Eye of Cthulhu Terraria boss · Pre-Hardmode · #2 in the usual order

Eye of Cthulhu in Terraria — Eye of Cthulhu

A giant flying eyeball that hunts players at night. It is usually the first real boss test and can show up on its own once you are getting stronger. It drops the ore needed for your first evil-themed weapons and tools.

Stage: Pre-Hardmode
Required?: Needed to progress
Summon: Suspicious Looking Eye
Where: Night, on the surface
Max life: 2,800 (Classic)
Defense: 12

Biome: Space

Stats by difficulty

Stat	Classic	Expert	Master
Max life	2,800	3,640	4,641
Contact damage	15	30	45

How to summon Eye of Cthulhu

Suspicious Looking Eye. Use a Suspicious Looking Eye at night. Craft it from 6 Lenses at a Demon or Crimson Altar. Until beaten, it also has a 1 in 3 chance to appear each night if a player has 200+ max health and over 10 defense and at least four town NPCs live in the world.

Attacks and phases

First form: hovers above you and spawns Servants of Cthulhu, then charges at you three times.
At half health (65% in Expert) it spins, sheds its iris and grows a toothy mouth.
Second form: faster, harder-hitting charges and no defense. Expert adds a rapid chain of dashes that speeds up as it gets weaker.

Strategy

Build a long, flat sky bridge of platforms so you can run and jump freely.
Move sideways or vertically at the last moment to dodge each charge.
Kill the Servants with piercing or spread weapons; they drop Hearts and Stars.
Place a Campfire and use a Heart Lantern near the arena for passive healing.
In Expert, expect a burst of minions when it changes form and save movement for the fast dash chain.
It flies away at dawn, so start the fight early in the night.

Recommended weapons

Melee

Gold or Platinum Broadsword, or the Enchanted Sword

Ranged

Gold or Platinum Bow with Flaming or Jester's Arrows

Magic

Ruby or Diamond Staff

Summoner

Finch Staff with the Snapthorn

Armor and gear for each stage.

Drops

Item	Qty	Chance
Only in Corruption worlds
Demonite Ore	30-90	100%
Unholy Arrow	20-50	100%
Corrupt Seeds	1-3	100%
Only in Crimson worlds
Crimtane Ore	30-90	100%
Crimson Seeds	1-3	100%
Binoculars	1	2.5%
Lesser Healing Potion	5-15	100%
Badger's Hatwhen defeated on the same day as the Wall of Flesh	1	100%
Eye of Cthulhu Mask	1	14.29%
Eye of Cthulhu Trophy	1	10%

Expert and Master Mode extras

Shield of Cthulhu Expert · 100%

Eye of Cthulhu Relic Master · 100%

0x33's Aviators Master · 100%

Suspicious Grinning Eye Master · 25%

Classic Mode rates. In Expert and Master Mode most loot comes in a treasure bag , which also holds the Expert-only Shield of Cthulhu.

After you beat Eye of Cthulhu

Demonite or Crimtane Ore (and Unholy Arrows in Corruption worlds) for the evil-ore sword, bow and other gear
The Dryad can move in
The Shield of Cthulhu dash accessory in Expert

Did you know? The tooth on the Eye of Cthulhu Trophy only appears on the boss in its second form.

FAQ

How do you summon Eye of Cthulhu in Terraria?

Use a Suspicious Looking Eye at night. Craft it from 6 Lenses at a Demon or Crimson Altar. Until beaten, it also has a 1 in 3 chance to appear each night if a player has 200+ max health and over 10 defense and at least four town NPCs live in the world.

How much health does Eye of Cthulhu have?

2,800 in Classic, 3,640 in Expert and 4,641 in Master Mode.

What does Eye of Cthulhu drop?

Demonite Ore, Unholy Arrow, Corrupt Seeds, Crimtane Ore, Crimson Seeds, Binoculars, plus the Shield of Cthulhu from the Expert Mode treasure bag.

What should I use against Eye of Cthulhu?

Melee: Gold or Platinum Broadsword, or the Enchanted Sword. Ranged: Gold or Platinum Bow with Flaming or Jester's Arrows. Magic: Ruby or Diamond Staff. Summoner: Finch Staff with the Snapthorn.

Sources & picture credits

Guide text is original retrogameindex writing, checked against the Terraria Wiki. Boss statistics and drop rates are the game values shown in the Terraria Wiki’s infoboxes. Sprites and artwork © Re-Logic; local copies archived from Terraria Wiki file pages (listed on the image gallery).