PvP Guide

Note: The information presented here is subject to change as more items, features or retcons are implemented in new patches.

Player versus Player is a feature in Terraria that allows players to attack each other, bringing a wide arrangement of new perspectives on combat.

PvP Mode
In order for two players to be able to damage each other, both of them must have PvP mode (the crossed swords icon) enabled: a player with PvP disabled won't be able to attack one with PvP enabled and vice versa. Note that damage that a player could deal to oneself (Such as triggering a Boulder or using Explosives) will also apply to any other player, regardless of their PvP status.

Teams
By default, every player will start without a team. A player can choose a team by clicking on one of the five colored shields besides the PvP icon: the sword's color will change to reflect the currently selected team. Note that in order to prevent potential griefing there is a cooldown of about 5 seconds after switching PvP status or teams.

The health, direction and distance of teammates will be shown on the screen. Players belonging to the same team will not be able to damage each other, with few exceptions. Players that don't belong to any team can attack and be attacked by anyone.

Damage Mechanics
All base damage dealt to a player with weapons is doubled, meaning that if a hit which usually has a power of 30 hits a player with 10 defense, it will deal (30x2) - (10/2) = 55 damage instead of the usual 25.

This does not apply to environmental damage (e.g. fall damage, contact with Lava) or explosive weapons, including Hellfire Arrows.

Equipment Builds
In order to be efficient in a PvP scenario, all players should be equipped with top-tier armor and weapons with the best reforging attribute (Legendary, Unreal and Mythical respectively). Since there are three different damage types (Melee, Ranged and Magic), the three main builds should revolve around each of them. Needless to say that Hallowed Greaves and Hallowed Plate Mail are a must, for their high defense value and large set bonuses given when combined with the right headwear.

Generic Equipment
This is gear that can benefit any build, depending on the situation.
 * Accessories that enhance jumping ability such as Spectre Boots or Wings can be extremely useful for evading enemy attacks or flying over a tight group of opponents to attack them from behind. Gravitation and Featherfall Potions can also aid in this.
 * The Obsidian Shield will prevent any knockback and make the player immune to Hellstone and Meteorite, should either team employ them as a defensive tactics.
 * A Dirt Rod, Sandgun or Ice Rod can create emergency barriers should the need arise. Of them, the Ice Rod has the advantage of creating blocks even in midair, making it effective for stopping most projectiles, though they are only temporary.
 * Grappling Hooks are a great aid in climbing steep cliffs, walls, or for getting out of pit traps.
 * The Cross Necklace becomes much more useful in PvP, as it will greatly reduce the rate at which the wearer takes damage from fast-hitting attack like miniguns and spammed spells.
 * A Philosopher's Stone lets players consume healing potions more often, making hit-and-run tactics more viable.
 * Neptune's Shell will increase players' agility in water and allow them to stay indefinitely, making it useful for flooded places.

Generic Buffs

 * Regeneration Potions will let anyone back away and regain life quickly after sustaining serious damage.
 * Ironskin Potion is always useful for reducing damage taken from all sources.
 * The Bowl of Soup slightly increases all attributes. A well fed warrior is a happy warrior!
 * Water Walking Potion will make it easier to cross lava and water moats.
 * Obsidian Skin Potion grants immunity to lava, making lava traps safe to cross.
 * Shine Potion and Night Owl Potion make it easier to see at night or in unlit areas, but also make the user a clearer target for long-ranged attacks.

Melee
A melee character's strategy is to close in quickly on the enemy to dispatch them with powerful melee attacks. The Hallowed Helmet gives them a speed and damage boost that helps them to that purpose, while also providing them with a large defense boost.

