Shark

Type	Aquatic
Environment	Ocean
AI Type	Swimming AI
Damage	40/80/120
Max Life	300/600/900
Defense	2
KB Resist	30%/37%/44%
Banner	Shark Banner
Immune to
Coins	4 SC10 SC
Hurt	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Hit_1.wav
Killed	https://terraria.wiki.gg/wiki/File:NPC_Killed_1.wav

For the enemy found during Sandstorms, see Sand Shark.

For its

Old-gen console and

variant, see Orca.

One possible approach to safely hunting sharks while breathing on the Ocean floor, with Actuators used on the floor and the lowest blocks on the walls for exiting for item collection on either side.

The Shark is a pre-Hardmode enemy that spawns in the Ocean. Sharks are rarer than other Ocean enemies like Crabs or Pink Jellyfish, though they are still relatively common.

Notes

Sharks can only spawn within 250 tiles of the map's edge, or from a Shark Statue.
Sharks do not flop around on land like most other fish, making them less dangerous to approach when beached.
Along with other water enemies, Sharks will ignore players who are not submerged in at least one tile of water.
(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Sharks spawned from a Shark Statue will not drop any items when killed with lava, traps, or NPCs' attacks.

Tips

Sharks charge the player and can move quicker than most players. They are highly resistant to knockback, but strong weapons will usually at least halt their advance.
Rapid-fire weapons, flails, and multi-attack weapons (such as the Swordfish or the Boomstick) tend to be effective against Sharks. Autoswing weapons are also effective against Sharks as long as they have decent knockback. Because of their extremely fast attack rate and their autoswing feature, the Bladed Glove, Terragrim(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), and Arkhalis(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) are quite useful when dealing with Sharks.
Using a Water Walking Potion or Water Walking Boots to stand on the surface and dive slightly down periodically, the player can attract Sharks to within striking distance while staying safe. The Flipper accessory or Flipper Potion will keep the player from sinking to the bottom.
To safely and easily hunt Sharks, construct a spot to stand on, but remain half-inside water. Add a shield of blocks in front of the player to one tile above the water's surface. Use an arcing ranged or Flamelash-type weapon to fire around the shield, or a Vilethorn to fire through the shield.
A similar method is to stay on the Ocean floor, dig a small pit in the Sand, and build a shield above the player but not connected to the ground, leaving a one-tile gap. Sharks will try to attack but will not fit. The player can then attack with impunity. If the player is lacking proper swim gear or a Neptune's Shell, a stack of Gills Potions may come in handy for this approach.
An easy way to farm Sharks is to place Shark Statues over one bucket of lava stretched over a 12-tile space, and activating the statue with a 1 Second Timer. This kills the Sharks without risk to the player and keeps the items from being destroyed.
- (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Since statue-spawned Sharks do not drop items when killed with lava damage only, some form of player damage is required. This can be easily done with minions.

Trivia

Real-life shark attacks are incredibly rare, as sharks rarely attack humans deliberately, instead mistaking swimmers for injured seals, which are their prey.

The Bestiary entry for the Shark: "Once these ocean predators catch a whiff of blood, they become relentless and unstoppable in their ravenous pursuit."

History

Desktop version

Desktop 1.4.4: Increased the drop rate of the Diving Helmet from 1/50 (2%) to 1/20 (5%) and consequently reduced the drop rate of the Shark Fin from 49/50 (98%) to 19/20 (95%).