Death

Death by falling.

“

It's a good day to die!

— The Demolitionist

Death occurs when a player's health reaches zero. A death message is displayed dependent on how the player died. For example, "<Player name> tried to swim in lava." is one that is displayed if the player died from lava damage.

• The sound made upon the death of a player:

When a player dies, a Tombstone is dropped at the location of their death. When it finds a suitable space, it will become a 2×2 tile. It stores text, much in the way a Sign functions, with the player's death message, (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) and the real-world date. Being affected by physics, a Tombstone will fall after the player's death if they were moving at the time. If there is no flat 2-block space for a Tombstone, it will get stuck before it despawns.

(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) If the player holds more than 10 GC when they die, the spawned Tombstone will be one of the five following golden Tombstones: .

Upon death, a large red text saying "You were slain..." will be displayed on the center of the screen. (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) The amount of dropped coins will be shown underneath, (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) and a timer will display showing how long until the player respawns.

There is a 10 / 15 second delay between player death and respawn, which is doubled in duration during Expert Mode(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) and Master Mode(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) boss fights. Upon respawning, the player will be placed at the world's spawn point, or at the most recent Bed they had set as their spawn point.

Causes of death

Death may occur from:

• Damage inflicted by enemies, bosses, and, during PvP, other players
• Drowning
• Lava
• Traps, explosives, and explosive weapons that cause damage to the player, such as Grenades
• Fall damage
• Debuffs, typically causing damage over time and being inflicted by enemies
  • Suffocation (being below Silt/Slush/Sand)
  • Burning (contact with certain blocks)
  • Horrified (only causes death when trying to escape the Wall of Flesh)
  • Chaos State (only causes death when using the Rod of Discord too often while affected by the debuff)
• Damaging buffs: Paladin's Shield and Companion Cube(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
• Failing to destroy an Altar while on 1 health

Difficulty differences

A Classic (Softcore (Old-gen console version)) character will drop half, three-quarters, or all of each stack of coins a player is carrying at the moment of death in each inventory slot (always rounded up). Coins stored in storage items are not affected.

A Mediumcore(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) character will drop all carried items, including money and ammo. Maximum health and mana will be kept, and will not be reduced back to the default.

A Hardcore(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) character will also drop all carried items. Furthermore, the character is permanently deleted upon death and the player turns into a ghost, unable to interact with the environment, but still able to observe, move about, and chat with other players.

Death messages

One of the death messages listed below is picked at random when the player dies.

Default death messages

• "<Player name> was slain."
• "<Player name> was eviscerated."
• "<Player name> was murdered."
• "<Player name>'s face was torn off."
• "<Player name>'s entrails were ripped out."
• "<Player name> was destroyed."
• "<Player name>'s skull was crushed."
• "<Player name> got massacred."
• "<Player name> got impaled."
• "<Player name> was torn in half."
• "<Player name> was decapitated."
• "<Player name> let their arms get torn off."
• "<Player name> watched their innards become outards."
• "<Player name> was brutally dissected."
• "<Player name>'s extremities were detached."
• "<Player name>'s body was mangled."
• "<Player name>'s vital organs were ruptured."
• "<Player name> was turned into a pile of flesh."
• "<Player name> was removed from <world name>."
• "<Player name> got snapped in half."
• "<Player name> was cut down the middle."
• "<Player name> was chopped up."
• "<Player name>'s plea for death was answered."
• "<Player name>'s meat was ripped off the bone."
• "<Player name>'s flailing about was finally stopped."
• "<Player name> had their head removed."
• "<Player name> lost his/her head." ()

Messages added in 1.4.4(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

• "<Player name>'s bowels were unplugged."
• "<Player name>'s journey was ended."
• "<Player name> was sent to Ocram's House."
• "<Player name> was macerated."
• "<Player name> was exsanguinated."
• "<Player name> was sent to the bone zone."
• "<Player name> was spontaneously lobotomized."
• "<Player name> was pressed into a succulent pulp."
• "<Player name> was ground into sad meat."
• "<Player name>'s bones were shattered."
• "<Player name> was turned into monster food."
• "<Player name> had their home remodeled."
• "<Player name> was voluntold to donate blood."
• "<Player name> had their cap peeled back."
• "<Player name>'s top knot was carved off."
• "<Player name>'s parts were misplaced."
• "<Player name> was blended into a zesty sauce."
• "<Player name>'s spine was ripped out."
• "<Player name>'s living streak was ended."
• "<Player name> received a forced amputation."
• "<Player name>'s neck was snapped."
• "<Player name> was shredded to bits."
• "<Player name> succumbed to a fatal injury."
• "<Player name> was informed of their expiration date."
• "<Player name>'s incompetence was put on display."
• "<Player name>'s soul was extractinated."
• "<Player name> underwent a merciful euthanasia."
• "<Player name> was eaten from the bottom up."
• "<Player name> was deboned."
• "<Player name> had both kidneys stolen."
• "<Player name>'s depravity was ended."
• "<Player name>'s disc was herniated."
• "<Player name>'s body was donated to science."
• "<Player name> had their brain turned to jam."
• "<Player name> was turned into long pig."
• "<Player name> was sent to the farm."
• "<Player name>'s clogs were popped."
• "<Player name>'s ticker was stopped."
• "<Player name> was whacked in the head."
• "<Player name> got rubbed out."
• "<Player name> was degloved."
• "<Player name> was flayed."
• "<Player name> was ganked."
• "<Player name> got spanked."
• "<Player name> got got."
• "<Player name> got murked."
• "<Player name> was put in a glass coffin."
• "<Player name> was put on the wrong side of the grass."
• "<Player name> will quickly be forgotten."
• "<Player name> was smote."

