Terraria Weapon Guide

In Terraria, there’s a vast array of different weapons and weapon types. They are an essential part of the game and are predominantly used to fight enemies and bosses; however, they can also be used against critters.

Because of the high number of weapons in Terraria, there are many ways to obtain them, including fishing, crafting, defeating bosses/enemies, purchasing them from NPCs, or finding them in chests.

While you can technically use tools to deal damage, they won’t be included in this guide, as they aren’t classed as weapons by Terraria.

This Terraria weapon guide will walk you through the different types of weapons, what they do, and how to get them. We’ll also discuss what the best weapon in Terraria is. This guide will discuss the worst and best weapons of each type, based mainly on base damage.

Melee Weapons

While melee weapons are primarily at melee range, some of them – particularly late-game melee weapons – have ranged special abilities. Additionally, some melee weapon types, such as yoyos and boomerangs, have mid-range attacks but are still considered melee weapons.

Boomerangs

Despite being ranged, boomerangs are still considered melee weapons. When thrown, they return to you. They are typically more prominent in the early-game; however, there are a few boomerangs that may be viable later in the game too.

The lowest tier of boomerang is the Wooden Boomerang. With a base damage of 8, the Wooden Boomerang is only viable very early in your adventure. It can be found in Wooden Chests from the surface and underground layers.

It’s worth noting that the Wooden Boomerang is very easy to upgrade – with a single Fallen Star, you can craft it into an Enchanted Boomerang. The Enchanted Boomerang deals greater damage and knockback.

On the other hand, the best boomerang in Terraria is the Paladin’s Hammer. It’s a Hardmode boomerang that is only available after defeating Plantera. The base damage of 90, as well as the significant knockback of 9, makes it a powerful weapon.

While it doesn’t have the highest base damage, the incredibly fast use time makes it a contender for the best weapon in Terraria. The Paladin’s Hammer has a 1/15 drop chance from Paladins (found in the Dungeon), post-Plantera.

Flails

There are two types of flails – launched flails and thrown flails. Launched flails will immediately return to you once they come into contact with an enemy or reach their maximum range.

Thrown flails, however, can be suspended around you for as long as you want. Flails are viable weapons till mid-game. After that, they begin to fall off, and late-game, they lose viability entirely.

In Terraria, the lowest tier of flail is the Chain Knife, and it is very rare. The Chain Knife is a launched flail, with a base damage of 12 and a drop chance of 1/250 from Cave Bats.

You should avoid farming Cave Bats to try and get this item as a primary weapon, as there are simply better, easier-to-get options.

The Flower Pow is, by far, the best flail in Terraria. While it’s not a contender for the best weapon, it still has incredibly high base damage. However, the Flower Pow’s main feature is its unique ability to shoot petals when used. It’ll shoot petals as long as your attack button (usually left-click) is held down.

It’s worth noting that, late-game, this isn’t a particularly viable weapon due to its slow use time. The Flower Pow has a 1/7 chance of dropping after defeating Plantera.

Spears

Spears have a slightly further attack range than swords; however, spears attack with a stabbing motion rather than a swinging motion. It’s worth noting that spears can attack multiple times with one “stab” meaning that they can be a very effective way of dealing with larger enemies.

The most basic type of spear in Terraria is simply called the Spear. It has a measly 8 base damage and can be found in Wooden Chests in the surface or underground layers.

Having said that, it deals the third most knockback of all spears. This means that it can be great for keeping enemies at bay – particularly early-game when enemies can quickly become overwhelming.

With a base damage of 73 and a fast use time, the North Pole is the best spear in Terraria. It deals high knockback and fires an ice spear projectile. This projectile has no ammo or mana cost.

The North Pole is only available in Hardmode, after defeating Plantera. It has a low drop chance from the Ice Queen during the Frost Moon event.

A noteworthy spear is the Obsidian Swordfish. It has a base damage of 70 and a critical strike chance of 24% – six times higher than the standard 4% – giving it the second-highest critical strike chance of any weapon in Terraria.

