Hardmode Event

Solar Eclipse Guide: Mothron, Broken Hero Sword & Every Drop Rate

Trigger it, survive it, and farm Mothron the right way

Why Bother

Three reasons the eclipse is worth your daylight:

Drops You Can't Get Anywhere Else

Broken Hero Sword, Death Sickle, Mothron Wings and The Eye of Cthulhu yoyo only drop from eclipse enemies. Miss the event and you miss Terra Blade.

Two Power Spikes From One Event

Right after the mechs, Vampires and Reapers hand out Moon Stone, Broken Bat Wing and Death Sickle. After Plantera the same event becomes your Terra Blade source, so you'll come back to it twice.

Boss-Level Damage in Broad Daylight

Mothron hits for 80 on contact and 100 on its fast charge in Classic (double that in Expert). If your setup can tank a post-Plantera eclipse, it's ready for Golem.

How to Trigger It

Daytime only, Hardmode only, and the enemy roster depends on which bosses you've killed. Here's exactly how it starts:

Natural Trigger

Once any mechanical boss is dead, every dawn (4:30 AM) rolls for an eclipse. Killing more mechs doesn't raise the chance.

Chance: 1/20 (5%) per dawn — flat after your first mech boss

Solar Tablet (Forced Trigger)

Use it any time during the day (4:30 AM–7:29 PM) in Hardmode and the eclipse starts immediately. It's consumed on use and won't work at night or during an active eclipse.

Solar Tablet20% chance in each Lihzahrd Chest, or craft from 8 Solar Tablet Fragments at a Mythril/Orichalcum Anvil. Lihzahrds and Flying Snakes drop 1–2 fragments at 1/7 (14.29%).

Lasts the whole day: 4:30 AM to 7:30 PM. No kill counter — it ends at dusk.

What Spawns Depends on Your Progress

After 1 mech bossEyezor, Frankenstein, Swamp Thing, Vampire, Creature from the Deep, Fritz, The Possessed.

After all 3 mech bosses+ Reaper, the only Death Sickle source.

After Plantera+ Mothron, Butcher, Deadly Sphere, Nailhead, Dr. Man Fly, Psycho. This is where the Broken Hero Sword lives.

Plantera still alive? Start with the Plantera guide →

⚠️ Don't Waste Your Tablets

Mothron has only spawned post-Plantera since 1.4.1. Burning a Solar Tablet before then gets you Vampires and Reapers but zero Broken Hero Swords. Stockpile tablets from the Temple and use them back-to-back once Plantera is down.

Enemies, HP & Drop Rates

Six enemies decide whether your eclipse is worth it. HP is Classic mode (×2 in Expert, ×3 in Master); drop rates are Classic.

Mothron

HP6,000

ThreatExtreme

Broken Hero Sword25%

The Eye of Cthulhu (yoyo)33.33%

Mothron Wings5%

Reaper

HP700

ThreatHigh

Death Sickle2.5%

Vampire

HP750

ThreatHigh

?Moon Stone2.86%

?Broken Bat Wing2.5%

Eyezor

HP1,000

ThreatMedium

?Eye Spring6.67%

Frankenstein

HP350

ThreatLow

Coins and a painting. Kill it and move on.

Swamp Thing

HP450

ThreatLow

Coins and a painting. Kill it and move on.

Post-Plantera Extras Worth Knowing

Once Plantera is dead these join the eclipse. Their weapons are the reason to stay out the whole day instead of logging off after Mothron:

Nailhead

4,000

Nail Gun · 4%

Butcher

700

Butcher's Chainsaw · 2.5%

Psycho

550

Psycho Knife · 2.5%

Dr. Man Fly

500

Toxic Flask · 2.5%

Deadly Sphere

350

Deadly Sphere Staff · 3.33%

1.4.5 changes: Eyezor no longer shoots at faraway players (1.4.5.6). The Eye of Cthulhu yoyo now summons an afterimage every 7 hits that deals 200% damage (1.4.5.7). Vampires can drop the Amulet of the Night (1.4.5.0). Every HP value and drop rate on this page is the same in 1.4.4 and 1.4.5.

What to Farm First

Not every drop deserves your day. Ranked by how much each one changes your run:

Broken Hero Sword

25%Must-farm

The only thing standing between you and Terra Blade. 25% per Mothron kill (43.75% in Expert), and you need exactly one.

Death Sickle

2.5%High

57-damage melee scythe whose sickles pass through blocks and pierce 4 enemies. 2.5% from Reapers (4.94% Expert) — top-tier crowd clear for melee heading into Plantera.

Moon Stone

2.86%High

At night: +10% damage, +10% melee speed, +2% crit, +4 defense, +1 HP/s regen. 2.86% from Vampires (5.63% Expert); add a Sun Stone at the Tinkerer's Workshop for Celestial Stone.

The Eye of Cthulhu (yoyo)

The Eye of Cthulhu

33.33%High

115-damage yoyo from Mothron at 33.33% (55.56% Expert), so it usually shows up before your Broken Hero Sword. 1.4.5.7 added an afterimage that hits for 200% every 7 hits.

Nail Gun

4%Nice to have

85-damage ranged launcher: nails stick, then explode for 135% after 1.5 s. Nailhead drops it at 4% (7.84% Expert) with 100–200 Nails; the Merchant and Arms Dealer sell more afterwards.

Mothron Wings

5%Nice to have

2.83 s flight time at 38 mph — a clear step up from Frozen/Fairy Wings (2.17 s). Only 5% (9.75% Expert), so treat it as a bonus, not the goal.

Broken Hero Sword → Terra Blade

Good news: since 1.4.1 you only need ONE Broken Hero Sword, and it goes into the final step. Any guide that says you need three is outdated.

