PvP Guide

Note: The information presented here is subject to change as more items, features or retcons are implemented in new patches. Player versus Player is a feature in Terraria that allows players to attack each other, bringing a wide arrangement of new perspectives on combat. .

PvP Mode
In order for two players to be able to damage each other, both of them must have PvP mode (the crossed swords icon) enabled: a player with PvP disabled won't be able to attack one with PvP enabled and vice versa.Note that damage that a player could deal to oneself (Such as triggering a Boulder or using Explosives) will also apply to any other player, regardless of their PvP status.

Teams
By default, every player will start without a team.A player can choose a team by clicking on one of the four coloured shields besides the PvP icon:the sword's color will change to reflect the currently selected team.Note that in order to prevent potential griefing there is a cooldown of about 5 seconds after switching PvP status or teams.

The health, direction and distance of teammates will be shown on the screen.Players belonging to the same team will not be able to damage each other, with few exceptions.Players that don't belong to any team can attack and be attacked by anyone.

Damage Mechanics
All base damage dealt to a player with weapons is doubled, meaning that if a hit which usually has a power of 30 hits a player with 10 defense, it will deal (30x2)-(10/2)=55 damage instead of the usual 25.

This does not apply to environmental damage (e.g. fall damage, contact with Lava) or explosive weapons, including Hellfire Arrows.

Equipment Builds
In order to be efficient in a PvP scenario, all players should be equipped with top-tier armor and weapons.Since there are three different damage types (Melee, Ranged and Magic), the three main builds should revolve around each of them.Needless to say that Hallowed Greaves and Hallowed Plate Mail are a must, for their high defense value and large set bonuses given when combined with the right headwear.

Melee
A melee character's strategy is to close in quickly on the enemy to dispatch them with powerful melee attacks.The Hallowed Helmet gives them a speed and damage boost that helps them to that purpose, while also providing them with a large defense boost.

Melee Weapons

 * Light Disc: Up to 5 can be thrown at once, allowing for a really fast stream of hits while also having a good chance to land a critical hit:though it can be dodged rather easily past a certain range and cannot be reforged, limiting its potential.


 * Dao of Pow: Despite being slow and hard to aim, the Dao of Pow can easily mow down multiple enemies while also Confusing them, making them an easy target for a finishing blow.


 * Gungnir: This spear has a large hitbox, and although it is more accurate at medium range it will strike twice per swing if the target is close enough, though it might miss completely if the enemy moves around too much or takes cover in a hard to reach place.


 * Excalibur: The ultimate sword, it swings fast, has a good size and strikes fast for good damage, it is best used to finish off enemies after they've been weakened by weapons with a longer reach.


 * Hamdrax: Even though it is a tool, the Hamdrax can be quite deadly because of the insanely fast streak of hits it can score:but it can be quite messy as it will also destroy anything it comes in contact with, making it annoying to fight inside an arena with.It can however see some use if the player intends to sabotage the enemy's base or traps.

Sand Barrier
A large underground space filled completely with Sand will force enemies trying to tunnel their way to the base to either give up, try to manouver around it, or clear it with explosives forcing them to reveal their position. A 1-block wide tunnel near the spot they will likely stall at will allow the defenders to flood the tunnel with Lava for a quick kill.

Counter: Avoid it altogether, or clear it quickly with Dynamite

Advanced Sand Barrier
Similar to the Sand Barrier above, the advanced variant adds lava to the equation. Having a large reservoir of lava above the sand barrier will discourage opponents from useing explosives to clear the blockage. In addition, when they do clear it, they will be flooded with lava. Alternately, placing the lava outside visual range above the blockage will increase the chance that your opponents will accidentally flood themselves with lava by useing explosives. You can discourage your opponents from simply going under the trap by adding lava beneath the flooring as well. Finally, making the tunnel only 6ft high, and lining it with Hellstone or spikes will further reduce enemy maneuverability. If the top and bottom of the tunnel is lined with lava, you can also remove every second block along the bottom to reduce the availability of blocks to counter the lava flow. The primary disadvantage to this tactic is the large amount of lava that can be required.

