POZESTY'S GUIDE TO TERRARIA

Thanks to the Terraria Online Wiki for Pictures and Statistics

Version 0.17

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Chapter 1: What is Terraria?

Terraria is a 2D, side scrolling, action-adventure game with some sandbox elements

incorporated. Terraria has a functioning multiplayer system with server-based play and a PvP

option. It is often referred to as a cross between Metroid and Minecraft; though it may have

been inspired by those games, it should not be thought of as a rip-off of either. Terraria has

NPC’s, Bosses, magic, a wider variety of monsters, numerous items and armor sets, and

dynamic events. The building and mining elements of the game are mostly there to supplement

the action and exploration aspect of the game.

When you create a character in Terraria, they are carried over into any world you enter,

whether it be on Singleplayer or Multiplayer allowing for in-game trading and easy PvP. When

you create a new world, a randomly generated map of a preset size will be created. Every map

in Terraria contains a Dungeon (guarded by the most difficult boss Skeletron) and an

Underground Jungle (containing exclusive mobs and items). The two locations are always

generated on opposite sides of the map and are generally end game areas. Along with the

Dungeon and Underground Jungle, a series of 3-5 (depending on map size) Floating Islands that

hold a small brick room with a chest inside are generated as well. These chests may contain

items that you can’t find anywhere else including the Starfury, Lucky Horseshoe, and Shiny Red

Balloon. Due to the random map generation and persistent character, you can’t really ever run

out of resources or areas to raid.

Before you can start venturing into the vast world, you should create a home for you to take

shelter in the dark of the night. Terraria lets you construct structures and furniture using the

materials you find throughout the world. As you expand your base of operations, NPC’s will

make their way into your house and provide you with chatter and buyable goods. There are a

lot of items that can be purchased only through NPC’s and some of the items just make

exploring much more convenient early game.

Moving ahead in Terraria is mostly done through gear progression. Gear progression means

that instead of leveling a character up like a normal RPG, your character becomes more

powerful in conjunction with the armor and items he wields. If you want to you can think of

each armor set as a level, with Molten and Cobalt being the highest level of each specialization.

Armor is obtained through mining and smelting, with the exception of a couple sets that are

found and crafted through monster drops. Most of the basic weapons can also be crafted with

ores, though the more powerful weapons and accessories are found through monster drops

and chests scattered throughout the world.

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Throughout Terraria you can either focus your character as a Warrior (hoarding life crystals,

defense-armor, basic weapons), a Ranger (bow & arrows, guns & ammunition, and usually use

the Necro armor set), or a Mage (mana crystals, mana-armor, and magic weapons & spells). At

the current end game, the Warrior and Mage classes become the most distinct. The two main

end game armor sets are the Molten (28 Defense + 10 Defense Set Bonus) and the Cobalt (19

Defense + Reduces Mana cost by 25%) sets. The third armor set is the Necro (19 Defense +

Speed Boost) set which would serve as a viable set for a Ranger. Once a character has acquired

the armor of their choice, they generally start collecting the rare weapons and accessories that

benefit their specialization.

The weapons in Terraria are much less ambiguous than the classes and are easily separated into

three categories. Melee weapons are mostly crafted swords, phaseblades, and the Muramasa

& Blade of Grass. Ranged weapons are mostly crafted bows & arrows, purchases or found guns

and ammunition, boomerangs, and flails. Magic weapons aren’t crafted (with the exception of

the Space Gun), but rather found in dungeons or chests in the world. Some of the more notable

magic weapons include the Flamelash, Vilethorn, and the Starfury.

If this isn’t enough for you, Terraria is still undergoing updates, fixing bugs and adding

CONTENT! In fact, the programmer and designer of Terraria, Andrew “Redigit” Spinks said, “I’ve

already thought about some cool ideas for Terraria’s replacement, but that will be several years

away. Right now our focus is on Terraria and nothing else. We still have a lot of plans for the

game. It was only in development for four months before it was released, and in another four

months from now you won’t recognize it anymore.”

