Complete Terraria NPC Guide

NPCs play a massive role in Terraria. The more you spend time playing this game, the more you’ll realize how much the NPCs are needed. Learn everything you can about these NPCs to further master Terraria.

How Many NPCs Are There in Terraria?

There are a total of 39 NPCs in Terraria. However, not all of them sell wares nor are they all Town NPCs. Town NPCs are those who will stay with you when provided housing. It’s easy to spawn some of these NPCs. However, some will only appear after certain requirements are met. For example, some NPCs will only appear during Hardmode.

NPC Living Requirements

After spawning these NPCs, you’ll have to consider their living arrangements as well. There are a couple of requirements you must meet before Town NPCs can move into the base or town you’ve built. Once you’ve spawned or met these NPCs, they’ll then need a valid house to move into. On top of that, giving an NPC a valid home will give them a place to respawn should they die.

Meet these requirements to keep NPCs happy, and they’ll provide for you in return. Granted, this is if you have enough coin to buy their wares, of course.

• An NPC’s house or room should be at least 60 tiles big.
• The house or room needs to have a proper entrance. Something as simple as a Wooden Door is enough.
• It needs to have crafted background walls. If your house or base is built underground, pre-rendered cave walls and dirt walls aren’t valid. You’ll need to put up the walls yourself. This also ensures monsters don’t spawn inside the house.
• It needs to have at least one source of light, like a Torch, Candle, or Lamp.
• The house or room needs at least one flat surface item. Examples of this are Tables and Work Benches.
• The house or room needs to have at least one comfort item, like a Chair or a Bed.

Every NPC in Terraria

There are a lot of things you’ll want to know about the NPCs in Terraria, from their spawn requirements to their preferred biomes. When giving these NPCs their home, be sure to take into account their favorite, disliked, and hated biomes and neighbors. This will affect their happiness level, which in turn affects the prices and value of their items.

Guide

The Guide is the very first NPC you’ll meet in Terraria. He’s basically a tutorial character placed in the game to help get you started. However, the Guide will continue to be useful as you continue to progress. He’ll continuously give tips and hints on how to progress moving forward and how to spawn other NPCs. He’ll also show crafting recipes and he’ll even fend off monsters during the day.

• Description – Provides tips, guides, and recipes.
• How to Unlock – Spawns automatically in the world at the start of the game.
• Biome Preference – The Guide prefers the Forest. On the other hand, he dislikes the Ocean.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, Clothier, Zoologist, dislikes the Steampunker, and hates the Painter.

Merchant

The Merchant is another one of the earliest NPCs you’ll meet. He sells a handful of items to you including an Iron Anvil, a Copper Pickaxe, Copper Axe, Furnace, and more.

• Description – Sells early game tools and items.
• How to Unlock – He’ll spawn once you have more than 50 Silver Coins in your inventory. If there are other players in the game, all players in the game combined must have more than 50 Silver Coins.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Forest and dislikes the Desert.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, Golfer, Nurse, dislikes the Tax Collector, and hates the Angler.

Nurse

Despite being a calm and relaxing game, Terraria is no stranger to hostile creatures. You’ll find yourself hurt and low on health time and time again as you continue to explore. This is where an NPC like the Nurse comes in.

• Description – Heals the player and removes any debuffs.
• How to Unlock – Spawns when the player has more than 100 health and the Merchant is in the base.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Hallow and dislikes the Snow.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Arms Dealer, likes the Princess and the Wizard, dislikes the Party Girl and the Dryad, and hates the Zoologist.

Demolitionist

Should you want to clear multiple blocks at once instead of breaking them down one by one, the Demolitionist NPC can give you the proper materials for that. This NPC sells tools such as Grenades, Bombs, and Dynamites. These can clear multiple blocks at once and deal massive damage to enemies.

• Description – Sells explosive tools.
• How to Unlock – Spawns when you have an explosive in your inventory and the Merchant is in the base.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Underground, Cavern, and the Underworld. Dislikes the Ocean.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Tavernkeep, likes the Princess and the Mechanic, and dislikes the Goblin Tinkerer and the Arms Dealer.

