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Eye of CthulhuFirst Form
Eye of Cthulhu
Map Icon Eye of Cthulhu (first form)
Map Icon
Classic mode icon Classic
Expert mode icon Expert
Master mode icon Master
Statistics
Type
AI TypeEye of Cthulhu AI
Damage15/30/45
Max Life2800/3640/4641
Defense12
KB Resist100%
Immune toConfused
Drops
Coins3750
Eye of CthulhuSecond Form
Map Icon Eye of Cthulhu (second form)
Map Icon
Classic mode icon Classic
Expert mode icon Expert
Master mode icon Master
Statistics
Type
AI TypeEye of Cthulhu AI
Damage23 / 36 (40 when at 1/25 health)
Max Life1400/2800 / 2365/3640
Defense0
KB Resist100%
Immune toConfused
Drops
Coins3

Have you seen Chith...Shith.. Chat... The big eye?

The Merchant

Eye of Cthulhu Trophy "You feel an evil presence watching you..." Eye of Cthulhu Trophy

Not to be confused with The Eye of Cthulhu, a Hardmode yoyo, or True Eye of Cthulhu, a minion of the Moon Lord.

The Eye of Cthulhu is a pre-Hardmode boss. It is one of the first bosses a player encounters, as it spawns automatically when a relatively early level of game advancement is achieved. It can also be summoned manually with the Suspicious Looking Eye (see Spawn below). It can be considered the second easiest boss in the game, the first being King Slime.

While the Eye of Cthulhu is alive, music Boss 1 will play.

Spawn

The Eye of Cthulhu can be summoned manually using a Suspicious Looking Eye at night (beginning at 7:30 PM in-game time).

It also has a 1/3 chance of spawning automatically each night, if the following conditions apply:

  • The Eye of Cthulhu has not yet been defeated in the current world.
  • At least one player in the world has at least 200 maximum health and more than 10 defense.
  • At least three Town NPCs are acquired.

If spawning this way, its arrival is announced by the status message "You feel an evil presence watching you..."

If the Eye of Cthulhu is not defeated by dawn (4:30 AM), or if all players die or run away while fighting it, it despawns.

Behavior

The Eye of Cthulhu has two phases, and is able to fly through blocks in both of them. During the first, it attempts to float directly above the player, while spawning 3-4 Servant of CthulhuServants of Cthulhu, which drop Hearts and Stars on death. After spawning a round of those, it charges at the player 3 times in succession, before repeating the cycle.

When the Eye of Cthulhu falls below half health (65%), it transforms into its second form (shedding its pupil into a mouth), which rams the player more aggressively 3 times, then hangs in the air for a period. It no longer spawns Servants, and has no defense, but now has increased attack.

In Expert mode, the boss spawns more Servants than normal, as well as 4-5 Servants upon transforming. At 1/4Verify health, it will gain an additional powerful rapid chain dash attack. These dashes become faster as the Eye of Cthulhu's life decreases, and it can dash nearly continuously when close to death.

Likewise, if it is not killed before dawn, it will fly off the screen and despawn.

Notes

  • When spawning naturally, the Eye of Cthulhu spawns exactly 81 seconds after the status message has appeared.
    • Being in a layer lower than the surface at that moment, or, in singleplayer, exiting the world during that timespan, will prevent the Eye of Cthulhu from spawning naturally.
    • In singleplayer, exiting the world after the message appears will prevent the Eye's spawn.
  • Attempting to use a second Suspicious Looking Eye while the Eye of Cthulhu is already spawned will not work, and the item will not be used.
    • However, using a Suspicious Looking Eye after the message for a natural spawn appears (but before the boss spawns) will actually spawn the boss normally, without canceling the natural spawn, so the player will be fighting two Eyes of Cthulhu at once.

Achievement

Achievement Eye on You
Eye on You • Defeat the Eye of Cthulhu, an ocular menace who only appears at night.
Defeat the Eye of Cthulhu for the first time.
Category: Slayer Slayer

Tips

For more elaborate strategies on defeating Eye of Cthulhu, including weapon and arena recommendations, see Guide:Eye of Cthulhu strategies.
  • The Eye of Cthulhu drops either Demonite or Crimtane Ore. While the corresponding set of armor and a number of tools additionally require Shadow Scales or Tissue Samples respectively – which the Eye does not drop –, sword, bow, axe, yoyo, and fishing pole can be crafted with only the bars.
  • Due to the ease of crafting its summoning item and relatively low difficulty, farming the Eye of Cthulhu is one of the more effective ways of making money prior to Hardmode. It drops 3 (normal) / InvalidNpcinfoStatName (Expert) up front, plus ores which can be sold as bars for twice (Demonite) or thrice (Crimtane) that amount.
  • The Eye of Cthulhu will only spawn randomly if a player has 10 or more defense. Taking defense-boosting equipment off before dusk can prevent it from spawning randomly.
  • The boss looks at the player it will follow, which can be helpful information in multiplayer.
  • The Eye is most vulnerable during its transformation, because it does neither move nor attack.
  • Because there are no location-based requirements for summoning, defeating multiple Eye of Cthulhu in an area can be an effective setup for harder boss fights as the dropped Hearts can be picked up mid-fight as needed.
  • Killing it on a Corruption world is slightly more profitable than doing so in another with Crimson, as it will drop additional Unholy Arrows.
  • In singleplayer, the player can repeatedly pause the game using Autopause in order to properly aim at the Eye of Cthulhu during its dash attacks.

Trivia

  • Cthulhu is an entity from the works of writer H.P. Lovecraft, first appearing in his short story, The Call of Cthulhu. Cthulhu is described as a slumbering cousin to the old ones who will destroy all living things should he ever awaken.
  • Cthulhu itself does not appear in any version of Terraria. However, Moon Lord, the final boss of the PC version PC version, Console version Console version, Mobile version Mobile version, Old Chinese version Old Chinese version, tModLoader version tModLoader version, and tModLoader 1 tModLoader 1.3-Legacy version, resembles common depictions of Cthulhu.
  • The Merchant NPC will mention sensing something evil watching them once the requirements to battle the Eye of Cthulhu are met.
  • It is not required to defeat the Eye of Cthulhu as it has no unique drops required for game progression. It will however continue spawning until beaten at least once.
  • It is possible to defeat the Eye of Cthulhu without it ever transforming into its second form, e.g. with late-game weapons or Heart Arrows. However, its remains will be unaffected once killed.
  • The Eye of Cthulhu Trophy seems to consist of a tooth, which is only physically seen in its second form.
  • The Eye of Cthulhu seems to have central heterochromia iridum, an eye condition where there are two colors in the same iris.
  • It is one of the first bosses of Terraria's first release.

See also

History

  • Mobile 1.2.12715:
    • Fixed a bug where the Eye of Cthulhu would not spawn Servants of Cthulhu.
    • Fixed a bug where the Eye of Cthulhu would play the wrong music.
  • Mobile 1.2.10061:
    • Nerfed Eye of Cthulhu, does less damage in its second phase.
    • Increased Heart drop chance of Servants of Cthulhu.
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