Melee Weapons

 * Light Disc: Up to 5 can be thrown at once, allowing for a really fast stream of hits while also having a good chance to land a critical hit: though it can be dodged rather easily past a certain range and cannot be reforged, limiting its potential.
 * Dao of Pow: Despite being slow and hard to aim, the Dao of Pow can easily mow down multiple enemies while also confusing them, making them an easy target for a finishing blow.
 * Gungnir: This spear has a large hitbox, and although it is more accurate at medium range it will strike twice per swing if the target is close enough, though it might miss completely if the enemy moves around too much or takes cover in a hard to reach place.
 * Excalibur: The ultimate sword, it swings fast, has a good size and strikes fast for good damage, it is best used to finish off enemies after they've been weakened by weapons with a longer reach.
 * Hamdrax: Even though it is a tool, the Hamdrax can be quite deadly because of the insanely fast streak of hits it can score: but it can be quite messy as it will also destroy anything it comes in contact with, making it annoying to fight inside an arena with. It can however see some use if the player intends to sabotage the enemy's base or traps.

Melee Accessories

 * Anklet of the Wind: It improves acceleration, greatly enhancing mobility.
 * Feral Claws: A handy bonus to melee speed which is great if combined with fast-hitting weapon like Excalibur or the Hamdrax, and they will also increase projectile speed and range of the Light Disc.
 * Titan Glove: Useful to stunlock enemies easily, though it becomes far less efficient if the enemies have a knockback-negating accessory such as the Cobalt Shield.
 * Warrior Emblem: The melee damage bonus pretty much speaks for itself.
 * Moon Charm: It is only effective during a Full Moon, but the good all-round melee ability bonus it provides makes it advisable to always carry around to equip it just in case.
 * Star Cloak: As melee fighters are likely to take lots of hits, wearing this will let them counter-attack with a rain of falling stars.

Melee Buffs

 * Ale: It sacrifices some defense to deal more damage: due to the PvP damage mechanics the negative effect is negligible, so it is great for giving more punch to attacks.
 * Thorns Potion: Enemies charged by a melee player are likely to attempt a melee fight; this buff will discourage them by reflecting some damage back at them.

Ranged
A player that chooses to use ranged weapons will be able to change their style a lot, as they can not only choose their desired weapon, but also a wide variety of ammo to provide different effects. Thanks to the effect of the Hallowed Helmet, they can make their stacks of ammo last longer before having to resupply, although some might choose the Hallowed Mask for added defense instead.

Ranged Weapons & Ammunitions

 * Hallowed Repeater: Perhaps the most balanced of ranged weapons, it combines a good rate of fire, satisfactory attack power and decent accuracy with the unique effects of arrows, making it a good choice for providing cover fire. The Holy Arrows will add more hits to the volley by summoning falling stars; Cursed Arrows deal large damage to a single target while also dealing damage over time, while Hellfire Arrows will strike multiple targets, but also hit teammates. The main disadvantage is that most arrows will be picked up by enemies.
 * Megashark: Its high rate of fire, low ammo consumption rate and large attack power make it a devastating weapon to mow down mobs of opponents. Cursed Bullets will greatly increase its offensive power by inflicting the Cursed Inferno debuff, while Crystal Bullets will cover a large area around the target with crystal shrapnel, dealing an barrage of damage.
 * Shotgun: Although it has a slow rate of fire, it more than makes up for its speed with its conservation of four shots for one bullet, and can be a great secondary weapon for close quarters. The main advantage of it is when in close quarters, it can easily do over 100 damage. With all critical reforges it can have about a 40% chance of a critical strike, almost always earning one or two critical hits. With Crystal Bullets it can hit many targets, and with Cursed Bullet it can inflict multiple opponents with cursed flame debuff.
 * Star Cannon: Though its ammo can sometimes be scarce to come by, it is fast, hard to dodge and extremely powerful against any kind of target: three shots are enough to kill the toughest opponent. Some servers might ban this weapon for fairness.
 * Flamethrower: The Flamethrower shoots a stream of fire that reaches a little less than half across the screen, but also sets enemies on fire, causing moderate damage over time unless they can find water nearby. This weapon is easily countered by any weapon that has more distance. The Excalibur is able to kill even faster than the flamethrower. Though it is useless in flooded places, so always have something for backup.

