Guide:Cryogen strategies

This is a Guide page. This means the page will walk you through a specific task, strategy, or enemy/boss fight. This guide was last updated for version 2.0.1.003.

Cryogen

Map icon

Statistics

Type	Boss
Environment	Snow biome – Ice biome
Damage	60 / 138 / 161 / 184 / 276 (Contact) 52 / 92 / 112 / 124 / 168 (Ice Blast) 60 / 100 / 120 / 132 / 180 (Ice Shard) 120 / 136 / 152 / 210 (Ice Bomb)
Max Life	30,000 / 48,000 / 57,600 / 72,000 / 86,400
Defense	15 (Phase 1) 13 (Phase 2) 10 (Phase 3) 6 (Phase 4) 0 (Phase 5 and 6)
DR	30% (Phase 1) 27% (Phase 2) 21% (Phase 3) 12% (Phase 4) 0% (Phase 5 and 6)
KB Resist	100%
Inflicts debuff	Frostburn 100% chance
Debuff duration	4 seconds (Contact) 3 seconds (Ice Bomb) 2 seconds (Ice Blast, Ice Shard)
Debuff tooltip	It's either really hot or really cold. Either way it REALLY hurts
Inflicts debuff	Chilled 100% chance
Debuff duration	2 seconds (Contact) 1.5 seconds (Ice Bomb) 1 second (Ice Blast, Ice Shard)
Debuff tooltip	Your movement speed has been reduced
Inflicts debuff	Glacial State 100% chance
Debuff duration	1 second (Ice Bomb)
Debuff tooltip	Cannot move
Immune to

Resistances

Cold	Resistant
Water	-
Sickness	Resistant
Electricity	-
Heat	Vulnerable

Drops

Coins	40

• Item (Quantity)Rate
• Frozen Key
  33.33%
• Essence of Eleum (8-10 / 10-12 )
  100%
• At least one of the following 4 weapons will always drop:
• Hoarfrost Bow
  25% / 33.33%
• Icebreaker
  25% / 33.33%
• Avalanche
  25% / 33.33%
• Snowstorm Staff
  25% / 33.33%
• Soul of Cryogen
  100%
• Cryo Stone
  25% / 33.33%
• Frost Flare
  25% / 33.33%
• Glacial Embrace
  10%
• Greater Healing Potion (5-15)
  100%
• Cryogen Mask
  14.29%
• Cryogen Trophy
  10%
• Thank You
  1%
• The Archmage (Lore)(Always on first kill)
  100%
• Treasure Bag(Cryogen)
  100%
• Cryogen Relic(In Master or Revengeance Mode only)
  100% / 100%

Sounds

Hurt

Killed

Projectiles

Phase Transition

Shield Regenerate

Cryogen is usually one of the first Hardmode bosses that players will face in their playthrough. It is summoned by using a Cryo Key in the Snow biome at any time.

This guide will follow the mod's intended progression.

Terrain Preparation

Staying in the Snow biome is highly recommended, as Cryogen will enrage and gain a speed boost if it leaves the Snow biome. An arena with actuated snow/ice blocks will allow you to extend your Snow biome.

Build a long set of two to three platforms and level the ground of the arena to act as a fourth layer. Place the platforms a good distance apart, around 25-30 blocks. Great vertical and horizontal mobility is a must for this fight, considering the high mobility of the boss itself. Campfires and Heart Lanterns are useful assets to boost your health regeneration, so they can be placed throughout the whole arena.

The bottom layer of the arena can be built with Ice Blocks, increasing the player's acceleration and top speed, both of which are useful assets in the fight (provided the player is equipped with Frostspark Boots or its upgrades). However, this is not necessary.

Gearing Up

Armor

• The reworked Hardmode ore armors will prove useful for melee, ranged, and magic players. The armor that should be used depends on how many mechanical bosses have been defeated:
  • If no mechanical bosses have been defeated:
    • Cobalt armor is good for its offensive boosts that increase with the player's movement speed.
    • Palladium armor is also good for its boosts to regeneration and slightly higher defense.
  • If one mechanical boss has been defeated:
    • Mythril armor is great for its high offensive boosts and its ability to spawn homing mythril flares with weapon strikes.
    • Orichalcum armor can also be used due to its higher defense.
  • If two mechanical bosses have been defeated:
    • Adamantite armor is excellent due to allowing you to increase their critical strike chance by investing in damage reduction. It additionally increases your defense as you do damage.
    • Titanium armor is a decent choice especially at extremely close ranges due to its ability to generate a titanium shard barrier.
• Statigel armor is still a decent choice at the start of Hardmode for all classes, trading survivability for more raw damage and mobility.
• Frost armor can be useful for melee and ranged players, should they have defeated three mechanical bosses.
• Spider armor is very useful for summoners, due to the extra amounts of minion slots.
• Titan Heart armor is a great choice for rogues.
• Mollusk armor is a solid choice for most classes, however it cripples mobility which may not be desirable for this boss.
• If Queen Slime is defeated first, Crystal Assassin armor is a solid choice for most classes, focusing on mobility and allowing the player to free an accessory slot without the use for a dash item.

