Traps

Traps are placed items that cause harm to players and enemies. Most are mechanisms that are naturally generated underground and below. When found initially, they are wired to triggers, such as Pressure Plates, intended to harm players who inadvertently activate them. Traps can be collected by players and utilized in arenas, and are usually essential to battling events like the Pumpkin Moon and Frost Moon.

The Spike and Wooden Spike are exceptions, as they are not mechanisms, but static placed items that simply cause damage on contact. The Land Mine is a trap-like item, though never generates naturally, and is instead purchasable during Hardmode.

All traps, including their triggers, are illuminated by the Dangersense buff, allowing the player to avoid and collect them. Their wiring can also be seen if the player holds a mechanism-related item in their hand, for instance a pressure plate. The player can also see wires even in darkness if they have a or  in their inventory

Reusable Traps
Reusable traps generally fire sharp projectiles. They can be activated infinitely with a few seconds delay.

These traps consist of enemy statues wired to a red or green pressure plate. A corresponding enemy to the statue will spawn if a player or enemy steps on the pressure plate. Every enemy around is able to trigger the trap, resulting in swarms of enemies, spawning until the spawn limit is reached. The statue included is either a Slime Statue, Bat Statue, Skeleton Statue or Crab Statue.

Dart Traps fire a poisoned dart which resembles a Wooden Arrow when activated. When found naturally, they are always wired to Pressure Plates in their line of sight. The Pressure Plate can sometimes be very far away from the Dart Trap.

Dart Traps are the most commonly encountered trap, found throughout the Underground and Cavern layers, being the only variety not found in the Jungle Temple. Many can also be found in the Dungeon.

Geysers throw fire that pushes up the player when touched. These do not inflict the On Fire! debuff. The fire they emit can pass through several blocks and still hit the player. They are found deep underground, usually near lava sources.

On the versions, they will activate when the player steps on them, or triggered through wires. Naturally spawned Geysers are exposed and do not have any mechanisms attached.

On the versions, they can only be activated by wires. Naturally spawned Geysers are often concealed inside blocks and connected to a Pressure Plate via wires.

Super Dart Traps function like ordinary Dart Traps, but do almost double the damage. They shoot what appears to resemble a Poison Dart, as opposed to an arrow. They are only found in the Jungle Temple, and are the second most common trap in there. On the, mining them requires a Picksaw or better pickaxe.

Spiky Ball Traps drop a single spiky ball that bounces and persists for a long time before despawning. The projectile's prolonged lifetime allows it to do significant damage to anything in its path, which comes in handy for terrain often traversed by enemies. Spiky Ball Traps are found in the Jungle Temple only, and are the most common of the traps in there. On the, mining them requires a Picksaw or better pickaxe.

Spear Traps deploy a long spear down from the block, which can reach surprisingly far lengths if not obstructed. They have a shorter activation period than other traps. They are found in the Jungle Temple only, and are the second most rare trap in there (only succeeded by Flame Traps). On the, mining them requires a Picksaw or better pickaxe.

Flame Traps act like horizontal Geysers, and fire flames, similar to those of the Flamethrower, that extend 23 blocks with 1 block above and below, and inflict the On Fire! debuff. They are found in the Jungle Temple only, and are the most rare of the traps in there. Often, they do not even spawn in a world at all. On the, mining them requires a Picksaw or better pickaxe.

Spikes and Wooden Spikes are not mechanisms, instead dealing damage on contact with a player. They are found commonly in the Dungeon and Jungle Temple, respectively.

Structures
Structures are traps which consist of ordinary Blocks that are arranged in a specific way to kill the Player.

Boulder traps
Boulder traps feature a Pressure Plate wired to a 2×3 arrangement of Active Stone Blocks above it, with a Boulder resting on top. When the Plate is triggered, the stone blocks become inactive and the Boulder drops on the area below. They are dangerous in dark areas as players won't be able to see the boulder or pressure plate. They affect all entities, so when used properly can be used to defeat enemies and bosses.

Explosive traps come in two varieties, but are based around the same means of killing the player. The more common variant, found only in versions, is a Detonator wired to a nearby Explosives block, usually sitting atop a large ore vein. The rarer variant is a less visible Pressure Plate, usually buried nearby. In either case, the triggering device sits within the explosive radius of the block, causing the player to be caught in the explosion though it is possible to activate the Detonator without being caught in the blast radius. There is no forewarning to this explosion, and Explosives deal upwards of 500 damage to entities caught in the blast, making undiscovered Explosives Traps extremely dangerous well into Hardmode. It is also possible to find dummy variations of this trap, where the detonator or pressure plate and large ore vein are present, but not the explosives, or the triggering mechanism is not properly wired to the explosives.

