In Terraria, the Moon Lord is the final boss, and it typically takes players many hours to defeat, but speedrunners have conquered him in only a little over an hour. This is done through game knowledge, execution, and skill in niche things like inventory management and the will to reset repeatedly.
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Unfortunately, this run will inevitably be very luck-based, as the main category for Terraria is random seed, classic mode. While other categories, such as Journey mode, All Bosses, or Night's Edge exist, this guide will primarily cover the main leaderboard category. This means going through a randomly generated world in Classic mode until the Moon Lord is defeated.
This guide is based on the one written by ImmortalZypther, (which is a general guide that can apply to most categories) with assistance from Dacktem, Max Overpower, CrabBar, and the Terraria Speedrunning Discord. It is also based on the world record run by afroman in 1:04:42. Both of these have been interpreted in a more beginner-friendly way for this guide.
Before Starting The Run
Reading up on the Category and Game rules before starting any speedrun is never a bad idea, as well as looking through the Speedrun.com page for Terraria for resources and runs in general. To submit a run, video proof is needed, and free software such as OBS is easily recommended.
The category rules make the recommended world and character a Softcore character on a Classic mode, small, Crimson world. World generation must be shown on video for the submission, and the seed cannot be changed. After the world is made, the run can begin, but keep in mind: No glitches, major exploits, or anything of the sort for NMA (No Major Abuses).
The Beginning
The first thing budding Terraria speedrunners should do when spawning in is trying to find a tunnel leading to a cave on the surface. While walking, hit trees with an axe to get fruit. If a desert is found first, heading back to spawn and searching the other way is advisable. However, despite being somewhat dangerous, a Snow or Jungle biome could also work. Looting chests and breaking pots should be done when a cave is found.
Players should go for bombs, a Loom, preferably movement accessories such as Hermes Boots or an Aglet, and some potions. At this stage, Life Crystals and Gems are invaluable; while obtaining these, generally try to avoid enemies and use explosives instead of the pickaxe. Recall to the surface when a satisfactory amount of materials has been obtained. As a rule of thumb, players should make crafting stations and always keep them in the inventory until needed.
Now it's time to build NPC housing, like the image above, for maximum efficiency. First, blow up trees with bombs, then construct a wooden block platform in the air. Next, go nine blocks up with platforms and 21 blocks across, with four blocks of space between lines of platforms.
Place tables and chairs next to each other between these lines, with wooden walls behind and a torch in the middle. Checking with the NPC housing menu to see if it is valid housing is never a bad idea.
Buying & Burrowing
Terraria speedrunners should now wait for NPCs to spawn, namely the demolitionist, then sell off any unnecessary items. For example, blowing up sand and smelting it into glass, then turning the glass into walls and the walls into stained-glass using Gems is an easy and quick way to get tons of money.
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In addition, players should buy an Anvil, Bug Net, Torches, Grenades, Bombs, and Dynamite, which can all be expensive. Throughout the run, Dynamite and Grenades will be the main damage dealer until a normal weapon is obtained.
Now players should use the Dynamite to make a hellavator, a large tunnel going into the Underworld. Assure all chests, ores, and other valuable things are looted along the way. Farming herbs using Clay Pots for potions is also good to set up at this stage.
Head to the Crimson, hopefully after obtaining a Water Candle from the Dungeon, and make a platform above the surface. Use this platform and Water Candle to farm Vertebra until 18 have been obtained. Now players should head into the Crimson underground and break a Crimson Heart, keeping the Musket balls in their inventory to spawn the Arms Dealer.
It's time to head into the Underworld and make the classic Hellbridge—bridge across the Underworld with solid blocks, preferably grabbing a bed and clock. Players should build a small house above the lava and force the Guide to move in. Players should also consider setting up a small house with a bed in it for a quick respawn in case of emergency.
Ensure the bridge is long enough to last, then break the floor beneath the Guide to spawn the Wall of Flesh, killing it using Dynamite and good timing. (This will take a ton of practice. The timing is around one dynamite per second, but it also requires great spacing, so watching a run that does it before attempting is recommended for any player.)
