There are only a few choices for the best weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord. People might think that the Zenith rules all, but you can’t craft it until this final boss is defeated. This is why I’ve created this list of the most useful weapons I have used for Terraria’s final boss fight. If you’re stuck on which weapon to use, this list is just for you!
Best Weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord
| Best for Melee | Daybreak |
| Best for Mage | Razorblade Typhoon |
| Best for Ranged | Vortex Beater |
| Best for Summoner | Terraprisma |
There are only a handful of weapons that are powerful enough to deal damage to the Moon Lord without making you look like a fool. These are all weapons that you can get after Plantera, Golem, or the Lunatic Cultist are defeated. Some of these weapons can obtained way earlier, but some of them require you to be just a step before this tentacled anomaly.
We’ve included the best of the best weapons that can deal consistent damage, offer decent utility, and cover all your bases during the boss fight. Some weapons require more skill to use than others while some weapons are very easy to use.
Stardust Dragon Staff
- Damage – 40 (Summon)
- Knockback – 2
- Mana – 10
- Summons a flying dragon that’s effective for slow enemies
The Stardust Dragon Staff is a post-Lunar Events weapon that boasts one of the highest base damage among any summoner minion weapons. This weapon is crafted from Fragments dropped by the Stardust Pillar and is considered an Endgame weapon.
While the dragon minion is effective for dishing out high amounts of burst damage, it does not provide consistent DPS due to the nature of the minion’s AI tracking. That said, the high damage output of the weapon is enough for the staff to be considered one of the best weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord fight.
Phantasm
- Damage – 50 (Ranged)
- Knockback – 2 (Very Weak)
- Summons extra homing arrows per enemy hit with its arrows
The Phantasm is the pinnacle of all bows in the game. This bow is crafted from Fragments dropped by the Vortex Pillar during the Lunar Events. The bow fires 4 arrows per shot, making it extremely powerful and ammo-efficient simultaneously.
Each arrow summons an additional 3 magic arrows that home in on enemy contact. This means that a total of 16 arrows can hit the enemy if all shots connect. Due to the mechanics of immunity frames, it’s better to use non-piercing arrows for this weapon for all the shots to deal effective damage.
Nebula Blaze
- Damage – 130 (Magic)
- Knockback – 3 (Very Weak)
- Mana – 12
- Fires semi-homing magic at nearby enemies
The Nebula Blaze is a post-Lunatic Cultist weapon that is available once the Nebula Pillar has been defeated during the Lunar Events. This weapon is extremely fast which can make it difficult to use without proper mana-sustaining equipment. Although it may seem like a homing weapon, it only provides aim-correction through a narrow cone.
This weapon may not look powerful, but each shot has a 20% chance of firing a stronger projectile that deals 3x of the weapon’s base damage. With a proper mage loadout, it can deal up to 3000 damage through a critical strike.
Terra Blade
- Damage – 85 (Melee)
- Knockback – 6.5 (Strong)
- Fires a long-ranged damaging arc per sword swing
The Terra Blade has experienced an amazing rework during the Labor of Love update (version 1.4.4) and has now become even more powerful. This legendary sword can now fire long-ranged waves that pierce infinitely at the cost of a 25% damage reduction per enemy pierced.
With proper positioning, this weapon can hit up to 2 Moon Lord eyes at a time, making taking down the boss much faster. It will also allow you to fight at a further distance, keeping you safe for most of the fight. Once the core is open, it’s possible to simply run in one direction and utilize the weapon’s far reach.
Kaleidoscope
- Damage – 180 (Summon)
- Knockback – 4 (Weak)
- Adds extra summon tag damage and enables minion critical strikes
The Kaleidoscope is the most powerful whip in the game. This weapon is obtained from the Empress of Light and can make minions more powerful by enabling them to do critical hits. This whip, along with the Morning Star, increases damage done by minions and sentries exponentially for this reason alone.
Paired with weapons like the Terraprisma and the Stardust weapons, the 20 summon tag damage and 10% critical hit chance will be able to deal with bosses efficiently. This makes the whip one of the best weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord battle.
Snowman Cannon
- Damage – 10 (Magic)
- Mana cost – 10
- Shoots a penetrating magic vine
The Snowman Cannon is a post-Plantera weapon that can handle its own even until post-Moon Lord. This cannon drops from the Ice Queen during the final phase of the Frost Moon event once Plantera is defeated. The weapon offers very high raw damage while also providing strong homing capabilities.
