Terraria – Beginners Guide (Journey’s End / Update 1.4)

More Terraria Guides:

• How to Access The Easter Egg Two Evils World.
• How to Get Platinum Coins Very Easily.
• How to Obtain the Moon Lords Legs.
• Game Doesn’t Launch Fix.
• Mod Recommendations.
• How to Obtain Zenith.

A guide for new and returning players on the basics of the new 1.4 Update (Journey’s End).

Characters and World Changes

All credit goes to prpl_mage!

Worlds and Characters played in 1.4 cannot reroll back to previous patches.

Characters

• Character creation is now improved.
• Characters can upon creation be made as “Journey Mode Characters” to enable access to the Journey Mode.
• Journey Mode characters can only play on Journey Mode worlds and therefore only with other Journey Mode characters.
• Research is saved to Journey mode characters.
• New Character tied storage: Void Vault (and Void Bag that picks up items when you are full AND works like the Money Trough).

Worlds

• Bestairy Entries are tied to your world, like the banners.
• Journey Mode Worlds can be made (more on that below).
• Master Mode worlds can be made, (more on that in its own section. But it’s basically like Expert but harder).
• Journey Mode worlds can only be entered by Journey Mode characters.
• A new revamped world generation.
• Seeds can be entered from default (had to do some work around before).
• Corruption can apparently be chosen from start without having to enter hardmode at least once.

New World Features

• Weather: Thunderstorm, Windy Day.
• New Oasis biome.
• Graveyard biome.
• Improved Desert biome (again).
• Improved Ocean biome.
• Improved Mushroom biome.

TModLoader Support

A DLC for the game with the TModLoader will be added as well as more support for it.

It has always been free but now it is more “accepted” and implemented into the game if you wish. The Terraria Modding community has been active for quite some time since the launch of the game so it only makes sense.

Do note that all mods are unofficial and may cause issues with the game. So use at your own risk (and seriously, backup your game files)

Texture Pack Support

Implemented to allow people to change things around. I assume this will be more widely available thanks to the:

Steam Workshop

Workshop support is said to be added further down the line to upload mods that people make. To make it easier for people to share and download.

Unsure if Modded world and characters will be divided from normal worlds and characters.

Master Mode

The new difficult mode:

• The only thing we know for sure right now is that enemies have higher hp (3x the amount of normal) and deals more damage than expert.
• According to the Journey Mode slider Expert is 2x and Master is 3x.
• It has higher enemy spawn rate.
• Each boss in Master mode has 2 unique drops, but it isn’t a weapon or accessory. Seems to be a placable trophy and a pet.
• CreativeName: It is assumed that you gain an extra accessory slot while playing in a Master mode World. Unsure if you get another from the Wall of Flesh.
• It is assumed that the drop chance is increased compared to Expert.

What’s the point?

Probably those super secret Master Mode boss drops.

Otherwise only bragging rights, they said the mode was only for people looking for a real challenge.

Journey Mode

The not-creative mode

People expected a normal boring creative mode, but being the devs they are – they made it more of a collective fest, which I approve of.

How to play?

Requires a Character made for Journey Mode (meaning that Journey Mode characters will only be able to play with other Journey Mode characters).

Requires a world made with the Journey Mode setting.

Each journey mode character starts with a set of starter items:

• Iron Shortsword
• Iron Axe, Iron Pickaxe, Iron Hammer
• Finch Staff (a summon weapon)
• 100 Torches
• 100 Rope
• Magic Mirror (teleports you back to the spawn point)
• Starter Wings (very limited flight, removes fall damage)

Admin Options

Opening the menu, choose Benny the Construction Bunny.

In here you can edit things that is not in a normal world, explained below.

Quality of Life

• Increased placement range, much like the accessorie (up to 10x).
• You may change the time, freeze time, increase speed and some others.
• Change weather conditions: what weather it currently is and how intense it is.
• Turn off infection spread
• Activate godmode, in which you cannot die

Research and Duplication

Items can be researched which gives you the option to duplicate them. This can be done with Torches, Iron Swords or Slime Staffs etc.

In the info we’ve gotten so far resources like Wood and utilities like Torches requires some 100 to fully research. However, weapons and armors and such only requires a single research.

Researching items destroys them however, so do don’t go too crazy.

