Empress of Light

Type	Boss
Environment	The Hallow
Damage	0 (Contact); 80 / 110 / 143 / 176 / 264 (Charge); 100 / 152 / 172 / 192 / 300 (Prismatic Bolt); 120 / 180 / 204 / 228 / 360 (Sun Dance); 100 / 152 / 172 / 192 / 300 (Everlasting Rainbow); 130 / 196 / 216 / 236 / 390 (Ethereal Lance); All damage ×2 (At Day)
Max Life	100000 / 140000 / 168000 / 178500 / 214200
Defense	50
DR	15%; 57.5% (During the sun dance attack)
KB Resist	100%
Inflicts debuff	Holy Flames 100% chance;
Debuff duration	8 seconds (Enraged Charge); 5 seconds (Enraged Sun Dance); 4 seconds (Enraged Everlasting Rainbow); 3 seconds (Enraged Ethereal Lance, Enraged Prismatic Bolt)
Debuff tooltip	Dissolving from holy light
Inflicts debuff	Nightwither 100% chance;
Debuff duration	8 seconds (Charge); 5 seconds (Sun Dance); 4 seconds (Everlasting Rainbow); 3 seconds (Ethereal Lance, Prismatic Bolt)
Debuff tooltip	Incinerated by lunar rays
Immune to
Cold	Vulnerable
Water	-
Sickness	Vulnerable
Electricity	-
Heat	Vulnerable
Coins	25

Type	Boss
Environment	The Hallow
Damage	0 (Contact); 80 / 110 / 143 / 176 / 264 (Charge); 100 / 152 / 172 / 192 / 300 (Prismatic Bolt); 120 / 180 / 204 / 228 / 360 (Sun Dance); 100 / 152 / 172 / 192 / 300 (Everlasting Rainbow); 130 / 196 / 216 / 236 / 390 (Ethereal Lance); All damage ×2 (At Day)
Max Life	100000 / 140000 / 168000 / 178500 / 214200
Defense	50
DR	15%; 57.5% (During the sun dance attack); 99% (Phase 2 Transition)
KB Resist	100%
Inflicts debuff	Holy Flames 100% chance;
Debuff duration	4 seconds (Enraged Charge); 3 seconds (Enraged Sun Dance); 2 seconds (Enraged Everlasting Rainbow); 1 second (Enraged Ethereal Lance, Enraged Prismatic Bolt)
Debuff tooltip	Dissolving from holy light
Inflicts debuff	Nightwither 100% chance;
Debuff duration	4 seconds (Charge); 3 seconds (Sun Dance); 2 seconds (Everlasting Rainbow); 1 second (Ethereal Lance, Prismatic Bolt)
Debuff tooltip	Incinerated by lunar rays
Immune to
Cold	Vulnerable
Water	-
Sickness	Vulnerable
Electricity	-
Heat	Vulnerable
Coins	25

If you were looking for Empress of Light on the vanilla wiki, click here.

"Though her title is lofty, she is more an emissary for the powers beyond and forces of nature."

The Empress of Light is a Hardmode boss that is fought in The Hallow. She is intended to be fought after The Plaguebringer Goliath. The Empress of Light fight is optional and is not required for progression, but can reward the player with valuable gear, including the powerful Kaleidoscope, a whip viable until the end of the game.

While in Revengeance and Death Mode, she has various changes to her attack patterns.

During the day, she will enrage; however, the Terraprisma is no longer locked behind this fight.

Spawn

The Empress of Light is summoned by killing a Prismatic Lacewing, a rare critter that spawns on the surface Hallow at night between 7:30 PM - 12:00 AM once Hardmode has started.

The Prismatic Lacewing can be killed at any time in any biome to summon the boss, however outside of the Hallow biome, the Prismatic Lacewing will disappear almost immediately, requiring the player to use persistent or quick weapons to kill it.

Behavior

Empress gains 57.5% damage reduction while performing the sun dance attack and 99% damage reduction while transitioning to Phase 2. All projectiles and charge attacks inflict the Nightwither debuff while she is not enraged.