Dye Trader

The Dye Trader is one of the NPCs that will help you fulfill your creative needs. This NPC will sell tools that will change the color of armor sets and other accessories.

• Description – Sells Dyes and Dye Vats.
• How to Unlock – Spawns when the player has picked up a dye, a dye ingredient, or a Strange Plant. There must also be four other Town NPCs that have already spawned.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Desert and dislikes the Forest.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, the Arms Dealer, and the Painter, dislikes the Steampunker, and hates the Pirate.

Angler

The Angler is an NPC whose main purpose is to help you with Terraria’s fishing mechanic. This NPC provides quests rather than sells items.

• Description – Gives quests on fishing and rewards rare fish.
• How to Unlock – You can find him in the Ocean biome, sleeping on the ground. Interact with him to wake him up.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Ocean, hates the Desert.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, the Party Girl, the Demolitionist, and the Tax Collector, but hates the Tavernkeep.

Zoologist

The Zoologist is the animal expert in Terraria who happens to be a werefox. From animal-themed vanity items to licenses for Town Pets, this NPC has you covered.

• Description – Sells animal-themed items such as pets, mounts, vanity items, and more.
• How to Unlock – Fill at least 10% of the Bestiary.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Forest, dislikes the Desert.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Witch Doctor, likes the Princess and the Golfer, dislikes the Angler, and hates the Arms Dealer.

Dryad

The Dryad is another merchant NPC. Her wares mainly revolve around plant life. Other than that, the Dryad also has a great function that remains useful as you go into hardmode.

• Description – Sells items pertaining to nature. She can also provide the percentage of Corruption, Crimson, and Hallow in the world.
• How to Unlock – Defeat the Eye of Cthulhu, Eater of Worlds, Brain of Cthulhu, and Skeletron or Lepus. Then, head to the Jungle biome, and you’ll find her.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Jungle and hates the Desert.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, the Witch Doctor, and Truffle, dislikes the Angler, and hates the Golfer.

Painter

The Painter is another NPC that will allow you to express your creativity. Whereas the Dye Trader whose dyes alter the color of armor and accessories, items from the painter will allow you to change the color of almost everything else.

• Description – Sells paintbrushes, paint rollers, paint scrapers, paints, and paintings.
• How to Unlock – Spawns after eight other NPCs are unlocked.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Jungle and dislikes the Forest.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Dryad, likes the Princess and the Party Girl. Dislikes Cyborg and Truffle.

Golfer

Another mini-game you can indulge in is golfing. Should you need more items related to this activity, you can turn to the Golfer NPC.

• Description – Sells golf-related items such as Golf Clubs, Pin Flags, Golf Balls, and more.
• How to Unlock – Find him in the Underground Desert and speak to him there.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Forest, dislikes the Underground, the Cavern, and the Underworld.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Angler, likes the Princess, the Painter, and the Zoologist. Dislikes the Pirate and hates the Merchant.

Arms Dealer

The Arms Dealer is arguably one of the most useful NPCs in the early game, especially if you enjoy a fast-paced, guns-blazing play style. Thankfully, the Arms Dealer can be encountered early on. If you need to hunt and shoot monsters down, the Arms Dealer will be more than happy to indulge you.

• Description – Sells bullets, guns, and, oddly enough, a nurse costume during Halloween.
• How to Unlock – Spawns after you acquire one bullet or gun.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Desert, dislikes the Snow.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Nurse, likes the Princess and the Steampunker. Dislikes the Golfer and hates the Demolitionist.

Tavernkeep

The Tavernkeep is a unique NPC. He’s mainly associated with the Dungeons Defenders 2 cross-over event, and the items he sells will aid you should you participate in that. The Tavernkeep also takes Defender Medals instead of Coin for his wares.

• Description – Sells summon weapons that fend off the Old One’s Army.
• How to Unlock – Defeat the Eater of Worlds or the Brain of Cthulhu. He’ll then appear anywhere in the world as an “Unconscious Man.” Interact with him to wake him up.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Hallow, dislikes the Snow.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Demolitionist, likes the Princess and the Goblin Tinkerer. Dislikes the Guide and hates the Dye Trader.

