The Guide is the first NPC to appear in your world. As a beginner, you’ll most likely spend time interacting with him, asking for help in Terraria. After all, the game highlights progression and rewards you for defeating bosses like Queen Bee and Deerclops.
After some good progress, you’ll notice a message on the bottom left side of the screen saying someone has arrived in your Town. That’s one of many more NPCs that will come, offering unique services like a Quest and Reward system, item exchange, healing, and evil biome removal.
From Pre-Hardmode to Hardmode, we’ll help you how to get all NPCs in Terraria. This guide will reveal their best neighbors and biomes, their purpose for appearing, and discuss their Happiness levels to maximize your gameplay.
How Many NPCs Are in Terraria?
The short answer is 40. In a normal playthrough, there are 26 NPCs. Another three don’t need housing, and 11 are Town Pets and Town Slimes.
With that said, here’s a table of every NPC in Terraria. We’ve included helpful information, including their purpose, when they start appearing, and their best biomes and neighbors to increase their happiness.
Regular NPCs
In this category, you’ll find everyone that will join your Town after reaching specific milestones aside from an available housing.
| NPC | Purpose | Appears After | Best Biomes (in order) | Best Neighbors (in order) |
| Guide | Gives you helpful information linear to your gameplay progression. | Creating a new world. | Forest | Clothier, Princess, Zoologist |
| Merchant | Sells basic items, including Safe and Bug Net. Stocks will change depending on the biome. | Having 50 Silver Coins or more. | Forest | Golfer, Nurse, Princess |
| Nurse | Restores your health at the expense of Coins. | Having more than 100 HP. | Hallow | Arms Dealer, Princess, Wizard |
| Demolitionist | Sells explosives, explosive materials, and Hellfire Arrows. | Obtaining any explosive. Creating a new world (For the worthy seed). | Cavern, Underground, Underworld | Mechanic, Princess, Tavernkeep |
| Dye Trader | Sells basic dyes and the Dye Vat. Gives free Dyes by exchanging Strange Plants. | Obtaining a dye or any item that can become dye. | Desert | Arms Dealer, Painter, Princess |
| Angler | Assigns fishing quests and rewards you upon completion. | Interacting with the Sleeping Angler at the Ocean (or rarely in the Underworld) | Ocean | Demolitionist, Party Girl, Princess, Tax Collector |
| Zoologist | Sells various items ranging from Mounts and Pets to Vanity Items. You’ll also get the Universal Pylon after defeating the Moon Lord. | Filling up 54 entries in the Bestiary. | Forest | Golfer, Princess, Witch Doctor |
| Dryad | Sells various seeds. Can also give you a progression update for removing Corruption, Crimson, and Hallow biomes. | Defeating the Brain of Cthulhu or Eater of Worlds, Eye of Cthulhu, and Skeletron. | Jungle | Princess, Truffle, Witch Doctor |
| Painter | Sells Paintings, Wallpapers, and Painting-related tools. Stock will change depending on Moon Phase, Events, and biome. | Having eight other NPCs to move in. Old Man and Traveling Merchant count. | Jungle | Dryad, Party Girl, Princess |
| Golfer | Sells golf-related items. You can unlock more after playing and reaching certain amounts of golf points. | “Rescuing” him in the Underground Desert. | Forest | Angler, Painter, Princess, Zoologist |
| Arms Dealer | Sells guns and various ammunition. | Acquiring a Gun or any Bullets. | Desert | Nurse, Princess, Steampunker |
| Tavernkeep | Sells various Sentry-Summoning Weapons and related armor sets for Coins and Defender Medals. | Defeating the Brain of Cthulhu in Crimson or Eater of Worlds in Corruption. | Hallow | Demolitionist, Goblin Tinkerer, Princess |
| Stylist | Changes your hairstyle and sells hair dyes. | “Rescuing”her in the Spider Cave. | Ocean | Dye Trader, Pirate, Princess |
| Goblin Tinkerer | Sells the Tinkerer’s Workshop and other items. Can also modify your Weapon or Tool in exchange for Coins, increasing or decreasing its stats. | “Rescuing” him in the Cavern layer after defeating the Goblin Invasion event. | Cavern, Underground, Underworld | Dye Trader, Mechanic, Princess |
| Witch Doctor | Sells the Imbuing Station, Bewitching Table, Fountains, and several summoner items. | Defeating Queen Bee | Jungle | Dryad, Guide, Princess |
| Clothier | Sells vanity items that change depending on biomes, events, moon phases, and mode. | Defeating Skeletron | Cavern, Underground, Underworld | Princess, Tax Collector, Truffle |
| Mechanic | Sells items related to Wires and Mechanisms. | “Rescuing” her in the Dungeon. | Snow | Cyborg, Goblin Tinkerer, Princess |
