Lava

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Some lava in a cave.
Flame.png
The icon displayed when immune to lava.

Lava is a glowing red-orange liquid found deep in the Cavern layer and throughout The Underworld, appearing instead of water at depths below approximately 950 feet (475 tiles) in a small world, 1,450 feet (725 tiles) in a medium world, or 1,950 feet (975 tiles) in a large world (on average).[1] Tiny pools can frequently be found on the outskirts of the Underground Desert(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) as well, even as high as 200 feet below the surface.

Contact with lava deals damage (which is not subject to the usual ±15% randomization; it will always do the same amount of damage to entities with the same defense) and inflicts the On Fire! debuff. Players take 80 damage and the debuff lasts for 7 / 14 / 17.5 seconds[2], whereas enemies, NPCs, and critters take 50 damage and the debuff lasts for 7 seconds.[3] Various items make the player immune to this damage, such as the Lava Charm and its derivatives. Lava also slows movement of entities submerged in it, similarly to water.

Lava flows downwards and horizontally, settling and taking the shape of any block formations below and beside it, the way water does. However, lava is more viscous than water, flowing more slowly. After flowing 50 tiles in a direction, lava will begin to evaporate, causing the source to be lost. Unlike with water, the color of lava does not depend on the biome the player is in. It also emits a medium amount of flickering light.

Most dropped items of Rarity level: 0 rarity (which includes all coins) will be destroyed when submerged in lava past their vertical midpoint. Furthermore, many types of placed furniture and almost all placed platforms are destroyed upon contact with lava. Blocks cannot be placed directly within lava, but falling blocks like silt and sand can fall into it, resulting in placement at its bottom. Lava can be moved by the player via a bucket or pump.

In addition to naturally generated lava, it may be produced in a few other ways. Hellstone produces half a block's volume of lava when mined in the Underworld (a full block's volume in Expert Mode(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)). Lava Slimes create a small amount of lava when slain in Expert Mode (except in Don't dig up(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) and Get fixed boi(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) secret world seeds). Hellbats and Lava Bats create a small amount of lava when slain in a Get fixed boi secret world seed.

Crafting

An example of lava (together with water and honey) placed to be used as a crafting station. Notice the Crystal Ball above them.

Like water and honey, lava can be used as a minor crafting station. It works just like those two; in order to use it the player only has to stand nearby. Creation of items from a body of lava does not lower the lava level at all.

Used to craft

LavaLava
ResultIngredients
Lava BombLava Bomb(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
  • Dry BombDry Bomb(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Lava RocketLava Rocket(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Crystal BallCrystal Ball and LavaLava
ResultIngredients
Lavafall BlockLavafall Block(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Magic Lava DropperMagic Lava Dropper(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

Lava can also be used to make the following items, though not as a crafting station:

Item When combined with
ObsidianObsidian WaterWater
Crispy Honey BlockCrispy Honey Block HoneyHoney
Aetherium BlockAetherium Block(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) ShimmerShimmer(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)

Fishing

See also: Fishing § Lava fishing

Fishing in lava requires the use of the Hotline Fishing Hook, Lavaproof Fishing Hook(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) or its upgrade, or (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) bait found in the Underworld. It is not possible to get other catches normally obtained in water.

Catches from lava
Item Type Sell Rarity Notes
Flarefin Koi Flarefin KoiInternal Item ID: 2312 Fish 50 SC Rarity level: 2 Used for crafting Inferno Potions.
Obsidifish ObsidifishInternal Item ID: 2315 Fish 15 SC Rarity level: 2 Used for crafting Inferno Potions and Potions of Return(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions).
Obsidian Swordfish Obsidian SwordfishInternal Item ID: 2331 Spear 1 GC Rarity level: 7 Hardmode-only.
Bottomless Lava Bucket Bottomless Lava Bucket(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 4820 Tool 10 GC Rarity level: 7 Allows placing infinite amounts of lava.
Lava Absorbant Sponge Lava Absorbant Sponge(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 4872 Tool 10 GC Rarity level: 7 Allows removing infinite amounts of lava.
Demon Conch Demon Conch(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 4819 Tool 1 GC Rarity level: 4 Teleports the player to the center of the Underworld.
Obsidian Crate Obsidian Crate(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 4877 Crate 1 GC Rarity level: 2 Pre-Hardmode-only.
Hellstone Crate Hellstone Crate(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 4878 Crate 1 GC Rarity level: 2 Hardmode-only.

