Guide:Desert Scourge strategies

Type	Boss – Burrowing Enemy
Environment	Desert
AI Type	Retinazer AI
Max Life	3,500 / 6,000 / 8,500
KB Resist	100%
Immune to
Coins	30

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 1.5.1.002.

The Desert Scourge is usually the first Calamity boss players will face in their playthrough, typically fought after King Slime. The Desert Scourge is summoned by using a Desert Medallion in the Desert biome at any time.

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 Desert biome will cause the Desert Scourge to enrage, becoming invulnerable to all damage, so staying in the Desert should be the highest priority.

Build at least 3 sets of platforms above the desert and preferably level the ground of the arena. The platforms should be about around 40 blocks above the ground. 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 health regeneration, so they should be placed throughout the arena.

Gearing Up[]

Armor[]

Wulfrum armor is a decent option for every class.
Platinum armor is an option for melee players, due to it providing the highest available defense.
Old Hunter armor is another option Ranged players can utilize, as its sandnado can infinitely pierce through the Desert Scourge.
Snow Ruffian armor or Gladiator armor can be used as an alternative for Rogue players.
The Wizard Hat or Magic Hat paired with a Gypsy Robe or Diamond Robe combination is the best option for Mage players, providing high damage and mana bonuses.
- Jungle Pants is the best option to fill the leg slot due to its mana and critical strike chance boosts.
- The Wizard Hat, Magic Hat, and Gypsy Robe can be difficult to find, so a full set of Jungle armor might be preferred.

Accessories[]

The Crown Jewel is incredibly powerful, giving constant regeneration during the fight and allowing players to jump up to 7 more blocks,
Hermes Boots and any of its upgrades are extremely useful in keeping up with the Desert Scourge's pace.
Any double jump, preferably the Sandstorm in a Bottle or Blizzard in a Bottle helps with the vertical movement needed to dodge the worms as they gain speed.
- The Bundle of Balloons combines three double jumps into one, making it very useful, though it requires more effort to obtain.
The Frog Leg is another option that gives a sizable jump speed boost.
- The Shiny Red Balloon and its upgrades provide a lesser jump boost, as does the Vital Jelly, but may be easier to obtain.
Stress Pills or Laudanum are great well-rounded accessories providing some movement, defensive, and offensive boosts.
Heart of Darkness is very useful as it provides a faster and easier way to regenerate the Rage Meter.
Luxor's Gift is a great accessory which provides powerful damage boosts for all classes.
The Shark Tooth Necklace provides armor penetration, increasing the damage of your weapons. This is especially helpful for low damage and fast firing weapons such as the Minishark.
Melee players using yoyos should equip a White String and/or a Counterweight to increase the range and effectiveness of the yoyo.
Magic players can make use of the Magic Cuffs and/or Mana Flower along with Mana Potions to recover their mana during the fight.
Summoners can boost their minion damage and durability with the Spirit Glyph.
The Worm Meal can be incredibly powerful for summoners with its 2 additional minion slots, especially as it is an accessory that can be obtained pre-boss.

Weapons[]

Weapons made of Wulfrum Metal Scraps should suffice, although there are many other available options found early in the game.

Melee[]

The Yateveo Bloom used as a flail is an excellent option which can severely dent the Desert Scourge, especially when powered by Rage or Adrenaline.
The Blade of Grass or Arkhalis, especially paired with the Fungal Symbiote, can deal fantastic damage to the Desert Scourge.
The Depth Crusher is a great weapon, as its debuff takes effect on every segment of the Desert Scourge, allowing the player to deal large amounts of damage from only a few hits.
The Stylish Scissors is a very powerful option, being able to kill the boss in a matter of seconds.
Yoyo users should use the Amazon or Rally, which can deal respectable damage.

Ranged[]

The Minishark is a powerful option as a gun. Any ammo will suffice, although Flash Rounds' area of effect explosion hits multiple segments making it the best option.
Any bow, preferably Demon Bow, Tendon Bow or Mandible Bow, can make short work of the Desert Scourge with Jester's Arrows or Unholy Arrows.

Mage[]

The Frost Bolt is a good option, as its piercing ability plus its capability to inflict Frostburn can deal high damage to the Desert Scourge's summons in a short amount of time.
Gem Staves, particularly the Ruby Staff or Diamond Staff, are good choices, providing high damage with the higher tier staves providing additional piercing.
Should the player get lucky with Dungeon generation, the Water Bolt is also an option, providing high base damage and piercing.

Summoner[]

The Slime Staff is the best option for summoners, as it can make short work of the Desert Scourge's many segments.
The Stormjaw Staff is also extremely good for damage output due to the sparks hitting the Desert Scourge multiple times.
The Belladonna Spirit Staff can inflict Poisoned, a debuff the Desert Scourge is especially vulnerable to, on several of its segments at once.

Rogue[]

Despite lacking piercing, the Crystalline is great for its raw damage when all of the daggers split, and can even provide a head start to the fight with its stealth strike.
Wulfrum Knives are another good option that can pierce a few segments.
The Gilded Dagger and Gleaming Dagger have long range and good damage.
- Urchin Stingers are an alternative that behave similarly and have greater damage, but may be harder to obtain. About 180 of them should suffice for the fight.
The Bouncing Eyeball is also a great option if you can last through a Blood Moon.
Molotov Cocktails are an excellent weapon that have a large area of effect.

Miscellaneous[]

The Slimy Saddle is a powerful mount that can be used to attack the Desert Scourge while additionally remaining out of harm's way.
The Well Fed buff provides a useful all around stat boost for all classes.
Rage Potions or Wrath Potions provide a considerable increase to damage.
Swiftness Potions and Regeneration Potions can provide useful buffs.
Bounding Potions are especially useful in Malice Mode, but can help in other modes too.
Calcium Potions prevent fall damage without using an accessory slot.

The Fight[]

The Desert Scourge will spawn off-screen, which means players should be prepared to avoid the Desert Scourge as it approaches them. In Revengeance Mode or higher, two Desert Nuisances spawn and should be prioritized before killing the main worm.

Occasionally the Desert Scourge will burrow underground before lunging at the player and burrowing again. This can be dodged by moving in the opposite direction it is lunging and actually leaves the boss extremely vulnerable to attacks.

In Revengeance mode and higher, the main worm will occasionally fire sand blasts from its body. These can be easily dodged by moving left and right.

In Death Mode, the Desert Scourge is larger, has more body segments, burrows more often, and increases its acceleration and velocity as it loses health. The strategy players should use mostly remains the same however.

In Malice Mode, the Desert Scourge fires sand blasts almost nonstop and has drastically increased speed and aggression. It will require the player to use as many movement accessories as possible to be able to avoid his attacks. The Frog Leg and Bundle of Balloons are especially important.

The Desert Scourge can use platforms to burrow higher, so be sure to place them high up so it cannot reach them. Be sure to not place them outside of the Desert or it will become invulnerable.

As the Desert Scourge takes more damage, it will get exponentially faster and will eventually be able to gain enough speed to reach the arena platform. It is imperative to avoid the head at all costs as contact with it deals immense damage, especially in Expert mode and higher.

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 Desert Scourge's health when it is low to swiftly end the fight.
Using the Overlay Minimap and changing its the transparency with Page Up and Page Down keys can provide the player with icon of bosses that are too far to see without the Minimap, making it a useful tactic to aim at bosses.
The head should be avoided at all costs, as it deals immense damage. If you find yourself cornered, try to get hit by the body instead, and use invincibility frames to escape.