How to Make the Shellphone in Terraria

A step-by-step guide on how to craft the Shellphone! The Shellphone is a useful, post-Skeletron item introduced in 1.4.4. It combines all informational acsessories into one, as well as being able to teleport you to various places in your world, like the spawn, ocean and underworld! You guys really liked my Terraspark Boots guide (i think), so here’s another one! Enjoy!

All images are taken from the Terraria wiki. I used an image re-sizer to make the Shellphone bigger.

This guide was made as of 1.4.4.9, for Desktop platform. If you’re playing on a later version or on another platform, the crafting of the Shellphone may be different or not even exist. Due to how expansive and big Terraria is, I wasn’t able to explain everything. If you want a in-depth idea of how a mechanic or item works, like moon phases or fishing power, you’ll have to go to the Terraria Wiki.

Step 1: GPS

To craft the GPS you need 3 things:

• A gold or platinum watch
• A Depth meter
• A Compass

Combine them at a tinkerer’s workshop to get the GPS! Let’s go over how to get each one.

Gold or Platinum Watch:

A Gold watch (I’m just going to call it a Gold watch for simplicity’s sake), displays the time to the nearest minute (game time, obviously! not the real world!). It is crafted from 10 Gold or Platinum Bars and a chain, at a table and chair. This one is quite easy to get, so don’t worry too hard. Gold and Platinum bars are crafted from gold/platinum ore, which you can get from mining underground or putting silt, slush or desert fossils into an extractinator. They need to be crafted near a furnace, obtained from wood, stone and torches. A chain is gathered from iron bars, made from iron or lead ore, which is obtainable in the same way as gold and platinum ore, only more common. Chains are crafted at an anvil, also made of iron/lead bars.

Tips:

• Getting ores is quite simple. Just go into a cave and mine up the ores you see. If there are no nearby caves, or the caves don’t have any useful loot, just dig down. The world is full of caves, so finding one shouldn’t take too long.
• If you prefer getting your ores from an extractinator, they’re found commonly in underground houses, gold/ice chests and wooden crates. Then, just find some silt, slush or desert fossils and you’re good to go!
• If you’re really feeling insane and want to get your ores via fishing, make sure to have a steady fishing power. A wooden fishing pole might be slow and painful, so go for something like the reinforced fishing pole. If you’re in the late-game, get something like the fiberglass fishing pole or the mechanic’s rod. Looking for bait? Craft some enchanted nightcrawlers out of worms caught with a bugnet and fallen stars. You can also break some shrubs in the jungle and catch the critters that fall out of it for bait. Fishing/Crate Potions and Chum Casters are also viable.
• Furnaces are made of wood, stone and torches. If you can’t find stone, explore the world. There’s a likely chance for you to bump into a patch of stone on the surface or a cave that leads to one.
• Torches are made from gel and wood, so if you need them, just go look for slimes. They aren’t rare.
• If (for some reason), you need wood, either to craft the furnace or the table and chair, than just go and plant acorns, wait for them to go and harvest the trees.
• If you don’t have acorns or wood, explore the world to find a patch of trees you haven’t chopped down yet.
• If the two options above aren’t viable (for some reason) and you’re desperate, you can chop down a living tree, or demolish an abandoned house underground.
• If you’re really desperate, then gather some glass, cactus, glowing mushrooms, or other resources, and make yourself some furniture out of those. You might need a special crafting station, so some of the options aren’t really viable unless you have said crafting station.
• If you’re really, really desperate, then… i have nothing to say. Just… create a new world or something.
• If the option above didn’t work… yeah I’m out of ideas. Sorry.

Depth Meter and Compass:

Both the Depth Meter and Compass display your horizontal and vertical postion in your world. They are found by killing underground enemies. Bats, slimes, salamanders, piranhas, flinxes, that one shelly dude who makes that weird noise, all of those guys can drop one, if not both the Depth Meter and Compass. They drop at low rates, so be prepared to kill them a few hundred times.