Terra Blade

True Night's Edge

True Excalibur

Broken Hero Sword

Night's Edge

Souls of Fright, Might & Sight ×20 each

→

True Night's Edge

Excalibur

Chlorophyte Bar ×24

→

True Excalibur

Every step: Mythril/Orichalcum Anvil

Version note

Terra Blade is 85 damage in 1.4.4 and 1.4.5 (115 before 1.4.4, traded for the new energy-aura swing). True Night's Edge dropped from 105 to 70 in the same patch. Build both True swords while you wait for Mothron — the souls and Chlorophyte take longer than the sword.

Arena Setup

You'll fight in this arena for a full in-game day, so build it before the first eclipse hits:

Build Multi-Layer Platforms

Near your base, build 3–4 platform layers 10–15 tiles apart and 150–200 tiles long. Mothron charges hard; long runways let you outrun it.

Set Up Healing

Campfire and Heart Lantern on every layer. If you have honey, add a small honey pool for the regen buff.

Traps (Optional)

Dart Traps or Spiky Balls around the platforms finish off low-HP enemies. Reapers fly through blocks, so don't count on walls to stop them.

Lighting and Markers

Light the whole arena so you never lose track of a platform mid-dodge. Colored torches help mark each layer.

Pro Tip

Build an emergency layer high above the arena that enemies struggle to reach. When you're low, fly up, heal and rebuff instead of tanking one more Mothron charge.

Combat Strategy

The eclipse rewards mobility and target priority more than raw DPS:

Stay Mobile

Use wings or a flying mount to move between platforms and never get boxed in. Move vertically to make distance, horizontally to dodge projectiles.

Priority: Mothron, Then Reapers

Mothron carries the Broken Hero Sword, Eye of Cthulhu yoyo and Mothron Wings — drop everything when it appears and break its eggs (200 HP) before they hatch. Next: Reapers (Death Sickle), Nailheads (Nail Gun), then Vampires for Moon Stone and Broken Bat Wing (2.5%; add 20 Souls of Flight for Bat Wings).

Defense Over Greed

Ironskin, Endurance and Regeneration potions, every time. Mothron's fast charge hits for 100 in Classic and 200 in Expert — don't trade hits with it.

Watch the Screen Edges

Eclipse enemies come from every direction. A Radar or Lifeform Analyzer tells you when a Mothron or Reaper is inbound before it's on top of you.

⚠️ Watch Out

Reapers (80 contact damage, fly through blocks) and Vampires (80 damage, up to 51 mph diagonally in bat form) close distance fast. Kill them at range; trying to melee them on low defense is how eclipses end early.

When to Fight It

When to fight depends on what you want out of it:

Before any mech boss

Palladium/Cobalt Armor + basic wings

Can't happen naturally yet. Kill a mech boss first and focus on souls and Hallowed gear.

After the mech bosses

Adamantite/Titanium or Hallowed Armor + Frozen/Fairy Wings + Menacing accessories

Farm Moon Stone, Broken Bat Wing and (after all 3 mechs) Death Sickle. No Mothron yet.

After Plantera

Turtle/Spectre Armor + Fishron/Butterfly Wings + Menacing accessories

Mothron unlocked. This is the Terra Blade run — use every Solar Tablet you saved.

Solar Eclipse Checklist

Kill one mech boss to unlock the eclipse (5% per dawn), all three for Reapers. Build the arena before the first one hits.

Mothron only spawns after Plantera: 25% Broken Hero Sword, 33.33% Eye of Cthulhu yoyo, 5% Mothron Wings. Save your Solar Tablets for this.

Terra Blade needs just one Broken Hero Sword (1.4.1+). Craft True Night's Edge (souls) and True Excalibur (24 Chlorophyte Bars) while you wait.

Sword in hand? Terra Blade is 85 damage in 1.4.4/1.4.5 and carries melee straight into the Golem fight.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you trigger a Solar Eclipse in Terraria?

After you beat any mechanical boss, every dawn has a 1/20 (5%) chance to start one. To force it, use a Solar Tablet during the day (4:30 AM–7:29 PM) in Hardmode. The tablet is consumed on use and does nothing at night.

Why isn't Mothron spawning during my Solar Eclipse?

Mothron only spawns after Plantera is dead (changed in 1.4.1). Before that you get the base roster (Eyezor, Vampire, Frankenstein, Swamp Thing and friends), and Reapers only join once all three mechanical bosses are down.

What is the Broken Hero Sword drop rate?

25% (1/4) per Mothron kill in Classic and 43.75% (7/16) in Expert/Master. Mothron is the only source, so no Plantera kill means no Broken Hero Sword.

How many Broken Hero Swords do you need for Terra Blade?

One. Since 1.4.1, True Night's Edge uses 20 each of Souls of Fright, Might and Sight, and True Excalibur uses 24 Chlorophyte Bars. The single Broken Hero Sword goes into the final Terra Blade craft at a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil.

How do you get a Solar Tablet?

Each Lihzahrd Chest in the Jungle Temple has a 20% chance to hold one, or craft it from 8 Solar Tablet Fragments at a Mythril/Orichalcum Anvil. Lihzahrds and Flying Snakes drop 1–2 fragments at 1/7 (14.29%).

How long does a Solar Eclipse last?

The whole in-game day, from 4:30 AM to 7:30 PM. There is no kill counter — it ends at dusk no matter how many enemies you kill.

What does the Moon Stone do and who drops it?

Vampires drop it at 1/35 (2.86%) in Classic and 5.63% in Expert. At night it gives +10% damage, +10% melee speed, +2% crit chance, +4 defense, +1 HP/s regen and +15% mining speed. Combine it with a Sun Stone at the Tinkerer's Workshop for the Celestial Stone.