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Chapter 2: The Bestiary

The Dungeons:

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The Surface:

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The Caves and The Underworld:

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The Corruption:

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The Underground Jungle:

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Chapter 3: Dynamic Events

The Goblin Invasion:

The Goblin Invasion is a dynamic event that occurs is Terraria. There is a very small chance

every dawn that an army of Goblin Mobs will appear after a string of warning messages in the

bottom-left corner of the screen. For this event to occur, the following criteria must be met:

At least 1 Player in-game

At least 1 Player must have more than 200 Health (NOT maximum)

It has to have been at least 7 in-game days since the last invasion

The Goblin Army consists of Goblin Peons, Goblin Warriors, Goblin Thieves, and Goblin

Sorcerers. There are 3 exclusive drops you can obtain from a Goblin Invasion: the Spiky Ball,

Harpoon (Rare), and the Rocket Boots (Uber-Rare). The number of Goblins that spawn depends

on the number of players in the game and the collective health of the players. A goblin army

can max out at 500 units and the total gold obtained from an invasion ranges in between 8 and

10.

The Blood Moon:

Occasionally at nightfall (1/8 chance), a message may appear that warns you of a Blood Moon.

A Blood Moon lasts for one night and can be troublesome for inexperienced players. During a

Blood Moon, the spawn rate of Zombies and Demon Eyes is drastically increased. Along with the

increased spawn rate, Zombies gain the ability to break open doors after a couple of hits.

Early game: Blood Moons can prove to be troublesome and it is sometimes best to just

blockaded yourself and your NPC’s in your house. The easiest way to prevent monsters from

getting in is to place at least one block of dirt adjacent to your doors. This lets the Zombies open

the door but prevents them from walking in (though a few Demon Eyes can still squeeze in).

Late game: the Blood Moon serves as a great time to farm for gold and Lenses if you’re trying to

summon the Eye of Cthulhu.

Eye of Cthulhu:

The Eye of Cthulhu appearance can only happen once per World. If the player has yet to fight

him, has at least 10 hearts, and has at least 3 NPC’s a warning message may appear saying,

“You feel an evil presence watching you.” Soon after the message the Eye of Cthulhu may

spawn and attack you.

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Chapter 4: Bosses

The Eye of Cthulhu:

The Eye of Cthulhu is often dismissed as the easiest boss in Terraria, though he can still be

difficult to overcome as a new character. The boss can appear

through a dynamic event and can also be summoned using a

Suspicious Looking Eye. To craft one, you’ll need 10 Lenses (dropped

by Demon Eyes at night) and you have to be standing next to a

Demon Altar (often found in the Corruption and sometimes

underground). To summon the boss, use the Eye outside during the

night (will not work during the day).

The boss fight is fairly straightforward and shouldn’t take more than

5 minutes. At higher levels, Cthulhu is a viable method for farming

gold due to the common Demonite Ore drops. It can drop Demonite

Ore, Unholy Arrows, Corrupt Seeds, Lesser Healing Potions, and Coin.

Cthulhu has 3000 HP and goes through 2 forms in the battle (Form 1: DMG: 18, DEF: 6/ Form 2:

DMG: 30, DEF: 3). While in his first form, he passively summons Servants of

Cthulhu (HP: 8, DMG: 23, DEF: 0) that act like

smaller Demon Eyes. At 1500 HP (half health),

Cthulhu will begin to spin around its center and the

pupil will turn into a mouth. During his second form, servants are no

longer summoned and he mostly focuses on charging you.

Defeating the boss is much easier with the use of ranged weapons

such as bows or guns. Another early game option is Shurikens. They

are cheap and do more damage than most bows do at the start of

the game. During the first form a melee weapon (or a ranged that

can damage multiple enemies at once such as a flail or boomerang)

is a good choice because you can continually swing and fend off the servants while you try to

steal a few hits on Cthulhu himself. With decent dancing, the first form should be easy to take

down. During his second form it becomes more dangerous to use a melee weapon and it’s

advised that you switch to a ranged weapon. If you avoid his attacks and constantly shower him

with attacks, he should go down quickly without much trouble.

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The Eater of Worlds:

The Eater of Worlds is by far more difficult a boss than the Eye of Cthulhu and each battle can

vary depending on the way one goes

about killing him. The biggest danger

in the boss fight is having him split

into multiple worms making it

immensely more difficult to avoid

his attacks.

The Eater of Worlds will appear

every time 3 Shadow Orbs are

broken after multiple warning

messages. The boss can also be

summoned using Worm Food when

in the corruption. To craft worm

food you must be standing near a

Demon Altar and have 30 Vile

Powders and 15 Rotten Chunks.

