Beginner's Guide

Welcome to IGNs Terraria Wiki guide for beginners. Terraria, a game based around crafting, explorations, and survival, utilizes procedural generation to create a unique world in every new game.

Terraria focuses extensively on using components found through excavation and spelunking to create new items, structures, and machines. The game takes place in a vast 2D side-scrolling environment.

Our Terraria Wiki Starter Guide is intended to help you through your initial hours of Terraria, from your appearance on the surface through your first boss encounter with the Eye of Cthulhu. We hope we can add to your enjoyment of this colorful, creative, and ambitious game.

Character and World Creation

We've prepared a more detailed guide to character creation, but the skinny is that your choices here are purely cosmetic.

When it comes to Difficulty, do yourself a favor and select Softcore Difficulty for your first game. It sounds wimpy, but trust us, it's plenty challenging.

As for World size, Small and Medium worlds tend to prove easier to search for essential components.

Seek Shelter

Terraria operates on a day/night cycle. The monsters roaming the Overworld at night is much more threatening than those appearing during the day. Consequently, it’s a good idea for beginners to construct a simple shelter.

Use your Axe to cut down a few trees in the background layer, then find a large level area of ground. If you can’t find a suitable site, use your Pickaxe to flatten some earth. Then lay a wooden floor at least 20 blocks long. Step onto the platform you’ve created and build walls and a roof over yourself, completely enclosing your character and leaving a little space above you.

You aren’t actually safe yet. In order to seal your new house, you need to build a wall into the background layer. To craft this, you'll need a Work Bench. Enter the Crafting menu. You will only have a few options visible here, and one of them will be the Bench. Create on and place it inside your house. Now, standing directly next to it, reopen your Crafting menu. Your proximity to the bench unlocks a number of new menu options, including Wooden Wall background panels.

Craft enough panels to fill in every open space in the background layer of your house. Don’t leave any cracks or something nasty might get in.

You’ve now trapped yourself inside a house. Use the Work Bench to build a Wooden Door, and employ your Axe to create a three-block high gap in the wall to place it in. Monsters usually can’t open doors, so as long as you keep your new door shut you should remain undisturbed.

Now craft a Wooden Sword and Wooden Hammer. The Wooden Sword is a more effective weapon than your default Copper Shortsword thanks to a wider attack area. The Wooden Hammer allows you to clean up after your own messes by smashing crafted Items and will be one of the handier tools in the early game.

It’s dark inside your house. Step outdoors and find a Slime. Kill it for Gel, an essential component in torchmaking. Once you have some Gel, head back to your Bench and craft some Torches. Place at least one inside the house to keep things nice and bright.

Essential Tools

While your Work Bench allows you to do a number of nifty things, you’ll also want to build a Furnace and an Iron Anvil to expand your Crafting options. You’ll need Stone and Iron Ore to build these, which means it is time to start digging.

Before you venture out, kill a number of Slimes for the Gel they drop and craft at least fifty Torches. Then step outside of your house (being careful to close the door behind you) and find a likely place to begin a diagonal-downward shaft. Don’t just start digging straight down...at this stage in the game that’s a good way to fall into trouble.

After digging a stair-step shaft maybe twenty blocks deep, switch to horizontal excavation. Explore any caves you find above or below your shaft, and search these caves for likely thin walls leading to other caverns. You’re looking for pockets of Copper and Iron. As you search, place Torches to form a breadcrumb trail back to your shelter.

Kill any Slimes you find, using bottlenecks in the tunnels and caves to keep yourself safe. If you fear being trapped between two enemies, you can throw up a quick Dirt wall to block threatening passageways.

If you encounter any water pockets, do not panic. It takes a long time to drown in Terraria. Water flows downhill, so it’s possible to lower the level of pools or even clear them out by rerouting them down empty shafts. It is also possible to build an air pocket by burrowing an alcove horizontally into a pool’s bedrock and then clearing a space just above your head. Water will not flow upward, so you’ll be able to hop repeatedly and refill your lungs.

If you die underground in anything but Hardcore Difficulty, your dropped money and/or items will remain in the spot where you were slain. Follow your Torches back to the site of your demise and reclaim your gear.

