Guide:Deerclops strategies

Type	Boss
Environment	Snow biome + Blizzard
AI Type	Deerclops AI
Damage	204060 (melee); 265278 (Ice Spike); 3672108 (Debris); 204060 (Shadow Hand)
Max Life	7000/11900/15172
Defense	10
KB Resist	100%
Immune to
Debuff	Slow
Debuff tooltip	Movement speed is reduced
Chance	100% (Roar)
Duration	12 24 30
Debuff	Frozen
Debuff tooltip	You can't move!
Chance	100% (Ice Spike)
Duration	0.33 0.67 0.83
Coins	51250
Hurt
Killed
Walk
Roar
Ice Spikes; attack
Debris attack

This is a Guide page.
This means the page will walk you through a specific task, strategy, or enemy/boss fight.

Status: Under revision (This Guide is currently being revised or has been revised partially. It hasn't met all quality standards yet.)

PC/Console/Mobile/tModLoader-Only Content: This information applies only to the PC, Console, Mobile, and tModLoader versions of Terraria.

The Deerclops is a pre-Hardmode boss. It does not need to be killed to progress the game, but it drops several Don't Starve-themed items, including the useful pet item Eye Bone.

Spawning[]

The Deerclops can be spawned using the Deer Thing in the Snow biome, crafted from 3 Flinx Fur, 5 Demonite Ore or Crimtane Ore, and a Lens. It also naturally spawns at exactly midnight during a Blizzard in the Snow biome if one player has either 9 defense or 200 health. Despite being summoned or being naturally spawned in the Snow Biome, it can be fought at any biome.

The fight[]

The Deerclops has four attacks:

If it is close to the player, the Deerclops will smash the ground, summoning a wave of Ice Spikes that quickly travels towards them. Every third consecutive wave does not go as far, but spreads in both directions.
If it is not close enough to its target to use its Ice Spikes attack, the Deerclops will 'scoop' and then throw numerous chunks of Debris into the air that fall back down. These chunks can pass through blocks.
Deerclops occasionally stand in place and roar, inflicting the Slow Debuff on all players for 12 seconds / 24 seconds / 30 seconds.
In Expert Mode, Shadow Hands will be periodically summoned that either move forwards slowly, move forwards quickly and curve, or spin in place. Shadow Hands are summoned more frequently as the Deerclops' life gets lower.

If the player is above the Deerclops for too long, it will summon five Shadow Hands around the player.

The Deerclops can pass through solid blocks, but will quickly rise to the top of said blocks unless the player is below it.

If the player is more than 30 tiles away from it, the Deerclops will turn a dark shade purple and become immune to damage.

If the Deerclops is significantly offscreen, it will wander back and forth without directly seeking the player.

General strategies[]

General tips[]

This content is transcluded from Guide:Practical tips § Combat.

For nocturnal bosses, starting the battle just after the sun sets (7:30 PM) will provide the maximum amount of time to defeat the boss. In Hardmode, the Moon Charm and/or Moon Stone and their upgrades are also useful at night.
Boss battles can be won or lost before the battle ever starts. Choose your equipment and have it ready; find and/or make potions and placed buffs; use the highest-tier food you have available; set up an arena appropriate to the boss; learn the strategies for the boss you're facing.
Prepare your Boss-fighting arena with adequate lighting, Campfires and Heart Lanterns for health regeneration, and Stars in Bottles for mana regeneration if you use magic. Bast Statues will provide a significant defensive boost. Garden Gnomes and (if underground) proper torch placement will reduce damage taken and increase damage dealt due to the luck. Note Torch God's Favor helps with this. Honey pools can also be used for extra health regeneration.
Sunflowers provide the Happy! buff to players within a 50-tile radius, which grants a +10% movement speed bonus and 17% reduction in enemy spawn rate.
Always carry around a stack of the highest-tier healing potion available, as relying only on natural Health Regeneration is not a good idea. Depending on the game stage, this can include items such as Mushrooms or Honeyfins. On the PC, Console, Mobile, and tModLoader versions, Restoration Potions are healing potions with a shorter cooldown.
- Likewise carry mana potions, if you use Magic.
- The Strange Brew is also an option, but its weak healing effect will trigger the Potion Sickness cooldown as well as Mana Sickness. On the Old-gen console version, Windows Phone version, Old Chinese version, Nintendo 3DS version, and tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version, Restoration Potions can save a slot, but will likewise trigger both cooldowns.
It is suggested to build houses for the Dryad and the Nurse NPCs in your arena. The former casts the Dryad's Blessing buff, which increases your defense and provides you with a thorns-like effect, while the latter can heal and remove debuffs instantly, at the cost of some coins.
Bosses are displayed on the Minimap: Follow the boss's icon to track it when you're struggling to find it. You can identify the boss icons by checking their respective wiki pages.
Once you have freed the Mechanic in the Dungeon, you can use Wire to enhance your arena with Traps and helpful Heart and Star Statues. The former helps to damage the enemies, though be careful to set them up correctly in order not to hurt yourself during the battle. The latter will spawn heart and star pickups, respectively. Connect these devices to timers.
It may be useful to summon and kill the Eye of Cthulhu or King Slime before summoning any harder boss in order to spawn an extra one-use pool of Hearts. Note that this will prevent any Heart Statues from spawning new Hearts.
Remember to use the Sharpening Station, Ammo Box, Crystal Ball, Bewitching Table, and Slice of Cake before you go to explore or battle bosses/invasions. These will give boosts that are useful to take, with the first four being class-specific. They give Sharpened, Ammo Box, Clairvoyance, Bewitched, and Sugar Rush, respectively.