Tips:

• Simply by caving underground for ores, life crystals and other loot, you may find that you obtain these two items by accident. Make sure to not trash them or throw them away, whether on purpose (cause you think it’s useless) or by accident. You can just favourite the item by pressing Alt+Left click.
• If you don’t have one or both of these items, you can work on a big underground project, like building a hellavator, railway or constructing a mob farm. While making either of the two, you’ll probably find a mob that drops these two items.
• If you’re desperate, then simply farm! You can sit in your mob farm, or, if you don’t have one, just summon a minion, grab your weapon and slay some mobs.
• Note that putting up Water Candles will increase spawn rates, allowing for more efficient farming. They are obtained from the Dungeon, or from crafting it with a Candle at a Crystal Ball in water. Note that Crystal Balls are Hardmode-exclusive, being purchased from the Wizard for 10 Gold coins.

Tinkerer’s Workshop:

You’ll need a Tinkerer’s workshop to combine all the components of the Shellphone, into the Shellphone. You get the Tinkerer’s Workshop from the Goblin Tinkerer at 10 gold. The Goblin Tinkerer can be found tied up underground in the Cavern Layer, after the Goblin Army invasion has been defeated.

Tips:

• If you’re having trouble summoning the Goblin Army, you need to be at 200 Health (5 Life Crystals) and you have to break a Shadow Orb/Crimson Heart in order for it to spawn. You can also craft the Goblin Battle Standard using 10 Tattered Cloth and some wood at a Loom.
• Having trouble breaking a Shadow Orb/Crimson Heart? If you go in, use a bomb to get to the Orb/Heart, break said Orb/Heart, and quickly recall out without too many mobs spawning, you can successfully do it! You might need rope or a hook to avoid taking fall damage from going down the the corrupt chasms. If you’re taking too much damage, build a small box around you. Since the chasms are coated with walls, you can place blocks mid-air. Still having trouble? Get better gear, and try again.
• If you’re having trouble defeating the Goblin Army, I would recommend Demonite/Crimtane equipment or weapons obtained by breaking Shadow Orbs/Crimson Hearts. Or just go on the wiki.
• Finding the Goblin Tinkerer should be easy, you can simply dig underground and he should pop up. If needed, a Hunter potion, crafted from bottled water, daybloom, blinkroot and a shark fin, or simply found in chests and crates, can be used to find him.
• If you need gold coins, you can go on underground loot runs and sell the bars, gems, and loot you see (unless you want to keep it). You can also farm King Slime or Eye of Cthulhu, which are easy to summon and kill (if you’re playing on higher difficulties, you might not want to try this idea).
• Want the Tinkerer’s workshop to be cheaper? Just make the Tinkerer happier! He likes the underground biome and the Dye trader, if you’re post-Skeletron, you can put him with the Mechanic, who’s his long-lost love (i think, please don’t fact check that). And if, for some reason, you’re post-Plantera, you can have the Princess move in. But that’s kinda pointless when you already have the Mechanic in the world to make the Tinkerer happy.
• Did I copy some parts from my previous guide? Yes, I did.

And with all those resources at your disposal, you can make the GPS! You’re only about 1/5th of the way there, though (unless you have more components of the Shellphone).

Step 2: R.E.K. 3000

To get the R.E.K. 3000, you need all 3 of the following:

• A Radar
• A Tally Counter
• A Lifeform Analyzer

Combine all 3 at a Tinkerer’s workshop to get the R.E.K. 3000. Here’s how to get each one.

Radar:

The radar displays how many enemies are within a 125-tile radius from the player. It is found in wooden chests and crates, as well as being sold underground by the skeleton merchant at a Waxing Gibbous for 2 gold and 50 silver.

Tips:

• The surface, living trees and jungle caves are commonly dotted with wooden chests. You’ll find a radar in no time.
• If you get unlucky, and have no radar, you can wait for a Waxing Gibbous and adventure underground and find the Skeleton Merchant.
• If you’re short of cash, you can go on underground loot runs and sell the bars, gems, and loot you see (unless you want to keep it). You can also farm King Slime or Eye of Cthulhu, which are easy to summon and kill (if you’re playing on higher difficulties, you might not want to try this idea).
• Wanna go fishing? Make sure to have a steady fishing power. A wooden fishing pole might be slow and painful, so go for something like the reinforced fishing pole. If you’re in the late-game, get something like the fiberglass fishing pole or the mechanic’s rod. Looking for bait? Craft some enchanted nightcrawlers out of worms caught with a bugnet and fallen stars. You can also break some shrubs in the jungle and catch the critters that fall out of it for bait.

