Beating the Wall of Flesh removes one of the greater evils in Terraria, but doing so comes at a price. After the gnarly boss gets defeated, the game officially signals the start of Hardmode. At this point, you’ll find that your old weapons are no longer performing. That’s why we’ve created our list of the best Hardmode weapons in Terraria.
Once you’ve transitioned your world into Hardmode, you’ll be facing new enemies, bosses, and biomes to which your early-game weapons just can’t keep up. Be prepared to face your new foes with the best weapons that suit your playstyle.
Best Hardmode Weapons By Type
We have split the categories into:
We’ve categorized each weapon to scale progressively from the start of Hardmode up to the final boss of the game. Take note that while we value these weapons for their specific game phase, there are other weapons you can use that better suit how you play the game.
Best Hardmode Melee Weapons In Terraria
Hardmode Melee Weapons have evolved from the simplistic melee combat in pre-hardmode. They have now evolved into wider-ranged, crowd-control weapons that can whittle down foes at close quarters.
Flying Knife
Damage: 40
Knockback: 4.5
Crit Chance: 4%
The Flying Knife is a perfect example of how different melee weapons are once Hardmode kicks in. This weapon can be obtained as soon as Hardmode starts, so long as you can defeat a Hallowed Mimic.
This weapon will follow your cursor and attack enemies that it makes contact with. This attack lasts for as long as you hold the attack key or up to one minute of continuous use.
You can also create a deathtrap by using the knife in confined spaces which combats its erratic flight pattern, causing it to stay on target for longer.
Death Sickle
Damage: 57
Knockback: 5
Crit Chance: 4%
Once you’ve defeated a mechanical boss, you’ll have access to the Solar Eclipse event. Farming this event will net you a variety of powerful equipment, one of which is the Death Sickle.
This melee weapon strikes at a small arc in front of you while shooting a purple scythe projectile that flies through blocks. The projectile also lingers for a bit after reaching its maximum range. This makes it a semi-ranged weapon that’s versatile for both close and long-ranged combat.
The Death Sickle is also excellent for events like the Frost Moon and Old One’s Army due to the lingering projectile effect.
Terra Blade
Damage: 85 (25% projectile damage falloff per enemy pierced)
Knockback: 6.5
Crit Chance: 4%
Defeating the Golem will unlock a new mob in the previously mentioned Solar Eclipse event. This miniboss, called Mothron, will now drop a Broken Hero Sword. Combine this with the True versions of the Night’s Edge and the Excalibur and you’ll have yourself a wonderful Terra Blade.
The Terra Blade slashes in a wide arc, even reaching behind your back. The icing on the cake is the projectile that shoots out on each swing.
This powerful weapon allows you to fight safely from a distance while still maintaining the melee class’ tanky trait.
The Horseman’s Blade
Damage: 150
Knockback: 7.5
Crit Chance: 4%
The Horseman’s Blade is a unique sword that summons homing pumpkin projectiles on enemy contact. This sword can be farmed from the Pumpkin Moon event, specifically from the Pumpking boss that the end of the event.
This sword does massive damage when fighting a horde of enemies. The projectiles will continue to travel toward the middle of the screen when no enemies are around. This behavior makes it a viable weapon for AFK farming events while abusing mob statues to spawn the projectiles from a safe place.
While the sword sounds overpowered, it can be lacking when fighting faster opponents like Duke Fishron.
Zenith
Damage: 190
Knockback: 6.5
Crit Chance: 4%
Pierces infinitely
This weapon is only unlocked once you have defeated the Moon Lord and have obtained the Meowmere. The Zenith is a combination of multiple namesake blades, 10 to be exact, that you get throughout the game’s progression.
The Zenith has become the strongest weapon in ALL of Terraria due to its range and quick attack speed. It outperforms any weapon from any other class, even the mage’s Last Prism which used to hold the highest DPS.
At this point, however, there’s not much left to do in-game. The OP nature of the Zenith weapon is mostly bragging rights at its core.
Best Ranged Weapons in Hardmode
Ranged weapons have just been the basic “point and shoot.” This is up until a certain point in Hardmode. There are now new weapon types, such as rocket launchers and bows that rain arrows from the sky. Here are a few of the choice picks for the Ranged class.
Titanium and Adamantium Repeaters
Damage: Titanium – 43 / Adamantite – 42
Knockback: Titanium – 10.5 / Adamantite – 10
Crit Chance: 4%
Hardmode introduces 6 new ores, 3 of which are obtainable at a given playthrough. These are either Cobalt/Palladium, Mythril/Orichalcum, or Titanium/Adamantite. Once you’re set with the ore generation, you can then build yourself the Titanium or Adamantite Repeater.
