Guide:Getting started

Welcome to Terraria!

If you're here then chances are you've begun playing and have wondered what you're supposed to be doing (and perhaps how to keep yourself from dying). Or maybe you haven't begun playing yet and are wondering where to start. Either way, we've got you covered. Everyone has to start somewhere and since we've all been there before, we made this handy guide to take you through surviving your first Terraria days, on through where to go afterwards.

This guide should help turn a person with no knowledge of the game into a bona fide Terraria explorer! And don't worry, we won't bite, but be careful of the monsters; they can cause some damage.

Game mode
In Terraria's opening screen, choose a game mode to play, by clicking either Single Player or Multiplayer.

For now we recommend that you choose Single Player for your first Terraria experience. Learning is easier in Single Player mode. From this point on the Guide assumes that you have chosen Single Player.

Character Creation
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" ! After choosing which mode to play, click on New at the character selection screen to create a new character. Once at the character creation screen, you will see all the character properties that can be customized.

Note: None of the settings are mandatory and you can skip any number of them. You can even skip all of them and head directly to the next section, Finishing Up, below.

Appearance
The first four character properties change your character's looks: Hair, Eyes, Skin, and Clothes. Note: These settings are purely cosmetic and do not affect gameplay.
 * The Clothes menu has four more options to choose from. The color of your clothes can be changed in-game using a dresser.
 * In order to pick colors, use the sliders provided.
 * Hair color and style can be changed later with the help of the Stylist NPC.

Gender
The only difference between a Male and Female character is how they look, and the sounds they make when hurt. Note: You can change your character's gender after you create it using a Gender Change Potion.

Difficulty
A Character Difficulty mode must be chosen in the PC and console versions, but there is no character difficulty option in the mobile version where you will see that Softcore is displayed by default. Note: For your first Terraria experience, it is recommended that you leave your character in Softcore mode. It is the easiest mode, and will make learning how to play a more pleasant experience.

The character difficulty setting determines what happens when the character dies - it does not affect any other aspects of gameplay, including how hard the enemies will be.


 * Softcore mode is the easiest difficulty. It is also the default mode presented to the player. When the character dies, it will drop half of the currently carried coins onto the ground. The inventory otherwise remains intact, and any coins dropped this way can be retrieved from where they were dropped.


 * Mediumcore mode is the second mode presented to the player. When the character dies, all items, coins, and ammo will drop. Just as with coins, the dropped items can be retrieved from where they were dropped. However, under certain circumstances items dropped this way can wind up permanently destroyed (for example, if they fall into lava).


 * Hardcore mode is the harshest mode presented to the player - it is essentially permadeath. All items will be dropped, the character will turn into a ghost, and will be deleted upon logging out. Other players in a multiplayer game may help retrieve the dropped items, but in single player they are gone forever. This mode is not recommended for the purposes of this guide. (Note: Hardcore mode is not the same thing as hardmode, which occurs in the later stages of the game at any difficulty setting.)

Finishing Up
This marks the end of character creation - the newly created character will be added to the list of characters in the menu. At the character selection list, pick your character. The World selection screen will display.
 * Click Create to confirm character creation with the settings chosen (or defaults, if none were changed).
 * The next screen asks you to enter a name for the character, so type a name and click Accept.
 * }

World Creation
At the world selection list, pick your world to load the game.

Now it's time to finally enter Terraria!

Beginning Gameplay


Upon entering a world for the first time, your character will spawn (be placed into the game) at the center of the map, so you have half of the world to explore to the left, and half to the right. This location is known as the Spawn Point (or simply, the "Spawn") and will be where your character is placed each time this world is entered. Most world spawn points are located in Forest biomes.

Note: The spawn point can be changed later using Beds, but we'll get to that later.

First let's take a look at the game interfaces.

Hotbar and Inventory
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The hotbar
In the upper-left corner of the screen are ten boxes numbered from 1 to 0 (zero). These are special Inventory slots referred to as the "hotbar", and they contain the items you currently have access to for use. Press the Esc key to see the rest of the inventory slots; if you have autopause toggled on, opening the inventory also pauses the game. These are empty right now since you haven't acquired any items yet but don't worry, before long you'll have more than you can carry. Press the Esc key again to close the inventory.

All newly created characters begin with the following tools in the hotbar: a Copper Pickaxe, a Copper Axe and a Copper Shortsword.


 * The Copper Pickaxe is a tool used to dig blocks, as well as detaching placed items like furniture. When selected, hold down the left mouse button to use it continuously.
 * The Copper Axe is a tool used for chopping down trees to obtain wood. When selected, hold down the left mouse button to use it continuously.
 * The Copper Shortsword is a melee weapon used for stabbing at enemies. Some weapons can be used continuously ("autofire") while others require a click for each attack.