Notes

By default, players are dealt 80 damage and set on fire by lava.
  • Contact with lava dislodges many placed furniture items and most kinds of platforms.
    • The following placed items are not dislodged by lava, but will still be destroyed if they fall into lava as item: Obsidian Platform, Stone Platform(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), Ash Wood Platform(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), Web Rope, Silk Rope, Chain, placed statues, pumps, Obsidian furniture, Ash Wood furniture(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), and Planter Boxes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions).
  • The following Rarity level: 0 rarity items are not destroyed by lava.[4]
  • The exact depth at which lava will begin replacing all water in a world is different for every world and can vary by up to several hundred feet/tiles between worlds; the approximate depths given above are only averages.[1]
  • The damage from lava can be reduced by defense and damage reduction. Apart from that, the following items allow for reducing or eliminating lava damage:
    • Obsidian Skin PotionObsidian Skin Potion: Grants a buff when consumed which provides lava immunity for its entire duration.
    • Superheated BloodSuperheated Blood(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions): Summons a Lava Shark Mount, which provides unlimited lava immunity, as well as fast movement in liquids.
    • Obsidian RoseObsidian Roseand its upgrades: Reduces the base damage taken from lava from 80 to (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 35 / (Old-gen console and 3DS versions) 50 and halves the duration of the inflicted On Fire! debuff from 7 / 14 / 17.5 seconds to 3.5 / 7 / 8.75 seconds.
    • Ash Wood armorAsh Wood armor(set bonus)(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions): Halves the base damage taken from lava from 80 to 40 and halves the duration of the inflicted On Fire! debuff from 7 / 14 / 17.5 seconds to 3.5 / 7 / 8.75 seconds.
    • Equipping both Ash Wood armor and the Obsidian Rose (or its upgrades) provides unlimited lava immunity.
  • Various accessories and one type of minecart allow the player to be submerged in lava for some time without taking damage. This immunity is similar to the breath meter while underwater, but it has its own separate bar, is immediately activated upon touching lava, and takes much longer to refill than the breath meter after exiting lava. Each of these items grants 7 seconds of immunity. If multiple of these items are equipped/used simultaneously, the duration of immunity will be stacked, up to a maximum of (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 49 / (Old-gen console and 3DS versions) 14 seconds if all of them are used.

Tips

  • Silt and Sand Blocks can be stacked until reaching the lava's surface to form a safe bridge over it. They will revert back to lava if mined away, unless exiting the world and re-entering it.
  • A shallow lava pit underneath a structure will damage all walking enemies as they attempt to jump towards the player in the structure, and, if shallow enough, will gather their drops in one location for easy collection later. One can also use this technique to upgrade regular pits. Standing underneath the pit will lure most enemies toward the player, with even some flying enemies diving into the lava.

Lava depth

Lava will destroy any item of Rarity level: 0 rarity (other than the aforementioned exceptions) including coins, if it is deep enough for the item to sink past its midpoint. As a result, items with larger sprites can survive deeper lava. This allows making pits with lava just deep enough to burn Copper Coins, but (almost) nothing else. To check if a lava moat has the exact depth required, a player can throw in a Copper Coin and a Silver Coin. The Copper Coin should burn, but the slightly taller Silver Coin should not.

In practice, this lava depth can be achieved with 1 Bucket of lava for each 6 to 8 tiles of pit length.

  • Thus a moat that is 6–8 tiles wide should have one bucket thrown in, while a moat of 12–16 should have 2.
  • This implies avoiding lengths where this range cannot be achieved: 1–5, 9–11, 17. A moat 18 or more tiles long can always be filled to proper depth.
  • When filling a very large moat, it is best to drop individual lava buckets over the width of the moat, and not throw it on the same spot, due to unreliable liquid physics.

If too many items (over 400) accumulate in the world, the oldest ones will despawn. Copper Coins are among the least valuable objects in the game, but each stack of them still counts as an item. An event or enemy farm can produce huge numbers of Copper Coins, so it is worth discarding them, against the risk of despawning more valuable items. Fortunately they are also among the smallest items in the game (with their sprite being 10 pixels high).

  • A notable exception: The far more valuable Lihzahrd Power Cell also has a height of 10 pixels, and will be destroyed with the Copper Coins.
  • Other notable heights: Silver Coins and Gel share a 12-pixel height, while block items are 12 pixels tall.
For a list of the sprite heights of all items, see List of item sprite sizes.

Trivia

  • In the real world, lava is molten rock, but the term is usually applied only when it is expelled above ground as the result of a volcanic eruption. Lava, as found underground in Terraria, would typically be termed as magma instead.
  • Dying from lava will display one of the following unique 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."

History

  • Desktop 1.3.4: Lava is dynamic and has a setting to be more or less dynamic.
  • Desktop 1.2.3:
    • Lava makes a bubbling noise when nearby.
    • Now functions as a crafting station.
    • Touching lava while in water will now properly put the fire buff out when leaving lava.
  • Desktop 1.1: Now exists as a secondary "layer" behind the placed blocks. Therefore can no longer be removed by dropping sand-like block in it. "Blocked" liquids now disappear only after restart of world.
  • Desktop 1.0.6:
    • The lava's emitted light was reduced.
    • Now spawned when mining Hellstone.
    • Shallow lava can again hurt players and enemies.
    • Blocks can no longer be placed in lava.
    • Now causes the On Fire! debuff.
  • Desktop 1.0.5:
    • Lava will remove grass (including Jungle grass, Mushroom grass, and Corruption) from Dirt and Mud blocks.
    • No longer destroys items with a blue rarity or higher.
    • Very shallow lava will not hurt players or enemies anymore.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.3.6 source code, method ApplyPass() in Terraria.GameContent.Biomes.TerrainPass.cs. Approximate values were obtained by considering the expected values of the various random ranges for layer depths, in particular assuming that the underground and cavern layers begin at 26% and 35% of the world heights (in tiles), respectively; the final values were rounded to the nearest multiple of 25 tiles. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
  2. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method Update() in Terraria.Player.cs.
  3. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method Collision_LavaCollision() in Terraria.NPC.cs.
  4. ↑ Information taken from the Desktop version Desktop 1.4.4.9 source code, method CheckLavaDeath() in Terraria.Item.cs and field IsLavaImmuneRegardlessOfRarity in Terraria.ID.ItemID.Sets.cs.
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