The best swords in Terraria have become even better due to the changes added in 1.4.4. This Terraria update has greatly buffed a great amount of swords in the game. This has completely changed how the melee class is played entirely.
If you’re finding it hard to find the best swords now that the new changes have been applied, this list is just for you! We’ve created our list of the best swords you’ll ever need in the game ranked progressively. These weapons are sorted by when you’ll find them useful in the game.
Best Swords in Terraria by Progression
We’ve compiled a list of our 8 best picks for swords in the game. These are swords that you’ll get all the way from the start of the game up until the Moon Lord is defeated. These weapons are a mix of true melee swords (e.g. blade needs to hit) and projectile swords (e.g. swords that shoot beams or projectiles.
Find the best weapon to use at all phases of the game in this list! Here we go!
Blade of Grass
- Damage – 18
- Knockback – 4.5 (Average)
- Critical chance – 4%
- Summons poisoning projectiles on hit
The Blade of Grass is a pre-Hardmode broadsword that you can get as soon as you can survive in the Underground Jungle. You can get this sword very early so long as you can get an excellent weapon to fight hornets and maneaters. The other ingredient is the jungle spores that spawn all around the biome.
Once you get this sword, you’ll be able to complete most of the earliest bosses due to the considerable swing arc and the poison projectile that this weapon fires out. This weapon is also part of a combination that you’ll use late pre-Hardmode up to early Hardmode.
Bee Keeper
- Damage – 30
- Knockback – 5.3 (Average)
- Critical chance – 4%
- Summons 1-3 bees per hit that deal 33% weapon damage
The Bee Keeper is a drop from the Queen Bee boss that you fight after breaking a larva in one of the Bee Hive biomes in the Underground Jungle. This sword is a viable weapon to fight the Wall of Flesh due to the bee projectiles keeping off the Hungry that the boss spawns.
This weapon is great for crowd control and for fighting the earlier Old One’s army due to the strength of the bees. Use this together with the Hive Pack for extra bee damage. You should always have a copy of this sword available for crafting later on.
Night’s Edge
- Damage – 40
- Knockback – 4.5 (Average)
- Critical chance – 4%
- Fires an extra half-circle arc in front of you on hit
The Night’s Edge is the best sword in Terraroa for pre-Hardmode. This is a combination of the Light’s Bane, Blade of Grass, Muramasa, and Volcano. This is the best pre-Hardmode sword and is very decent up until some parts of Hardmode.
This weapon is capable of easily destroying any bosses in your way and can still help you fight the Mech Bosses after Hardmode begins. The arc that this weapon fires makes it a viable event-farming weapon as well. As we’ve mentioned for other weapons, this is also part of a better upgrade, so you’ll want to always keep at least one around in your storage.
Frostbrand
- Damage – 49
- Knockback – 4.5 (Average)
- Critical chance – 4%
- Fires an ice bolt with a 0.5-second cooldown
The Frostbrand is a projectile sword weapon that you can get at the earliest part of Hardmode. This weapon is obtained by defeating an Ice Mimic in the underground Ice biome. While it only offers a small upgrade to the Night’s Edge, it makes up for it with the increased range.
This weapon is more suited for mid to long-ranged combat as you’ll be mostly relying on the projectile for consistent damage. The projectile fired will also apply a Frostbite debuff for an extra boost to your DPS. This sword can even outperform some post-Mech Boss weapons such as the Excalibur.
Terra Blade
- Damage – 85
- Knockback – 6.5 (Strong)
- Critical chance – 4%
- Fires a long-ranged arc projectile per swing
The Terra Blade is one of the most iconic melee swords since the weapon was introduced in version 1.2. The weapon also has recently been buffed in the recent 1.4 update as we have previously mentioned which made it a more viable weapon to use even until the Moon Lord fight.
The weapon boasts excellent crowd control and can be used very well for invasions, army fights, and boss fights collectively. As a bonus, the projectiles that this weapon fires also get the effect of any applied flasks to your weapon.
Starlight
- Damage – 80
- Knockback – 4 (Weak)
- Critical chance – 14%
The Starlight is a late-Hardmode weapon that you can get from defeating the Empress of Light. This weapon is one of the few projectile-only swords in the game since the rapid shortsword animation does not directly deal damage. This is a fast-firing sword that deals damage through critical strikes.
This weapon is the best sword in Terraria for crowd control and can decimate large waves of enemies with ease. That said, it might be a bit difficult to use if you’re planning to fight the Moon Lord with it due to its range. Unlike other projectile weapons, this sword is limited to reach just shy of the edge of the screen on a 1080p resolution.
Flying Dragon
- Damage – 180 (Melee)
- Knockback – 5.5 (Average)
- Critical chance – 4%
The Flying Dragon is a projectile sword that you can get from beating Betsy as the final boss of the Old One’s Army event. This weapon might be your best choice for fighting the final boss of the game due to the versatility of its blade and projectiles.
Unlike the Starlight, it has enough range to hit Moon Lord even from off-screen. It’s your best choice for fighting off large amounts of monsters as well since the beam from this weapon pierces up to four enemies. It is a very late-game sword that will immediately be outclassed after Moon Lord is defeated.
Zenith (a.k.a. the best Terraria sword)
- Damage – 190
- Knockback – 6.5 (Strong)
- Critical chance – 14%
The Zenith is the best sword in Terraria. This sword is achieved by combining swords from all parts of the game to produce the ultimate weapon. This is purely a projectile weapon that throws all the swords in the game towards your cursor.
While this sword is achieved after the final boss, you can still use it well if you’re using mods that have post-Moon Lord content. That said, owning this sword in vanilla Terraria is purely for bragging rights since there’s not much content for this to be useful. Overall, this is the best weapon for all of Terraria.
Conclusion
The melee class is already a very powerful class, and the best swords in Terraria make them even better. These swords are not the only melee weapons you should be using, but this list is great if you’re planning to play a swords-only playthrough. While we do recommend these weapons, these are not always the best items depending on your playstyle.
If you feel like there should be a sword in this list that we failed to include, feel free to recommend it in the comments below!
Need help finding the best equipment for the Melee Class? Click here for loadouts and here for accessory recommendations!
