Best Hardmode Weapons in Terraria (2024)

After you've started up your Terraria playthrough, dug your way to the underworld and destroyed the Wall of Flesh, you start what's known as Hardmode, which despite not being an actual mode, makes the first few hours of progression particularly difficult, especially if you weren't well-equipped before.

This list will focus on this difficult, early part of hardmode, as the rest of hardmode can be handily managed by just killing the next boss in progression, whereas you'll need the recommendations for manageable, pre-boss, effective weapons to help you out when fighting the mechs.

8 Melee - Ice Sickle

Chillingly Long Range.

Starting this list off, we have Melee, which is strangely underpowered in this phase of the game, as opposed to the rest where it usually dominates. The Ice Sickle is a projectile sword-type weapon, dealing a decent chunk of damage while letting you stay out of the fray.

A better option is the Sergeant United Shield, but the Traveling merchant very rarely sells that. If you have one, use it. Either way, you'll be playing at range, dealing a bit of damage while also having a large amount of defense to keep you safe from the boss's projectiles.

7 Melee - Night's Edge

It's Still Good!

Coming in as the only pre-hardmode weapon on this list, the Night's Edge is a melee option that still shreds enemies pretty quickly, has an extensive range and gets even better if you're sporting a set of Titanium or Adamantite armor to give it the extra boost in damage.

At the very least, this weapon can get you through hardmode mimics, the goblin army and some of the mechs. Still, if you don't want to go through the effort, a Titanium/Adamantite sword or Drippler Crippler will do the trick, but this will get you to Excalibur no problem.

6 Summoner - Cool Whip

Not The Whipped Cream.

The Cool Whip, aside from having a great name for an ice-themed whip, is a great boon to have as a summoner in hardmode. While you can make it solely using the Firecracker from the Wall of Flesh, the Cool Whip inflicts frostbite and does Summon Tag damage.

Summon Tag damage simply adds damage to your summons when you're targeting something with a whip, and the Firecracker has 0 (instead having explosion damage), making the Cool Whip's 6 Summon Tag Damage a nice boost. It can be a pain to obtain, but it's worth it.

5 Summoner - Sanguine Staff

Bat Outta Hell (Or The Blood Moon).

If you're playing summoner, you've got your whip, and now you need a minion to go with it, which means you should grab the Sanguine Staff. This weapon summons a bunch of vampire bats in a circle around you, which on top of looking cool, deal quite a bit of damage.

Even though they got nerfed for no reason in 1.4.4 (thanks Re-Logic, very cool!) they're still a solid option for early hardmode. The only competitor is the Blade Staff, and while that one is also great, it requires beating Queen Slime, so the Sanguine Staff is usually going to precede it.

4 Mage - Crystal Serpent

World's Most Powerful Fish.

The Crystal Serpent is, first and foremost, annoying to get if you hate fishing, but secondly, a great magic weapon. It fires a burst of energy that explodes into several more projectiles on contact, dealing quite a bit of damage, fires fast and is generally a fun weapon to use.

You could go grab a Meteor Staff or Sky Fracture instead if you hate fishing, but the Crystal Serpent has a ton of utility, can potentially do more damage due to its explosions and is all-around just an easy weapon to obtain since it only requires fishing.

3 Ranger - Onyx Blaster

Under Rated And High Velocity.

One of the most underrated weapons ever, the Onyx Blaster is one of the best options if you've managed to get a corrupt/crimson desert in your world. This gun can be obtained with easily-acquired materials, shoots massive explosive bullets and does a ton of damage.

On top of looking cool, this gun is simply one of the more practical weapons at this stage, because you can combine it with Cursed, Explosive or especially Ichor bullets for maximum effect. Overall, if you want to play at range and not go for the obvious choice, this is it.

2 Mage - Spirit Flame

A Pain To Get, A Dream To Use.

Back on the trend of somehow underrated weapons, Spirit Flame is easily one of the best that people don't think to get because no one likes grinding for Sand Elementals. Still, if you can spare a few hours, you'll get a homing mage weapon that has an incredible amount of utility.

It fires off a bunch of flames that will home in on enemies nearby, meaning you just have to be somewhat close to the conflict to deal damage. This is one of the GOATs of no-hit runs for a reason. It's one of the best weapons that'll keep you away from combat and alive while also doing a ton of hits.

1 Ranger - Daedalus Stormbow

The Classic.

Finally, the weapon that refuses to die after five different nerfs, still nothing comes close to beating the combination of Daedalus Stormbow and Holy Arrows. While it can't solo the entirety of hardmode like it used to, it can still get you to Plantera with no problem, all for killing a few mimics.

If you didn't know, you can craft Holy Arrows with a Unicorn Horn and some Pixie Dust, both easily farmed in the Hallowed, and use them with this bow to rain hell down on your enemies. It works fine with Hellfire or Ichor arrows too, but Holy + Daedalus is a classic combo for a reason.

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