Stairs are an essential type of platform in the Terraria building experience. As for stairs and platforms, besides creating a firm interactive path anywhere, including in the air, they can be useful for blocking certain enemies and fighting bosses.
It's time to start your journey to becoming a master builder!
This guide covers the Terraria PC, Consoles and Mobile versions.
How to make stairs in terrariums
Making stairs in Terraria is relatively simple once you have all the materials. Here's how to start:
Step 1 - Staircase prerequisite material
You can skip this step if you have the hardware. Any hammer will do for making slopes on platforms. The rest of the type and amount of materials will vary depending on what you plan to build.
If you are missing a hammer, you can use a workbench and some wood to craft one. An anvil and bars will allow you to craft more types of hammers, such as iron, gold, and platinum. So, if you want to build stairs faster, a higher level hammer could help with the extended reach and faster swing it offers. Ultimately, it's up to the player's pace. Still, the âsmart cursorâ remains a good alternative.
Step 2 â Building Stairs in Terraria
Most platforms cannot be crafted using the workbench. Instead, you can build them using your inventory. To make a simple staircase, see the following instructions:
- Gather these materials: platforms, walls, and a hammer.
- Place the platforms in the air diagonally where you want to build the staircase.
- Hit each platform once using your hammer. Doing this will turn them into angled stairs.
The "smart slider" is recommended for placing stairs because you don't need to hammer each platform when using it. To correct misplacement and other errors, you can also use the fourth hammer blow. Doing this will return a platform to its default position.
You can use the pickaxe for strays. It is possible to combine stairs with different directions in a creative way to move easily. You can climb as high as you want.
Wielding a pickaxe to correct errors speeds up the process. Also, point and click on the platforms whose shapes you want to change to correct them.
Building scales
An additional tip for builders is that you can also create ladders to go up and down. Ladders also consist of platforms and beams with walls. To make a ladder, start by putting platforms as high as needed. Surround them, for example, with wooden beams. To top it off, give the ladders a proper finish using walls. You have to wield a pickaxe to remove accidentally placed blocks.
How to make stairs for NPCs
If you've been trying to get NPCs to move around your building and socialize easily, a neatly connected building helps. Making stairs for NPCs is no different than making "basic" stairs. As such, regular wooden stairs suffice.
Note that when you put multiple stairs together in specific layouts, NPCs may have a harder time descending. Unless intentional, don't place platforms on top of stairs as NPCs can't walk through them, which will leave them stuck on the ground.
Additionally, NPCs will not use spiral stairs or ladders. Follow the steps in the first section for more details on building stairs.
How to make spiral stairs
Although spiral staircases don't have the same functionality as regular staircases, they make up for it in aesthetics. In short, you can't climb those stairs. Instead, you'll have to jump across platforms.
Follow these instructions to make spiral stairs:
- Obtain wooden beams from a sawmill. One piece of wood can make two wooden beams.
- Place the beams where you want to build the spiral staircase.
- Starting at the bottom, start by placing the platforms a few miles from the beam.
- Then place the platforms on the wooden beam structure, cutting it if necessary. It is recommended to follow a pattern.
- Do not break the structure of the wooden beam when placing the platforms to the side or "behind" it.
- Finish building the staircase in a swirling pattern.
- It's time to fill in the gaps using whatever type of wall you think is appropriate. A matching type is preferable.
Wooden beams are not essential for functionality, but only for aesthetics. You cannot place anything in front of the beams unless you break some blocks. Therefore, wooden beams and spiral staircases provide decor rather than functionality. As Terraria players care about aesthetics when building, a material like wooden beams is subjectively essential for spiral stairs to be eye-pleasing.
How to make stone stairs
Remember that when you use a hammer on a block, you can create half blocks and slopes after hitting it. Slopes and half blocks make for compelling stairs when made with the correct type of block.
You can build many platforms using your inventory as long as you have the materials. The same goes for Stone platforms.
Before building you will need a hammer, gray bricks to make platforms and stone walls. Also, don't forget to bring a pickaxe to the job site for quick fixes. Once you've collected the required materials, it's time to start building. To make a stone staircase, follow these instructions:
- Once crafted, place the stone platforms diagonally where you want to make a staircase.
- You can connect the platforms by hitting each once with the hammer.
All platforms are essentially the same. Thus, the âwhysâ behind the construction of stone platforms can be due to two reasons: an aesthetic or a practical.
The practical reason is that stone platforms are immune to contact with lava (like obsidian). Weapon projectiles and liquids can pass through platforms. Although it seems contradictory, all platforms will melt if you drop them directly into lava, including stone and obsidian ones. As an exception, stone and obsidian platforms will only survive lava if you place them on blocks. They will melt after being thrown into the lava.
How to do stairs on Terraria Mobile
The Terraria Mobile version is quite similar to the PC and Console versions. Therefore, the previous information also applies here. You can build most platforms using your inventory, with a few exceptions.
Before building, craft walls, platforms, a hammer, and bring a pickaxe for fixes. All these materials can be of any type. Once assembled, follow these instructions to build stairs:
- After you have made your platforms, place them diagonally where you want to build the staircase.
- Use the hammer to hit each platform once. Doing this will build angled stairs.
A fourth hammer blow returns a platform to its default position, which is handy for corrections. You can combine stairs with different directions for better mobility. Note that you can build as high as you want.
Use a workbench and wood to craft a hammer if you don't have one. You can build more hammers using an anvil and bars, such as platinum, gold and iron hammers. Higher level hammers can speed up the building process somewhat.
Equip a pickaxe to rectify mistakes. Also, point and click on the platforms whose shapes you want to change to correct them.
Why can't I make stairs in the terrariums?
Unlike the console, the PC version of Terraria will only show you what you can craft with the resources you currently own. Due to this limitation, you will need to talk to the "Guide" for tips and crafting recipes, including stairs. The Guide is the first NPC. It will appear near you when you create your Terraria world.
If you lose your guide or any other NPCs, building a house for them will cause them to respawn.
Wood is the only ingredient you will need to build a functional wooden house. After collecting wood, use a workbench to craft a chair, table, and walls for your house. You can choose any material, but you should avoid making houses with sand and dirt. Note that some NPCs need specific house types to live in.
A small wooden house and a wooden door are enough for its outer part. Inside, you have to fill the whole house with wooden walls, some torches, a wooden table and a wooden chair. Once the house is built, open your inventory inside. Select the Housing icon on the right and click on it to bring up the missing NPC. This house will be assigned to this NPC. You can change the NPC that lives in a house by clicking on the Housing icon.
Although consulting the Guide can help you with stairs and other things, there are other minor things to consider for proper construction. These are:
- Craft the necessary platforms.
- Be sure to craft a hammer and equip it.
- Place platforms close enough to make stairs.
- Connect each platform with the hammer. It is practice makes perfect.
Building is fun
It's time to start filling in the gaps, to prevent some enemies from passing, to have stable access to the roof. You can even create a battle arena for enemy hordes and bosses. These adventures and many more await you in your Terraria world. Be sure to share them.
How will you use your platforms? What materials is your ideal spiral staircase made of? Let us know in the comment section below.
