Guide:PvP

Player vs. Player is a very fun way to play Terraria. Although this mode is recommended for only the best, or at least skilled players there are some useful hints and tricks to know!

Weapons
PvP combat is always fast and always fierce, bringing top tier weapons is a must, but how can one decide on what to bring? Should one bring a flail or a sword, a gun or a bow? Here are some brief breakdowns of weapons sets that are advantageous (take into mind that only top tier weapons are included and described for space)!

Non-Magic Ranged:

Bow & Arrow: Molten Fury + Jester's Arrow 38 damage, 25 use time (Sub in Unholy Arrow for 37 damage) This combo allows the player some utility, arrows arc creating a wider hit range, however their total flight time is not that great. A 1.52 max damage rate (or for the easy going player 1.44 using regular Wooden Arrows converted to Flaming Arrows). The major downside to this weapon is that high tier ammunition is hard to come by, and ultimately yields a small damage rate.

Gun & Ammo 1: Phoenix Blaster + Meteor Shot 37 damage, 10 use time (Sub in Musket Ball for 35 damage) This combo allows the player to quickly cause burst damage to the target it has a small hit range due to straight line travel; this is made up for in its long projectile flight time and its overall speed. A 3.7 damage rate is astoundingly good, yet the amount of ammunition consumed trying to hit a player may be very costly.

Gun & Ammo 2: Star Cannon + Fallen Star, 75 damage, 12 use time This combo allows the player to deal an astounding amount of damage clocked in at 6.25. The downside to this is collecting stars is not quick process compared to the amount of ammunition consumed in a PvP fight, as well the stars cannot be reused. There is however a strategy for collecting fallen stars that requires a sky bridge.

Boomerang: Flamarang 32 damage, 15 use time This weapon allows the player an extra inventory slot due to not consuming ammunition, the downside is the projectiles very long return time if the target is missed. A plus side is that on the return the boomerang flies through bricks allowing the target to be hit from a safe location. A total damage rate of 2.14 leave this weapon open as a utility weapon.

Melee Weapons:

Sword 1: Fiery Greatsword 34 damage, use time of approx. 35-45 This weapon deals a bit of damage, and has a reach of about 10ft. A total damage rate of approx. .75-.95 makes this weapon hard to use in PvP effectively.

Sword 2: Blade of Grass 28 damage, use time of approx. 20-30 This weapon has an incredible reach of about 12ft. with a decent attack speed as well. A damage rate of approx. .93-1.4 making this weapon slightly more effective in combat.

Sword 3: Muramasa 22 damage, use time of approx. 10-15 This is probably one of the most effective pvp swords despite its initial low damage. The Muramasa has a damage rate of 1.467-2.2 being the highest actual damage output. This sword also has a very unique quality, if the melee key is held down the sword keeps swinging. This makes the sword very powerful in the right item set.

Flail: Sunfury 40 damage, use time of 30 This is known as the best melee weapon in the game, it holds a high position in PvP combat due to flail mechanics. With a damage rate of 1.33 this weapon stands in high regard. A useful property of the flail mechanic is constant damage, as well as the flail traveling back through bricks on the way back to the player.

Magic Weapons:

Magic 1: Vilethorn 8 damage (damage time interval unkown assumed 50), 5 mana, 30 use time This weapon however not the ideal damage item, is extremely useful due to it being able to cause constant damage for a low amount of mana while also being able to attack through walls. With a damage rate of approx. .16.

Magic 2: Flamelash 35x2 damage, 20 mana, use time 20 This is arguably the best magic weapon regarding PvP due to its controllable projectile that may hit twice. With a damage rate of 3.5 this weapon stands out, however it does consume mana and one drastic downside is while controlling the projectile the player is rendered defenseless.

NOTE: Star Cannon Its damage to a player in pvp is roughly 130/shot! (Can this be tested with full Molten Armor (and no other defense modifiers) to calculate the dps of stars as ammunition? As of right now its damage rate is actually higher than 6.25 if it does ~130 damage per shot)- Thanatos).

Armor
Armor is perhaps one of the major aspects of PvP combat as it will be the first thing that alerts a player to what build they are going up against. Below are the basic armor sets found in PvP combat and some details on usage.

Molten Armor: The highest defense set and highest tier currently in the game, but a base defense of 28 and another 10 defense for wearing the set. This set should be used for characters that like to take large quantities of damage. Usually this can be mixed with other defense accessories items such as the Cobalt Shield and the Obsidian Skull which add +2 defense, which stacks to a maximum of another +10 defense. Maxing out at a grand 48 defense!

Cobalt Armor: This is in the second tier of armor sets that grants the player reduced spell cost by 25% and enabled faster mana regeneration, as well as an unlisted attack speed bonus (confirmed). This set is useful for players that want to cast spells. This set of armor can be utilized along with five Band of Starpower to maximize mana regen. This is also very useful when using the Space Gun.

Necro Armor: This is the second tier of armor sets, granting the player a +30% speed boost, but only boasting 19 defense. This set should be used for sprinting/parkour characters that like to dodge and weave. This set can have a max of 29 defense using obsidian skulls or be used for speed and agility by using the Ivy Whip along with 5 Anklet of the Wind for a max speed boost of 80%. Arguably this can be combined with 4 Anklets of the Wind and one Hermes Boots to increase to max speed easily while using the ivy whip.

Shadow Armor: This is in the second tier of armor sets that grants the player +15% increased melee speed. Shadow armor provides 19 base defense. This set of armor is best for those that want to maximize their melee dps, often referred to as a glass dagger. This is done by equipping five Feral Claws for a +50% melee attack speed increase for a total of 65% bonus attack speed. This makes the player a variable bladestorm in combat, this is suggested to be used with the Muramasa.

