terraria - what is the right way to use a water candle? - Arqade
terraria - Is it a bad idea to have a water candle in my house? - Arqade
PSA: It turns out that Water Candles no longer stack in 1.3.
I was today years old when I found out water candles are craftable.
Videos
the wiki says it should let me craft them with a sink
According to Terraria's official wiki page on Water Candles:
Holding a Water Candle in your hand will increase the monster spawn probability to 133% and the maximum number of monsters to 150%.
They produce light like a regular torch or candle would. If you have them on tables as props, they produce some lovely spooky lighting. However, they don't increase the spawn rate like this.
To increase the spawn rate with a water candle, hold it in your hand. It can't just be in the top row of your inventory - it must be the currently active and held item.
Keep a weapon handy so that you can swap back and forth between your water candle and weapon as necessary. You can't hold both at the same time, but you can at least run around luring enemies out with your water candle, attack them all, then return to luring enemies out.
Water candles placed in the world and those actively held in your hand increase the spawn rate and maximum number of enemies. As of 1.3.0.1 these effects do not stack, and a maximum of one candle will count at a time.
For versions before 1.3 see the old answer below.
According to the disassembled code (1.2.0.3.1), placed water candles also affect spawnrate and max spawns. This effect is separate from holding the candle in your hand and will stack with it. A single placed water candle is enough and only one matters.
NPC.spawnRate = (int)((double)NPC.spawnRate * 0.75); // Spawns happen 33% more often, spawn interval multiplied by 0.75
NPC.maxSpawns = (int)((float)NPC.maxSpawns * 1.5f); // Spawn limit increased by 50%, multiplied by 1.5
Both effects are the same and when stacked (holding a candle and placed a candle) spawnrate is increased by 78% and maximum spawned enemies is increased by 125%.
Yes. Water Candles increase the monster spawn rate by 33% and increase the maximum number of spawned monsters by 50% when it's placed near you, or you're actively holding it. Merely having it in your inventory doesn't do anything.
The Water Candle was broken before the 1.0.4 update, though; its effect was instead attributed to the Band of Regeneration. This is no longer the case.
If there are enough NPCs in your base, having a water candle in it is actually a good idea. NPCs prevent enemies from spawning, so the water candle will increase the spawn rate of critters such as fireflies, Butterflies, Squirrels, and Rabbits.
The only time it is a bad idea to have a water candle in your base is during Blood Moons and Solar Eclipses, where it actually will affect the spawn rate of enemies. It does not affect the Pumpkin Moon, Frost Moon, Pirate Invasion, or Goblin Invasion spawn rates. I would note, though, that once you have good enough gear, it might be advantageous to have higher spawn rates during these events to increase the chances of getting a drop or to get more money.
A short while ago, I was following a forum discussion about shark spawn rates, and someone mentioned that maybe Water Candles didn't work when in water (they do but they don't render). I decided to look into this to confirm this and found something entirely different -- the spawn rate calculation for a held Water Candle and being near a placed Water Candle were combined into a single instance, effectively nullifying the stacking effect.
My comparative analysis here. Please don't shoot the messenger.
I didn't know that they increased mob spawn rates.
I found two.
I placed them both in my house.
Bloodmoon hit.
In my panic of fighting different beasties away from my npcs, i blow up a door...
Pan to a 6'3 combat veteran frantically clicking and screaming like an 8 year old girl as he fights for his Terraria life
Good times.
EDIT: HOLY CRAP so many upvotes! Thank you!
EDIT 2: Doing a charity stream. www.twitch.tv/ackland_
Read more about it on my post https://www.reddit.com/r/Terraria/comments/5yb9f8/charity_stream_every_death_is_1_to_the_total/