The slot of the currently selected item in the hotbar will be slightly larger than the other slots and have a highlighted background color, with the name of the item listed above the hotbar. This item will be used when you click the left mouse button. The current selection can be changed by: If you do not want to accidentally click on other hotbar slots (the third feature), you can lock the hotbar by clicking on the padlock button to the left of the hotbar while the inventory is open. To toggle the feature back on simply click on the padlock one more time to unlock it again.
 * 1) Pressing the number key corresponding to the number indicated in the box's upper left hand corner
 * 2) Using the mouse scroll wheel
 * 3) Clicking on a slot with the mouse pointer

Rearranging the hotbar

 * Items on the hotbar can only be changed when the inventory is open. This is accomplished with 2 clicks, once to pick up the item and another to drop it.

Try it now with the Copper Axe: open the inventory, and bring the mouse pointer over the axe and click on it. If you move the mouse pointer now you will see the axe attached to it. Point to one of the empty slots in the lower portion of the inventory, and click once more to place the axe down in the slot. What you've done is moved an item from the hotbar into a storage slot. Items in storage slots cannot be used directly when the inventory is closed, unlike items in the hotbar - they are simply being carried by your character.

Move the axe back to a hotbar slot. While the inventory is open you may pick up and rearrange the items in the hotbar to your liking. Later in the game when you acquire more items you'll have to decide which items to have accessible in the hotbar, while everything else is put into storage. Generally you'll want your best Tools and Weapons in the hotbar, along with at least one Light Source, and one type of Blocks.

The inventory
Below the hotbar is the remainder of the inventory. 10 hotbar slots plus 40 inventory storage slots give you a total of 50 slots. Additionally, you have a trash slot, and a row of 4 slots apiece for coins and another for ammunition.

On the lower right is a separate section for equipment and accessories, while below left is the Crafting section. For the purposes of this guide these sections will be ignored - you can look them up later in the detailed Inventory article.
 * }

The First Day
After loading up the world your character will be standing at the spawn point, with an NPC nearby, the Guide. Talk to him if you want, he has some tips for new players, and will show you the available crafting recipes if you show him an item.

Let's try out the tools you start with.

Digging and placing things
You probably noticed the nearby NPC - that would be the Guide, he dispenses tips and reminds you of available crafting recipes if shown an item.

Okay, let's find something to do!

Building a Home...
Now it's time to do some exploring (and killing!)

Mining
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" ! It's time to begin the wonderful process that is getting upgrades, as there are no advancement paths apart from the power that comes from better gear. However, a Workbench will not be enough to craft our gear; a Furnace is needed. A Furnace will serve to transform Ore into Bars (and can also be used to make glass and ceramic items), which are the main building materials of weapons, tool, and armor. Venture out and find deposits of Stone, and mine up at least 20 blocks of stone. Torches are also needed for creating a Furnace, so make sure to kill a few slimes to get a bit of Gel. Finally, a small bit of Wood is all that's needed. Head to the Workbench and craft a Furnace, then place it down.

Ore is a fundamental material in Terraria, and in order to survive the later sections of the game you will forge and create a lot of Bars. While exploring the world keep an eye out for odd colored blocks as these will most likely be ore deposits. The picture to the right (1) shows the five most common types of ore and stone.

We also need to make an Iron Anvil or Lead Anvil (some worlds will have lead instead of iron; iron and lead are identical except for appearance and name). Anvils are used to create items from Bars. Go out and find some Iron Ore or Lead Ore. In order to smelt one Iron Bar/Lead Bar, three Iron/Lead ore must be present. As we need five bars total; to successfully create the Anvil we need 15 Iron/Lead Ore. Once the ore is gathered and smelted at the Furnace, head to the workbench and create an Iron/Lead Anvil (you can also buy an anvil from a Merchant for 50 silver). When placed down (preferably next to the Furnace) an entire new set of Recipes become available. The surface has its share of ore, but in order to get the best items in the game, you have to dig a bit deeper.

It is highly advisable to begin gathering materials for a few Buffs. A fresh character on a new map can quickly gather Sand and Daybloom necessary for some early buff potions, as well as the Daybloom Seeds and Clay used to begin Gardening with Clay Pots. All Buff potions use Bottled Water, at least one of the six Herbs, and in most cases another item such as Ore, enemy drops, or other naturally occurring objects. Two of the earliest buffs that can be easily concocted are the Regeneration Potion and the Ironskin Potion, and for the early game can significantly improve your survivability.

Cave exploration
There are a few options when choosing how to dig: Digging straight down or searching for an open cave to explore. At this early stage in the game use caution when digging holes. Using the blocks picked up while digging or creating Wood Platforms, you can construct a way back. Another thing to watch out for is deep caverns. When falling great distances the character will take damage.

When underground there will be no light. To illuminate your area and see, you can hold a torch in your hand by putting a torch stack in your hotbar and selecting it. However, you will be unable to use anything else while holding the torch. You can stick a torch on a wall or on the ground by left clicking where you want to place it. This will not only let you see mobs so you can fight them, but you can leave behind a trail of torches to see mobs coming at a greater distance, mark the way back out, and show where and how far you've gone if you come back to the same cave to explore further. In addition to placing torches, you can throw one (the T button by default), which is useful for seeing what's at the bottom of a pit, and how far down it goes (unlike with all other items in the game, throwing a torch only throws one item in the stack, instead of the whole stack).