Stylist

Terraria doesn’t only allow you to customize tools and blocks, it allows you to customize your sprite as well. With the Stylist NPC, you’ll be able to change the style and color of your hair. For as long as this NPC is in your base, you can alter your aesthetics in case your mood changes.

• Description – Can change the style and color of your hair. She also sells hair dyes.
• How to Unlock – You can find her in Spider Caves found in the Cavern.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Ocean and dislikes the Snow.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Dye Trader, likes the Princess and the Pirate. Dislikes the Tavernkeep and hates the Goblin Tinkerer.

Golbin Tinkerer

The Goblin Tinkerer is another unique NPC that sells a limited number of items, but all of them can be highly useful in your playthrough. He’s also capable of changing a weapon or accessory’s modifier.

• Description – Sells the Tinkerer’s Workshop, Rocket Boots, Ruler, and more. He also reforges items.
• How to Unlock – Defeat a Goblin Army and he’ll appear in the Cavern. Speak to him there.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Underground, the Cavern, and the Underworld. Dislikes the Jungle.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Mechanic and likes the Princess and the Dye Trader. Dislikes the Clothier and hates the Stylist.

Witch Doctor

The Witch Doctor is an NPC that will help you create flasks and allow you to grant the “Bewitched” buff. On top of that, he also sells other voodoo items that can be highly effective on your journey.

• Description – Sells the Imbuing Station, Bewitching Station, the Blowgun, Fountains, and more.
• How to Unlock – He’ll spawn after the Queen Bee is defeated.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Jungle and dislikes the Hallow.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, the Dryad, and the Guide. Dislikes the Nurse and hates Truffle.

Clothier (Old Man)

Customize your sprite further by having the Clothier in your base. His multitude of wares will definitely allow you to find something your sprite can wear that suits your preference. The Clothier and The Old Man who guards the entrance to the Dungeon are the same people. He finally becomes the Clothier after he is freed from his curse.

• Description – Sells a lot of vanity items.
• How to Unlock – Defeat Skeletron to free The Old Man from his curse.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Underground, the Cavern, and the Underworld. Dislikes the Hallow.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves Truffle and likes the Princess and the Tax Collector. Dislikes the Nurse and hates the Mechanic.

Mechanic

The Mechanic is an NPC that can provide tools and items that will make your time less hassle. She sells machines that have very practical and useful uses. She’s definitely an NPC you need to have in any of your bases.

• Description – Sells mechanism-related items such as Wrenches, Pressure Plates, Actuator, Teleporter, and more.
• How to Unlock – She spawns in the Dungeon as a Bound Mechanic. Free her, and she’ll appear in your base.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Snow biome, dislikes the Underground, the Cavern, and the Underworld.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Goblin Tinkerer and likes the Princess and the Cyborg. Dislikes the Arms Dealer and hates the Clothier.

Party Girl

The Party Girl is an NPC that sells a ton of wares that are visually pleasing. She also randomly hosts parties which, although provide no function gameplay-wise, are very pleasant events you’ll definitely enjoy witnessing first-hand.

• Description – Sells colorful vanity and novelty items. She also throws parties for you and other NPCs every once in a while.
• How to Unlock – There is a 2.5% chance she’ll spawn in your base after eight other Town NPCs are unlocked.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Hallow and dislikes the Underground, the Cavern, and the Underworld.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Wizard and the Zoologist. Likes the Princess and the Stylist. Dislikes the Merchant and hates the Tax Collector.

Wizard

The Wizard is one of the bound NPCs you’ll have to free for him to start selling to you. He also only spawns during Hardmode, which means the items he sells are intended for late-game. You’ll definitely need them if you’re to defeat the tough monsters that are in the game during Hardmode.

• Description – Sells magic-related items such as the Crystal Ball, Spell Tomes, Books, Greater Mana Potions, and more.
• How to Unlock – You’ll find him bound in the Cavern during Hardmode.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Hallow and dislikes the Ocean.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Golfer, likes the Princess and the Merchant. Dislikes the Witch Doctor and hates the Cyborg.

