Expert Mode

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Not to be confused with Hardmode, which is triggered by defeating the Wall of Flesh in both Expert and Normal worlds.

"Fortune & Glory, Kid."

Expert mode is an option that can be selected during world creation. It greatly increases the difficulty of the game, as well as the quantity and quality of drops. It also offers Expert mode-exclusive items. Expert mode begins the moment the Expert-mode world is created, and cannot be altered after that by the player.

General

• Enemies have twice as much health, do twice as much damage, and are 10% more knockback-resistant.
  • Weaker enemies gain increased stats when reaching Hardmode.
  • Weaker enemies gain increased stats for every additional player in multiplayer.
• Enemies and bosses have new AIs with higher difficulty attack patterns.
• Enemies can spawn in towns (ie. near NPCs), although they still won't spawn in front of placed background walls.
• Enemies drop more loot, including higher chances (usually 50% or 100% extra chance) to drop certain items.
• Some enemies inflict additional debuffs.
• Enemies can pick up coins dropped by enemies or players. Coins are often lost permanently on death, as enemies who pick up dead players' coins will often despawn once off-screen. Enemies holding dropped coins emit a sparkle effect based on the color of the best coin they're holding.
• Softcore mode players drop 75% of their coins upon death instead of 50%.
• General respawn time is increased to 15 seconds, while respawn time during boss fights is increased to 30 seconds.
• Slime Rain can occur without its usual criteria, spawn rates are 15% higher, and Green/Purple Slimes have a higher spawn chance.
• Attacking Celestial Towers requires killing 150 of their enemies, instead of 100.
• Killing Pumpkin/Frost Moon enemies progresses the event twice as fast, due to the increased health of their enemies.
• All NPCs do 1.5x regular damage.
• Traveling Merchant has a 50% chance to sell an additional item.

New enemy attacks

• Bats have a chance to inflict the Feral Bite debuff.
• Some Zombies carry a Zombie Arm, causing them to have an extended range and higher damage.
• Spiked Slimes can shoot up to 6 spikes at once in a small area around them.
• Some Skeletons can throw bones.
• Lava Slimes leave behind a block of lava when killed.
• Jellyfish gain a new shock attack in which they move in a straight line and take no damage.
• Some Black Recluses gain an additional spit attack, making the player unable to move for a short duration.
• Granite Elementals can shield themselves from attacks, similar to Granite Golems.

Bosses

• Bosses have increased health, which further increases in Multiplayer based on the number of players present (ex. the Moon Lord has 217,000 health instead of 145,000).
• Most bosses gain a new attack and movement pattern, increasing the difficulty, for example Duke Fishron gains a third stage.
• When defeated, each boss (except for the Lunatic Cultist) drops an Expert-Mode-exclusive Treasure Bag unique to that boss. Each Treasure Bag contains the boss's usual drops from normal mode, along with a unique Expert Mode-exclusive item. These items can all be used in non-Expert Mode worlds, with the exception of the Demon Heart. Hardmode boss Treasure Bags additionally have a 5% chance to contain one random set of developer items. Treasure Bags can be opened in both Expert mode and Normal mode worlds.

Items & Loot

• Pots drop more items when broken.
• Fishing quest rewards give more money.
• Developer items have a chance to be in hardmode boss treasure bags.
• Enemy Banners offer more powerful buffs when placed.

Player

• Life Regen is half as effective (three-quarters with Shiny Stone) without the Well Fed buff.
• Vampire Knives and Spectre armor healing is slightly less effective.
• The Defense stat reduces damage by 75% instead of 50%.
• When touching the water in a snow biome, you gain the Chilled debuff for as long as you stay in the water, and for five seconds after getting out.
• The debuffs Poisoned, Darkness, Cursed, On Fire!, Bleeding, Confused, Slow, Weak, Silenced, Broken Armor, Cursed Inferno, Frostburn, Chilled, Frozen, Ichor, Venom, and Blackout last twice as long.
• A sixth accessory slot can be obtained by consuming a Demon Heart, which is an expert mode-only item. The slot only stays active as long as the player is in an Expert mode world, though.

Expert-exclusive items

Expert Mode-exclusive items are found inside Treasure Bags, dropped by bosses, and have the Rainbow rarity. While these items can only be obtained via an expert mode world, they still function in regular worlds, excluding the Demon Heart.

Boss	Items	Buff Granted
King Slime	Royal Gel	Slimes become passive around the player and deal no damage.
Eye of Cthulhu	Shield of Cthulhu	Allows the player to dash into the enemy, 2 Defense.
	0x33's Aviators	Vanity item, can only be obtained with an expert hardcore character.
Eater of Worlds	Worm Scarf	Reduces damage taken by 17%.
Brain of Cthulhu	Brain of Confusion	May confuse nearby enemies after being struck.
Skeletron	Bone Glove	Throws bones; 33% chance to not consume bone, good for throwing class.
Queen Bee	Hive Pack	Increases the strength of friendly bees.
Wall of Flesh	Demon Heart	Permanently increases the number of accessory slots from 5 to 6. (the slot only appears in Expert Mode worlds)
The Destroyer	Mechanical Wagon Piece	Used to craft the Mechanical Cart.
The Twins	Mechanical Wheel Piece	Used to craft the Mechanical Cart.
Skeletron Prime	Mechanical Battery Piece	Used to craft the Mechanical Cart.
Plantera	Spore Sac	Summons spores over time that will damage enemies.
Golem	Shiny Stone	Greatly increases life regeneration when not moving.
Duke Fishron	Shrimpy Truffle	Mount with endless flying, can go in water faster.
Moon Lord	Gravity Globe	Allows the holder to reverse gravity.
	Suspicious Looking Tentacle	Light pet that senses nearby enemies, treasure, and ores.

Trivia

• Expert mode's descriptive text, "Fortune and glory, kid", is a quote from the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

History

• 1.3.0.4: Fixed hittable enemy projectiles not scaling in Expert Mode. Fixed air items being left over when monsters pick up coins in Expert Mode.

• 1.3.0.1: Introduced. Bosses now drop special Expert-Mode-only items.

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