“Greetings, traveler. Would you like to buy some wares?” That line alone defines what non-playable characters (NPCs) usually are in most games, including Terraria. In the biomes of the said Metroidvania game, you will randomly find a few Terraria NPCs ready to offer you things or services. Some of them can even stay in your base if you want them to.
Not all of the said characters can be found via exploration, though. So, if you are interested in meeting all Terraria NPCs and getting some of them to stay in your base, you need this guide. In this article, we will discuss their typical roles, locations or spawn, and move-in conditions.
What NPCs Do in Terraria
Terraria NPCs play different roles. The said characters are important in Terraria because you need to interact with most of them, if not all, for easier progress and more fun in the game. To elaborate, here is a quick overview of what NPCs usually do in the game:
Sell Items
As already mentioned, and can be expected, many Terraria NPCs are there to sell you items. They offer an assortment of functional and decorative items. You can purchase common to rare weapons, armor, furniture, fixtures, and supplies from NPCs who you find or move to your base.
Give or Trigger Quests
Another common role NPCs take on is being a quest giver or starter. In Terraria, quests from the said characters are usually miscellaneous tasks you can undertake. In some instances, interaction with them can trigger a boss fight.
Report Game Progress
There are a few Terraria NPCs that can give a hint about world status and your hidden statistics. That helps a lot in knowing if you are closer to your in-game goals.
Heal Characters
Terraria potions are not only what you can rely on to restore your health points (HP) whenever your character gets beaten up by enemies. You will find someone among the Terraria NPCs who specializes in healing and is great as a permanent resident in your base.
Enhance Character or House Appearance
Terraria is not only all about battles. The freedom to customize almost everything in it is also what makes it great. And Terraria NPCs are part of why that is possible. Some characters can enhance how your character or house looks. Why not? New haircuts and artworks, for example, make in-game life more exciting, just like in the real world.
Serve as Town Pets
Terraria NPCs include animals, and those characters are called town pets. Town pets are different from what is only called pets in the game. They are not controllable to aid you in battle and cannot defend themselves, unlike the latter. Town pets are usually used only to meet the NPC count requirement for fast-travel structures called pylons but are fun to have in your base. They can be petted and are as cute as their real-life counterparts.
How to Meet NPCs and Make Them Move-In
There are 31 NPCs in Terraria on mobile, including three characters that are not eligible to move in and three town pets. Some wander in the biomes and are easy to find, while others need you to fulfill some conditions before they show up. For example, you have to slay some Terraria bosses or obtain items beforehand.
There are also requirements before an eligible NPC can settle in your base. The universal necessity of those NPCs is a room not yet claimed by any NPC. And by room, we mean a safe enclosed area with a ceiling, walls, lighting, flooring, and at least a basic chair-and-table set. Do not forget to place doors too because the characters need to go outside to do their job, fight enemies, and explore.
Although the game lets you build majestic structures, the most ideal housing for an NPC is a home made of less than 750 blocks. To elaborate, a 60-block room has the best chances of enticing an NPC to live in your base. No wonder there are player videos online questioning or poking fun at Terraria NPC logic when it comes to housing. You build the characters a mansion, yet they prefer a simple and small room more.
There is one more thing to keep in mind when housing Terraria NPCs. On mobile and PC, merchant-type NPCs’ happiness, although it would not lead to moving out when low, dictates the prices of the goods sold. That is a mechanic similar to villager trades in Minecraft, a game often compared to Terraria. In Terraria, though, happiness depends on who your NPCs’ neighbors are and the biome they are living in.
For the specific requirements for each Terraria NPC, read on.
Terraria NPCs Who Can Move-In
1. Guide
Game Mode: Standard
Location: Starting area after loading a new world
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Zoologist, Clothier
Preferred Biome: Forest
The Guide is the first NPC you will meet in Terraria. As his name implies, his role is to give beginner tips and recipes. Equipped with a wooden bow, he shows that NPCs can fight slimes and other weak enemies that go near your house or base.
2. Merchant
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: 50 silver coins in inventory
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Nurse, Golfer
Preferred Biome: Forest
The Merchant sells common items, including torches, bug nets, axes and pickaxes, and lesser healing and mana potions that are good to buy for starters. He also has, among his wares, some basic workstations, including the iron anvil for creating weapons and armor, and the furnace for smelting ore. The Terraria NPC appears in the game when you have enough silver coins as if he knows someone nearby has the money to spend.
3. Nurse
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirements: Merchant, 100 Health Points (HP)
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Arms Dealer, Wizard
Preferred Biome: Hallow
The Nurse is a Terraria NPC that is also like a mage. That is because she can remove debuffs or negative effects inflicted on your character, aside from restoring HP. Adding the said NPC to your base and moving her to an area you are setting up before a fight is one of the most effective strategies to win boss battles. It is like having a nurse station whenever your character needs it.
4. Angler
Game Mode: Standard
Location: Sand area near ocean or Underworld
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Demolitionist, Tax Collector, Party Girl
Preferred Biome: Ocean
If you have read our Terraria fishing guide, you probably know who the Angler is already. He sells the two best fishing equipment and gives rewards if you take on his daily fishing quests, which are great leisure activities in the game.
5. Zoologist
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirements: Bestiary should have 53 entries
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Witch Doctor, Golfer
Preferred Biome: Forest
The Zoologist of Terraria is an anthropomorphic NPC, having foxlike ears and a tail. She offers critter-themed weapons and wearable items in exchange for gold or silver coins. There are also saddles in her catalog.
6. Demolitionist
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirements: Merchant, Explosive in inventory
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Tavernkeep, Mechanic
Preferred Biome: Underground, Underworld, Cavern
Explosives are a good way to eliminate many enemies at once and manipulate the terrain faster. You can stock up on those if you have the Demolitionist in the game. The Terraria NPC sells explosives, including bombs, dynamites, and grenades.
7. Arms Dealer
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: Gun or bullet in inventory
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Nurse, Steampunker
Preferred Biome: Desert
The Arms Dealer is a must-have NPC. That is because he can be your primary source of guns and bullets if you do not want to scour for those objects in the game. Included in his catalog is the Minishark, which is worth 35 gold coins. It is the gun you need to upgrade to a Megashark, one of the strongest weapons to use in early to mid-hard mode.
8. Dye Trader
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirements: Four NPCs spawned, dye ingredient or Strange Plant in inventory, slay Skeletron, Eye of Cthulhu, Brain of Cthulhu, or Eater of Worlds
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Arms Dealer, Painter
Preferred Biome: Desert
The Dye Trader is a challenging NPC to summon for Terraria beginners because slaying one of the standard or pre-hard mode bosses is one of the spawn conditions. Nonetheless, having the Terraria NPC in your base or nearby is worth it. His dye and paint can be exchanged for your Strange Plants and be used to add a personal touch to your armor, weapons, or house.
9. Dryad
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirements: Slay Skeletron, Eye of Cthulhu, Brain of Cthulhu, or Eater of Worlds
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Truffle, Witch Doctor
Preferred Biome: Jungle
The Dryad is unique among Terraria NPCs because she is all-knowing and can grant a buff for your character and resident NPCs. The character can tell you how big the Corruption, Crimson, or Hallow biome is in your in-game world. If you do not know yet, the said evil biomes are added randomly and can spread throughout the map. And it would be good to confirm that because you might want to purify the in-game world from it and keep the game in a sane difficulty. As regards the character’s buff, it is called the Dryad’s Blessing. The special ability boosts defense for allies and deals damage over time to enemies.
10. Painter
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: Eight NPCs spawned
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Dryad, Party Girl
Preferred Biome: Jungle
Pixel art enthusiasts who play the game will appreciate the Painter. The said Terraria NPC offers paintings in the game for a price. The tiny pixel art he sells can depict Terraria scenery or icons so well, so the deals are worth it. The Painter also lets you buy art supplies, including paint and wallpaper.
11. Stylist
Game Mode: Standard
Location: Spider Cave
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Dye Trader, Pirate
Preferred Biome: Ocean
Although you chose your character’s hairstyle at the start of the game, you might want to change it later on for fun. That is why there is a stylist among Terraria NPCs. With her scissors, you can get a new haircut. She also sells hair dyes, which you can consume to change the hue or add effects to hair.
12. Clothier
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: Slay Skeletron
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Truffle, Tax Collector
Preferred Biome: Underground, Underworld, Cavern
If you love the stylist, the fashionista gamer in you might also be fond of the Clothier in the game. The Terraria NPC has everything you need for your themed getups. Here is a fun fact – the Clothier is said to be the Old Man who you cursed to summon Terraria boss Skeletron. If you are done with Skeletron, that is good. He is now free from the curse and living a better life, so no need to despair with what you had to do.