Sand Traps
Sand traps consist of a rectangular chunk of sand above a row of actuated hardened sand or sandstone blocks. They are triggered by a pressure plate below and drop the sand onto a player, which then deals suffocation damage.


 * With The Grand Design or Wire Cutters, these traps can be an excellent source of Actuators, as there are often 10 or more holding the patch of sand up.

Lava Traps
Lava traps are similar to Boulder traps, having a Pressure Plate wired to a thin column of actuated blocks above it, with a pond of lava resting on top. When the Plate is triggered, the stone blocks become inactive and the lava pours on the area below. These are found in Cavern Layer and the Dungeon.


 * This trap can be easily avoided, as Lava doesn't move very fast.
 * With The Grand Design, these traps can be an excellent source of free Actuators and Wire, as they can be looted from anywhere on the screen without having to be close enough to dig into the lava, and they are quite plentiful. Wire Cutters can also be used, but to loot the Actuators and Wire, one must be much closer to the lava.

Pressure Plate Track Traps can be found on Abandoned Mine Tracks. They consist of a Dart Trap and a Pressure Plate Track, similar to normal Dart Traps.

Spike Pits
Spike Pits can be found throughout the Dungeon, and consist of a thick row of Cracked Dungeon Bricks above a large rectangular pit. Surrounding the pit on all sides are spikes, which can quickly deal large amounts of damage. Some of these pits are filled with water, which can make them even more deadly at first, but can later be used for Fishing.

Dead Man's Chests are naturally-generating Gold Chests that is rigged with various traps in order to kill the player upon opening the chest. The setup usually includes 3-5 Boulder traps, 2-5 Dart Traps, and 0-3 Explosives. It can even have a Geyser or two if located deep enough. The Boulder traps are set up above the chest, while the Dart Traps are setup horizontally, and the Explosives hidden underneath. The Dead Man's Chest works identically to the standard Trapped Chests, where once pressed on it, it will send a signal to any wiring connected.

Dangerous ambient objects
While only loosely defined as traps, these generate naturally and are intended to inflict damage upon the player as any other trap.

These grow naturally in the Corruption, Crimson and Underground Jungle respectively. Touching them will damage the player and destroy the block.

Bee Hives grow naturally under Jungle grass ceilings in Jungle and Underground Jungle. Upon its destruction, it will fall to the ground and roll to either direction. Soon after, it will break and release Bees that will attack the closest player. It may also release a Hornet. However, it will not release bees upon hitting water, and will disappear harmlessly.

Antlion Eggs are objects commonly found in the Underground Desert. They are completely harmless when untouched. After they are hit by any tool, weapon, or projectile, they will hatch Antlion Larvas. On the version, Antlion Eggs can grow naturally on Sandstone Blocks below Surface layer.

Rolling Cactus are plants commonly found in the Underground Desert. When static, they only deal a little damage to players that make direct contact with them. They will start rolling to either direction, similiar to Boulders, after being hit by any tool, weapon, or projectile. When rolling, they deal large amounts of damage and can bounce off walls. They affect all entities, so if used properly, they can be used to defeat large waves of enemies and even bosses.

Man-made
These can only be intentionally put into the world by a player, and never generate naturally.

The Land Mine is a placed Hardmode item that explodes on contact with an entity, or when activated via wire. They can be purchased from the Demolitionist for each.

Trapped Chests are man-made chests that sends out a signal when opened. They do not have storage slots, therefore cannot hold any items. They can be crafted with any type of regular chest and 10 wires.

Tips

 * Trap wiring displays on screen, meaning the player can hold an item like a Pressure Plate to see wires underground that might be connected to traps.
 * Randomly generated traps are a very cost-effective method of acquiring Wire and Actuators once the player have a Wire Cutter, saving for every bit of wire collected and  for each Actuator (as opposed to purchasing them from the Mechanic).
 * When placed effectively, Traps can be useful in events.
 * When multiple traps are naturally generated close to each other, their wiring may intersect. This leads to multiple traps with multiple triggers.
 * Most traps deal double the damage to players in Expert Mode (in addition to the double damage players normally take from traps).
 * The explosive trap's veins are usually bigger than an average vein and can have rare ores in them, so disarming the bomb and mining the ore can prove useful.
 * Traps have many different ways they can generate making it harder to know one definitive way to deal with a trap.

Trivia



 * Despite seemingly being made out of Lihzahrd bricks, the Picksaw or above is not required to mine any of the Lihzahrd-related traps.
 * Sand traps can also spawn inside Pyramids, although it is extremely rare.