Traveling Merchant

Type	NPC
AI Type	Passive AI
Damage	10
Max Life	250
Defense	15
KB Resist	50%
Hurt
Killed

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Desktop/Console/Old-gen console/Mobile/Switch/tModLoader-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, Old-gen console, Mobile, Switch, and tModLoader versions of Terraria.

This article is about the NPC that occasionally visits temporarily with a random inventory. For the early game NPC unlocked by having 50 or more, see Merchant. For the Underground skeleton-like NPC, see Skeleton Merchant.

The Traveling Merchant is a unique NPC vendor who randomly visits the player's town for one day. His inventory is randomized and different every visit, selling 4–10 / 4–12 (average 5.47 / 5.97; see below for details) different items listed below.

In order for the Traveling Merchant to spawn, at least 2 other NPCs must already be present. The Guide counts as one of these, but the Old Man and Skeleton Merchant do not^[1]. He will not spawn during Solar Eclipses, the Goblin Army, Frost Legion, Pirate Invasion, Martian Madness^[2] or if the chat is open. He does not require his own house in order to spawn, and will instead spawn next to NPCs, including town pets, spending the day walking around them.

Once the criteria are met, the Traveling Merchant has a 22.12% chance of spawning each day, appearing at a random time between 4:30 AM and 12:00 PM. The chances of him spawning are always the same regardless if the player is sleeping. He leaves the same day at 6:00 PM, but can only do so once he is off-screen. He despawns if the world is vacated any time after he spawns.

If threatened by enemies, the Traveling Merchant will defend himself with a Revolver. Once Hardmode begins, he upgrades to a Pulse Bow.

Items sold[]

Due to elaborate randomizer functions and dependencies upon several variables, it is nearly impossible to state an exact chance of an item being sold by the Traveling Merchant.^[3] However, it is possible to group them in six rarity "slots", ranging from "Common" to "Extraordinarily Rare". Note that these slots do not correspond to the Traveling Merchant's shop inventory slots – all sold items may be from only one slot. They are only meant to provide a rough, comparative estimate of an item's rarity. Each shop slot will roll a 1/n chance of being for every possible item where n is 100 × the rarity slot. This chance is affected by the luckiest player currently in the world. When multiple items pass this chance, the item that was tested, the latest will be the selected.

Within the slots, items higher in the list below have a marginally higher chance of being sold, e.g., the Companion Cube is sold slightly more often than the Water Gun (on average), because it is higher in the list.

Common[]

Inventory – Common items (slot 1/6)
Item	Cost	Availability
The Bereaved	1	When in a Constant world
The Strongman	1	When in a Constant world
The Firestarter	1	When in a Constant world
The Gentleman Scientist	1	When in a Constant world
Stopwatch	5	‌
Lifeform Analyzer	5	‌
DPS Meter	5	‌
Pink Team Block	1	Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum
Pink Team Platform	1	Always when selling Pink Team Blocks
Yellow Team Block	1	Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum
Yellow Team Platform	1	Always when selling Yellow Team Blocks
Green Team Block	1	Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum
Green Team Platform	1	Always when selling Green Team Blocks
Blue Team Block	1	Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum
Blue Team Platform	1	Always when selling Blue Team Blocks
Red Team Block	1	Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum
Red Team Platform	1	Always when selling Red Team Blocks
White Team Block	1	Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum
White Team Platform	1	Always when selling White Team Blocks
Dynasty Wood	50	‌
Red Dynasty Shingles	50	Always when selling Dynasty Wood
Blue Dynasty Shingles	50	Always when selling Dynasty Wood
Fancy Dishes	20	‌
Chalice	50	‌
Zebra Skin	1	‌
Leopard Skin	1	‌
Tiger Skin	1	‌
Pho	50	‌
Pad Thai	30	‌
Sake	5	‌

Uncommon[]

Inventory – Uncommon items (slot 2/6)
Item	Cost	Availability
Ultrabright Torch	3	‌
Katana	10 4 250	‌
Presserator	10	‌
Portable Cement Mixer	10	‌
Paint Sprayer	10	‌
Extendo Grip	10	‌
Brick Layer	10	‌

Rare[]