As soon as you have 20 stone, head back to your headquarters and fashion a Furnace. This handy little station allows you to smelt raw ore into Bars, which in turn serve as base components for an enormous number of Crafting recipes in conjunction with the Anvil. When you have enough Iron Bars, create an Anvil to unlock a world of new Weapons, Armor, and Tools.

Preparing for Battle

Once you have an Anvil, start using your metallic resources to create combat gear. If your supply of Iron is limited, prioritize an Iron Broadsword supplemented by Copper Armor and the best Bow you can afford. Don't forget to make some Flaming Arrows as well. As long as you don’t venture too deep into the third subterranean Strata, these tools will serve you well against the enemies you are likely to encounter.

You should also scour the surface for Mushrooms, consumable items which restore Health when eaten. Mushrooms spawn in patches throughout the Overworld.

Later in the game you’ll want to upgrade your arsenal. We’re working on a guide for that now.

Invite the Neighbours

You are now the best-equipped general contractor in Terraria, and the time has come for neighborhood planning. If you build empty houses to the proper specifications, friendly NPCs will appear and take up residence inside. These kind folks provide all kinds of useful services.

The houses you build should be placed near your own home. Grab some wood and fashion a decent-sized level floor, walls, a ceiling, a back layer wall, and a Wooden Door. You’ll also need to add some furniture to make your new resident feel at home. A single Wooden Chair and a Work Bench are usually enough. Also add an internal light source. A Torchworks fine. And be sure to leave the NPC a place to stand.

There is a handy Housing Menu on the right side of your Inventory screen which allows you to test any house for its residency suitability. Use it to check your house and make sure it is ready for guests. Then click the face icon in the menu and paste it on the house wall to designate which NPC will take up residence there. 

You should go ahead and build at least four houses early on in the game, all near your own home. If you’ve done everything right, NPCs will eventually begin to populate these homes, offering some truly useful services like [[Items|Item} stores.

What Next?

So you’re armed, dangerous, and you’ve given back to the community through civic construction. What’s next in life for the intrepid explorer?

The stage of Terraria between grabbing your first gear and fighting the Eye of Cthulhu is the most wide open section of the game. It can also be the most frustrating. There is some absolutely essential topographical and subterranean data you need to gather through exploration, and for a time you're going to be criminally under-equipped to handle the search.

Just out of sight above you are Floating Islands in the Sky, while beneath your feet are vast caverns, underground Jungles, and the kingdom of Hades. At one of the two far ends of the map a huge Dungeon full of treasure awaits you, and somewhere out there is the ever-spreading threat of The Corruption, a vast environmental decay threatening the entire world.

The problem for the starting player is that most of these areas are preposterously dangerous to visit. Therefore, an aspiring Terrarian should begin their work with a series of reconnaissance missions, exploring the surface of the world above and the first two or three layers of depth below with one cautious eye on the Health bar.

Exploring the Overworld is fairly simple for a modestly-equipped newbie with iron weapons and copper to iron armor. Stock up on torches, build shelters against nightfall, and you’ll likely be fine as long as you don’t tangle with the Dungeon guardian and stay out of the Jungles and the Corruption. You’ll know you are near the Corruption when things turn all purple and spooky. Go the other way.

As you wander, feel free to explore the caves and Terrarian irregularities you encounter. Watch out for long falls, as they deal a lot of damage. Remember that you can use simple components like earth, stone, and wood to build bridges over impassible hazards.

While exploring underground, try and find as many open caves as you can. You’re looking for helpful ores like Iron, Silver, and Gold. You’re also on the lookout for Crystal Hearts. These immensely useful materials are found in caves. When shattered, they reveal a Life Crystal which grants the player a new permanent Heart Container.

Also keep an eye out for wooden rooms containing Golden Chests. These often contain powerful magical items and potions. Don't forget to smash them with a hammer and collect them after looting. They make great storage options in your house. 

Return to the surface regularly to craft better gear. Consider prioritizing your items along the following upgrade path:

• 1. Grappling Hook, (if you’re lucky enough to find a Hook)
• 2. Golden Pickaxe
• 3. Silver and Gold Armor

Be careful while digging to avoid the threat of Sand falling down from above. Sand and Silt blocks do not stay in place like regular blocks, but instead drop until they hit a solid surface, including your head. The damage they deal can quickly kill a low-level player.