This means that, while it’s beaten by the North Pole in base damage, its overall damage output is likely to be higher. However, it’s worth mentioning that the Obsidian Swordfish is shorter than most other spears meaning it effectively sacrifices range for additional damage output. You can get an Obsidian Swordfish using any lava fishing method during Hardmode.

Finally, while the Daybreak is not technically a spear, it heavily resembles and acts like a spear, so it’ll be included nonetheless. The Daybreak has a base damage of 150 and a very fast use time. It auto-fires spear-like projectiles at no mana or ammo cost.

Furthermore, these projectiles stick to enemies and deal damage over time; up to eight projectiles can attach to an enemy at once. The Daybreak can be crafted at an Ancient Manipulator using 18 Solar Fragments.

Swords

Swords are the standard and most abundant weapon type in Terraria. They can be split into two subcategories: shortswords and broadswords. Shortswords act much like spears, attacking with a stabbing motion at a shorter range.

On the other hand, broadswords are swung, meaning they are much more useful for defeating particularly mobile enemies.

The most basic sword in Terraria is the Copper Shortsword, and upon character creation, you’ll spawn with one naturally in your first inventory slot. It’s a shortsword, meaning that it attacks with directional stabbing motions.

Furthermore, it has weak base damage and knockback, so you should get an upgrade as soon as possible. While you will spawn with one, if you wish to craft a Copper Shortsword, you can do so with 5 Copper Bars at a Lead/Iron Anvil. However, if you have the resources to make an anvil, you can probably make a better sword.

Hands-down, the best sword in the game is the Meowmere. With a base damage of 200, it exceeds that of any other melee weapon in Terraria.

The Meowmere is an end-game weapon that is dropped with a 1/7 chance by the Moon Lord. Defeating the Moon Lord is an enormous challenge, so it can be difficult to obtain the Meowmere.

Widely considered the best weapon in Terraria is the Zenith. While it isn’t technically a sword, due to its crafting tree and sword-like properties, it’ll be included in this section regardless. It has a base damage of 190, but due to its unique properties, it has arguably the highest DPS (damage per second) in the game.

When swung, sprites of its component swords rapidly move toward enemies that are within a 20-tile radius of the cursor – no matter the cursor’s location. These projectiles can travel through solid blocks.

Crafting a Zenith is no easy task. It has the most complex crafting tree of any item, requiring swords from all stages throughout the game. These ingredients are the Terra Blade, Meowmere, Star Wrath, Influx Weaver, The Horseman’s Blade, Seedler, Starfury, Bee Keeper, Enchanted Sword, and Copper Shortsword.

This means that the Zenith is absolutely an end-game weapon, and crafting it can be incredibly time-consuming.

Yoyos

Yoyos are another example of melee weapons that could be mistaken for ranged weapons. They can be very effective throughout the game, even warranting a class sub-category known as the yoyo master. When thrown, yoyos can be controlled by your cursor, and most will return to you after a duration.

The first yoyo that you will likely encounter is the Wooden Yoyo. It’s a low-damage, low-knockback that is easy to craft. After being thrown, it lasts for approximately four seconds before returning to you.

To craft a Wooden Yoyo, you’ll need a Work Bench as a crafting station and 10 Wood (of any kind) and 20 Cobwebs as ingredients.

With a base damage of 190, the Terrarian has not only the highest base damage of any yoyo but one of the highest of all weapons. It has a reach of 25 tiles and can stay in the air indefinitely – controlled by your cursor. It fires projectiles that rapidly home in on enemies and can bounce off walls, although these projectiles are short-lived.

Additionally, the Terrarian has a 14% critical strike chance, which is very high compared to the standard 4%. The Terrarian is a rare (1/9) drop from the Moon Lord and is a contender for the best weapon in Terraria.

Ranged Weapons

In Terraria, there are several different types of ranged weapons. They all require different ammunition; therefore, it can get quite complicated. Having said that, ranged weapons can be very useful because ammo will become easier to acquire as you progress through the game.

