Baconfry
Terrarian
This guide, originally written for desktop, is posted here as a reference to its state prior to the release of desktop version 1.4.0.1. There may be some inconsistencies, especially with regards to controllable projectiles, but I didn't want to rewrite the whole guide without leaving a backup.
Each weapon has different aspects that contribute to viability. I will be using the following criteria:
DPS - damage per second dealt to a single target.
Crowd control - ability to continue to perform well against multiple targets.
Accuracy - likelihood that your attacks will connect when used at the intended range, even when moving. This is an irrelevant stat for non-projectile swords, which cannot be aimed.
Disruption - ability to slow down enemies as they approach or prevent them from approaching entirely, using means other than raw damage. Melee weapons can improve this with a Titan Glove.
Safety - ability to damage enemies without putting yourself at risk. Often synonymous with range. Controllability, homing, and wall-piercing also contribute to this.
Availability - ability to obtain the weapon without excessive grinding or luck. This isn't factored into rank.
As for rankings:
S rank: Immediately powerful and remains useful for a long time. Can be used to great effect in nearly any situation, and/or has a useful role in which it vastly outperforms everything else.
A rank: Useful in the majority of situations. Efficient and likely a popular choice on people's hotbars, but generally not considered "overpowered".
B rank: Perhaps not the first thing most people would think of using, but can be quite useful if you apply it to the right situations and remain aware of its weaknesses.
C rank: This weapon likely has at least one role it can perform well, but its bad matchups outnumber its good ones. In order to use it effectively, you really have to know what you're doing.
D rank: Slightly better than nothing, but its inefficiency should be immediately obvious to anyone who tries it. There's almost certainly something else that you should be using instead.
F rank: Fails to do anything well. No one could possibly mistake it for a remotely good weapon. Does close to nothing most of the time, and using it is basically like crippling yourself.
I've also included the best prefixes*, along with a rough indicator of reforge cost. (I've used parentheses to mark weapons that are used as crafting ingredients and as such are not worth reforging.)
*Godly and Demonic are also listed as best prefixes for weapons whose performance is unaffected by their speed, even if they support Mythical/Unreal.
Of course, these will be rated relative to other options you have in your current stage of progression, and their matchup against upcoming events were also considered. Naturally these are based on my personal opinion and experiences, but if you feel like any of these placements are unfair, please reply and I will likely revise them.
"Technically hardmode"
Classy Cane and Pearlwood Sword: F
Pearlwood Bow: F+
Dropped by Wall of Flesh
Breaker Blade: F
Clockwork Assault Rifle: A
Laser Rifle: A-
Crafted through mining
Ore Swords and Phasesabers: C-
Ore Spears: B-
Ore Repeaters: A+
Dropped by monsters
Amarok and Hel-Fire: S
KO Cannon: B
Bananarang: B+
Nimbus Rod: S+
Poison Staff: C-
Marrow and Ice Bow: C+
Beam Sword: C
Magic Dagger: A-
Medusa Head: C-
Uzi: S-
Frost Staff: B
Ice Sickle: S
Flower of Frost: D+
Frostbrand: C
Bought from NPCs
Gradient and Format C: A
Ice Rod: C+
Shotgun: D+
Gatligator: B
Slap Hand: D
Crafted from monster drops
Onyx Blaster: S+
Sky Fracture: A+
Dao of Pow: C+
Chik: A+
Crystal Storm: C
Golden Shower: S+
Cursed Flames: B-
Meteor Staff: B+
Spirit Flame: B+
Spider Staff: A+
Queen Spider Staff: S-
Obtained through Fishing
Crystal Serpent: B+
Toxikarp: B-
Bladetongue: B+
Obsidian Swordfish: C
Anchor: F
Goblin Invasion
Shadowflame Bow: A+
Shadowflame Knife: A
Shadowflame Hex Doll: A-
Pirate Invasion
Cutlass: B-
Pirate Staff: B+
Coin Gun: A
Dropped by special Mimics
Daedalus Stormbow: S+
Flying Knife: B+
Crystal Vile Shard: C
Dart Pistol: S+
Fetid Baghnakhs: A-
Life Drain: B+
Dart Rifle: S
Chain Guillotines: B+
Clinger Staff: C
Each weapon has different aspects that contribute to viability. I will be using the following criteria:
DPS - damage per second dealt to a single target.
Crowd control - ability to continue to perform well against multiple targets.
Accuracy - likelihood that your attacks will connect when used at the intended range, even when moving. This is an irrelevant stat for non-projectile swords, which cannot be aimed.
Disruption - ability to slow down enemies as they approach or prevent them from approaching entirely, using means other than raw damage. Melee weapons can improve this with a Titan Glove.
Safety - ability to damage enemies without putting yourself at risk. Often synonymous with range. Controllability, homing, and wall-piercing also contribute to this.
Availability - ability to obtain the weapon without excessive grinding or luck. This isn't factored into rank.
As for rankings:
S rank: Immediately powerful and remains useful for a long time. Can be used to great effect in nearly any situation, and/or has a useful role in which it vastly outperforms everything else.
A rank: Useful in the majority of situations. Efficient and likely a popular choice on people's hotbars, but generally not considered "overpowered".
B rank: Perhaps not the first thing most people would think of using, but can be quite useful if you apply it to the right situations and remain aware of its weaknesses.
C rank: This weapon likely has at least one role it can perform well, but its bad matchups outnumber its good ones. In order to use it effectively, you really have to know what you're doing.
D rank: Slightly better than nothing, but its inefficiency should be immediately obvious to anyone who tries it. There's almost certainly something else that you should be using instead.
F rank: Fails to do anything well. No one could possibly mistake it for a remotely good weapon. Does close to nothing most of the time, and using it is basically like crippling yourself.
I've also included the best prefixes*, along with a rough indicator of reforge cost. (I've used parentheses to mark weapons that are used as crafting ingredients and as such are not worth reforging.)
*Godly and Demonic are also listed as best prefixes for weapons whose performance is unaffected by their speed, even if they support Mythical/Unreal.
Of course, these will be rated relative to other options you have in your current stage of progression, and their matchup against upcoming events were also considered. Naturally these are based on my personal opinion and experiences, but if you feel like any of these placements are unfair, please reply and I will likely revise them.
Musket Ball/Endless Musket Pouch
+costs nothing to use
-no distinguishing traits
You might find yourself using the Endless Musket Pouch for practical reasons; it's an infinite ammo source, so it's the best ammunition to use for exploration. Switch to something else when you're fighting for your life.
Silver Bullet
-no distinguishing traits
If you're using Silver Bullets at this point, it's probably because you've obtained a handful from smashing pots and you didn't want them to go to waste. They're really no different from the Musket Pouch.
Meteor Shot
+pierces or ricochets once
-lowers DPS when used with most guns
-mostly nonrenewable
Thanks to piercing mechanics, it has worse DPS than the Musket Pouch when used with shotguns and rapid-fire guns. In other words, practically all hardmode guns. Meteorite Bars are also nonrenewable for all intents and purposes, so you'll really struggle to find a reason to use this stuff.
Exploding Bullet
+high knockback
+damages multiple enemies
+no farming required
+good velocity
-inflicts some recoil damage if not careful
The best crowd control bullet, and pretty much the only one you'll use for the entire game. Doesn't require an upgraded Anvil to craft, can be made in bulk, and drastically increases the viability of several early hardmode guns.
Party Bullet
+decent knockback
+no farming required
+good velocity
-no distinguishing traits
-messy
The best generic bullet you can make in early Hardmode without farming materials, though that isn’t much of a selling point considering how easy it is to farm for better ammo such as Crystal Bullets.
Golden Bullet
+increased profit when used on bosses/minibosses
+no farming required
+good velocity
-no distinguishing traits
The best way to use them is for repeated Eye of Cthulhu and Queen Bee kills. They're not for use against things that actually threaten you, except maybe for dealing the final blow to Pirate Captains.
(mythril or orichalcum anvil)
Crystal Bullet
+highest potential DPS
+large number of hits
The best bossing bullet if you don't think accuracy is going to be an issue. They are more likely to deal extra damage when fired against targets that are moving towards you. Crystal Bullets have a great synergy with Ichor and easily shred enemies with low defenses.
Cursed Bullet
+high damage
-no distinguishing traits
The generic "raw damage" bullet. Crystal Bullets still outclass them since they have a much better secondary effect.
Ichor Bullet
+high damage
+inflicts a powerful debuff
+good velocity
A straight upgrade to the Cursed Bullet. The Ichor debuff greatly enhances DPS, but you'll deal more damage by using Crystal Bullets and inflicting Ichor some other way.
(one mechanical boss)
High Velocity Bullet
+incredibly high velocity
+no farming required
-no other distinguishing traits
The high velocity of these bullets solves a problem that never really existed in the first place, since all bullets have naturally high velocity.
(all mechanical bosses)
Chlorophyte Bullet
+perfectly accurate
+uses a highly contested resource
Arguably the best bullet in the game. There are so many guns that depend on Chlorophyte Bullets in order to be viable, and every gun is greatly improved when using them. Highly recommended for boss fights, or any situation really.
(plantera)
Venom Bullet
+high damage
+no farming required
-no distinguishing traits
The best bullet you can get without farming, and a straight upgrade to Cursed Bullets, but you'd only use them if you were on a Corruption world. Ichor Bullets are still better.
Nano Bullet
+decent knockback
+messes with common enemies
+no farming required
-no distinguishing traits when used on immune enemies
Confusion doesn't work on most truly threatening enemies. You're better off trying to dispose of them directly.
(final boss)
Luminite Bullet
+near infinite piercing
+highest base damage by far
-uses a highly contested resource
-comes too late to be of any use
At this point, you're just running victory laps. While Luminite Bullets are as powerful as you’d expect, you might still prefer Chlorophyte Bullets for aerial boss fights.
+costs nothing to use
-no distinguishing traits
You might find yourself using the Endless Musket Pouch for practical reasons; it's an infinite ammo source, so it's the best ammunition to use for exploration. Switch to something else when you're fighting for your life.
Silver Bullet
-no distinguishing traits
If you're using Silver Bullets at this point, it's probably because you've obtained a handful from smashing pots and you didn't want them to go to waste. They're really no different from the Musket Pouch.
Meteor Shot
+pierces or ricochets once
-lowers DPS when used with most guns
-mostly nonrenewable
Thanks to piercing mechanics, it has worse DPS than the Musket Pouch when used with shotguns and rapid-fire guns. In other words, practically all hardmode guns. Meteorite Bars are also nonrenewable for all intents and purposes, so you'll really struggle to find a reason to use this stuff.
Exploding Bullet
+high knockback
+damages multiple enemies
+no farming required
+good velocity
-inflicts some recoil damage if not careful
The best crowd control bullet, and pretty much the only one you'll use for the entire game. Doesn't require an upgraded Anvil to craft, can be made in bulk, and drastically increases the viability of several early hardmode guns.
Party Bullet
+decent knockback
+no farming required
+good velocity
-no distinguishing traits
-messy
The best generic bullet you can make in early Hardmode without farming materials, though that isn’t much of a selling point considering how easy it is to farm for better ammo such as Crystal Bullets.