Tally Counter:

The Tally Counter displays how many of a specific enemy you have killed, and is the only acsessory in the Shellphone’s crafting tree that requires you to defeat a boss, so if you haven’t defeated Skeletron yet, you can either look for another Shellphone component, or defeat Skeletron and gain acsess to the Dungeon. The Tally Counter is dropped by Dark Casters, Angry Bones and Cursed Skulls, which spawn in the Dungeon.

Tips:

• When exploring the Dungeon, looking for items in the locked gold chests, kill as many creatures that you can find. The more you do so, the more likelihood you can get this accessory.
• If you haven’t obtained this item after looting the entire Dungeon, you can summon a minion, swing a mace or sword around so projectiles don’t hit you, and simply AFK. Either that or just farm or it manually.

Lifeform Analyzer:

The Lifeform Analyzer displays the rare creatures within a 81.25-tile radius. You can buy it from the Travelling Merchant for 5 gold.

Tips:

• Waiting for the Travelling Merchant to arrive? Sleep in a bed! Sleeping in a bed speeds up the time by 5x the rate. You can make a bed out of silk and wood. Silk is crafted from cobwebs at a loom.
• Short on cash? Go on underground loot runs and sell the bars, gems, and loot you see (unless you want to keep it). You can also farm King Slime or Eye of Cthulhu, which are easy to summon and kill (if you’re playing on higher difficulties, you might not want to try this idea).

And there you have it! By combining all 3 at a Tinkerer’s Workshop, you get the R.E.K. 3000!

Step 3: Goblin Tech

To acquire the Goblin Tech, you (again) need 3 things:

• A DPS Meter
• A Stopwatch
• A Metal Detector

Here are ways to obtain each:

DPS Meter / Stopwatch:

The DPS Meter displays your Damage per Second, from the last second when you dealt damage towards an enemy. The Stopwatch displays your speed in miles per hour. Note that in-game, 2 feet are equal to one tile. Both of these are obtained in the same way as the Lifeform Analyzer: from the Travelling Merchant. They both are sold for 5 gold coins each.

Tips:

• Waiting for the Travelling Merchant to arrive? Sleep in a bed! Sleeping in a bed speeds up the time by 5x the rate. You can make a bed out of silk and wood. Silk is crafted from cobwebs at a loom.
• Short on cash? Go on underground loot runs and sell the bars, gems, and loot you see (unless you want to keep it). You can also farm King Slime or Eye of Cthulhu, which are easy to summon and kill (if you’re playing on higher difficulties, you might not want to try this idea).

Metal Detector:

The Metal Detector displays treasure around you, from chests to ores to Life Crystals. It is obtained by killing a Nymph at a 50% drop rate.

Tips:

• Simply by caving underground for ores, life crystals and other loot, you may find that you obtain this item by accident. Make sure to not trash it or throw it away, whether on purpose (cause you think it’s useless) or by accident. You can just favourite the item by pressing Alt+Left click.
• If you don’t have this item, you can work on a big underground project, like building a hellavator, railway or constructing a mob farm. While making either of the two, you’ll probably find a Nymph that drops this item.
• If you’re desperate, then simply farm! You can sit in your mob farm, or, if you don’t have one, just wait for a Nymph to spawn and slay it.
• Note that putting up Water Candles will increase spawn rates, allowing for more efficient farming. They are obtained from the Dungeon, or from crafting it with a Candle at a Crystal Ball in water. Note that Crystal Balls are Hardmode-exclusive, being purchased from the Wizard for 10 Gold coins.
• If you already have a Lifeform Analyzer, that can be used to track down a Nymph.

And there you have it! Combine the three items at a Tinkerer’s workshop (hopefully you haven’t trashed it by now) to get the Goblin Tech!

Step 4: Fish Finder

A Fish Finder is made of 3 components:

• Fisherman’s Pocket Guide
• Weather Radio
• Sextant

All three of these are obtained the same way, so let’s see how!

