Sometimes, all you need are the best modifiers in Terraria for your equipment to succeed. If you need that extra push, the stats that come from modifiers on your weapons and accessories might just be what you need. Here are all the best modifiers per category in the game to make getting the best gear easier for you.
Best Modifiers in Terraria for all Equipment
| Best for Melee | Legendary / Godly |
| Best for Mage | Mythical / Demonic |
| Best for Ranged | Unreal / Demonic |
| Best for Minions and Sentries | Ruthless |
There are a total of 64 unique modifiers for weapons and 19 for accessories you can get on all your equipment, but not all are beneficial. I’ve created this list of the best modifiers in Terraria to help you and new players find the optimal choices you need without having to second guess yourself.
We’re listing down everything from “best in class” to “best in slot” modifiers that will fit all playstyles. Let’s get right to it!
Quick
- Increases Movement Speed by 4%
- Priority – 0 out of 7 accessory slots
The Quick modifier is the best possible modifier for movement speed in the game. This can apply to any accessory and can stack up to 24% (Classic) / 28% (Expert) at 4% per accessory. Sometimes, you just need an extra boost in movement speed to combat faster enemies or for exploration.
This is considered a niche item but it can pair well with the Hermes Boots accessory line. Movement speed is good to have, but it’s almost always not a priority to get. You’re better off using different modifiers since you can always boost yourself with Wings, Asphalt Blocks, and Mounts.
Arcane
- Increases mana by 20
- Priority – 0 out of 7 accessory slots
The Arcane Modifier is a standalone modifier in the Mana tier and offers a very basic stat increase. While it may seem like it’s a “must-have” for spellcasters, this modifier does not offer much due to the nature of items like the Mana Flower accessory line.
There are other options to increase mana efficiency and the Arcane modifier is not one of them. This option is not chosen by many players, many other modifiers are more valuable in its place. Even weapons like the Mana Prism will value the Mana Flower more than the Arcane modifier.
Lucky
- Increases critical strike chance by 4%
- Priority – 3 out of 7 accessory slots
The Lucky modifier is one of our first recommended accessory modifiers since a critical hit does almost 2x the weapon damage, so long as the weapon can crit. This can be used with a wide array of weapons except for Summoner minions. This stacks with items that already give increased critical strike chance like the Eye of Golem accessory.
There are many ways to maximize critical strike chance with the Lucky modifier, making it viable for 3 out of 4 Terraria classes. The only way Summoners can get a critical strike chance is with the use of the Morning Star and Kaleidoscope whips.
Violent
- Increases melee speed by 4%
- Priority – 5 out of 7 accessory slots
The Violent modifier, although excellent, is an accessory modifier that only applies to melee weapons. Unless you focus on the Melee class, there is no real use for it in other loadouts. That said, the bonus it applies can increase the DPS of some weapon types, especially those with slow attack speeds.
This particular modifier is great for weapons like the updated Terra Blade since every swing releases a projectile. The effect of an extra hit can sometimes be better than extra damage, which our next modifier specializes in. So without further ado, let’s get to the next item.
Menacing
- Increases damage by 4%
- Priority – 7 out of 7 accessory slots
The Menacing modifier is an accessory modifier that increases all damage done by 4%. This modifier is so widely used that it has its own cult following in the Terraria community. It offers a total of 28% damage increase in Expert mode, making it almost as effective as two extra Class Emblems.
Knowing the pains of building a good loadout, the value of 2 extra Damage accessories is enough to justify getting this on all your accessories. Most Terraria players will also suggest that this is the best modifier in Terraria with the only viable substitution being Warding.
Warding
- Increases defense by 4
- Priority – 7 out of 7 accessory slots
The Warding modifier is the other half that tears the Terraria modifier community apart. While some players will opt to do more damage, there are many, like myself, who prioritize defense. This modifier, paired with the best defensive melee loadout can get you up to 208 defense in Master mode.
While 4 defense does not seem much, stacking all your slots to Warding can get you an extra 28 defense in Expert, making it very welcome in most defensive loadouts. Unless you’re confident in dodging all enemy attacks, Warding is the way to go.