Prismatic Bolts now only deal damage until they start homing, but they accelerate quicker, have a higher maximum velocity, and rapidly accelerate after they stop homing.
Everlasting Rainbow attacks will not deal damage for 1 second after spawning.
Straight Ethereal Lance attacks can additionally spawn Ethereal Lances in the opposite direction of where the main Ethereal Lances spawn.

Empress can now enter Phase 3 at 15% health, receiving the following changes to her behavior.

Has 20% less defense.
Charges much faster.
Has a higher chance to skip ahead one attack in her pattern, replacing the second and seventh attacks in her pattern with a charge and lance walls respectively.
Fires Prismatic Bolts twice as often but are fired slower.
- Fires Prismatic Bolts during the Everlasting Rainbow attack, and fires Prismatic Bolts twice as often during the stationary lance attack.
Fires Ethereal Lances twice as often and the straight lance attack fires lances from the opposite direction faster.
- Lance walls have more lances, are fired in random directions, and are more spread out.

In Expert Mode

Enters Phase 2 at 60% health instead of 50%.

In Revengeance Mode

Has far more erratic movement, making it harder for her to get hit.
Has a 50% chance to skip ahead one attack in her pattern and has a smaller delay between attacks.
Releases a stream of Prismatic Bolts behind herself when charging, and charges alongside the player instead of at them.
All Ethereal Lance attacks are more spread out.
Gains a significant boost to defense while performing Sun Dance.
Enters Phase 2 at 60% health instead of 50%.
During Phase 2, she gains a rare unique set of Ethereal Lance attacks, hereby referred to as Ethereal Lance V3, based on the Classic Mode exclusive version of Ethereal Lance V2.
- She fires 3, occasionally 4 walls of lances, which can come in 1 of 4 directions; left, right, angled left, or angled right. They are similar to the laser walls fired by The Devourer of Gods due to covering most of the screen, but unlike its laser walls, they only come from a single direction at a time.
Phase 2's Eternal Rainbow spreads out in a more ovular shape instead of a circular one.
Etheral Lance V2 can last anywhere from 2 waves to 6.
Phase 2's Sun Dance spawns 2 spreads of projectiles instead of 3.
All attacks have more projectiles and last longer.
Becomes more erratic in both movement and attacks as health decreases; typically reducing attack duration (Ethereal Lance V3 goes from 4 walls to 2) but increasing the overlap time.

In Death Mode

Switches between attacks faster, sometimes allowing them to overlap.
Increased movement speed.
Ethereal Lance V3 is far more common, and more commonly has 4 walls.
Prismatic Bolts V2 spreads out much quicker and further.
Empress's "charging" animation, which has no attack associated with it, is far less common.
All attacks have more projectiles and last longer than in Revengeance Mode.

In Master Mode

Enters Phase 2 at 70% health instead of 60% and enters Phase 3 at 30% health instead of 15%.
Prismatic Bolts and Everlasting Rainbows move and accelerate faster.
Lances are spawned more often and are fired in a wider area.
Lance walls in Phase 3 have a smaller distance between Ethereal Lances.

When enraged

Empress releases 2 waves of stars during Everlasting Rainbow, but it no longer retains the unique spreading in Phase 2 from previous difficulties.
All attacks have more projectiles and last longer than in Death Mode.
Attack switch speed is lowered even further.
Ethereal Lance V3 is incredibly common, and almost always has 4 walls.
Projectile speed is increased.
Empress's "charging" animation is even less common.
Empress gains Reactive Damage Reduction.
All projectiles and charge attacks inflict the Holy Flames debuff.

Resistances

Empress of Light takes:
- 75% damage from Abyss Blade's blade.
- 80% damage from Plague Tainted SMG's drones.

Terrain Preparation

The player should make sure to have a very large arena with the center or spawn point in or around the Hallow to allow rematches to be started more easily. If the player does not already have a massive general arena from fighting bosses like Calamitas Clone, one with 5 or 6 layers of platforms around 15-20 blocks apart should cover most of the available sky before reaching Space. Spiteful Candles and Weightless Candles can be a boon to the player if spaced intermittently around the arena, as the overlapping attacks on higher difficulties can force the player to keep moving.

