Blood Moon Terraria Guide – What is the Blood Moon?

In Terraria, The Blood Moon is a random event that occurs at night (game time), if there is a full moon and one player on the map has at least 120 max health. During this time, monsters will appear more frequently in this indie game, even near NPC’s and the towns you’ve made, sometimes right outside a door!

It will also spawn unique monsters that are not spawned during normal nights in Terraria. More importantly, monsters during the Blood Moon Event that have hands, can open doors.

You will see the text “The Blood Moon is Rising…” when this happens, and the moon, sky tint, water, and any rain will be red until morning when the event ends. Welcome to our comprehensive Blood Moon Terraria guide.

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Monsters During the Blood Moon

1. The Usual Suspects

These common nighttime enemies will spawn more frequently.

• Zombies. A moat around your house will keep them out.
• Demon Eyes. They cannot enter doors, but they fly.
• Wandering Eyes (Hardmode). Larger, stronger, Demon Eyes.
• Werewolf (Hardmode). You may need Hardmode equipment for these. They drop moon charms and adhesive bandages.
• Wraith (Hardmode). These pass through walls.

2. The New Guys

These enemies are unique to the Blood Moon Event.

• Blood Zombies. Tougher than a zombie, they can drop a shark tooth necklace or a money trough.
• Dripplers. Floating enemies, they are weaker but have the same drops as a Blood Zombie.
• The Groom. A fun high HP zombie that drops a top hat.
• The Bride. Another fun high HP zombie that drops the Wedding Veil and Wedding Dress.
• Clowns (Hardmode). Can confuse with hits, and throws bombs. Drops the Bananarang and Trifold Map.
• Chattering Teeth Bomb (Spawned by Clowns). These can do some serious damage, be careful if the Clown throws one.

3. From Fishing

If you try fishing during the Blood Moon, you can spawn one of these monsters instead of catching a fish!

• Wandering Eye Fish. Much stronger than a Demon Eye. Drops a Vampire Frog Staff, Chum Caster, or a Blood Rain Bow.
• Zombie Merman. High HP and HUGE knockback resistance. Same drops as the Wandering Eye Fish.
• Hemogoblin Shark (Hardmode). Don’t fight this without Hardmode equipment. Drops the Haemorrhaxe and the Blood Thorn.
• Blood Eel (Hardmode). Very dangerous. It flies and can go through blocks. Drops the Haemorrhaxe and the Drippler Crippler.
• Dreadnautilus (Hardmode). The most dangerous of the Blood Moon Monsters. High HP(7000) and spawns Blood Squids. Treat it like a Boss Fight. Drops the Sanguine Staff and Blood Moon Monolith.
• Blood Squid (Spawned by the Dreadnautilus). These have high damage but far lower HP. Kill them quickly.

All the fishing spawned enemies (except the Blood Squid) have a chance to drop a Chum Bucket.
Fishing with the Chum Caster doubles the chance to encounter these enemies during the Blood Moon.

Related: Comprehensive Terraria Fishing Guide

4. Friendly Critters

What’s more, some normal animals become savage during the Blood Moon.

• Bunnies. (Vicious/Corrupt) Drops a Bunny Hood.
• Goldfish. (Vicious/Corrupt) Flops around out of water.
• Penguins. (Vicious/Corrupt) Drops the Pedguin Vanity Set.

Vicious for worlds spawned with Crimson. Corrupt for worlds spawned with Corruption.

The Blood Moon Weapons

1. Pre-Hardmode

The Blood Rain Bow

The Blood Rain Bow doesn’t shoot traditional arrows so special arrows don’t have an effect just add damage (read our complete Terraria Arrows Guide). It shoots 1-3 streaks of blood from the sky down unto the foe. 

• Damage: 14(ranged, uses arrows)   
• Knockback: Weak     
• Best Modifier: Unreal     
• Speed: Very Fast

Vampire Frog Staff

This staff summons a pretty useful early game vampire frog minion which is pretty cute.

• Damage: 11 (summon)   
• Mana: 10 Knockback: Average     
• Best Modifier: Any that raise damage     
• Speed: Minion

2. Hardmode

The KO Cannon

This is a great crowd control weapon. It fired a boxing glove that jumps back when it hits a target with good knockback. Back to a wall and KO away.

• Damage: 40 (Melee)     
• Knockback: Strong       
• Best Modifier: Godly or Demonic       
• Speed: Average

The Bananarang

This is a funny and yet super useful boomerang. You can stack up to ten of them and throw them at quite a rapid speed, with good knockback and damage.

• Damage: 55     
• Knockback: Strong     
• Best Modifier:  Cannot be modified       
• Speed: Very Fast

Blood Thorn

This is a cool weapon that summons blood thorns to attack(through terrain even) from the nearest block from where your pointer is. The Damage and speed are different on the Computer(34/slow) and Console(29/Fast).

• Damage: 34/29(Magic)    Mana: 20     
• Knockback: Extremely Weak   
• Best Modifier: Mythical     
• Speed: Slow/Fast

The Drippler Crippler

This is a great flail, like most it can be swung around you to ward enemies off and then released, but it also fires a projectile when let loose doing an extra half of its damage in addition to the normal flail functions.