The boss is separated into 3 different units, all making up the full worm. The head does 40

DMG, has 120 HP, and 0 DEF. The bodies do 15 DMG, have 200 HP, and 4 DEF. The tail does 10

DMG, has 300 HP, and 8 DEF. Because he has multiple segments, every second you spend

within his body’s damage range can whittle you down to no health quickly. Letting him trap you

in circles or get parallel to you will get you killed you fast.

The most effective weapons for conquering him are ones that do area damage or hurt more

than one enemy on one pass through. The most effective in my opinion is the Vilethorn. With

decent mana and regen you can spam the spell and damage most of his segments at once.

Alternatives also include the Ball ‘O Hurt and the Enchanted Boomerang and can be used in

much the same way as the Vilethorn. The most important aspect of the fight however, is to

focus the head and tail rather than the bodies. If you kill a body the worm will split into 2

segments making it much more difficult to kill (if you continue to kill bodies it will continue to

split, with the max size being 3 segments). Each individual segment can drop Demonite Ore and

Shadow Scales, and when killed the boss will drop a random piece of Shadow Armor, Demonite

Ore, and Shadow Scales.

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Skeletron:

Skeletron is by far the most powerful boss in Terraria and should not be taken lightly. Soloing

him is very difficult and he can still prove a very formidable opponent even with a group.

Skeletron cannot be summoned and appears only once per world. He is the guardian of each

world’s Dungeon and can be awoken by speaking to the Old Man at night. At daybreak

Skeletron will kill everyone in his sight and disappear giving the player a very small window to

kill such a powerful boss.

The actual boss is

made up of 3 units.

The Skeletron Head

(35 DMG, 6000 HP,

12 DEF) which will

end the boss fight if

killed and 2

Skeletron Hands (30

DMG, 2000 HP, 18

DEF). When soloing

him it is better to

focus down the

head rather than

the hands due to

the large time

constraints. After

Skeletron has been

defeated on a map, he will not

return and players will be free to enter the dungeons as they wish.

The most effective way to fight him is to create a small arena like structure above the Dungeon

with and open top and flattened floor. This allows faster movement and a better view of the

boss. AOE Ranged items are once again your best bet since they let you hit more than one unit.

If you’re soloing him you should try to hit the head as much as possible and take advantage of

any opportunity to hit the hand and head simultaneously. Use a flail, a gun, or the Starfury to

take him down and heal constantly throughout the fight. Even if you’re only at half health be

sure to pop a potion due to his head’s spin attack.

Skeletron drops nothing ;( though the loot within the Dungeon is often more than reward

enough.

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Chapter 5: Armor

Because most of Terraria revolves around gear progression, the armor you chose will determine

the type of character you play. You can tank with Molten Armor or be a mage with Cobalt

Armor. The way you play is up to you, but you have to have the means to do it. Whether you

‘wanna light the way with your Molten, or just look like a boss with the Goggles, armor is a

must.

Copper Armor:

The most basic set of armor a character can wear. Copper armor grants 4 DEF with a set bonus

of 2 DEF. It takes a total of 60 Copper Bars to craft a full set.

Iron Armor:

The next set of armor is once again a strict defense set. Iron armor grants 7 DEF with a set

bonus of 2 DEF. It takes a total of 75 Iron Bars to craft a full set.

Silver Armor:

Silver Armor is by far my favorite armor in terms of appearance but still remains unviable late

game. It grants 10 DEF with a set bonus of 3 DEF. It takes a total of 75 Silver Bars to craft a full

set.

Gold Armor:

Golden Armor is the last of the basic defense sets and grants 13 DEF with a set bonus of 3 DEF.

It takes a total of 90 Gold Bars to craft a full set.

Meteor Armor:

If you’re looking to Mage it up mid game, the Meteor set is the set for you. It grants 13 DEF

with a set bonus of 20% Spell Cost Reduction and the set also lights up as the player moves. It

takes a total of 90 Meteorite Bars to craft a full set.

Shadow Armor:

Shadow Armor may be difficult to obtain, but it makes for a versatile armor in the mid game. It

grants 19 DEF with a set bonus of 15% Melee Attack Speed Boost and a small mana regen buff.

It takes a total of 60 Demonite Bars and 45 Shadow Scales to craft a full set.

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Necro Armor:

Necro Armor is difficult to obtain early game-mid game making it less effective when you

actually acquire it. The speed boost it provided is still somewhat beneficial when coupled with

the Anklet of the Wind. It grants 19 DEF with a set bonus of a Constant Speed Boost. It takes a

total of 140 Cobwebs and 90 Bones to craft a full set.