Gearing Up

If you are looking for a guide on normal or Expert Mode Empress of Light, click here.

Accessories

Mobility should be prioritized for this fight, especially on harder difficulties, so the Angel Treads are a must.
Betsy's Wings or Fishron Wings provide the best mobility available at this point in the game but require grinding the Old One's Army or the equally challenging boss, Duke Fishron.
- The Hadal Mantle is a decent option alongside Hydrothermic armor for its damage boost.
- The Steampunk Wings are another viable option.
Asgard's Valor can be useful for some of its defensive capabilities on lower difficulties, but mostly for its dash.
- On the other hand, Master Ninja Gear is invaluable against Empress due to the dodge chance and longer dash, especially when fighting her enraged.
- Furthermore, melee players should consider the Evasion Scarf due to its ability to dodge projectiles, as well as being more controlled than Master Ninja Gear's cool-down.
The Blood Pact may allow the player to be able to tank some of her enraged hits, but a single critical hit can be devastating, if not lethal.
The Community provides minor buffs to all stats at this point.
Melee players can use the Celestial Shell and Fire Gauntlet for their great melee stat boosts.
- If the player is using any yoyo, the Yoyo Bag is a must.
Rangers should use a Sniper Scope as the ability to see Empress off-screen can allow massive damage to be racked up, especially during her Sun Dance when she moves the least. However, the player has to maintain a distance due to the size of the attack.
- The Deadshot Brooch is useful for bonus damage and increased velocity allowing players to hit shots more easily during her more erratic attacks.
- The Alchemical Flask can be useful when paired with Plague Reaper armor due to her lack of debuff immunities, which can allow damage to be stacked up while she is off-screen.
The Chaos Stone paired with a Mana Flower upgrade could be a genuine consideration against higher difficulties, as getting hit likely already spells death for the player, so the Mana Burn can be overlooked.
- The Mana Cloak's stars can be decent against lower difficulties.
- The Arcane Flower may be the strongest choice due to its 20% mana reduction, and the lack of any stars dropping during this fight from minions negating Magnet Flower's usefulness, as well as how much she punishes getting hit negating Mana Cloak's usefulness.
The Star-Tainted Generator and Statis' Blessing should be used by summoners due to the minion slots and damage bonuses they provide.
The Abyssal Mirror's built in dodge can be fantastic against her hard-hitting attacks.
- The Ethereal Extorter's homing souls can help with landing hits regardless of her erratic movement.

Armor

Hydrothermic armor is a viable option for all classes.
Melee players can use Beetle armor with either chest piece for great offensive or defensive boosts respectively.
Ranged players can use Plague Reaper armor for its great offensive and movement boosts.
If The Plaguebringer Goliath has been defeated, Plaguebringer armor is arguably the best available option for summoners at this point.
- Spooky armor is a strong option for players on higher difficulties, as it benefits a glass cannon playstyle, which Empress forces while enraged.
- Valhalla Knight armor is a consideration for its incredible survivability and bonus sentry slots.

Weapons

Yanmei's Knife's movement bonuses can be great if the player can get a hit off while she is close to the player, like during the start of the fight or when she dashes by.

Melee

The Soul Harvester's lingering projectiles can deal massive damage to Empress over time, especially if the player stacks a few above them when she dashes off screen, as she will teleport there afterwards.
The Blighted Cleaver can be strong for similar reasons, alongside its numerous debuffs.
The Pandemic is also a solid weapon that can inflict the Plague debuff.
The Fault Line's explosions can deal good DPS when Empress is close to the player and has the weaker but effective On Fire! debuff.
The Fallen Paladin's Hammer deals really good damage and has a large projectile, which benefits from Empress lingering close to the player, regardless of her erratic movement.
The Briny Baron's secondary attack can deal decent damage, but landing true melee hits for its primary attack can be difficult due to the distance Empress keeps between herself and the player, and her constant swarm of projectiles.