PvP death messages

PvP death messages will use the default death messages from above, but will additionally state the name of the player's murderer along with the weapon or projectile with which the killing blow was landed.

Example:

• "<Player name 1>'s face was torn off by <player name 2>'s Ball O' Hurt."

Enemy death messages

Enemy death messages work like PvP death messages.

Examples:

• "<Player name> was removed from <world name> by Hellbat."
• "<Player name>'s entrails were ripped out by Phantasmal Deathray."

Falling death messages

• "<Player name> fell to their death."
• "<Player name> didn't bounce."
• "<Player name> invented gravity."
• "<Player name> discovered the meaning of defenestration."
• "<Player name> was freeeee, free-fallin'."
• "<Player name> tried to ice skate uphill."
• "<Player name> thought they could fly."
• "<Player name> left a crater."
• "<Player name> forgot their happy thought."

Drowning death messages

• "<Player name> forgot to breathe."
• "<Player name> is sleeping with the fish."
• "<Player name> drowned."
• "<Player name> is shark food."
• "<Player name> tried to drink a lake."
• "<Player name> discovered Atlantis."
• "<Player name> forgot to bring a towel."

Lava death messages

• "<Player name> got melted."
• "<Player name> was incinerated."
• "<Player name> tried to swim in lava."
• "<Player name> likes to play in magma."
• "<Player name> is bad at the Floor Is Lava."

Debuff death messages

Buff/Debuff(s)	Messages
On Fire! Burning Cursed Inferno Frostburn	"<Player name> couldn't put the fire out." "<Player name> was reduced to charcoal." "<Player name> was burnt to a crisp." "<Player name> is a well-done steak."
Inferno(from another player in PvP)	"<Player name> was consumed by the inferno."
Poisoned Acid Venom	"<Player name> couldn't find the antidote."
Suffocation	"<Player name> couldn't breathe." "<Player name> was buried alive."
Electrified(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)	"<Player name> couldn't contain the watts." "<Player name> was turned into a battery." "<Player name>'s positive lifeforce became negative." "<Player name> became a lightning rod."
Stoned(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)(fall damage)	"<Player name> shattered into pieces." "<Player name> can't be put back together again." "<Player name> needs to be swept up." "<Player name> just became another dirt pile."
Chaos State(using the Rod of Discord)	"<Player name>'s legs appeared where their head should be." "<Player name>'s legs appeared where his head should be." ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) (male character) "<Player name>'s legs appeared where her head should be." ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) (female character) "<Player name> didn't materialize."
Starving(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)(in the Constant seed)	"<Player name> starved to death." "<Player name> couldn't find food." "<Player name> forgot to eat."

Other death messages

When the Wall of Flesh reaches the far boundary of the world and the player is in front:

• "<Player name> was licked."
• "<Player name> got to 1st base with the Wall of Flesh!"

When killed by Paladin's Shield:

• n/a

When attempting to teleport away from the Wall of Flesh with a Magic/Ice Mirror, Recall Potion, Teleportation Potion, Cell Phone(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), Shellphone(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), or Teleporter:

• "<Player name> tried to escape."

When killed by failing to destroy an Altar, the Wall of Flesh's body, or a Jellyfish's shock attack (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions):

• "<Player name> was slain..."

When killed by the Companion Cube's(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) stab:

• "<Player name> was stabbed."

When killed by darkness in a Constant(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) world:

• "<Player name> was killed by something in the dark!"

When killed by reaching the top of the world in a Don't dig up(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) or Get fixed boi(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) world:

• "<Player name> became an astronaut."
• "<Player name> is now space debris."
• "<Player name> left orbit."
• "<Player name> has ascended."
• "<Player name> departed <world name>."

Notes

• If a player is killed by a projectile, the death message will not include the name of the entity that launched the projectile, but instead the name of the projectile. Example: "<Player name> was slain by greek fire."
• PvP deaths will cause the player to respawn with full health. This also applies to self-inflicted deaths with items such as explosives.
• Because the number of dropped coins in Softcore is computed for each inventory slot, it may not be equal to 50% / 75% of the added total number of coins. For example, carrying a total of 40 CC as 1 CC in each inventory slot will always result in 40 CC being dropped (as 50% / 75% of 1 CC rounded up is 1 CC), instead of 20 CC / 30 CC.

