Resolved NPCs not spawning, despite meeting requirements

[MaXim3ow]

Finally started playing this game for the first time a week ago! Trying to avoid reading too much about it in my first play-through, and would like to learn most things by simply playing the game (trial/error).

However, I am having a terrible time trying to get more of these NPCs to spawn. (So far only have Guide and Merchant)
I have max hp, max mana, have defeated bosses, and have bombs in my inventory. Yet nobody else has shown up, and its been 20+ hours of gameplay. (and no, there is no goblin invasion happening)

Do I need to build them a house FIRST? It's the only thing I can think of, yet nowhere I've read suggests needing to do this.
I haven't tried yet, since a new player wouldn't randomly build a house without an NPC there asking for one.

 

[EDUYTOFICIAL]

Bom Pode, Se tratado como Bug ou apenas erro na construção sendo assim Nenhum NPC pode se Hospedar "Construa uma Casa Com 8 de largura tamanho 6! E logo em Seguida coloque uma porta e depois uma mesa e uma cadeira! Por último lugar uma iluminação "tocha" E parede de fundo para quê assim fazer com quê o NPC Use como Casa !!.

 

[Sora_92]

if you have no empty houses, they can't move in.
my other suggestion would been, if the time is frozen, or spawns set to zero or something in journey mode, but
if you have no houses for them, that's most likely the reason why they did not moved in. because they can't without empty houses.

that doesn't means you can't relocate them later, but you need some sort of houses where they can move in. after it, you can relocate them elsewhere via setting up their flags in the house/room you want them to be.

the guide maybe says it though that NPCs need houses. dunno though if he says it or explains it much though. as a rule of thumb I guess, the wiki is your friend.

 

[MaXim3ow]

Yes thank you! I started building a nicer shop for my merchant to the left of my main building, a couple days later, the Nurse finally showed up (moving into MY house).
I must have missed the guide's tip about needing an empty building first.
The NPC page on the wiki doesn't mention anything about needing an empty house. Once you go to their individual pages, it does.

 

[Sora_92]

that's good.

there's also NPC happiness now, and given the ridicolously small neighbor detect range of NPCs, it can be useful (if you want the happiness bonuses) to build houses with 2-3 or so rooms, and move in NPCs who like each others.

many of these aren't mutual like though, like, the merchant loves the nurse and the golfer, because they're rich, but the nurse doesn't cares about the merchant, and the golfer dislikes him, because of his greediness. However having them all (but no more NPCs super close, to not make them consider the place overcrowded) close by makes the merchant very happy, and he'll offer better prices, and, he'll also have the pylon of the biome for sale.

If you would do it just for acquiring the pylons, you can just move NPCs elsewhere afterwards, if you don't like them living in the same house.

 

[Mental Mouse]

Some of the NPCs also need you to carry a token of their profession: 50 silver for the Merchant, guns or ammo for the Arms Dealer, any explosive for the Demolitionist, any dye plant for the Dye Trader. The important thing there is that if they happen to die, you need to do that again for them to respawn! Other NPCs have game-progression tests (health, bosses beaten, or # of NPCs already present, etc.), but those don't go backwards (except maybe the NPC count NPCs, if you let a bunch get slaughtered). Some NPCs need to be rescued the first time, but those will stay rescued, and respawn in their houses.

For happiness, the key factors are the Biome ("Caverns" is anywhere below surface level and not also another biome), the other NPCs within 25 tiles ("neighbors") and the NPCs further than that but within 120 tiles ("nearby"). Distance is counted from their housing flags. For the neighbors only, it matters who likes/loves/dislikes/hates whom. But there's also a happiness penalty for any NPC with more than two neighbors, or for more than three other NPCs nearby. I like to do clusters in each biome with three to five "houses"/bedrooms together (or two groups of 2-3 in "nearby" range), with some staying empty for new arrivals and to make rearrangements easier. You can get fancy to really optimize things, or you can just go for "good enough", remembering who you actually do most business with. (The poor Guide does tend to get shafted....)

For example, The Goblin Tinkerer and Mechanic love each other, while the Demolitionist likes the Mechanic but dislikes the Goblin Tinkerer. The Tinkerer and Demolitionist both like Caverns, but the Mechanic dislikes them -- she likes Snow. Now, you can get fancy about arranging them to separate the guys, or to put the Mechanic in a Snow cavern while the others are in plain underground. Or, like me, you can stuff the three together underground. BoomDwarf can console himself with his favored biome while his neighbors come out even. If I need to make a big buy from the Mechanic I can move her to the Snow Biome for a while (probably should have done that for the Grand Design parts, but whatever). But the one I'm going to be doing most business with is the Goblin Tinkerer (yep, this affects reforge prices), and with his girlfriend and his favorite place he's happy as a clam! (The Goblin and the Mechanic don't actually care about the Demolitionist.)

 

[Sora_92]

@Mental Mouse
generally agree. side note: you can build a tavern in the underground town and have the tavernkeep there and the demolitionist nearby. he sure loves his ale, so he'll be super happy too, and so will the tavernkeep for having a regular customer. it doesn't really matters he likes the hallow, especially pre-hardmode when that biome isn't even present.

but really, there are tons of possible variations who to assign where. and it's practically impossible to make everyone happy, so, one of the best ways is usually to pick your favorite NPCs and build and assign neithbors according to, how to make that NPCs super happy.

 

[Mental Mouse]

Yeah, I'm still pre-Hardmode, so a certain number of my NPCs are placed for holding down a pylon, rather than for their happiness.