Terra Codex
// the open codex of terraria
// early game

Terraria Beginners Guide — your first steps and early game

Your first hour

Chop trees for wood and build a small enclosed house so the Guide can move in — that unlocks crafting help and more NPCs. Make a Work Bench, then wooden tools and a weapon. Dig down for ore, light caves with torches, and grab any chests you find.

Early ore progression

Upgrade your pickaxe and gear through the pre-Hardmode ore tiers, each mineable once you have the previous tier's pickaxe:

Smelt ore into bars at a Furnace, then craft armor and tools at an Anvil.

Pre-Hardmode bosses

Once you have a little gear, take on the pre-Hardmode bosses in roughly this order — each drops materials for the next step:

Defeating the Wall of Flesh ends pre-Hardmode and starts Hardmode.

Essential early NPCs

Build houses to attract key vendors: the Merchant (basic tools and the piggy bank), the Nurse (healing), the Demolitionist (explosives for mining), and the Dryad (herbs and status). More NPCs arrive as you progress.

Frequently asked

How do you start playing Terraria? +

Gather wood, build a small house so the Guide moves in, craft a Work Bench and basic tools, then mine ore to upgrade your pickaxe, armor and weapon before taking on the first bosses.

What is the first boss in Terraria? +

King Slime or the Eye of Cthulhu are the usual first bosses; the Eye of Cthulhu appears at night once you have 200 HP and some armor, or can be summoned with a Suspicious Looking Eye.

What should you do first in Terraria? +

Build a base with houses for NPCs, explore caves for chests and ore, and work up the early ore tiers (copper through hellstone) to prepare for the Wall of Flesh and Hardmode.

Related

Progression checklistHardmode guideFishing guideClass guides