Fisherman’s Pocket Guide / Weather Radio / Sextant:

The Fisherman’s Pocket Guide displays your current fishing power, the Weather Radio displays the weather and wind speed, and the Sextant displays the current moon phase. All three are obtained from Angler fishing quests. Fishing quests require you to obtain a fish from a specific biome or elevation in your world, and only occur once a day. All three of these can be interchangeable with Shimmer.

Tips:

• Make sure to have a steady fishing power. The reinforced fishing pole or the Fisher of Souls/Fleshcatcher are good for the present. If you’re in the late-game, get something like the fiberglass fishing pole or the mechanic’s rod. Looking for bait? Craft some enchanted nightcrawlers out of worms caught with a bugnet and fallen stars. You can also break some shrubs in the jungle and catch the critters that fall out of it for bait. Fishing for crates or finishing angler quests can grant you bait, and the latter can give you accessories to boost fishing power, decrease bait consumption rate or anything else to help you fish. Fishing/Crate Potions and Chum Casters are also viable.
• None of the Quest fish require you to fish in lava. The lowest elevation they make you fish at is Caverns, and in the top half there’s still water.
• Waiting for another Quest? Sleep in a bed! Sleeping in a bed speeds up the time by 5x the rate. You can make a bed out of silk and wood. Silk is crafted from cobwebs at a loom.
• If you’ve already obtained one or two of the three components, you can put it in a chest, and you’ll be able to get said component again. Putting it in a piggy bank or any portable storage or equipping it will not allow you to get another. You can change it to another component with Shimmer.
• You can fish up more than one of the same quest fish on the same day, just as long as it isn’t in your inventory. Make sure to throw it out of your inventory before fishing again! This can help you save time as when the angler wants the same fish another day, you won’t need to fish to get it.
• The Angler also has a chance of rewarding you with bait, or an acsessory that helps you fish, as well as an armor set! Equip those next time you go fishing for a better chance at getting the quest fish you need!

And there you have it! One fish finder and one step closer to crafting the Shellphone! This accessory is probably the most annoying one to get, as it takes about 30-50 angler quests and plenty of real-life hours to complete, so congrats if you got it.

Step 5: Cell phone

The Cell phone The Cell phone

• A PDA
• A Magic / Ice Mirror

You know how this works. Let’s go over how to get each one!

PDA:

A PDA is crafted from all 4 acsessories that you’ve obtained. The GPS, Goblin Tech, R.E.K 3000, and Fish Finder. Combine them at a Tinkerer’s Workshop to get what you need! If you don’t have one or more of these items, go back to a previous page on this guide to find how to make it!

Magic / Ice Mirror:

A Magic / Ice mirror will allow you to teleport to your spawn point on use. It takes a bit longer to teleport to spawn then a recall potion, but unlike the recall potion, you can use it indefinitely. It is obtained from gold and ice chests respectively, and the magic mirror can be crated from Gold/Platinum bars, glass and diamonds.

Tips:

• Finding these items in chests is quite easy. Just go into the underground/ice biome, and loot any gold/ice chests you see. You should find one eventually.
• Want to craft the mirror? Go underground! Getting ores and gems is quite simple. Just go into a cave and mine up the ores you see. If there are no nearby caves, or the caves don’t have any useful loot, just dig down. The world is full of caves, so finding one shouldn’t take too long.
• If you prefer getting your ores from an extractinator, they’re found commonly in underground houses, gold/ice chests and wooden crates. Then, just find some silt, slush or desert fossils and you’re good to go!
• If you’re really feeling insane and want to get your ores via fishing, make sure to have a steady fishing power. A wooden fishing pole might be slow and painful, so go for something like the reinforced fishing pole. If you’re in the late-game, get something like the fiberglass fishing pole or the mechanic’s rod. Looking for bait? Craft some enchanted nightcrawlers out of worms caught with a bugnet and fallen stars. You can also break some shrubs in the jungle and catch the critters that fall out of it for bait.
• Glass is very easy to obtain. Just go to a nearby desert biome, pick up some sand, get a furnace from wood, torches and stone, and craft the sand into glass.
• If you’re playing on Journey Mode, you spawn with a magic mirror in your inventory, so just use that.