Inventory – Rare items (slot 3/6)
Item	Cost	Availability
The Bereaved	1	When not in a Constant world
The Strongman	1	When not in a Constant world
The Firestarter	1	When not in a Constant world
The Gentleman Scientist	1	When not in a Constant world
The Season	50	During Christmas
Snowfellas	50	During Christmas
Cursed Saint	50	During Christmas
Cold Snap	50	During Christmas
Acorns	50	During Christmas
The Truth Is Up There	2	After defeating Martian Madness
Martia Lisa	2	After defeating Martian Madness
Castle Marsberg	2	After defeating Martian Madness
Not a Kid, nor a Squid	3	After defeating Moon Lord
Code 2	25	After defeating any mechanical boss
Code 1	5	After defeating the Eye of Cthulhu
Pretty Pink Ribbon	15	‌
Pretty Pink Dress	20	Always when selling Pretty Pink Ribbon
Pretty Pink Stockings	20	Always when selling Pretty Pink Ribbon
Fake Unicorn Horn	250	‌
Heart Hairpin	2	‌
Bamboo Leaf	1	‌
Star Hairpin	2	‌
Fedora	250	‌
Panda Ears	250	‌
Devil Horns	250	‌
Demon Horns	250	‌
Star Princess Crown	50	‌
Star Princess Dress	50	Always when selling Star Princess Crown
Celestial Wand	1	Always when selling Star Princess Crown
Chef Hat	250	‌
Chef Uniform	250	Always when selling Chef Hat
Chef Pants	250	Always when selling Chef Hat
Master Gamer's Jacket	5	‌
Master Gamer's Pants	5	Always when selling Master Gamer's Jacket
Gi	2	‌
Mystic Robe	350 2	‌
Magic Hat	3	‌
Fez	350	‌
Ammo Box	15	‌
Revolver	10	After smashing a Shadow Orb/Crimson Heart

Very Rare[]

Inventory – Very rare items (slot 4/6)
Item	Cost	Availability
Bedazzled Nectar	1	‌
Exotic Chew Toy	1	‌
Birdie Rattle	1	‌
Anti-Portal Block	1	During Hardmode
Companion Cube	5	‌
Sitting Duck's Fishing Pole	35	After defeating Skeletron
Hunter Cloak	15	‌
Winter Cape	5	‌
Red Cape	5	‌
Mysterious Cape	5	‌
Crimson Cloak	5	‌
Diamond Ring	2	‌
Celestial Magnet	15	‌
Water Gun	150	‌
Pulse Bow	45	After defeating Plantera
Yellow Counterweight	5	‌

Extremely Rare[]

Inventory – Extremely rare items (slot 5/6)
Item	Cost	Availability
Gray Zapinator	17	During pre-Hardmode after defeating the Eye of Cthulhu, Eater of Worlds/Brain of Cthulhu, Queen Bee or Skeletron
Orange Zapinator	50	During Hardmode
Arcane Rune Wall	250	‌
Kimono	1	‌
Sergeant United Shield	35	During Hardmode
Gatligator	35	During Hardmode
Black Counterweight	5	‌

Extraordinarily Rare[]

Inventory – Extraordinarily rare items (slot 6/6)
Item	Cost	Availability
Angel Halo	40	‌

Number of sold items[]

The following tables list the chances of the numbers of items sold by the Traveling Merchant.^[3] Only "base" items are counted, i.e., Dynasty Shingles and Team Platforms are excluded from this number, since they are always sold together with their "base" items Dynasty Wood or Team Block, respectively.

Number of "base" items	Chance (Classic Mode > Expert Mode)
4	19.87*3255/16384 (19.87%)	9.93*3255/32768 (9.93%)
5	31.29*5127/16384 (31.29%)	25.58*4191/16384 (25.58%)
6	33.22*16327/49152 (33.22%)	32.26*7927/24576 (32.26%)
7	13.46*1103/8192 (13.46%)	23.34*22945/98304 (23.34%)
8	2.04*1003/49152 (2.04%)	7.75*7621/98304 (7.75%)
9	0.12*19/16384 (0.12%)	1.08*265/24576 (1.08%)
10	0.002*1/49152 (0.002%)	0.06*29/49152 (0.06%)
11	n/a	0.001*1/98304 (0.001%)

These chances reveal that the average number of sold "base" items is 5.47 / 5.97.

