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Terraria is home to a wide range of NPCs, from simple animal lovers to beautiful princesses, you can build houses and populate your world. Rather than keeping your NPCs alone and cooped up, you will be able to increase their happiness.
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Shimmer is a shiny resource in Terraria that allows you to transform objects. Here's all you need to know about this rare liquid.Happiness is determined by a few factors, including what biome they are currently living in. With a large number of NPCs, it can be hard to sort out who wants to live where, but that's where we come in! Here, you can learn the best placement for each NPC in Terraria.
Updated January 6, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: Finding and housing every NPC in Terraria is no simple feat. We've updated this guide with a bit more information on NPC placement, as well as how Crimson and Corruption affect their happiness.
Available NPCs
There are 26 NPCs in Terraria. This includes 18 pre-Hardmode NPCs and 8 hardmode NPCs. When you first start in your world, the difficulty will be set to pre-Hardmode; in this mode, you will not have all enemies and NPCs unlocked yet.
To convert a world to Hardmode, you will need to defeat the Wall of Flesh. Once this boss is defeated, you will have access to a new biome and the 8 NPCs.
Below, you can check out all the possible NPCs as well as how to unlock them.
Pre-Hardmode NPCs
Hardmode NPCs
NPC Happiness
All NPCs in Terraria have a happiness level. This is affected by biomes and other NPCs. Each person has a favorite and least favorite biome, as well as others that they prefer to live near. For example, the Zoologist likes the forest, dislikes the desert, and loves living near the Witch Doctor.
When an NPC is the happiest they can be, they will sell special items — including Pylons.
What Are Pylons?
A pylon is an item that allows you to teleport to different biomes, and will only work when in their respective biome. They are incredibly useful for traveling, so you will definitely want your NPCs to be as happy as possible.
The NPC preferences do not line up perfectly, but that's okay. If more than one villager sells a pylon, you really only need to focus on one of them. If you move some NPCs around, they may stop selling pylons; to get the pylon option back, simply put them back in their biome of choice with their preferred NPCs.
Pylons only work if there are at least two living creatures nearby. This includes NPCs and town animals. Without any NPCs or pets, the pylon will not be able to teleport you.
Forest Biome
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NPCs |
Golfer, Guide, Zoologist |
|---|
The Forest is the first biome that you will encounter. It's pretty basic and many NPCs prefer not to live here.
These three NPCs are pretty simple to find. The guide will already be in the Forest when you start in your world and you will have no problem finding the others. With this setup, you will be able to purchase the Forest Pylon.
You will need to have more than one pylon in order to use them efficiently. So if this is your first pylon, it won't be of much use.
Snow Biome
|
NPCs |
Mechanic, Goblin Tinkerer, Cyborg |
|---|
Next, we have the NPCs in the snow biome. The Mechanic and Goblin Tinkerer both love each other, so they make a perfect pair. Although the Goblin Tinkerer doesn't prefer living in the snow, he supplements the Mechanic's happiness.
When adding in the Cyborg, the Mechanic will be as happy as can be and will proceed to sell the Snow Pylon.
Santa Claus can also be placed in this biome, but since he is only available for part of December, you do not have to worry about placing him. He will always sell the same items (with the exception of a Pylon, which depends on his happiness).
His appearance is a nice holiday treat, but largely just that since you can reliably get pylons elsewhere.
Desert Biome
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NPCs |
Nurse, Arms Dealer, Steampunker |
|---|
The Nurse is an important NPC early into a game. For a small fee, she will completely heal you. This is very useful when just starting since you do not have that much health. Overall, you will want to place her in the desert, but remember that you can temporarily relocate her to heal you.
For example, you will probably fight the Eye of Cthulhu first. Having the nurse nearby will ensure that you don't die during this fight. Once you are strong enough, move the Nurse to the desert with the Arms Dealer. After converting to Hardmode, add the Steampunker.
Jungle Biome
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NPCs |
Dryad, Painter, Witch Doctor |
|---|
This is probably the easiest biome to set up. All of the NPCs like each other and the biome they are in, and the painter is in love with the Dryad. Once you discover a Jungle, add these three NPCs and you will have the pylon in no time.
Ocean Biome
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NPCs |
Merchant, Angler, Pirate |
|---|
The ocean is the biome that's furthest away from you. Because of this, it will probably take you a while to get there. You will have to cross dangerous biomes to get here, so you will definitely want to prepare.
The Merchant will be one of the first NPCs you find, but you don't have to place him at the beach right away. The Angler will already be at the ocean, so you can just build him a house right as you encounter him with no relocation necessary.
When the world is converted to Hardmode, add the Pirate and buy your pylon!
Glowing Mushroom Biome
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NPCs |
Stylist, Dye Trader, Truffle |
|---|
This unique biome has two variations. Above, you can see the underground version. This biome can also be present on the surface. The surface version of this biome must be created, so it takes a little bit of work.
Once you build yourself an above-ground Glowing Mushroom biome, you can place the Stylist, Dye Trader, and Truffle.
Underground Biome
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NPCs |
Clothier, Demolitionist, Tax Collector |
|---|
Underground can refer to several different biome variations. But for NPC placement, we are going to focus on the Caverns because the bulk of the underground consists of this type. When exploring, you will see the wall/background made with dirt. The wall will eventually change to a stone material once you come across the Cavern biome.
It can be a bit difficult to make suitable houses in this biome. You will need to clear out any existing wall with a hammer and make a flat surface to place your house. Once you have enough room for three NPCs, place the Clothier, Demolitionist, and Tax Collector.
Try not to place these NPCs too far away from your main base; the Demolitionist is a great source of bombs. You don't want to be too far away from him.
Hallows Biome
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NPCs |
Party Girl, Tavernkeep, Wizard |
|---|
Finally, we have the Hallows biome. The Hallows unlocks when the world is converted to Hardmode, so you may not have this biome yet. Fortunately, you can just temporarily relocate the Party Girl and Tavernkeep. Try to keep them together and then move their houses when you have a Hallows biome.
The Hallows biome can spread as well. After your world is in Hardmode and you have enough of the Hallows, place the Party Girl, Tavernkeep, and Wizard.
The Princess
You may have noticed that the Princess is nowhere on this list. The Princess is a unique NPC in that she has no preferences.
When placed in any biome with up to three other NPCs, she is happy. Additionally, every NPC likes her. You can pretty much place her anywhere you want as long as there are other NPCs nearby. Her happiness will go down if she is lonely.
Can NPCs Live in Crimson Or Corruption?
Crimson and Corruption are the evil biomes that appear in the world. You will be able to choose which evil biome you want while setting up the world; generally, you can only have one. Regardless of if you have Crimson or Corruption, NPCs will not be able to live here.
Like the Hallows, these biomes will spread. When the evil spreads to another biome, such as the forest, any housing will become unlivable. In turn, this kicks the NPC out of their home, making them homeless. From here, you can either relocate them or remove the Crimson/Corruption.