| Party Girl | Sells novelty items and the Celebration after you defeat Golem. | Having 14 other NPCs to move to Town (2.5% chance). If killed, unlike other NPCs, the 2.5% chance is reset. | Hallow | Princess, Stylist, Wizard, Zoologist |
| Wizard | Sells magic-related items, including the Ice Rod. | “Rescuing” him in the Cavern layer. He rarely spawns after defeating the Wall of Flesh. | Hallow | Golfer, Merchant, Princess |
| Tax Collector | Collects Coins for you from other NPCs, including himself, but excluding town pets. The total amount ranges from 25 Gold Coins to 33 Gold Coins, 33 Silver Coins, & 33 Copper Coins. | Throwing a Purification Powder to a Tortured Soul in the Underworld | Snow | Merchant, Party Girl, Princess |
| Truffle | Sells Mushroom-related items and the Autohammer for you to craft Shroomite Bars. | Building suitable housing in or near a Glowing Mushroom biome. | Glowing Mushroom | Dryad, Guide, Princess |
| Pirate | Sells Pirate-themed items and Cannons. | Surviving and defeating the Pirate Invasion. | Ocean | Angler, Princess, Tavernkeep |
| Steampunker | Sells Cogs, Crafting Stations, Solutions, Clentaminator and other related items. | Defeating at least one Mechanical Boss (Skeletron Prime, The Destroyer, or The Twins) | Desert | Cyborg, Painter, Princess |
| Cyborg | Sells Rockets, Proximity Mine Launcher, and Accessories. | Defeating Plantera. | Snow | Pirate, Princess, Steampunker, Stylist |
| Santa Claus | Sells Christmas-related decors and vanity items. | Defeating the Frost Legion during the Christmas season (December 15 to 31. Can be changed in your device to force the event). | Snow | Princess |
| Princess | Sells Hallow-themed items. | Defeating Plantera, which all NPCs are already in your Town. Santa Claus and Town Pets aren’t included. | All | All |
Unique NPCs
Unlike their normal counterparts, unique NPCs don’t need a valid house, although there are still criteria for them to spawn.
| NPC | Purpose | Appears After |
| Traveling Merchant | Sells various goods, changing stocks depending on chances. | Acquiring at least two NPCs (22.12%), excluding the Old Man and Skeleton Merchant. |
| Old Man | Summon Skeletron and become the Clothier that sells vanity items. | World creation. |
| Skeleton Merchant | Sells various goods, changing stocks depending on Moon Phases and mode. | Wandering in the Caverns (by chance). |
Other NPCs
This category focuses on Town Pets. Like normal ones, they need proper housing, although they can occupy the same space as normal NPCs. It’s noteworthy that they can be helpful for placing Pylons in strategic places in Terraria.
| NPC | Appears After |
| Town Cat | Purchasing a Cat License from the Zoologist. Available breeds are White, Silver, Russian Blue, Orange Tabby, Black, and Siamese. |
| Town Dog | Purchasing a Dog License from the Zoologist. Available breeds are Husky, Dalmatian, Corgi, Beagle, Pit Bull, and Labrador. |
| Town Bunny | Purchasing a Bunny License from the Zoologist. Available breeds are Silver, Lop, Flemish, Dutch, Angora, and White. |
| Nerdy Slime | Defeating King Slime. |
| Cool Slime | The Party Girl initiates a Party. |
| Elder Slime | Using a Golden Key to an Old Shaking Chest you can find in the Cavern Layer. Defeating Skeletron is a must first. |
| Clumsy Slime | Finding a Clumsy Balloon Slime in the Space Layer and breaking its balloon. |
| Diva Slime | Finding a Shimmer and discarding a Sparkle Slime Balloon. |
| Surly Slime | Fishing in any water source during the Blood Moon event. |
| Mystic Slime | Using a Purification Powder on a Mystic Frog that you can find in the Jungle. |
| Squire Slime | Dropping a Copper Shortsword or a Copper Helmet on any Slime. |
What if an NPC dies?
Especially in Expert Mode and Master Mode in Terraria, the chances of your NPC dying from a Wandering Eye or Zombie is high. Thankfully, they’ll spawn after a while as long as a suitable vacant house is available.
With Party Girl, though, there’s only a 2.5% chance for her to spawn even if she was in your Town before.
Conclusion
Every NPC in Terraria is unique. They have unique specializations you can afford depending on your goal. Regardless, all of them wants to be happy. After all, the world is on the brink of destruction if not for the Dryad’s effort to contain Cthulhu and his subordinates.
Start building houses now, don’t let them near Crimson or Corruption, and put a smile on every NPC. We’re sure that’s a great way to get the most profit when selling items or collecting from the Tax Collector. Even better, Pylons will add extreme convenience to your Terraria gameplay!