Godly
- Damage – 15%
- Critical Strike Chance – 5%
- Knockback – 15%
- Best for Melee (for items that can’t get Legendary)
The Godly modifier is a universal weapon modifier but is mostly used for Melee weapons that cannot get Legendary (e.g. Yoyos). This offers a large boost of stats that helps with keeping enemies at bay, especially with the extra knockback it provides.
It also pairs well with the Lucky and Menacing modifiers due to having innate damage and critical strike chance. This modifier can apply to most weapons except for summoning items, throwing items, bows, and some guns. This is the best modifier in Terraria for weapons such as flails, yoyos, and spears, which can’t get Melee-specific modifiers.
Legendary
- Damage – 15%
- Speed – 10%
- Critical Strike Chance – 5%
- Weapon Size – 10%
- Knockback – 15%
- Best for Melee weapons that can get it
The Legendary modifier is the best modifier in Terraria for a majority of Melee weapons. This modifier can apply to all melee weapons except spears, flails, and yoyos. The Copper Axe and Wooden Hammer are exceptions to this rule since they cannot receive any damage-boosting modifiers in the first place.
Although most yoyos can’t get this, the Terrarian yoyo has its unique version of the Legendary modifier that gives 17% damage, 8% critical strike chance, and 17% knockback instead. The amount of stats that this modifier gives makes it a valuable addition to melee loadouts.
Unreal
- Damage – 15%
- Speed – 10%
- Critical Strike Chance – 5%
- Bullet/Arrow Velocity – 10%
- Knockback – 15%
- Best for Ranged weapons
The Unreal modifier is the Ranged version of the Legendary modifier. It offers the same stats, with the exception of weapon size being swapped with bullet and arrow velocity. This modifier can make or break the functionality of some weapons, as some of them may require lesser knockback, in which the Ruthless modifier will be the better choice.
Overall, most of your ranged weapons will benefit from having this modifier. This modifier can apply to most bows, guns, rocket launchers, and other ranged weapons. Pseudo-ranged weapons like the Light Disc cannot get this as it’s a Melee boomerang rather than a Ranged weapon.
Mythical
- Damage – 15%
- Critical Strike Chance – 5%
- Best for Magic / Summoning that benefits from Knockback
The Mythical modifier is the best modifier in Terraria for Mage and Summoner weapons that can receive it. This means that the weapon should be able to take Mana Cost and Knockback modifiers or else the modifier will not appear. In detail, a weapon should have more than 3 mana cost and not have 0 knockback.
A great example of magic and summon weapons that can’t get this modifier would be the Nimbus Rod and Stardust Dragon Staff. The Rod will benefit better from Demonic or Deadly while the Dragon Staff will benefit more from Ruthless.
Demonic
- Damage – 15%
- Critical Strike Chance – 5%
- Best for Melee / Magic / Ranged that can’t get Legendary / Mythical / Unreal that need Knockback
The Demonic modifier is a rare backup for any Melee and Magic items that cannot get the best-in-slot for their weapon type due to balance restrictions. A perfect example of this would be the Light Disc, as mentioned earlier. As stated in the wiki, the best modifier for this would be Godly and Demonic, depending on your knockback needs.
Another weapon that uses this modifier due to balance restrictions would be the Wand of Frosting since it cannot receive any modifiers that affect knockback and mana cost. While the use of this modifier is niche, there are quite a number of effective weapons that can use only this.
Ruthless
- Damage – 18%
- Knockback – negative 10%
- Best for Minions and Sentries that don’t benefit from knockback
The Ruthless modifier is the highest damage option for all universal modifiers. While it may seem tempting to use Mythical for most magic weapons, the other stats will only affect the initial use of the weapon and not the successive uses for adding minions.
This is why the high damage boost and lack of anything else make it the best modifier for both Minion and Sentry weapon types while the Whips still need the Legendary modifier.
If you have any favorite modifiers that you wish were on this list, let us know in the comments below! Need to find the best mount for all your movement needs? Check our best mounts recommendations here.
