Guide:PvP



Player Vs. Player brings a unique type of play to the world of Terraria. This is a game mode where one player or a team of players can defeat another player or team of players. This is done by joining a multiplayer world, and enabling the PvP option by clicking on the swords in the upper right hand corner of the screen. The only way a player can damage another player is if they also have the PvP option enabled. There is also the option of joining a team, teams are represented by the colored shields in the upper left corner of the screen as well. Once you select a team there is an onscreen notification of how far away they are, as well as how much health they have. PvP is not a overly useful game mode as it does not help in any particular way, however it allows a very fun and challenging form of gameplay, teamwork is usually the key factor in PvP combat, as it is also the key factor in Terraria! Below is a general guide as well as some tips, tricks, and hints that can help the average player become knowledgeable about the PvP factors in Terraria!

Damage
Damage in PvP combat is a bit different than when fighting monsters. When attacking a player, instead of the base damage being reduced by the defense of the target, your damage is doubled and the target's defense is halved. For instance, if you attack with a Muramasa, having a base damage of 22, and hit a player wearing a full set of molten armor, giving 38 defense, the damage dealt will be 25, as the damage is increased to 44 and the defense is reduced to 19. The halved defense is always rounded up, so if the target has an odd amount of defense the damage will be rounded down.

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, 155 damage, 12 use time This combo allows the player to deal an astounding amount of damage clocked in at 12.92 to an un-armored enemy (Unconfirmed). 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 1: 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.

Boomerang 2: Thorn Chakrum 25 damage, 15 use time The Thorn Chakrum deals slightly less damage than the Flamarang, with a 1.7 damage rate, but has the ability to bounce multiple times before returning to the user, making the weapon a great choice in tight quarters.

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 unknown assumed 50), 5 mana, 30 use time This weapon isn't the ideal damage item, but can be 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, it should generally only be used for those 2 purposes.

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.

Magic 3: Starfury 15 damage (plus stars 20 each), 11 mana, 10 use time This weapon is a good addition to the PvP arsenal, but it only works when the character has mana (will not swing without mana, and only reaches maximum potential while outside or in an open ceiling building. With a fast use time and stars, this weapon has a interesting dps rate. From melee range, the character can do a maximum of 75 damage or 7.5 damage rate. However, the chances decrease drastically that the target will hold still for this battery, thus the real damage rate is somewhere around 3.5 as the weapon is not viable in close range (-15) and targets move all the time causing a fall off in start damage (-25).

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 unique armor sets found in PvP combat, there special set bonuses and abilities and some details on usage. Please note that this is not a general armor discussion, and only contains armor of second tier or better.

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 base 19 defense and a set bonus of 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 cannon. 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.

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, and health and mana potions. Editors are encouraged to add more. There are many unique variations with specific PvP niches!

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

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

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 a lot 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 maneuverability.

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 distraction using the Ivy Whip while jumping and dodging around while other players rush the initial pvp zone.

The Saboteur (Spiderman):
Necro Armor, Muramasa/Cobweb/Lava Bucket & Whoopie Cushion

x2 Anklet of the Wind x1 Hermes Boots, x2 Band of Regeneration - Good land speed, and ok survivability.

This build is designed for a quick in, quick out mentality with only one goal - hindering the enemy, similar to the scout however this build targets the environment. The idea is to quickly sprint into the enemy base and set webs or lava all around the enemy team, also knocking out torches, tearing down doors, and creating tunnels under on in the base. This causes the opposing team to either spend time repairing their base, or focus on taking down the player. While the opposing team is dealing with the webbing, lava, torches, or the other player it allows teammates a good chance to deal some nice damage using ranged weapons or allowing a chance to break into the oppositions base. Try to use web and lava in hard-to-see places to maximize the effect. Make sure to be quick at coming up with witty one liners as Spiderman usually does. The Whoopie Cushion is mostly for distraction and to anger the enemy team.

The Demoman:
Molten Armor, Blade of Grass or Sunfury, Grenade, Spiky Ball, & if using the following terrain-damaging explosives for PvP is not considered a form of griefing on the server you are on, Bomb, Sticky Bomb, Dynamite - Ivy Whip is highly recommended.

x1 Anklet of the Wind, x1 Shiny Red Balloon, x1 Cloud in a Bottle, x2 Band of Regeneration - For less experienced/skilled explosive users or for those who want to be able to recover health slowly. OR x2 Anklet of the Wind, x1 Shiny Red Balloon, x1 Cloud in a Bottle, x1 Cobalt Shield - For optimal item-throwing.

This build is primarily for attacking/driving away groups of players from a distance while enduring a considerable amount of damage, which is useful for the main PvP area, or for repelling the enemy. It may also be used for optimum damaging of terrain, which depending on the server you are on, may be considered a form of griefing - be sure to make sure that using terrain-damaging explosives in okay in PvP on your server and follow the guidelines for using them before using any of the following: Bomb, Sticky Bomb, or Dynamite. Spiky Balls should be used in conjunction with explosives to limit the room your opponents have to maneuver away from them. The Blade of Grass is a good, long-reach melee weapon to be used if your opponents get too close to you, you (somehow) run out of consumable weapons, or if it would be more reliable to use it instead of explosives & Spiky Balls in a certain situation. The Sunfury is also useful for this purpose, but can be trickier and more cumbersome to use for this specific build. The possibility of being hit with either of them as opposed to not having a melee weapon may coerce your opponents more into putting space between you and them, making it easier to draw in your enemies to your explosives and Spiky Balls.

(Need confirmation on if Sticky Bombs can stick to players in multiplayer.)

The Bait:
Necro Armor, Gold Bow+, Arrows, & Ivy Whip

x3 Anklet of the Wind, x1Hermes Boots,  x1 Cloud in a Bottle - Good speed overall OR x4 Anklet of the Wind, x1Hermes Boots - Best land speed OR x1 Anklet of the Wind, x1 Cloud in a Bottle,  x1 Rocket Boots,  x2 Band of Starpower - Best air speed

This build is mostly made for, as the title implies, bait. If you're someone who can't fight well but wants to contribute to the team, this is a good idea. The bow & arrows are for a sort of just in-case, just to annoy the enemy. While your running around and confusing the enemy team, your team can strike them, and they'll be left boggled. Make sure not to have too many of these(Probably maximum is about 2 or so), or there won't be much team to actually attack after the enemy is confused.

The Aggressive Pedestrian:
Necro Armor, Muramasa, Thorn Chakrum, & Ivy Whip

x1 Anklet of the Wind, x1 Cloud in a Bottle,  x1 Shiny Red Balloon,  x1 Feral Claws, x1 Cobalt Shield

This Build is under some scrutiny, but it's quite effective. The 10% boost in attack speed combined with the Muramasa creates an incredible DPS, while the Cobalt Shield enables you to take a bit more damage while getting up in your opponents face without taking knock back. The 40% speed boost allows you to avoid their ranged and melee attacks with genuine ease, and the Thorn Chakrum creates an amazing approach/retreat weapon. Since this class is based off of foot movement, it has been named the Aggressive Pedestrian.

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.

Moats
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.

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.