Water Bolt highlighted on a Dungeon shelf
The Water Bolt in action.
The Water Bolt is a pre-Hardmode magic weapon that auto-fires a slow, blue, ricocheting water-ball projectile that travels in straight lines, emits a dim light, is unaffected by gravity, and pierces multiple enemies. The projectile can last up to 30 seconds, but it will dissipate when it ricochets 5 times or damages 10 enemies. The Water Bolt is uniquely found only in the Dungeon, hidden as one of the many Books on the shelves. It cannot be crafted, purchased, found in Chests, or obtained in other ways.
Its best modifier is Mythical.
Location
The Water Bolt is hidden amongst the Books on shelves in the Dungeon, (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) below the vertical center of the Underground layer.[1] Despite its red appearance in an inventory slot, the Water Bolt is always the blue book with a yellow band on it when on shelves. Since a careful visual inspection is not always practical in the Dungeon due to frequent enemy attacks, any of the following methods can also be used to locate the Water Bolt:
- Mine all Books that are encountered, e.g. using a pickaxe.
- Right-click on all Books that are encountered. Only the Water Bolt will drop from a right-click.
- Hover the cursor over all Books on the shelves of the Dungeon. When located, the Water Bolt shows as a tooltip beside the cursor. No other Books show a tooltip.
If the player is standing too far away, tooltips will not show, nor will right-clicks cause the Water Bolt to drop. The proximity required is the same as for opening Chests or speaking to NPCs.
Notes
- Once it is taken from a shelf, the Water Bolt cannot be placed again whatsoever.
- The projectile does not disappear in lava.
- Despite the projectile being water based, it is still slowed when it is submerged in water
- A Dungeon may contain more than one Water Bolt or none at all. During world generation, there is a 1/2 (50%) chance for each platform in the Dungeon to have a Book placed upon it, with a 1/50 (2%) chance of turning it into a Water Bolt.[1] Therefore, larger worlds have higher chances of containing more Water Bolts than smaller worlds, because of their larger Dungeons and thus higher numbers of platforms.
Tips
- When the projectile dissipates, the glowing embers it releases will fall through solid blocks and momentarily illuminate the area below, which can be useful for lighting caverns or rooms directly below the player.
- On the Old-gen console and 3DS versions, it is not explicitly required to defeat Skeletron to obtain a Water Bolt, as platforms with Books can spawn above the surface, sometimes even in the room just past the door into the Dungeon. These can be safely retrieved without causing either Dungeon Guardians or unique Dungeon enemies to spawn. As the Water Bolt remains a powerful weapon up until Hardmode, it can be advantageous to check the Dungeon when starting a new world. While doing so, caution should be taken when venturing deeper into the Dungeon, as to not spawn a Dungeon Guardian.
- On the Desktop version, Console version, and Mobile version, it is also possible to obtain a Water Bolt prior to defeating Skeletron, albeit very dangerous. If one is spotted near the perimeter of the Dungeon, a hoik can be used to enter the Dungeon and pick up the Water Bolt. A Recall Potion allows retreating without dying, and autopause is useful for timing.
- The durability of the Water Bolt projectile, combined with its ability to ricochet and hit multiple foes, makes it very suitable for fighting groups of enemies, especially in flat valleys and straight passageways. Having a velocity of 23 mph, it is slow enough to hit the same enemy more than once even without ricocheting.
- The Water Bolt combined with a properly closed arena is very effective way to fight many pre-Hardmode bosses, especially those with many parts, like the Eater of Worlds or Brain of Cthulhu.
- The Water Bolt can be used to clear and illuminate areas while exploring, such as the pre-Hardmode Spider Caves, easily and safely.
- Due to the ricocheting behavior of the Water Bolt's projectile, it can be used to locate Floating Islands by firing it into the sky on the surface. However, the projectiles travel rather slowly, and there are more efficient methods to locate Floating Islands – see Floating Island § Tips.
Trivia
- In pre-release footage of Terraria, both the placed and held Water Bolt sprites were blue. The held Water Bolt sprites were later changed to red, without altering the placed Water Bolt's coloration.
- Some Bookcase sprites contain the Water Bolt, but it cannot be looted from them.
- During a Blood Moon, the blue projectile will be pink in the middle and upper portions of the world. When cast within or when traveling upwards from a point between the Underground and Caverns level, the projectile can be observed changing color progressively from blue to pink. In lower portions of the world and the Underworld, the original color is unchanged.