While the Titanium version is better DPS-wise, it’s a negligible amount. This repeater would be your choice weapon until you get past the Mechanical bosses.
It’s a very basic bow-type weapon with a simple, yet fast, attack pattern. It’s enough to get things done at this point in the game.
Megashark
Damage: 25
Knockback: 1
Crit Chance: 4%
If you got lucky and defeated The Destroyer as your first Mechanical Boss, you’ll have some Souls of Might laying around. Take a few of these and add some Illegal Gun Parts from the Arms Dealer and you’ll have yourself a fine Megashark.
The Megashark is a direct upgrade to the Minishark from pre-hardmode. This minigun is a faster and more powerful gun that keeps its worth up until the Golem boss.
While the gun may seem like a plain weapon, the best part about it is using Hardmode’s new ammunition. These include the shattering Crystal Bullets and the homing Chlorophyte Bullets.
Piranha Gun
Damage: 25
Knockback: 1
Crit Chance: 4%
The Piranha Gun has existed in Terraria since version 1.2 which is found inside the Jungle Chests in the Dungeon. In the past, it was generally ignored due to its weak performance. It was then buffed in Version 1.4 where it can now do damage significantly.
The gun shoots three seeking mechanical piranhas (originally 1) that latch on your enemies. They do continuous damage over time so long as your attack button is held down or until the enemy dies. Version 1.4 has also increased the speed of the piranhas, making it effective on faster enemy types.
Snowman Cannon
Damage: 67
Knockback: 4
Crit Chance: 4%
The Snowman Cannon is a rocket launcher dropped by the Snow Queen during the Ice Moon event after Plantera is defeated. This is a unique launcher that does not do self-damage even if you fire it directly under you.
This launcher changes the appearance of any fired rockets while still keeping their effects. In battle, you can destroy clusters of enemies quickly with Cluster Rockets and Mini Nukes. Outside of battle, you can use it with Dry Rockets which can drain pools of liquid very efficiently.
This weapon carries on even after Moon Lord is defeated as it fires more accurately than the Celebration Mk2.
S.D.M.G.
Damage: 85
Knockback: 2.5
Crit Chance: 14%
The Space Dolphin Machine Gun, or S.D.M.G. for short, is a crossover weapon that comes from the 2D platformer, Edge of Space. It boasts the highest DPS among all fast-firing guns, even with the higher attack speed of the Chain Gun.
The S.D.M.G. synergizes well with various bullet types and has an innate 66% chance to not spend any ammo when firing. That said, the attack speed of the gun will still go through a stack of 9999 bullets fairly quickly.
It makes up for its lack of crowd control with bullets such as the Luminite bullets or the Crystal bullets.
Best Magic Weapons in Terraria Hardmode.
Magic-type weapons receive unique buffs in Hardmode. Some magic projectiles can now inflict debuffs or pierce enemy defense, which the pre-hardmode weapons cannot do.
Golden Shower
Damage: 30
Knockback: 4
Mana cost: 7
Crit Chance: 4%
Inflicts the Ichor debuff
Don’t be alarmed by the name of this weapon, it is extremely useful at all points in Hardmode. The Golden Shower is a unique magic weapon that can debuff enemies with Ichor.
The Ichor Debuff is effective against enemies with higher defense as it reduces the defense stat by a fixed amount. Although there are different sources for Ichor in the game, mages only have the Golden Shower as the main source for this debuff.
It pierces through enemies up to 4 times, making it useful for segmented bosses such as The Destroyer or in monster horde events which brings it to our list of the best Terraria hardmode weapons.
Spirit Flame
Damage: 85
Knockback: 5
Mana cost: 14
Crit Chance: 4%
The Spirit Flame is a relatively simplistic magic weapon that you can acquire at the start of Hardmode. Due to its basic crafting recipe, you can farm for it as soon as you get a Hardmode Sandstorm and a converted Evil Underground Desert.
This weapon has the advantage of also being cheap to reforge, allowing you to get the most power out of it without having to farm for coins. Couple that with the weapon’s homing projectiles that explode on impact, you’ll have yourself a powerful early Hardmode mage weapon.
Resonance Scepter
Damage: 70
Knockback: 5
Mana cost: 18
Crit Chance: 4%
The Resonance Scepter is the only weapon in the list that requires you to kill an NPC instead of enemies. To obtain this weapon, you would have to kill the Princess which drops it at a 30% chance.
Although that may sound easy, the Princess NPC will only spawn after all the other NPCs have moved into your world. This makes it only accessible after the Cyborg moves in after Plantera is defeated.
This weapon is fairly powerful as it generates a ripple at your cursor’s location that deals rapid damage to enemies it comes into contact with. The only caveat is that it needs line-of-sight to work.
