Modding in Terraria has been active since 2015 through the use of a third-party app called tModLoader. This allowed developers to make the best Terraria mods that allow their creativity to shine through the roof. This opened up a lot of doors for the game and has helped increase its popularity especially since tModLoader was officially added on Steam as a Terraria add-on.
The release of tModLoader in Steam last 2020 has brought many new players have flocked to the modding community. With over 5000+ mods on Steam Workshop, we’ve created our list of the best Terraria mods ranked by popularity and downloads.
Finding The Best Ranked Terraria Mods
We’ve created this list of the top picks based on their popularity and what they add to Terraria’s base game. You may not see some of the mods you love in this list, but rest assured that we’ve picked mods based off of the following criteria:
- Current subscribers on Steam Workshop
- Provides enhanced immersion (Quality of life mods)
- Overhaul and content mods that add / change the overall experience
- Music, translation, and demo mods are not included
- Mods up to date with version 1.4.3 and 1.4.4
With that out of the way, here’s our list based off of tModLoader’s most popular mods for Terraria.
Recipe Browser
- Shows all available item recipes and monster drops
- Can be sorted by mod
- Current subscribers – 2.8 million
- Recipe Browser on Steam Workshop
The Recipe Browser is the most downloaded mod in the Steam Workshop for a reason. This mod allows you to find any crafting recipe that you want at any time. It serves as a better version of the Guide’s generic Crafting dialogue without the need for the Guide to be alive and available.
This mod not only shows you the recipe but also the recipes of the materials in the recipe itself. For your convenience, it also retains your last viewed recipe for checking at later times. It also shows you which monsters can drop specific items you need using the Mobs tab of the window. This mod is compatible with almost any major mods and is widely used in conjunction with others.
Boss Checklist
- Shows boss progression and summoning materials needed
- Pinpoints where events are best fought in progression as well
- Current subscribers – 2.7 million
- Boss Checklist on Steam Workshop
It’s very difficult to figure out game progression, especially with mods that add a few more bosses or events into the game. This is due to some mods adding pre-boss progression which include encounters before King Slime. This is created by Jopojelly, a.k.a. javidpack, which is also the author of top mods like the previous Recipe Browser, Cheat Sheet, and Hero’s Mod.
Not only that, but this mod also allows you what you need to summon specific battles or how to trigger them to occur. This also doubles as some kind of bookmark whenever you take a longer break. This shows you where you left off and where to pick up your progress in your current playthrough.
Magic Storage
- Overhauls Terraria’s storage system entirely
- Allows for remote storage access post-Moon Lord
- Current subscribers – 2.2 million
- Magic Storage on Steam Workshop
One of the best Terraria mods that can change how you play the game forever. The Magic Storage mod introduces a whole new way of organizing all the sweet loot you get in the game. This is a huge step up from having a room full of chests with labels. This new system creates an interconnected and searchable inventory.
This storage mod also adds an all-in-one crafting station where you can add specific crafting stations into the crafting interface. It not only shows you all the craftable items at that point, but it also shows you what you’re currently missing in a recipe. It also features wiring capabilities so the storage boxes don’t interfere with your current build.
Calamity Mod
- Adds new enemies, weapons, abilities, and much more to the game
- Completely adds a new game phase once Moon Lord has been defeated
- Adds a new character class
- Current subscribers – 3.5 million
- Calamity Mod on Steam Workshop
Calamity Mod is one of the best Terraria Mods of all time. Unlike our top 3 items, Calamity provides a complete overhaul of the game’s progression. This mod showcases more bosses, equipment trees, and completely different difficulty modes. In addition to this, the mod adds a completely separate class, the Rogue, along with its unique Stealth mechanic.
The mod, in its entirety, is considered a huge difficulty jump from regular Terraria, also being dubbed as “What Master mode could have become” after being released in 1.4. It introduced fan-favorite equipment like the Halibut Cannon and the Ark of the Ancients and bosses like the Devourer of Gods and Supreme Calamitas.
