Do Demon Altars Spread Corruption?

The answer to the question Do demon altars spread corruption? is no, destroying demon altars does not directly spread corruption in Terraria, as of version 1.4.4, and instead, has a 2/3 chance of converting a random Stone Block in the Cavern layer to Ebonstone, Crimstone, or Pearlstone, which can facilitate the spread of Underground Hallow or Corruption/Crimson. The spread of corruption is influenced by various factors, including the presence of corruptible tiles within a 4-tile range from any corrupted elements, and can be prevented or slowed down using methods such as digging a 3-tile wide trench lined with non-corruptible tiles like wood or using the Clentaminator to purify corrupted blocks in Hardmode.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

1. What spreads corruption in Terraria?: Corruption can be created or spread artificially using Corrupt Seeds, Unholy Water, or the Clentaminator with Purple Solution, and can also be influenced by the presence of corruptible tiles and the destruction of demon altars.
2. Does breaking shadow orbs spread corruption?: No, destroying shadow orbs does little to stop the spread of corruption, which can spread as long as there are corruptible tiles within a 4-tile range from any corrupted elements.
3. Does killing Plantera stop the corruption?: Defeating Plantera for the first time reduces the speed of the corruption’s spread by 1/2 (50%), but does not completely stop it.

Demon Altars and Corruption

4. Do demon altars count towards corruption?: No, destroying demon altars does not directly contribute to the spread of corruption, but can facilitate the spread of Underground Hallow or Corruption/Crimson.
5. Should you break demon altars?: It is wise to destroy only a few altars because the ore spawning is less effective, and it may be wise to always keep at least one altar in any given world to retain the crafting abilities.
6. How many demon altars should I break in Terraria?: Six is normally best for maximum amount of ore balanced against random infection, but breaking more than 3 altars can reduce the amount of ore that spawns.

Corruption Prevention and Removal

7. What is the easiest way to get rid of corruption in Terraria?: Stopping corruption in Terraria can be achieved by using the Clentaminator to purify corrupted blocks in Hardmode, or by planting Hallowed Seeds around affected areas to slow the spread aboveground.
8. How do you permanently stop corruption from spreading in Terraria?: To prevent the spread of corruption, you can dig a 3-tile wide trench on the edge of biomes lined with non-corruptible tiles like wood, or use the Clentaminator to purify corrupted blocks in Hardmode.
9. Do sunflowers stop corruption?: Sunflowers provide the function of preventing the two tiles directly underneath them from becoming corrupted, and can decrease an area’s total corruption rating by 5 tiles.

Crimson and Corruption

10. What spreads faster, corruption or crimson?: All three grass variants (corrupt, crimson, and hallowed) spread in an equal manner, but hallowed grass has the ability to overtake crimson grass.
11. Can you get 0% crimson?: Yes, it is possible to achieve 0% crimson by using the Clentaminator to clear crimson chasms easily, and by blowing up crimson biomes with explosives like Celebration MK2.
12. Is crimson better than corruption?: It’s a matter of opinion, as both crimson and corruption have their unique items and benefits, such as crimson armor giving health regen and corruption armor giving melee speed boost.

Miscellaneous

13. Is gray brick corruptible in Terraria?: No, gray brick is resistant to the spread of corruption, crimson, and hallow, making it a useful material for construction.
14. What happens if you destroy all demon altars?: If you destroy all demon altars, you won’t be able to craft items that require crimson altars anymore, but you can always load into another world to craft those items.
15. Can you take a crimson altar?: No, you cannot mine crimson altars as they are natural structures, but you can use the Pwnhammer to destroy them and spawn new ores.