Guide:Dreadwing the Penguin Strategies

Basic Combat

Dreadwing is a flying UFO boss who fights primarily by shooting a series of lasers towards the ground (Which can destroy blocks) in a set pattern and also fights via ground minions and, as he lowers in hp he will summon mini UFOs to attack you as well. He also has a ground slam attack where he will fly up out of sight then crash down at the player.

The ground troops Dreadwing summons are fairly weak and utilize ranged attacks dealing minimal damage, however if they are attacking you (they can often be summoned where they cannot reach you or aim at you) you should kill them immediately as they are distracting and the small damage eventually will add up. For the mini UFOs it is best just to ignore them and dodge their attacks. Be careful though as the shots from the mini UFOs are small and difficult to notice.

When Dreadwing uses his lasers he will either shoot in a patter of left to right or right to left thus making the easiest way to avoid damage from the attack to head the opposite of his direction, ie. if he goes left to right, dodge to the left. On a similar note whenever you see him fly upwards immediately run towards one side or into a 4 block deep hole. After he hits the ground he will remain there for a short while leaving him susceptible to melee attacks.

Also when you kill Dreadwng if he is in the air the UFO will crash to the ground and will deal damage in a fairly large area as it explodes, so be sure to back away when his UFO begins to smoke and plummet.

Recommended Gear

Dreadwing's overall damage output is quite low, significantly lower than a randomly generated Boss Monster, or even two basic monsters at the same time so a very low level of armor is needed. Even something as simple as having only a Copper Chestpiece will typically suffice, though if you are not feeling confident a full set of either Copper Armor or a full Snow Infantry Set would make it near impossible to die.

Depending on your level of confidence you should bring 10-20 Bandages. If you happen to have a Red Stim Pack that will be equal to around 5-7 Bandages.

For weaponry a Hunting Bow would be highly recommended (As there is currently a bug where the Iron Hunting Bow does not deal damage to Dreadwing) for a ranged weapon along with any melee weapon with a Damage Over Time (DoT) effect, for example a weapon with Poison or Fire elemental damage. NOTE: Most 2-Handed Weapons with elemental damage have a second effect for the Right Mouse Button as well as the main one for the Left Mouse Button. So make sure to apply both if available as they do stack.

Battleground

The easiest way to fight Dreadwing is to find a relatively flat area (or make one) and set up several 2(height) x 1(width) walls in which will impede the ground troops he summons, and to set up one or two 4 x 2 holes to take cover in to avoid his ground slam. You can also create holes that have a three or four thick ceiling with several one block wide holes leading to the surface through which you can fire arrows. This is the safest method but takes the most preparation and battle time.

Tech

The Pulse Jump tech is ideal as Dreadwing stays fairly high up in the air and Pulse Jump allows you to reach him with melee attacks, greatly increases how fast you can kill him. Alternatively the Energy Dash also works well for dodging his attacks allowing you to take less damage during the battle.

Special Tactics

If you acquire a weapon with an Ice (slowing) element it will ground Dreadwing as any flying enemy hit by an Ice Element attack loses its ability to fly/move for the duration making Dreadwing entirely useless. So simply attack with the Ice Element weapon (no matter how little the damage) periodically in order to prevent him from being able to attack or properly summon his minions. This tactic works for any flying enemy, albeit others will be able to still attack vie horizontal ranged attacks.