Quality of Life
- As the name implies, it adds various quality-of-life changes to Terraria
- Adds automatic building, fishing, ease of access wands, and more
- Current subscribers – 950,000+
- Quality of Life on Steam Workshop
The Quality of Life mod adds plenty of things that change the quality of how your games are played. It adds things like auto-swing for all weapons, max stack increase, and even infinite buffs. There are just some things that you might find too tedious to think about, especially when focusing on the combat aspect of your playthrough including building, fishing, and much more.
This mod fixes this by adding various wands like the Wand of Architecture, which allows you to automatically build structures, up to the Fishing Machine which fishes automatically for you. The QoL mod squeezes a fresh perspective on the mundane things in the game. It easily provides great improvements to your overall Terraria experience.
Lights and Shadow
- Improves Terraria’s lighting system and introduces a completely different lighting mechanic
- Current subscribers – 860,000+
- Lights and Shadow on Steam Workshop
The Lights and Shadow mod can be summed up into one sentence: RTX for Terraria. This mod adds god rays and ambient lighting into the game. This creates a completely new visual effect that offers a beautiful look to the game. The mod overhauls the basic Retro, White, and Color lighting modes and adds a pinch of realism to the game.
Although this may seem very appealing, the Lights and Shadow mod does have many visual glitches and does not completely work for some graphics cards. That said, it can also add to your being able to create wonderful screenshots of your creations in your Terraria world. It’s a great mod if you want to play in a very cinematic way.
Thorium Mod
- One of the other bigger overhaul mods
- Adds new bosses, equipment, and more
- Adds 3 unique classes with their own set of progressive equipment
- Current subscribers – 730,000+
- Thorium Mod on Steam Workshop
Thorium Mod is one of the other big names when it comes to gameplay overhaul mods. This is a very large mod that adds completely new mechanics including adding different classes to the game. Like the previous Calamity mod, Thorium has the Thrower class which works similarly to the Rogue class. Not only that, it adds the Healer and Bard classes which focus mainly on supportive roles.
This mod is indeed more difficult than the vanilla game but is less daunting to tackle than the Calamity mod. That said, it doesn’t fall short in comparison with the amount of content that Calamity adds. If you’re feeling up to it, you can play both mods at the same time for a decent challenge.
Boss Cursor
- It’s literally a boss cursor
- Shows you where the boss is when it’s off-screen
- Current subscribers – 1 million
- Boss Cursor on Steam Workshop
The Boss Cursor is a life-saving mod that focuses on showing you where the boss is wherever they are. This is especially useful when you’re playing high-difficulty mods where the boss can easily be away from your line of vision. This is not necessarily a standalone mod as it does not add too much impact to the vanilla game.
While some bigger mods, like Calamity, have their own Boss Cursor mechanic, some mods like Thorium and Fargo’s Mod have a great need for this specific mod. Some people may consider this cheesy, but you may need all the help you need, especially in harder difficulties.
AlchemistNPC Lite
- Adds new NPCs which sell gems, potions, building blocks, and more
- Adds new weapons and materials into the game
- Current subscribers – 1.7 million
- AlchemistNPC Lite on Steam Workshop
The AlchemistNPC Lite adds a few different things to the game. It was primarily included in modpacks for the Alchemist, Brewer, and Young Brewer NPCs, which allow you to buy premade potions for a steep price. The Young Brewer also adds a unique type of potion where multiple effects are crammed into a single potion.
Aside from this, the mod also adds NPCs that sell biome materials, boss treasure bags, and even building blocks. This makes it easier to build arenas, houses and allows you to dedicate less time to refights with the ability to buy crafting items. The Lite version removes the unnecessary bosses and OP equipment allowing it to work better with other content-filled mods.
Calamity’s Vanities
- Adds new NPCs and pets into the Calamity Mod
- Adds new building blocks based on the existing Calamity items
- Also adds new hooks, wings, and mounts
- Current subscribers – 1.2 million
- Calamity’s Vanities on Steam Workshop
Calamity’s Vanities mod is an add-on to the Calamity Mod that adds multiple vanity items into the already jam-packed mod. This mod adds a variety of vanity including new pets and an NPC that sells the said pets. There are also new mounts, wings, and hooks that fit perfectly into the aesthetic of the Calamity Mod.