Golden Bullet
+increased profit when used on bosses/minibosses
+no farming required
+good velocity
-no distinguishing traits
The best way to use them is for repeated Eye of Cthulhu and Queen Bee kills. They're not for use against things that actually threaten you, except maybe for dealing the final blow to Pirate Captains.
(mythril or orichalcum anvil)
Crystal Bullet
+highest potential DPS
+large number of hits
The best bossing bullet if you don't think accuracy is going to be an issue. They are more likely to deal extra damage when fired against targets that are moving towards you. Crystal Bullets have a great synergy with Ichor and easily shred enemies with low defenses.
Cursed Bullet
+high damage
-no distinguishing traits
The generic "raw damage" bullet. Crystal Bullets still outclass them since they have a much better secondary effect.
Ichor Bullet
+high damage
+inflicts a powerful debuff
+good velocity
A straight upgrade to the Cursed Bullet. The Ichor debuff greatly enhances DPS, but you'll deal more damage by using Crystal Bullets and inflicting Ichor some other way.
(one mechanical boss)
High Velocity Bullet
+incredibly high velocity
+no farming required
-no other distinguishing traits
The high velocity of these bullets solves a problem that never really existed in the first place, since all bullets have naturally high velocity.
(all mechanical bosses)
Chlorophyte Bullet
+perfectly accurate
+uses a highly contested resource
Arguably the best bullet in the game. There are so many guns that depend on Chlorophyte Bullets in order to be viable, and every gun is greatly improved when using them. Highly recommended for boss fights, or any situation really.
(plantera)
Venom Bullet
+high damage
+no farming required
-no distinguishing traits
The best bullet you can get without farming, and a straight upgrade to Cursed Bullets, but you'd only use them if you were on a Corruption world. Ichor Bullets are still better.
Nano Bullet
+decent knockback
+messes with common enemies
+no farming required
-no distinguishing traits when used on immune enemies
Confusion doesn't work on most truly threatening enemies. You're better off trying to dispose of them directly.
(final boss)
Luminite Bullet
+near infinite piercing
+highest base damage by far
-uses a highly contested resource
-comes too late to be of any use
At this point, you're just running victory laps. While Luminite Bullets are as powerful as you’d expect, you might still prefer Chlorophyte Bullets for aerial boss fights.
Wooden Arrow/Endless Quiver
+costs nothing to use
-no distinguishing traits
An infinite ammo source that you'll likely use while exploring. Their low velocity compared with other ammo types is more noticeable with arrows than with bullets, but a Magic Quiver will fix that. Because of the increased defenses of hardmode enemies, this should not be used with The Bee’s Knees in most situations.
Bone Arrow
-no distinguishing traits
-difficult to resupply
A total ripoff at 15 copper each. Flaming Arrows have better stats and are easier to obtain.
Flaming Arrow
+easy to craft
-no distinguishing traits
They're alright. Feel free to use the freebies you get from chests, but if you're going to craft some cheap ammunition, craft Frostburn Arrows instead.
Frostburn Arrow
+easy to craft
-no distinguishing traits
The best ammunition you can get for basically zero effort, and can be crafted on the go. As with most DoT debuffs, Frostburn is mostly inconsequential.
Jester's Arrow
+pierces infinitely
-uses a somewhat contested resource
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
The best linear piercing arrow, and works well against the Destroyer if you're using a standard repeater.
Unholy Arrow
+pierces four times
+no farming required
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
You can get a nice supply of them for free if you farm the Eye of Cthulhu, and they perform as well as Jester's Arrows for most purposes.
Hellfire Arrow
+damages multiple enemies
+high knockback
+no farming required
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
Really good for repelling groups of enemies thanks to their high knockback. Weapons like the Marrow and Pulse Bow also inherit their knockback value.
(mythril or orichalcum anvil)
Holy Arrow
+incredibly high DPS
+secondary projectiles damage multiple enemies
+synergy with multi-shot bows
Arguably the best arrow in the game. Works better against targets that don't move too much horizontally. If there's any good reason to spread the Hallow, it's this.
Cursed Arrow
+tied for highest base damage
-no distinguishing traits
Great for feeding weapons like the Shadowflame Bow, which are affected only by the arrow's base damage. Otherwise, pretty generic.
Ichor Arrow
+high velocity
+inflicts a powerful debuff
Considerably above average for bossing because they travel quickly and inflict Ichor. Also useful as a secondary if your primary is a gun with Crystal Bullets.
(all mechanical bosses)
Chlorophyte Arrow
+pierces or ricochets once
-uses a highly contested resource
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
Not a worthwhile way to spend your Chlorophyte Bars. Chlorophyte Arrows and Meteor Shot are poor choices for mostly the same reasons. It's kinda funny and tragic that the Chlorophyte Shotbow was introduced in the same tier, considering how poorly they work together.
(plantera)
Venom Arrow
+tied for highest base damage
+high velocity
+no farming required
-no other distinguishing traits
Might be the best arrow to use with the Phantasm against the final boss. Great velocity, high base damage, decent knockback. Also, the best fodder for the Pulse Bow.
(final boss)
Luminite Arrow
+pierces four times
+highest potential DPS
-uses a highly contested resource
-comes too late to be of any use
The only piercing arrow that doesn't have an anti synergy with the likes of Tsunami and Phantasm. Secondary effect is a bit more situational than Holy Arrows, but it'll still put out more damage on average.
+costs nothing to use
-no distinguishing traits
An infinite ammo source that you'll likely use while exploring. Their low velocity compared with other ammo types is more noticeable with arrows than with bullets, but a Magic Quiver will fix that. Because of the increased defenses of hardmode enemies, this should not be used with The Bee’s Knees in most situations.
Bone Arrow
-no distinguishing traits
-difficult to resupply
A total ripoff at 15 copper each. Flaming Arrows have better stats and are easier to obtain.
Flaming Arrow
+easy to craft
-no distinguishing traits
They're alright. Feel free to use the freebies you get from chests, but if you're going to craft some cheap ammunition, craft Frostburn Arrows instead.
Frostburn Arrow
+easy to craft
-no distinguishing traits
The best ammunition you can get for basically zero effort, and can be crafted on the go. As with most DoT debuffs, Frostburn is mostly inconsequential.
Jester's Arrow
+pierces infinitely
-uses a somewhat contested resource
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
The best linear piercing arrow, and works well against the Destroyer if you're using a standard repeater.
Unholy Arrow
+pierces four times
+no farming required
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
You can get a nice supply of them for free if you farm the Eye of Cthulhu, and they perform as well as Jester's Arrows for most purposes.
Hellfire Arrow
+damages multiple enemies
+high knockback
+no farming required
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
Really good for repelling groups of enemies thanks to their high knockback. Weapons like the Marrow and Pulse Bow also inherit their knockback value.
(mythril or orichalcum anvil)
Holy Arrow
+incredibly high DPS
+secondary projectiles damage multiple enemies
+synergy with multi-shot bows
Arguably the best arrow in the game. Works better against targets that don't move too much horizontally. If there's any good reason to spread the Hallow, it's this.
Cursed Arrow
+tied for highest base damage
-no distinguishing traits
Great for feeding weapons like the Shadowflame Bow, which are affected only by the arrow's base damage. Otherwise, pretty generic.
Ichor Arrow
+high velocity
+inflicts a powerful debuff
Considerably above average for bossing because they travel quickly and inflict Ichor. Also useful as a secondary if your primary is a gun with Crystal Bullets.
(all mechanical bosses)
Chlorophyte Arrow
+pierces or ricochets once
-uses a highly contested resource
-anti synergy with multi-shot bows
Not a worthwhile way to spend your Chlorophyte Bars. Chlorophyte Arrows and Meteor Shot are poor choices for mostly the same reasons. It's kinda funny and tragic that the Chlorophyte Shotbow was introduced in the same tier, considering how poorly they work together.
(plantera)
Venom Arrow
+tied for highest base damage
+high velocity
+no farming required
-no other distinguishing traits
Might be the best arrow to use with the Phantasm against the final boss. Great velocity, high base damage, decent knockback. Also, the best fodder for the Pulse Bow.
(final boss)
Luminite Arrow
+pierces four times
+highest potential DPS
-uses a highly contested resource
-comes too late to be of any use
The only piercing arrow that doesn't have an anti synergy with the likes of Tsunami and Phantasm. Secondary effect is a bit more situational than Holy Arrows, but it'll still put out more damage on average.
"Technically hardmode"
Classy Cane and Pearlwood Sword: F
These two weapons weren't meant to be good in the first place, so no one should be surprised to see them ranked at the very bottom. It's kind of unfortunate that they ended up being restricted to Hardmode to begin with, but even if they were available in pre-hardmode, they would probably suck considering that wooden swords are good only for the first few minutes of the game and get instantly outclassed by the Cactus Sword.
However, it must be noted that the Classy Cane is the most disrespectful thing you can kill someone with in PvP. It's even better than the Copper Shortsword in this regard.
DPS: 1/5. At least slightly competent when using a Flask of Ichor, but pretty much unusable without it.
Crowd control: 1/5. With garbage range and knockback, pulling out a weapon like this is probably going to be the last thing on your mind if you're facing a crowd.
Accuracy: Not applicable.
Disruption: 1/5. Against Hardmode enemies, their knockback is laughably weak. Requires some kind of knockback boost to repel enemies. Assuming you can get a Power Glove or Titan Potion, however, they might be better than the Breaker Blade thanks to their speed.
Safety: 1/5. Kind of like the Fetid Baghnakhs, but instead of challenging enemies to DPS races and winning, these two will basically always lose.
Availability: 5/5 (Pearlwood Sword). Crafted from 7 Pearlwood at a Work Bench. 2/5 (Classy Cane). 12.5% chance to drop from Tax Collector.
Best prefix: Legendary ¢
However, it must be noted that the Classy Cane is the most disrespectful thing you can kill someone with in PvP. It's even better than the Copper Shortsword in this regard.
DPS: 1/5. At least slightly competent when using a Flask of Ichor, but pretty much unusable without it.
Crowd control: 1/5. With garbage range and knockback, pulling out a weapon like this is probably going to be the last thing on your mind if you're facing a crowd.
Accuracy: Not applicable.
Disruption: 1/5. Against Hardmode enemies, their knockback is laughably weak. Requires some kind of knockback boost to repel enemies. Assuming you can get a Power Glove or Titan Potion, however, they might be better than the Breaker Blade thanks to their speed.
Safety: 1/5. Kind of like the Fetid Baghnakhs, but instead of challenging enemies to DPS races and winning, these two will basically always lose.
Availability: 5/5 (Pearlwood Sword). Crafted from 7 Pearlwood at a Work Bench. 2/5 (Classy Cane). 12.5% chance to drop from Tax Collector.
Best prefix: Legendary ¢
Pearlwood Bow: F+
Uses standard arrows.
While it's true that no one in their right mind would craft this weapon with the intention to use it, the Pearlwood Bow can potentially be better than some of the weapons on this list, a testament to how bad those weapons really are. Loaded with Ichor Arrows, it is at least able to deal damage to Hardmode enemies and eventually kill them, and can even kill the Twins in normal mode, with Orichalcum Armor and a lot of buff potions. I don't think any broadsword can make that claim.
