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Beginning to explore
Terraria

Beginning to explore

Terraria exploration guide: Learn how to find natural caverns, gather essential resources like gel and ore, and prepare for your first boss.

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Terraria exploration guide: Learn how to find natural caverns, gather essential resources like gel and ore, and prepare for your first boss.

  • x100 rope and torches (provided at start)
Walkthrough
  1. 1
    Research your starting x100 rope and torches to gain infinite supplies.
  2. 2
    Choose to explore either underground by mining or by finding natural caverns. Natural caverns are more effective due to slow initial mining speed.
  3. 3
    Follow natural caverns, which may contain pots, chests, and lead to larger underground areas with enemies, treasure, and ore.
  4. 4
    Loot all items from chests and then mine the chests themselves to pick them up for storage at your base.
  5. 5
    Mine stone blocks to create arrows and use wood to craft a bow for ranged attacks.
  6. 6
    Kill slimes for gel, which is used to create torches and flame arrows.
  7. 7
    Gather resources: arrows, potions, coins, rope, torches, and recall potions/magic mirror.
  8. 8
    Find five Life Crystals to increase your maximum HP to 200 (each increases HP by 20, max HP is 400).
  9. 9
    Acquire 10 defense through armor to meet the conditions for the first boss.
  10. 10
    Mine ore to craft a better bow.
  11. 11
    Combine wooden arrows with torches to create flaming arrows that apply the burning debuff.
  12. 12
    Build structures that meet the dimensions and conditional requirements for a house (60 tiles of space, including walls) to attract NPCs.
Tips
  • Natural caverns offer a more effective early-game exploration route than slow mining.
  • Chests found in caverns can be mined and stored at your base.
  • A bow provides an invaluable ranged option, even if its base damage is low.
  • Gel is crucial for crafting torches and flame arrows.
  • Aim to gather 200 HP and 10 defense to prepare for the first boss.
  • Flaming arrows deal extra damage and apply a burning debuff.
  • NPCs will move in once their specific spawn requirements are met and they have a suitable house.
  • The Nurse moves in when your max HP is above 100 (after using your first Life Crystal).
  • The Merchant moves in once you have at least 2 gold coins.
  • The Demolitionist moves in once you have an explosive (bomb or dynamite) in your inventory.
  • The Arms Dealer moves in once you obtain your first gun or ammo.
  • The Dye Trader moves in once you have an item used to make dye.
  • The Goblin Tinkerer appears in the Underground & Cavern Layers after you have 200+ HP and have broken at least one Shadow Orb or Crimson Heart, triggering the Goblin Army. Defeating the Goblin Army causes him to spawn. Unlocking him early is not necessary but can save time later.

Ore Types:

When your world is generated, Terraria randomly selects one ore from each tier to place in your world. You will never have both ores from a tier. The tiers are:

  • Tier 1: Copper OR Tin
  • Tier 2: Iron OR Lead
  • Tier 3: Silver OR Tungsten
  • Tier 4: Gold OR Platinum
  • Tier 5: Meteorite (from meteors)
  • Tier 6: Demonite (Corruption) OR Crimtane (Crimson)
  • Tier 7: Obsidian (formed by connecting water to lava)
  • Tier 8: Hellstone (found in the Underworld biome)

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