Meteor Armor: This is in the third tier of armor sets granting the player reduced spell cost by 20%, but provides a mere 13 defense. Each individual piece provides slow mana regeneration. When the player moves this set gives off light, making it easier when running around at night. This set of armor can be utilized along with five Band of Starpower to maximize mana regen. This set when used in conjunction with any other magical item such as the Space Gun or Flower of Fire can create a great casting character. Adding in with the Rocket Boots for added mobility can create a versatile caster. Cobalt Armor is a preferred upgrade to this set, as it provides extra bonuses on top of increased benefits to this one.

Classes
There are various builds that function to complete certain play styles, below a few of these builds will be discussed. Maximum health and mana are assumed, preferably with the Ivy Whip.

By class name, armor type, weapon set and accessory load sets.

The Tank: Molten Armor, Blade of Grass or Sunfury with Flamerang.

x1 Cobalt Shield x4 Obsidian Skull - Maximum defense build. OR x1 Cobalt Shield x4 Band of Regeneration - Maximum survivability.

This build allows a character to either maximize their defense or increase their HP regen while not being knocked back. They as well have the maximum melee range and the ability to hit targets with the Flamarang. This is for players that like to bulldoze their way through targets suffering low hp damage.

The Caster: Cobalt Armor, Flamelash & Vilethorn in some cases Flower of Fire along with Muramasa and Space Gun or Phoenix Blaster.

x5 Band of Starpower - Maximum casting potential. OR x3 Band of Starpower x2 Band of Regeneration - High mana regen with better survivability.

This build allows players the ability to maximize their spell casting potential, and regen alot of mana in downtime. In some cases Rocket Boots are suggested merely for better movement.

The Berserker: Shadow Armor, Muramasa & Phoenix Blaster.

x5 Feral Claws - Maximum fast damage. OR x3 Feral Claws x2 Band of Regeneration - High damage with better survivability. OR x4 Feral Claws x1 Cobalt Shield - Suicide king, rush and rush.

This build allows a player to furiously hack away at their target dealing large quantities of damage. The later build that utilizes a cobalt shield isn't for players that want to stay alive long, it is meant as a rush and destroy tactic.

The Paratrooper: Cobalt Armor, Phoenix Blaster, or Star Cannon

x2 Band of Starpower x1 Rocket Boots x1 Cobalt Shield x1 Lucky Horseshoe - Air support, all day long.

This build is for players that like to pilot helicopters it allows players to strap on the rocket boots and rain fire from the sky, without taking fall damage or suffering knockback. Other minor variations include switching the horseshoe and cobalt shield with Band of Regeneration. This build also allows the player to cast spells from the sky, however this is difficult and drains mana rapidly.

The Scout: Necro Armor, Muramasa, Thorn Chakrum &/or Grenade, Spiky Ball, Vile Powder - This build requires Ivy Whip as well.

x2 Anklet of the Wind x1 Hermes Boots, x2 Band of Regeneration - Good land speed, and ok survivability. OR x1 Cloud in a Bottle x1 Shiny Red Balloon x1 Hermes Boots x2 Anklet of the Wind - Best land speed and manuverability.

This build is designed for quick in and out missions or PvP defeats. The idea is to run in dodging players attacks while dropping Grenades, Vile Powder or Spiky Balls to create mass confusion and damage. Some variations of this set use the Rocket Boots to escape faster. This class can also be used as a distracter using the Ivy Whip while jumping and dodging around while other players rush the initial pvp zone.

Traps


Pit Traps

A Pit Trap is seen when a player digs multiple holes that are 4ft (2 blocks wide) and about 40ft (20 blocks) deep. At the bottom of the pit spikes are usually placed. In some occurrence lava may be placed at the bottom in small puddles. Alternatively if a player gets trapped in a Pit Trap the owner of the trap can drop mass amounts of sand on the trapped player to defeat them.

Sand Traps

A Sand Trap is seen when a player uses webbing to uphold sand. This may seem counter intuitive, but sand deals a lot of hp damage on contact with the player mesh. Because the webbing is so easy to destroy, the sand gains much more malleability in how it can be used. Often players can be led into a room and then blocked off by sand or encased in sand and then shot down with arrows, or more sand can be dropped on them, or a lava trap can be used to drop lava onto them.

Spike Traps

A Spike Trap is seen when a player has raided a dungeon of its spikes and mindfully put them in locations that are effective in whittling away health. These spikes can be used to damage other players. Spikes are often best used when they are out of sight of the player and placed on walls or ceilings. When a player puts spikes on the wall or ceiling a player will hesitate to grapple, leaving the target open for a sand trap.



Lava Trap

A Lava Trap is seen when a player takes lava from the -2100ft level and uses buckets to move it up to his fortress. This lava is then held in place in a funnel shaped container which is corked off by a web/sand cork. This allows the quick release of lava onto an unsuspecting character. This technique coupled with the Sand Trap is a sure way to deal good amounts of damage.

Obsidian Padding

Obsidian Padding isn't really a PvP "tactic" however it makes a regular fortress immune to most explosive damage. Regular obsidian created when water touches lava is almost completely resistant to explosive damage, the same can be said of obsidian brick. This makes obsidian invaluable when protecting a base from explosive damage or keeping a player from tearing through your fortress with bombs or dynamite.

Lava Tubing

This technique is used to drown players however it is very hard to accomplish due to the amount of lava required. The player must first start off with a hallway that is tubed or water tight, then the top and bottom of the tube must be spaced 2ft apart (one block) and obsidian (brick/ore) will be placed, then the spacing between the brick and obsidian is filled with lava. This technique is done on both the top and bottom of the tube, then it must be filled with water. This technique however difficult yields a watery death for any traveling player.