Meteorite (biome)



A Meteorite biome is a biome created where a Meteorite crash-lands. This event always occurs off-screen, leaving a crater for players to find somewhere in the world. The crater is lined with Meteorite ore. A Meteorite event is triggered when a player destroys a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart (see full conditions below). Players are alerted of a Meteorite crash via a status message: "A meteorite has landed!"

Meteorite biomes have the same theme music as Blood Moons, but only one unique enemy type: Meteor Heads (though Lava Bats also spawn near meteorites in the Mobile version). Meteor Heads fly, follow the player as they move, and can pass through all Blocks. The spawning of Meteor Heads cannot be prevented, even with several NPCs in the area.

Meteorite crash sites provide Meteorite, a crafting material that can be crucial to game advancement. Mining meteorite requires a Tungsten, Gold, Platinum, or higher tier Pickaxes to mine. Alternatively, Bombs, Dynamite, and Bomb Fish may be used to mine them as well. Touching Meteorite blocks causes damage to the player, unless they have the Obsidian Skull or derivative accessory equipped, or are using an Obsidian Skin Potion. You can mine it without obsidian equipment, as picking up mined Meteorite does not cause damage itself, though the player will have a harder time without being able to walk on Meteorite Blocks.

Once most of the Meteorite has been mined away (less than 50 / 23  Meteorite Blocks remain; about 10% of an average Meteorite site), the area will not be considered a Meteorite biome.

Conditions
A Meteorite crash site has a 50% chance of spawning after a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart is smashed. This generally happens at the next midnight, but can happen immediately if the Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart is broken between midnight and dawn (12:00am - 4:30am).

Additionally, each night has a 2% chance that a Meteorite will fall, if at least one Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart has already been smashed in the World.

Once the conditions are met, multiple Meteorites will land in a World over time. However, none will fall if there are already a certain number of Meteorite blocks above 0 depth. The limits are: The above limits mean that leaving one (small worlds) or two meteorite strikes unmined will effectively protect the world from further strikes.
 * Small worlds: 401
 * Medium worlds: 610/611
 * Large worlds: 801

There are also constraints on where meteors can strike:
 * 16% of the world centered on your spawn point is protected from falling meteors.
 * Meteorites will not land within 35 tiles of a NPC or a chest.
 * Meteorites will not fall onscreen for any player.
 * They cannot fall within 50 blocks of the edge of the world or 50 blocks from the top of the world.
 * If the entire world is covered by these conditions (i.e., lots of chests), no meteorite will fall.

In searching for a valid location the game will search a 30x30 block region and look for 600 solid blocks. Sunplate and Cloud blocks count as -100 solid blocks; thus, floating islands are not likely to encounter a meteorite. Liquid decrements the count too, so meteorites are less likely in the jungle or ocean. Thin structures such as sky bridges are not dense enough to allow a meteor impact (this is a change from older versions where meteorites could impact 1-width sky bridges).

Tips

 * Use a tool with high Mining speed. Reforge the pickaxe for Light prefix for even better speed.
 * Dynamite is useful for mining Meteorites, as 2 or 3 sticks can rid the area of enough ore to stop Meteor Heads from spawning relatively quickly. Be sure not to throw Dynamite while uncollected ore is still present in the area or the uncollected ore may despawn. Explosives also effectively mine 3/4 of the Meteorite in a single blast, albeit expensively and requiring a little while to set up.
 * With two players, one player with the Vilethorn can protect the mining player rather easily if they stick together. The Vilethorn will kill a Meteor Head in one direct hit, and it fires through blocks, as do the Meteor Heads. If only one player is available, quickly switch between the Vilethorn and a Pickaxe.
 * Angled Meteorite blocks can be touched without taking damage. Leaving a brick alone every few rows and angling it with a Hammer will allow you to use it as a platform to dig deeper down. You can also dig underneath the crash site, using other block types to stand on while mining the Meteorite above you.
 * There are certain areas on the map a player may wish to protect from meteorite crashes, such as player-built structures, the Dungeon, Ocean, the entrances to the Underground Jungle/Temple, Underground Desert, and Chasm, or even perhaps a Living Tree. The easiest way to protect these areas is by placing down a chest near those areas. The chest will protect everything within a 35 tile radius. Alternatively, adding a few cloud or sunplate tiles will also protect an area.
 * If you searched your world after a crash and cannot find a meteorite, it may have landed on a Living Tree, or even down a chasm in an Evil Biome.
 * Sticky Dynamite is useful for mining Meteorite, as it sticks to the meteor.

Trivia

 * Meteorites crash sites' music is overridden by the theme music of The Corruption, The Crimson, and Space when crashed there.
 * The Meteorite biome plays the Eerie music on most versions of Terraria. However, on, the Underworld theme plays.

History
Meteorit (Biom) Meteorite (biome) 陨石（生物群落）