Traveling Merchant
The Traveling Merchant is a unique NPC vendor who randomly visits the player's town for one day. His inventory is randomized and different every visit, selling 4–10 / 4–12 (average 5.47 / 5.97; see below for details) different items listed below.
In order for the Traveling Merchant to spawn, at least 2 other NPCs must already be present. The Guide counts as one of these, but the Old Man and Skeleton Merchant do not[1]. He will not spawn during Solar Eclipses, the Goblin Army, Frost Legion, Pirate Invasion, or Martian Madness[2]. He does not require his own house in order to spawn, and will instead spawn next to NPCs, including town pets, spending the day walking around them.
Once the criteria are met, the Traveling Merchant has a 22.12% chance of spawning each day, appearing at a random time between 4:30 AM and 12:00 PM. The chances of him spawning are always the same regardless if the player is sleeping. He leaves the same day at 6:00 PM, but can only do so once he is off-screen. He despawns if the world is vacated any time after he spawns.
If threatened by enemies, the Traveling Merchant will defend himself with a Revolver. Once Hardmode begins, he upgrades to a Pulse Bow.
Items sold
Due to elaborate randomizer functions and dependencies upon several variables, it is nearly impossible to state an exact chance of an item being sold by the Traveling Merchant.[3] However, it is possible to group them in six rarity "slots", ranging from "Common" to "Extraordinarily Rare". Note that these slots do not correspond to the Traveling Merchant's shop inventory slots – all sold items might be from only one slot. They are only meant to provide a rough, comparative estimate of an item's rarity. Each shop slot will roll a 1/n chance of being for every possible item where n is 100 × the rarity slot. This chance is affected by luck, more specifically the luckiest player currently in the world. When multiple items pass this chance, the item that was tested, the latest will be the selected.
Within the slots, items higher in the list below have a marginally higher chance of being sold, e.g., the Companion Cube is sold slightly more often than the Water Gun (on average), because it is higher in the list.
The Traveling Merchant always sells exactly one painting, which is always in his last inventory slot.
Common
| Item | Cost | Availability
|
|---|---|---|
 Yuuma, The Blue Tiger
|
50 | |
 Sunshine of Israpony
|
50 | |
 Do Not Eat the Vile Mushroom!
|
50 | |
 Parsec Pals
|
50 | |
 Cheesy Pizza Poster
|
50 | |
 Duality
|
50 | |
 Benny Warhol
|
50 | |
 Kargoh's Summon
|
50 | |
 Stopwatch
|
5 | |
 Lifeform Analyzer
|
5 | |
 DPS Meter
|
5 | |
 Lawn Flamingo
|
5 | |
 Pink Team Block
|
1 | Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum |
 Pink Team Platform
|
1 | Always when selling Pink Team Blocks |
 Yellow Team Block
|
1 | Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum |
 Yellow Team Platform
|
1 | Always when selling Yellow Team Blocks |
 Green Team Block
|
1 | Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum |
 Green Team Platform
|
1 | Always when selling Green Team Blocks |
 Blue Team Block
|
1 | Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum |
 Blue Team Platform
|
1 | Always when selling Blue Team Blocks |
 Red Team Block
|
1 | Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum |
 Red Team Platform
|
1 | Always when selling Red Team Blocks |
 White Team Block
|
1 | Only selling one color of Team Blocks at maximum |
 White Team Platform
|
1 | Always when selling White Team Blocks |
 Dynasty Wood
|
50 | |
 Red Dynasty Shingles
|
50 | Always when selling Dynasty Wood |
 Blue Dynasty Shingles
|
50 | Always when selling Dynasty Wood |
 Fancy Dishes
|
20 | |
 Chalice
|
50 | |
 Zebra Skin
|
1 | |
 Leopard Skin
|
1 | |
 Tiger Skin
|
1 | |
 Pho
|
75 | Only on |
 Pad Thai
|
55 | Only on |
 Sake
|
5 | |
Uncommon
| Item | Cost | Availability
|
|---|---|---|
 The Bereaved
|
1 | When in a Constant world |
 The Strongman
|
1 | When in a Constant world |
 The Firestarter
|
1 | When in a Constant world |
 The Gentleman Scientist
|
1 | When in a Constant world |
 Ultrabright Torch
