Meteorite (biome)



A Meteorite biome is a mini-biome formed on an undisclosed location a meteor lands on. This event always occurs off-screen, leaving a crater lined with Meteorite ore for players to find somewhere in the world. A meteorite event can only be triggered once the player has defeated the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu for the first time /  has broken a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart for the first time (see the exact conditions below). Players are alerted of a meteorite crash via a status message: ""

Meteorite biomes spawn Meteor Heads, a unique enemy type, which fly toward the player and follow them as they move, passing through all blocks that they come across. The spawning of Meteor Heads cannot be prevented as long as the area is considered as a meteorite biome, even with several NPCs nearby. However, the Space Layer can override the meteorite biome (Harpies will spawn instead). If the player is in a Meteorite biome but also near the Space border, both Harpies and Meteor Heads can spawn.

Once most of the meteorite has been mined away (fewer than 75 /  23 blocks of Meteorite remaining; about 10% of an average meteorite site), the area will no longer be considered a meteorite biome.

Conditions
A meteorite crash site has a 50% chance of spawning after the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu is defeated /  after a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart is smashed. The biome is generally spawned at the next midnight, but it can spawn immediately if the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu is defeated /  the Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart is broken between midnight and dawn (12:00AM – 4:30AM).

Additionally, each night has a 2% chance that a meteorite will randomly fall upon midnight, if the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu has been defeated at least once /  at least one Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart has already been smashed in the world. These conditions are checked upon dusk (7:30PM).

Once the initial conditions are met, over time multiple meteorites will land in a world. However, none will fall if there are already a certain number of Meteorite blocks above 0ft. The limits are:
 * Small worlds:
 * Medium worlds:
 * Large worlds:

There are also constraints on where meteors can strike:
 * An area that laterally spans 16% ( /   /   tiles) of the world centered on the spawn point is protected from falling meteors.
 * Meteorites will not land within 35 tiles of an NPC or a Chest.
 * They will not fall on-screen for any player.
 * They cannot fall within 50 tiles of either edge of the world or 50 tiles from the top of the world.
 * They cannot fall on the Dungeon or the Jungle Temple.
 * If the entire world is covered by these conditions (e.g., because of lots of Chests), no meteorite will fall.

In searching for a valid location, the game will search a 30×30-tile region and look for 600 solid blocks within that region. Sunplate and Cloud Blocks count as −100 solid blocks; thus, Floating Islands are unlikely to be struck by a meteorite. Liquid decrements the count too, so meteorites are less likely in the Jungle or Ocean. Thin structures such as sky bridges are not dense enough to allow a meteor impact.

Tips

 * Proper equipment, such as a tool with high mining speed (the fastest pickaxes capable of mining Meteorite available pre-Hardmode is the Bone Pickaxe; reforge to Light for an even higher speed) and protection against the Burning debuff (e.g. with an Obsidian Skull) will greatly facilitate efficient mining of the meteorite.
 * Mining Potions, the, and the , etc. can further increase mining speed.
 * Angled Meteorite blocks can be touched without taking Burning damage. Leaving a block alone every few rows and angling it with a hammer will allow using it as a platform to dig deeper down. One can also dig underneath the crash site, using other block types to stand on while mining the Meteorite above.
 * Since meteorites cannot fall if there are too many Meteorite blocks placed above 0ft in the world, it is possible to completely prevent meteorite strikes by placing a sufficient number of Meteorite blocks anywhere above 0ft.
 * There are certain areas on the map a player may wish to protect from meteorite crashes, such as player-built structures, the Ocean, the entrances to the Underground Jungle, the Underground Desert, chasms, a Living Tree, the Dungeon, or the Temple. The easiest way to protect these areas is by placing down a Chest near those areas. The Chest will protect everything within a 35-tile radius. Alternatively, adding a few Cloud or Sunplate Blocks will also protect an area.
 * If a meteorite cannot be located on the surface, it might have crashed into a Living Tree, a chasm in The Corruption/Crimson, or a Floating Island.

Trivia

 * The music of meteorite biomes is overridden by the theme music of The Corruption, The Crimson, Glowing Mushroom Biomes and Space when crashed there.
 * While a player, Ghost, and the death screen can block a meteor from spawning at a location if the landing spot is within frame, the spawning of the meteor can actually be seen using to move the camera.
 * Meteorites in a landing site will also be painted if the blocks the meteorites replaced were painted.