Bows

Bows are a type of ranged weapon that requires arrows to fire. While several bows don’t deal any knockback, most arrows do. Many bows – particularly late-game – have special properties, including applying debuffs to enemies.

The most basic type of bow in Terraria is the Wooden Bow, with a base damage of 4, 0 knockback, and an average use time. Often, the Wooden Bow is the first ranged weapon you’ll get in your adventure, as crafting it is very inexpensive.

The recipe simply consists of 10 Wood at a Work Bench. Because of the low cost and ease of access, it’s worth considering crafting many Wooden Bows until you get one with the “Demonic” prefix. Doing this would mean that the Wooden Bow is superior in DPS (damage per second) to standard ore bows, such as the Iron Bow or the Silver Bow.

In Terraria, the bow with the highest base damage is the Pulse Bow. The Pulse Bow has a base damage of 85, and its arrows will ricochet or pierce up to five times, dissipating on the sixth.

It has the ability to auto-fire and will fire blue bolts – regardless of equipped ammunition. It’s sometimes purchasable from the Traveling Merchant for 45 gold coins, but only once you’ve defeated Plantera. It’s worth noting that the Pulse Bow has a critical strike chance of 11%, compared to the standard 4% for most weapons.

Another post-Plantera bow worth mentioning is the Eventide. It has a relatively unimpressive base damage of 50 but can auto-fire five projectiles at a time. These projectiles can pierce up to four enemies. The Eventide has a 1/4 chance of dropping from the Empress of Light.

Consumables

There are some ranged weapons in Terraria that are consumable. This means that they are consumed upon use. Usually, using consumables as a primary weapon isn’t recommended; however, there are some circumstances where it may be preferred. Typically, they are only helpful pre-Hardmode.

Snowballs, Throwing Knives, and Shurikens will likely be the first consumable weapons you encounter in Terraria. Snowballs can be made out of snow blocks, while Throwing Knives and Shurikens can be found randomly in underground or surface chests and by breaking pots. 

Snowballs deal 8 base damage and average knockback. It’s worth noting that you can also use Snowballs as ammo for the Snowball Cannon and Snowball Launcher. Throwing Knives have a base damage of 12, deal very weak knockback, and are heavily affected by gravity. Finally, the base damage of Shurikens is 10, and they deal no knockback.

None of the mentioned consumables are particularly viable, even in the early-game. However, Throwing Knives can be somewhat useful for early Goblin Invasions or similar due to their ability to pierce up to 2 enemies.

Guns

In Terraria, guns are a ranged weapon type that uses bullets as ammunition. Guns generally deal more knockback than bows, and many types of bullets inflict debuffs on enemies.

The basic gun is the Blowpipe. Unlike most guns, the Blowpipe doesn’t use bullets as ammunition. Instead, it uses Darts and Seeds. When you have the Blowpipe in your inventory, there’s a chance that vegetation on grass blocks will drop seeds when destroyed.

You can also get seeds from flowers growing in planter boxes and clay pots. Generally, wild and naturally-cultivated flowers yield 4 seeds, whereas tall grass normally drops 1-2 seeds.

Randomly found in chests at the surface layer or underground layer, the Blowpipe is quite easy to obtain – even early-game. Because of this, it doesn’t deal much damage (its damage value is 9). It also has a low knockback value.

The gun with the highest base damage is, by far, the Sniper Rifle – with a damage value of 185. However, attack speed is a sacrifice for its incredibly high base damage: the Sniper Rifle has a measly attack speed of 36. It deals a lot of knockback and has the special ability of allowing you to zoom out by right-clicking while holding the Sniper Rifle.

Sniper Rifles aren’t particularly easy to get. They are post-Plantera and have a 1/12 drop chance from Skeleton Snipers – an enemy found in the Dungeon, in areas with slab walls. Skeleton Snipers can kill a maximum-health player in 3 shots – even off-screen – so you should be careful when searching for one.

