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. There are Antlion Swarmers with lower stats but the ability to fly. Due to their big size, they can be easily stopped by quickly covering their part 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 an unique Throwing armor and Weapons, which are very good in the Jungle and the Dungeon.

= Hardmode = When Wall of Flesh is defeated for the first time, deserts can become Evil or Hallowed, which creates new hazards. Like it's prehardmode counterpart, they aren't required to progress further in the game.

Summon or Magic players generally need the Hardmode Sandstorm enemies to make the Forbidden armor, which combines the best of these 2 classes.