Ranged

The Aerial Bane's extra projectiles can deal a lot more damage to Empress.
The Continental Greatbow provides support by inflicting Ichor.
The Hive can be used for taking out Empress fairly easily with its strong debuffs and homing bees.
The Snowman Cannon is fantastic due to its homing and Mini Nuke Is.
The Xenopopper used with Chlorophyte Bullets can absoultely shred Empress.
The Gauss Rifle does excellent damage but may need recharging or swapping out with a fully charged rifle mid-fight.

Mage

Betsy's Wrath is an incredibly strong support option but requires grinding the Old One's Army.
- The Everglade Spray can be used to inflict Ichor and Cursed Inferno debuffs as an alternative to Betsy's Curse.
The Tears of Heaven is a great choice due to its homing projectiles.
The Laser Machinegun can deal lots of damage but consumes mana extremely quickly.
If The Plaguebringer Goliath has been defeated, the Gatling Laser is one of the highest DPS options available.
- The Plague Staff is another powerful post-Plaguebringer weapon.
The Razorblade Typhoon and its homing is fantastic for Empress.
If Duke Fishron and Plaguebringer Goliath have not yet been defeated, the Photosynthesis is another viable option.

Summoner

The Hive Pod can deal great damage while she is using Sun Dance.
- The Spikecrag Staff is a more powerful, but slightly less accurate, alternative.
The Resurrection Butterfly is mobile enough to be a very solid weapon in this fight.
The Wither Blossoms Staff is strong for its homing and debuffs as most of the Plague weapons are for this fight, as Empress is highly active, and isn't always on screen.
The Xeno Staff is surprisingly competent due to its DPS and her tendency to return to the player, which helps mitigate the typical issues with the summons' AI.
The Dark Harvest is a must for those using whips as the strongest available until the boss is beaten, especially with flasks.
- The Morning Star is decent, but slow, which can be punishing if the player misses.

Rogue

The Cranium Smasher is a strong choice for a rogue weapon which deals slow but massive damage.
The Malachite is an amazing weapon for Empress with its latching kunai, which can build up damage even offscreen.
- The Fantasy Talisman is strong for similar reasons, along with its homing souls on stealth strike.
The Syringe is a very nice way to inflict the Plague debuff.
The Epidemic Shredder's homing seekers upon hitting an enemy and Plague debuff make it a strong choice as well.
The Subduction Slicer is a decent choice and hitting its stealth strike during Sun Dance can allow the pillar to build up decent damage.

Notes

She will always start Phase 1 with a Prismatic Bolt and will always start Phase 2 with either Ethereal Lance V2 or V3.

Tips

Using a flying mount with unlimited flying duration like the Witch's Broom, the Shrimpy Truffle or the Cosmic Car Key can entirely remove the need to build an arena. The fact that flying mounts can stand still while flying also greatly helps dodging the Ethereal Lance V3.

History

edit

These history sections are still a work-in-progress, and may not yet contain changes relevant to the current version of the Calamity Mod.

2.0.4.002: Buffed contact damage in Master Mode from 231 to 264 .