Despite the incredible base damage, because of the low attack speed, it’s not really a viable option for late-game boss fights. Another much more viable option is the S.D.M.G., with a base damage of 85 and an insanely high attack speed value. S.D.M.G. stands for Space Dolphin Machine Gun.

The S.D.M.G. is a post-Moon Lord gun with high damage output, fast attack speed, and a 66% chance not to consume ammunition. It’s considered by many the best gun in the game and is difficult to obtain – with a 1/11 chance of dropping from the Moon Lord. The S.D.M.G uses bullets as ammo.

Launchers

Launchers are Hardmode, post-Plantera weapons that often deal a huge amount of damage but often have quite expensive ammo. The ammo required by launchers usually creates an explosion upon contact with a block or enemy, dealing area-of-effect damage.

The base damage of launchers independently isn’t particularly great; however, when paired with the correct ammunition, the base damage improves dramatically. 

Because launchers are post-Plantera and usually obtained from events such as the Solar Eclipse and Pumpkin Moon, there isn’t a standard launcher.

With the highest base damage of all launchers (ammo excluded), the Nail Gun is one of the better launchers you can choose. It uses Nails as ammunition and is a difficult item to get – with a 1/25 chance of dropping from a Nailhead during a Solar Eclipse event.

Nails are purchasable from the Merchant or Arms Dealer for 1 silver coin each when you have a Nail Gun in your inventory.

It’s worth mentioning that the Nail Gun doesn’t deal any knockback, so you should be wary of that when using it to fight enemies.

The highest damage-output launcher in Terraria, when taking ammo into account, is the Jack ‘O Lantern Launcher. While the launcher itself only has a base damage of 65, when paired with its ammo – Explosive Jack ‘O Lanterns – it drastically increases to 120.

It also has a relatively fast attack speed value and a high critical strike chance of 10%, compared to the standard 4%. Fortunately, the Jack ‘O Lantern Launcher and Explosive Jack ‘O Lanterns are obtained together as a drop from the Pumpking. The Pumpking is a Hardmode boss that spawns during the Pumpkin Moon event.

You can also get Explosive Jack ‘O Lanterns from the Arms Dealer for 15 copper coins each, as long as you have the Jack ‘O Lantern Launcher in your inventory.

Repeaters

Repeaters are ranged weapons that use arrows as ammunition. They are typically considered an upgrade to bows, only being outperformed by very late-game bows. Additionally, all repeaters have the ability to auto-fire, dissimilar to most bows. Repeaters are only available once you’ve entered Hardmode.

The repeater with the highest base damage in Terraria is the Stake Launcher. While it doesn’t fire arrows, its functional and visual similarities to a repeater mean that it’s considered one. As the name suggests, the Stake Launcher uses Stakes as ammunition. 

Stakes make fantastic ammunition for the Stake Launcher as they pierce through 9 enemies (hitting a total of 10) and are not affected by gravity. As well as this, they have a high damage value and are quicker than most arrows.

With a critical strike chance of 14%, compared to the usual 4%, the Stake Launcher is a fantastic weapon choice. Furthermore, it deals 1000% damage against Vampires.

You can get the Stake Launcher by defeating the Mourning Wood during the Pumpkin Moon event. When dropped, the Stake Launcher is always accompanied by between 30 and 60 Stakes to use as ammo.

Stakes are also sold by the Arms Dealer and Witch Doctor while you have a Stake Launcher in your inventory for 15 copper coins each.

The Hallowed Repeater has the second-highest base damage of all repeaters (53) and uses arrows as ammunition. It also has the highest speed of any repeater, and has a pretty easy recipe.

To craft a Hallowed Repeater, you’ll need 12 Hallowed Bars. The crafting station required is the standard Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil. 

Magic Weapons

There are more magic weapons in Terraria than any other weapon type. This means that the range of damage values and special abilities is vast. Magic weapons consume mana upon use, so ensuring you have sufficient mana and mana regeneration is essential.

Magic Guns

There are 14 magic guns available in Terraria and 10 of these are exclusive to Hardmode. Magic guns differ from standard guns in that they consume mana instead of using ammunition. Otherwise, their appearance and functionality are very similar to that of a gun.

