Farming Sturdy Fossil in Terraria is much easier than you might think. Inexperienced players sometimes stumble upon this resource when venturing into the Desert biome but don’t spend enough time collecting it. However, spending some time to acquire 60 pieces would allow you to create Fossil Armor, a powerful set for rangers.
With this resource, you can also make a solid caster item, two throwing weapons, an upgraded Bomb, and a new pickaxe. Throwing weapons, in particular, go well with the armor set, and you can use them to stomp pre-Hardmode.
How to acquire Sturdy Fossil in Terraria?
This material is unique to the Desert biome. You can get it from local endemic species and crates that are spread throughout the area. Players can acquire the mineral from drops/loot or by using Extractinator. However, you cannot mine it, unlike the traditional ores. Here’s how to get the material:
- Basilisk drop (33.3% chance, only on Hardmode)
- Tomb Crawler drop (50% chance)
- Oasis Crate (50% chance)
- Mirage Crate (50% chance)
- 10% chance to get Sturdy Fossil when you put Desert Fossil in Extractinator
Ideally, you should roam around the region trying to find Oasis and Mirage Crates. Besides having a high chance of dropping Sturdy Fossil, they also store numerous pieces. You can find 10 to 16 units inside these crates compared to 1 or 2 that drop from Basilisks and Tomb Crawlers.
There isn’t a general strategy that would help you acquire these materials. For example, there isn’t a Tomb Crawler statue that would quickly spawn these creatures. Perhaps the best way to go about things is to rush the Crates, but you shouldn’t neglect Tomb Crawlers you come across.
As you go around the biome, you should also keep every piece of Desert Fossil you come across. When you return to base, you can put the resource into Extractinator. If you’re a ranged character, you can always utilize Sturdy Fossils, as they allow you to create Bone Javelins and Bone Throwing Knives.
Although you can also get this mineral from Basilisks, the monster is only available on Hardmode. In other words, by the time the creature spawns, the resources will become obsolete.
Items made from Sturdy Fossil
Crafting with Sturdy Fossil is somewhat similar to making items from traditional ores. You can create a signature set and a pickaxe, but this is where the similarities end. You don’t have access to swords, bow, repeater, pike, hammer, or axe.
Items made from the material help with the ranged combat. The set, in particular, is great for players who just want to use throwing weapons. Here are all the items you can make from this material:
- Scarab Bomb
- Amber Staff
- Bone Javelin
- Bone Throwing Knife
- Fossil Greaves
- Fossil Helmet
- Fossil Plate
- Fossil Pickaxe
To make all this equipment, you’ll need a total of 87 Sturdy Fossil pieces.
Scarab Bomb
Unlike its predecessor, Scarab Bomb can stick to objects. It’s much easier to handle and is especially nice when destroying Shadow Orbs and Crimson Heart. Unlike the majority of explosives, it creates vertical blasts. This feature makes it relevant throughout the game. Scarab Bomb is primarily used for clearing space but can also be a fantastic weapon.
Amber Staff
This caster item has the same stats as Ruby Staff. It doesn’t excel at anything, and you’ll quickly swap it with something better.
Bone Javelin
Bone Javelin is an excellent weapon that you can use throughout pre-Hardmode. It does solid 20 damage leaving Penetrated debuff on enemies. This effect does 3 damage per second for 15 seconds. You can stack the debuff 6 times for a total of 18 damage per second.
Unfortunately, Bone Javelin doesn’t penetrate enemies. In that sense, it isn’t the best choice during events and certain boss fights. However, it can be an excellent choice against single targets.
Bone Throwing Knife
Bone Throwing Knife is another unique weapon that you can make from this mineral. Unlike its predecessor, it doesn’t leave a debuff. Still, it can penetrate up to five enemies making it an optimal choice in certain situations. The throwing weapon is also incredibly quick.
Fossil Pickaxe
This mining tool has 55% pickaxe power, which puts it on the same level as Gold Pickaxe and is slightly weaker than Platinum Pickaxe. However, it’s worth noting that this item is slightly faster than both of them. Although the tool cannot mine the same blocks as 70% mining power Deathbringer Pickaxe, it has the same effective speed.
The best thing about this item is that you can get it relatively quickly as there aren’t any special requirements for obtaining Desert Fossil.
Fossil Armor
To assemble this armor, you’ll need Greaves, Helmet and Plate. The complete set provides 13 defense, a 50% chance of retaining thrown items, and a 20% chance of retaining ammo after firing a weapon.
Individual pieces provide some extra perks to ranged combatants. Helmet increases ranged critical hit by 4% while increasing throwing weapons‘ speed by 20%. Plate increases critical for throwing weapons by 15% and ranged damage by 5%. Lastly, greaves improve throwing damage by 20% and ranged critical by 4%.
The armor remains relevant throughout the game. For example, it provides a few major benefits to quick, ranged weapons such as Minishark. Of course, it also helps reduce the consumption of Bone Throwing Knives and Bone Javelins.