Tips

• Tombstones can be very useful for locating items/coins dropped after death, since the Tombstone will usually fall within the vicinity of where the player died.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) On the minimap, a cross symbol will display where the player died most recently, allowing the player to quickly find the location again.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) In Expert Mode, the location of enemies that picked up at least 10 SC will be marked by a coin icon on the minimap, and hovering the cursor over / tapping the icon will show the exact amount of coins at that location. See Expert Mode § Coin pickup for details.
• During multiplayer boss fights, the last surviving player should play defensively until the other players can return to the fight after respawning. The boss may despawn if all players are too far away from the fight.

Trivia

• The text that appears after death saying "You were slain..." does not appear in the  Old-gen console version and Nintendo 3DS version of the game except on PS3.
• Several death messages from 1.3.0.1(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) entities do not explicitly mention the cause.
• (3DS version) If the Worm Pet is active upon death, it will say " Bye bye!", and will drop a Strange Looking Tombstone.
• One of the death messages displayed when dying from the Stoned(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) debuff, "<Player name> can't be put back together again.", is a reference to the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty, which has a verse: "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again".
• The death message displayed when the player is killed by a Paladin's Shield used to be displayed when the player attempted to destroy a Demon or Crimson Altar with an insufficient hammer power instead.
• The death message "<Player name> discovered the meaning of defenestration." is a reference to defenestration, or the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.
• The death message "<Player name> was freeeee, free-fallin'." is a reference to the song "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty.
• The death message "<Player name> forgot their happy thought." is a reference to flight needing fairy dust and thinking happy thoughts in stories related to Peter Pan.
• The death message "<Player name> was sent to Ocram's House." is an in-joke about Redigit's dislike for Ocram, suggesting that its rightful place is the trashbin. During the development of the Journey's End update, an image of a trashbin adorned with the text "Ocram's House" and the sprites of Ocram, Lepus, and Turkor the Ungrateful was used to reply to requests to bring back Ocram.
• The death message "<Player name> is bad at the Floor Is Lava." is a reference to the game "the floor is lava", where players pretend that the floor is made of lava and therefore must avoid touching the ground by any means necessary.
• The death message "<Player name> got to 1st base with the Wall of Flesh!" refers to how "first base" is a metaphor for kissing.
• Most death messages obtained in PvE circumstances are grammatically incorrect – there is no preceding "a" before the name of the killing monster or object, and the killer's name is always capitalized.

See also

• Coins § Drops upon death

History

 Desktop version

• Desktop 1.4.4:
  • Added 76 new death messages:
    • Added 50 new default death messages.
    • Added 7 new falling death messages.
    • Added 3 new drowning death messages.
    • Added 1 new lava death message.
    • Added 9 new debuff death messages.
    • Added 6 new other death messages.
  • Chaos State death message no longer changes depending on the player's gender.
  • Post-death invincibility time duration increased from 1 to 3 seconds.

• Desktop 1.4.0.5: Fixed a message typo: "<Player name>'s plead for death was answered" to "<Player name>'s plea for death was answered".

• Desktop 1.4.0.1:
  • Tombstones now display the real-world date of the related death.
  • Fixed a message typo: "<Player name> cant be put back together again." to "<Player name> can't be put back together again."

• Desktop 1.3.5:
  • Fixed petrification death messages being broken for a long while now.
  • Death screen now has a timer until the player respawns.

• Desktop 1.3.4.4: Fixed death messages incorrectly mentioning Glowsticks and Piggy Banks.

• Desktop 1.3.4.1: Fixed certain new 1.3.4 weapons staying in use during the player's death.

• Desktop 1.3.3.1: Fixed death messages only showing player names under certain circumstances.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1: Now shows amount of money dropped under "You were slain".

• Desktop 1.2.4.1: The proper items will now drop on Mediumcore/Hardcore deaths.

• Desktop 1.2.4: Fixed a bug where the player would die on entering the world from fall damage.

• Desktop 1.2.3.1: Fixed bug where Hardcore characters couldn't open the menu after death.

• Desktop 1.2.3:
  • Fixed dying by Demon Altar having no message.
  • Players have a longer respawn delay after a non-PVP death with a boss alive in multiplayer.

• Desktop 1.1.1: Coins held on the cursor will correctly be dropped on death.

• Desktop 1.0.5:
  • More specific death messages added.
  • Players will now drop Tombstones upon death.

• Desktop-Release: Introduced.

 Console version

• Console-Release: Introduced.

 Nintendo Switch version

• Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced.

 Mobile version

• Mobile-Release: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced.