It’s a matter of creativity and expertise when building traps around your house to prevent monsters from entering at night. On the other hand, creating farms for some essential items requires knowledge of automation. Different possibilities are endless, all thanks to Wires in Terraria.
However, how do they work in the game, and where to find them in the first place? It’s a complex mechanic for beginners but can be learned to your advantage. This guide will also tackle everything about Wires and what you can craft with the material.
Wire – Overview
Triggering Items like Lever, Switch, or Pressure Plate are connected by mechanisms. These mechanisms are affixed with the unique item, Wire. Placing them requires a Wrench, and getting them back needs a Wire Cutter.
Although Wires may seem to require their space when occupying, it’s the opposite. Whether they’re blocks, furniture, walls, or even lava, it’s possible to have the mechanism overlapped. The item is also immune to explosions and can be placed in midair without supporting blocks. Moreover, different colors can coexist without side interference.
Wires are invisible in default unless you’re holding a mechanism-related object from your inventory. But the best way to get an overview upon placement is by carrying a Mechanical Lens or The Grand Design. These tools let you see and control individual wires’ visibility regardless of the color.
Wire Cutter and Wrenches lets you place and cut 25 tiles horizontally. However, The Grand Design enables you to do the same functionality as long as it’s on the screen.
The following items are mechanism-related tools you can craft with different crafting stations or purchase from the Mechanic NPC:
| Tool | Price/Crafting Materials Needed | Crafting Station (if applicable) | Use |
| Actuation Rod | • Actuator (50) • Iron Bar or Lead Bar (10) • Wire (10) | Iron Anvil or Lead Anvil | Toggles Actuators on and off |
| Blue Wrench | Gold Coin (2) | Places Blue Wire | |
| Green Wrench | Gold Coin (2) | Places Green Wire | |
| Multicolor Wrench | • Blue Wrench (1) • Green Wrench (1) • Red Wrench (1) • Wire Cutter (1) • Yellow Wrench (1) | Places and removes Wire of all colors | |
| Red Wrench | Gold Coin (2) | Places red Wire | |
| The Grand Design | • Mechanical Lens (1) • Multicolor Wrench (1) • Ruler (1) • Wire (1) | Tinkerer’s Workshop | Places and removes all Wire colors and Actuators |
| Wire Cutter | Gold Coin (2) | Cuts Wire | |
| Yellow Wrench | Gold Coin (2) | Places yellow Wire |
How to Get Wire?
Although most items are craftable in Terraria, you can’t get Wire via crafting. Instead, you can purchase a piece from the Mechanic for Silver Coin (5). Alternatively, you can find some Wire from naturally-occurring mechanisms on the Underground, including Dungeons and Jungle Temples.
Crafting
Combining this material with other types makes another item or an existing item’s Trapped version. These are:
| Item | Wire Quantity | Other Materials Needed | Hand | Heavy Workbench | Iron Anvil/Lead Anvil | Loom | Mythril Anvil/Orichalcum Anvil | Tinkerer’s Workshop |
| 1 Second Timer | 1 | • Gold Watch (1) or Platinum Watch (1) | ✓ | |||||
| 3 Second Timer | 1 | • Silver Watch (1) or Tungsten Watch (1) | ✓ | |||||
| 5 Second Timer | 1 | • Copper Watch (1) or Tin Watch (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Active Stone Block | 1 | Stone Block (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Actuation Rod | 10 | • Actuator (50) • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) | ✓ | |||||
| Announcement Box | 4 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Sign (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Cyan Weighted Pressure Plate | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Blue Pressure Plate (1) or Brown Pressure Plate (1) or Gray Pressure Plate (1) or Green Pressure Plate (1) or Lihzahrd Pressure Plate (1) or Orange Pressure Plate (1) or Red Pressure Plate (1) or Yellow Pressure Plate (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Explosives | 1 | Dynamite (3) | ✓ | |||||
| Inactive Stone Block | 1 | Stone Wall (4) | ✓ | |||||
| Inlet Pump | 2 | Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) | ✓ | |||||
| Liquid Sensor (Any) | 1 | • Cog (5) • Magic Honey Dropper (1) • Magic Lava Dropper (1) • Magic Water Dropper (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Liquid Sensor (Honey) | 1 | • Cog (5) • Magic Honey Dropper (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Liquid Sensor (Lava) | 1 | • Cog (5) • Magic Lava Dropper (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Liquid Sensor (Water) | 1 | • Cog (5) • Magic Water Dropper (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Logic Sensor (Day) | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Soul of Light (5) | ✓ | |||||
| Logic Sensor (Night) | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Soul of Night (5) | ✓ | |||||
| Logic Sensor (Player Above) | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Soul of Sight (5) | ✓ | |||||
| Orange Weighted Pressure Plate | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Blue Pressure Plate (1) or Brown Pressure Plate (1) or Gray Pressure Plate (1) or Green Pressure Plate (1) or Lihzahrd Pressure Plate (1) or Orange Pressure Plate (1) or Red Pressure Plate (1) or Yellow Pressure Plate (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Outlet Pump | 2 | Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) | ✓ | |||||
