its surroundings. This prevents Wraiths from entering the house by taking advantage of the fact that they cannot float higher than ~3 blocks off the ground in open spaces.
Console[]
The Console Version adds a new monster in the floating Islands as well. Arch Wyvern are stronger versions of the normal Wyvern, with double the health, and an orange sprite.
Recommended Preparations[]
- It's recommended to have Molten Armor and a full molten set before killing the Wall of Flesh.
- It's recommended to also have the Sunfury because it can damage most of the hardmode enemies.
- You should always make a Molten Pickaxe before entering Hard Mode so you can gather Cobalt or Palladium as fast as possible.
- Ranged weaponry is very important before entering Hard Mode.
- Have a Nurse, a Merchant, a Goblin Tinkerer, and an Arms Dealer before entering Hard Mode.
- Having a high damage weapon is a must, as most of the pre-Hardmode weapons will deal very low damage. Night's Edge is a good choice for a melee character; a magic character may want the Demon Scythe which deals decent damage too.
- Try to make some fortifications to your house using wire and indestructible blocks.
- If you don't want to break Demon Altars due to their risk, you can fish for a lot of crates In pre-Hardmode, then, when Hardmode is activated, open them. They will contain hardmode loot. ( does not work in 1.4 and beyond )
Bugs[]
- Rarely, when you spawn in a Hard Mode world, you will immediately get hit for 5,000 damage (Defense not included). (Not confirmed)
- On rare occasions, your world will bug out and spawn another Corruption/Crimson biome instead of a Hallow one.
- In Terraria Mobile if you create a new world and play with a hardmode character with it, hardmode enemies will spawn along with pre-hardmode ones.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- On the Werewolf trading card, Hard Mode is known as the "second age of Terraria."