A Terraria world has one difficulty: Classic, Expert, Master or Journey. You choose it when the world is made. You cannot change it afterwards. To play a different mode, make a new world.
The four modes
- Classic. The normal game. It is the default for a new server.
- Expert. A much harder game. Enemies and bosses behave differently, drops are better, and some items only exist here.
- Master. Harder again. Everything from Expert applies, and it adds a few items of its own.
- Journey. The creative mode. Players can copy items and change the time, the weather and the enemy difficulty while they play. See Journey mode on a server.
Choose it for a new world
- Open the World page.
- In the New world card, type a Name that is not used yet.
- Pick a Size.
- Open Difficulty and choose Classic, Expert, Master or Journey.
- Choose Make this world.
- Name
- Open to pick a mode
- Make this world
Open Difficulty (2) to see the four modes. The server makes the world at its next start, and then plays it. A large world takes a minute or two. If the server is running, restart it. Your other worlds stay on the server.
The page also shows Seed and World evil. See the Terraria Seed field. More about making worlds: make a new Terraria world.
On the Startup page
The same choice is the Difficulty variable on the Startup page. It takes a number: 0 is Classic, 1 is Expert, 2 is Master, 3 is Journey. It is described as “For a new world”.
It has no effect on a world that already exists. The server plays the world named in the World variable. If that name is already a world on the server, the server plays that world and keeps its mode. Only a name not used yet makes a new world, with the Difficulty you set.
See what mode a world has
Each world on the World page shows its mode as Classic, Expert, Master or Journey, next to its size and whether it is in Hardmode. Choose Play this world to switch the server to another world at its next start.
Journey needs Journey characters
In the game, a Journey world only accepts Journey characters, and a Journey character only plays in Journey worlds. Tell your players before you make one, so they bring a Journey character.
If it does not work
- The new world has the wrong mode. The name was already a world on the server, so the server played that one. Pick a name that is not used. You can also delete the old world on the World page first.
- You want a harder mode on an existing world. It is not possible. Make a new world in the mode you want. The old one stays until you delete it.
- Nothing was made. The world is made at the next start. Restart the server.
More about the game: Terraria servers.
Sources: terraria.wiki.gg: Difficulty, terraria.wiki.gg: Classic Mode, terraria.wiki.gg: Expert Mode, terraria.wiki.gg: Master Mode, terraria.wiki.gg: Journey Mode, terraria.wiki.gg: Server