Our previous Terraria guides focused on helping you progress to each boss battle as quickly as possible. This section of the guide is a little different. Terraria is a great big open world with all kinds of things to see, build, and explore. Below, we've detailed some of the things you might want to do before powering your way to the next boss battle.

If you do just want to progress toward the endgame as quickly as you can, just skip down to the section on the Dungeon and Skeletron.

Craft Some Decent Armor

Up until now you've likely been lumbering around in a set of Silver or Gold armor. While both these sets provide fair protection, your ability to summon and defeat the Eater of Worlds at will now gives you access to materials necessary for constructing Shadow Armor, a very protective suit with added speed bonuses. Using some Worm Food, summon and harvest an Eater or two for the Demonite and Shadow Scales they drop, then head home to your Anvil and craft a shiny new three-piece Shadow Armor set. Your defenses will love you for it.

Dig Up a Meteor

Sometime after destroying your first Shadow Orb, you'll see a message indicating that a Meteorite has fallen. Meteorite crashes can happen almost anywhere on the surface of the Overworld. They replace the Biome they strike with a cratered area lined with rich Meteorite Ore and guarded by Meteor Heads.

Meteorite Ore is a crucial ingredient in several Items, including the Meteor Armor and the Space Gun. Creating a complete set of these items grants you a potent ranged attack with unlimited ammunition, a prospect which makes Meteorite excavation a more than worthwhile endeavor.

Finding the Meteorite crash site is a matter of luck. It can be almost anywhere near the World's surface, even underwater. If you leave your home on a meteor-gathering expedition, be well prepared for a long hike. Include some Dirt blocks in your inventory, and bring your shiny new Nightmare Pickaxe.

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Why are you bringing Dirt on a mining trip? Well, contact with Meteorite Ore causes damage. Unless you are carrying an Obsidian Skull, you're going to need to lay out some Dirt on top of the Meteorite to shield you from contact as you mine. Meteorite Ore is harmless once it's mined by your Pickaxe, you just can't touch it while it's in its natural state.

If you have at least twenty blocks of Obsidian encountered during mining with your new Nightmare Pickaxe, do yourself a huge favor and smelt an Obsidian Skull and bring it along with you. Obsidian Items protect you from fire damage, including damage inflicted from Meteorite Ore. It's unlikely you have Obsidian at this stage in the game, but if you've managed to collect some it makes mining your first Meteor much easier.

Finally, bring some Dynamite and Sticky Bombs. Dynamite breaks up Meteorite quite nicely, and a few well-placed sticks can dissipate the spawning of Meteor Heads. These nasty critters pass straight through all block types just like the Eye of Cthulhu, and they make concentrating on mining a difficult prospect.

Once you find the crash site, carefully position yourself at a safe distance and chuck Dynamite into the crater to break up the bulk of the Meteor. Switch weapons to fight off the approaching Meteor Heads, and repeat the cycle until you've loosened most of the ore up. Use Sticky Bombs to clear out any nooks and then lay Dirt to create a safe avenue of approach to reach the harvested ore.

Build a Bridge

Some Terraria players find it expedient to build a bridge across the upper reaches of the world. A long, flat bridge spanning the width of the map has many advantages.(You will need in a large world about 4-5 stacks to build the bridge.)Travel is generally much quicker than across the Terrain of the lower world. Pits and Chasms no longer slow progress. Sky bridges also allow for easy gathering nightly of Fallen Stars. Dangerous Jungle and Corruption Biome foes usually spawn beneath a bridge and this cannot reach the player during bridge travel. Additionally, a player building a bridge high enough may encounter one or more Floating Islands during construction.

There are two main disadvantages to bridges. First, they take an enormous amount of time, material, and labor to build. Second, they inhibit incoming Meteor crashes, leaving only very small deposits of Meteorite along the bridge. Thus, it is recommended that players interested in Meteorite ore do not build a bridge until they have enough in hand to satisfy their crafting requirements.

Players who want to exercise smooth travel without a sky bridge can always excavate and bridge a straight surface-level path across their world map. They'll also need to plan for entry and exit points along the bridge accessible by grapple. The process is tedious but greatly speeds travel to remote locations, and often results in the excavator making important discoveries.

Fabricate Obsidian

Obsidian is formed when Water and Lava come into contact. By crafting a few Buckets it is possible to haul Lava from the fourth Strata to the upper regions and dump the Lava into Water to make Obsidian blocks.

More enterprising players may locate a large body of Water and a Lava area beneath that water, and craft a tunnel dropping the water into the Lava pool. Start just below the flooded cave, leaving a thin layer of material between the water and the shaft, and then dig a tunnel to the Lava. Climb back to the water and break out the cave bottom to send water flooding downward, creating a large quantity of Obsidian.

Obsidian is a vital component in the Obsidian Skull and other important fire-retardants, and a necessary component to visiting the deeper regions of Hades.

Go to Hell

The fifth and deepest subterranean Strata of Terraria is Hades. This shadowy dystopia is home to many dangerous enemies and perilous pits of Lava, but also hosts important mineral deposits of Hellstone.