|
3 | |
 Katana
|
10 250 |
When not in a don't dig up world |
 Keybrand
|
10 | When in a don't dig up world |
 Presserator
|
10 | |
 Portable Cement Mixer
|
10 | |
 Paint Sprayer
|
10 | |
 Extendo Grip
|
10 | |
 Brick Layer
|
10 | |
| Pad Thai
|
55 | Only on |
Rare
Very Rare
| Item | Cost | Availability
|
|---|---|---|
| The Bereaved
|
1 | When not in a Constant world |
| The Strongman
|
1 | When not in a Constant world |
| The Firestarter
|
1 | When not in a Constant world |
| The Gentleman Scientist
|
1 | When not in a Constant world |
 Bamboo Leaf
|
1 | |
 Bedazzled Nectar
|
1 | |
 Blue Chicken Egg
|
25 | |
 Exotic Chew Toy
|
1 | |
 Birdie Rattle
|
1 | |
 Anti-Portal Block
|
1 | During Hardmode |
 Companion Cube
|
5 | |
 Sitting Duck's Fishing Pole
|
35 | After defeating Skeletron At any game progression |
 Hunter Cloak
|
15 | |
 Winter Cape
|
5 | |
 Red Cape
|
5 | |
 Mysterious Cape
|
5 | |
 Crimson Cloak
|
5 | |
 Diamond Ring
|
2 | |
 Celestial Magnet
|
15 | Only on |
 Water Gun
|
150 | |
 Pulse Bow
|
45 | During Hardmode, after defeating all mechanical bosses After defeating Plantera |
 Yellow Counterweight
|
5 | |
Extremely Rare
| Item | Cost | Availability
|
|---|---|---|
 Arcane Rune Wall
|
250 | |
 Kimono
|
1 | |
 Sergeant United Shield
|
35 | During Hardmode |
 Gatligator
|
35 | During Hardmode |
 Black Counterweight
|
5 | |
Extraordinarily Rare
| Item | Cost | Availability
|
|---|---|---|
 Angel Halo
|
40 | |
Number of sold items
The following tables list the chances of the numbers of items sold by the Traveling Merchant.[3] Only "base" items are counted, i.e., Dynasty Shingles and Team Platforms are excluded from this number, since they are always sold together with their "base" items Dynasty Wood or Team Block, respectively.
| Number of "base" items |
Chance (Classic Mode > Expert Mode) | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 8 | ||
| 9 | ||
| 10 | ||
| 11 | n/a | |
These chances reveal that the average number of sold "base" items is 5.47 / 5.97.
Shimmered form
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|
| Shimmered Traveling Merchant and his Map Icon. |
When submerged in Shimmer, the Traveling Merchant will transform into his Shimmered form. This has no impact on gameplay or dialogue and is only a visual change. He can be returned to his classic look by submerging him in Shimmer again.
Notes
- The actual "roll" to spawn the Traveling Merchant is not performed once-per-day like a Goblin Army or how any other events are determined. Instead, the roll is performed every tick[4].
- For each tick of the first half of each day (4:30 AM – 12:00 PM = 7.5 hours = 27,000 ticks), there is a 1 in 108,000 chance to spawn the Traveling Merchant. Thus, the Traveling Merchant has a:
1-(107999/108000)^27000 = 0.2212001339 ≈ 22.12%chance of arriving each day. - This means that if a specific item from the Traveling Merchant is desired, but he arrived without that particular item, and it is before 12:00 PM in-game, he can be killed for a chance of another Traveling Merchant spawning.
- For each tick of the first half of each day (4:30 AM – 12:00 PM = 7.5 hours = 27,000 ticks), there is a 1 in 108,000 chance to spawn the Traveling Merchant. Thus, the Traveling Merchant has a:
- The Traveling Merchant does not leave during events.
- The Traveling Merchant can throw a Party.
Tips
- The Traveling Merchant departs by simply disappearing while off-screen. If the player keeps him on-screen when he would normally depart, he will remain until he is off-screen again. If he is kept on-screen until dawn, he will not depart until he is off-screen after 6:00 PM the following evening. This does not, however, change his inventory.
Names
The Traveling Merchant may have any of the following names:
- Abraham
- Aedan
- Aphraim
- Bohemas
- Eladon
- Gallius
- Llewellyn
- Mercer
- Rawleigh
- Riley
- Romeo
- Shipton
- Willy
Quotes
When Merchant is present:
When Clothier is present:
When Guide is present:
During a Party:
During Rain :
During a Thunderstorm:
During a Windy Day:
When in a Graveyard:
|
Trivia
- Many of the things he sells are of Asian origin, often from the Qing dynasty.