This rocket launcher can make easy work of the Moon Lord as the slower homing rockets can stay on screen long enough for them to re-target the opening and closing eyes. This means you can “stack” rockets while running in the same direction and they will home in on nearby targets once available.
Nebula Arcanum
- Damage – 70 (Magic)
- Knockback – 5 (Average)
- Mana – 30
- Shoots a slow-moving homing orb with great damage
The Nebula Arcanum is a post-Cultist weapon obtained from Nebula fragments during the Lunar Events. This weapon fires a slow orb that will either hit enemies 3 times or fly for 11 seconds before exploding. During this time, it will also spawn 2-3 small projectiles that will damage enemies.
The orb’s mechanics will allow you to have more leeway, similar to the Snowman Cannon. It can hit the Moon Lord’s eyes a few times and can wait for them to reopen if they close prematurely. This allows you to dish out more damage consistently during the eye phase.
Solar Eruption
- Damage – 105 (Melee)
- Knockback – 2 (Very weak)
- A large flail flies in front of you, dealing damage to anything in contact.
The Solar Eruption is a post-Lunar Event flail that deals massive damage around a cone in front of the player. This makes it one of the best weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord as you can damage multiple eyes at once with proper aim and positioning. This weapon is obtained through Solar fragments from the Solar Pillar.
This weapon is effective in dealing damage to multiple eyes at once but is not that effective for single targeting as it lacks speed and range. That said, the weapon can be used for “cheese” strategies where you lock yourself in a recovery box while the flail deals damage through walls.
Terraprisma
- Damage – 90 (Summon)
- Knockback – 4 (Weak)
- Mana – 10
- Summons colorful blades to fight for you
The Terraprisma is the most powerful minion summoner weapon in the entirety of the game. This is also one of the best weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord due to its speed and accuracy. The weapon is obtained by defeating the Empress of Light with all damage done during the day.
Due to the sheer power of the weapon, obtaining it is a bit challenging as any hit from the Empress during the day will deal 10k damage. In comparison, the max health in Terraria is only 500 (600 with a Lifeforce Potion)
Vortex Beater
- Damage – 50 (Bullets / Ranged), 70 (Rockets / Ranged)
- Knockback – 2.5 (Very weak)
- Fires rapid rounds while shooting homing rockets at fixed intervals
The Vortex Beater is the second Vortex weapon obtained from the Vortex Pillar fragments. This weapon fires bullets at a high rate while also firing homing rockets at no ammo cost. That said, the weapon is extremely inaccurate and is only considered effective for larger bosses.
This is easily remedied by using it with Chlorophyte Bullets as this type of ammo will also make the bullets fired home on enemies. This allows you to focus on dodging rather than aiming, making the fight more manageable. Although the Phantasm outclasses this weapon for single targets, shifting your focus in the battle will help you stay alive longer.
Razorblade Typhoon
- Damage – 85 (Magic)
- Knockback – 5 (Average)
- Summons a homing spinning wheel that deals persistent damage to targets
The Razorblade Typhoon is a weapon obtained from Duke Fishron. Although this fight is optional, it provides one of the best weapons in Terraria for the Moon Lord for magic class users. The book casts a flying homing wheel that will pierce and bounce infinitely while dealing consistent DPS on enemies it gets “stuck” on.
While the weapon may seem inconsistent for fights with multiple enemies, the Moon Lord fight is unique enough that there would be no other enemy to worry about so long as a proper arena is built. The wheels are extremely fast and can track their targets fairly accurately.
Daybreak
- Damage – 150 (Melee)
- Knockback – 5 (Average)
- Fires blazing spears that deal damage over time
The Daybreak is the second Solar weapon from the Solar Pillar during the Lunar events. This weapon may seem less desirable since it requires you to have good aim and a decent amount of skill to fully utilize. Mastering the weapon will yield great rewards as this weapon had a specific update for the Moon Lord fight.
The spears deal a consistent amount of burning damage to anything it is attached to but stop dealing damage once the Moon Lord’s eyes are closed. In a recent update, the spears will now explode once the eye closes, allowing them to deal a final push of damage in one cycle.
Personally, the Daybreak is a great weapon for this fight since the Daybroken debuff will deal consistent damage whatever your build is. This allows you to build more on defense than offense but still deal good damage.
Need the best buffs for the fight? Check out our top potion recommendations here!