The mod adds boss-themed items which add to the overall Calamity experience, with some items even impacting the game in minor ways. A great example of this is the early Wulfrum Helipack which are very early wings and the Astral Blight biome. Overall, it makes the already wonderful Calamity mod even more beautiful.
Wing Slot Extra
- Adds a dedicated wing slot
- Current subscribers – 1.2 million
- Wing Slot Extra on Steam Workshop
The Wing Slot Extra mod is very minor in that it adds a literal extra accessory slot for wings. This makes you able to use all 6 pre-hardmode and 7 hardmode accessory slots for other accessories in your build.
This mod may seem a bit OP, but it does offer a bit of relief for heavy mods like Fargo’s Mod that adds multiple accessories which you may not have enough slots for.
That said, this mod is purely preferential and not all of you might find it fair. It does have quite a bit of a following as it still made its way to our best Terraria mod ranking. If you need that extra accessory slot that your wings are using up, this mod is for you!
Ore Excavator
- Mines similar blocks around the cursor
- Current subscribers – 1.7 million
- Ore Excavator on Steam Workshop
This mod is based on the now-defunct Vein Miner mod that was made in line with Minecraft’s most popular QoL mod. The mod allows you to bind a key which that when pressed or toggled (depending on your mod configuration) allows you to instantly mine a patch of blocks. This is a highly sought-after mod in the benefits that it gives you in the game.
What makes this mod overpowered, however, is the fact that Terraria does not have any tool durability. Unlike Minecraft’s Vein Miner mod which uses up your tool, the Ore Excavator mod allows you to do this feature infinitely.
Be very careful when using the whitelist feature of this mod however as you can create a massive irreversible problem when you mine common materials like Dirt, Stone, and Mud blocks.
Which Mod Is This From (WMITF)
- Adds mod name identifiers to all items
- Current subscribers – 719,000+
- WMITF on Steam Workshop
At some point, you’ll find yourself having a wide array of mods with items from each one that you can’t seem to figure out where they’re from. You’ll find chests with materials that you just can’t seem to categorize due to the sheer amount of content you’ve added to your game.
This is where the Which Mod Is This From shines. This mod adds a simple tooltip to your item stating what mod the item is from. This is the best Terraria mod for organizing and segregating items that clash from different mod packs you may have installed.
This is also extremely useful for items that drop from monsters and you can’t figure out what added them.
Max Stack Plus Extra
- Makes all stackable items stack to 9999
- Current subscribers – 798,000+
- Max Stack Plus Extra on Steam Workshop
This mod is indispensable when you’re playing mods that only work before 1.4.4. As the name implies, this mod allows you to change Terraria’s max stack limit of 999 up an extra digit. We’ve still included this mod in our list even after the stack option got updated as a main feature in the base vanilla game.
That said, there are still plenty of mods that only work up until version 1.4.3, making this mod still a great thing to have installed. You can freely choose what stacks to how much using the mod config, which is something the now-vanilla feature does not have.
The Stars Above
- Adds 7 unique bosses
- Adds a unique skill and ability system with the Starfarer system
- More than 80 new weapons included
- Current subscribers – 529,000+
- The Stars Above on Steam Workshop
The Stars Above mod adds a fully functional ability system with a custom UI and animation that fits perfectly in your Terraria world. Each boss you kill starting from the King Slime will grant you materials to craft certain weapons. After successfully unlocking your Starfarer, however, the bosses can now add specific abilities.
These abilities go from falling giant swords to spinning katana blades. The icing on the cake is that the Starfarer you choose will have unique voice lines that are both situational and ability-triggered. There aren’t that many mods that add voice lines to Terraria so this is a big win. Also, if you’re into anime, the art style will surely keep you engaged.
Cheat Sheet
- Adds cheat options to Terraria
- Current subscribers – 1 million
- Cheat Sheet on Steam Workshop
Before the introduction of Journey Mode in Terraria 1.4, you had to resort to mods to cheat items into your world. That’s one of the reasons why Cheat Sheet became a popular mod and has constantly withstood the test of time.
