World size

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World size refers to the size of a Terraria world. Upon creation, on the Desktop version Desktop version, Console version Console version, Old-gen console version Old-gen console version, and Mobile version Mobile version, the player can select either "small", "medium", or "large" for the size of the world to generate. On the Nintendo 3DSNintendo 3DS version version, the player can select either "normal" or "expanded". The worlds are smaller due to less memory. A (3DS version) "expanded" world is the same as a (Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) "small" world.

Map sizes are as follows: (one tile = two feet)

World Map size
(tiles)
Map size
(feet)
Accessible area
(tiles)
Accessible area
(feet)
Map area
(tiles²)
Map area
(feet²)
(3DS version) Normal
Mobile version Tiny[a]
1750 × 900 3500 × 1800 1743 × 893 3486 × 1786 1,575,000 6,300,000
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Small
(3DS version) Expanded[b]
4200 × 1200 8400 × 2400 4117 × 1117 8234 × 2234 5,040,000 20,160,000
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Medium 6400 × 1800 12800 × 3600 6317 × 1717 12634 × 3434 11,520,000 46,080,000
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Large[c] 8400 × 2400 16800 × 4800 8317 × 2317 16634 × 4634 20,160,000 80,640,000

World generation limits

World size greatly impacts how many of a certain structure the world can have. The values listed below are the theoretical maximums and not a guaranteed count. Although unlikely, some large structures and biomes can be skipped if no proper location is found. Additionally, some smaller structures can be overwritten by other structures, or be blocked by other nearby structures. The ranges listed are based on chance factors during generation and not on observed data.

Placed items
Name World size
Normal (3DS version)
Tiny Mobile version
Small (Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Expanded (3DS version)
Medium
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Large
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Life Crystals 31 Verify 100 230 403
Surface Chests 8 Verify 21 32 42
Underground Chests[d] (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 35–40 80–91 140–160
Dead Man's Chests(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 10–20 15–30 20–40
Shadow Chests (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 7–10 10–15 14–20
(Old-gen console and 3DS versions) 3–4 Verify 6–9 8–13 11–17
Statue multiplier[e] 1 Verify 2 3 4
Treasure rooms
Name World size
Normal (3DS version)
Tiny Mobile version
Small (Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Expanded (3DS version)
Medium
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Large
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Floating Islands 2–5 Verify 3 5 6
Floating Lakes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 1 2 3
Living Mahogany Trees(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 6–11 9–16 12–22
Enchanted Sword Shrines(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 0–1 0–3 0–4
Underground Cabins (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 35–40 80–91 140–160
(Old-gen console and 3DS versions) 21–22 Verify 71–74 171–176 305–311
Extra Underground Desert
Cabins[f] (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
n/a 2 4 8
Mini-biomes
Name World size
Normal (3DS version)
Tiny Mobile version
Small (Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Expanded (3DS version)
Medium
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
Large
(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
 Bee Hives 3 6–8 8–12 11–16
Marble Caves(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 4–8 9–18 16–32
Granite Caves(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 4–8 6–12 8–16
Glowing moss biomes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 2 3 4
Oases(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a 0–3 0–4 0–5
Abandoned Mine Tracks(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
Track length World size
Small Medium Large
Standard Count 4–7 9–15 16–28
Length 150–300 225–450 300–600
Extra long Count 1–2 1–3 2–4
Length 400–1,000 600–1,500 800–2,000

World size comparison

Different world sizes may be better suited for different purposes. Players may find that creating many small worlds may be more efficient than creating large worlds due to the amount of memory needed.

Advantages of small worlds

Everything is closer and quicker to reach:

Advantages of large worlds

There is more space to build and explore:

  • Layer and biome transitions are more gradual.
    • The Wyvern spawn level is higher, making above-ground housing safer at low altitudes.
    • Conversely, there is more below-ground space that counts as surface, which can be used for farms of "surface-only" plants like trees or mushrooms.
  • There is a greater chance of having lakes or pools big enough for fishing.
  • The Underworld is longer, potentially giving more time to defeat the Wall of Flesh.
  • The Celestial Towers will be more spread out, reducing the likelihood of the player's base and NPC homes being overrun.
  • The evil biome or hallow is less likely to spawn near the Jungle, for the same reason as above.
  • The surface terrain tends to be more varied and interesting.
  • Abandoned Mine Tracks(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) are longer and more common.

There are more things in the world:

  • There are more total Chests and Pots underground per world.
  • There are more materials, including ore and wood. For example, there is more wood already grown and more room to plant trees.
  • The Dungeon has a greater chance to have all three Dungeon Wall types.
  • There are more evil biome chasms. This means that there are more Shadow Orbs/Crimson Hearts to destroy, which drop unique and valuable items. There are also more Demon Altars, which means there would be more Hardmode ores to generate.
  • The Jungle Temple possibly contains more traps and Lihzahrd Power Cells.
  • More meteorite crash sites can be in the world at one time.
    • Like with Wyvern spawn heights, this can also be a double-edged sword as a higher number of meteorite blocks are required in the world to prevent more meteorites from spawning and potentially destroying landscapes or player built structures.

Notes

Trivia

  • Using server command lines with the autocreate parameter, medium sized worlds generate 6300 tiles wide instead of 6400, which is exactly 1.5× larger than small sized worlds.

Footnotes

  1. Cannot be selected for new worlds. Only used for worlds generated prior to the 1.3 mobile update.
  2. On the Nintendo 3DSNintendo 3DS version version, expanded worlds are only available on the Western versions (North American, European) of New Nintendo 3DS.
  3. On the Mobile version Mobile version, large worlds are only accessible on devices with at least 1.5 GB of RAM.
  4. Underground Chests are generated in the Underground and Caverns layers outside Cabins and the Dungeon and are converted into their appropriate Biome specific chest. They are further reduced by the number of Dead Man's Chests.
  5. Statue multiplier determines up to how many of each type of statue can be placed outside Underground Cabins. For example, large worlds can generate up to 4 Crab Statues outside cabins.
  6. Extra Underground Desert Cabins are additional cabins generated along the regular cabins that get converted in the Underground Desert.