Hardmode
After the Wall has fallen, the items it gives will decide the class that Terraria players use for a while in the run. If the Firecracker is obtained, then Obsidian Armor and Feral Claws should be used. If a Laser Rifle is dropped, then a Gem Robe and Mana Regeneration Potion are enough. The Breaker Blade is a sign to grab a Hel-fire or Gradient.
If a Clockwork Assault Rifle is dropped, the player should get Hellfire arrows, explosive bullets, and optionally a Shotgun from the Arms Dealer. Of course, players could also just default to going for the Shotgun instead of bothering with the Wall of Flesh loot. The emblem obtained may also matter, but players could find an Aether biome with Shimmer to convert it to their class if they find it necessary.
While in Hell, blow up Hellstone and Obsidian, as well as a hellforge, 240 ore for a set of Armor, a Pickaxe, and a Bow if playing Ranger. Players should head to the surface and build around five more houses, mainly for the Steampunker, but the Dryad could grant the ability to make Pumpkin Pie.
Now Players should grab a Spelunker potion and go hunting for Hardmode ores for a Cobalt Drill. Then, it's the time of the run to farm for Souls of Night by carving out a large area in a Spider's Den in a Crimson Biome (or just a Crimson if there is no easily accessible Spider's den) and killing off enemies until 21 Souls of Night and around seven ichor are obtained.
Farming for nine Souls of Light can be done in much the same way, and for both of these farms, staying close to Hell can increase spawn rates, so doing it in either biome as low as possible is advisable. Now it's time to head back to the above ground Crimson and break at least 7 altars, then go mining for 45 Cobalt/Palladium Ore to get a Drill, then Mythril/Orichalcum to get an anvil.
The Mechanical Bosses
Craft 3 Mechanical Worms with Souls, Iron/Lead, and Vertebrae. Place a few chests above the ground, use a rope to go far above it, and build a box with a hole in the bottom. Next, summon the Destroyer and throw Dynamite onto the chests, which should kill the Destroyer quickly. Players should repeat this boss three times to get enough Hallowed Bars for a complete Armor, Drax, and repeater set.
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If a set of Developer Wings haven't been obtained, players should buy the Jetpack from the Steampunker. Next, craft a ton of Ichor arrows if playing Ranger. They should also have a large health pool and nine souls of light. Next, players should head to the Dungeon, steamroll Skeletron, then farm for 30 bones.
If the player doesn't have enough lenses, then they should wait for night, go high up, and kill eyes using a Water Candle. Optionally, a Suspicious Looking Eye could be dropped into Shimmer for lenses.
Speedrunners should now summon Skeletron Prime and fight him by dodging and hitting him with whatever damage type they have chosen. The same can mostly be said for the Twins, but walls and housing can be used to block Retinazer's lasers. After both bosses have been killed, a complete set of Hallowed Armor and a Drax and Hallowed Repeater can be crafted.
Plantera
Players should take their Hallowed Repeater and Drax to the Jungle, mining 250 Chlorophyte Ore for a stockpile of bullets later in the run. First, players must locate a random Plantera Bulb and create a long vertical shaft around it. Sleeping in a bed is an excellent way to make more bulbs spawn. Then, break the Plantera Bulb and get ready to fight.
Using the Hallowed Repeater, players should shoot Plantera (preferably with Holy Arrows or Ichor arrows) while flying up the tunnel, using it to run circles around the plant. Hopefully, Plantera will not get in the way while players fly around it and avoid the large hitboxes of its tentacles and body.
Golem
It is time for players to locate the Jungle Temple, which can take some time. Checking around dark spots on the map and using explosives and Dangersense potions liberally will be a great asset during this part of the run. Once the temple is found, Golem is as easy as ever, especially if Plantera drops a Grenade Launcher, which does excessive damage.
Lunar Event
Players can now head back to the Dungeon, using the item Golem dropped against the Lunatic Cultist, just being sure not to hit the fake clones and dodging all the excessive projectiles. Once the Cultist has been downed, the pillars will spawn. The Moon Lord will spawn after the pillars have been destroyed, and it would be wise to do all preparations now.
The Vortex pillar is easy enough to down by just avoiding projectiles and hitting enemies. Once Vortex fragments have been obtained, Terraria speedrunners can craft the Vortex Beater with Chlorophyte bullets and the Phantasm with Ichor Arrows. The other three pillars should be decently simple, so after the final one is downed, players should use the remaining fragments to make Super Healing potions.