Ranged Accessories

 * Band of Regeneration: Since ranged users can fire at the enemy from a safe distance, one of these can help take a break from the fight, especially if a potion is not enough to fully heal the damage sustained.
 * Ranger Emblem: An increase to ranged damage. For taking enemies down faster before they become a threat.

Ranged Buffs

 * Archery Potion: It increases the arrow's damage output and makes them fly faster, making the repeater a more powerful and accurate weapon.

Magic
Magical weapons have the potential to cause large damage on the battlefield, but since the Hallowed Headgear provides very little defense compared to the other types of helmet it is always better to stay in the back row and defend the base, or alternatively stay behind a melee unit and support them from a distance.

Magic Spells

 * Rainbow Rod: Deals large damage, but each single shot has to be manually aimed. It is nevertheless a reliable weapon to take down enemies without giving up one's cover.
 * Crystal Storm: A low-mana, high damage, somewhat accurate rapid-fire spell, this weapon, and its ricochet effect will critically damage others with ease.
 * Magical Harp: It fires slower than the Crystal storm, but its projectiles can pierce through multiple targets, bounce off walls, and their speed can be controlled by aiming closer or further the player.
 * Cursed Flames: The projectiles are shot at a decent rate, pierce through enemies, bounce several times and inflict the Cursed Inferno debuff. They will dissipate quickly in tight places, but will stay around for a while in an open field.

Magic Accessories

 * Band of Starpower: While they give +20 mana, they are not much to look at since any accessory with the Arcane property has the same effect.
 * Nature's Gift: Reduced mana usage is good for making the player's mana pool last longer.
 * Sorcerer Emblem: Additional damage combines well with any spell.
 * Mana Flower: The ultimate magic accessory, allows the player to make an endless barrage of magical attack as long as they have Mana Potions in their inventory. This accessory effectively makes increasing maximum mana and reducing mana cost pointless, freeing space for more useful accessories.

Magic Buffs

 * Clairvoyance: More damage and critical rate, better mana regeneration and less mana cost. A good all-round improvement.
 * Magic Power Potion: 20% more damage, makes all spells much more potent.
 * Mana Regeneration Potion: Not of much use with the Mana Flower, but can make catching one's breath between fights easier.

Building a base: defenses and traps
When playing PvP, some game modes could involve two or more teams fighting each other in bases. In such occasions, especially if the local rules bar the use of mining tools or explosives, it can really pay off to set up an efficient base with a variety of traps and contraptions designed to destroy potential attackers. These are just some ideas and suggestions to make a safe base and repel the opposing team.

Note that as most mining tools for 1.1 can mine nearly any block with minimum delay, the material used for the bases is irrelevant even if the server's rules allow mining.

Defenses
These are defensive layouts that don't require complex mechanisms.

Glass
Pros: Many players do not bring a hammer or a tool that can remove glass. Making it an excellent material to use as a wall or a material to protect traps or important areas.

Cons: The Hamdrax makes this defense almost useless.

Sand Wall
Pros: A large wall of Sand or Silt that is not only tall, but also reaches deep enough underground will slow down wannabe attackers, as they will be forced to climb it or tunnel through it.

Cons: Takes quite a bit of effort to maintain, if the enemy does try to tunnel.

Lava Sponge
Sand doesn't absorb the fluids it falls into, and will release them when mined. Make a wall entirely of a durable material such as Obsidian or Dungeon Brick, then mine out a 4-block tall section in the middle, fill it with lava up to three blocks deep, and then fill it with sand.

Pros: Anyone trying to mine through the sand will release the lava unto themselves.

Cons: Can be hard to replace the lava and sand.

Pits
Pros: Pits for the opposing team to fall in can vary in width and depth. They can be dug in strategic places, like a dark tunnel, to conceal them. They can also be filled with a variety of hazards to finish off the victim after they take the fall damage: Hellstone and Meteorite will burn a player unless they have an Obsidian accessory, a thin layer of Lava on the bottom will burn the victim while still dealing fall damage, Spikes on the walls will make it hard to escape and so on.

Cons: Winged Characters and Gravitation Potions will make this trivial.

