Desert

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BiomeBannerDesert.png
See also: Underground Desert
The heat distortion effect seen on a cactus plant and Cactus Work Bench.

The Desert is a biome which consists predominantly of Sand Blocks and cacti. Every world contains a main Desert area (which houses the Underground Desert biome beneath it) and, possibly, additional small Desert patches called Dunes (which only contain layers of Sand Blocks on the surface and do not have underground parts). Pyramids and small pools of water can rarely appear in Dunes. Objects in the Desert appear slightly hazy due to heat distortion, and water has a unique turquoise color. A Desert can also be generated with an Oasis mini-biome, featuring Palm trees and a large pool of water in the center.

An area is considered a Desert biome if there are at least 1500 Sand Blocks, Hardened Sand Blocks or Sandstone Blocks,[1] causing the water and background to change. Cacti and Desert enemies can spawn on even a single block of sand, however. Deserts are overridden by most other biomes, including the Ocean. Rain will occur in Deserts just as in any other surface biome. A Sandstorm may occur when wind speed is over 30 mph, which causes special enemies to spawn and pushes the player in the direction of the wind.

The Desert can be infected by the Corruption, the Crimson, or the Hallow. Corruption/Crimson Deserts may already spawn upon world creation. The enemies from the main biome (the evil biome or the Hallow) can spawn in an infected Desert alongside the normal Desert enemies (except for Mummies and Sand Sharks, which have special biome-specific variants), and the music from the main biome is played. The sand in an infected Desert is replaced by Ebonsand, Crimsand, or Pearlsand Blocks, respectively. Although their color will change, cacti still drop Cactus when cut, and Waterleaf are also able to grow in a Hallowed Desert.

  • Corrupted Desert
  • Crimson Desert
  • Hallowed Desert
  • Oasis

Contents

See Underground Desert, Sandstorm, Pyramid, and Oasis for additional content related to the Desert.
Characters
Unique Drops
For Sale
Music

Entrances to the Underground Desert

Desktop version Console version Mobile version
Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This section's information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.

There is a 1/2 (50%) chance that the main Desert will generate with one of four types of structures that lead towards the Underground Desert. These are called chambers, pit, anthill, and larva hole.[2]

  • Chambers
    Chambers
  • Pit
    Pit
  • Larva hole (left) and anthill (right)
    Larva hole (left) and anthill (right)
  • The chambers consist of of a zigzagging downward tunnel with one or two small rooms connected to the corners.[3]
  • Pits are large funnels generated at the center of the Desert.[4]
  • Anthills are upward cones with narrow downward holes in the center. 2–3 anthills will generate across the surface of the main Desert.[5]
  • Larva holes are downward funnels with narrow holes in the center. 2–3 larva holes will generate across the surface of the main Desert.[6]
  • Several surface Desert generation examples. From left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Oasis; pit; larva holes; anthills; Oasis and larva holes; Oasis and anthills; chambers; a featureless Desert; a Dunes biome (with an Oasis) near the main Desert.
    Several surface Desert generation examples. From left-to-right, top-to-bottom: Oasis; pit; larva holes; anthills; Oasis and larva holes; Oasis and anthills; chambers; a featureless Desert; a Dunes biome (with an Oasis) near the main Desert.
  • A map view of an Underground Desert from 1.3.0.1 with a Pyramid. Notice the large pit on top.
    A map view of an Underground Desert from 1.3.0.1 with a Pyramid. Notice the large pit on top.

NPC happiness

DesertDesert
Loved byn/a
Disliked by
Hated by

For more information, see NPC happiness.

Notes

Trivia

  • The Desert is the least popular biome for housing (discounting invalid housing biomes like the Corruption and the Crimson). A total of five NPCs either hate or dislike living in it, more than any other biome.
  • The Desert and the Glowing Mushroom biome are the only surface biomes without a biome-exclusive boss.
  • According to the Bestiary entry for the Sand Shark, a saltwater river ran through the Desert in ancient times.

Gallery

Backgrounds

This content is transcluded from Biome backgrounds § Desert.

  • Classic sand dunes.
    Classic sand dunes.
  • Sand dunes with animal skeletons.
    Sand dunes with animal skeletons.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Sand dunes with rocks and buttes.
    (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Sand dunes with rocks and buttes.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Sand dunes with cacti and a few ruins.
    (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Sand dunes with cacti and a few ruins.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Dry flat desert over a cliff, with a few dead trees and bones, uses art from the 3DS background.
    (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Dry flat desert over a cliff, with a few dead trees and bones, uses art from the 3DS background.
  • A background from the 3DS version.
    Nintendo 3DS version A background from the 3DS version.

History

  • Desktop 1.2.3: Fixed a bug where Crimson Deserts were not making the water show up red.
  • Desktop 1.1:
    • Cacti no longer damage the player.
    • Now has own specific background.
  • Desktop 1.0.6:
    • Cacti no longer cause knockback when damaging players and no longer destroy blocks above when growing.
    • Deserts spawn slightly farther away from the initial spawn point.
  • Desktop 1.0.2: Sand no longer spawns within a certain distance of the spawn location. This removes the chance of spawning in a Desert with no wood to use.

References

  1. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, method ExportTileCountsToMain() in Terraria.SceneMetrics.cs, property EnoughTilesForDesert in Terraria.SceneMetrics.cs, and field DesertTileThreshold in Terraria.SceneMetrics.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  2. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, method Place() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.DesertBiome.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  3. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, methods Place() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.ChambersEntrance.cs and PlaceAt() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.ChambersEntrance.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  4. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, methods Place() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.PitEntrance.cs and PlaceAt() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.PitEntrance.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  5. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, methods Place() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.AnthillEntrance.cs and PlaceAt() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.AnthillEntrance.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  6. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.0.5 source code, methods Place() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.LarvaHoleEntrance.cs and PlaceAt() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.Desert.LarvaHoleEntrance.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
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