13. Golfer
Game Mode: Standard
Location: Desert (Underground)
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Angler, Painter, Zoologist
Preferred Biome: Forest
If fishing is not enough as a recreational activity for you in Terraria, you probably need to find the Golfer. The NPC offers golfing gear for gold or silver coins. The equipment can be used for setting up and playing the golf minigame in Terraria.
14. Tavernkeep
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: Slay Brain of Cthulu or Eater of Worlds
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Demolitionist, Goblin Tinkerer
Preferred Biome: Hallow
The Tavernkeep is your go-to guy if you chose to take on the role of a Summoner instead of other Terraria classes. He has an expansive catalog of summoning gear, including staffs, canes, and rods. Many of those are ideal to use when fighting waves of enemies during the Terraria-Dungeon Defenders 2 crossover event called Old One’s Army.
15. Goblin Tinkerer
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Condition: Slay goblin army (spawned at dawn if you have 200 HP, broken Crimson Heart of Shadow Orb, and are near a World Spawn Point)
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Mechanic, Dye Trader
Preferred Biome: Underworld, Underground, Cavern
The Goblin Tinkerer is great to have alongside the Arms Dealer, a neighbor he is neutral with. If you have new gear from the Arms Dealer, you can quickly improve it via the Goblin Tinkerer. That is because the latter NPC can reforge your character’s gear by adding or replacing statistics modifiers in the gear slot.
16. Witch Doctor
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: Slay Queen Bee
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Guide, Dryad
Preferred Biome: Jungle
The Witch Doctor is another vendor who sells an assortment of items, including a few summoning weapons. The most important item on the NPC’s catalog, though, is the Imbuing Station. That is the workstation you need to make flasks, a type of potion that grants buffs.
17. Mechanic
Game Mode: Standard
Location: Dungeon
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Goblin Tinkerer, Cyborg
Preferred Biome: Snow
If traps are part of your tactics in Terraria, it is good to look for the Mechanic and make her move into your base. The NPC sells affordable tools, including wrenches, wire cutters, pressure plates, and timers, for your setups.
18. Party Girl
Game Mode: Standard
Spawn Requirement: 14 NPCs spawned
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Zoologist, Wizard, Stylist
Preferred Biome: Hallow
The Party Girl is a vendor of novelties. If you want to liven up your Terraria house, you can have her move into it and buy her party balloons, hats, confetti, lamps, and more.
19. Wizard
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Location: Cavern
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Golfer, Merchant
Preferred Biome: Hallow
The Wizard is among the must-have Terraria NPCs in your base if your character in the game is a mage. He can offer you potent magic items, such as the Greater Mana Potion, and spell tomes and books for a few gold or silver coins.
20. Tax Collector
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Spawn Requirement: Purification of a Tortured Soul in the Underworld
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Golfer, Merchant
Preferred Biome: Snow
Do not be afraid of the Tax Collector staying in your base. He will not collect taxes from you but get payment from your Terraria NPCs instead. He charges each resident NPC 50 bronze coins, which you can use to purchase various things in the game.
21. Steampunker
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Spawn Requirement: Slay Skeletron Prime, The Destroyer, or The Twins
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Cyborg, Painter
Preferred Biome: Desert
The Steampunker is another merchant who puts top-of-the-line items on sale. The most coveted gear from his catalog is the pair of Steampunk Wings. It is one of the best Terraria wings to have. Equally enticing from the NPC’s catalog are the Clentaminator and Teleporter that let you purify evil biomes fast and travel anywhere in the in-game world, respectively.
22. Cyborg
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Spawn Requirement: Slay Plantera
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Steampunker, Stylist, Pirate
Preferred Biome: Snow
If you are a launcher specialist, you will appreciate the Cyborg among all Terraria NPCs. The character can be your main source of rockets, the ammunition needed by your weapon. He has different variants of rockets, be it the ones with a small or wide blast radius.
23. Truffle
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Spawn Requirement: Create Glowing Mushroom biome via mushroom grass and plants
Move-in Requirements: House in the Glowing Mushroom biome, unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Guide, Dryad
Preferred Biome: Glowing Mushroom
The Truffle, like the rare real-life mushroom of the same name, is difficult to spawn. You have to create the biome where it will live, and build a separate house if your base is not in the required environment. Nevertheless, all the effort is worth it if you like to purchase mushroom-themed items from the NPC.