Rough Terrain
Pros: Making a patch of uneven terrain in the base's surroundings will severely hinder the assailant's capability to run and/or trigger a speed boost from the Hermes Boots, leaving them more open to a counterattack.

Cons: Can easily be flown over.

Moats
Pros: A large basin filled with water or Lava will force the assailants to attempt to jump over it or make a bridge over it, losing time and possibly falling to their death. Not only that, but it can also be filled with a variety of contraptions to make it even more efficient (See the Contraptions section).

Cons: Gravitation potions and flying will trivialize this.

Spikes
Pros: Spikes taken from the Dungeon are, because of their sturdiness and decent damage on contact, a good and cheap defensive method. Covering certain surfaces with them (Battlements, walls, dead ends) will make it harder for flying enemies to climb up the base.

Cons: They can be removed and may pose a slight problem to your team when they want to access the area.

Funnel
Pros: A small room with a single 1-block wide gap in the bottom, hanging in front of the base's main entrance, makes it easy to lob Grenades and Spike Balls from a safe distance.

Cons: The funnel requires player interaction to be effective againest enemies.

Contraptions
These are manual or automatic defense mechanisms that require Wire and triggers sold by the Mechanic to build.

Landmine
Pros:Simply bury an Explosives block and wire it to a Pressure Plate. It is potent enough to kill any enemy instantly.]

Cons: It will be gone after one use and will also destroy a large chunk of its surroundings, unless it is made of indestructible blocks such as Dungeon Bricks.

Automated Dart Shooter
Build a stack of several Dart Traps and wire them to a 3-Second timer.

Pros: Activating it will unleash a continuous volley of poisonous darts. They are useful to attacking land or flying enemies from a distance before they have a chance to draw near.

Cons: Could be tunneled around.

Lava Shower


Build two lava reservoirs, one above the other. Separate them with a corridor, making sure to leave 1-block gaps in the floor below, and set some Active Stone Blocks in the ceiling. Use a set of pumps to transport the lava back into the top reservoir, link the pumps to a timer, and wire the timer and the active stone blocks to a lever or switch.

Pros: Turning the switch or lever on will open the ceiling, blocking the path with a continuous stream of lava.

Cons: Obsidian Skin Potions will neutralize this.

Rolling Boulders
To mimic naturally-generated traps, place two active stone blocks next to a wall facing the direction you want the boulders to roll, stack one or more boulders, and either wire them to a manual switch to activate them manually, or to a pressure plate to create a booby-trap.

Pros:This defense can deal massive damage, especially if the boulders' trajectory makes them roll along a flat path or bounce off a slope.

Cons: This trap can be dodged, or blocks could be placed in its way.

Drawbridge
As simple as it can get: Build a bridge of Active stone blocks over a moat and a wall of Inactive Stone Blocks on the other side; wire them all to a switch and the drawbridge will be able to be raised and lowered on command, making the moat harder to cross and jump over.

Pros: Also, it can be used to drop off anyone still on it to its doom and seal them there.

Cons: Flying or Gravitation will make this trap easily survivable.

Fish Feeder
Pros:If you place one or more Piranha Statues in the bottom of a water moat, wire it to a timer so that it can be remotely controlled, and let it spawn hungry fish ready to nip and gnaw at anyone unfortunate enough to fall in. Other monsters can fulfill the role quite decently, like Mimics, whose jumps make them hard to avoid when already hindered by being underwater, and high damage allows them to easily devastate enemies regardless of the armor they’re wearing.Put spikes on the edges to keep them from getting away.

Cons: It is possible, with the right equiipment, to escape this trap.

Sniper's Nest
A simple yet effective way to keep ranged and magic defenders out of harm's way is to build small nests with the exterior wall and ceiling made of Active stone blocks wired to a lever: pulling it will close up the nest and repel projectiles and invaders.

Monster guards

A way to pick off enemys quickly is to dig a pit then lure monsters into it.This is very effective if the match starts at night due to the fact that the other team dosent see it thus will fall in.But this is dangerous because your team can fall in it to.