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What Does It Mean When the Angler Has Left in Terraria?

What Does It Mean When the Angler Has Left in Terraria?

Terraria houses many friendly automated NPCs that provide different services to the player. They have unique world messages attached to their kits and can sometimes do inconceivable stuff. NPCs dying is quite common in Terraria, but what if they just choose to leave instead?

Most NPCs appear in Terraria after various milestones related to game advancement have been achieved. They live in player-provided houses and fend for themselves should the need arise. 

However, certain NPCs behave differently; the Angler is a prime example. While most NPCs die through the normal death animation, the Angler prefers to vanish under a blanket of smoke. 

Angler’s death is indicated by a message saying, “<NPC name> has left!”. This is due to rating concerns as ESRB considers children being killed as an “Adults Only” rating.

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With that said, the Angler can still be brought back through the usual vacant house method. Therefore, this guide will focus on how the Angler works as an NPC and how to bring him back.  

The Angler NPC in Terraria

Unlike other NPCs in Terraria, the Angler is exclusively concerned with fishing and initiates quests based on fishing. He doesn’t sell his wares; his quests are generally related to catching rare fish in particular biomes. 

First Encounter

The Angler can only be called once he has been discovered. You will find him sleeping on sand or a water surface. You can go and talk to him to wake him up. 

Once he has woken up, you must have an empty house for him to move in. You must make a house before he dies by taking fatal damage from mobs.

What Happens When The Angler Dies?

Once the angler is killed, instead of the usual “<Angler Name> was slain…” message, you will get “<Name of Angler> has left” instead. As mentioned, this is to keep the game children-friendly to broaden the game’s distribution. 

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However, the Nintendo 3DS Version shows the default “<Angler Name> was slain…” message due to the game not receiving regular updates. The Angler will vanish in a puff of smoke upon dying but will come back after there is a suitable house for him. 

How to Make the Angler Respawn

The Angler will vanish in a puff of smoke upon dying but will come back after there is a suitable house for him. However, if he is killed after being saved, he will move into a house as soon as he gets free. 

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A glitch spawns two anglers if the NPC dies in Terraria mobile while having a suitable house to move in. However, replicating this manually is quite difficult as we aren’t sure of the initial conditions needed to get two Anglers in the game.


All in all, protect your NPCs from any threats and dangers. However, there is nothing much to lose, even if they die. The Angler is a child; therefore, getting killed doesn’t suit him in a children-friendly game. Therefore, he vanishes in a cloud of smoke instead, which is quite convenient.