This is the only weapon I gave an F+ to. It is undeniably bad, but since there is one scenario in which it delivers an almost passable performance (use Ichor Arrows while wearing Orichalcum Armor), it at least deserves to be rated higher than things like the Anchor, which will be terrible no matter what you do. So if you see something with an F ranking later down the list, that means that I consider it worse than the Pearlwood Bow.
DPS: 1/5. Well, it's a weapon with earlygame stats, and it relies on the Ichor debuff to deal any damage at all. Without Ichor Arrows it's pretty much zero.
Crowd control: 1/5. Not an option most of the time, because Ichor Arrows are usually the only way for it to deal damage. You can use Orichalcum Armor to circumvent this.
Accuracy: 4/5. All bows benefit from the availability of the Archery Potion, which boosts arrow velocity. Ichor Arrows also have an inherently high velocity stat.
Disruption: 1/5. It isn't particularly fast, and has no inherent knockback. I suppose Hellfire Arrows are an option for knockback, though you'd be cutting your damage output to almost zero by not using Ichor.
Safety: 4/5. For what it's worth, it can at least strike things from a distance, while weapons like the Breaker Blade cannot.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from 10 Pearlwood at a Work Bench. Note that due to its reliance on Ichor Arrows, it requires a Crimson world to be usable.
Best prefix: Deadly/Demonic ¢
While it's true that no one in their right mind would craft this weapon with the intention to use it, the Pearlwood Bow can potentially be better than some of the weapons on this list, a testament to how bad those weapons really are. Loaded with Ichor Arrows, it is at least able to deal damage to Hardmode enemies and eventually kill them, and can even kill the Twins in normal mode, with Orichalcum Armor and a lot of buff potions. I don't think any broadsword can make that claim.
This is the only weapon I gave an F+ to. It is undeniably bad, but since there is one scenario in which it delivers an almost passable performance (use Ichor Arrows while wearing Orichalcum Armor), it at least deserves to be rated higher than things like the Anchor, which will be terrible no matter what you do. So if you see something with an F ranking later down the list, that means that I consider it worse than the Pearlwood Bow.
DPS: 1/5. Well, it's a weapon with earlygame stats, and it relies on the Ichor debuff to deal any damage at all. Without Ichor Arrows it's pretty much zero.
Crowd control: 1/5. Not an option most of the time, because Ichor Arrows are usually the only way for it to deal damage. You can use Orichalcum Armor to circumvent this.
Accuracy: 4/5. All bows benefit from the availability of the Archery Potion, which boosts arrow velocity. Ichor Arrows also have an inherently high velocity stat.
Disruption: 1/5. It isn't particularly fast, and has no inherent knockback. I suppose Hellfire Arrows are an option for knockback, though you'd be cutting your damage output to almost zero by not using Ichor.
Safety: 4/5. For what it's worth, it can at least strike things from a distance, while weapons like the Breaker Blade cannot.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from 10 Pearlwood at a Work Bench. Note that due to its reliance on Ichor Arrows, it requires a Crimson world to be usable.
Best prefix: Deadly/Demonic ¢
Dropped by Wall of Flesh
Breaker Blade: F
This was meant to be a sword that compensates for its other faults with its enormous size. Its size, unfortunately, does not make up for how slow and weak this weapon is. In crowd-control situations, it is likely to catch multiple enemies within its reach, but is gimped entirely by its ability to only hit a few of them with each swing. If you are determined to use it, consider pairing it with a Shield of Cthulhu to offset its inability to push back resistant enemies. The list of enemies the Breaker Blade can deal with is incredibly short and mostly overlaps with the Pearlwood Sword, so I doubt I'm being unfair by putting it in F rank; a weapon with such terrible range and disruptive abilities is going to be awful whether it can deal two-digit damage values or not.
DPS: 1/5. Its slow speed really hurts, and damage per hit is mediocre.
Crowd control: 2/5. Completely fails against any invasion-type event, or any situation in which more than one enemy is shooting at you, though this can mostly be attributed to a lack of disruptive power and range.
Accuracy: Not applicable. It's the largest sword in the game, but that doesn't mean it has actual range.
Disruption: 1/5. While it has good knockback, it is far too slow to keep enemies away from you unless they have practically no knockback resistance at all.
Safety: 1/5. The relatively long reach doesn't compensate for its slowness. It is also difficult to use while retreating.
Availability: 2/5. 16.67% chance to drop from the Wall of Flesh. 4/5 in Expert Mode, where it has a 33% chance to drop.
Best prefix: Legendary $
DPS: 1/5. Its slow speed really hurts, and damage per hit is mediocre.
Crowd control: 2/5. Completely fails against any invasion-type event, or any situation in which more than one enemy is shooting at you, though this can mostly be attributed to a lack of disruptive power and range.
Accuracy: Not applicable. It's the largest sword in the game, but that doesn't mean it has actual range.
Disruption: 1/5. While it has good knockback, it is far too slow to keep enemies away from you unless they have practically no knockback resistance at all.
Safety: 1/5. The relatively long reach doesn't compensate for its slowness. It is also difficult to use while retreating.
Availability: 2/5. 16.67% chance to drop from the Wall of Flesh. 4/5 in Expert Mode, where it has a 33% chance to drop.
Best prefix: Legendary $
Clockwork Assault Rifle: A
Uses standard bullets.
While its damage output with the Endless Musket Pouch is unimpressive, it becomes quite fearsome when loaded with higher-grade ammunition. And because it is ammo-efficient, the opportunity cost of using such ammunition is very low. Since it has autofire, it performs quite similarly to the Megashark, and like the Megashark, it is great in any single-target situation, serving you well until you can craft an Onyx Blaster. It can even be used against the Twins and Skeletron Prime, but that's pushing it a bit.
DPS: 3/5. The nice thing about it is that it greatly extends the mileage of your expensive ammo, so there's no reason not to use Cursed/Crystal/Ichor Bullets, which significantly improve its DPS. Meteor Shot lowers its single-target DPS, so consider it only when you need to pierce three or more targets.
Crowd control: 1/5. You can use Meteor Shot/Exploding Bullets if you want, but you probably have better crowd control options. For instance, the Blowgun with Crystal Darts, or a repeater with Unholy Arrows. But it's still very good against the Destroyer if you use Exploding Bullets.
Accuracy: 4/5. It shoots with good velocity and almost no bullet spread, making it very accurate if your aim is true. Its velocity is even higher when loaded with Exploding, Ichor, or Party Bullets.
Disruption: 3/5. The weapon itself has no listed knockback, but every bullet has a knockback value. Even with the Musket Pouch, it is able to slow enemies down, and with Exploding Bullets, even knock them away. Party Bullets offer the best knockback if you're not comfortable using Exploding Bullets.
Safety: 4/5. Excellent range means that lack of knockback is usually not a problem, and it's easy to avoid hurting yourself with Exploding Bullets.
Availability: 2/5. 16.67% chance to drop from the Wall of Flesh. 4/5 in Expert Mode, where it has a 33% chance to drop.
Best prefix: Demonic $
While its damage output with the Endless Musket Pouch is unimpressive, it becomes quite fearsome when loaded with higher-grade ammunition. And because it is ammo-efficient, the opportunity cost of using such ammunition is very low. Since it has autofire, it performs quite similarly to the Megashark, and like the Megashark, it is great in any single-target situation, serving you well until you can craft an Onyx Blaster. It can even be used against the Twins and Skeletron Prime, but that's pushing it a bit.
DPS: 3/5. The nice thing about it is that it greatly extends the mileage of your expensive ammo, so there's no reason not to use Cursed/Crystal/Ichor Bullets, which significantly improve its DPS. Meteor Shot lowers its single-target DPS, so consider it only when you need to pierce three or more targets.
Crowd control: 1/5. You can use Meteor Shot/Exploding Bullets if you want, but you probably have better crowd control options. For instance, the Blowgun with Crystal Darts, or a repeater with Unholy Arrows. But it's still very good against the Destroyer if you use Exploding Bullets.
Accuracy: 4/5. It shoots with good velocity and almost no bullet spread, making it very accurate if your aim is true. Its velocity is even higher when loaded with Exploding, Ichor, or Party Bullets.
Disruption: 3/5. The weapon itself has no listed knockback, but every bullet has a knockback value. Even with the Musket Pouch, it is able to slow enemies down, and with Exploding Bullets, even knock them away. Party Bullets offer the best knockback if you're not comfortable using Exploding Bullets.
Safety: 4/5. Excellent range means that lack of knockback is usually not a problem, and it's easy to avoid hurting yourself with Exploding Bullets.
Availability: 2/5. 16.67% chance to drop from the Wall of Flesh. 4/5 in Expert Mode, where it has a 33% chance to drop.
Best prefix: Demonic $
Laser Rifle: A-
With incredible velocity and piercing abilities, the Laser Rifle does a lot of work against clusters of grounded enemies, though it works better if you’re on the ground as well. It is at least as valuable for stunlocking enemies as it is for dealing actual damage. The pirate invasion is probably where the Laser Rifle shines the most.
DPS: 3/5. This is usually a weapon you want to use against multiple targets.
Crowd control: 5/5. Great piercing abilities, making it valuable against invasions.
Accuracy: 4/5. The laser's velocity is so high that you don't need to lead your shots at all.
Disruption: 4/5. It shoots fast enough to slow enemies' approach to a crawl.
Safety: 4/5. 5/5 is reserved for weapons that do not even require line of sight.
Availability: 2/5. 16.67% chance to drop from the Wall of Flesh. 4/5 in Expert Mode, where it has a 33% chance to drop.
Best prefix: Mythical $
DPS: 3/5. This is usually a weapon you want to use against multiple targets.
Crowd control: 5/5. Great piercing abilities, making it valuable against invasions.
Accuracy: 4/5. The laser's velocity is so high that you don't need to lead your shots at all.
Disruption: 4/5. It shoots fast enough to slow enemies' approach to a crawl.
Safety: 4/5. 5/5 is reserved for weapons that do not even require line of sight.
Availability: 2/5. 16.67% chance to drop from the Wall of Flesh. 4/5 in Expert Mode, where it has a 33% chance to drop.
Best prefix: Mythical $
Crafted through mining
Ore Swords and Phasesabers: C-
At this point you should be trying to outgrow your sword habit, but as long as you avoid getting overwhelmed, they get the job done. I'd avoid crafting the Palladium and Titanium versions, because the bars are much better spent crafting the respective armor sets. The Cutlass outclasses all of them thanks to its superior speed.
DPS: 3/5. Decent, but there are weapons with better range that are equally good or better.
Crowd control: 3/5. Unlike the Breaker Blade, these are fast enough to at least consistently damage and repel two or three enemies.
Accuracy: Not applicable.
Disruption: 3/5. Some enemies can be held off, some cannot. Phasesabers are particularly bad at this. Unless you're using a Power Glove, do not attempt to use any sword against the pirates, except maybe the Crimson-exclusive ones.
Safety: 1/5. Generally, going in with a sword is not your safest option in any scenario.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from between 10-13 bars (ore swords) or a Phaseblade and 50 Crystal Shards (Phasesabers) at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Legendary $ (Phasesaber: ¢)
DPS: 3/5. Decent, but there are weapons with better range that are equally good or better.