Accessories

Movement

• If Cryogen is fought before any mechanical boss, Angel and Fairy Wings are the best choices for Wings due to their great defensive boosts, but Demon Wings may be used instead if the player desires a more offensive approach.
  • If one mechanical boss has been defeated, the player gains access to a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil and can use the Harpy Wings due to their great mobility when paired with the Harpy Ring, or the Bat Wings, due to their good mobility and minor damage bonuses at night.
  • The Aero Stone, Grand Gelatin, Harpy Ring or Frog Leg will improve the usefulness of wings even further and improve vertical motion.
• Terraspark Boots or Fairy Boots are both good options for grounded movement during the fight, having increased mobility on ice or multiple stat bonuses, respectively.
• The Counter Scarf or the Shield of Cthulhu allow the player to make sharp turns, being especially useful for dodging Cryogen's dashes. They should always be a part of the player's arsenal when fighting this boss.
  • If the player has defeated one mechanical boss, the Evasion Scarf can also be used.

Defensive

• If getting hit disrupts your rhythm in the fight, the Cobalt Shield or the Cross Necklace (and their upgrades) will allow you to more smoothly recover in case of a mistake.
• The Charm of Myths provides great boosts to life regeneration and allows for using healing potions more quickly.
• The Flesh Knuckles provides a big amount of defense as well as 45 maximum health.

Offensive

• Using your class specific Emblem is highly recommended for an extra boost of damage. Note that Calamity also has an exclusive emblem for the Rogue class.
• The Amalgamated Brain is a good offensive accessory for all classes, as well as providing a dodge every 90 seconds.
• Melee players can increase their melee speed and gain good defensive boosts with the Berserker's Glove and the Bloody Worm Scarf.
• The Magic Quiver and its upgrades work well in maintaining ammo as well as greatly improving the firepower of bows for Ranged players.
  • The Molten Quiver is especially useful in this fight, due to its ability to inflict Hellfire with all arrows, which Cryogen is especially vulnerable to.
• Magic players can make use of the Celestial Cuffs and/or Mana Flower along with Mana Potions to recover their mana during the fight.
  • Note that mana can be restored via Mana Regeneration Potions or the quick mana potion key, saving an accessory slot.
• Summoners can make use of the Jelly-Charged Battery, The First Shadowflame and the Pygmy Necklace for extra minion slots, as well as multiple other buffs.
  • The Berserker's Glove is also useful for increasing whip speed as well as defense and max health.
  • The Nuclear Fuel Rod is another accessory that grants a minion slot; however, it requires the Aquatic Scourge to be defeated first.
• The Spirit Glyph provides multiple buffs for summoners on minion hits.
• The Coin of Deceit, the Mirage Mirror and the Silencing Sheath are all useful for stealth-based rogue players.
  • If one mechanical boss has been defeated, the Ruin Medallion is to be used instead and the player can also craft the Electrician's Glove.
• If the Aquatic Scourge has been defeated, the Corrosive Spine is a solid accessory for rogues.

Weapons

Homing weapons, or weapons whose projectiles move quickly are very effective as Cryogen moves very erratically in its later stages, especially in higher difficulties. The mechanical bosses, the Aquatic Scourge or Brimstone Elemental can be defeated to give the player better gear for this boss. Some of the weapons listed below may require defeating one of these bosses.

Melee

• The Frostbrand is a good option for a long-ranged melee weapon, especially if the player has enough melee speed.
• The Storm Saber is an efficient and quick option for Cryogen.
• The Clam Crusher is a bit tricky to use but rewards the player with high damage.
• The Celestial Claymore is a very effective option for when Cryogen reaches low HP, as well as quickly dealing with the ice shield.
• The Caustic Edge is good for an enclosed arena, and the debuffs it inflicts can help deal constant damage to Cryogen.
• The Sulphurous Grabber can quickly deal with Cryogen, and is very easy to use.
• The Shadowflame Knife is a good option due to its ability to inflict Shadowflame, a debuff Cryogen is especially weak against.
• The Evil Smasher is a solid option due to its massive damage but requires the player to stay close to the boss and not get hit constantly.

Ranged

• The Flarewing Bow is a good option against Cryogen, best used with Ichor Arrows.
• The Dart Pistol paired with Ichor Darts can grind Cryogen swiftly.
• The Butcher can deal massive damage to Cryogen, but it requires the user to charge up fully before it can reach its full potential.
• The Megashark deals good DPS and is very consistent but requires the player to defeat the The Destroyer first.
  • The Uzi is essentially a slightly weaker Megashark that can be difficult to obtain, however it can be acquired at the start of Hardmode.
• The Slag Magnum is another good option for Cryogen as it inflicts Armor Crunch on hit.
• The Sea's Searing is an option that completely controls the fight.
• The Needler is difficult to obtain early in Hardmode, but is excellent both for removing the shield and for overall damage.

