If you’ve just unlocked hardmode in Terraria, you’ve probably noticed a whole new list of crafting materials you need to track down for endgame gear, potions, and utility items. One of the most sought-after early hardmode drops is souls of night, and knowing how to get souls of night in terraria will save you hours of wandering aimlessly through dangerous biomes. I spent my first week of hardmode wasting potions and armor durability trying to farm these the wrong way, so I put together all the tricks I picked up to make the process as painless as possible.
What Are Souls of Night Used for in Terraria?
Before you sink time into farming any resource, it’s good to know exactly what you’re working toward. Souls of night are a core hardmode crafting material used in over 30 recipes, from weapons to summoning items to quality of life tools. Some of the most popular items you’ll craft with them include the Night’s Edge upgrade, the mechanical worm summoning item, and the demon scythe alternative called the Death Sickle. You’ll also need them to make cursed flames and ichor ammo, which are game-changers for taking down early hardmode bosses like the Twins and Destroyer. Even basic recipes like the void bag require souls of night, so you’ll go through them faster than you think. Even if you don’t have a specific recipe in mind right now, farming a stack of 50 or 60 early on will save you from having to backtrack later when you suddenly need 10 for a new pickaxe or accessory.
How to Get Souls of Night in Terraria: Core Requirements
First off, you can’t get souls of night at all before you unlock hardmode, so if you haven’t defeated the Wall of Flesh yet, that’s your first priority. Once hardmode is active, souls of night only drop from enemies killed in the underground corruption or underground crimson biomes, regardless of what type of enemy it is. That means slimes, zombies, demon eyes, and even rare biome-specific mobs all have a 20% chance to drop 1-2 souls when killed in the right area. You don’t have to kill hardmode-exclusive enemies to get them, either, which is a huge plus when you’re still gearing up post-Wall of Flesh. There are a few non-negotiables you’ll need to set up your farm first:
I usually set up my farm in a pre-existing underground corruption cave so I don’t have to place as many blocks, but if your world’s underground corruption is too spread out, building a custom farm is totally doable. The official Terraria wiki has a full breakdown of biome validity rules if you’re not sure your farm counts as a proper corruption/crimson zone. If you’re playing in a multiplayer world, you can split up to farm souls of night even faster, as each player can trigger spawns in their own section of the farm.
Reliable Souls of Night Farming Builds to Cut Down Grind
You can farm souls of night with almost any build, but a few loadouts will make the process 2x faster, even if you’re still working on basic hardmode gear. For melee users, the Night’s Edge or a molten fury with hellfire arrows works perfectly, as you can stand in one spot and swing or fire through walls to take out spawning mobs without taking damage. You can even block off small sections of the farm to prevent flying mobs from reaching you, so you only have to deal with ground enemies that spawn in front of you. For mage builds, the water bolt or demon scythe are ideal, as they bounce off walls and clear entire groups of enemies in one cast. Summoners have the easiest time of all, just set down your spider or imp staff minions, pop a battle potion, and afk near the farm while they kill everything that spawns.
If you don’t want to deal with building a dedicated farm, you can also farm souls while you explore underground crimson or corruption for other resources like shadow scales or tissue samples. Just bring a stack of torches to mark your path, and make sure you have enough healing potions to handle the occasional rare spawn like a corruptor or blood crawler. I usually farm 10-15 souls per 10 minutes when I’m just exploring, which is a great way to multitask if you don’t want to spend time setting up a dedicated farm spot.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Farming Souls of Night
I made almost every possible mistake my first time farming these souls, so I can save you a lot of frustration by calling out the most common ones. First, don’t farm on the surface corruption or crimson. Souls only drop in underground layers, so if your UI says “surface” you’re wasting your time, even if you’re surrounded by corruption blocks. Second, don’t forget to turn off other nearby spawn points. If you have a house with NPCs within 120 blocks of your farm, it will lower enemy spawn rates by a huge amount, so move your NPCs temporarily or build your farm far away from your base. Third, don’t ignore enemy spawn cap rules. If you leave too many dead enemy drops on the ground, new enemies will stop spawning, so make sure you pick up loot every few minutes to keep the spawn rate high.
Finally, don’t waste time killing only rare mobs. Common enemies have the exact same drop rate as rare ones, so focus on clearing as many mobs as fast as possible, no matter what type they are. Another common mistake is using a weapon that only hits one target at a time, which will drastically slow down how many souls of night you collect per hour. If you follow these rules, you’ll easily get a full stack of souls in under an hour, even if you’re using low-tier hardmode gear.
At the end of the day, farming souls of night doesn’t have to be a tedious, hour-long grind if you know what you’re doing. Spend 10 minutes setting up a valid biome, grab the right buffs, and use an AOE weapon that fits your build, and you’ll have more than enough souls for all your crafting needs in no time. Once you master how to get souls of night in terraria, you’ll be able to craft all the gear you need to take down the mechanical bosses and progress through the rest of hardmode without unnecessary delays. Just remember to always double check your biome and depth before you start farming, and you’ll avoid 90% of the mistakes new players make.