While exploring caves, place Torches every twenty blocks or so, keeping an eye both on the direct light they emit and the occasional iridescent cascade that drops beneath them. The cascades can often reflect off of precious metals hidden out of sight beneath the surface, or reveal the presence of hidden chambers.

Opening such chambers is the fastest way to successfully mine the world or Terraria. Open natural caves reveal mineral deposits far more efficiently than man made tunnels produced by the Pickaxe. Caves are also likely locations for Jars, Chests, and Crystal Hearts. Drive short horizontal shafts and lay torches, minding the fact that illumination can reveal cavities even through solid walls.

Don't forget that water flows downhill, so it's possible to drain flooded areas to get the goodies inside. Open up shafts to deeper chambers and let the water flood out, then step in and loot the rooms. 

Grappling

When you've collected enough Iron Bars to build a Chest, (or found one and relocated it to your home) drop all of your Coins inside as insurance against your probable demise, then dig down to the third Strata. You are looking for Skeletons and Piranha, who occasionally drop Hooks when killed.

You only need a single Hook, but it may take you some time searching before gathering one. Watch out for the Bats which will knock you into nearby pits, and don't underestimate the Mother Slimes. Their progeny can overwhelm you.

Once you have a Hook, climb back to the surface, or if you're in Softcore Difficulty and carrying few Coin, just let yourself be killed. You'll respawn back at your base with your precious Hook in hand. Combine the Hook with three Iron Chains to create the Grappling Hook, one of the most useful items in the early game.

The hook allows you to ascend vertical shafts, climb out of deep water, place Torches on high ceilings, and reach otherwise impassable ledges. It can also be fired downward to break a long fall, preventing damage on landing.

The Hook is linked to the "E" hotkey in the PC version of Terraria.

Path to the Eye

Progressing beyond a certain point in Terraria is made much easier by slaying the Eye of Cthulhu. The eye's death triggers a number of important game events. Cthulhu's death allows the Dryad NPC to appear. Her introduction to the game simplifies access to the all important Shadow Orbs much easier. These orbs in turn open up Firearms, unlock Meteor strikes (and hence Meterorite) and create a path to the second boss, the Eater of Worlds.

To summon the Eye of Cthulhu boss, you have two options. The more straightforward path is to seek out a Demon Altar in the course of your explorations. These Altars are hidden in subterranean locations throughout the world, and can be spotted through cave walls due to their strong purple glow.

Demon Altars can not be moved. Don't hit them with a hammer....doing so deals considerable damage to you.

Opening the Crafting menu next to a Demon Altar allows you to shape six Lenses into a single Suspicious Looking Eye. Using that Eye at night subsequently summons the Cthulhu boss.

And where does one get Lenses? They're a fairly common drop from Demon Eyes, the flying eyeballs that haunt the Terraria night. They're easy to farm with a decent Broadsword or Boomerang.

A word of warning. Don't summon Cthulhu until you're ready. We'll get to the details of preparing for that fight in a moment.

The second way to reach Cthulhu is to fulfill a number of in-game conditions.

• Your armor totals 10 defense or better
• You have at least 200 Health (i.e. you've found and used 5 Crystal Hearts)
• At least three NPCs exist in your world.

Once you've fulfilled all of these conditions, the Eye will randomly appear on some nights. You'll want to be especially careful in the evenings when above ground until you are equipped for the fight.

Preparing for the Eye

Despite the side-scrolling mechanics, success in Terraria is mostly about planning and preparation.

You'll want a decent stock of Lesser Healing Potions, which you've likely obtained from Chests. You will also need decent armor, with a minimum full Silver set recommended for new players battling the Eye for the first time.

As for your weapon of choice, you'll definitely want to select something with range. Up until this point in the game a melee weapon may well have seen you through, but it's almost impossible to get close enough to the Eye to harm it with a Sword or Spear without being struck in turn.

Two standout weapons are available to the early-game Cthulhu-hunter. The first is the Shuriken, a metal throwing star found in pots and available for sale by the Merchant. Shuriken are fast, cheap, and sometimes recoverable. A first time player will want at least 500 in stock for the boss fight.