Mage

• The Frigidflash Bolt, Seething Discharge and Burning Sea are all excellent options for dealing with Cryogen.
• The Slithering Eels is a very powerful weapon that can decimate Cryogen.
• Poseidon is a decent choice due to its piercing and homing capabilities.
• The Crystal Serpent is a good choice, providing accuracy and high damage.
• It is highly recommended that players use the Golden Shower to inflict Ichor.
• The Nimbus Rod should be used mainly as a support weapon for constant damage against the boss.
• The Serpentine gives the player a lot of control over targeting and does satisfactory damage.
• The Glorious End can be used as a way to gain immunity frames and dodge attacks more easily.

Summoner

• The Black Hawk Remote's Black Hawks and their projectiles are good for directly hitting Cryogen and is especially useful when Cryogen enters its final phase and should be prioritized.
• The Ancient Ice Chunk's Ice Claspers provide good DPS, but they will have a hard time hitting Cryogen during the last two phases due to Cryogen's speed.
• The Shellfish Staff is a very strong choice. The shellfish should be summoned directly on Cryogen after beginning the fight.
• The Mounted Scanner is an excellent option if the player has defeated Skeletron Prime.
• The Tavernkeep Rods can be used for extra firepower, especially against the minions spawned by Cryogen.
  • The Queen Spider Staff can also be used for the same effect.
• The Caustic Staff is an excellent choice as a support minion and can be used for debuffing Cryogen with several different effects.
• Firecracker is the best option for a whip against Cryogen.

Rogue

• The Cobalt Kunai are an excellent choice for Rogue users, due to their very powerful stealth strike which homes.
• The Prismalline is an excellent option for Rogue users as it is non-consumable with good DPS and excellent crowd control. To maximize DPS, the daggers should split right before hitting Cryogen.
• The Equanimity and the Gacruxian Mollusk are both solid options due to their multiple projectiles and homing capabilities.
• The Burning Strife is a good option for crowd control and inflicting the Shadowflame debuff.
• The Blast Barrel performs greatly when bounced against walls, dealing high damage when the boss is level with the player.

Classless

• The Golden Gun is a useful option for players with no other means of inflicting Ichor.

Miscellaneous

• The Rod of Discord can aid in dodging Cryogen's attacks. In addition, Calamity allows the Rod of Discord to be more easily obtained, as it can be bought from the Wizard in the Hallow biome.
• The Slimy Saddle can serve as a makeshift downward dodge and can be helpful for dodging Cryogen's dashes.

Notable Buffs

• Melee, Rogue and whip users should utilize flasks crafted at an Imbuing Station to inflict powerful debuffs without the need to change to other weapons.
• The Warmth Potion will make you immune to almost all debuffs that Cryogen inflicts along with reducing the damage Cryogen deals, making it extremely helpful for this fight.
• The player can use class stations like the Crystal Ball, Sharpening Station and Bewitching Table to easily improve their damage.

The Fight

Cryogen will spawn off-screen, which means the player should be prepared to dodge projectiles that Cryogen fires as it approaches them. For the first four phases, Cryogen will occasionally spawn an ice shield around it that must be destroyed in order for Cryogen to take damage again. Cryogen will also periodically fire Ice Blasts at the player during most phases. Circle Cryogen for the first phase. Using platforms to help reset wing time/jumps is very useful.

Phase two begins at 80 / 85% / 100% health. In phase two, Cryogen will continue to fire Ice Blasts, but will now attempt to move above the player. In this phase, Cryogen also starts dashing.

Phase three begins at 60% / 70% / 80% health. In phase three, Cryogen changes its movement to try to be slightly below the player. It also charges twice instead of once.

Phase four begins at 40% / 55% / 60 health. In phase four, Cryogen moves slowly toward the player, teleporting every so often. It does not charge, but fires ice blasts at an increased rate.

Phase five begins at 30% / 45% / 50% health. In phase five, Cryogen stops firing projectiles, and accelerates toward the player, charging when it gets close. Stay on the move and frequently make use of dashes to keep distance.

In Expert Mode or above, Cryogen gains the ability to fire Ice Bombs, which burst into 2 / 3 gravity-affected Ice Shards after some time. When Cryogen summons Ice Bombs, move away from the area until the Ice Shards disappear so they don't get in the way of dodging other attacks.

In Revengeance Mode or above, Cryogen transitions into phase six at 25% / 35% health. In phase six, Cryogen quickly spawns two sets of Ice Bombs before charging at the player three times. The cycle then repeats. Try to start this phase on the top platform and dodge Cryogen by timing a circle around it. If Cryogen is above the player, fly up and use a dashing accessory to dash in the direction of Cryogen when it begins its charge. If Cryogen is below you, hop down and dash towards it. Pay attention to where the Ice Bombs spawn and make sure not to go in their general area until their projectiles are gone.

Additionally, Cryogen transitions into phase seven at 15% / 25% health. The only difference from phase six is that each charge will additionally fire three rings of Ice Blasts. Things can get messy very quickly in this phase, so the use of Adrenaline or Rage to quickly end the fight is recommended.