Tax Collector

The Tax Collector hates people (or so he claims) and loves money. If he’s in your base, he’ll collect money for you as well. The Tax Collector can be very useful in this sense. You might just need these coins when you’re a shy short of them and you decide to purchase items from the NPCs in your base.

• Description – Collects 50 Copper Coins per in-game hour for each housed NPC.
• How to Unlock – Find the Tortured Soul in the Underworld during Hardmode and throw a Purification Powder at it. This will turn the Tortured Soul into the Tax Collector.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Snow, dislikes the Hallow.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Merchant, likes the Princess and the Party Girl. Dislikes the Demolitionist and the Mechanic, hates Santa Claus.

Truffle

Truffle is a very unique NPC. Of all the Town NPCs in the game, he’s the only one that has an additional housing requirement, should you want to have him in your base. If you want to obtain the Autohammer and mushroom-themed items, he’s definitely an NPC you’ll want to give a house to, even though the requirement is quite taxing.

• Description – Sells mushroom-themed items such as the Mushroom Spear, Hammush, and more. He also sells the Autohammer, an advanced crafting station.
• How to Unlock – Create a surface Glowing Mushroom biome by placing 100 mushroom-related tiles. Then, build a house in this biome so he can move in. He’ll also only spawn during Hardmode.
• Biome Preference – He’ll only stay in a surface Glowing Mushroom biome.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Guide, likes the Princess and the Dryad. Dislikes the Clothier and hates the Witch Doctor.

Pirate

Terraria is far from being a pirate game. However, there is one event in the game that involves pirates, and completing this event spawns the Pirate NPC. With his wares, you can definitely fulfill your seafaring dreams, or at least emulate the life of one by equipping their weapons, items, and accessories.

• Description – Sells pirate-themed items such as the Cannon, Cannonballs, and the Pirate clothing set.
• How to Unlock – Defeat the Pirate Invasion during Hardmode.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Ocean, dislikes the Underground, the Cavern, and the Underworld.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves the Angler, likes the Princess and the Tavernkeep. Dislikes the Stylist and hates the Guide.

Steampunker

The Steampunker sells some of the best late-game items in Terraria. For as long as you continue playing through Hardmode, you’re bound to encounter this NPC, and you should. You’ll definitely make use of his wares as soon as you get your hands on them.

• Description – Sells Hardmode tools such as the Clentaminator, Blend-O-Matic, Decay Machine, and more.
• How to Unlock – Defeat one of the three mechanical bosses during Hardmode. These bosses are The Destroyer, The Twins, and Skeletron Prime.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Desert, dislikes the Jungle.
• Neighbor Preference – Loves Cyborg, likes the Princess and the Painter. Dislikes Party Girl, the Wizard, and Dryad.

Cyborg

Cyborg is an NPC that can sell you some of the most powerful weapons in the game. This unique-looking NPC is a must if you want to defeat Hardmode enemies faster and more effectively.

• Description – Sells high-tech weapons such as Rockets and Proximity Mine Launcher. Cyborg also sells high-tech tools such as the Kward Racer Drone, Cyborg set, Portal Gun Station, and more.
• How to Unlock – Defeat Plantera.
• Biome Preference – Likes the Snow biome, dislikes the Jungle.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess, the Stylist, the Pirate, and the Steampunker. Dislikes the Zoologist and hates the Wizard.

Santa Claus

Terraria is home to a lot of memorable and individualistic NPCs. One of the most unforgettable NPCs you can meet is Santa Claus. Not only can you meet this famous icon, but you also can provide him with a house so he can live in your base as well. Although it is easier to unlock this character during Christmas, his “visitation” isn’t limited to this holiday.

• Description – Sells Christmas-themed items and decorations.
• How to Unlock – You can unlock Santa after defeating the Frost Legion during Christmas. Alternatively, you can summon the Frost Moon and complete the event at any day or time.
• Biome Preference – Loves the Snow biome and hates the Desert biome.
• Neighbor Preference – Likes the Princess and hates the Tax Collector.

Princess

The Princess is an NPC that loves being around anyone, and is loved by all too. She’s highly likely to be the last NPC you’ll meet in the game, with Santa Claus as a possible exception, due to her requirements. Once you do spawn her and she moves in with you, you can purchase a myriad of items from her.