Crowd control: 3/5. Unlike the Breaker Blade, these are fast enough to at least consistently damage and repel two or three enemies.
Accuracy: Not applicable.
Disruption: 3/5. Some enemies can be held off, some cannot. Phasesabers are particularly bad at this. Unless you're using a Power Glove, do not attempt to use any sword against the pirates, except maybe the Crimson-exclusive ones.
Safety: 1/5. Generally, going in with a sword is not your safest option in any scenario.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from between 10-13 bars (ore swords) or a Phaseblade and 50 Crystal Shards (Phasesabers) at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Legendary $ (Phasesaber: ¢)
Ore Spears: B-
They work very well against grounded crowds of any size, but you should find safer options for dealing with such situations. Absolutely better than the corresponding swords, though.
DPS: 4/5. They may have been designed to deal lower damage than swords, but hitting multiple times more than compensates for this.
Crowd control: 5/5. There is no limit to the number of enemies they can hold off from one side.
Accuracy: 3/5. To some extent, you need to stay grounded. If you are flying while using a spear, you will probably miss, because they are quite narrow.
Disruption: 4/5. These spears tend to be speedy with decent knockback.
Safety: 2/5. While they have good lockdown and crowd control, somewhat low range and vulnerability to flying enemies hurt their viability.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from between 10-13 bars at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
DPS: 4/5. They may have been designed to deal lower damage than swords, but hitting multiple times more than compensates for this.
Crowd control: 5/5. There is no limit to the number of enemies they can hold off from one side.
Accuracy: 3/5. To some extent, you need to stay grounded. If you are flying while using a spear, you will probably miss, because they are quite narrow.
Disruption: 4/5. These spears tend to be speedy with decent knockback.
Safety: 2/5. While they have good lockdown and crowd control, somewhat low range and vulnerability to flying enemies hurt their viability.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from between 10-13 bars at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
Ore Repeaters: A+
Uses standard arrows.
Ammo versatility is the best reason to use repeaters, along with the fact that they are always available if you fail to obtain anything better. They're especially good at killing the Destroyer when loaded with Jester's Arrows.
DPS: 4/5. Still decent with the Endless Quiver, but improved with Holy Arrows or whatever topping you can afford.
Crowd control: 1/5. 3/5 with Holy/Hellfire Arrows. 5/5 with Jester's/Unholy Arrows.
Accuracy: 3/5. You have to lead your shots, but they fire pretty quickly, making it easy to adjust your aim.
Disruption: 3/5. They have poor knockback most of the time. 5/5 with Hellfire Arrows.
Safety: 4/5. Most ranged weapons are quite good at this.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from between 10-13 bars at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Unreal $
Ammo versatility is the best reason to use repeaters, along with the fact that they are always available if you fail to obtain anything better. They're especially good at killing the Destroyer when loaded with Jester's Arrows.
DPS: 4/5. Still decent with the Endless Quiver, but improved with Holy Arrows or whatever topping you can afford.
Crowd control: 1/5. 3/5 with Holy/Hellfire Arrows. 5/5 with Jester's/Unholy Arrows.
Accuracy: 3/5. You have to lead your shots, but they fire pretty quickly, making it easy to adjust your aim.
Disruption: 3/5. They have poor knockback most of the time. 5/5 with Hellfire Arrows.
Safety: 4/5. Most ranged weapons are quite good at this.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from between 10-13 bars at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Unreal $
Dropped by monsters
Amarok and Hel-Fire: S
Reliable, common, and simple to use, these pull their weight for a long time. Yoyos are especially good when caving, and you'll be spending a lot of early hardmode underground. Hel-Fire provides light at all times, but the Amarok provides it only through the Frostburn it inflicts on enemies, which probably isn't significant enough a difference to warrant using one over the other.
In combat, the main difference between the two is that Hel-Fire has higher base knockback, while Amarok inflicts a slightly more potent debuff.
DPS: 4/5. You can improve this slightly with the Yoyo Glove, or Flask of Ichor if applicable.
Crowd control: 3/5. Perhaps not the most efficient weapons against the Destroyer, but will dispatch small clusters of enemies easily.
Accuracy: 5/5. Perfectly controllable, with the precision that many melee weapons lack.
Disruption: 4/5. They deal damage incredibly fast and knock enemies away reasonably well, though their strength lies in cornering enemies and eliminating them from a distance.
Safety: 5/5. Attacking clusters of enemies from above is a safe option you wouldn't have with a sword or spear. The controllability also allows for easy cheesing around corners and walls.
Availability: 3/5. 0.33% chance to drop from enemies killed in the Snow Biome (Amarok). 0.25% chance to drop from enemies killed below the depth where lava can appear (Hel-Fire).
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$
In combat, the main difference between the two is that Hel-Fire has higher base knockback, while Amarok inflicts a slightly more potent debuff.
DPS: 4/5. You can improve this slightly with the Yoyo Glove, or Flask of Ichor if applicable.
Crowd control: 3/5. Perhaps not the most efficient weapons against the Destroyer, but will dispatch small clusters of enemies easily.
Accuracy: 5/5. Perfectly controllable, with the precision that many melee weapons lack.
Disruption: 4/5. They deal damage incredibly fast and knock enemies away reasonably well, though their strength lies in cornering enemies and eliminating them from a distance.
Safety: 5/5. Attacking clusters of enemies from above is a safe option you wouldn't have with a sword or spear. The controllability also allows for easy cheesing around corners and walls.
Availability: 3/5. 0.33% chance to drop from enemies killed in the Snow Biome (Amarok). 0.25% chance to drop from enemies killed below the depth where lava can appear (Hel-Fire).
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$
KO Cannon: B
A comical but surprisingly effective weapon, at least compared with broadswords. You can use the KO Cannon in the same situations you'd usually pull out a sword. It's much more effective at repelling fighter enemies, but if you're facing flying enemies, it won’t outperform broadswords by much.
DPS: 3/5. When used up close, its DPS is actually pretty impressive, though you cannot expect to be in such close range all the time.
Crowd control: 2/5. Though it does not pierce, its huge knockback makes it better at dealing with crowds than you might expect.
Accuracy: 4/5. Fires and retracts very quickly, so it's not hard to nail enemies with.
Disruption: 5/5. Anything not KB-immune is unlikely to ever touch a KO Cannon user. Of course, it can't target enemies that fly thanks to its poor range.
Safety: 2/5. For all its strengths in close quarters, it can't really deal with anything that shoots or flies out of reach.
Availability: 2/5. 0.1% chance to drop from any enemy killed during a Blood Moon.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
DPS: 3/5. When used up close, its DPS is actually pretty impressive, though you cannot expect to be in such close range all the time.
Crowd control: 2/5. Though it does not pierce, its huge knockback makes it better at dealing with crowds than you might expect.
Accuracy: 4/5. Fires and retracts very quickly, so it's not hard to nail enemies with.
Disruption: 5/5. Anything not KB-immune is unlikely to ever touch a KO Cannon user. Of course, it can't target enemies that fly thanks to its poor range.
Safety: 2/5. For all its strengths in close quarters, it can't really deal with anything that shoots or flies out of reach.
Availability: 2/5. 0.1% chance to drop from any enemy killed during a Blood Moon.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
Bananarang: B+
This weapon's rarity is really a downer; it would be S+ if getting a stack of at least 4 of them was remotely practical. On average, expect to use a stack of 2-3 if you get any at all. It's roughly at its full potential with a stack of 4, so count yourself lucky if you get a stack that large.
DPS: 4/5. The extent to which range limits your DPS depends on stack size.
Crowd control: 2/5. Roughly the same knockback capabilities as the KO Cannon, but with better range.
Accuracy: 3/5. As with all boomerangs, there's a pretty big vulnerability gap if you miss, but lockdown isn't hard if your aim is good, or if your stack size is large enough for it not to matter.
Disruption: 5/5. Huge knockback and great speed, as long as you have a good-sized stack.
Safety: 4/5. Great range makes it equal to most guns in this respect.
Availability: 1/5. 3.33% chance to drop from a Clown, in a stack of 1-4. Clowns are already pretty rare, so getting a full stack of 10 is unrealistic.
Best prefix: none
DPS: 4/5. The extent to which range limits your DPS depends on stack size.
Crowd control: 2/5. Roughly the same knockback capabilities as the KO Cannon, but with better range.
Accuracy: 3/5. As with all boomerangs, there's a pretty big vulnerability gap if you miss, but lockdown isn't hard if your aim is good, or if your stack size is large enough for it not to matter.
Disruption: 5/5. Huge knockback and great speed, as long as you have a good-sized stack.
Safety: 4/5. Great range makes it equal to most guns in this respect.
Availability: 1/5. 3.33% chance to drop from a Clown, in a stack of 1-4. Clowns are already pretty rare, so getting a full stack of 10 is unrealistic.
Best prefix: none
Nimbus Rod: S+
If you don’t have the patience to search for a Daedalus Stormbow, the Nimbus Rod will carry you through the battle with the Destroyer with almost equal ease. Using it comes with no opportunity cost; whether you’re exploring underground or dealing with an event aboveground, you can almost certainly find a way to make the Nimbus Rod useful. You don't even have to be a mage to want this on your hotbar at all times. It deals damage for free, and if you're smart with placing the clouds, the damage it deals is actually very significant.
DPS: 4/5. This is a flat addition to the DPS of whatever weapon you're using while the clouds are out. In practice it only reaches this level of DPS if you can lure enemies into standing under the clouds.
Crowd control: 5/5. The rain pierces all targets.
Accuracy: 2/5. If you place it in the middle of nowhere, it won't do much. If you place it in a spot where enemies congregate (directly beneath you or against a wall), it can often melt them in seconds.
Disruption: 0/5. While it cannot hold back or interrupt enemies, it also doesn't prevent you from switching to a weapon that can.
Safety: 5/5. You don't have to be nearby for the Nimbus Rod to work its magic. Also, the rain will penetrate one block if it's directly beneath the cloud.
Availability: 2/5. 6.67% chance to drop from Angry Nimbuses, which spawn on the surface when it's raining.
Best prefix: Demonic $$
DPS: 4/5. This is a flat addition to the DPS of whatever weapon you're using while the clouds are out. In practice it only reaches this level of DPS if you can lure enemies into standing under the clouds.
Crowd control: 5/5. The rain pierces all targets.
Accuracy: 2/5. If you place it in the middle of nowhere, it won't do much. If you place it in a spot where enemies congregate (directly beneath you or against a wall), it can often melt them in seconds.
Disruption: 0/5. While it cannot hold back or interrupt enemies, it also doesn't prevent you from switching to a weapon that can.
Safety: 5/5. You don't have to be nearby for the Nimbus Rod to work its magic. Also, the rain will penetrate one block if it's directly beneath the cloud.
Availability: 2/5. 6.67% chance to drop from Angry Nimbuses, which spawn on the surface when it's raining.
Best prefix: Demonic $$
Poison Staff: C-
Slow, weak, and grossly inefficient. Might see use in the Destroyer fight and against the pirate invasion, but its pitiful knockback and damage against single targets makes it unsuited for general use. This weapon is roughly the magical equivalent of a shotgun with Meteor Shot, which is the worst possible ammo for a shotgun.