| Pink Weighted Pressure Plate | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Blue Pressure Plate (1) or Brown Pressure Plate (1) or Gray Pressure Plate (1) or Green Pressure Plate (1) or Lihzahrd Pressure Plate (1) or Orange Pressure Plate (1) or Red Pressure Plate (1) or Yellow Pressure Plate (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Purple Weighted Pressure Plate | 1 | • Iron Bar (10) or Lead Bar (10) • Blue Pressure Plate (1) or Brown Pressure Plate (1) or Gray Pressure Plate (1) or Green Pressure Plate (1) or Lihzahrd Pressure Plate (1) or Orange Pressure Plate (1) or Red Pressure Plate (1) or Yellow Pressure Plate (1) | ✓ | |||||
| The Grand Design | 60 | • Mechanical Lens (1) • Multicolor Wrench (1) • Ruler (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Bamboo Chest | 10 | Bamboo Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Blue Dungeon Chest | 10 | Blue Dungeon Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Bone Chest | 10 | Bone Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Boreal Wood Chest | 10 | Boreal Wood Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Cactus Chest | 10 | Cactus Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Chest | 10 | Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Corruption Chest | 10 | Crimson Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Crimson Chest | 10 | Crimson Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Crystal Chest | 10 | Crystal Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Desert Chest | 10 | Desert Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Dynasty Chest | 10 | Dynasty Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Ebonwood Chest | 10 | Ebonwood Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Flesh Chest | 10 | Flesh Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Frozen Chest | 10 | Frozen Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Glass Chest | 10 | Glass Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Gold Chest | 10 | Gold Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Golden Chest | 10 | Golden Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Golf Chest | 10 | Golf Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Granite Chest | 10 | Granite Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Green Dungeon Chest | 10 | Green Dungeon Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Hallowed Chest | 10 | Hallowed Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Honey Chest | 10 | Honey Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Ice Chest | 10 | Ice Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Ivy Chest | 10 | Ivy Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Jungle Chest | 10 | Jungle Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Lesion Chest | 10 | Lesion Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Lihzahrd Chest | 10 | Lihzahrd Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Living Wood Chest | 10 | Living Wood Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Marble Chest | 10 | Marble Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Martian Chest | 10 | Martian Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Meteorite Chest | 10 | Meteorite Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Mushroom Chest | 10 | Mushroom Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Nebula Chest | 10 | Nebula Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Obsidian Chest | 10 | Obsidian Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Palm Wood Chest | 10 | Palm Wood Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Pearlwood Chest | 10 | Pearlwood Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Pink Dungeon Chest | 10 | Pink Dungeon Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Pumpkin Chest | 10 | Pumpkin Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Rich Mahogany Chest | 10 | Trapped Rich Mahogany Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Sandstone Chest | 10 | Sandstone Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Shadewood Chest | 10 | Shadewood Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Shadow Chest | 10 | Shadow Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Skyware Chest | 10 | Skyware Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Slime Chest | 10 | Slime Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Solar Chest | 10 | Solar Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Spider Chest | 10 | Spider Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Spooky Chest | 10 | Spooky Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Stardust Chest | 10 | Stardust Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Steampunk Chest | 10 | Steampunk Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Vortex Chest | 10 | Vortex Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Water Chest | 10 | Water Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Trapped Web Covered Chest | 10 | Web Covered Chest (1) | ✓ | |||||
| Video Visage | 10 | Glass (10) | ✓ |
Note: Placing Wires (100) will unlock the Engineer achievement in Terraria.
