Anvils are an essential part of every Terrarian’s adventure. It’s nearly impossible to progress through the game without using an Anvil. 

One of the most important crafting stations in Terraria, Anvils can be used to craft many different items and equipment. There are four types of Anvils, two of which are only available through game progression.

Given how significant Anvils are, it’s crucial to know how to make an Anvil in Terraria, as well as their uses and different types.

Types of Anvils

In Terraria, there are four different Anvil types. These are the Iron, Lead, Orichalcum, and Mythril Anvils. Iron and Lead Anvils are identical in function but have slightly differing appearances. Similarly, Orichalcum and Mythril Anvils have the same function; however, they are entirely different colors, making it easy to differentiate between them.

Iron and Lead Anvils are primarily used pre-hardmode and become practically irrelevant upon entering hardmode. Orichalcum and Mythril Anvils take the place of the aforementioned throughout hardmode.

types of anvils

The reason there are two variants of Anvil with the same function, both pre-hardmode and hardmode, comes down to world generation. At world generation, your world will be assigned either Iron or Lead; a single world cannot have both Iron and Lead. The same thing goes for Mythril and Orichalcum; however, they only become accessible in hardmode.

It’s worth noting that Mythril and Orichalcum Anvils have all the same functions as their predecessors and unlock a vast array of new recipes.

Anvil Uses

There are three primary subcategories of items that Anvils are used to craft in Terraria: weapons, tools, and armor. These are integral parts of the game, and game progression is impossible without them. 

While most of the best tools, weapons, and armor sets are drops from defeating the Moon Lord and other similar end-game bosses, Mythril and Orichalcum Anvils will be useful at most stages in the game and should always accompany you on your adventure.

All anvils are one tile high and two tiles wide. Additionally, they cannot be placed on anything other than solid blocks or platforms. 

There are also two achievements associated with Anvils. The first, and most basic one, is called “Heavy Metal”. You will get this achievement by simply acquiring your first Iron or Lead Anvil.

achievement heavy metal

The second Anvil-related achievement is one you’ll likely get through natural game progression. It’s called “Blacksmith” and can be obtained by crafting 300 items at an Anvil. This may seem daunting at first, but you’ll be surprised at how often you use an Anvil – especially once your enter hardmode.

Obtaining an Anvil

Making Anvils in Terraria is pretty straightforward and doesn’t require many resources. Additionally, there are ways to obtain some Anvils outside of the standard crafting.

Like crafting chain, to create an Iron or Lead Anvil, you’ll need a standard Work Bench and 5 Iron or Lead bars. You can find Iron and Lead ore in underground clusters (depending on whether your world was granted Iron or Lead upon world generation). Alternatively, you can find it in surface and underground chests or as an occasional drop from Slimes. Iron and Lead ore are needed to craft their respective bars.

Mythril and Orichalcum Anvils are slightly more expensive to craft. A Mythril Anvil costs 10 Mythril bars, and an Orichalcum Anvil costs 12 Orichalcum bars. Like Iron and Lead ore, Mythril and Orichalcum ore can be found in clusters in underground clusters. Similarly, they are used to craft their respective bars.

While crafting is the most standard and arguably viable way of obtaining Anvils in Terraria, there are a couple of other methods to get an Iron Anvil. These are most useful early game because, as you progress through the game, Iron Anvils will become less useful.

One of the methods of getting an Iron Anvil is from the Merchant NPC. The Merchant sells Iron Anvils for 50 silver coins each. Note that the Merchant does not sell Lead Anvils – even if your world was granted Lead upon generation.

Another Iron Anvil acquisition method is exploration. Iron Anvils can sometimes be found as naturally spawned furniture items inside Underground Cabins. Underground Cabins are considered Treasure Rooms (a type of small biome with not many blocks) and will appear randomly throughout your world – small worlds having the least and large worlds having the most.

anvil in cave

Conclusion

In summary, Anvils are an integral part of your Terraria adventure, being helpful at all stages of the game. There are four types of Anvils, although you’ll likely only encounter two of them per world. The maximum number of Anvil types you can obtain per world is three, as Iron Anvils can be obtained regardless of whether your world was granted Iron or Lead at world generation.