Well, that’s it. Only one more step to completing the Shellphone!

Step 6: Shellphone

You’re so close to crafting the Shellphone! But you still need 3 ingredients:

• A Cell phone
• A Magic Conch
• A Demon Conch

Let’s see how to craft them!

Cell Phone:

You already got the Cell Phone from the last step, so we can move on.

Magic Conch:

Magic conches are found in the Underground Desert, or in Oasis/Mirage Crates, fished up in the Desert. They allow you to teleport to the Ocean farthest of your current location.

Tips:

• The Underground Desert is highly dangerous, especially in higher difficulties. I’d recommend at least having 300 health and post-EoW/BoC loot. If you’re playing on Expert or Master (or even Legendary), 400 HP and high-defence armour is essential.
• Exploring in the Underground Desert is pretty streaight-forward. Just find a cave, and if you can’t spot one, just dig down or sideways. You can use a spelunker potion to find chests or other good loot in the Underground Desert.
• If you want to fish, make sure to have a steady fishing power. The reinforced fishing pole or the Fisher of Souls/Fleshcatcher are good for the present. If you’re in the late-game, get something like the fiberglass fishing pole or the mechanic’s rod. Looking for bait? Craft some enchanted nightcrawlers out of worms caught with a bugnet and fallen stars. You can also break some shrubs in the jungle and catch the critters that fall out of it for bait. Fishing for crates or finishing angler quests can grant you bait, and the latter can give you accessories to boost fishing power, decrease bait consumption rate or anything else to help you fish. Fishing/Crate Potions and Chum Casters are also viable.
• Can’t find a good fishing spot? Make a 300 block area of water, by digging a hole and using a Bottomless Water Bucket, or the water duplication glitch.

Demon Conch:

The Demon Conch is found by Lava FIshing, and teleports you to the Underworld. It’s probably the most painful one to acquire, right behind the Angler FIshing Quest ones.

Tips:

• In order to lava fish you need at least one of the three:
  • Hellbait, like the Lavafly (25% fishing power), Magma Snail (35% fishing power) and Hell Butterfly (15% fishing power) give you access to lava fishing. The magma snail is most preferable for having the highest fishing power when used as bait. These must be caught with either a Golden Bug Net or a Lavaproof Bug Net. I’d recommend the Lavaproof one, since it’s easier to obtain and doesn’t require you to do fishing quests. But if you have the Golden Bug Net just lying around, feel free to use it.
  • The Hotline Fishing hook, obtained from Angler Fishing Quests in Hardmode, also allows you to lava fish.
  • The Lavaproof Fishing Hook, or its upgrade, the Lavaproof Tackle Bag, allows for yo uto lava fish. It is, however, obtained from lava fishing, so you’ll need to get one of the two options above to get this acsessory.

  I’d recommend getting two of the three, as that increases the chance of getting items drastically. But I also recommend doing the fishing in Pre-Hardmode, as Corruption/Crimson and Hallow spread will be enabled in Hardmode. So I’d say to catch hellbait, and equip the Lavaproof Fishing Hook when you obtain it.

• Make sure to have a steady fishing power. The reinforced fishing pole or the Fisher of Souls/Fleshcatcher are good for the present. If you’re in the late-game, get something like the fiberglass fishing pole or the mechanic’s rod. Fishing/Crate Potions are also viable.

And congrats! You’ve got all the components to make the Shellphone! Now just head on over ot your Tinkerer’s workshop and make the item you’ve been working for in the past 36 trillion angler quests and underground mining sessions.

Now you’ve got the Shellphone, you can see:

• The time to the nearest minute
• Your exact location in the world
• How many enemies are nearby
• How many times you killed the latest mob
• Rare creatures nearby
• Damage Per Second
• Movement Speed
• Treasure nearby
• Weather and Wind Speed
• Fishing Power
• Moon Phase

And, you can also teleport to:

• The Spawn (where you first spawned in your world)
• Your Home (if you set your spawn point there with a bed)
• The Ocean
• The Underworld

Hopefully you liked this guide and found it helpful and instructive! Also if you want me to do one on the Zenith or Ankh Shield, just let me know!