Rarity

Rarity is usually considered as a measure of how difficult to obtain or how valuable an item is. The color of the item name text gauges the rarity of an item, with White being the most common and Purple being the most rare. Any item with the rarity of White or Gray will be destroyed upon contact with lava (with the exceptions of Obsidian, Clay Pots, Fireblossom, and Fireblossom Seeds).

It should be noted that the rarity of many items can change a lot depending on their modifiers. Items with positive modifiers will have a higher rarity than the same items without modifiers, and the same goes the other way around.

{| class="terraria" style="width:100%" ! Tier ! Color ! Description
 * style="color:gray;"| Gray
 * This tier consists entirely of degraded low-tier weapons, such as the Shameful Iron Broadsword. These items are gained randomly when Goblin Tinkerer fails at reforging, or as a negative Modifier for a gained item. This is the lowest possible tier, but doesn't really count as one, since no items have gray as base rarity.
 * 0
 * White
 * All basic items fall under this category. These are mostly building materials. Items that are white are not necessarily worthless, but could be a good source of income early on. Items from this tier will be destroyed in lava, unlike the higher tiers, with a few exceptions.
 * 1
 * style="color:blue;"| Blue
 * Weapons and armor made of early game ores are tier one. Certain accessories such as Shackle and Lucky Horseshoe are also Blue. Certain non-craftable weapons are Blue such as the Ball O' Hurt. Most accessories are Blue. Items in this tier and above can not be destroyed by falling in lava.
 * 2
 * style="color:green;"| Green
 * These items are largely non-craftable, with the exception of Necro armor, Sandgun, Sunglasses, Obsidian Skull, and the Star Cannon. Muramasa and Harpoon as well as spells like Water Bolt are Green. The Wizard Hat also falls under this category.
 * 3
 * style="color:rgb(220,120,0);"| Orange
 * Weapons and armor made of Hellstone, jungle-related equipment and items found in chests in Underground Jungle or Underworld are Orange. Certain non-craftable weapons and accessories are Orange, such as the Staff of Regrowth, Rocket Boots, Feral Claws, Flower of Fire, and the Dark Lance. Hardmode ores and materials are also here.
 * 4
 * style="color:red;"| Red
 * This is the base rarity for many hardmode items. For example, items made of cobalt, mythril or adamantite have this rarity.
 * 5
 * style="color:fuchsia;"| Magenta
 * Magenta is the base rarity of rare and powerful hardmode items, such as the Flamethrower, or the Dao of Pow. Most of these items are crafted out of rare drops and end-game materials. This color can easily be confused with purple, the next tier.
 * 6
 * style="color:purple;"| Purple
 * This tier holds red and magenta items with high-level reforges. Like the gray tier, no item has this base rarity, so it doesn't really count as one.
 * 7
 * style="color:GreenYellow;"| Light Green
 * Better than any hallowed weapon, pickaxe or high 1.1 item reforged. Best ore and ingots of Chlorophyte are this rarity
 * 8
 * style="color:yellow"| Yellow
 * Description
 * 9
 * style="color:cyan"| Cyan
 * Best items in the game, Spirit Pickaxe and armor, ectoplasm, terra blade and many other end items are this rarity
 * 7
 * style="color:GreenYellow;"| Light Green
 * Better than any hallowed weapon, pickaxe or high 1.1 item reforged. Best ore and ingots of Chlorophyte are this rarity
 * 8
 * style="color:yellow"| Yellow
 * Description
 * 9
 * style="color:cyan"| Cyan
 * Best items in the game, Spirit Pickaxe and armor, ectoplasm, terra blade and many other end items are this rarity
 * 9
 * style="color:cyan"| Cyan
 * Best items in the game, Spirit Pickaxe and armor, ectoplasm, terra blade and many other end items are this rarity