The magic gun that you’ll likely come across before any others in your adventure is the Bee Gun. The Bee Gun deals the least base damage of any magic gun – with a damage value of 9 – and has a 1/3 chance of dropping from Queen Bee.

It rapidly fires 1-6 bees, consuming 5 mana per shot. These bees pierce enemies or ricochet off solid blocks up to three times. They home in on enemies that are close enough. It’s worth mentioning that the Bee Gun doesn’t deal knockback, so it is unaffected by knockback-increasing modifiers.

The Charged Blaster Cannon and the Orange Zapinator both have a base damage of 100; however, due to the much faster attack speed, the Charged Blaster Cannon has a higher damage output overall.

With a 1/800 chance of dropping from any enemy during the Martian Madness event, the Charged Blaster Cannon is quite rare. It is arguably one of the most complicated weapons because it has five different firing modes:

• Tapping your ‘Use’ button (usually left-click) once fires a small orb with no special properties.
• Holding your ‘Use’ button fires orbs at a rapid rate of 6 per second. Only the first orb that’s fired consumes mana.
• After holding your ‘Use’ button for 1 second, the Charged Blaster Cannon will create a larger, infinitely piercing orb with 250 base damage.
• Continuing to hold your ‘Use’ button will fire 2 larger orbs per second. Only the first orb that’s fired consumes mana.
• Finally, holding your ‘Use’ button for 2 more seconds (and continuing to hold it) will fire a beam that deals 150 base damage. Every time the damage ticks (5 times per second), mana is consumed.
• The attack ends after you stop holding your ‘Use’ button, your mana is depleted, or you’ve been firing the weapon for 5 seconds.

These five firing modes mean that the Charged Blaster Cannon is a great weapon for many different scenarios.

On the other hand, the Orange Zapinator is obtained from the Traveling Merchant for 50 gold coins. The Orange Zapinator does not have auto-fire properties.

Spell Books

In Terraria, there are 9 different spell books. Only 3 of these are available pre-hardmode.

The easiest-to-get and most basic spell book is the Water Bolt. It deals the least damage of any spell book in the game and is obtained solely from books on the bookshelves in the Dungeon.

Using the Water Bolt will summon a blue projectile that travels in straight lines and isn’t affected by gravity. The projectile moves slowly, has piercing effects, can ricochet up to 5 times, and emits a small light – meaning it can be used as a light source in exploration should you run out of better sources of light.

The Dungeon is only accessible after defeating Skeletron. Skeletron can also drop a spell book (the Book of Skulls), but the chances of it dropping are slim (36/343 chance), and Skeletron is only spawnable once per map.

Easily the best spell book in Terraria is the Lunar Flare. It has a base damage of 100, a velocity of 60, and a very fast use time. The projectiles it summons rain down from above to the location of your cursor.

Worth mentioning is that, unlike most weapons that summon projectiles from above, the Lunar Flare’s projectiles will pass through necessary blocks to get to the cursor. Therefore, it’s a viable weapon in enclosed areas as well as open areas.

The Lunar Flare has a 1/9 chance of dropping from the Moon Lord, meaning that it’s quite difficult to acquire.

All spell books have a similar appearance in the inventory – the main difference between them is the colors.

Wands

Wands are magic weapons that have similar effects to spell books but have a very different appearance in the inventory. There are also many more wands than spell books, with 37 available in total. Of these 37 wands, 15 of them can only be obtained pre-Hardmode. This means that wands are the most easily-accessible magic weapon prior to entering Hardmode.

The easiest wand to get pre-Hardmode is the Vilethorn. It acts similar to a Spear but consumes mana and extends further. It has an average use-time and only deals a small amount of knockback. It can, however, hit up to 7 enemies at a time, making it a good early-game weapon for invasions and similar.

You can get a Vilethorn in two ways, both involving the Corruption. The first is destroying Shadow Orbs in the underground Corruption. The Vilethorn has a 1/5 chance of dropping upon the destruction of a Shadow Orb. 