The Moon Lord will soon spawn in and can be quickly downed in Classic mode by shooting the eyes with the Vortex Beater and using the Phantasm with Ichor Arrows as well as using Wings to dodge the laser. If the player is ever at low health, they can run to the Nurse if she has spawned in and purchase a heal for a price. After many heals, bullets, and dodging, the Moon Lord will go down, and the run will end.
Terraria is available on Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, macOS, PC, and more.
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FAQs
What is the fastest run in Terraria? ›
The Unicorn Mount can achieve the fastest movement speed there is when at full speed.
How do you start Speedrunning in Terraria? ›- Farm Early Resources and Build Homes. Find your way into a cave system to search for chests. ...
- Establish Yourself. ...
- Create a Hellevator. ...
- Search Floating Islands. ...
- Farm the Crimson. ...
- Enter the Underworld. ...
- Kill the first boss: Wall of Flesh. ...
- Get your preferred gear set up.
A lot of seeds have been found – particularly by the speedrunning community – that give you an advantage at the start of the game, and one of the best is 1.4. 1.1269588042. If you want a massive challenge with the potential to do absolutely everything possible, go for getfixedboi, the Zenith seed.
What does nma mean terraria? ›No Major Abuses. The following glitches and/or strategies are not permitted: Use of multiple worlds.
How many hours is 100% Terraria? ›The estimated time to complete all 30 Terraria achievements is 80-100 hours. This estimate is based on the median completion time from 192 TrueAchievements members that have completed the game.
How to get 500 hp in Terraria? ›With 15 Life Crystals and 20 Life Fruits used, a character can reach 20 gold hearts, which equals 500 health capacity. A further temporary boost to 600 health capacity can be achieved using a Lifeforce Potion.
How fast is a Terraria day? ›One minute of in-game time lasts one second of real-world time, meaning one hour in-game lasts one minute real-world. Therefore, one full Terraria day lasts 24 real-world minutes (15 during the day, 9 during the night).
What is the seed for dirtiest dirt in Terraria? ›A small corrupt world with seed "1.2. 1.1562140810" will have a dirtiest block 25 blocks to the right 3 blocks down from spawn. Recreating this world will allow an infinite number of dirtiest blocks to be obtained.
What is the Kraken in Terraria? ›The Kraken is a Hardmode yoyo that has a 1/400 (0.25%) chance to drop from any enemy in the post-Plantera Dungeon. It has a throwing length of 21 blocks. It is the third highest tier yoyo there currently is in the game. It is one of the few yoyos that is able to be thrown and stay in the air forever.
What is Terraria God mode? ›Godmode renders the player immune to all damage and knockback, and grants unlimited breath and unlimited mana. Debuffs are still inflicted as normal, but the player takes no damage from them.
Does killing Plantera stop the corruption? ›
Defeating Plantera for the first time reduces the speed of the Corruption's spread by 1/2 (50%).
Is Terraria an endless game? ›Terraria has no true 'end'. Instead, progression can be tracked in a few ways.
How far can corruption spread? ›Corrupt and Crimson variants can grow 6 tiles in all directions, and spread their biome up to three blocks away like any other source, but their spread can be contained with physical neutral barriers, like Clay or Wood.
How rare is the zenith Terraria? ›With all positive effects, it is possible to reach a maximum luck value of 1.4, although with no benefit beyond a value of 1. The only factor with a negative effect on luck is from Ladybug luck, making it possible to reach a minimum luck value of −0.4.
What is the fastest digger in Terraria? ›The Shroomite Digging Claw is a Hardmode, post-Plantera pickaxe and axe. It is capable of mining every type of block except Lihzahrd Bricks. It is the fastest pickaxe in the game.
How do you fly infinitely in Terraria? ›While wings and faster mounts can only be acquired during Hardmode, Rocket Boots and Honeyed Goggles can be used to achieve limited flight early on. The Soaring Insignia accessory can be paired along wings and rocket boots to grant infinite flight time.
What weapons have insanely fast speed in Terraria? ›The Fetid Baghnakhs are tied with the Psycho Knife for fastest melee weapon in the game. However, given the Baghnakhs' 75% melee speed bonus reduction compared to the Psycho Knife's 66% speed reduction, the Psycho Knife is capable of reaching higher speeds. The Fetid Baghnakhs are the fastest melee weapon in the game.