Notes[]

The actual "roll" to spawn the Traveling Merchant is not performed once-per-day like a Goblin Army or how any other events are determined. Instead, the roll is performed every tick^[4].
- For each tick of the first half of each day (4:30 AM – 12:00 PM = 7.5 hours = 27,000 ticks), there is a 1 in 108,000 chance to spawn the Traveling Merchant. Thus, the Traveling Merchant has a: 1-(107999/108000)^27000 = 0.2212001339 ≈ 22.12% chance of arriving each day.
- This means that if a specific item from the Traveling Merchant is desired, but he arrived without that particular item, and it is before 12:00 PM in-game, he can be killed for a chance of another Traveling Merchant spawning.
The Traveling Merchant does not leave during events.
!!Error: Invalid EICONS input! In Journey Mode, if you pause time when it's between 4:30 AM and 12:00 PM, the Traveling Merchant will instantly spawn (provided all the conditions are met, i.e. at least two NPCs are present, and no invasion is happening). Leaving the world while time is still frozen and then returning will reroll the Traveling Merchant's current stock and location (if there's more than one town in the world). This is a great way to farm for his rarer items.
- !!Error: Invalid EICONS input! Another way of farming the Traveling Merchant in Journey Mode is increasing the time speed multiplier until he appears and then freezing time. Changing time to midnight and then immediately back to dawn will depart the old merchant and a new one will arrive instantly. The off-screen despawn rule still applies, so changing locations before changing time is required.
- The traveling merchant can throw a party.
  - Note that this method will still trigger invasions like Goblin Army and Pirate Invasion when the time is set to dawn, making the Traveling Merchant stop "respawning".
- Killing the Traveling Merchant, and then quickly un-pausing time and pausing it back, will spawn a new Traveling Merchant with a new set of stock.

Tips[]

The Traveling Merchant departs by simply disappearing while off-screen. If the player keeps him on-screen when he would normally depart, he will remain until he is off-screen again. If he is kept on-screen until dawn, he will not depart until he is off-screen after 6:00 PM the following evening. This does not, however, change his inventory.

Names[]

The Traveling Merchant may have any of the following names:

Abraham
Aedan
Aphraim
Bohemas
Eladon
Gallius
Llewellyn
Mercer
Rawleigh
Riley
Romeo
Shipton
Willy

Quotes[]

"Hmm, you look like you could use an Angel Statue! They slice, and dice, and make everything nice!"
"I don't refund for "buyer's remorse..." Or for any other reason, really."
"Buy now and get free shipping!"
"I sell wares from places that might not even exist!"
"You want two penny farthings!? Make it one and we have a deal."
"Combination hookah and coffee maker! Also makes julienne fries!"
"Come and have a look! One pound fish! Very, very good! One pound fish!"
"If you're looking for junk, you've come to the wrong place."
"A thrift shop? No, I am only selling the highest quality items on the market."

When Merchant is present:

"That <name of Merchant>, he really has no appreciation for a really good deal."

When Clothier is present:

"I sell only what I can get. <name of Clothier> keeps hounding me for exotic clothing."

When Guide is present:

"Meet me behind <name of Guide>'s house in about three hours, I think I have something you will find very appealing."

During a Party:

"Many say that parties give you the richest of memories. So buy something and make this memory rich!"

During Rain :

"Rain or blue skies, I come from afar to serve you! Do you have some coin?"
"If my exotic coat shrinks, I will be a tad upset!"

During a Thunderstorm:

"Hurry up and buy!"
"Whew! That was close! Brick and mortar sounds like a pretty good investment right now."

During a Windy Day:

"I go where winds take me, but this is ridiculous!"
"I would sell you exotic wind socks, but I'm afraid I forgot to stock them!"

When in a Graveyard:

"Whew! Look at my many wares! I totally did NOT take them off the dead buried here, to sell to you."
"In my travels, I've never run across anyone living in a dismal place like this! Ah, well, as long as you have coin..."