Alternatively, you can get a Vilethorn from Corrupt Crates – a type of Crate that is obtained by fishing in the Corruption.

With a massive base damage of 125, the Staff of Earth is the strongest wand in Terraria. Upon use, the Staff of Earth summons a boulder of a similar style to that found in the Jungle Temple. 

This boulder is affected by gravity and can bounce off solid blocks. Also, the boulder has piercing properties of up to five enemies – breaking on the sixth hit. While the Staff of Earth’s base damage is 125, the actual damage value of it depends on the velocity of the boulder. This is also the case for the boulder’s knockback.

When the boulder summoned is traveling at a velocity of less than 8 mph (miles per hour, as measured by the Stopwatch item), it will deal no damage and no knockback. At a velocity of 8-18 mph, the boulder will have a base damage of 63 and deal weak knockback. Finally, when the boulder’s velocity is over 18 mph, its base damage is 125, and it’ll deal a high amount of knockback.

The Staff of Earth has a 1/7 chance of dropping from Golem. 

A wand worth mentioning is the Razorpine. While its base damage isn’t particularly high (48), it’s a weapon with nearly the highest magic damage output potential in the game. This is due to its ability to fire two needles at a time, its incredibly high attack speed, and easiness to aim. 

The projectiles that the Razorpine fires resemble Throwing Knives. You can get a Razorpine by defeating Everscream during the Frost Moon event – it has a 3.11%-7.78% chance of dropping.

Miscellaneous Magic Weapons

Because there are so many magic weapons in Terraria and only a few categories, there are some weapons that don’t fit into any of these. Typically, miscellaneous magic weapons have different properties from the categorized ones.

The first, and easiest miscellaneous magic weapon to get is the Ice Rod. It has a base damage of 28 and auto-fires blocks of ice. Unlike any other weapons in the game, it can place a temporary, solid ice block at the cursor. This block lasts for 15 seconds. Ice Rods are purchasable from the Wizard for a hefty 50 gold coins. 

Arguably the best magic weapon is the Nebula Blaze. A contender, even, for the best weapon in Terraria, the Nebula Blaze has a base damage of 130 and fires a fast projectile with homing properties. To craft a Nebula Blaze, the crafting station required is the Ancient Manipulator. This means that the Nebula Blaze is a post-Lunatic Cultist weapon. The recipe consists of 18 Nebula Fragments.

While it deals massive damage, the Nebula Blaze doesn’t deal knockback, meaning that you should be extra careful when using it.

The Nebula Blaze has a 1/5 chance to fire a larger, faster, more powerful projectile that deals 300% damage. Although the Nebula Blaze fires inaccurately (doesn’t go toward the cursor’s location), its projectiles have a homing effect on nearby enemies, meaning that the need to aim is diminished.

Summon Weapons

Summon weapons are high-damage weapons that assist the player by spawning secondary characters to attack enemies. These secondary characters cannot be killed or damaged. 

Playing with a summoner build is much more recommended late-game than it is early-game. There are three categories for summon weapons: minions, sentries, and whips.

Minions

In Terraria, minions are mobile secondary characters that cannot be killed or damaged. They will follow you until you die, cancel the buff, exit the world, or summon new minions.

The types of minions vary; some are melee, some ranged; some can walk, and some will fly. Minions are very useful aids in fights as they require no attention and will deal consistent damage throughout the fight. Furthermore, minions can pass through blocks.

Initially, a minion costs mana to summon but will follow you indefinitely afterward at no extra cost. There are 7 minion-summoning weapons available pre-Hardmode, and 14 additional minion-summoning weapons post-Hardmode.

The minion-summoning weapon that has the least base damage and is the easiest to get is Abigail’s Flower. Abigail’s Flower summons a ghost-like minion. With a base damage of 6, it’s only viable during the early-game.

Getting an Abigail’s Flower is pretty easy. You can find it on grass around placed Tombstones.

