The Tavernkeep is one of the more unique NPCs in Terraria. This NPC is how you access the Old One’s Army event, part of the Terraria and Dungeon Defenders crossover update. Like most NPCs he is a vendor that can sell you the required components to start the Old One’s Army. While the components only cost gold, you will need to complete the Old One’s Army event in order to purchase the weapons and armor he has for sale. This guide will outline the required conditions for the Tavernkeep, how to get the Tavernkeep to spawn, and what he sells.
Once you defeat the evil biome’s respective boss, you can gain access to the Tavernkeep. Unlike most NPCs he will not simply move into a home, and you will need to locate him in order to assign him to a house. After you defeat the evil biome’s boss, an unconscious man will spawn in any layer of your world. Talking to the unconscious man wakes him up and you can immediately assign him to a house. Do not worry if he ends up dying after you talk to him, he will move in the next day if a valid, vacant house still exists. If he dies before you wake him up you will need to find him again.
First you will need to defeat your respective evil biome boss. For the corruption that is the Eater of Worlds, and for the crimson that is the Brain of Cthulhu. You can easily summon these bosses by breaking 3 shadow orbs or 3 crimson hearts respectively. If you have run out of orbs or hearts you can craft a bloody spine or a worm food at a demon altar with 30 vicious/vile powder and 15 vertebrae/rotten flesh.
Once you defeat your world’s boss you can find the Tavernkeep at any layer of the world. The lifeform analyzer will let you know when he is nearby. You can find him at the surface, underworld, or anywhere in between so it should be relatively quick to find him.
After you talk to the unconscious man, he will wake up into the Tavernkeep and you can assign him to a house immediately. You can also purchase the required materials for the Old One’s Army right after you wake him up to prevent waiting for him to teleport to his house.
The Tavernkeep’s items are not too important right off the bat. He will sell the required components for the Old One’s Army event, but most of his inventory is severely limited to armor and weapons that are bought through currency earned in the Old One’s Army event. You can also ask him for information about how to start the Old One’s Army if you are ever lost.
Purchase an Eternia crystal stand as well as an Eternia crystal in order to begin the Old One’s Army event. You will need to pave out a large area for the event to occur. 61 tiles on both sides of the crystal stand, 10 tiles vertically, and you cannot have 3 tiles of obstruction anywhere between where the portals spawn and the crystal itself. Once you place a crystal on the crystal stand, the event begins!
Once you complete the Old One’s Army event, you can collect defender’s medals from the crystal stand. You can use these defender’s medals to buy weapons for the Old One’s Army as well as armor.
He sells 4 different sentry weapons and 4 different sets of armor. The flameburst sentry will launch exploding fireballs at enemies, the ballista sentry will fire high damage piercing bolts, the explosive trap sentry will set a trap that explodes and resets itself, and the lightning aura provides a constant damage field. The 4 sets of armor are the squire, mage, ranger, and monk classes with subsequent upgrades for each armor set after you have defeated the Golem. The squire and monk sets will increase your melee and minion damage (with the squire set being tankier and the monk being faster), the ranger set will increase minion and ranged damage, and the mage set will increase minion and magic damage.
The Tavernkeep is a valuable NPC as he offers one of the more interesting events of Terraria. Not only does he offer access to the Old One’s Army, he provides some of the best hybrid-class armor you can find in Terraria. While you may have to complete the Old One’s Army multiple times in order to get a full set of armor and weapons, the event itself offers some unique drops and weapons if you are looking to upgrade your equipment.
Congratulations, you now know how to obtain one of the more unique NPCs in Terraria. The Tavernkeep’s function is to provide access to the Old One’s Army, but he also offers unique sets of armor, sentry weapons, and can power nearby pylons like other NPCs. He is also fairly easy to locate as you can find him in pre-hardmode after defeating the Brain of Cthulhu/Eater of Worlds. Keep your eyes peeled for this NPC so you do not miss out on some content that Terraria has to offer.
There are three tiers of the Old One’s Army. The first tier is unlocked immediately, the second tier is unlocked after defeating any mechanical boss in a hardmode world, and the final tier is unlocked after defeating the Golem.
In terms of base damage, the ballista offers the highest damage as well as a piercing capability. It may also simply be the best sentry as the only other sentry that can hit air units is the flameburst sentry. The piercing competes well with the splash damage of the flameburst sentry, but the ballista shoots much slower. Decide for yourself where your weaknesses lie and use the sentries to help you cover them.
The Tavernkeep loves the demolitionist, and likes the princess and the goblin tinkerer. His preferred biome is the hallow so it may be difficult to keep him happy until you reach hardmode. He dislikes snow biomes and the guide, and he hates living near the dye trader. First you will need to decide which timer you will want to make. 9 out of 10 times you will want the fastest timer available. Out of the craftable timers, the 1 second timer is the fastest. Combine 10 gold/platinum bars and a chain to make a gold/platinum watch.
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