Unlike many other games, Terraria has a dynamic environment. No matter where you are on the map, you can never feel safe. The game features numerous events during which waves of enemies attack your base and all the NPCs within it. This can be quite a nuisance if you just want to unload the stash from your previous mining run.
The structure of the base can also save you time. As the game progresses, you gain access to more and more crafting stations. Ideally, all of them should be close to each other, so you don’t have to run around searching for the necessary assembly line.
Expert players use their base for bragging rights. They’ll decorate it with all sorts of luxurious furniture, posting their latest creation on YouTube or Twitch.
Terraria base basics
So, what’s a “base” in Terraria?
This is the place where you spawn and where all your NPCs mingle with each other. Ideally, you should create the base at the same location where you initially spawned. These areas usually have a large flat surface and lots of wood that you can use as the basic building material. Furthermore, there are not as many enemies in these areas compared to the rest of the map.
For something to be regarded as a Terraria base, it must fulfill three basic functions:
- To have enough room for hosting all the NPCs in the game.
- To have a dedicated room for your crafting stations.
- To have a dedicated space for your chests.
An advanced Terraria base can also be a starting point for your minecart track. You can also put a teleporter and garden in it. Given that the enemy regularly attacks your base, it’s wise to create defensive mechanisms that will protect you and all of the base’s inhabitants.
Keep in mind that you can change your base location at any time. You just need to place a bed at a new location and assign it as the new spawning point.
Hosting NPCs
As you explore the world more, you’ll encounter new characters offering their services and shops. However, you need to create appropriate rooms to attract them to your Terraria base. So, each time you visit the base, you can rest assured that the NPC will be in their allocated space.
For a structure to be considered an NPC-suitable house, it needs to fulfill certain requirements:
- The structure has to be at least seven by nine in any direction.
- It needs to have walls.
- Every house needs one entry item (such as doors), one light source, one flat-surface item, and one comfort item.
For reference, your character is three tiles tall, which is also the height of the door. So, you can put a door and add three extra tiles on top of them. After that, start connecting the ceiling with the structure’s other wall. Inside the house, there should be room for seven horizontal free tiles (plus two tiles for each of the walls).
Although making your first house and hosting the first NPC is easy, you might encounter numerous issues if you do not plan ahead. This is especially noticeable on Hardmode. So, if you just want to enjoy a simple game of Terraria, you can make whatever you want. But, if you plan on progressing and finishing the whole in-game content, make sure to plan ahead.
Tips for making houses
There are numerous things you need to consider when making a house:
- Do not put anything close to the door. This would prevent entering or exiting the house.
- Although you need just one light source, it’s much better to put two. It tends to get really dark once you install the walls.
- A room that you use for crafting stations or chests needs to be much larger to host all the objects.
- Speaking of crafting stations, it’s recommended to place them close to your spawning point. The same goes for your storage.
- The rooms can share the same wall. In fact, this is an excellent way to save time and resources. Also, you can place the rooms on top of each other.
- There’s no difference when it comes to the integrity of materials. It’s the same if you make the house from mud or palladium; the only difference is esthetic.
- You can connect rooms on top of each other with platforms. This makes it easier to enter different sections of the Terraria base without exiting the whole structure.
- Avoid using „evil material,“ such as Ebonstone Blocks or Crimson Blocks. Each one of them will increase the house’s evil score, preventing NPCs from inhabiting the structure. Furthermore, these blocks will spread corruption.
- If you’re planning a long game, make sure to create an enormous wooden moat around your base. This would prevent rapid corruption that commonly occurs during Hardmode.
- Only one NPC per house is allowed.
- If you damage a house, the NPC who previously inhabited the room will walk around aimlessly until you rebuild it. If the NPC is killed, it can only respawn once you make another valid house.
- You can assign a specific NPC to a particular home via the right-side menu.
- Although you do not need a full back wall, a lack of tiles can cause monsters to spawn within the house.
Placement of crafting stations and various objects
Crafting is a vital part of Terraria. As such, the whole process needs to be as efficient as possible.
Crafting stations should be close to your spawning point. That way, as soon as you appear in Terraria base, you can start smelting bars and creating new weapons, armor, and accessories. We prefer having main chests nearby as this allows us to assemble some basic recipes.
Here’s the breakdown of the main crafting stations and how to place them in your base:
Work bench
This is the basic crafting station that you need at the start of the game. It allows you to make wooden armor, which becomes obsolete rather quickly. More importantly, you use this crafting station to make the basic furniture and lighting for your home.
Once you create a large, fully functional Terraria base that can host all the NPCs, the work bench becomes somewhat obsolete. You want to place it in a prominent place during the pre-Hardmode and change its placement later on.
Anvils and forges
Anvils and forges are your main crafting stations. You want to place them together; as soon as you smelt ore with a forge, you’ll use the anvil to craft new weapons and armor.
These two stations should be at your spawning point. Ideally, you should also have one or two stashes nearby with all your materials. This would allow you to make just about anything on the stop. Ideally, you should also have a guide nearby to check the available recipes.
As better anvils and forges become available, you can use a pickaxe to remove old ones and replace them with new models.
Tinkerer’s Workshop
After anvils and forges, Tinkerer’s Workshop is the most important crafting station in the game. It can be used by any class and remains relevant until the end of the game.
Tinkerer’s Workshop allows you to combine different accessories, gaining better versions. The station doesn’t have to be in the same room as the anvil and forge, but it should be close enough.
Alchemy Table and Cooking Pot
With these two crafting stations, you can create potions and food. They can be useful prior to big boss fights. However, most players do not like to hassle with constant potion and food creation, so; you can probably place them in a secondary or tertiary craft room (if the main room doesn’t have enough space).
The Alchemy Table and Cooking Pot become more important on Expert and Master difficulty as you cannot complete the game without buffs. So, only on these difficulty levels would you want them to be closer to your spawning point.
All other crafting stations
As for other notable crafting stations, such as Bookcase, Crystal Ball, and Imbuing Station, you’ll use them sporadically. There’s no need to place them close to your spawning point, as they’ll only make a mess of your crafting menu.
Storage
We always like to have two or three stashes close to the spawning point and anvil/forge. That way, you can get all the necessary ingredients when making advanced armor and weapons. Alternatively, you can have specialized stashes for each station (critter chest close to Cooking Pot, plant chest close to Alchemy Table).
Experienced players like to create massive storage rooms where they’ll have all these things they have accrued during numerous playthroughs. However, if you’re playing Terraria for the first time, you would want to be as efficient as possible. So, my suggestion is much more valid.
Teleporters
As the game progresses, Teleporters become more important. They should be placed somewhat closer to your spawning point (not necessarily in the same room), so you can use them immediately.
Protecting your base from incursions
Throughout the game, you’ll have to protect your base from enemies. While these incursions are rather benign at the start of the game, they become overwhelming come Hardmode. To make things worse, you’ll have to deal with numerous events where monsters are so tough that they can kill you and all the NPCs within the Terraria base.
Here are some tips that will help you protect the base:
- The best way to protect your castle is to place it above the ground. You can always access it via teleport or ropes. You can make a floating base from just about any material except for slush, silt, and sand.
- If you want to make a base on the ground, make sure there is a moat in front of all the entrance points. Alternatively, you can raise the door above the floor level so that the monster cannot open them. Keep in mind that this will not prevent floating monsters from entering the Terraria base.
- Another cool way to prevent monsters from entering the base is by putting furniture right behind the doors. However, this would also prevent you from entering the Terraria base (although it will not prevent you from entering).
- Lastly, you can create various offensive traps that would kill the monsters as soon as they enter your base or approach it.