Once researched you can simply choose the item you want from a menu and create X amount of them.

Difficulty Sliders

You can change the difficulty of the enemies in the world with these sliders.

There is one slider that changes the monster stats and drop rate to the different difficulty levels – Journey mode starts at half the difficulty of Normal mode (0,5) but can be increased based on your preferences.

For all rules and purposes, the world now acts as a world on that difficulty – meaning that expert mode items can drop once you pass your slider to expert or higher etc.

Another slider changes the spawn rate from none to a lot.

Apparently this slider works on a local level and not for the entire world. So one person could sit alone at base with spawn off while the other is off grinding for a Paladin Shield in the Dungeon.

What’s the Point?

The point here is to gain items so you can research them and have an endless supply. And to give you the option to do whatever you want in your world.

So this woud be ideal to set up an adventure map, golf course, fishing world, start a grand building project, play more casually with friends and so on.

Since Journey Characters and Worlds are off limits to other characters this can not be done to bypass the game itself. It’s its own thing.

Bestairy

Bestairy or a monster encyclopedia is a list of every living thing you have encountered in the game, complete with lists and sorting features.

The bestairy is tied to your world, and killing enemies unlocks more information about the monster.

For NPCs, you only need to talk to them.

• First it’s just an entry in the book with flavor text and special conditions to find them/biome
• Next you get actual stats like hp and gold drop
• Following that you will see what items it can drop
• And lastly the actual drop chance for that item.

So what’s the Point?

Most of this monster info can be found on any of the Terraria wikis. However, there is a new NPC who has an evolving inventory of items to sell based on your bestairy progress.

Unclear if it’s based on individual entries or if it’s tied to overall progress.

NPCs and Towns, Housing Changes

New things for NPCs

New in the game is that NPCs has Happiness!

NPC Happiness will be a value that can increase or decrease depending on what you do.

• They will want to live with certain other NPCs.
• They will want to live in certain biomes.
• They will dislike being near too many other NPCs.
• Happiness can be checked at each individual character.
• It will affect prices, items for sale.

Housing Changes

Criterias for housing stays the same, so you can keep it the way you like. However, they added some reward for putting effort into building.
3 NPCs in a Biome will count as a town, stopping the enemy spawning in the area.

Make them happy enough and they will sell you a Biome Pylon9 gold that can be placed and used to teleport between Pylons, like a Town Portal.

Which biomes have Pylons?

• Purity
• Jungle
• Desert
• Snow
• Ocean
• Cavern
• Hallow

New NPCs and how to get them

Adding this in spoilers because I assume no one wants to be spoiled.

Five new NPCs:

• Cat, Dog and Bunny: Apparently bought from the Zoologist.
• Golfer: “working on his sand trap game”.
• Zoologist: Not a clue (We assume it will be unlocked by adding X new monsters to the Bestiary).

Other New Features and/or Changes

Block Swap

You can replace blocks, background walls and chests and such.

The old item will be added to your inventory, the new item will replace it.

It uses the same stats as normal mining however so it can’t be abused as far as we know.

Throw Damage Attribute Removed

Throw damage weapons will now apparently do Range damage instead.

Well, that class debate is ended.

Fishing changes

Crate stacking for hardmode gone.

All fishing crates now come in pre-Wall of Flesh and post-Wall of Flesh variants. Pre-Wall of Flesh variants do not contain Hardmode Ores.

Reaver shark nerf.

Mining power reduced from 100 to 59 (Daemonite, Crimtane) and lower drop rate.

• Added Ice, Oasis, Lava, and Ocean Fishing Crates.
• Oasis fishing now has its own rewards, including quest rewards.
• Lava fishing improvements as well, including an accessory that allows any rod to fish in lava.
• Blood Moon fishing is now a thing.
• Balanced and changed loot from the fishing crates.

New Bosses and enemies

Two new optional hardmode bosses.

Two new Mini-bosses:  Dreadnautilus (from blood moon fishing) and New variants of existing enemies and and some completely new enemies, some connected to the Blood Moon fishing and mushroom biome.

New Items and Equipment

Some 800 ish new items…

Whips

Direct damage weapons dealing summon damage. ideal for your class playthroughs.