Cobalt Armor:

Cobalt Armor is a must for any caster based character. It serves as a late game replacement for

the Meteor Armor and differs only in the it heightened defense and mana cost reduction. It

grants 19 DEF with a set bonus of 25% Spell Cost Reduction. Coupled with Bands of Starpower,

a caster can have seemingly limitless mana. Cobalt Armor is also very difficult to obtain and is

an uber-rare drop from Hornets in the Underground Jungle.

Molten Armor:

Molten Armor is the tankiest it gets. It grants 28 DEF with a set bonus of 10 DEF and it lights up

while moving. That’s a total of 38 Defense which is massive compared to the other armor sets.

It takes a total of 105 Hellstone Bars to craft a full set.

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Chapter 6: Weapons (& Magic)(& Consumables)

To make progress at all in Terraria, you have to be able to engage in combat. From your humble

beginnings with a Wooden Sword all the way until you’re rocking the Star Cannon, weapons will

be an essential in your quickbar.

Melee Weapons:

Melee weapons are probably the most common weapon in Terraria. They are easy to craft

when starting out and almost all of the melee weapons can be crafted with the exception of the

Muramasa and the Staff of Regrowth.

Basic Melee Weapons:

Weapon Ingredients Damage Knockback Speed Picture

Wooden Sword 7 Wood 7 4 Average

Copper Broadsword 8 Copper Bars 8 ? Average

Copper Shortsword 7 Copper Bars 6 ? Very Fast

Iron Broadsword 8 Iron Bars 10 5 Average

Iron Shortsword 7 Iron Bars 8 4 Very Fast

Silver Broadsword 8 Silver Bars 11 ? Average

Gold Broadsword 8 Gold Bars 13 ? Average

Gold Shortsword 7 Gold Bars 11 4 Very Fast

Light’s Bane 10 Demonite Bars 16 5 Average

The Breaker 10 Demonite Bars + 5 Shadow Scales

28 6.5 Very Slow

War Axe of the Night 10 Demonite Bars 21 6 Slow

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Unique Melee Weapons:

Phaseblades: The first set of unique melee weapons you will likely craft

are the Phaseblades. They deal 21 DMG and a knockback of 3. To craft

a phaseblade you’ll need 20 Meteorite Bars and 10 Gems of one color

(Amethyst, Topaz, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Diamond). When swung,

phaseblades emit a small amount of light and make you look like a

badass Jedi.

Muramasa: The Muramasa is a rare blade found only in Dungeon chests. It is better than

the Phaseblades and deals 22 DMG. When used it creates a small amount of light. It has

a fast attack speed and holding the left mouse button will swing it continuously

unlike other swords. When coupled with Melee Boosting items, the Muramasa

becomes a deadly mid-late game weapon.

Staff of Regrowth: The Staff of Regrowth is less of a weapon and more often used as a

tool. It allows the player to create grass on any dirt tile in the world. It can only be found

in the Underground Jungle in a Jungle Shrine. It deals 20 DMG and has fairly high-

speed making it useful in the mid-game. Late game, the Staff becomes less useful and different

weapons should be used instead.

Blade of Grass: The Blade of Grass has the longest range of any melee weapon in

Terraria. It can be dropped (though very rarely from Hornets) and it can be craft using

1 Silver Broadsword, 40 Jungle Roses, and 20 Stingers. It deals 28 DMG and has an

attack speed slightly faster than the Fiery Greatsword.

The Fiery Greatsword: The most powerful sword in Terraria. The Fiery Greatsword has

a huge range and emit light when swung. It deals 34 DMG though isn’t as useful due

to its slow use speed. It takes 35 Hellstone Bars to craft a Fiery Greatsword.

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Ranged Weapons (& Ammunition):

If smashing Zombies in the face with a Greatsword isn’t your thing, then ranged weapons will

let you pick off your enemies from afar. You can choose from 4 classes of ranged weapons;

Bows, Guns, Boomerangs, and Flails. You can choose to use the allmighty Sunfury or rock some

face with the incredibly imba Star Cannon.

Basic Bows:

Note: Ammunitions Damage is applied on top of a ranged weapons base damage.