This mod is not only a great choice for testing as it’s basically Terraria’s creative mode but its also the best Terraria mod for content creators. It also offers great versatility as an assistance tool for mod developers as it creates an environment where you can virtually force anything to happen in the world.
If you find yourself in need of testing things or just want to play in pure chaos, this mod is for you!
Fargo’s Mutant and Souls Mod
- Better quality-of-life changes for vanilla, Thorium, and Calamity (Mutant)
- Added extra bosses and new equipment. Includes 2 additional difficulty settings (Souls)
- Current subscribers – 1.3 million (Mutant), 800,000 (Souls)
- Fargo’s Mutant Mod and Fargo’s Souls Mod on Steam Workshop
Fargo’s Mutant Mod is a small QoL mod that adds 5 different NPCs to your game. These NPCs will mainly sell boss summons, knickknacks, wood, and event items. It’s also worth noting that 3 of these 5 NPCs can be fought as bosses if you choose to also play with the Fargo’s Soul Mod
The latter of the two mods, Fargo’s Soul Mod, is more of a content mod, similar to that of Thorium and Calamity. This variation of the mod also adds 2 extra difficulty settings, Eternity and Masochist modes.
The mod creator, Fargowlita, has also added compatibility addons for Thorium and Calamity in case you’d like to play with all of the mods combined.
Starlight River
- Adds a few content updates to pre-Hardmode Terraria
- New weapons, structures, bosses, and animations
- Current subscribers – 188,000+
- Starlight River on Steam Workshop
Thorium and Calamity have been the household names for groundbreaking content added to Terraria. But recently this year, a new contender has been eyeing a place at the top of the lists for the best Terraria mod ranking. While most of their content is just for pre-Hardmode, it’s worth checking it out right now.
Starlight River adds custom structures, bosses, and weapons. It adds in a refreshing new look toward how boss fights should operate in the game. It creates custom environments and equipment that matches the mod’s unique style.
Regular boss fights would require you to run around in open spaces while constantly holding down your left click for damage. Starlight has changed this by adding pre-made boss arenas and custom gimmicks to their bosses which play out similarly to Metroidvania games.
Elaina: Wandering Witch
- Adds a completely new playable character
- Create spells and trinkets using custom crafting stations
- Current subscribers – 89,000+
- Elaina: Wandering Witch on Steam Workshop
Elaina: Wandering Witch focuses on a unique playable character that you can use in any of your modded worlds. All you need to do is download and install the mod and create a character and name them “Elaina” and you’ll be in for a wonderful surprise.
Once the character is made, you’ll see that none of your character creation details should be retained. Instead, you would see a long-haired witch that’s equipped with basic magic equipment and is armed with a few minor spells.
This mod adds in a few furniture items and materials that will allow you to raise Elaina’s abilities. The cauldron will allow you to level up your equipment and your spells, allowing you to fight more effectively through your progression.
Hero’s Mod
- Works similarly to Cheat Sheet with a few different options
- Current subscribers – 784,000+
- Hero’s Mod on Steam Workshop
Hero’s Mod is another mod created by Jopojelly and works similarly to the previously mentioned Cheat Sheet mod. That said, it completely touches on different mechanics that can’t be found in Cheat Sheet.
This mod allows you to add features to your game that affect the world or the player directly. The mod adds features such as allowing infinite flight, god mode, infinite ammo, and even unlimited reach. It also allows you to change spawn rates, weather, and time of day to whatever setting you want.
The mod also plays closely with admins wanting to build large-scale multiplayer by having anti-griefing options and login systems for players to enjoy.
Conclusion
Terraria mods have changed how the game was played considerably with the amount of effort the developers have made to make them the way they are. While we have gone through our top 20 best Terraria mods, there are numerous mods out there that may have just been buried deep within Steam’s Workshop page or may only exist for older versions of the mod loader.
If you think we’ve overlooked any of your top choices, feel free to let us know in the comments below!
