Some pets in Terraria are used for aesthetics and companionship alone while others are very useful tools for light sources and finding treasure. Whatever their purpose, there are over 35 pet options across both Classic Mode and Master Mode. There's a pet for every type of person and every type of need. And every type of holiday, too.
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There are light pets that are better than others due to the strength of light and what other qualities they have, but the best Terraria pets are somewhat subjective.
Update on July 6, 2021 by Sharnelle Earle: With the Journey Mode update to Terraria in 2020, acquiring pets is now easier. Journey Mode acts as a creative mode, much like in Minecraft, where you'll be able to spawn in items once you've donated the right amount. That's not even half of what Journey Mode has to offer. Aside from that, Steam Workshop support has been added to Terraria. This means mods made easy. You don't have to search through forums and download sketchy links anymore. With Steam Workshop, all you have to do is press a button to get new content into your Terraria game. That means new, fan-made pets too.
15 A Little Wisp
The Wisp is a light pet that is a little skull engulfed in blue flames. With different dyes, this little boney boy can look more creepy than cute. He has 120% brightness, the brightest strength available, and follows your player around more closely than lesser light pets. The Wisp can also be controlled. This makes him one of the best light pets in Terraria.
You can get him as a chance drop from the enemies Blue Armored Bones, Hell Armored Bones, and Rusty Armored Bones. They all spawn inside the dungeon and the Wisp In a Bottle drop can only be activated in Hardmodeafter Plantera is killed.
14 The Cute Honey Bee
There is a large fanbase for honey bees. They are fat and adorable bugs that are less likely to attack and murder you, or what some people call a sting, than their evil cousins.
You can summon wasps in battle with you but they miss that much-needed cuteness that the Honey Bee has. This is a Queen Bee drop that's only available in a world that has been created in Master Mode. It's the best pet in Terraria for cottage-core fans.
13 An Alien Skater
Ayy lmao. Amirite folks? Who needs adorable, cutesy pets when you can have an epic skaterboy follow you around and giving you fist bumps of encouragement. He's only available in Master Mode as a drop from the Martian Saucerduring an alien invasion event.
To get the event you have to have killed the Golem boss and then you must travel super far into the sky until a small UFO scans you and disappears.
12 A Suspicious Looking Eye
This is another light pet that is better than most others. The Suspicious Looking Eye has 120% brightness and makes treasure sparkle, as well as looks directly at the said treasure. Though this is most preferable to have early to mid-game, you can only get it from the final boss, Moon Lord.
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The Suspicious Looking Eye also highlights enemies and can only be dropped in an Expert Mode world creation.
11 The Baby Grinch
If the 2000 movie How The Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carry is one of your Christmas favorites, you may want to cop a Baby Grinch whenever you can. A ridiculous scene from that movie is the Grinch as a baby which features a horrific, hairy, and green puppet in diapers.
This is the baby we see before us in Terraria. The Baby Grinch is a drop from the Ice Queen during the event Frost Moon. To trigger this event you have to craft a Naughty Present and consume it during the night.
10 A Slime Prince and Princess
Slime is the first enemy you face when starting Terraria and what seems to be the most menacing. Until you get some gear and experience, then they are nothing but an annoying fly on the wall. But they are adorable, aren't they? What was once life-threatening becomes a cute, colorful blob. If only they had blushed cheeks and an expression.
Oh, wait. Slime Prince and Princess. To get these guys, you have to defeat King Slime and Queen Slime in a world created in Master Mode.
9 Cats Upon Cats
Everyone likes cats. Especially in video games. There are multiple cat pets you can get in Terraria for every type of cat owner. You have the occult Black Cat, the orange daredevil Dynamite Cat, and the grey and annoyed Propeller Gato.
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The Black Cat is obtained through the Halloween-esque event in Goodie Bags when all mobs are holiday-themed during late October. You can get the Dynamite Cat in Hardmode after your Bestiary is around 70% complete. Once it is, you can purchase the cat from the Zoologist NPC. The Propeller Gato is a drop from the Dark Mage who is an enemy during the Old One's Army.
8 A Sugar Glider
Sugar Gliders are very unique pets. They are like flying squirrel-chipmunks with adorable eyes. Terraria has a pet summon for every pet you could possibly have, from dogs to this.
The Eucalyptus Sap that summons the Sugar Glider is a very rare drop from shaking a tree that doesn't require Hardmode or anything. Not only is it very rare, but once you die the sugar glider is gone for good.
7 A Shark Pup
The Shark Pup is a nod to the fanatical Baby Shark nursery rhyme that happened all over the internet. The pet has large goo-goo eyes that are either cute or terrifying and he will follow you around in a bubble since sharks breath and live underwater.
The description of the summon item even says "Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo". There's a chance to find his summon, Shark Bait, in water chests.
6 A Fairy Princess
The most divine of all, the Fairy Princess. Lots of players love to take the kawaii route of wielding the Meowmere, wearing Fairy Wings and the Princess set for maximum Magical Girl vibes. The only thing that would top this off is the effervescent pet that gets dropped by the Empress of Light in a Master Mode world.
The Fairy Princess is a light pet with 120% brightness and is a very unique pet not many have or use, possibly because of the challenge that is Empress of Light on Master Mode.
5 A Puppy For Christmas
So you can get a bunch of different cats. There aren't many options for dog lovers, but there is one. For the Christmas-like event in Terraria, you can find a Dog Whistle drop from presents.
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Presents are special Christmas drops that can be acquired from virtually any enemy during the correct season. The Dog Whistle will summon an innocent little puppy to follow you around.
4 The Volt Bunny
Much like Pikachu himself, the Volt Bunny is an electrifying rabbit you can keep by your side. The Volt Bunny is a milestone summoned by the item Lightening Carrot. After completing almost half of your bestiary in Terraria, the carrot becomes available for purchase from the Zoologist for a hefty price of gold.
The bestiary keeps track of all the different types of enemies and bosses you've killed so far. The Volt Bunny emits a small amount of light.
3 The Menacing Skeletron Jr
If you thought the raging skeleton from the dungeons was scary, just wait until you see his son. That's right, you can get a miniature version of Skeletron that will follow you around and scare off a foe. He doesn't actually do anything though. He can't attack, but he can darn sure try.
Skeletron Jr is summoned from the item Possessed Skull, which is a drop from Skeletron himself and only obtainable in Master Mode.
2 A Red Panda
This is a unique little creature, as you usually see strange monsters or common pets as companions in Terraria. The Red Panda pet is summoned from the item Bamboo Leaf. This can be purchased off of the Traveling Merchant. The Red Panda came with the Journey's End content update. When it comes to purely cute pets, the Red Panda is extremely difficult to top.
1 Baby Truffle
Trying to get the Truffle NPC to join your crew is difficult and annoying to figure out. But once you do, he offers great rewards... That you still have to pay for. The Baby Truffle is one of them. The Truffle NPC will sell a Strange Glowing Mushroom which summons the Baby Truffle. He emits a very small amount of light.
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