• Damage: 110(melee)   
• Knockback: Strong       
• Best Modifier: Godly or Demonic       
• Speed: Very Slow

The Haemorrhaxe

Pretty useful dual Axe/Hammer weapon with only decent damage though. More of a collector item at this point in Hardmode.

• Damage: 30(melee)
• Knockback: Strong     
• Best Modifier: Legendary(combat) or Light(use)     
• Speed: Average                                                                                     
• Axe Power: 150% Hammer Power: 80%

The Sanguine Staff

Hard to get because of how tough the Dreadnautilus is, this is a very solid Hardmode Summoning staff and can be great for crowd control and boss fights. The Minions it summons are Sanguine Bats, which do not get stuck behind blocks making this possibly the best Blood Moon pick-up.

• Damage: 35(summon)   Mana: 10     
• Knockback: Very Strong     
• Best Modifier: Ruthless     
• Speed: Minion

Any other Special Happenings During the Blood Moon?

Yes. You can collect Deathweed seeds during the Blood Moon, it’s also when the plant blooms.

Fishing power is increased during the Blood Moon for better catch chances. It may garner a monster, but you can also catch an Advanced Combat Techniques item, which permanently increases all of your town NPC’s defense and damage(usable only once).

On Hardmode, any enemy or NPC that dies may drop a KO Cannon. The Ocean will not be red like other water but tinted red via the screen hue making it appear purplish. Living Cursed Fire Blocks will turn yellow during the Blood Moon and the Mushroom Biome will have a neat, pinkish/purple-like complexion.

You get an achievement for making it through your first Blood Moon. It increases the spawn rate of Truffle Worms in Hardmode. The NPC’s have some unique dialogue during a Blood Moon when talked to. Some NPC shops will also have special items for sale during a Blood Moon.

Shopping During the Blood Moon

1. The Clothier

The Clothier has a nice array of new vanity items while hordes of the undead swarm.

• Mime Mask
• Fallen Tuxedo Shirt
• Fallen Tuxedo Pants

2. The Dryad

The Dryad has some items to spread the hate during the Blood Moon.

(if your world started with Crimson)

• Vile Powder
• Crimson Seeds
• Crimson Grass Wall

(if your world started with Corruption)

• Corrupt Powder
• Corrupt Seeds
• Corrupt Grass Wall

3. The Arms Dealer

Mr. Shady himself has some good bullets for sale when the Blood Moon rises.

• Silver Bullet
• Tungsten Bullet

4. Steampunker

Steampunker has one of these two items.

• Purple Solution (Corruption World)
• Red Solution (Crimson World)

5. The Cyborg

Upgraded Rocket Ammunition is available.

• Rocket II
• Cluster Rocket II

6. A Few Others

• The Merchant sells the Throwing Knife.
• The Painter sells Evil Presence.
• The Dye Trader sells Bloodbath Dye.
• The Zoologist sells (Hardmode only) the Full Moon Squeaky Toy.
• The Skeleton Merchant sells (Hardmode only) Slap Hand.

Any Tips?

For you? Sure.

• Put a quick block down in front of your door to keep enemies from opening it during a Blood Moon.
• Knock just two blocks out of a wall to shoot arrows from an enclosure.
• Go underground to avoid Blood Moon enemies and the increased spawn rate if it’s too hard for now.
• Building a moat around your house with a decent lava pool, with wooden platforms for crossing over it that are easy to pick up quickly to drop enemies inside; is pretty effective for any enemy spawn event.
• NPC’s may also kill themselves in said moat so do take care.
• Water on the opposite side of the lava lets you fish with a tad more “safety” during the Blood Moon, just block the door on the waterside when under assault.
• Pick up the pre-Hardmode drops from Blood Moon enemies before entering Hardmode.
• Place banners of all the Blood Moon enemies around every town/base you build before Hardmode. Banners are more effective in Hardmode but easier to collect in Normal.

~FAQ

Overall

The Blood Moon Event is a tongue-in-cheek, fun addition to a richly packed game. There is ultimately a lot to gain from setting up a good spot to slaughter the dark minions of the red moon and plenty of enjoyment to be had.

Craft Your Adventure in Terraria’s Pixelated Realm | GOG

Embark on a boundless adventure in the pixelated sandbox world of Terraria, where you can dig, build, and explore to your heart's content. With endless possibilities for creativity and discovery, join millions of players in crafting your own epic journey.

Check Price Buy at Amazon

We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

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Bryan is a writer and a gamer that loves to seek out the most emotional tales throughout the video game world. Discovering hidden gems, unique gameplay concepts and new takes on traditional genres are his reasons for constantly trying out indie titles. He’s had a membership to Newgrounds since 2004 where he has seen titles like Monster Sanctuary go from online passion projects into full-fledged indie games. He has worked as a screenwriter for films in China and the US for the last 15 years, including two currently in pre-production television series, Blood Lungs and The Girl From the Gate. His passion for storytelling is only rivaled by his passion for gaming.

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