what they are actually for
These only hurt players. Enemies, critters and town NPCs stroll over them untouched, so lining a base with the spikes you pried out of the Temple achieves nothing except injuring you and anyone visiting your server. In PvP they are a genuine hazard, and that is the only place they earn a slot.
getting past them
- Any pickaxe or drill removes them, unlike the bricks they sit in, so you can clear a spiked corridor long before you own a Picksaw.
- Dangersense paints them bright red, which is the fastest way to spot a floor that is about to bleed you.
- Any part of your body touching one counts, so clipping the top corner mid jump still sets it off.
- For the Worthy worlds make them explosion proof, so bring a pickaxe.
The damage is the same in every world difficulty while your defense is worth more on the harder ones, so a spike floor is actually less punishing in Master than in Classic.