Weapon Ingredients Damage Speed Picture

Wooden Bow 10 Wood 5 Slow

Iron Bow 7 Iron Bars 9 Slow

Silver Bow 7 Silver Bars 10 Slow

Gold Bow 7 Gold Bars 11 Slow

Demon Bow 8 Demonite Bars 13 Average

Molten Fury 25 Hellstone Bars 29 Average

Basic Guns:

Weapon Ingredients Damage Speed Picture

Musket Dropped by Shadow Orbs

14 Extremely Slow

Flintlock Pistol Sold by Arms Dealer (5 Gold)

7 Fast

Handgun Dungeon chests 12 Very Fast

Minishark Sold by Arms Dealer (50 Gold)

5 Insanely Fast

Phoenix Blaster Handgun, 20 Hellstone Bars

28 Very Fast

Unique Guns:

Star Cannon: The Star Cannon is by far the most powerful weapon in Terraria, dealing 75

damage per shot! It shoots extremely fast and can wreck bosses easily. The Star Cannon is

The Molten

Fury lights

wooden arrows

on fire

automatically.

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crafted using 1 Minishark, 5 Fallen Stars, and 20 Meteorite Bars. The only

useable ammunition for the Star Cannon however is Fallen Stars making it

quite difficult to carelessly spam.

Ammunition:

Shot Ingredients Damage Knockback Picture

Wooden Arrow 1 Stone Block, 1 Wood 5 2

Flaming Arrow (5) 5 Wooden Arrows, 1 Torch

7 2

Unholy Arrow (2) (can pass through 3 mobs)

2 Wooden Arrows, 1 Worm Tooth

8 3

Jester’s Arrow (can pass through mobs)(emits light)

Found in Chests 9 4

Musket Ball Sold by Arms Dealer for 8 Copper, drops from Shadow Orbs.

7 2

Meteor Shot (100) (Bounces)

1 Meteorite Bar 9 1

Flails:

Though there are only 4 flails in Terraria, one of the most damaging weapons in the game the,

Sunfury, falls into the category.

Ball ‘O Hurt: This flail will probably be the first one you obtain in Terraria. It can be

found by either breaking a Shadow Orb or by killing The Eater of Worlds. It deals 15

DMG and has a knockback of 7. The Ball ‘O Hurt (like other flails) is useful when

fighting serpents such as the Eater of Worlds because it can deal damage to more than one unit

in one shot.

Blue Moon: The next step up from the Ball ‘O Hurt is the Blue Moon. It is found in

Dungeon chests making it a late game weapon. Usually by the point the player

obtains one however they usually have already found a Sunfury (which is vastly

superior). The Blue Moon deals 30 DMG and has a knockback of 7.

Sunfury: The Sunfury is one of the most powerful weapons in Terraria. It deals 40

DMG and has a knockback of 7. It is difficult to obtain however due to its extremely

low drop rate from Bone Serpents (1% Drop Chance).

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Harpoon: The Harpoon is a flail that acts very similar to a Bow without the need

for ammunition. It deals 15 DMG with a knockback of 6. It is a very rare drop from

the Goblin Sorcerer during a Goblin Invasion.

Boomerangs:

One of the first ranged weapons (other than the bow) you’ll be likely to find is the Enchanted

Boomerang. They’re easy to use, but don’t really seem to have a place in late game PvP asides

from the Flamarang.

Enchanted Boomerang: Early game, the Enchanted Boomerang is a very useful replacement for

a bow & arrow. Once thrown the boomerang will strike through multiple enemies and come

back to the thrower. The boomerang can be found in chests throughout the world. It deals

13 DMG and has a knockback of 8. The boomerang also emits light when thrown making it

useful for cave hunting.

Thorn Chakrum: The Thorn Chakrum is a mid-late game boomerang crafted with 40 Jungles

Roses and 30 Stingers. It deals 25 DMG and has a knockback of 8. One of the benefits to the

Thorn Chakrum is that it can bounce more than once off of a wall. This makes it exception

while clearing out small spaces of mobs.

Flamarang: The Flamarang is the most powerful boomerang in Terraria. When thrown it emits

light and light particles and acts like an Enchanted Boomerang. It deals 32 DMG and has a

knockback of 8. Because it requires no ammunition it makes a great alternative to a bow and

can be a great weapon for a ranged PvP character. The Flamarang is crafted using 1 Enchanted

Boomerang and 15 Hellstone Bars.

Magic Weapons:

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Copper