Guide:Surviving in the Desert

The Desert is one of the main biomes of a Terraria world. The Surface isn't much harder than the Forest, but the Underground Desert contains unique hazards that can make it very dangerous for a new character.

It's optional to explore the Desert, but since it has more loot than regular Caverns, players prefer to explore it instead of regular biomes once they feel like their gear is good enough.

In Hardmode, the Desert will provide the materials for very good weapons that can be obtained at the very beginning of it.

Pre-Hardmode
The Underground Desert is extremely dangerous for a new character, since the enemies do much more damage and have higher defense than usual. Hence it is better to be very well prepared. It's recommended to explore it just before or after the Eye of Cthulhu is fought.

Recommended Gear

 * At least 200 and 100.
 * / or /  are the minimum.
 * If using magic weapons, the Wizard set with a and  provides very big stat bonuses to them.
 * Weapons made with or  ores should be used. The  are preferred due to the ability to kill the enemies from far away, but the  can still be useful against the Antlion Swarmers or Tomb Crawlers.
 * If the Eye of Cthulhu has been defeated, their or  forms should be used instead.
 * If the Corruption or Crimson have been explored, then a /, / or / will do very well.
 * If obtained, the or  both do extremely well against all enemies.
 * The Gem staves are decent weapons with good stats and piercing abilities. A or  is the minimum.
 * Piercing or explosive weapons such as or  should be brought to easily kill Tomb Crawlers.
 * Mobility accessories like variants of the and/or  are very recommended to explore and avoid enemies more easily.
 * A is good for the same reasons.

The Surface
There isn't too much to do in the Surface Desert, but at the start of a playthrough, the and  are both very useful to begin with. However, if there is a Sandstorm the place should be left immediately, as the or other enemies can very easily kill a new character.

A Pyramid can also be found. This place contains one unique item like the or the, the vanity , and many Gold Coins.

On the side of the world that is opposite to the Snow biome, the entrance to the Underground Desert will be found.

Underground Desert
Compared to the regular Caverns biome, the Underground Desert has more Underground Cabins, Ores, and  than usual.

However, the enemies found are very dangerous:
 * The most common enemy, the, has massive defense, damage and knockback resistance and charges very fast at a player, so even with good weapons it is still better to avoid combat with them. are another enemy with lower stats but the ability to fly. Due to their big size, they can both be easily stopped by quickly covering their path with blocks.
 * The biggest threat are the . They are fast, go through blocks and deal high damage on hit. They are also fairly common for a Worm enemy, so the player should always watch out for the sound of them digging. Due to their high stats they should be treated with caution even with weapons that can hit multiple segments.
 * Watch for . They initially appear as clusters of pulsing eggs that spawn this mob when broken by a pickaxe or weapon. These can overwhelm new players if they break an egg cluster while already fighting something else, so you should kill them when you find them.
 * 1.4 introduces a new type of trap, the, that will most likely kill you if it collides with you. It sits stationary until activated, so try to get these out of the way as soon as you see them so you don't accidentally set one off during combat. Use a rope coil or hook to get above the cactus before setting it off, as it might roll in your direction. And keep in mind that rolling cacti can set off Antlion Larva.

Once the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu have been defeated, the player can use the or  to mine the, which are the only source of  when using the Extractinator. This material is used for and Bone Throwing Weapons, which are very helpful for the Thrower class. On the, can be mined with any pickaxe and explosives, and are an effective weapon for the Ranged class.

Hardmode
Like every other biome in Hardmode, the Desert becomes a lot more dangerous once it is activated. It is also one of the biomes that can be affected by the spread of the Corruption/Crimson and the Hallow, which give special properties and drops to some of the new enemies spawned.

Recommended gear
The Desert can be very tough when starting Hardmode, so it is recommended to be very well equipped before going in.

Armor
For the three main classes,, , or  are the best available.

A Summoner should use the instead, as the ore armors don't give any improvements to minions.

Weapons

 * For Melee users


 * A or  or  is the bare minimum. The  or  are stronger swords with much better stats.
 * The or  can be easily obtained by grinding in the Snow biome.
 * The can be obtained from enemies in the Caverns.
 * The is a very good weapon that is obtained from Goblin Summoners in a Hardmode Goblin Army.
 * The have decent range, damage and attack speed.
 * The are a riskier but extremely powerful weapon.


 * For Ranger users


 * The or  are easy to obtain and very strong when paired with   or . The  from the Hardmode Goblin Army is also very good.
 * The and   are the best guns available. The former should be upgraded to the  once enough Dark Shards are obtained.  are the strongest choice.
 * The or  are great with,  or.


 * For Mages


 * The and  are very strong weapons that can be easily obtained as soon as Hardmode begins.
 * The is a very strong weapon as well, dropped by the Goblin Summoner.
 * The can kill enemies from a safe distance, as well as being a good secondary weapon.
 * or are decent for crowd control.


 * For Summoners


 * The and  are the best minions available at this point in the game.
 * On the, player can also obtain the from,  from theand

Accessories

 * Combat accessories such as the class or the  will kill enemies much faster.
 * Mobility accessories like, the  or the  should be brought for mobility.
 * Defensive accessories like the or  are very useful as well.

Exploring
On the Surface, the only new enemy seen will be the. They are slow and easy to avoid, however they get much faster at half health. If the surface Desert was infected by the Corruption/Crimson or Hallow biomes, or  will spawn instead. These variants are stronger and drop Dark or Light Shards, which can be used to make very strong weapons.

In the Underground Desert, many new enemies will be seen:


 * are grounded enemies, and they are much faster and stronger than Mummies. They rarely drop a piece of their Vanity set when killed.


 * have the ability to climb walls, making it much faster than usual. Given that the entirety of the Underground Desert is covered with walls, the player should always be cautious. They inflict the debuff on contact.


 * are a weaker enemy, but their stats and design change when the Desert is infected: from the Hallow will always  on hit, while the  or  from the Corruption or Crimson will always inflict  or, respectively. They drop Ancient Cloth when killed, and either Light or Dark Shards if killing their Hallowed or Corrupted variants.


 * are essentially a Hardmode version of Antlion Chargers, as they behave identically and have very high knockback resistance. They have a chance to drop the when killed.


 * are the Hardmode version of Tomb Crawlers. They are significantly bigger than other worm enemies, and they are much more aggressive as well. Despite their high stats, they can easily be killed with piercing or exploding weapons.


 * can appear in Crimson or Corrupted Desert. They will cast a slow projectile that attempts to home in to the player, and then explode after a short time. It rarely drops the Desert Spirit Lamp used for the Spirit Flame, as well as the Vanity Djinn's Curse.

Additionally, during a Sandstorm, enemies from the underground and Sand Sharks will start spawning on the Surface, as well as a new miniboss: the Sand Elemental.


 * have the ability to "Swim" through sand blocks, and will quickly lunge at nearby players. They are very common, aggressive and have very high stats, so they can easily kill a player. However they cannot jump very high, so a platform above ground will make them much easier to deal with.
 * They have different variants for, or  Deserts. These have even higher stats and drop Light or Dark Shards as well.
 * The Sand Elemental is a miniboss enemy. It only attacks by summoning three Ancient Storms randomly around the general location of the player. When killed, it drops Forbidden Fragments used for.

While the Sand Elemental's attacks can be easily predicted and dodged, they will limit movement, making the common Sand Sharks and Dune Splicers much harder to avoid. It is recommended to make a platform above ground, as then the Dune Splicers and Sand Sharks won't be able to jump high enough as to reach the player, so the Sand Elemental can be killed much more easily.