DPS: 1/5. Each spray of fangs only hits an individual enemy once, hardly justifying its large mana cost. However, the damage per hit is at least good enough to put it ahead of whatever you were using in pre-hardmode.
Crowd control: 5/5. With its large spread, it can catch a few flying enemies like Parrots. Crowd control is the main reason to use the Poison Staff, since its DPS is too low to use elsewhere.
Accuracy: 3/5. At least one fang will be shot towards the cursor, though it has a wide spread and low velocity making it inaccurate against smaller enemies.
Disruption: 1/5. Slow speed, average knockback, and inability to hit consistently means the Poison Staff is not likely to stop enemies from reaching you.
Safety: 4/5. For all its faults, it is still a line-of-sight weapon.
Availability: 3/5. 2.5% chance to drop from Black Recluses.
(Best prefix: Mythical $$)
DPS: 1/5. Each spray of fangs only hits an individual enemy once, hardly justifying its large mana cost. However, the damage per hit is at least good enough to put it ahead of whatever you were using in pre-hardmode.
Crowd control: 5/5. With its large spread, it can catch a few flying enemies like Parrots. Crowd control is the main reason to use the Poison Staff, since its DPS is too low to use elsewhere.
Accuracy: 3/5. At least one fang will be shot towards the cursor, though it has a wide spread and low velocity making it inaccurate against smaller enemies.
Disruption: 1/5. Slow speed, average knockback, and inability to hit consistently means the Poison Staff is not likely to stop enemies from reaching you.
Safety: 4/5. For all its faults, it is still a line-of-sight weapon.
Availability: 3/5. 2.5% chance to drop from Black Recluses.
(Best prefix: Mythical $$)
Marrow and Ice Bow: C+
Very precise bows that work like guns (specifically, the Phoenix Blaster) thanks to their extremely high arrow velocity, though the tradeoff is the inability to pierce and use special ammunition. Not having autofire is also rather painful, forcing you to find the weapon's rhythm in order to maximize fire rate. Both are quite rare, and if you have one, there's a good chance that you weren't specifically looking for it.
DPS: 3/5. Decent enough to consider bossing with, but it's usually better suited for dealing with random enemies. An Endless Quiver will usually suffice.
Crowd control: 1/5. Unlike other bows, they don't have the option to gain crowd control with Jester/Unholy Arrows.
Accuracy: 4/5. High velocity makes them easy enough to aim with, as long as you're standing still. Trying to run and gun really messes with their accuracy.
Disruption: 3/5. Actually pretty good knockback, compared with other bows. Amusingly, they inherit Hellfire Arrows' knockback value, but you're probably better off using a repeater with them, so I can't really say I recommend that combination.
Safety: 4/5. Thanks to the arrows' extremely high travel speed, they can be treated like line-of-sight weapons.
Availability: 1/5 (Marrow), 2/5 (Ice Bow). 0.5% chance to drop from Skeleton Archers and 28.5% chance to drop from Ice Mimics, respectively.
Best prefix: Unreal ¢ (Ice Bow: $$)
DPS: 3/5. Decent enough to consider bossing with, but it's usually better suited for dealing with random enemies. An Endless Quiver will usually suffice.
Crowd control: 1/5. Unlike other bows, they don't have the option to gain crowd control with Jester/Unholy Arrows.
Accuracy: 4/5. High velocity makes them easy enough to aim with, as long as you're standing still. Trying to run and gun really messes with their accuracy.
Disruption: 3/5. Actually pretty good knockback, compared with other bows. Amusingly, they inherit Hellfire Arrows' knockback value, but you're probably better off using a repeater with them, so I can't really say I recommend that combination.
Safety: 4/5. Thanks to the arrows' extremely high travel speed, they can be treated like line-of-sight weapons.
Availability: 1/5 (Marrow), 2/5 (Ice Bow). 0.5% chance to drop from Skeleton Archers and 28.5% chance to drop from Ice Mimics, respectively.
Best prefix: Unreal ¢ (Ice Bow: $$)
Beam Sword: C
A decent sword combined with a bad projectile to get a sword that's a bit better than other swords, though not by much. If you were searching for a proper long-ranged DPS weapon, then keep searching.
DPS: 3/5 (blade), 1/5 (beam). The sword itself is quite good, and the beam gives a bit of extra bite, but does piddly damage on its own.
Crowd control: 2/5. The beam doesn't pierce, so its crowd control is about the same as that of any sword.
Accuracy: 2/5 for the beam, which has poor velocity. The infrequent fire rate makes it hard to adjust your aim.
Disruption: 3/5. Thanks to the beam, it delivers slightly more knockback per second than other swords.
Safety: 4/5. Sure, you can eliminate enemies from a distance with the Beam Sword. Just keep in mind that the beam's DPS is on the same level as the Anchor.
Availability: 1/5. 0.67% chance to drop from Armored Skeletons.
Best prefix: Legendary $$$$
DPS: 3/5 (blade), 1/5 (beam). The sword itself is quite good, and the beam gives a bit of extra bite, but does piddly damage on its own.
Crowd control: 2/5. The beam doesn't pierce, so its crowd control is about the same as that of any sword.
Accuracy: 2/5 for the beam, which has poor velocity. The infrequent fire rate makes it hard to adjust your aim.
Disruption: 3/5. Thanks to the beam, it delivers slightly more knockback per second than other swords.
Safety: 4/5. Sure, you can eliminate enemies from a distance with the Beam Sword. Just keep in mind that the beam's DPS is on the same level as the Anchor.
Availability: 1/5. 0.67% chance to drop from Armored Skeletons.
Best prefix: Legendary $$$$
Magic Dagger: A-
With high speed and good damage, it hurts enemies quite a bit. Also hurts your index finger quite a bit, which is a strange drawback to be sure. The projectile arc takes a while to get used to, and your accuracy might suffer as a result. It's better suited for surface combat than for fighting on uneven terrain, where its effective range drops even lower.
DPS: 4/5. Might be the best pre-mech magic weapon for reliable single target damage.
Crowd control: 3/5. It only pierces once, but can easily muscle through crowds just by overwhelming them with projectiles.
Accuracy: 3/5. It's only accurate at close range. With its high gravity and low range, using it beyond mid-range is tricky.
Disruption: 5/5. Even highly KB-resistant enemies can be held at a standstill.
Safety: 3/5. Thanks to gravity, it has limited range.
Availability: 2/5. 14.29% chance to drop from Wooden, Golden, and Shadow Mimics.
Best prefix: Mythical $$
DPS: 4/5. Might be the best pre-mech magic weapon for reliable single target damage.
Crowd control: 3/5. It only pierces once, but can easily muscle through crowds just by overwhelming them with projectiles.
Accuracy: 3/5. It's only accurate at close range. With its high gravity and low range, using it beyond mid-range is tricky.
Disruption: 5/5. Even highly KB-resistant enemies can be held at a standstill.
Safety: 3/5. Thanks to gravity, it has limited range.
Availability: 2/5. 14.29% chance to drop from Wooden, Golden, and Shadow Mimics.
Best prefix: Mythical $$
Medusa Head: C-
Strictly to be used against worm-type enemies and invasion events. It has no business being used in any other situation since it just allows enemies to charge/take potshots at you. The fight against the Destroyer is the best performance you'll ever see from the Medusa Head, and it's probably worth using just for that battle alone.
DPS: 2/5. It completely shreds worms, but is rather disappointing when used against anything else.
Crowd control: 5/5. This weapon is meant to be used against crowds. Using it is pointless if there's no crowd.
Accuracy: 5/5. It isn't obvious, but it is a homing weapon, and will hit every target within range without fail.
Disruption: 0/5. Because you spend most of your time charging it up just to deal a single hit, this weapon does not interfere with enemies' approach in the slightest.
Safety: 3/5. Range is okay, but of course you are helpless while charging it up. Takes practice to use safely.
Availability: 1/5. 1% chance to drop from Medusas, which are already quite uncommon and annoying to deal with. 4/5 with Medusa Statue.
Best prefix: Mythical/Godly/Demonic ¢
DPS: 2/5. It completely shreds worms, but is rather disappointing when used against anything else.
Crowd control: 5/5. This weapon is meant to be used against crowds. Using it is pointless if there's no crowd.
Accuracy: 5/5. It isn't obvious, but it is a homing weapon, and will hit every target within range without fail.
Disruption: 0/5. Because you spend most of your time charging it up just to deal a single hit, this weapon does not interfere with enemies' approach in the slightest.
Safety: 3/5. Range is okay, but of course you are helpless while charging it up. Takes practice to use safely.
Availability: 1/5. 1% chance to drop from Medusas, which are already quite uncommon and annoying to deal with. 4/5 with Medusa Statue.
Best prefix: Mythical/Godly/Demonic ¢
Uzi: S-
Uses standard bullets.
A rare weapon that retains viability for a long time, and is often worth using even if you get it a bit late. It is expensive to use ammo other than the Endless Musket Pouch, but you probably won't mind because the Uzi and Endless Musket Pouch have such great synergy. You can consider it a pre-mech Megashark, mostly.
DPS: 5/5. Comparable to the Megashark, and impressive even when using the Endless Musket Pouch.
Crowd control: 1/5. 2/5 with Crystal Bullets, 5/5 with Exploding Bullets.
Accuracy: 4/5. There is a little bit of spread, but not significant enough to be a problem. With the Musket Pouch, it is actually very accurate thanks to the high velocity perk.
Disruption: 5/5. Very speedy, and has significant knockback even without using special ammo.
Safety: 4/5. Has line-of-sight range.
Availability: 1/5. 1% chance to drop from Angry Trappers.
Best prefix: Unreal ¢
A rare weapon that retains viability for a long time, and is often worth using even if you get it a bit late. It is expensive to use ammo other than the Endless Musket Pouch, but you probably won't mind because the Uzi and Endless Musket Pouch have such great synergy. You can consider it a pre-mech Megashark, mostly.
DPS: 5/5. Comparable to the Megashark, and impressive even when using the Endless Musket Pouch.
Crowd control: 1/5. 2/5 with Crystal Bullets, 5/5 with Exploding Bullets.
Accuracy: 4/5. There is a little bit of spread, but not significant enough to be a problem. With the Musket Pouch, it is actually very accurate thanks to the high velocity perk.
Disruption: 5/5. Very speedy, and has significant knockback even without using special ammo.
Safety: 4/5. Has line-of-sight range.
Availability: 1/5. 1% chance to drop from Angry Trappers.
Best prefix: Unreal ¢
Frost Staff: B
An unremarkable weapon. It can at least replace a Diamond Staff, if you were using one. Fairly comparable to the Crystal Serpent, though it's not as good for general use unless your enemies are all lined up. It also uses up mana extremely quickly, so drink a Mana Regeneration potion if you're serious about using it.
DPS: 4/5. Reasonably strong and fast, but more of a burst weapon due to its high mana consumption.
Crowd control: 3/5. It pierces once, which is okay, but the Laser Rifle really outperforms it. It’s in a weird position because it doesn’t pierce enough to handle crowds that well, but still feels wasteful to use on a single target.