- Many of his wares may be a reference to the East India Company, and to the goods that were brought to Europe during the age of discovery in general.
- The name Willy is most likely a reference to the 1949 play Death of a Salesman written by American playwright Arthur Miller, where the main character is Willy Loman, a traveling salesman.
- His quote "Come and have a look! One pound fish! Very, very good! One pound fish!" is a reference to the Pakistani trader and recording artist Muhammad Shahid Nazir, also known as One Pound Fish Man, who found fame as an internet sensation for his viral video "One Pound Fish".
- The quote "Combination hookah and coffee maker! Also makes julienne fries!" is a reference to the 1992 American animated musical fantasy film Aladdin.
- His quote "Hmm, you look like you could use an Angel Statue! They slice, and dice, and make everything nice!" is a reference to the ongoing joke of how Angel Statues are one of the most useless statues in the game; this is also referenced by a quote from the Merchant.
- Along with the Cyborg, the Zoologist and the Princess, the Traveling Merchant is one of the only NPCs to sell a new item post-Moon Lord, which is Not a Kid, nor a Squid and Moonman & Company.
- The
Bestiary entry for the Traveling Merchant: "The flamboyantly-dressed Traveling Merchant travels far and wide to bring unique, cultural wares from time to time."
See also
History
- Desktop 1.4.4:
- No longer sells the Ammo Box and Celestial Magnet.
- Now has an extra guaranteed item slot in his inventory in Hardmode. This slot can only contain items from the 4 less common item pools, with the most common items being excluded.
- Now also has an extra guaranteed item slot in his inventory at all times, which always contains a painting. Paintings have been removed from all of his other inventory slots, which will slightly increase the odds of obtaining the rest of his wares.
- Pad Thai has been increased from Tier 1 to Tier 2, making it less common; buy price increased from 30 to 55.
- Pho has been increased from Tier 1 to Tier 3, making it less common; buy price increased from 50 to 75.
- Christmas paintings will now be sold any time after Frost Legion has been defeated, rather than only when Christmas season is active.
- Gray/Orange Zapinator have been reduced from Tier 5 to Tier 3, making them more common.
- Desktop 1.4.3: Now sells 4 new paintings.
- Desktop 1.4.1:
- Now only sells Sitting Duck's Fishing Pole after defeating Skeletron.
- No longer sells the Super Star Shooter.
- Desktop 1.4.0.4: Fixed Traveling Merchant and Skeleton Merchant accidentally having NPC Happiness.
- Desktop 1.4.0.1: Now sells Celestial Wand, Exotic Chew Toy, Birdie Rattle, and many more new items.
- Desktop 1.3.2: Fixed not being able to attack at Night.
- Desktop 1.3.1: Now sells the Companion Cube, Team Blocks, Team Platforms and the Presserator.
- Desktop 1.3.0.1:
- Now defends himself with a Revolver (in pre-Hardmode) and the Pulse Bow (in Hardmode).
- Now sells many new items, including yoyos, accessories, and paintings.
- Desktop 1.2.4.1: Now sells Animal Skins.
- Desktop 1.2.4: Fixed issue where Scorpions worked with King Statue and Traveling Merchant did not.
- Desktop 1.2.3: Introduced.
- Console 1.0.933.1: Now sells many new items, including yoyos, accessories, and paintings. (
)
- Console 1.0.750.0: Now sells many new items, including yoyos, accessories, and paintings. (
)
- Console 1.08: Added Capes (Winter, Mysterious, and Red Capes and Crimson Cloak) and Diamond Ring.
- Console 1.07: Introduced with vendor items up to Desktop 1.2.4.1, except the Angel Halo, Capes, and Diamond Ring.
- Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced.
- Mobile 1.2.11212: Introduced with vendor items up to Desktop 1.2.4.1.
References
- ↑ Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, method
UpdateTime()inTerraria.Main.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
- ↑ Information taken from the Desktop 1.3.5.3 source code, method
SpawnTravelNPC()inTerraria.WorldGen.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Information taken from the Desktop 1.4.3.6 source code, method
SetupTravelShop()inTerraria.Chest.cs. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
- ↑ A tick is a time unit countable by the software. Most of Terraria's updating logic happens every tick. A tick has the length of 1/60th of a second, hence there are 60 ticks in a second and 3600 ticks in a minute.