The best minion-summoning weapon in Terraria is, by far, the Terraprisma, with a base damage of 90. To get a Terraprisma, you must defeat the Empress of Light in the daytime. All damage to the Empress of Light must be dealt during the day.

A minion-summoner worth mentioning isn’t so much a weapon as a novelty item. The Slime Staff is an exceptionally rare drop from most types of slimes (1/10000 drop chance) and summons a small baby slime minion that follows you around. The Slime Staff is widely considered the rarest weapon in Terraria.

Sentries

Unlike minions, sentries are completely immobile when summoned until resummoned at a different location or 2 minutes have passed. Sentries will stay put for the full duration even if the summoner dies.

During the Old One’s Army, there is no time limit on sentries – they can stay there indefinitely.

Sentries are unusual because they can only be purchased from the Tavernkeep using Defender Medals. Getting Defender Medals can be challenging; however, due to the strength of some sentries, it’s completely worth it.

The default number of sentries you can have summoned at once is one. Although, this can be altered by the use of some armor and accessories.

It’s worth mentioning that the maximum number of minions and sentries you can have are independent of each other. 

There are 17 different sentries available in Terraria, and only 5 of these are accessible pre-Hardmode.

By far the weakest but easiest-to-get sentry is the Lightning Aura Rod. It has a base damage of 4 and costs a mere 5 Defender Medals. 

The best, highest-damage sentry weapon is the Ballista Staff. It has average knockback but an incredibly high base damage value of 130. The Ballista Staff costs 100 Defender Medals from the Tavernkeep.

Keep in mind that sentry-summoning weapons can only be used outside of the Old One’s Army once the event has been fully completed.

Whips

Whips are summoning weapons that appear like melee weapons due to their close-range attacks. They will receive damage bonuses when your minions deal damage. 

However, the thing that really makes whips essential for a summoner is the unique property to make all sentries and minions attack the enemy that was last damaged by a whip.

The use of a whip will help you target specific enemies during events or boss fights as well as during enemy-farming and general use.

Snapthorns are the easiest whips to get and deal decent damage for the early-game, with a base damage of 18. To craft a Snapthorn, you’ll need 12 stingers, 3 vines, and 3 jungle spores. The crafting station required is a Lead or Iron Anvil.

There are two contenders for best whip in the game based solely on base damage: the Kaleidoscope and the Morning Star. However, because of the bonus damage stats it gives, the Kaleidoscope is the better of the two.

The Kaleidoscope’s base damage value is 180, and its on-hit effect is 20 summon tag damage and 10% critical chance. Summon tag damage is the amount of extra damage the minions will do when attacking the enemy attacked by the whip. Kaleidoscopes are dropped by the Empress of Light with a 1/4 chance.

Miscellaneous Weapons

Because there are so many weapons in Terraria, not all of them can be easily categorized. These are considered ‘Others’ or ‘Miscellaneous’ weapons.

Explosives

There are 8 types of explosives in Terraria, bombs being the most basic of these. Bombs are very easily accessible and have many uses, from early to late-game. 

You can get bombs by breaking pots, opening chests, or killing slimes. Additionally, they are purchasable from the Demolitionist and Skeleton Merchant for 3 silver coins.

Bombs are useful as a weapon or mining tool, though usually the latter. They deal damage and break tiles in an area of effect. 

There are a few variations of the standard bomb: the Sticky Bomb, the Bouncing Bomb, and the Scarab Bomb. Scarab Bombs can be incredibly useful in controlling the spread of crimson.

Placeables

There are 4 placeable weapons in Terraria: the Snowball Launcher, Cannon, Bunny Cannon, and Land Mine. Only the Snowball Launcher is available pre-Hardmode.

Due to the stationary nature of placeable weapons, they are best used for home defense from events such as the Goblin or Pirate Invasions.

Each of the placeable weapons has its own ammunition type, so it’s important to keep this in mind when using them.

Conclusion

To conclude, there are many weapon types in Terraria. Typically, each of these weapon types corresponds to a particular class setup. Regardless of what class setup you play, you now know the ins and outs of weapons in Terraria.