Accuracy: 3/5. It's no slouch when it comes to speed and projectile velocity, and its frost stream travels faster than the Crystal Serpent's explosive charge.
Disruption: 3/5. Pretty good knockback, offsetting its average speed. It can actually juggle certain enemies.
Safety: 4/5, being a line-of-sight weapon.
Availability: 3/5. 2% chance to drop from Ice Elementals, Icy Mermen, and Ice Golems.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
DPS: 4/5. Reasonably strong and fast, but more of a burst weapon due to its high mana consumption.
Crowd control: 3/5. It pierces once, which is okay, but the Laser Rifle really outperforms it. It’s in a weird position because it doesn’t pierce enough to handle crowds that well, but still feels wasteful to use on a single target.
Accuracy: 3/5. It's no slouch when it comes to speed and projectile velocity, and its frost stream travels faster than the Crystal Serpent's explosive charge.
Disruption: 3/5. Pretty good knockback, offsetting its average speed. It can actually juggle certain enemies.
Safety: 4/5, being a line-of-sight weapon.
Availability: 3/5. 2% chance to drop from Ice Elementals, Icy Mermen, and Ice Golems.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
Ice Sickle: S
The quintessential melee weapon. While it has limited use against fast-moving bosses, it shreds crowds of enemies at close range and vastly outperforms swords when it comes to beating them back, easily setting up an impenetrable barrier of lingering ice blades. This weapon easily proves that wall penetration isn't the feature that makes the Death Sickle as good as it is.
DPS: 5/5. Has enormous DPS if you can trap enemies at the end of the projectile path. The sickle itself also has a hitbox, which can come in handy at times.
Crowd control: 5/5. Each shot is good for five piercing hits, which is more than most crowds can handle.
Accuracy: 3/5. Creates lingering projectiles with a pretty large hitbox, though they lose velocity rather quickly.
Disruption: 5/5. Each projectile deals a barrage of hits, easily juggling most enemies.
Safety: 2/5. It still requires being in melee range, though its range is better than point blank.
Availability: 1/5. 0.56% chance to drop from Armored Vikings, Icy Mermen, Ice Elementals, and Ice Tortoises.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
DPS: 5/5. Has enormous DPS if you can trap enemies at the end of the projectile path. The sickle itself also has a hitbox, which can come in handy at times.
Crowd control: 5/5. Each shot is good for five piercing hits, which is more than most crowds can handle.
Accuracy: 3/5. Creates lingering projectiles with a pretty large hitbox, though they lose velocity rather quickly.
Disruption: 5/5. Each projectile deals a barrage of hits, easily juggling most enemies.
Safety: 2/5. It still requires being in melee range, though its range is better than point blank.
Availability: 1/5. 0.56% chance to drop from Armored Vikings, Icy Mermen, Ice Elementals, and Ice Tortoises.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
Flower of Frost: D+
Applies mediocre damage to a single target with poor accuracy unless you're nearly at point-blank range, and guzzles mana while doing so. A Mana Flower or supply of Mana Regeneration potions is all but required if you want to use it at all, but the Flower of Frost really doesn't offer anything that would tempt you to do so.
DPS: 3/5. With all the mana potions you'll be chugging, damage won't be great, even in the unlikely scenario that all your shots connect.
Crowd control: 1/5. Doesn't pierce at all. 17 mana for a non-piercing hit? Ew, no thanks.
Accuracy: 2/5. It isn't terribly accurate at a distance. It bounces enough times to probably connect with something if you fire it low to the ground, but then you're better off using something with line-of-sight.
Disruption: 2/5. It can hold one enemy at a standstill, though of course that comes at the cost of nearly all your mana.
Safety: 3/5. You can just lob them into an area, though you won't be dealing much damage that way.
Availability: 2/5. 28.5% chance to drop from Ice Mimics.
Best prefix: Mythical ¢
DPS: 3/5. With all the mana potions you'll be chugging, damage won't be great, even in the unlikely scenario that all your shots connect.
Crowd control: 1/5. Doesn't pierce at all. 17 mana for a non-piercing hit? Ew, no thanks.
Accuracy: 2/5. It isn't terribly accurate at a distance. It bounces enough times to probably connect with something if you fire it low to the ground, but then you're better off using something with line-of-sight.
Disruption: 2/5. It can hold one enemy at a standstill, though of course that comes at the cost of nearly all your mana.
Safety: 3/5. You can just lob them into an area, though you won't be dealing much damage that way.
Availability: 2/5. 28.5% chance to drop from Ice Mimics.
Best prefix: Mythical ¢
Frostbrand: C
Looks pretty cool, but this is still primarily a sword, and is intended to be used as such. There are better swords, and better projectiles.
DPS: 3/5 (sword), 1/5 (beam). Try to use the sword and the beam together. The beam itself does almost nothing.
Crowd control: 3/5. Unlike the Beam Sword's projectile, the Frostbrand's pierces once.
Accuracy: 2/5. The Frostbrand's projectile is still really slow, making it impossible to properly lead your shots. It's probably a better idea to focus on the sword alone.
Disruption: 2/5. Using the sword and projectile together, you may be able to hold an enemy back sometimes, though all of its stats (especially speed) are worse than the Beam Sword's.
Safety: 1/5 (sword), 4/5 (beam). It's a choice between risky, good DPS or safe, bad DPS. Usually you want safe, good DPS, which can be provided by some other weapon.
Availability: 2/5. 28.5% chance to drop from Ice Mimics.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
DPS: 3/5 (sword), 1/5 (beam). Try to use the sword and the beam together. The beam itself does almost nothing.
Crowd control: 3/5. Unlike the Beam Sword's projectile, the Frostbrand's pierces once.
Accuracy: 2/5. The Frostbrand's projectile is still really slow, making it impossible to properly lead your shots. It's probably a better idea to focus on the sword alone.
Disruption: 2/5. Using the sword and projectile together, you may be able to hold an enemy back sometimes, though all of its stats (especially speed) are worse than the Beam Sword's.
Safety: 1/5 (sword), 4/5 (beam). It's a choice between risky, good DPS or safe, bad DPS. Usually you want safe, good DPS, which can be provided by some other weapon.
Availability: 2/5. 28.5% chance to drop from Ice Mimics.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
Bought from NPCs
Gradient and Format C: A
These weapons are by no means bad, but they are outclassed by the Amarok and other yoyos while being no easier to obtain. Usage details remain about the same.
Stats: see Amarok.
Availability: 3/5. Sold by the Skeleton Merchant for 20 gold in Hardmode. One or the other will always be available, depending on moon phase.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$
Stats: see Amarok.
Availability: 3/5. Sold by the Skeleton Merchant for 20 gold in Hardmode. One or the other will always be available, depending on moon phase.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$
Ice Rod: C+
Among the most improved weapons with the 1.3 update, but still fairly niche. You have to be a mage to get more mileage out of it (or someone who likes building in really high places). Also, please don’t be that person who uses the Ice Rod during a crowded boss battle in multiplayer.
DPS: 2/5. DPS wasn't meant to be its strength, but it can at least compete with the Crystal Storm.
Crowd control: 1/5. It can delay them from reaching you a bit, but this is not a weapon you can dispatch crowds with.
Accuracy: 3/5. Velocity is kind of mediocre. It does much better if you can trap enemies with it.
Disruption: 5/5. While it cannot repel enemies with knockback alone, that doesn't matter if you can just block enemies off entirely with a wall of ice. This will probably only work underground.
Safety: 5/5, simply because you can block enemies from reaching you at all while still pelting them with ice blocks.
Availability: 5/5. Sold by Wizard for 50 gold.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
DPS: 2/5. DPS wasn't meant to be its strength, but it can at least compete with the Crystal Storm.
Crowd control: 1/5. It can delay them from reaching you a bit, but this is not a weapon you can dispatch crowds with.
Accuracy: 3/5. Velocity is kind of mediocre. It does much better if you can trap enemies with it.
Disruption: 5/5. While it cannot repel enemies with knockback alone, that doesn't matter if you can just block enemies off entirely with a wall of ice. This will probably only work underground.
Safety: 5/5, simply because you can block enemies from reaching you at all while still pelting them with ice blocks.
Availability: 5/5. Sold by Wizard for 50 gold.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
Shotgun: D+
Uses standard bullets.
This weapon's main role is getting turned into an Onyx Blaster. With the Endless Musket Pouch, it is a pathetic weapon. However, it is surprisingly decent when paired with Exploding Bullets, and those are arguably the only worthwhile ammunition for the Shotgun. While it may be unintuitive to pair a close-range weapon with Exploding Bullets, the widened hitboxes make it much better at spraying surface crowds from a distance. Probably still not worth using, but you should buy one if the Onyx Blaster appeals to you.
DPS: 1/5. Its single-target damage is unimpressive, even if you land every bullet on the same enemy.
Crowd control: 1/5 with most bullets, and 4/5 with Exploding Bullets.
Accuracy: 2/5. Yikes. Exploding Bullets can deal some damage on missed shots, but only against grounded enemies.
Disruption: 2/5. It is incredibly slow, and no amount of knockback can make up for that.
Safety: 4/5. You can spray enemies from a distance with it, and if you're lucky, every other shot might actually deal damage.
Availability: 5/5. Sold by the Arms Dealer for 25 gold in Hardmode.
(Best prefix: Unreal $$)
This weapon's main role is getting turned into an Onyx Blaster. With the Endless Musket Pouch, it is a pathetic weapon. However, it is surprisingly decent when paired with Exploding Bullets, and those are arguably the only worthwhile ammunition for the Shotgun. While it may be unintuitive to pair a close-range weapon with Exploding Bullets, the widened hitboxes make it much better at spraying surface crowds from a distance. Probably still not worth using, but you should buy one if the Onyx Blaster appeals to you.
DPS: 1/5. Its single-target damage is unimpressive, even if you land every bullet on the same enemy.
Crowd control: 1/5 with most bullets, and 4/5 with Exploding Bullets.
Accuracy: 2/5. Yikes. Exploding Bullets can deal some damage on missed shots, but only against grounded enemies.
Disruption: 2/5. It is incredibly slow, and no amount of knockback can make up for that.
Safety: 4/5. You can spray enemies from a distance with it, and if you're lucky, every other shot might actually deal damage.
Availability: 5/5. Sold by the Arms Dealer for 25 gold in Hardmode.
(Best prefix: Unreal $$)
Gatligator: B
Uses standard bullets.
The best pre-mech gun for crowd control when paired with Exploding Bullets. Unfortunately, its awful accuracy makes it difficult to use as an actual ranged weapon, so you'll probably be shooting things point-blank instead to take full advantage of its high fire rate. A decent gun overall, but outclassed by the Onyx Blaster in almost every aspect, including ammo efficiency. If only it were a bit easier to obtain...
DPS: 4/5. Its DPS is heavily limited by range, so don't expect it to perform that well from a long distance.
Crowd control: 1/5. 4/5 when using Exploding Bullets from above, which might be the best way to use the Gatligator.
Accuracy: 2/5. "Highly inaccurate". The tooltip isn't lying. Point-blank range is required to hit consistently unless you’re fighting large targets like the Twins.