What blocks make you run faster in Terraria? ›Asphalt Blocks are unique hardmode blocks, craftable after at least one mechanical boss has been defeated, that dramatically increase the speed of players running along them, along with reducing the time it takes to stop running.
How long is 15 Terraria hours? ›Day. Daytime in Terraria begins with sunrise at 4:30 AM and lasts for 15 hours (15 minutes of gameplay) until the sun sets at 7:30 PM.
Is Deerclops in Terraria day or night? ›
Deerclops is a pre-Hardmode boss, encountered in the Snow biome at midnight during a Blizzard if at least one player in the world has either at least 9 defense or 200 health, or by summoning it using a Deer Thing in the Snow biome.
What happens if the whole world is corrupted in Terraria? ›As soon as you enter Hardmode in Terraria, the world's Corruption, Crimson, and the new Hallow biome all start to expand outwards. Rapidly. If left to their own devices, these biomes will eventually swallow your entire world, destroying your NPC villages and making life generally difficult.
How long is an average Terraria run? ›| Single-Player | Polled | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Main Story | 409 | 52h 2m |
| Main + Extras | 456 | 94h 14m |
| Completionist | 370 | 208h 26m |
| All PlayStyles | 1.2K | 114h 28m |
Slow is a debuff that halves the player's horizontal movement speed. It has a chance to be inflicted by direct contact from a Pixie, Wraith, Mummies or Rusty Armored Bones. The beams fired by Necromancers also have a chance to cause this debuff.
What is the Terraria drunk seed? ›Drunk world is a secret world seed introduced in the 1.4. 0.1 update. It invokes a highly extraordinary world generation referred to in the source code as drunkWorldGen . It has therefore come to be referred to by the Terraria community as drunk world.
What do Moon Lord legs do? ›The Moon Lord Legs replace the player's legs with Moon Lord-themed tentacles which produce a unique walking animation, a purely visual effect. In addition to providing 3 defense, the item has the following effects: Increases the maximum safe falling distance by 10 tiles, jump speed by 1.8, and jump duration by 1.
What is the best seed for Zenith? ›263549977 – This seed is best for those trying to craft Zenith will appreciate this seed which includes an Enchanted Sword westward along with a Starfury which can be acquired by using the Gravitation Potion at 2999' East, 266' Underground to reach 2050' East, 468' Space. This is a Small World with Crimson on Classic.
What is the rarest Terraria item? ›1 Slime Staff
The Slime Staff has the lowest drop chance of any item in the game and is, therefore, the rarest.
They drop from the Eye of Cthulhu and can be purchased from the Dryad for 5 each during a Blood Moon in a Corrupt world or from the Dryad while in a Graveyard for 5each in a Hardmode Crimson world.
Is there a seed in Terraria that has everything? ›Get fixed boi (also known as Everything and Zenith) is a secret world seed. It combines many of the features from the Drunk world, Not the bees, Celebrationmk10, The Constant, No Traps, Don't Dig Up, and For the worthy secret world seeds (all the secret world seeds).
What is Terraria's hardest seed? ›
The Everything/zenith seed is the new hardest way to play terraria!
What is the most popular Terraria mod? ›The Thorium Mod is one of the most popular and extensive mods available. It offers you an entirely new experience, with over 2,000 new items, 11 challenging new boss fights, and hordes of new enemies. Additionally, it introduces a new biome and three new classes that add even more variety to the game.
What is the rarest monster in Terraria? ›While the Nymph is one of the rarest enemies in Terraria, in reality, she spawns more frequently than is initially apparent. She is usually missed due to her passive and stationary behavior: she often remains in dark areas, without moving to attack players or making any sounds, unlike what most enemies would do.
Is there a Keyblade in Terraria? ›The Keybrand is a Hardmode, post-Plantera sword. It has a 1/200 (0.5%) / 1/133 (0.75%) chance of being dropped by Blue Armored Bones, Hell Armored Bones, and Rusty Armored Bones in the post-Plantera Dungeon. The Keybrand deals increased damage against previously injured enemies.
