Minecart Track



Minecart Tracks are placeable furniture-type blocks that allow for rapid transportation over long distances. They form a continuous track when placed next to each other, and form slopes when placed diagonally. Although they cannot be walked on, they can be grappled using a hook.

When the player is near a Minecart Track, pressing the hotkey or pressing the  key on a point on the track causes a Minecart to spawn, which the player is automatically placed in. Once inside, the and  direction keys either accelerate, decelerate, or reverse the cart's movement. The cart will maintain its current speed and direction if no keys are pressed and no obstacles are reached. The cart can also "jump" with the key.

To exit the Minecart (which causes the Minecart to despawn), the player can use a hook, press the hotkey, or cancel the buff ( right-clicking the icon,  selecting the icon and canceling it in the equipment menu,  double-tapping the icon, or  canceling the buff from the buffs screen). The Minecart will also despawn if the player jumps off the tracks, lands on blocks, and attempts to move sideways.

Weapons and tools, as well as most other items except hooks, can be used while riding a Minecart.

Used in
The Booster Track is purchased from the Mechanic for.

Minecart Types
Minecart Tracks will always spawn at least a Wooden Minecart when mounted. In order to travel faster or add capabilities, a Minecart variant can be placed in the minecart equipment slot of the player's inventory, which will replace the default Minecart. Nearly all Minecarts have identical speed, acceleration, and so on, differing only in appearance (some produce trails or other visual effects). However, a few of them do vary in speed or add capabilities:


 * The default Wooden Minecart, used when the player has no minecart equipped, is considerably slower than most other minecarts.
 * The Expert mode exclusive Mechanical Cart travels much faster than other carts, and also fires lasers to damage enemies.
 * The Minecarp does not slow down in water. However, it does not provide water-breathing capabilities.
 * The Bee Minecart releases bees when it hits something at full speed.
 * The Demonic Hellcart provides 7 seconds of lava immunity similar to a Lava Charm, and this duration stacks with the Charm and its various upgrades.
 * The Digging Molecart is slower than even the Wooden Minecart, but it can lay tracks and dig away blocks in front of the player. The player must be carrying both the tracks to lay, and a pickaxe or drill of sufficient power for the blocks to be mined.  It will only dig horizontally (not diagonally), and will only work below Surface level.

Track End


When the end of the track is reached, the minecart will follow one of three behaviors, depending on the state of the final track tile. The final track tile can be shaped using a hammer, which will cause it to cycle through closed, open, and bumper states.


 * The closed state resembles a wooden fence, and causes the minecart to stop harmlessly when reached. This is the default state of the final track tile when placed, and the state of track ends that were naturally-placed during world generation. When mining a track block in the middle of an existing continuous track run, both new end blocks will be in this state.
 * The open state resembles ordinary track, and causes the minecart to run off the track. Fall damage will be incurred as usual, if there is a sufficient fall after leaving the tracks, unless the cart lands on Minecart Tracks again.
 * The bumper state resembles a metal fence, and causes the minecart to reverse direction on impact.

Intersections


Two separate intersecting track lines can be connected together into an intersection, using a hammer, which will then be capable of allowing a minecart to switch from one track to the other.

The player can switch tracks on-the-fly by holding the or  key as they travel through an intersection.


 * Intersections will automatically act as mechanisms if wired. Activating them will toggle their default direction. Pressure Plate Tracks can be used to create complex switching arrangements.
 * The default direction can also be toggled manually with a hammer. The foreground direction is the default direction.


 * Minecart intersections can be switched between 4 states with a hammer:
 * Not connected horizontal.
 * Default horizontal.
 * Not connected diagonal.
 * Default diagonal.
 * After laying your track next to each other you always start out in one of the two "not connected" states.
 * The horizontal "not connected" state is sometimes difficult to spot. You can notice this state by the lack of wood beneath the track.
 * Switching these states will always be in the same order. Therefore if you want to change from one default direction to the other default direction you have to hit the intersection twice with your hammer.

Abandoned Mine Tracks
Minecart Tracks naturally occur in Abandoned Mine Tracks, spawning underground in long, continuous paths. The length and number of Abandoned Mine Tracks found in a world is proportional to its size, see World size for a detailed comparison. These tracks will always have sufficient clearance for a player in a cart to ride from beginning to end unhindered, and often connect multiple larger cave systems.

Note that the journey is not guaranteed to be safe. While driving the character is likely to bump into enemies, and the tracks may also lead through liquids like lava.

On the, there may also be a Pressure Plate Track wired to a trap. Some Abandoned Mine Tracks generate extra long, roughly 3 times longer than standard tracks and can span across multiple biomes.

Tips

 * Minecarts are capable of reaching speeds faster than all pre-Hardmode bosses and most Hardmode bosses, making them a viable option for boss fight strategies.
 * Their high speed can allow going faster than a Wyvern, for example, letting the player attack it at no risk for easy collection of Souls of Flight.
 * To build a track without touching the ground, the tracks must be laid while mounted inside the cart (it is possible to use anything while mounted), as the tracks do not function as platforms and cannot be walked on. This method is very effective, as the speed of the cart can be set to match exactly the player's laying speed, allowing to automate the process, requiring only that the button stays pressed.
 * The fastest minecart speed for automatic construction by this method is 11 mph. 12 mph is just slightly too fast, and the cart will overtake the track and stop after a few dozen blocks. However, with the Architect Gizmo Pack or the Brick Layer equipped, the max speed is 18 mph.
 * Using a minecart to build a skybridge is a very efficient means of travel, and as a bonus, it does not block Meteorites.
 * When activated, a Teleporter will affect all living entities in a 3×3 grid directly above its surface, not just what happens to be standing on it. Because of this, Teleporters will also work while riding in a minecart. This is useful for getting around particularly troublesome obstacles, and for making complex switching stations.
 * Running on asphalt is faster than traveling on the rails, unless the is used. However, a Minecart Track is easier and cheaper to craft, in addition to the fact that the player does not need to press anything once at top speed.
 * Pressing the key while near a Minecart Track will override the item in the mount equipment slot and summon a Minecart instead. Pressing the key a few more tiles away from the track will spawn the equipped mount as usual.