Trivia[]

Many of the things he sells are of Asian origin, often from the Qing dynasty.
- Many of his wares may be a reference to the East India Company, and to the goods that were brought to Europe during the age of discovery in general.
The name Willy is most likely a reference to the 1949 play Death of a Salesman written by American playwright Arthur Miller, where the main character is Willy Loman, a traveling salesman.
His quote "Come and have a look! One pound fish! Very, very good! One pound fish!" is a reference to the Pakistani trader and recording artist Muhammad Shahid Nazir, also known as One Pound Fish Man, who found fame as an internet sensation for his viral video "One Pound Fish".
The quote "Combination hookah and coffee maker! Also makes julienne fries!" is a reference to the 1992 American animated musical fantasy film Aladdin.
His quote "Hmm, you look like you could use an Angel Statue! They slice, and dice, and make everything nice!" is a reference to the ongoing joke of how Angel Statues are one of the most useless statues in the game; this is also referenced by a quote from the Merchant.
Along with the Cyborg, the Zoologist and the Princess, the Traveling Merchant is one of the only NPCs to sell a new item post-Moon Lord, which is Not a Kid, nor a Squid.

The Bestiary entry for the Traveling Merchant: "The flamboyantly-dressed Traveling Merchant travels far and wide to bring unique, cultural wares from time to time."

History[]

Desktop version

Desktop 1.4.3: Now sells 4 new paintings.

Desktop 1.4.1:
- Now only sells Sitting Duck's Fishing Pole after defeating Skeletron.
- No longer sells the Super Star Shooter.

Desktop 1.4.0.4: Fixed Traveling Merchant and Skeleton Merchant accidentally having NPC Happiness.

Desktop 1.4.0.1: Now sells Celestial Wand, Exotic Chew Toy, Birdie Rattle, and many more new items.

Desktop 1.3.2: Fixed not being able to attack at Night.

Desktop 1.3.1: Now sells the Companion Cube, Team Blocks, Team Platforms and the Presserator.

Desktop 1.3.0.1:
- Now defends himself with a Revolver (in pre-Hardmode) and the Pulse Bow (in Hardmode).
- Now sells many new items, including yoyos, accessories, and paintings.

Desktop 1.2.4.1: Now sells Animal Skins.

Desktop 1.2.4: Fixed issue where Scorpions worked with King Statue and Traveling Merchant did not.

Desktop 1.2.3.1:
- The Traveling Merchant can no longer spawn in lava.
- Fixed bug where Queen/King Statues did not teleport the Stylist and Traveling Merchant, respectively.

Desktop 1.2.3: Introduced.

Console version

Console 1.0.933.1: Now sells many new items, including yoyos, accessories, and paintings. ()

Console 1.0.750.0: Now sells many new items, including yoyos, accessories, and paintings. ()

Console 1.08: Added Capes (Winter, Mysterious, and Red Capes and Crimson Cloak) and Diamond Ring.

Console 1.07: Introduced with vendor items up to Desktop 1.2.4.1, except the Angel Halo, Capes, and Diamond Ring.

Nintendo Switch version

Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced.

Mobile version

Mobile 1.2.11212: Introduced with vendor items up to Desktop 1.2.4.1.

References[]

↑ Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, method UpdateTime() in Terraria.Main.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.3.6.
↑ Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, method SpawnTravelNPC() in Terraria.WorldGen.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.3.6.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, function SetupTravelShop() in Terraria.Chest.cs There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.3.6.
↑ A tick is a time unit countable by the software. Most of Terraria's updating logic happens every tick. A tick has the length of 1/60th of a second, hence there are 60 ticks in a second and 3600 ticks in a minute.

[sourcecode_1-1] Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, method UpdateTime() in Terraria.Main.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.3.6.

[sourcecode_2-2] Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, method SpawnTravelNPC() in Terraria.WorldGen.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.3.6.

[travelshop-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, function SetupTravelShop() in Terraria.Chest.cs There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.3.6.

[tick_desc-4] A tick is a time unit countable by the software. Most of Terraria's updating logic happens every tick. A tick has the length of 1/60th of a second, hence there are 60 ticks in a second and 3600 ticks in a minute.

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