• Description – Sells vanity and furniture items such as paintings, the Royal set, Potted Crystal Furniture, and more. She also sells weapons like the Terragrim and the Coin Gun.
• How to Unlock – Unlock every other Town NPC excluding Santa Claus, Town Pets, and Town Slimes.
• Biome Preference – She doesn’t have any biome preference.
• Neighbor Preference – She doesn’t have any neighbor preference. She is liked by every other Town NPC in the game, and she’ll automatically love three random NPCs that are living near her. She becomes lonely if she doesn’t live with at least two neighbors.

Traveling Merchant

The Traveling Merchant is not a Town NPC. This means he will not move into any house or base. He can appear randomly for one day and he’ll stay for the entire day before leaving at night. The only requirement for him to appear is for your base to have at least two NPCs spawned and housed.

Once the requirement is met, he has a 22.12% chance of spawning in your base between 4:30 AM and 12:00 PM.

The wares the Traveling Merchant sells are randomized and are different every time he visits. Some of the items he can sell are the Stopwatch, DPS Meter, Lifeform Analyzer, Katana, Celestial Magnet, Pulse Bow, and more.

Skeleton Merchant

The Skeleton Merchant is the second non-Town NPC. He won’t spawn in your base. Rather, you have a tiny chance of finding him in the Cavern. There are no requirements to meet him in the Cavern. His appearance is purely randomized. He can, however, be detected by the Lifeform Analyzer. When found, the Skeleton Merchant will automatically despawn once he’s off-screen.

The Skeleton Merchant’s wares include the Slap Hand, the Magic Lantern, the Wand of Sparking, and more. His inventory will depend on the phase of the moon.

The Town Pets

Town Pets are a special type of NPCs. There are only three of them: the Town Cat, the Town Dog, and the Town Bunny.

These cute little animals don’t sell anything to you, nor do they positively and negatively impact you. However, they function similarly to other NPCs in that they can do certain things other NPCs do or have impacts just like other NPCs. Here are a couple of things you’ll want to keep in mind in regard to Town Pets:

• They can move in with other NPCs and have their own NPC Flag.
• They count when it comes to the NPC requirements for Pylons.
• Their addition as NPCs decreases the number of monsters that spawn in the area.

Additionally, Town Pets can move in with any NPC without any effect on an NPC’s happiness. This is because there is no NPC in the game that has a Town Pet as a favorite or disliked neighbor.

Town Pets will appear in your base at dawn after you purchase the Cat License, Dog License, and Bunny License from the Zoologist.

The Town Slimes

Town Slimes are another special type of NPCs. Just like Town Pets, they don’t sell anything to you nor do they affect the happiness of other NPCs. They’re also similar to Town Pets in that they count as Pylon requirements and they decrease the number of monsters that spawn in the area. Town Slimes can also move in with other NPCs, but they can’t move into houses that Town Pets already occupy.

There are eight Town Slimes. Each of these slimes has a different appearance. All of them will begin to spawn after you defeat King Slime. However, there are other requirements you’ll have to meet before they can spawn. Others are also only found in certain areas.

• Cool Slime – A green slime with a brown cap. This can spawn during parties.
• Clumsy Slime – A purple slime with an arrow embedded in its head. You’ll find them attached on Windy Balloons in the Floating Island.
• Nerdy Slime – A blue slime that wears a pair of glasses. This slime automatically moves in after you defeat King Slime.
• Surly Slime – A pink slime with a pink cap. This slime can be fished during a Blood Moon.
• Elder Slime – A dark brown slime with a dark brown fedora. Defeat Skeletron and unlock the Old Shaking Chest in the Cavern using a Golden Key.
• Diva Slime – A multi-colored slime with a star pinned on its head. Throw a Sparkle Slime Balloon into the Shimmer and this slime will spawn.
• Mystic Slime – A light brown slime with a pink hat. This slime will move in after you use a Purification Powder on a Mystic Frog in the Jungle.
• Squire Slime – A brown slime that wields a sword. This slime will appear after you drop a Copper Helmet or Copper Shortsword on another slime.