Terraria: NPCs

List of Requirements & Who Can Move in

My first base, which is focused on functionality and ease of building. I am not proud of its aesthetics, but it shows all but a few of the NPCs who can move into the world.

NPCs (Non-Player Characters) tend to be friendly, helpful residents of your town who sell materials and devices that can be super-helpful to you. Any who act as a vendor can also buy your items (it doesn't matter who you sell what to, the price is the same). Making room for extra is always wise, given there are a total of 21 (18 on console/mobile) who can move in during any time of year, so long as you provide them with valid housing.

Some of them can be found while exploring the game's various areas underground, while others will move in once certain requirements are met. Most can move in pre-Hardmode but others will require you to defeat the Wall of Flesh and enable Hard Mode while filling other requirements before they can reside in your town. This list's purpose is to help you have enough room at any point in time by showing you the NPC requirements so you can plan ahead, and informing you of the biome that NPC prefers if they are to sell extra stuff - only a few do.

What Happens When NPCs are Killed?
NPCs who are killed during fights will often respawn the next day. Mass-NPC deaths can take time to recover from as they move back in gradually, so it's something you'll sometimes want to prevent. In tough times, they can make good meat shields, particularly on PC where they fight back. Some NPCs, like the Demolitionist and Arms Dealer, need you to again fulfill their requirements for them to move back in when they're dead.

NPC List

This list of NPCs is intended to be roughly when you get them on the average playthrough, you may get them at different times based on where you explore and the random events that happen. Those few that are PC-only are marked as such. Always have an open house available as you adventure, so they can move in when it's time. Building a large housing area early in the game is not a bad idea for this reason.

Normal NPCs
NPC Type	What they sell or do	What's required for the NPC to move into a house
The Guide	Provides Tips, Shows Crafting requirements.	Is there when you start, will need a house to respawn if killed.
Merchant	Sells Utility Supplies	Have 50 Silver Coins saved up. Sells Marshmallows if he lives in Snow Biome
Nurse	Provides healing at a cost.	Merchant moved in, player has found and used at least 1 Life Crystal to have more than 100 Life.
Demolitionist	Explosive Materials	Have an Explosive in your inventory and only after Merchant moves in.
Arms Dealer	Sells Ammo	Bullets or a Gun in inventory
Dryad	Spreading Biome Items, Planters	Beat a boss, just not King Slime. More like Eye/Brain of Cthulu or Eater of Worlds
Dye Trader	Dye Items	Beat a boss and have a dye item in inventory. On PC, finding a Strange Plant will do.
Painter	Paint/Tools	Have 8 other NPCs in Town
Angler	Gives Fishing Quests	PC Only. Found near Ocean Biome on either side of the world.
Stylist	Sells Hair Dyes, can change style	PC Only. Find and free her from a Spider Nest Underground.
Goblin Tinker	Reforge Items, Sells Tinkerer's Workshop and some gadgets.	See linked Guide. Only moves in after Goblin Invasion, which has its own requirements.
Witch Doctor	Sells Imbuing Station (for Flasks) and Summoner items (later in hard-mode)	Defeat Queen Bee. Move him in a Jungle Biome to buy Leaf Wings
Clothier	Sells vanity items	Kill Skeletron. He's the old man with the curse. You can re-summon Skeletron by holding his Voodoo Doll and killing him.
Mechanic	Sells wires and wrenches to place them and other mechanisms	Find her in the Dungeon after beating Skeletron
Party Girl	Sells confetti, fireworks and visual items like that	After 14 NPCs live in your world, she may Spawn.
Hard Mode NPCs
NPC	Sells/Does	What's Required to Move In
Truffle	Sells mushroom items and the autohammer to make Shroomite	Use Mushroom Grass Seeds to make an above-ground Mushroom Biome and build a house there
Wizard	Sells Crystal Ball, magical items and materials	Found in the Cavern Layer once in Hard Mode
Steampunker	Clentaminator (change Biomes), Jet Pack, and crafting for Asphalt Roads	Defeat one of the Mechanical Bosses.
Pirate	Sells Pirate stuff...	Destroy one Altar with the Pwnhammer and defeat a Pirate Invasion, which has a small chance of happening each day. Summon one with a Pirate Map found from creatures in the Ocean Biome
Tax Collector	Earns passive money based on how many NPCs live in town	PC only. Use Purification Powder sold by the Dryad on a Tortured Soul in the Underworld.
Cyborg	Sells gadgets and rockets	Moves in after Plantera is defeated
Santa Claus	Sells Santa cosmetics and Christmas decor	Moves in from Dec. 15-31. You can change your device's clock to con the game into loading him, but it's not worth it in my opinion.

There are two other NPCs you can meet randomly, who will never move in - the Skeleton Merchant, who has random names like all others, is one of them. Meeting him while having cash on hand is a good thing, because they often sell useful items. In particular, spelunker glowsticks which highlight treasure when thrown or held.

Other NPCs
Two other NPCs can be met, one while adventuring. The Traveling Merchant will arrive and stay for one day. He comes at random and sells random items, some of which are very handy. On average, he'll come once every 5 days.

The other NPC, pictured above, is the Skeleton Merchant, who may have a variety of names but always looks the same. He can be met randomly anywhere Underground or Cavern. So once you're at least a bit deep into the ground, he can spawn at random. For players on PC who like Yoyo weapons, he sells counterweights and the Yoyo Glove accessory, which are very useful. A lot of his stuff seems to be random but is really based on the moon cycle. Load up on Spelunker Glowsticks if you're mining heavily - they can be super useful when you are transitioning to Hard Mode in order to help you find ores fast. Potions are better, but they are a good alternative.

- Share your Terraria Gameplay Tips and Strategies below!

Share Tips and FAQs (8)

Our Sims Forum is the place to go for faster answers to questions and discussions about the game. Use the form below to share your own experiences and provide helpful tips to other readers.

Mario says...

Thanks this helped alot