How to Kill the Terrormorph in Starfield

There are few creatures in Starfield more terrifying than the appropriately named Terrormorph. Throughout players’ travels across the galaxy, several quests will ensure you run into one of these gigantic, multi-armed behemoths and they pose an impressive challenge. Like how the Deathclaw has become synonymous with Fallout, the Terrormorph is the representation of the most dangerous encounter players can find in Starfield, but as the old adage goes, if it bleeds, you can kill it. If you find yourself literally and metaphorically butting heads with a Terrormorph in Starfield, we’ve put together a quick guide on the best way to kill it. While it may not be easy, at least knowing what to expect should make the fight a little less stressful. Knowing is half the battle, of course.

How to Prepare for Fighting Terrormorphs in Starfield

The first thing you’ll want to note about battling a Terrormorph is that it’s perfectly designed to kill you from anywhere. The galaxy’s perfect hunter comes equipped with a diverse set of moves and abilities that will constantly keep you on your toes. The most obvious attack to be aware of are those claws, which it’ll use with deadly efficiency if you get too close. They also pack a major punch, so it’s often the case that the Terrormorph will position itself nice and close to best land a hit. To close the gap, the beasties can also bury themselves and reposition to a more suitable location. You’ll want to keep an eye on the telltale signs of it popping up (just listen for the cracking ground and look out for the giveaway dust cloud). because it’ll often pull these out once you’ve moved beyond its normal reach.

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Of course, burrowing through the ground is just one way a Terrormorph can deal damage from afar. The other, more annoying move will see it hurl a ball of acidic spit in your direction. It won’t necessarily deal a lot of damage, but it certainly does enough that you’ll want to duck and weave once you see it pull its head back in preparation. If you know you’re going to be battling a Terrormorph, do your best to equip a space suit that boasts a high physical damage reduction as well as a decent corrosive stat to ensure your layers of protection aren’t quickly eaten away by its toxic goop.

That being said, there’s more than one type of Terrormorph to kill in Starfield. Beyond the traditional Terrormorph, players can also come across an Albino variant that boasts a bigger health pool, more physical damage, and worst of all, psychic powers. This form of the alien can use its mind-bending abilities to manipulate any other creatures nearby, effectively putting together a team of killers. If there aren’t any other beasts around, the Albino Terrormorph will just use its telepathy to debuff you during the battle, making the fight even more challenging.

While I’ve never encountered one personally, players have also reported seeing a Cloaked Terrormorph, which is about as scary as you’d expect. This form is almost entirely invisible and can only be identified with the shimmering translucent nature of its body. Lastly, the biggest and baddest of them all is the Terrormorph Anomaly, a hulking monster that serves as a unique boss in Starfield. Despite its imposing size, many of the tips mentioned in this article will work just as well against it. The bigger they are, and all that.

All Weaknesses of the Terrormorph in Starfield

If you’re wondering if Terrormorphs have any obvious weaknesses, they do. Like most sentient creatures, you’ll need to aim for the head, which is easier said than done. I have a headcanon that Terrormorphs evolved to develop significantly smaller heads over time to make it harder for enemies to properly aim for their most vital organ; it’s a small target attached to a constantly writhing body. You’ll want to equip any kind of fast gun, something like the Fiscal Quarter or X-989 Microgun. Shooting as many bullets as possible while maintaining any kind of accuracy can be tough, but it is doable if you also equip a decent set of armor and maybe dose up on some chems to boost your resistances. While you might be tempted to equip a shotgun for its extremely high damage-per-shot, I’d recommend against that. Getting up close to a Terrormorph is a death sentence so you’ll want to keep your battles mid to long-range if you can.

Another factor you’ll want to consider is explosive damage. Terrormorphs have extremely dense hides, but a good frag grenade under the belly is usually enough to take off a decent chunk of its health and even stun it for a brief moment. The same thing goes for mines, so if you know that you’ll be battling a Terrormorph in the near future, take a moment to lay some traps and bait your foe to run across them. It’ll take a bit longer but seeing a carefully planned trap do your work for you is often just as satisfying as gunning your enemy down yourself.

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Elevation is also important. Like some other sci-fi properties, Starfield battles are always better when you have the high ground. It’s worth noting that Terrormorphs can scale objects so you won’t be completely safe if you just scramble on top of a crate. However, it takes the alien a lot longer to vertically climb than it does to run in a horizontal line, so use that disadvantage to your benefit. Also, you should have a jet pack when you meet your first Terrormorph, so don’t forget to use it!

The last tip I can impart for killing a Terrormorph in Starfield is less about the actual battle itself and more about how you’ve built your character. Make sure you’re upgrading your gear; heading into a major fight against one of these monstrosities with an under-leveled gun won’t be a fun time for anyone, least of all you. You should also take the “Armor Penetration” skill, which will allow you to ignore a good percentage of your enemy’s armor. While you’re at it, invest in some armor-piercing rounds to really crack that bug wide open. With a bit of time and some planning, even the densest Terrormorphs can be laid to rest.

If you’re looking for more help, check out how to get High Tension Spidrons in Starfield.