When exploring caves you will frequently come across pots. You can smash these with a weapon or tool to get some loot. Less common are chests and golden chests. When you are near or in front of a chest you can right click, which will show your inventory and below your inventory the contents of the chest. You can click on a chest item to grab it, then click again on an inventory square to put it in your inventory. Alternatively, you could click "Loot All" to the right of the chest contents grid to grab everything in the chest. Once the chest is empty you can repeatedly hit it with your pickaxe in order to pick it up and take it with you, and then place it elsewhere like you'd place any other piece of furniture (if the chest isn't completely empty then it will remain there no matter how many times you hit it). It's recommended that you take a few of the chests you find back to your house to store stuff with, since crafting your own chest or barrel uses Iron Bars, and you'll want to save up your iron for other purposes.

Another thing you'll run into underground is cobwebs, which slow you down when you try to move through them. You can cut them down with any weapon or tool and then pick them up. Harvested cobweb can be turned into silk, which is used to make a bed, which can be used to change your spawn point. Silk can also be used to make some type of decorative items and vanity clothing, or can be sold for two silver coins a piece if you need money. Harvested cobweb itself can be placed like furniture or a torch (select it and left click), either for use as decoration, or placed at the bottom of a tall pit to break your fall for preventing fall damage.

While mining underground it is possible to come across pools of water. Torches do not work underwater. Glowsticks work underwater, but they cannot be crafted and must be found at this stage of the game. Also, they cannot be attached to blocks. You can throw them, but they will bounce and move around and may be hard to place exactly where you want them. You can craft Sticky Glowsticks anywhere by combining Gel with a Glowstick; these will stick to walls when thrown, making them easier to place. No matter which you use, however, glowsticks are not permanent when thrown, unlike placed torches, though they do last for 5 minutes.

Also note that just as with other projectiles, a glowstick should be thrown with the attack command.

The default button to "throw" an item is the "T" button, but using this method the entire stack of glowsticks will be thrown. Using the throw command is for dropping a stack of the item from your inventory on the ground. Instead, you should use the attack command, which throws an individual glowstick.

When stepping into a pool of water the character will sink as if weighted down. Don't fear diving down underwater to continue moving downwards, as the character has a rather large air meter. However, if close to running out of air there is a way to regain air quickly. First either find a wall or make a small shaft at the bottom of the water. (The shaft should be around 10 squares deep) Then dig a 3 high 1 wide hole in the wall and then a 4-6 high and 2 or more wide hole in this wall. The water will not fill the upper squares. As the air supply runs low jump into the hole. This will restart the meter. (2)

There are many deep chasms inside the caves. An efficent way to traverse them is to create a gapped bridge (3). To do this create a background wall of any material. Stone and dirt will be in excess so those are recommended. Place a strip as far as the character can reach then build stepping stones at least one block apart. There are two benefits to this:
 * Light can still reach below the blocks.
 * Most enemies cannot actually pass through the blocks.

Note that the character cannot pass through the one space gaps either; so it would be a good idea to leave an opening somewhere along the bridge.
 * }

Afterward
Now that you've learned how to play and survive, the best thing to do would be is to simply continue playing, discovering new things on your own. If you do get stuck, find something you're unsure about, or simply want detailed information about one of your items, look up what you need on the wiki. It may be handy to check the Armor or Weapons pages for info on what direction to head next. And remember, you can play the game your way, so don't feel bound by the information on this wiki.

Tips

 * Exiting the game then re-entering the world will bring you back to your spawn point.
 * It's best to build your base close to the original spawn point so you have less trouble returning to it at night or if you respawn.
 * When digging very deep, it's convenient to leave a way back up. The cheapest way would be to leave blocks jutting out on alternate side of the passage as a makeshift ladder.
 * Torches last forever so bring plenty along and place them liberally when going mining and exploring.
 * Avoid the Corruption / Crimson early on as they contain tough enemies.

More information
For more advanced information, please check out the guides listed below.

Crafting 101 - This is the introductory crafting guide. It contains a detailed explanation of how crafting works, and the ideal crafting station setup.

NPCs - There are more NPCs than just the Guide that you'll want to make homes for.

Bases - How to create an effective homebase.

Mining techniques - This guide goes into detail on easy and efficient ways to mine ore, and what to expect when venturing deeper into Terraria.

Gardening - How to grow gardens of Trees, Mushrooms, and other less savory things. This is a wonderful guide for learning how to properly organize and maintain a garden.

PvP - A great place to start when looking for information on Player vs. Player combat. Not quite for beginners, however it's a great read for those who would like to study beforehand.

Eye of Cthulhu Boss Fight - One of the few Bosses a player might run up against early on in their worlds.

List of Bosses - A list of all the Bosses players will come in contact with in their worlds. Bosses are powerful monsters that have a lot of health and do devastating damage to the unprepared.

Video guides

 * Warning: These videos (as of version 1.2.4.1), are very outdated and not true. Do not fully rely on the information shown.