Guide:Surviving in the Desert

The Desert is one of the most common biomes of a Terraria world. The surface is slightly harder than the Forest, but the Underground Desert contains unique hazards that can make it extremely dangerous.

It's optional to tackle 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 good to be very well prepared. Usually it's explored just before or after the Eye of Cthulhu is fought.

Recommended Gear

 * At least 240 Health and 100 Mana.
 * Iron/Lead or Silver/Tungsten armor are the minimum. If using magic weapons, the Wizard set with a Wizard Hat and Diamond Robe should be used, as it provides very big stat bonuses.
 * Weapons made with Gold or Platinum ores should be used. The Bow is preferred due to the ability to kill the enemies from far away, but the Broadsword can still be useful against the Antlion Swarmers or Tomb Crawlers.
 * If the player has already explored the Corruption or Crimson, then a Musket/The Undertaker, Vilethorn/Crimson Rod or Ball O' Hurt/Rotted Fork will do very well against the enemies.
 * The Gem staves are decent weapons with good stats and piercing abilities. A Sapphire or Emerald Staff is the minimum.
 * Piercing or explosive weapons such as Grenades or Jester's Arrows should be brought to easily kill Tomb Crawlers.
 * Mobility accessories like variants of the Cloud in a Bottle and/or Hermes Boots are very recommended to explore and avoid enemies more easily.
 * A Hook 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 new character, the Cactus armor and Sword are very useful to begin with. However, if there is a Sandstorm the place should be left immediately, as the Angry Tumblers or other enemies can very easily kill a new character. A Pyramid can also be found in some worlds. This place contains one unique item like the Sandstorm in a Bottle or the Magic Carpet, the vanity Pharaoh's set, and many Gold Coins.

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

Underground Desert
Compared to the regular Caverns biome, the Undergound Desert has more Underground Cabins, Life Crystals and Extractinators. However, it is also very dangerous, so avoid it until good gear is acquired.
 * The most common enemy, the Antlion Charger, has massive defense, damage and knockback resistance and it moves very fast for an early game enemy, so even with good weapons it is still better to avoid combat with them. Antlion Swarmers 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 Tomb Crawlers. They are fast, go through blocks and deal lots of 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.

Once the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu have been defeated, the player can use the Nightmare or Deathbringer Pickaxes to mine the Desert Fossils, which are the only source of Sturdy Fossils when using the Extractinator. This new material is used for Fossil armor and throwing Weapons, which are very helpful for the Thrower class.

= Hardmode = Just like every other Hardmode biome, the Desert has many new strong enemies once Hardmode is activated. It can be affected by the spread of the Corruption/Crimson and the Hallow, which adds even more enemies.

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

The Desert is usually explored to obtain the weapons made with the Light or Dark Shards obtained from Mummies and Ghouls, most notably the Sky Fracture and Onyx Blaster.

Armor
Palladium, Orichalcum, Adamantite or Titanium armors are the best available. Summoners should use the Spider armor instead, as the ore armors don't give any improvements to summon weapons.

Weapons
For Melee users:
 * A Mythril/Orichalcum Sword or Spear is the bare minimum. The Bladetongue or Cutlass are stronger swords with better stats.
 * The Amarok or Ice Sickle can be easily obtained after grinding in the Snow biome.
 * The Shadowflame Knife is also a very good weapon that is obtained from Goblin Summoners.

For Ranger users:
 * The ore Repeaters are always good weapons when paired with Holy arrows. The Shadowflame Bow from the Hardmode Goblin Army can also be used.
 * The Shotgun and Clockwork Assault Rifle are the best guns available. The former should be upgraded to the Onyx Blaster once enough Dark Shards are obtained. Crystal bullets are the strongest choice.
 * Dart Rifle or Pistol are both very strong with Crystal or Ichor Darts.

For Mages:
 * The Crystal Serpent and Meteor Staff are very strong weapons that can be easily obtained as soon as Hardmode begins.
 * The Shadowflame Hex Doll is harder to acquire, but still a very strong weapon.
 * The Nimbus Rod is always a decent weapon to use alongside the main ones.
 * Cursed Flames or Golden Shower are decent for crowd control.

For Summoners:
 * Spider Staff and Queen Spider Staff are the only minions available at this point in the game.

Accessories

 * Combat accessories such as the Emblems will kill enemies much faster.
 * Mobility accessories like Wings, the Frog Leg or the Shield of Cthulhu should be brought for mobility.
 * Defensive accessories like the Worm Scarf or Charm of Myths are very useful as well.

Exploring
On the Surface, the only new enemy seen will be the Mummies. 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, Dark or Light Mummies will spawn instead. These variants are stronger and drop Dark or Light Shards.

Once Underground, a lot of new enemies will be seen, the most dangerous being:


 * The Dreamed Ghouls, which only spawn if the Underground was affected by the Hallow. They are stronger and faster than Mummies, and they will always Confuse a player on hit for much longer than usual, hence close range combat isn't advised. The Corruption/Crimson variants of Ghouls are still dangerous as they will inflict Cursed Inferno or Ichor on hit.


 * Dune Splicers are the Hardmode version of Tomb Crawlers. They are bigger than other worm enemies, and they are much more aggressive. They can easily be killed with piercing or exploding weapons.

Additionally, during a Sandstorm, Sand Sharks and Dune Splicers will spawn on the Surface, as well as a new mini-boss: the Sand Elemental. When killed, it drops Forbidden Fragments used for Forbidden armor, which provides boosts to both Magic and Summoner classes.

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.