2.0.4.001:
- Buffed contact damage from 80 / 110 / 143 / 154 / 198 to 80 / 110 / 143 / 176 / 231 .
- Buffed rainbow bolt and everlasting rainbow damage from 100 / 140 / 160 / 176 / 234 to 100 / 152 / 172 / 192 / 300 , sun dance damage from 120 / 160 / 184 / 200 / 270 to 120 / 180 / 204 / 228 / 360 , and lance damage from 130 / 120 / 140 / 176 / 234 to 130 / 196 / 216 / 236 / 390 .
- Can now turn the Calamity Boss Health Bar red when enraged, and gray when gaining a temporary defense boost outside of Revengeance Mode.
- No longer uses a global scaling contact damage formula based on boss velocity.
- No longer deals contact damage while not charging, and no longer becomes immune to damage while charging in all difficulties.
- Now gains 57.5% damage reduction during the sun dance, and 99% damage reduction when reaching the phase 2 threshold but not in phase 2 in all difficulties.
- Increased how far away she hovers during attacks in all difficulties.
- Projectiles no longer gain damage in phase 2.
- All projectiles and charges now inflict Nightwither while not enraged and Holy Flames while enraged, instead of at nighttime or daytime.
- Decreased Nightwither or Holy Flames duration from charges from 5.33 seconds to 4, from sun dance from 3.33 seconds to 3, from everlasting rainbow from 2.67 seconds to 2, and from rainbow bolts and lances from 2 seconds to 1.
- Decreased how long rainbow bolts home, and they no longer deal damage before homing, but they now accelerate quicker, have a higher maximum velocity, and rapidly accelerate after they stop homing.
- Everlasting rainbows no longer deal damage for 1 second after spawning.
- Decreased her attack cooldown after charges in Revengeance Mode.
- Straight lance attack now additionally spawns lances from the opposite direction.
- Can now enter a "phase 3" when below 15% health. In phase 3, she has 20% less defense, has a higher chance to skip ahead an attack in her pattern, replaces the second and seventh attacks in her pattern with a charge and lance walls respectively, rainbow bolts are spawned slower but there are twice as many, charges faster, spawns twice as many lances, straight lance attack spawns lances from the opposite direction faster, spawns rainbow bolts during the everlasting rainbow attack, spawns more lances in lance walls, lance wall directions are randomized, lance walls are more spread out, and spawns twice as many rainbow bolts during the stationary version of the attack..
- Now enters phase 2 at 60% health in Expert Mode and Revengeance Mode.
- Now has a smaller delay between attacks, has a higher chance to skip ahead an attack in Revengeance Mode, rainbow bolts move and accelerate faster, lances spawn more often and in a wider area, everlasting rainbows move and accelerate faster, enters phase 2 at 70% health, enters phase 3 at 30% health, and lance walls in phase 3 have a smaller distance between lances in Master Mode.
- Now takes 75% damage from Abyss Blade's projectile.
- Fixed her despawning when enraged in Revengeance Mode in the Don't dig up seed.

2.0.3.007:
- Reduced acceleration and maximum velocity by 20%.
- Increased downtime between all attacks.
- Now takes 80% damage from Plague Tainted SMG's drones instead of 70%.

2.0.3.005:
- Decreased Holy Flames duration on contact from 8 seconds to 5.33.
- Decreased Nightwither duration from sun dance from 5 seconds to 3.33, from everlasting rainbow from 4 seconds to 2.67, and from lances and bolts from 3 seconds to 2.
- Now takes 70% damage from Plague Tainted SMG's drones.

2.0.3.001: Nerfed health from 105,000 / 147,000 / 176,400 / 187,425 / 224,910 to 100,000 / 140,000 / 168,000 / 178,500 / 214,200 .

2.0.2.001: Buffed Boss Rush health from 180,000 / 252,000 / 302,400 / 321,300 / 385,560 to 200,000 / 280,000 / 336,000 / 357,000 / 428,400 .

2.0.1.003: Now appears in Boss Rush.

2.0.0.003: Fixed a bug where her "Sun Dance" would end prematurely in Revengeance Mode or higher.

2.0.0.001:
- Buffed health from 70,000 / 98,000 to 105,000 / 147,000 / 176,400 .
- Contact damage now varies based on boss velocity.
- Now has 15% damage reduction.
- Now drops 60 instead of 25 .
- Now has a new AI for Revengeance Mode, Death Mode and Malice Mode or Daytime.
- Empress Wings, Eventide, Nightglow, Kaleidoscope, Starlight, and Terraprisma now drop in a standard 25% / 33.33% chance method.
- Now drops Soaring Insignia in Classic and Journey Modes.

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Empress of Light

Contents

Spawn

Behavior

In Expert Mode

In Revengeance Mode

In Death Mode

In Master Mode

When enraged

Resistances

Terrain Preparation

Gearing Up

Accessories

Armor

Weapons

Melee

Ranged

Mage

Summoner

Rogue

Notes

Tips

History

Navigation menu

Search

Empress of Light

Spawn

Behavior

In Expert Mode

In Revengeance Mode

In Death Mode

In Master Mode

When enraged

Resistances

Terrain Preparation

Gearing Up

Accessories

Armor

Weapons

Melee

Ranged

Mage

Summoner

Rogue

Notes

Tips

History