If you have been playing Terraria for a while you understand how important it can be to know what time it is in your world. Time can dictate whether or not a boss will flee from you, spawns for rare critters or enemies, and in rare cases prevent you from getting one shot. It is important to have a good grasp on the mechanics that are influenced by time just to ensure that you do not waste time or resources on an encounter you could otherwise avoid.
There are three different tiers of watches that you can make in Terraria. This guide will focus on the best kind of watch you can make. However, the recipe for watches are similar, with the type of material used is the only difference. If you want to make a different watch, swap out the required materials for gold/platinum with tin/copper or silver/tungsten.
To unlock this recipe you will need a table and a chair to be placed somewhere. The table and chair are a natural step in getting NPCs to spawn, so you ought to have one placed if you are considering crafting a watch. To craft a gold/platinum watch which will tell you the time down to the minute, you will need 10 gold/platinum bars (40 gold/platinum ore) and 1 chain (1 iron bar).
First gather the ore you want your watch to be made out of. For a gold/platinum watch you will need 40 gold/platinum ore. It can be difficult to find compared to the others, but keep looking through cave systems and you will eventually stumble across the ore you need. Keep an eye out for iron/lead ore if you happen to need it.
Once you have the required materials, head back up to your crafting stations. Smelt your ore into bars and stand next to a table and chair in order to unlock the recipe for watches.
A gold/platinum watch will tell you the time down to the last minute. A silver/tungsten watch will tell the time down to the last half hour. A tin/copper watch will tell you the last hour each of these values rounded down. If the time in-game was 7:45, the gold/platinum watch will tell you as such, the silver/tungsten watch will tell you 7:30, and the tin/copper watch will tell you 7:00.
Simply have it on your person or equipped as an accessory to have the time appear in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
It simply has to be in your inventory somewhere in order for the time to be displayed, you do not have to have it equipped. However, if it is equipped in a vanity slot, you will not see the time displayed. This can be used to hold the watch until you need to check the time, so that it does not take up a slot in your inventory.
Telling the time can be important for when you are tackling a difficult boss encounter. Some bosses like the Empress of Light will kill you in one hit if the time happens to be 7:29 and you kill a prismatic lacewing. Keep an eye on your timer and ensure you are getting into the fight you want, so you do not waste the time you spent on finding that lacewing. Speaking of the prismatic lacewing, this elusive critter only spawns between 7:30 and 12:00 at night. Keeping an eye on the time can keep you from wasting your time wandering through the hallow at night.
Starting a boss fight as early as you can, right when it turns to nighttime, can give you the time you need to finish off a boss before they flee at dawn. If your DPS is low, starting the boss fight at the right time can be crucial to ensure that you can defeat them before they run away or simply execute you.
You need 10 gold/platinum bars and a chain at a table and chair in order to make a gold/platinum watch. If your goal is to make a lower tier of watch, switch out the gold/platinum for tin/copper or silver/tungsten. Keeping track of time can help you save time in Terraria and also save you resources if you are diligent. Keep a watch at hand or placed nearby to take advantage of the game’s mechanics.
A copper/tin watch will only display time rounded down to the last hour, the silver/tungsten watch will display time to the last half hour, and the gold/platinum watch will tell you the exact time. Keep this in mind when you are deciding which watch to craft, as a copper/tin watch will not help you narrow down the exact time that night or day begins in your world.
Interestingly, you need a table and chair to make a watch in Terraria. A table and chair are only used for crafting watches which makes it easy to forget. Simply stand next to a table and chair with the appropriate materials to unlock the recipe for watches.
If you are interested in wiring devices in Terraria, a 1 second timer can make your life easier. You simply need a gold/platinum watch and a piece of wire at an iron/lead anvil to craft a 1 second timer. If you wire this timer up to heart statues, you can have a healing station in your boss arena that will heal you for up to 60 health every few seconds. This can make the difference in beating a boss or losing to one.
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