Counter: Avoid it altogether, use water to neutralize the lava, or bring blocks to stopper the lava with before the sand is fully released.

Mud/Ash Traps
An extension of the Sand Barrier, this trap uses a very tall wall of sand as a trigger. Towards the top of the sand barrier, well above the maximum resolution height but ideally about 10 blocks below the top of the sand barrier, a long, one brick thick layer of ash or mud is placed. On top of this, more sand is placed, as sand is guaranteed to fall when the ash or mud is moved. Due to the way the falling mechanic currently works, if any of the sand blocks is moved all adjacent mud or ash blocks have a chance to fall also. If one of those blocks falls, then all blocks adjacent to it also have a chance to fall, creating a chain reaction that can cover very large areas. The sand on top of the mud traps also gives a chance to trigger the falling mechanic, increasing the chances of a successful chain reaction.

Note that, as of version 1.0.6, this no longer works, as mud and ash blocks no longer fall.

Counter: Have someone check the top of the barrier before you begin removing the sand, and carry more stable blocks to create a barrier from the blocks falling above.

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. The Pit Trap becomes more efficient if lined with Hellstone ore, as this will likely burn players attempting to get out.

Counter: Fly over the traps with Rocket Boots or escape with a Grappling Hook and an Obsidian Skull equipped.

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.

Counter: Keep some sturdy blocks at hand to create an emergency barrier against the falling sand.

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.

Counter: Look for an alternative way around, or use the Ivy Whip to latch inbetween two walls without touching either of them.

Lava Trap
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">A Lava Trap is seen when a player takes lava from the -2100ft level and uses buckets to move it up to his or her 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.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Counter: Keep water handy to temporarily stave off the lava

Obsidian Padding
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Obsidian Padding is an efficient defense, as 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.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Using Dungeon Block or Hellstone is safer, however, because Obsidian is technically not Dynamite-proof while Dungeon bricks and Hellstone are.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Counter: Destroy it with Dynamite, or hack it away with a Molten Pickaxe.

Moats
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Moats, while not only for PvP (also for goblin armies), are very effective. To build one you either need a lot of water, or better, lava. First, build a giant moat (as big as possible, the bigger the better), then fill it with water/lava. Build a bridge over it. Now, when you know that enemies are coming, mine out the bridge (while able to get back into your house, of course), and watch for them. If they attempt to re-build the bridge, either risk it by trying to mine the bridge out, or attempt to get behind them and knock them in the water/lava. This isn't the best tactic, but it can still add an extra line of defense to your base. Another strategy, although time consuming, is to put a 1x1 pillar of lava from the underworld to the surface, causing trouble for anyone who wants to tunnel under your house.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Counter: Use Rocket Boots to fly over them.

Lava Tubing
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">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 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.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Counter: Take extra care while traveling in narrow corridors, and try to stay undetected.

Hellstone Flooring
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Very, very simple. You just make the floor of your base Hellstone, will deal continuous damage and (if without Obsidian skull) make it extremely difficult to move through, as you will take knockback upon contact. However, it will require your entire team have an Obsidian skull in their accessory slot.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">You could also use Meteorite,but if the floor is too long(50 blocks big)Meteor Heads will start spawning,and Meteorite is not immune to Bombs/Dynamite, unlike Hellstone.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Counter: Equip Obsidian Skulls

Thinking Ahead
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">When you are making your base, think for a moment on this: What if they dig in, or have grappling hooks? Experienced players have already thought of this, but, to either tick them off, or just slow them down, put lava beneath your base. But, think about it. They either have to put blocks down to cover it, or scoop it out with buckets. And another thing: If making a moat, make it wide enough so that grapples or Ivy Vines cannot hook onto it.