Meteorite (biome)



A Meteorite biome is a biome formed on an undisclosed location a Meteorite decides to land onto. This event always occurs off-screen, leaving a crater for players to find somewhere in the world (as of the 1.4 update, a meteor can sometimes be seen in the background before crashing). The crater is lined with Meteorite ore - a crafting material. A meteorite event is triggered when a player destroys a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart. The player must have defeated the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu at least once (See full conditions below). Players are alerted of a meteorite crash via a status message: ""

Meteorite biomes have the same theme music as Blood Moons, but possess only one unique enemy type: Meteor Heads. Meteor Heads 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, even with several NPCs in the area, as long as the area is considered as said biome.

Once most of the meteorite has been mined away (less than 75 /  50 /  23 blocks of Meteorite remaining; about 10% of an average meteorite site), the area will no longer be considered a meteorite biome.

As of, the background may show an animated falling meteor shortly before the impact site is generated in the world.

Conditions
A meteorite crash site has a 50% chance of spawning after the Brain of Cthulhu or Eater of Worlds is defeated /  after a Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart is smashed. Meteorites can only spawn in a world after the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu is defeated. This generally happens at the next midnight, but can happen immediately if 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, if at least one Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart has already been smashed in the world. If this random crash was decided to happen (which happens at 7:30 PM), it will definitely land at 12:00 AM (there is a way to prevent it from landing, check below for information).

Once the conditions are met, multiple meteorites will land in a world over time. However, none will fall if there are already a certain number of Meteorite blocks above 0ft. The limits are:
 * Small worlds: 401
 * Medium worlds: 610/611
 * Large worlds: 801

The above limits mean that leaving one (small worlds) or two meteorite strikes unmined will effectively protect the world from further strikes. Also note that if a random meteor crash was decided to happen at 7:30, the only way to prevent it is to place as many meteorites as needed to prevent the crash according to your world size (numbers given above). If enough amount of blocks are placed before 12:00 AM, the meteorite will not crash. Remember to place the blocks above 0ft.

There are also constraints on where meteors can strike:
 * 16% of the world centered on the spawn point is protected from falling meteors.
 * Meteorites will not land within 35 tiles of a NPC or a chest.
 * Meteorites will not fall on-screen for any player.
 * They cannot fall within 50 blocks of the edge of the world or 50 blocks from the top of the world.
 * If the entire world is covered by these conditions (e.g., lots of chests), no meteorite will fall.

In searching for a valid location the game will search a 30×30 block region and look for 600 solid blocks. Sunplate and Cloud Blocks count as -100 solid blocks; thus, Floating Islands are not likely to encounter 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

 * Use a tool with high mining speed. Reforge the pickaxe for Light prefix for even better speed.
 * It is recommended to get an Obsidian Skull to prevent burning damage from the blocks.
 * With two players, one player with the Vilethorn can protect the mining player rather easily if they stick together. The Vilethorn will kill a Meteor Head in one direct hit and can pass through blocks, similar to the Meteor Heads. In singleplayer, the player can quickly switch between the Vilethorn and a pickaxe.
 * Angled Meteorite blocks can be touched without taking damage. Leaving a brick 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.
 * There are certain areas on the map a player may wish to protect from meteorite crashes, such as player-built structures, the Dungeon, Ocean, the entrances to the Underground Jungle/Temple , Underground Desert, and chasms, or even perhaps a Living Tree. 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, and Space when crashed there.

History
Meteorit (Biom) Météorite (biome) Meteorite (biome) 陨石（生物群落）