Disruption: 4/5. It's fast and can stunlock enemies when operated at point-blank range. 5/5 with Exploding Bullets, but don’t use those at point-blank range.
Safety: 4/5. Now I'm not saying that's it's especially effective at dealing damage from a distance, but despite its poor accuracy, a gun is a gun.
Availability: 1/5. 0.5% chance to be sold by the Traveling Merchant for 35 gold in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Unreal $$$
The best pre-mech gun for crowd control when paired with Exploding Bullets. Unfortunately, its awful accuracy makes it difficult to use as an actual ranged weapon, so you'll probably be shooting things point-blank instead to take full advantage of its high fire rate. A decent gun overall, but outclassed by the Onyx Blaster in almost every aspect, including ammo efficiency. If only it were a bit easier to obtain...
DPS: 4/5. Its DPS is heavily limited by range, so don't expect it to perform that well from a long distance.
Crowd control: 1/5. 4/5 when using Exploding Bullets from above, which might be the best way to use the Gatligator.
Accuracy: 2/5. "Highly inaccurate". The tooltip isn't lying. Point-blank range is required to hit consistently unless you’re fighting large targets like the Twins.
Disruption: 4/5. It's fast and can stunlock enemies when operated at point-blank range. 5/5 with Exploding Bullets, but don’t use those at point-blank range.
Safety: 4/5. Now I'm not saying that's it's especially effective at dealing damage from a distance, but despite its poor accuracy, a gun is a gun.
Availability: 1/5. 0.5% chance to be sold by the Traveling Merchant for 35 gold in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Unreal $$$
Slap Hand: D
It is very good at what it does, but what it does is not something you want to be doing most of the time. You must decide whether you want to be on the surface or underground during a Blood Moon, and most of the time, the surface is a more dangerous, but more lucrative choice. Consider the Slap Hand a potential consolation prize if you wimp out and head underground.
DPS: 2/5. Not as bad as you might think, thanks to the high critical hit rate. However, it can only chain repeated hits on KB-immune enemies, against which you have no reason to use the Slap Hand.
Crowd control: 3/5. It can actually juggle crowds of fighter enemies very easily, but if anything is shooting at you, you'll be in trouble.
Accuracy: Not applicable. Ironically you need to be immune to knockback yourself to use this effectively, "effectively" being a generous term.
Disruption: 5/5. Sends enemies flying, which is great if they're fighter enemies, and not so great if they're shooters.
Safety: 1/5. Its reach isn't very good, even by broadsword standards.
Availability: 2/5. Sold by the Skeleton Merchant for 25 gold during a Blood Moon in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
DPS: 2/5. Not as bad as you might think, thanks to the high critical hit rate. However, it can only chain repeated hits on KB-immune enemies, against which you have no reason to use the Slap Hand.
Crowd control: 3/5. It can actually juggle crowds of fighter enemies very easily, but if anything is shooting at you, you'll be in trouble.
Accuracy: Not applicable. Ironically you need to be immune to knockback yourself to use this effectively, "effectively" being a generous term.
Disruption: 5/5. Sends enemies flying, which is great if they're fighter enemies, and not so great if they're shooters.
Safety: 1/5. Its reach isn't very good, even by broadsword standards.
Availability: 2/5. Sold by the Skeleton Merchant for 25 gold during a Blood Moon in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
Crafted from monster drops
Onyx Blaster: S+
Uses standard bullets.
The enormous damage that the Onyx Blaster deals in a single shot easily compensates for its lack of speed. Because its explosive charge deals double the listed damage, it can even muscle through heavily armored opponents. Vastly outperforming almost every weapon in this tier in most situations, the Onyx Blaster remains useful well into mid-hardmode, only starting to fall off somewhere around when you'd be fighting Plantera.
DPS: 5/5. Easily good enough to challenge mechanical bosses with, especially with Crystal Bullets. Most random enemies die with one well-centered shot.
Crowd control: 4/5. It doesn't have linear piercing, but when aimed at a cluster of enemies, it's likely to hit everything in it. Unlike other guns, it doesn't need Exploding Bullets to damage crowds, so against something like the Destroyer you should consider Crystal Bullets instead.
Accuracy: 4/5. The blast radius of the Onyx Blaster's explosive charge is actually very large. It also has a surprisingly narrow bullet spread and great velocity, making it very likely that at least some of its bullets will connect.
Disruption: 2/5. Good knockback, but its slow speed is not an insignificant drawback. If you want to supplement its knockback with Exploding Bullets, the Onyx Blaster can certainly pull it off.
Safety: 4/5. Note that its explosive charge will explode after traveling a certain distance regardless of whether it hits anything or not, though that distance is long enough not to cause any problems.
Availability: 4/5. Crafted from Shotgun, Soul of Night x10, Dark Shard x2 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Unreal $$
The enormous damage that the Onyx Blaster deals in a single shot easily compensates for its lack of speed. Because its explosive charge deals double the listed damage, it can even muscle through heavily armored opponents. Vastly outperforming almost every weapon in this tier in most situations, the Onyx Blaster remains useful well into mid-hardmode, only starting to fall off somewhere around when you'd be fighting Plantera.
DPS: 5/5. Easily good enough to challenge mechanical bosses with, especially with Crystal Bullets. Most random enemies die with one well-centered shot.
Crowd control: 4/5. It doesn't have linear piercing, but when aimed at a cluster of enemies, it's likely to hit everything in it. Unlike other guns, it doesn't need Exploding Bullets to damage crowds, so against something like the Destroyer you should consider Crystal Bullets instead.
Accuracy: 4/5. The blast radius of the Onyx Blaster's explosive charge is actually very large. It also has a surprisingly narrow bullet spread and great velocity, making it very likely that at least some of its bullets will connect.
Disruption: 2/5. Good knockback, but its slow speed is not an insignificant drawback. If you want to supplement its knockback with Exploding Bullets, the Onyx Blaster can certainly pull it off.
Safety: 4/5. Note that its explosive charge will explode after traveling a certain distance regardless of whether it hits anything or not, though that distance is long enough not to cause any problems.
Availability: 4/5. Crafted from Shotgun, Soul of Night x10, Dark Shard x2 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Unreal $$
Sky Fracture: A+
Magic equivalent of the Clockwork Assault Rifle, but with higher base damage that allows it to stay relevant for longer. Frighteningly long, in fact. As a mage, you could realistically see yourself using this against Plantera, because magic doesn't get anything better than this for a long time.
The Sky Fracture is a great bossing weapon, but not much of a crowd control weapon. So stay on the lookout for piercing weapons like the Magic Dagger to patch up this weakness.
DPS: 4/5. This is your best DPS magic weapon and it will remain so for a long time. Thanks to its elevated crit rate, it scales pretty well.
Crowd control: 1/5. Some wiki editor said that the Sky Fracture is an effective weapon against the Destroyer. After some testing, my conclusion is that the Destroyer is the last thing you want to use this weapon against.
Accuracy: 3/5. Reasonably high velocity with a little bit of projectile spread, but less accurate than its ranged equivalent, the Clockwork Assault Rifle.
Disruption: 3/5. It has a high critical hit rate that very slightly bolsters its mediocre base knockback.
Safety: 4/5. Like most magic weapons, it hits at a decent range.
Availability: 4/5. Crafted from Magic Missile, Soul of Light x16, Light Shard x2 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Mythical $$
The Sky Fracture is a great bossing weapon, but not much of a crowd control weapon. So stay on the lookout for piercing weapons like the Magic Dagger to patch up this weakness.
DPS: 4/5. This is your best DPS magic weapon and it will remain so for a long time. Thanks to its elevated crit rate, it scales pretty well.
Crowd control: 1/5. Some wiki editor said that the Sky Fracture is an effective weapon against the Destroyer. After some testing, my conclusion is that the Destroyer is the last thing you want to use this weapon against.
Accuracy: 3/5. Reasonably high velocity with a little bit of projectile spread, but less accurate than its ranged equivalent, the Clockwork Assault Rifle.
Disruption: 3/5. It has a high critical hit rate that very slightly bolsters its mediocre base knockback.
Safety: 4/5. Like most magic weapons, it hits at a decent range.
Availability: 4/5. Crafted from Magic Missile, Soul of Light x16, Light Shard x2 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Mythical $$
Dao of Pow: C+
As a true flail, this is a difficult weapon to master, but it is at least simple enough to smash groups of enemies with. It also messes with common fighter-type enemies, and while it's a bad habit to rely on the confusion debuff, the Dao of Pow is more reliable at confusing enemies than you might expect. While it may not be outstanding when first obtained, it remains usable fairly late into the game.
DPS: 3/5. High damage, but slow, and hitting an enemy consistently with it is pretty difficult, especially if it's further away.
Crowd control: 5/5. Infinite piercing means that crowd control is this weapon's greatest strength.
Accuracy: 2/5. Nowhere near as easy to control as a yoyo, the Dao of Pow suffers from a steep learning curve that makes it difficult to deal consistent damage.
Disruption: 5/5. The main role of flails is dealing with lines of fighter enemies, few of which are immune to confusion. Good knockback, too.
Safety: 3/5. Range isn't too bad, and it has an edge over swords and spears in that it can attack from above.
Availability: 3/5. Crafted from Dark Shard, Light Shard, Soul of Light x7, Soul of Night x7 at a Hardmode Anvil. This may require you to create/infect a Desert biome to collect both shards.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
DPS: 3/5. High damage, but slow, and hitting an enemy consistently with it is pretty difficult, especially if it's further away.
Crowd control: 5/5. Infinite piercing means that crowd control is this weapon's greatest strength.
Accuracy: 2/5. Nowhere near as easy to control as a yoyo, the Dao of Pow suffers from a steep learning curve that makes it difficult to deal consistent damage.
Disruption: 5/5. The main role of flails is dealing with lines of fighter enemies, few of which are immune to confusion. Good knockback, too.
Safety: 3/5. Range isn't too bad, and it has an edge over swords and spears in that it can attack from above.
Availability: 3/5. Crafted from Dark Shard, Light Shard, Soul of Light x7, Soul of Night x7 at a Hardmode Anvil. This may require you to create/infect a Desert biome to collect both shards.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
Chik: A+
It works exactly the same as Amarok and Hel-Fire. For reasons other than combat performance, you might prefer the other two over Chik; it does not provide light, and must be crafted at an upgraded Anvil. It is still a respectable choice, considering that 10 Souls of Light and a Mythril/Orichalcum Anvil may be quicker to gather than something that drops at a 0.33% rate or less.
Stats: See Amarok.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Wooden Yoyo, Crystal Shard x15, Soul of Light x10 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$
Stats: See Amarok.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Wooden Yoyo, Crystal Shard x15, Soul of Light x10 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$
Crystal Storm: C
A magical machine gun that finds its greatest use in cramped corridors. It's decent enough in early hardmode, but thanks to its low damage value, it loses effectiveness extremely quickly once enemies start gaining more defense and its DPS dwindles to almost nothing.
DPS: 2/5. It struggles against enemies with high defense, though thanks to its insanely fast speed it is much more effective against those with lower defenses.
Crowd control: 1/5. The sheer volume of projectiles can hold back maybe 2 enemies at once, but don't be tempted to use it against the Destroyer.