Terrain preparation[]

It is recommended to clear a large flat area in the Snow biome.

One or two layers of platforms is enough since Deerclops follows the player if they are 30 blocks away, passing through blocks and being immune to attacks.

Gearing up[]

It's recommended to have at least 300 health before you attempt to fight Deerclops. If using magic weapons, having the max amount of mana is recommended.

Armor[]

A full set of at least Gold armor should be acquired, but better armor is always an option. Other armor sets with set bonuses can be effective as well.
The Fossil armor or Necro armor are the only armor sets available for rangers, with Necro Armor obtainable in the Dungeon.
Crimson armor is excellent due to the high defense values and increased damage. Shadow armor is good too and suits a melee playstyle.
The Wizard set, with magic-boosting or defense-boosting leg armor, provides the most damage for magic users. If defense is preferred, the Jungle armor or Meteor armor can be used.
- Meteor armor's set bonus can make Space Gun and Gray Zapinator much more effective against Deerclops since it reduces Space Gun's and Gray Zapinator's mana usage to 0.
The Obsidian armor is the best summoner armor set at this point in the game.
- The Bee armor is an alternative set if Queen Bee has been defeated and if the Underworld has not been visited.
Molten armor is the best pre-hardmode armor set for melee classes, although it requires a visit to the Underworld and a pickaxe that can mine Hellstone.

Weapons[]

For melee users:

For swords, a solid choice would be the Blade of Grass.
- The Fiery Greatsword and Night's Edge are better, but they are harder to acquire.
- The Terragrim performs excellently if acquired.
Thorn Chakram or Flamarang are good at killing Deerclops, due to their long range.
Flails are a solid choice, due to their range.
For yoyos, the Amazon and the Code 1 are a good option. The Valor is slightly better than these, but it requires defeating Skeletron and finding one in the dungeon. The Cascade is better than the Valor and is possible to obtain before defeating Deerclops.

For ranged users:

Bow users should use a Demon Bow, Tendon Bow, or Molten Fury if they've got it.
- Bring along arrows that can pierce, such as Jester's Arrows or Unholy Arrows.
Blood Rain Bow is an effective choice but requires a big arena to be used properly. It works best with Unholy Arrows or Hellfire Arrows if obtained.
Hellwing Bow has fast use time and infinite piercing, making it effective against Deerclops, however, it performs better at close-range, due to its inacuracy and arrow speed.
A Musket or The Undertaker are decent and the Minishark can also be used. The Boomstick is also a very powerful choice. PC, Console, Mobile, and tModLoader users that have already defeated Skeletron can get the Quad-Barrel Shotgun. However, it is very inaccurate, so staying close to the boss is mandatory if using this.
- Note that Minishark is much less effective in Expert mode, especially in the latter stages of the battle.
The Star Cannon's infinite piercing and high DPS makes this a viable choice, however, its ammo requires the user to take ammo conservation measures.
Silver Bullets/ Tungsten Bullets are the preferred bullets to use with the guns mentioned above. Meteor Shots work better with the former two, since they don't have problems with the invincibility frames caused by piercing attacks.

