Dart Trap

The Dart Trap is a naturally occurring block that fires a poisoned dart when triggered by mechanical means. The trap does not consume any Ammunition, its output being limited only by how frequently it can be triggered, which is a maximum of once every three seconds.

Dart Traps are not purchasable or craftable. They are instead located sparsely around the Cavern layer and the Dungeon, with one usually present at the Dungeon's entrance. They are found Wired to Pressure Plates that trigger a firing when the player or an Enemy steps on them.

Dart Traps can be freed and picked up for later use (or for selling) via any Pickaxe-type tool. Their corresponding Pressure Plates can be freed with a Pickaxe, or by using a Pickaxe on the Block they rest on. The Wires connecting the two will only be visible when a Dart Trap, Pressure Plate, or other Mechanism-related item is selected in the Hotbar. Wires themselves can only be harvested using the Wire Cutter, available from the Mechanic after Skeletron is defeated.

Setting up Dart Traps
A trigger can not simply be set adjacent to the desired object to be activated. They must be connected with wires. Because there is no way to craft wire or related tools, you need to have defeated Skeletron and freed the Mechanic NPC from the Dungeon in order to set up your own Dart Traps.

Unlike Explosives, which are Furniture items, Dart Traps are blocks and can be placed on top of each other, so dart-firing walls can be created. Like most asymmetric furniture, they will be placed facing the direction the player is facing.

With some planning, Dart Traps can also be used to very quickly harvest entire Mushroom/Glowing Mushroom/Vile Mushroom/Underground Jungle farms.

Mitigating Dart Traps

 * The darts fly fairly slowly and at range, allowing an alert player enough time to jump over them.
 * By switching to a wiring-related item in your Hotbar, such as a Dart Trap or a Wrench, any wire on screen will be be visible as red lines, including the naturally-spawned wires connecting a Dart Trap to its Pressure Plate.
 * The darts will be significantly slower if they travel through water, even if it doesn't fill the space they travel in completely.

Trivia

 * The Dart Trap's graphic resembles a stylized stone head. Traps involving such heads firing darts out of their mouths are a common sight in popular culture, especially in adventurer films such as the Indiana Jones movies.