- The Water Bolt is one of the very few weapons that are placed in the world and must be broken to acquire. The only other weapons to share this are the Enchanted Sword and the (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Terragrim / ( versions) Arkhalis.
History
- Desktop 1.4.0.1: Can now only spawn below the vertical center of the Underground layer.
- Desktop 1.2:
- Projectile sprite changed.
- Base mana cost reduced from 14 to 10.
- Light effect changed.
- Desktop 1.0.6:
- Makes a new sound when used.
- Damage increased from 15 to 17.
- Mana to cast reduced from 20 to 14.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information taken from the Desktop 1.4.2.3 source code, method
MakeDungeon()
in Terraria.WorldGen.cs
. There may be inaccuracies, as the current Desktop version is 1.4.4.9.
Pre-Hardmode
- Wooden Sword
- Cactus Sword
- Zombie Arm
- Gladius(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Breathing Reed ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
- Ruler ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
- Umbrella ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
- Tragic Umbrella(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Tentacle Spike(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Mandible Blade(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bladed Glove
- Stylish Scissors(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Candy Cane Sword(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Bat Bat(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bone Sword
- Flymeal(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Katana(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Ice Blade
- Muramasa
- Exotic Scimitar(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Phaseblade
- Starfury
- Purple Clubberfish
- Enchanted Sword
- Bee Keeper
- Blade of Grass
- Falcon Blade
- Night's Edge
- Pearlwood Sword
- Classy Cane(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Waffle's Iron(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Ham Bat(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Slap Hand(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Breaker Blade
- Phasesaber
- Ice Sickle
- Cutlass
- Frostbrand
- Excalibur
- Seedler(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Beam Sword
- Bladetongue(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Brand of the Inferno(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Death Sickle
- Fetid Baghnakhs(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Keybrand
- Psycho Knife(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Flying Dragon(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- The Horseman's Blade
- Christmas Tree Sword
- True Excalibur
- True Night's Edge
- Terra Blade
- Influx Waver(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Starlight(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Star Wrath(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Meowmere(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Tizona(Old-gen console and 3DS versions)
Yoyos(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Other
- Terragrim(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Arkhalis(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Shadowflame Knife(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Jousting Lance(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
(
- Hallowed(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Shadow(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
)
- Sleepy Octopod(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Scourge of the Corruptor
- Vampire Knives
- Sky Dragon's Fury(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Daybreak(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Solar Eruption(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Zenith(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Bows- Wooden
- Copper
- Tin
- Iron
- Lead
- Silver
- Tungsten
- Gold
- Platinum
- Blood Rain(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Demon
- Tendon
- Hellwing(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- The Bee's Knees(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Molten Fury
- Marrow
- Phantom Phoenix(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Daedalus Stormbow(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Ice
- Shadowflame(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Aerial Bane(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Tsunami
- Pulse(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Eventide(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Phantasm(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Sharanga(Old-gen console and 3DS versions)
Consumable
- Paper Airplanes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Snowball
- Rotten Egg
- Shuriken
- Throwing Knife
- Star Anise(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Spiky Ball
- Frost Daggerfish(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Javelin(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
(
- Bone(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
)
- Holy Water
- Bone
- Molotov Cocktail(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Beenade
- Grenade
(
- Sticky(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Bouncy(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Happy(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
)
Direct
Other- Wand of Sparking(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Wand of Frosting(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Gray Zapinator(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Aqua Scepter
- Thunder Zapper(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Space Gun
- Ice Rod
- Golden Shower
- Demon Scythe
- Laser Rifle
- Magic Dagger
- Orange Zapinator(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Sky Fracture(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Shadowflame Hex Doll(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Crystal Serpent(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Leaf Blower
- Frost Staff
- Poison Staff
- Razorpine
- Heat Ray
- Venom Staff(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Unholy Trident
- Bubble Gun
- Laser Machinegun(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Charged Blaster Cannon(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Last Prism(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Betsy's Wrath(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Zapinator(3DS version)
Minions
- Finch Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Slime Staff
- Flinx Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Abigail's Flower(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Vampire Frog Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Hornet Staff(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Imp Staff(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Blade Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Spider Staff(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Sanguine Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Optic Staff(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Pirate Staff(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Pygmy Staff
- Desert Tiger Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Raven Staff
- Deadly Sphere Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Tempest Staff
- Terraprisma(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Xeno Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Stardust Cell Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Stardust Dragon Staff(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Whips(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)