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5 Best Ways to Get Bait in Terraria

5 Best Ways to Get Bait in Terraria

Terraria features many unique and interesting mechanics that boost the overall experience of the game. Therefore, it also encourages players to engage in side activities that the game has to offer. 

It is amazing to see the love and care Terraria’s developers have given to the game’s systems. The depth and complexity of the fishing mechanic make it a tough choice to miss out on. 

In Terraria, Fishing requires a fishing area, rod, and bait to work. While the others are relatively easy to craft and find, you would still need to pay decent attention to secure good bait. Good bait can lead to a better yield.

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Needless to say, finding good bait is never as easy as picking flowers from an orchard. You have to actively be on the lookout to succeed. Therefore, it is recommended to approach it from a strategic point of view instead. 

What is Bait and Why Do I Need It?

The bait is a category for an item group that is mandatory for fishing. You need to have a bait attached to your fishing pole to be able to initiate the fishing mechanic. Whenever a fishing pole is cast, you need to have at least one bait in your inventory or nothing will happen.

However, having a bait does not guarantee a catch. Instead, you need to look at the chances and pray for the best. A casting line being reeled in with no catch can indeed dampen the mood, but fishing requires you to bid patience. Therefore, it is in your best interest to keep trying. 

How to Farm Bait

Most of the baits spawn naturally and need to be caught before doing anything else. However, this process is slow and requires a lot of attention. Therefore, it is better to formulate a farming strategy to counter bait scarcity.

You will need bait to perform fishing, and higher fighting power means better yields. However, there is no real method to automate everything. Instead, some manual methods can yield a decent number of baits.

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With that said, let’s explore what these methods are and how they prove themselves to be a cut above the rest. 

Using Flower Boots

The flower boots in a common method to farm bait related to the grass tiles. This item works on every kind of grass as long as it fulfills the basic requirements for spawning critters. You can use the Flower Boots on regular, Jungle, and Hallowed biomes. 

Simply run across a stretch of grass while having Flower Boots equipped. Then destroy the flowers after unequipping the boots. While this method is not the fastest, it still gets the job done nonetheless. It is Terraria’s only legitimate method of producing bait as needed. 

Rain Farming

The rain in Terraria occurs randomly while affecting all surface-level biome for 24 real-life minutes or 24 in-game hours precisely. Grab a Bug N

et and head to the forest biome to catch worms. These critters become a common sight during this event and are relatively easier to catch. 

If you spend enough of your time wandering and looking for Worms, you might be able to obtain a decent enough catch to call it a week. The rainfall has a 20 percent chance of occurring each day. Therefore, this strategy has good non-immediate farming potential. 

Chase the Butterflies!

The spawn rate of Butterflies is tangible and it is decided every time a new day begins. Therefore, if you see lots of butterflies, then start searching for more. This strategy is more of a heist that can only be done on specific days. However, when it works, it works wonders. 

Try to follow the butterflies you run into while adventuring. However, don’t give them enough time to escape. Consequently, this can also work in the Underworld to farm bait. However, it is much harder to discern the spawn rate of a butterfly there. 

Plant Clearing

Breaking plants can come with their fair share of baits including grasshoppers and grubbies. Needless to say, the spawn rate for critters is relatively low by using this method. However, it’s a good way to obtain a few baits quickly. 

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You should use a pickaxe to break the plants, but other weapons would do fine as well. If your base is in the jungle biome then this method is extremely potent. Otherwise, consider clearing the standalone plants in the jungle biome from time to time. 

Firefly Hunting

Bugs have a relatively higher chance of spawning near towns. Certain NPCs also add to this, creating opportunities to capture critters in bulk. However, you will have to create a town before going forth with your firefly hunting. 

Towns reduce the spawn rate of enemies, but critters and baits are not seen as enemies. Therefore, it is much easier for them to spawn near towns. These player-created mini-biomes have the innate property of attracting more critters.

Simply place a bunch of valid houses and let the NPCs inhabit them to form a small town. Wait for the night to occur, and be ready with your bug net. Fireflies emit light, therefore it is easier to spot them during nighttime.

What is Bait Power?

The bait power is a metric that affects the quality of a catch. Consequently, it also affects the chances of a bait item being consumed upon a successful catch.

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Higher bait power entails a lower chance of consumption. This power threshold can also be boosted with the help of the following items:

  • Tackle Bos
  • Angler Tackle Bag
  • Lavaproof Tackle Bag

The formula for consumption chance is as follows:

The bait power is multiplied by 100 to remove the % modifier. The (1 + bait power) / 6 is increased to (2 + bait power) / 6 with the help of a tackle bag. As an example, a Monarch Butterfly with 5% bait power will have a consumption chance of 1/1.833 (54.56%) as regular and 1/2.833 (35.3%) with the Tackle box equipped. 

Gathering Baits: Tips & Tricks

Finding and collecting baits is an art in itself that requires utmost dedication. However, there are times when certain factors refuse to go your way no matter what. Therefore, it is essential to keep the following factors in mind to find success:

  • Don’t use Ladybugs as bait: Doing so will kill them resulting in the player receiving bad luck. Luck rates directly affect fishing, therefore, it is quite unwise. 
  • Catch Lightning Bugs instead of Fireflies: Using the mentioned strategy, it is easy to catch a lot of fireflies. However, changing the town’s environmental biome to hallow will cause the superior version to fireflies to spawn. Each Lightning bug entails 20% more bait power than a Firefly.
  • Trap Worms During Rain: Worms are unable to climb blocks, therefore, it is easier to trap them by placing standard blocks. This strategy can help you catch several dozens of these critters. Make a 2-tiles wide hole and stand in the middle while swinging your net. 
  • Focus on the Bait Placement: Your bait will always be used from the top-left slot of your inventory to the bottom-right. Therefore, make sure to pay close attention to the orientation to avoid losing valuable bait. 

Ultimately, the best way of generating quick bait is through the Flower Boots method. Fishing itself is a viable way of obtaining bait. The Crate and Sonar potion and refusing common catches can also increase the bait yields. Keep on fishing and your efforts will bear fruit eventually.