Razorpine
Damage: 45
Knockback: 3.25
Mana cost: 5
Crit Chance: 4%
The Razorpine is one of the fastest-shooting magic weapons in the game. Its firing pattern allows you to deal large amounts of damage at a relatively low mana cost.
You can obtain this weapon by farming Everscreams during the Frost Moon event. The weapon fires a barrage of spikes that are capable of shredding single targets and groups. While the weapon is known for its high DPS capabilities, it is fairly inaccurate, keeping it well-balanced.
This, however, does not mean that it’s weak by any chance. If you have proper aiming skills, this weapon will do you wonders.
Last Prism
Damage: 100
Knockback: 0.25
Mana cost: 12
Crit Chance: 4%
The Last Prism is the pinnacle of all magic weapons in Terraria. It boasted the highest DPS among all weapons in the game, up until the Zenith was released.
This weapon is capable of dealing large amounts of damage so long as your mana is not empty. Firing the prism shoots out rays that slowly converge into a straight line. Once the beam is focused, it deals massive damage to anything it touches.
The only downside is that the weapon consumes massive amounts of mana, chugging up to 4 greater mana potions every second with a Mana Flower equipped.
Best Hardmode Summoning Weapons
Hardmode introduces a variety of new whips that make your summoner’s arsenal more versatile. The summoner tree is fairly simple as it doesn’t need too much fuss to work.
Blade Staff
Damage: 6
Knockback: 0
Mana cost: 10
Armor penetration: 25
The Blade Staff is a weapon dropped by the Queen Slime, which is an optional boss at the start of Hardmode. This weapon will be your bread and butter through most of Hardmode as it benefits greatly from the new whips available at this point in the game.
The staff summons Enchanted Daggers that aggressively track enemies for fast damage. It also has 25 armor penetration, making it effective against tanky bosses.
Although it suffers a -25% summon tag damage from whips, the armor penetration it has is enough to make up for the lost damage.
Durendal
Damage: 55
Knockback: 2
Summon tag damage: 9
Provides 25% attack speed buff for 3 seconds on hit
The Durendal is the first whip upgrade you can get after beating any Mechanical boss. It is crafted from Hallowed Bars on a Tier 2 Anvil and offers a huge damage boost at this point in the game.
If you’ve managed to get the Blade Staff, each minion that would originally do 6 damage will get a 6.75 summon tag bonus (75% of Durendal’s 9 summon tag damage). This enhances the power of the Blade Staff even more.
The whip also has decent damage on its own and gains a 25% attack speed buff that lasts for 3 seconds, refreshing every time a hit connects.
Morning Star
Damage: 165
Knockback: 11
Summon tag damage: 8
Provides 12% summon tag crit chance buff on hit
Hardmode whips have changed the summoner class since its introduction in version 1.4. The Morning Star not only added to the whip count, but it also made it possible for minions to do critical damage.
This whip is obtained from all variants of the Armored Bones in the Hardmode Damage after Plantera is defeated. While it gives a lower summon tag damage than the Durendal, it makes up for it with the critical chance it adds.
Up until version 1.4.4.9, it is still the only whip that gives minions the ability to do critical hits aside from the Kaleidoscope.
Kaleidoscope
Damage: 180
Knockback: 4
Summon tag damage: 20
Provides 10% summon tag crit chance buff on hit
The Kaleidoscope is an endgame whip that you can get from defeating the Empress of Light. It is the strongest whip in the game with a base damage of 185 (Zenith has 190).
This whip can easily outperform the other Hardmode whips with its summon tag damage alone. The Kaleidoscope boasts a whopping 20 summon tag damage, more than double the next highest, Durendal, at 9 summon tag damage.
This whip also allows your minions to do critical hits, like the previous item on our list. This makes even the simple Blade Staff a powerful weapon with the amount of extra damage you can get from it
Terraprisma
Damage: 90
Knockback: 4
Mana cost: 10
The Terraprisma is arguably the most difficult item to get in the entire game (as of version 1.4.4.9). To obtain this weapon, you need to complete the Empress of Light boss fight during the Day.
For those who are unaware, the Empress of Light enters an enraged mode during the day. This makes all of her attacks kill you in one hit, making the entire fight extremely difficult.
The Terraprisma is a trophy awarded to those who persevere through this challenge. It is the most powerful summon weapon in the game.
Conclusion
To some Terraria players, the fun begins after pre-hardmode. That said, some of you may have difficulties finding the best weapon among the 500+ that the game has to offer. We have narrowed down the best Hardmode weapons in Terraria to help new players with their first step toward the second half of the game. Let us know if there are other weapons you think fit our list. Cheers!