For magic users:

Crimson worlds will benefit from having the Crimson Rod, as you can fire it once and then switch to another weapon, increasing damage output.
The Space Gun is an excellent weapon, especially when combined with Meteor armor.
The Gray Zapinator is also an excellent weapon, thanks to its high damage output, especially with Meteor Armor.
The Ruby Staff or Diamond Staff are both decent choices due to their low mana cost and decent piercing damage.
The Water Bolt is a decent choice, though the open space makes it unwieldy.
The Vilethorn is a solid choice, especially due to its low defense.
Magic Missile and its upgrade, Flamelash can be used to quickly and repeatedly strike it with great accuracy.
The Demon Scythe is a very strong option, while more difficult to obtain. However, the Underworld must be visited.
The Book of Skulls is a decent option due to its homing and piercing capabilities.

For summon users:

The Imp Staff and the Vampire Frog Staff are the strongest summoning weapons available.
- The Hornet Staff is a viable alternative if the Underworld hasn't been explored yet.
Out of the sentry weapons sold by the Tavernkeep, the best options are the Ballista Rod and the Explosive Trap Rod. The Ballista Rod has incredibly high damage and their bolts are capable of piercing, while the Explosive Trap Rod inflicts damage in an area of effect. While the sentries themselves are slow to attack, you can continually re-summon them to make them immediately attack, significantly reducing the cooldown time.
The Snapthorn combined with the Spinal Tap can deal tremendous amounts of damage, otherwise, the Snapthorn itself can be used.

Accessories[]

Anything that increases your vertical mobility is a godsend. The Cloud in a Bottleis good, but better choices would be the Blizzard in a Bottle, the Fart in a Jar, or the Sandstorm in a Bottleand their upgrades, especially the Bundle of Balloons. You can also use the Rocket Boots and its upgrades or Fledgling Wings for flight, and the for flight and if Rocket Boots are upgraded, speed.
- Combining both Rocket Boots and its upgrades and Fledging Wings is viable, as it increases flight time and if Rocket Boots has been upgraded, speed.
The Shark Tooth Necklace is a very good increase to DPS, especially on Expert Mode.
- If Queen Bee has been defeated, the Stinger Necklace is an upgrade to the Shark Tooth Necklace, increasing both on survivability and damage.
If going melee or, the Magma Stone and Feral Claws are useful, increasing DPS and enabling autoswing respectively.
- The Feral Claws works for whips too, enabling auto-swing for whips.
Anything that reduces damage is very helpful, including Expert Mode-exclusive Worm Scarf, Obsidian Shield, which also provides knockback immunity, and defensive reforges on accessories.

The Brain of Confusion increases critical strike chance for 3 seconds and chance to dodge on being attacked makes it a useful accessory against Deerclops.

If the Hand Warmer has been obtained, use it, since Deerclops inflicts the Chilled and Frozen Debuff. Being immune to these effects makes manuevering around considerably easier.
Shield of Cthulhu's dash is essential and makes the fight considerably easier.

Potions[]

Lifeforce Potions are extremely effective for survivability, assuming that a Shadow Chest has been opened.
Ironskin Potions, Endurance Potions, Warmth Potions, and Regeneration Potions will help tremendously with survivability.
- Warmth Potions will reduce Deerclop's damage by 30%, using one will greatly increase survivability.
A food item that provides Well Fed, Plenty Satisfied, or Exquisitely Stuffed is very useful.
Swiftness Potions will aid in dodging.
Ammo Reservation Potions and Archery Potions are good for rangers, and Archery Potions specifically for bow users.
Magic Power Potions and Mana Regeneration Potions are a must have for mages.
If you already have a minion, a Summoning Potion lets you bring an extra to the fight.
Rage Potions or Wrath Potions are useful for almost all classes.
Honeyfins heal more than the average Healing Potion and can prove valuable.

Specific Strategies[]

Explosive Bunny strategy[]

Once able to fight Deerclops, first fill a small box with approximately 50 to 60 Explosive Bunnies, then summon the boss. Upon walking into the box, Deerclops will take a large amount of damage, potentially killing it.

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