Guide to Critter Companionship

An item that prevents your damage form killing critters. Ideal for when you want to catch something special, if you have conflicting feelings about bunnies exploding in a gory mess or if you’re letting your kids play.

Lawnmower

Will stop aesthetic grass from spawning. Also matters for golf.

Kites

A new item type. Just seems to be for fun, like firework or bubble machines. It is affected by the new wind system.

Collectables

More Gold Critters(5) to collect, also lower spawn rate of gold critters. More paintings (). some biome specific.

New Vanity

A community contest was held, people voted and winners were chosen. Mine didn’t win but I really like the 5 that will be added to the game. Will post pictures once they get official art.

• Plaguebringer’s Robes by SodaHunter
• Wandering Ronin by crowflux
• Timeless Traveler by DisRicardo
• Floret Protector by yikescloud
• Capricorn by R-MK

Other Stuff.

Magic mirror and other return items now makes you return to the last Pylon you used instead of your spawn. Hitting trees sometimes drop food items.

Gem Trees can be planted underground by combining an acorn with a gem, gem farms! Increased stack size for a lot of items. Strange plants will now start spawning in hardmode.

There is now a Desert Chest in the Dungeon. Place enough Tombstones in an area and it will turn into the Graveyard Biome, with some new enemies and items for NPCs to sell.

Balancing

Monster and items have also seen updates to fit better in the balance of things.

Object Interaction

There is now a wind system thingy and more objects will react to each other. Walking through grass will make it sway. Wind will make flags and haning lamps sway etc.

Improved Spritework and Animation

The game has been out for some time now and the items and enemies added in 1.3 had a different style than the enemies from the game’s start. So it only makes sense that they upgraded a lot of visuals in the game to make it more consistent.

Also biome backgrounds, that’s gonna make a difference. And UI customization.

Lifehacks

New things that are possible thanks to the update:

• You can replace chests without emptying first thanks to the Block Swap.
• No need to change the internal clock: Completing the Frost Moon will make the comming day spawn all the seasonal Christmas content. Completing the Harvest Moon will maek the comming day spawn all he seasonal Halloween content.
• Fisher quest rewards fixed: the info items needed for the PDA has increased drop rate, and will not be the reward if you carry it, avoiding duplicates.
• The Bestiary entry for the NPCs reveal which biome they prefer.
• You need 3 NPCs to buy a Pylon but only 2 living near it for it to work.
• Scarab bombs are great for making straight holes, such as hellevator.
• In Journey Mode you can duplicate items and sell them to earn money, but can you duplicate coins as well?
• Is it possible to use the Monster spawning statues to gain a lot of progress in the Beastairy and therefore reap the rewards?
• Is it possible to use the locked camera of golf balls to scout ahead without danger?
• Can you earn achievements in Journey Mode? Will make the fishing quest achievement easy.

Golfing

Golf will be a new activity added to the game.

But well, based on the information we received it doesn’t seem to be much more than just that. An activity. Fun and creative but nothing game altering. But I made this section so might as well get on with it.

What is Golf?

Try to get the ball into the Golf Cup in as few hits as possible. The average score is a “par”, hitting under that is good. More hits than that is bad.

The Golf Whistle that returns your ball to you will count as a penalty for your score.

Basics on items

There are four types of clubs that interact differently: Driver, Iron, Wedge and Putter.

The biggest difference between clubs is the Power and Trajectory, but it is implied that some clubs are better on different terrain (like in real life).

There different skins for clubs but from what I gather they are all the same in stats, simply visual.

NetherHunter122 Different clubs are better for different grass types such as the Bunker(sand pit), Green(where the hole is) Fairway(the normal grass of golf) and the Rough(grass that you can’t hit as far from).

The ball interacts differently depending on what terrain it is hit from or that it hits after being shot. The camera will follow the ball after shooting. There are different skins for balls. But they also seem to be the same. Golf balls skins changes the visual if worn in an accessory slot or in the inventory.

• Golf Tee – starting point, ball travels futher.
• Golf Cup – ending point of the course, gives you your score.
• Golf Whistle – get your ball unstuck or try again.

Other Stuff

The new Golfer NPC is there to sell you all items golf-related.

What’s the Point?

None it seems, fun. But great fun for creative people, just look at the video below.

There will also be three downloadable maps made entirely as 9 holed golf courses.