Dart Trap

The Dart Trap is a naturally occurring block that can be triggered by mechanical means.

They are sparsely located around the Cavern level and the entrance of the dungeon. Each one is spawned with a corresponding pressure plate wired to it.

Upon being triggered by a player or mob it will fire a poison dart. After this it has a short cooldown before it will fire again.

Setting up Dart Traps
Unlike the game Minecraft; a power source can not simply be set adjacent to the desired object to be powered. The trigger and power source must be connected using wire. 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.

Mitigating Dart Traps

 * The darts are flying fairly slow and at range you can jump over them.
 * Enemies in the area of a Dart Trap will often wander onto the Pressure Plate and set it off. Be careful if you hear the 'click' of a pressure plate nearby followed by the sound of a mob taking damage.
 * By holding a wiring-related item such as an already-mined Dart Trap or a Wrench, any wire around the player will be highlighted in red, including the naturally spawned wires connecting a Dart Trap to its Pressure Plate.

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.
 * Dart traps seem to have a high tendency to spawn near naturally placed Statues. This combined with the above and the addition of naturally occurring Boulders may be a series of references to Raiders of the Lost Ark.