Also effective is a Silver Bow paired with a few hundred Flaming Arrows. While the bow fires slowly, it deals an impressive amount of damage and is easy to handle. Flaming Arrows are dirt cheap, so if you're fighting on a budget they're a good option.

You'll also need a supply of Mushrooms or Light Healing Potions to conserve life during the fight.

Potions are another great item to stock up on before you fight the eye of Cthulu. Particularly the Hunter Potion, which like all potions can be crafted or found in chests. The Hunter Potion allows you to see the location of enemies which is invaluable, since the Eye of Cthulu can travel underground and attack you without warning. Other potions for consideration when fighting bosses in general are the Thorn Potion (Damage Taken is returned to attackers), Ironskin Potion (grants plus 8 armor),Health Regeneration Potion, and Archery Potion (Arrow speed and damage increased).

Also important to this battle is good terrain. You have two main geographic concerns in the Cthulhu fight: mobility and illumination. Strictly speaking a flat surface and some torches will see you through, but you will find the combat much easier with a little more diligent preparation.

To improve mobility, find or create a long, flat surface at least a screen wide. The roof of a long house will do, though it's even easier to level some dirt. The open space will make it easier for you to jockey back and forth and avoid Cthulhu's attacks.

You'll also want to make sure the battle area is fully illuminated with artificial light. Cthulhu only appears at night, and you do not want to fight a two-ton flying eyeball in the dark. Build two tall pillars on either side of your flattened battleground, each one roughly the height of the screen, and line both or these with torches along the inside. Also line the bottom of the field with torches in a similar fashion. The pillars will provide enough of a glow that you'll be able to see Cthulhu wherever he appears, and they have the added effect of containing recoverable projectiles within the combat area so that you can rearm mid-battle.

Finally, set your hot-bar up so that you have easy access to your ranged weapons and healing items.

The preparations are ready. Time to take on the Elder God himself.

To Battle

Just before dusk, step into your eyeball trap. If you've fulfilled the above conditions to solicit a Cthulhu spawn, you may spend some time waiting, as the Eye doesn't appear every night. If it's coming, you'll get a warning message sometime during the evening, and you'll only have a few seconds to prepare before the Eye is upon you.

If you've brought a Suspicious looking eye with you, triple-check that it's actually after nightfall, then equip it an item and use it. You'll hear a terrible roar and the Eye of Cthulhu will descend on you.

The Eye boss attacks in two forms. The first form makes sweeping dives toward you while emitting smaller flying eyes from it's iris. These can easily be dispatched by arrows and Shuriken. Move from side to side beneath the eye, constantly firing up toward it's pupil to kill minions as they spawn and deal damage to the boss itself. The first form takes quite a while to bring down this way. Position yourself so that you can quickly dodge either left or right when the eye descends, and use potions to refill your life when injured. Remember healing items have a cool-down period, so time your recoveries accordingly.

Note that the Eye can and will pass through all terrain without restraint. You won't be able to take cover behind walls, and he will often rise up through the earth to attack after diving down at you.

You can also use the pillars you built as grapple points for your Grappling Hook, allowing you to jump and swing over the top of the Eye as he attacks.

When you've dealt a significant amount of damage, the Eye will begin to spin and change forms. He'll remain in one position in space while he does this, so pour on the fire. He'll then evolve into sort of flying venus fly trap.

His defenses are lower in this form and he no longer spits minions, but he's faster and more aggressive. Keep dodging and blasting away, and use your potions as necessary. It's possible to jump and grapple over him if you're quick about it.

He'll fall pretty quickly.

Cthulhu Fhtagn

Cthulhu will burst into a pinata of useful items, dropping Corruption Seeds and Demonite Ore. More importantly, his death will trigger the appearance of the Dryad, a valuable NPC who sells the Purification Powder you will need to get at the Shadow Orbs hidden in The Corruption. Build her a house as soon as possible.

Helpful Hints

Here are some helpful tips to help you survive in the world of Terraria.

• Never fight a boss unless you are ready.
• Dont go in water unless you have a way back up.
• Use a lot of torches when mining, for light.
• Block up caves that you dig through in your mine.
• Don't dig down unless you have blocks to get back up.
• Chop the bottom block of a tree so the whole tree falls
• You can blow up demonite with dynamite to get to shadow orbs earlier.