Survival in Hades requires a player to equip one or more Fire-resistant Items or Potions crafted from Obsidian. The native Hellstone will immolate any adventurer unprotected by these materials.

The floor of Hades is a series of Lava pools interspersed by Hellstone buildings. Many of these structures contain Chests full of useful items. Alchemy ingredients like Fireblossom are also found in Hades.

Many players choose to build a single, narrow shaft from somewhere on the surface to a safe landing area in Hades. The sides of this drop should be completely smooth to prevent high-velocity falls onto an outcropping which will result in the player's death.

Near the bottom of the shaft, a falling player can use a Grappling Hook or other grappling Item to slow their descent. It is also possible using Buckets to construct a pool of water near the bottom to break a long fall.

After searching Floating Islands, Lucky Horseshoes allow the player to fall without risking damage.

Explore the Dungeon

Near either the Eastern or Western extremity of the the map is the Dungeon. This vast cavern complex weaves thousands of feet beneath the surface of the world. Hidden within are a myriad of unique Items, including Books, Golden Keys, Bones, and many other treasures.

The entrance to the Dungeon is guarded by an Old Man. Speaking to him during the day produces no effect, but talking with him at night transforms him into Skeletron, a disembodied flying skull accompanied by two flying hands.

Bypassing the Old Man and entering the Dungeon is not an option. If you attempt to do so, Dungeon Guardians appear. The flying skulls are similar to Skeletron which can kill a player in a single hit. They will persistently attack any invader who enters the deep before Skeletron is destroyed.

The area just outside the Dungeon usually makes a good Skeletron battle site. Level off a long space for running, clear the area above you of any obstacles which might stop projectiles, and be sure to lay a lot of Torches, as the battle will take place at night.

You'll want to be equipped with at least Shadow Armor, a thousand or more rounds of ammunition (Silver Bullets if you can afford them), plenty of healing Potions, and ye olde Minishark. When you're ready, make your way to the Old Man early in the evening and pick a fight.

Skeletron is more of an endurance match than the previous two bosses. Shoot his head, dodge his hands as well as you can, potion up the moment you drop a significant fraction of health, and repeat. Hold your trigger down and your mouse over his skull, and just keep shooting him in the head. When he stops to spin threateningly, pour on the fire. It's a great time to score cheap hits. He'll fall surprisingly easily so long as you aim true and are properly equipped.

Once Skeletron is fallen, you gain full access to the Dungeon. Inside are rich treasures guarded by a gauntlet of enemies and traps. You may come and go from here as you please at this point in the game. Skeletron will not return, and Dungeon Guardians will no longer appear.

Inside the Dungeon you'll find Books and Potions stored on shelves, which you may repossess with your Hammer. Hidden in chests you'll likely find a treasure trove of Crystal Hearts, rare items. and Golden Keys. These Keys are used to open special chests hidden on the floating islands in the sky.

Be wary of the traps, including simple spikes and hidden arrow triggers.

Also be on the lookout for Bones harvested from the Dungeon's skeletal denizens. Gathering enough bones allows you to construct the awesome Necro Armor. Though the defenses of Necro Armor are slightly weaker than Shadow Armor, the suit's ammo-saving special ability allows you to use the Minishark almost indefinitely and makes the trade off more than fair.

Welcome to the Jungle

The Glowing Orbs are deep within the caverns of the Jungle. Exploring these depths requires careful preparation. A Grappling Hook is absolutely required, and a very healthy supply of Glowsticks and Torches is recommended. Powerful melee and ranged weapons should both be carried, along with plenty of ammunition and healing Potions.

Light doesn't carry far in the Jungle caves thanks to the thick vine cover. Use ranged attacks to clear out the foliage and your torchlight will carry much further.

Most Jungle enemies are best defeated by keeping your distance. Descend shafts carefully, and toss Glowsticks in holes to reveal the possible presence of Man Eaters. Take note that these sinister chomping plants often hide inside walls and only occasionally reveal themselves. Spend a few seconds waiting and watching before advancing into new territory.

Don't expect to explore the whole Jungle in a single visit. The area is huge, and you may need to ascend and resupply many times to harvest all the goods you need.

Search the Skies

Hovering high above the world of Terraria are Floating Islands. Each island contains a small room completely made of precious metal, holding a single special Chest locked by a Golden Key.

These keys are found in the Dungeon, and each will open a single chest. Inside are one of several unique Items.

Floating islands are had to find. Constructing a sky bridge often reveals all floating islands in a world, as building such a structure places the player in close proximity. Tenacious players can also find islands simply by building and climbing simple pillars.

Get Crafty

Patient and methodical players may enjoy the process of exploring Terraria's many Crafting options. In regular mode, there are no less than fourteen types of Crafting Station!

Building Projects

Terraria's terrain arrangement options allow artistic players to construct a number of elaborate structures. The Crafting stations provide a myriad of material and coloration options for building houses, palaces, architectural experiments, and works of sculpture.

The ready availability of soil and seeds allows players to create more practical construction projects, including farms and artificial Biomes. Gathering seeds from different enviornments and replanting them in dirt allows the player to more easily gather essential aclemy compinents.