Is Kraken a Leviathan? ›Kraken is a giant squid octopus like creature with unstoppable aggression, while Leviathan is Ridgeling seven headed monster famed for his spectacular size. But seas are unsafe with either of these monsters around.
Is there a heaven in Terraria? ›This biome is generated above the Space biome, normally spawning in-between 2400 and 4800. Artificial Heaven biomes can be made by spraying Mint Green Solution onto dirt. Despite that, artificial Heaven biomes cannot be made underground.
What is the evil in Terraria? ›The evil biome is predominately comprised of chasms made from infected stone (Ebonstone or Crimstone). However, the biome can overlap other biomes, providing corrupted versions of the Forest, Desert, Snow, Jungle, or Ocean biomes.
What is the ultimate goal of Terraria? ›Your task at hand is to collect resources, build a base, and craft better equipment. You'll start off chopping Trees for wood, killing Slimes by day, and digging around the surface of the world. You need to make yourself a base before night.
Who is the weakest boss in Terraria? ›The Destroyer is a colossal mechanized Eater of Worlds with 80,000 / 120,000 / 153,000 health. It is considered the easiest Hardmode boss by many players, despite having the second-highest health.
What is the weakest enemy in Terraria? ›The Blood Feeder is one of the weakest enemies in Hardmode.
How fast can you beat Terraria? ›
| Single-Player | Polled | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Main Story | 409 | 52h 2m |
| Main + Extras | 456 | 94h 14m |
| Completionist | 370 | 208h 26m |
| All PlayStyles | 1.2K | 114h 28m |
When combined with the fastest melee weapon, the Fetid Baghnakhs, a player may execute a full melee attack in roughly 0.033 seconds, or thirty times per second (note:as of 1.4, it can only receive up to +25% speed bonus).
What speeds up time in Terraria? ›Using the Enchanted Sundial, time can be sped up to the end of the current cycle (i.e. to 4:30 AM) once every seven days. Sleeping in Beds makes time pass at five times the normal rate. However, this cannot be done during events or when bosses are alive.
How fast is the zenith in Terraria? ›| Type | Weapon |
|---|---|
| Knockback | 6.5 (Strong) |
| Critical chance | 14% |
| Use time | 30 (Average) |
| Velocity | 32 (effective) |
Day. Daytime in Terraria begins with sunrise at 4:30 AM and lasts for 15 hours (15 minutes of gameplay) until the sun sets at 7:30 PM.
What is the hardest Terraria? ›Moon Lord is the hardest boss undoubtedly within Terraria.
What is the hardest way to play Terraria? ›Legendary Mode: The hardest difficulty yet, exclusive to the for the worthy secret seed. Essentially a new upgraded version of Master Mode, it unfortunately doesn't have it's own exclusive drops. Both Expert and Master Mode drops are available in Legendary Mode. See Legendary Mode for a more complete list.
Does Zenith benefit from melee speed? ›Other melee weapons
However, the Zenith do have a visual change when benefited by melee speed: the amount of swords summoned per attack is reduced when having high melee speed. For the Starlight, melee speed will increase the range of its rainbow projectiles, and slightly increase its attack rate.
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In an optimized environment, the Zenith can do more than 7,000,000 DPS .
Do beds make time go faster in Terraria? ›
Beds are furniture items which allow the player to set a new spawn point, or to sleep, which makes time pass 5 times faster, and gives a boost to health regeneration, similar to chairs and sofas. Beds fulfill the chair requirement for the purposes of housing.
Is the Meowmere or Zenith better? ›The Meowmere has the highest listed base damage of all weapons in the game, apart from explosives. However, other endgame weapons like the Zenith, Terrarian, or Star Wrath often have much higher DPS , e.g. due to unlisted bonuses. It was referred to as Meowmur before its release.
What sword is better than the Terra Blade? ›While it deals more damage than the Terra Blade, it is not a direct upgrade. The Terra Blade has a slightly faster speed and more knockback, and pierces through targets, and unlike the Influx Waver, does not rely on automatic targeting. However, the Influx Waver is superior when fighting one target.
Does Zenith have infinite punch through? ›Zenith in its semi-auto mode has infinite punch-through, allowing it to destroy pylons from any point as it can pierce terrain and shield bubbles (but not the Repelling Shields), while additionally having good enough stats to damage the Profit-Taker's shield.