Building a suitable arena - what to use and what not to use?

[Gold♥Shield]

I've never built a proper arena in all my years of owning this game (building isn't something I find particularly fun) but with the introduction of all the events, it only seems proper that I actually build one this time (despite always saying I'll do it every time I play).

So far, I have plenty of Lihzahrd traps (mainly spiky ball) and ten geysers. I have my actuated lava bridges and all my buffs (excluding the ammo box) in a central area. I plan on keeping the darts and spiky balls on a 3 second timer while the spears are on a 1 second timer. What I'm unsure of is which traps will override the damage on the others? I'd rather not use something that's going to increase the enemy's I-frames and allow them to pass through the rest of the traps unharmed.

I just barely beat Duke Fishron and only have the Celestials left. I'd like to farm Duke and Golem a bit more (stupid Golem is hogging the Sun Stone) as well as all the events. This isn't my first time doing the events so I know what to expect and I've done them without an arena in the past, so this is going to be something new for me. Any tips is appreciated.

[Scribble]

Its a bit hard to explain through text tbh hate to be that guy but youtube does have plenty of trap arena tutorials

[Gold♥Shield]

I've looked at a few, but they didn't cover (the ones I watched) which traps will override others. I used to go to Diceman for Terraria advice, but he stopped playing a long time ago.

[VagueCryptid]

Eh, I personally stay away from super fancy arenas. I never find them practical.

I just use a couple rows of platforms, maybe a box to hide in if it's an event, some campfires, heart lanterns, blah blah blah. You don't really need anything much. For things like the end game bosses, I think you need a much larger space than an arena will provide. Arenas will constrict your space, and if you want to run away, you might end up struggling.

[isaiah. ☨☨]

I have created thousands of these, and the main things you want to have are:
- Campfires. These are by FAR the most important thing, as they will be REALLY helpful. Just lay them out on areas on each level and remember to bring a LOT of them and place them spread out but close enough to boost your healing wherever you are.
- Wooden platforms. They are cheap, durable and hold the whole arena together, you probably know what these will be used for.
- Any type of solid block. These will be the outline of the arena
- A large flat area on land or a large area on ground. The bigger, the better.
That is ALL you need, and I told you (briefly) what needs to happen with them. If you need any help, send me a message, I am subscribed to this post but also try commenting to my profile. :terraria:

[HoHhoch]

The main thing an arena should provide is plenty of space to maneuver. Early game, most of your movement will come from Hermes/Flurry boots.

1. Use platforms to create long stretches of flat terrain so you have plenty of space to run, and make multiple layers of platforms. Two or three, the more space you can comfortable have between each layer, the better (this all depends on your jumping ability). That way you can have more verticality when dodging bosses.

2. Hooking platforms then jumping from the hook just before reaching the end will keep your speed and allows you to use your hook to instantly change momentum so you can start running in the opposite direction without the windup time from boots. Shield of Cthulu can do the same job of the hook if playing on expert mode and if you've defeated the Eye.

3. Intermittently place bonfires, heart/mana lanterns, sunflowers and small pools of honey (1 block deep, two blocks wide should do just fine).
Bonfires, Heart lanterns, and pools of honey all increase life regeneration. Mana lanterns increase mana regeneration (and can be skipped if not using magic). Sunflowers increase movement speed and reduce mob spawn rate. Sunflowers must be placed on dirt blocks with grass growing on them. Buy grass seeds from the dryad.

[linkoooln553]

if you have the picksaw, or actuators, farming the golem should be easy

[Gold♥Shield]

Maybe I should have clarified. I don't need a boss arena as the bosses are laughably easy on their own. I normally set up an arena (if you can call it that) with the normal campfires, heart lantern, and maybe a honey bubble for all the bosses (except WoF). I was mainly looking for a semi-afk event arena that can utilize traps. I already have the actuated lava pits but I was wondering which traps were better than the rest and whether or not I should jump into new worlds to grab more spear/dart/flame/etc. traps.

I appreciate all the suggestions thus far, but I was really wanting to know about traps and which ones override others in terms of best damage output.

[isaiah. ☨☨]

Build a large area, i'd say 100 blocks wide, but If you want traps, you may want to go for 50 (although 100 will work just fine it will take a lot of traps). It should have multiple floors, and use platforms so you can go up and down quickly. For a trap arena, place spear traps, arrow traps, and for bosses add some small boxes full of lava, so the bosses will get hurt by it and you wont. If you need to be AFK, get lots of wires and hook them up to 1-3 different levers. If you are looking for something that will work with a boss as high tier as Moon Lord, and lots of honey, lots of floors, and lots of space per floor. Remember these arenas take lots of time to build, and may take as long as 3 hours to finish. If you have any friends to play Terraria with, see if they can help you out. Let me know if this works out for you.