24. Pirate
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Spawn Requirement: Slay 120 pirates summoned via a Pirate Map or randomly by the game
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room
Preferred Neighbors: Angler, Tavernkeep
Preferred Biome: Ocean
The Pirate will help you conquer Terraria, like how he braves the sea through his pirate gear. Among the NPC’s most interesting items is the cannon, which is stationary yet can fire explosives to kill hordes of enemies nearby. You should not worry about using the weapon near the meticulous house you built because it does not break building blocks.
25. Santa Claus
Game Mode: Hard Mode
Spawn Requirement: Slay snowmen summoned via a Snow Globe, Christmas season
Move-in Requirement: Unclaimed room (temporary housing)
Preferred Neighbors: N/A
Preferred Biome: Snow
Santa Claus is a festive character, unlike most Terraria NPCs. He will only spawn from December 15 to 31 on the mobile game, after which he will disappear. That does not mean that he cannot be made to stay in your base during the said period. Santa Claus can be there temporarily, so you can buy all the festive decorations you want. You can also be a Santa Claus yourself through the costumes he sells.
Terraria NPCs Who Cannot Move-In
1. Traveling Merchant
Game Mode: Any
Spawn Requirement: Two NPCs, daytime
Although there are specific conditions when the Traveling Merchant appears, those do not guarantee that he will show up. You will encounter the Terraria NPC randomly. The Traveling Merchant’s catalog also contains random gear, so interact with him whenever you have the chance.
2. Old Man
Game Mode: Standard
Location: Dungeon entrance
The Old Man, like the Guide, is instantly available as you begin your Terraria journey. If you have read our entry on the Clothier, you already know that he is in the game so you can summon Skeletron. As long as he sees you fit to face the said Terraria boss, he will let you curse him. The fight will immediately begin afterward.
3. Skeleton Merchant
Game Mode: Any
Location: Caverns
The Skeleton Merchant is a seller of eerie bone gear and miscellaneous items. His catalog changes depending on the phase of the moon in the game. The most notable among his wares is the Slap Hand, a hand-shaped weapon that inflicts the most knockback damage in Terraria.
Town Pets
1. Town Dog
Game Mode: Any
Spawn Requirement: Use Dog License
Move-in Requirement: NPC-claimed or unclaimed room with two-tile sleeping space
The Town Dog is one of the animal NPCs in Terraria. It comes in different breeds: Labrador, Husky, Dalmatian, Beagle, Pitbull, and Corgi. You have to get and use a license from the Zoologist to have the creature as a pet.
2. Town Cat
Game Mode: Any
Spawn Requirement: Use Cat License
Move-in Requirement: NPC-claimed or unclaimed room with two-tile sleeping space
The Town Cat can be a Siamese, Orange Tabby, Russian Blue, Black, Silver, or White feline. You also need to purchase a license from the Zoologist for it to appear.
3. Town Bunny
Game Mode: Any
Spawn Requirement: Use Bunny License
Move-in Requirement: NPC-claimed or unclaimed room with two-tile sleeping space
Bunnies are the first animals you can encounter as you spawn into the game. If you loved them, there is good news for you. You can obtain your own Town Bunny by purchasing and using a license from the Zoologist. Town Bunnies come in various types: Lop, Angora, Flemish, Dutch, Silver, and White.
Do NPCs Die or Despawn in Terraria?
You already know by now that Terraria NPCs can fight enemies that are near them. We know you are curious about one thing – do they die and not come back to the game?
The answer to that is yes and no, respectively. Terraria NPCs can be slain if they get outnumbered by enemies and are weak. That is why you might want to aid them in battle or visit your base at times to make sure they are safe. Nevertheless, there is no need to worry because they can respawn automatically. That is as long as you still have the requirements fulfilled on your end.
Terraria NPCs may also drop their iconic weapon or headgear when slain, so keep an eye for those.
Do NPCs Improve in Terraria?
If NPCs dying in Terraria still bother you, the best thing you can do for them is to progress into the game – slay more bosses. All of them, including the town pets, can get permanent statistics boosts depending on the boss you defeated in Terraria.
Find Your Terraria NPCs Now
Terraria NPCs are a game-changer. If you are having difficulties scouring for items or want to enjoy the game more, they are great companions to have. We suggest meeting and getting as many NPCs as you can while you are in the early phases of the game. That is because the Terraria world gets tougher to explore and manipulate as you journey into hard mode. Hurry and find your Terraria NPCs today!
