---
title: "Changing The Difficulty Of Your Terraria Server"
description: "information on how to change the difficulty of your Terraria Server"
url: https://help.chiphead.tech/en/articles/168-changing-the-difficulty-of-your-terraria-server
collection: "Terraria"
updated: 2026-06-13
language: en
---

# Changing The Difficulty Of Your Terraria Server

information on how to change the difficulty of your Terraria Server

## Summary

Terraria servers offer four difficulty modes to choose from: Journey, Classic, Expert, and Master. These determine how challenging the game world is.

> **Info:** Keep in mind that world difficulty is **separate from your character’s difficulty**.

## Difficulty Overview

-   **Journey**: The most relaxed, creative-style mode. Players start with upgraded tools, wings, and can duplicate items. Journey mode allows you to adjust time, weather, spawn rates, and even infection spread. Only Journey characters can join Journey worlds.
    
-   **Classic**: The standard Terraria experience and the default difficulty used as a baseline for all others.
    
-   **Expert**: Enemies are tougher, with double health and damage. Players gain extra loot from enemies, an additional accessory slot, and exclusive expert-tier items. Players drop 75% of their coins on death and regenerate health more slowly.
    
-   **Master**: The most challenging difficulty available. Enemies have 250% health and deal 250% damage. Players gain two extra accessory slots but drop all coins upon death. Master worlds include all Expert rewards plus exclusive fiery red rarity items.
    

## Changing the Difficulty for a New World

1.  Log in to your Control Panel and stop the server.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/fCZLwyeKMGoOheB1trmF6jZHkz68pCvldvgZawSLMlGq9pSOvpa64bAp11dFSOikHvuc4mFoKsK.png)
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/attachments/20260613152633_4801.webp)
    
2.  Navigate to **Startup**.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/attachments/20260613152649_9020.png)
    
3.  Find the Difficulty field and use the dropdown to select the difficulty level; 0(normal), 1(expert), 2(master), 3(journey).
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/plC9Zbn9xTEhosrOvuy36zT2DGxV6YiImHCwSL03KnVFW06LOrEG5hJSP8ZuKwsXSFWrwigrh4i.png)
    
    > **Info:** Once the desired difficulty is selected, the changes will automatically save to your server.
    
4.  Start/restart your server.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/attachments/20260613152715_0852.webp)
    

> **Success:** Once restarted, create a new world to apply the new difficulty level.

## Changing the Difficulty for an Existing World

If you want to modify an existing world’s difficulty, you’ll need to use the external world editor TEdit.

1.  Log in to your Control Panel and stop the server.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/fNIMccn2aMIbioNTWewVNvWdAqGFDIa9RVgbQUHzRFsdzKNL7vRrKhy4tGQ1lVgcXtytGeEJhax.png)
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/attachments/20260613152731_2711.webp)
    
2.  Create a backup of your world to keep your current data safe.
    
    > **Info:** See guide on: how to Backup your ChipHead Server
    
3.  Download your world file to your computer.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/eDSH7VwzBNxeYpin7X2KuWIDi76NRhmaVOHTo1sujOKKspVxp1gh9SEX3foVpfmygBzao1Knpm0.png)
    
    > **Warning:** Your Worldfile is located here: Home/Container/Saves/World
    
4.  Download TEdit from [https://github.com/TEdit/Terraria-Map-Editor/releases/](https://github.com/TEdit/Terraria-Map-Editor/releases/) and unzip the downloaded files. Open the TEdit folder and launch TEdit.exe.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/C5xsm0spOctAoESeTTLz0Vstmxev1t0HZDD5oGpKKl2djPA2qQ185hZogl3x4mp385Z9NKcRiLC.png)
    
5.  In TEdit, go to **File** \> **Open** and select your world file (.wld).
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/fN9d5BsnoqdETqrh6sdX5BxUb2mWAEJBodwvT7Tqr7zDmWiFP0Uf220oJIRBrFSoXgv7GJYgxQC.png)
    
6.  On the right-hand panel, select **World Properties**.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/isTncCHHHGUGigIcUP2sxjX8UNnxP1czL3wr5CyDkrYDen997twtZIw1Hk1RwM1tjxELCQaX1Fs.png)
    
7.  Scroll down to Game Mode and change it to your preferred difficulty.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/iya9dtHBnhnIoNuv1YQV9Rqsv979z7YRYLIEwnM1RLslBngC6MvpFbq6B3lcXMAiuRqDa8DAMfv.png)
    
8.  Save your changes by going to **File** \> **Save**.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/TKjumHAVW6xgxSf7EwGMm123qe8Mj6n8PJ0oSaHOwT9yeXb2pIPYNtwFHXM5jymeuF5G1FeoeJn.png)
    
9.  Stop your ChipHead Server.
    
    ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/attachments/20260613152828_4498.webp)
    
10.  Upload the edited world file back to your server. Ensure the file name is the same so it will over-write the existing file.
     
     ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/7W0nKfQQnM4CmQugeq3Ed4Oztx91rCYQRi9TIHnJWzgALUxOCn1VkWTAoQSkXELBbtPsaiaEfKp.png)
     
11.  Start your server and jump into your new world.
     
     ![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/attachments/20260613152857_6267.webp)
     

> **Success:** Your world’s difficulty is now updated.