User:Potatosofmages/Sandbox

The Perforators are a group of Pre-Hardmode bosses fought in The Crimson. They consist of 3 worms with varying appearances and sizes, and a crimson, fleshy hive. The Perforators do not spawn on their own. The player can summon them manually with Bloody Worm Food or by killing a Perforator Cyst while in the Crimson.

They are the Crimson counterpart to The Hive Mind.

This guide will mention items exclusive to Expert and Revengeance Mode with no special formatting and will follow the intended progression.

Terrain Preparation
Leaving the Crimson biome will cause The Perforators to temporarily enrage, turning invincible until the player returns. Staying in The Crimson should be a priority.

Building two sets of long platforms along your Crimson biome will help with keeping up with the Perforator Hive while dodging The Perforators. Campfires and Heart Lanterns are always useful to aid with regeneration.

During the fight, The Perforators will leave their hive and try and ram into you, so vertical mobility is a must.

Armor

 * Molten armor is generally a well-rounded option for all classes.
 * Mages can use either Jungle armor for the extra mana, Meteor armor in conjunction with a Space Gun or a Diamond Robe with a Wizard Hat.
 * Rogues can use Gladiator armor or Sulphurous armor.
 * A more obtainable option is the Obsidian armor set.
 * Crimson armor and Victide armor are also viable options.

Accessories

 * The Hermes Boots or any of its upgrades are always useful for keeping up with the Perforator Hive and dodging the Perforators.
 * Any double jump, especially the Sandstorm in a Bottle, helps with vertical movement when dodging the Perforators.
 * A Bundle of Balloons, an Aero Stone and a Frog Leg further helps with jump height.
 * Laudanum and Stress Pills provide excellent overall offensive and defensive buffs.
 * The Heart of Darkness provides a fast-track to charging your Rage Meter.
 * Melee players using yo-yos should equip the White String and/or a Counterweight to increase the overall effectiveness of yo-yos.
 * Magic players should use the Magic Cuffs and/or a Mana Flower with Mana Potions to recover mana.
 * Mana Regeneration Potions allow players to regenerate mana while on the move.
 * Summoners can use a Spirit Glyph to boost summon damage.
 * The Fungal Clump can also be used as extra summon damage.

Weapons
Weapons made from materials gathered in The Underworld and previous boss drops are recommended for this fight.

Melee

 * Any weapon with a projectile, such as a Seashine Sword, Amidias' Trident or an Enchanted Sword, if you have a sword shrine in your world, will work effectively.
 * The Riptide is another good option.
 * Should you find one in a Floating Island house, the Starfury can strike the Perforator Hive from above.
 * The Old Lord Oathsword can effectively pick off the Perforators.

Ranged

 * The Barinade is a powerful option to decimate the Perforator Hive and the Perforators themselves.
 * The Minishark bought from the Arms Dealer can be used as an excellent DPS option.
 * The Toxibow can inflict Sulphuric Poisoning on the boss, dealing passive damage to it.

Mage

 * The Hellwing Staff is an excellent option for raining damage down onto the Perforator Hive.
 * Additionally, the Flare Bolt can be used for its amazing damage, good use time and its ability to inflict On Fire!.
 * Like other 'bolt' weapons, the Flare Bolt bounces off of solid blocks. An interesting idea would be to make an enclosed arena to allow the Flare Bolt projectiles to bounce back and hit the boss multiple times.
 * A great way to damage the Perforators once they leave their hive is to have them chase you and run into the spores released by the Hyphae Rod.

Summoner

 * The Imp Staff can effectively deal damage to both the Perforator Hive and the Perforators themselves.
 * The Magical Conch is excellent for picking off the Perforators, but struggles against the Hive itself.
 * The Tavernkeep Rods make excellent sentries and minions.
 * The Vile Feeder/Scab Ripper can deal passive damage to the boss.

Rogue

 * The Dune Hopper can deal quick and easy damage to the Hive and the Perforators themselves.
 * The Scourge of the Desert works as a more obtainable substitute.
 * The Seafoam Bomb is an easy to craft and effective bomb to damage the boss.

Miscellaneous

 * The Marked Magnum is good early game classless option that also serves as utility by inflicting Marked.
 * If in multiplayer, Wormhole Potions are a cheap and effective tool to escape death.

The Fight
As soon as the boss is summoned, it will appear above the player's head and rise upwards. Be prepared to dodge the sprays of projectiles that the Perforator Hive fires, especially the yellow ichor projectiles. Whatever the player does, they must stay in their Crimson biome, or the boss will enrage and become invincible.

When a Perforator comes out of their Hive, they will spawn underground and try to ram into you. During this phase, the Perforator Hive will take a more passive role in the fight. You should kill the Perforators as soon as possible before going for the Hive again. If you leave the Perforators alone and keep attacking the Hive, you will be swarmed by all three Perforators by the time the Hive gets low on health.

In Revengeance Mode, the Perforator Hive will also aim to ram the player while no Perforators are alive. While a Perforator is alive, the Hive will not ram the player but will gain extra acceleration instead. Projectiles are fired more often and will move faster. The Perforators, should they ram you with their head, will inflict the Horror debuff.

In Death Mode, the Perforator Hive shoots more projectiles and is even more aggressive. If more than one Perforator is alive, the Perforator Hive will hover closer to the player. The Perforators themselves are shorter in length, reducing the effectiveness of piercing weapons.

General Tips

 * Disabling backgrounds can help players who have trouble focusing on all the different things that are going on during the fight.
 * In Revengeance mode and higher, using Adrenaline or Rage can remove a large chunk of the Hive's health when it is low to swiftly end the fight.
 * Using the Overlay Minimap and changing its the transparency with the and  keys can provide the player with icons of bosses that are too far to see without the Minimap, making it a useful tactic to aim at bosses.