Accuracy: 3/5. Its decent initial velocity peters out quickly at mid-range. This is more of a quantity-over-quality weapon.
Disruption: 5/5. The constant stream of crystals can easily stunlock and repel an enemy or two. Remember to press J every so often.
Safety: 5/5 underground, 3/5 aboveground. Its range is not great, but it shines underground where you can flood small corridors with it.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spell Tome, Crystal Shard x20, Soul of Light x15 at a Bookshelf.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$$$
DPS: 2/5. It struggles against enemies with high defense, though thanks to its insanely fast speed it is much more effective against those with lower defenses.
Crowd control: 1/5. The sheer volume of projectiles can hold back maybe 2 enemies at once, but don't be tempted to use it against the Destroyer.
Accuracy: 3/5. Its decent initial velocity peters out quickly at mid-range. This is more of a quantity-over-quality weapon.
Disruption: 5/5. The constant stream of crystals can easily stunlock and repel an enemy or two. Remember to press J every so often.
Safety: 5/5 underground, 3/5 aboveground. Its range is not great, but it shines underground where you can flood small corridors with it.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spell Tome, Crystal Shard x20, Soul of Light x15 at a Bookshelf.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $$$$
Golden Shower: S+
While it can be used as a primary weapon when first crafted, it retains its usefulness as a quick defense debuffer throughout the entire game, remaining viable even after its own DPS starts to fall off. Sure, you can use a Flask of Ichor or Ichor Arrows/Bullets, but the Golden Shower applies Ichor without consuming any resources. Pretty much outclasses the Laser Rifle, Frost Staff, and maybe even the Magical Harp.
DPS: 4/5. Its damage is naturally enhanced by the Ichor debuff, so its DPS is much better than its stats would suggest. You can also spray it once just to apply the Ichor buff and switch to some other weapon.
Crowd control: 5/5. It pierces completely through any crowd you might realistically face. It also performs well against the Destroyer even though it's immune to the Ichor debuff.
Accuracy: 4/5. Its velocity is really high, which makes little sense for something that shoots streams of liquid. Sometimes Terraria can be weird, but no complaints here.
Disruption: 4/5. Delivers a constant string of hits, mostly immobilizing targets in place.
Safety: 4/5. Essentially a line-of-sight weapon at most ranges.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spell Tome, Ichor x20, Soul of Night x15 at a Bookshelf.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
DPS: 4/5. Its damage is naturally enhanced by the Ichor debuff, so its DPS is much better than its stats would suggest. You can also spray it once just to apply the Ichor buff and switch to some other weapon.
Crowd control: 5/5. It pierces completely through any crowd you might realistically face. It also performs well against the Destroyer even though it's immune to the Ichor debuff.
Accuracy: 4/5. Its velocity is really high, which makes little sense for something that shoots streams of liquid. Sometimes Terraria can be weird, but no complaints here.
Disruption: 4/5. Delivers a constant string of hits, mostly immobilizing targets in place.
Safety: 4/5. Essentially a line-of-sight weapon at most ranges.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spell Tome, Ichor x20, Soul of Night x15 at a Bookshelf.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
Cursed Flames: B-
The textbook example of an average magic weapon. It isn't especially good at either single-target damage or crowd control, and the random bouncing projectiles are hard to rely on. Ideally it should be used for carpeting mobs of enemies below you.
DPS: 3/5. Cursed Inferno contributes relatively little to DPS, but the damage dealt by the projectiles themselves is decent.
Crowd control: 4/5. Great (but not infinite) piercing capabilities, and even some flying enemies can get caught in the crossfire. Not quite good enough to use against the Destroyer, though.
Accuracy: 2/5. 4/5 (grounded). It is sometimes hard to hit with thanks to gravity and its low-ish velocity. However, its effectiveness when you're flying is roughly the same, and it puts so many projectiles in the air that you'll be better off than with a lot of direct projectile weapons.
Disruption: 3/5. Fast enough to hold grounded enemies in place, but you can still expect to be forced to kite your enemies a lot of the time.
Safety: 5/5. You can flood an area with fireballs from a good distance above, though your DPS will suffer a bit.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spell Tome, Cursed Flame x20, Soul of Night x15 at a Bookshelf.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
DPS: 3/5. Cursed Inferno contributes relatively little to DPS, but the damage dealt by the projectiles themselves is decent.
Crowd control: 4/5. Great (but not infinite) piercing capabilities, and even some flying enemies can get caught in the crossfire. Not quite good enough to use against the Destroyer, though.
Accuracy: 2/5. 4/5 (grounded). It is sometimes hard to hit with thanks to gravity and its low-ish velocity. However, its effectiveness when you're flying is roughly the same, and it puts so many projectiles in the air that you'll be better off than with a lot of direct projectile weapons.
Disruption: 3/5. Fast enough to hold grounded enemies in place, but you can still expect to be forced to kite your enemies a lot of the time.
Safety: 5/5. You can flood an area with fireballs from a good distance above, though your DPS will suffer a bit.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spell Tome, Cursed Flame x20, Soul of Night x15 at a Bookshelf.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$$
Meteor Staff: B+
Powerful, but burns through mana extremely quickly, so Mana Regeneration potions are practically mandatory when using it. Bossing is probably the Meteor Staff's intended use, since it's virtually useless underground unless you find or mine out a large open area. It's pretty good against the Destroyer, though the Life Drain is better since it spawnkills Probes at the same time. Performance-wise, it is quite similar to the Daedalus Stormbow with Hellfire Arrows.
DPS: 4/5. It's very good for bossing, as long as you can support its insanely high mana cost. Otherwise it will only be useful for short bursts of damage.
Crowd control: 4/5. It's not a linear piercing weapon, but it wrecks everything within its blast radius. It's against crowds that you see the Meteor Staff start to reach impressive DPS values.
Accuracy: 2/5. Much larger hitbox and higher velocity than the Blizzard Staff and Daedalus Stormbow, and also explodes against the ground for some AoE damage. Unfortunately, while it is better than a lot of other "projectile rain" weapons, these types of weapons will always be somewhat inaccurate, especially against faster enemies.
Disruption: 4/5. It's fairly fast and disruptive, but the strategy is still to destroy enemies before they reach you, not to try to prevent them from reaching you altogether.
Safety: 5/5. Can be used from any distance, even on enemies below your screen. You can also dig yourself a bunker and cheese your enemies that way.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Meteorite Bar x20, Pixie Dust x10, Soul of Light x10 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Mythical $
DPS: 4/5. It's very good for bossing, as long as you can support its insanely high mana cost. Otherwise it will only be useful for short bursts of damage.
Crowd control: 4/5. It's not a linear piercing weapon, but it wrecks everything within its blast radius. It's against crowds that you see the Meteor Staff start to reach impressive DPS values.
Accuracy: 2/5. Much larger hitbox and higher velocity than the Blizzard Staff and Daedalus Stormbow, and also explodes against the ground for some AoE damage. Unfortunately, while it is better than a lot of other "projectile rain" weapons, these types of weapons will always be somewhat inaccurate, especially against faster enemies.
Disruption: 4/5. It's fairly fast and disruptive, but the strategy is still to destroy enemies before they reach you, not to try to prevent them from reaching you altogether.
Safety: 5/5. Can be used from any distance, even on enemies below your screen. You can also dig yourself a bunker and cheese your enemies that way.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Meteorite Bar x20, Pixie Dust x10, Soul of Light x10 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Mythical $
Spirit Flame: B+
Arguably the best magic weapon to use against the Twins and Skeletron Prime thanks to its homing abilities and high damage value relative to its modest mana consumption. While it is extremely efficient at eliminating flying enemies, it requires a bit of open space to work, so avoid using it underground in tight corridors. While trying to get your hands on one, you're less likely to be limited by the rarity of the materials and more likely to be limited by how tough the Hardmode Underground Desert is to survive in, sandstorm or not.
DPS: 4/5. Its homing properties make its DPS reasonably consistent, assuming all the flames hit the same target.
Crowd control: 2/5. Good crowd control if you can kite enemies into overlapping each other, but the blast radius isn't large enough to hit more than two Destroyer segments.
Accuracy: 5/5. The first *good* homing weapon in hardmode. Even if it’s among the less reliable homing weapons, it’s an extremely valuable property to have.
Disruption: 1/5. Not only is the weapon slow, you have no control over where the flames appear and which enemy they will target, so get ready to kite your enemies around.
Safety: 3/5. You do have to be somewhat close to your enemies for this weapon to work. Consider using this on enemies that pursue you.
Availability: 3/5. Crafted from Desert Spirit Lamp, Forbidden Fragment x2, Soul of Night x12 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Mythical ¢
DPS: 4/5. Its homing properties make its DPS reasonably consistent, assuming all the flames hit the same target.
Crowd control: 2/5. Good crowd control if you can kite enemies into overlapping each other, but the blast radius isn't large enough to hit more than two Destroyer segments.
Accuracy: 5/5. The first *good* homing weapon in hardmode. Even if it’s among the less reliable homing weapons, it’s an extremely valuable property to have.
Disruption: 1/5. Not only is the weapon slow, you have no control over where the flames appear and which enemy they will target, so get ready to kite your enemies around.
Safety: 3/5. You do have to be somewhat close to your enemies for this weapon to work. Consider using this on enemies that pursue you.
Availability: 3/5. Crafted from Desert Spirit Lamp, Forbidden Fragment x2, Soul of Night x12 at a Hardmode Anvil.
Best prefix: Mythical ¢
Spider Staff: A+
Summoners jump significantly in viability at the start of Hardmode thanks to this weapon alone. The spiders latch onto enemies and deal consistent damage even to flying targets. The weapon also carries an inherent perk that causes spiders to only count for 3/4 of a minion slot, which is just icing on the cake, and also a bit redundant because single-target DPS is already maximized with two or three spiders. Because they deal piercing damage, it is more tempting to pair them with a gun, bow, or other non-piercing primary weapon that the spiders won't interfere with.
DPS: 4/5. Lack of raw damage is made up for by its consistency.
Crowd control: 2/5. Spiders tend to target just one enemy at a time, though if you're a dedicated summoner this probably won't bother you much.
Accuracy: 5/5. Unless their target is both speedy and knockback-immune (Spazmatism's 2nd phase), they stop missing entirely when they successfully land, dealing constant, uninterrupted damage.
Disruption: 5/5. Latching onto enemies typically slows them down to a crawl, leaving them unable to do anything. You need two spiders to maximize disruption.
Safety: 5/5, as with all summoning weapons. Having one spider on hand to summon on top of an enemy is very handy.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spider Fang x16 at an Iron/Lead Anvil.
Best prefix: Ruthless ¢
DPS: 4/5. Lack of raw damage is made up for by its consistency.
Crowd control: 2/5. Spiders tend to target just one enemy at a time, though if you're a dedicated summoner this probably won't bother you much.
Accuracy: 5/5. Unless their target is both speedy and knockback-immune (Spazmatism's 2nd phase), they stop missing entirely when they successfully land, dealing constant, uninterrupted damage.
Disruption: 5/5. Latching onto enemies typically slows them down to a crawl, leaving them unable to do anything. You need two spiders to maximize disruption.
Safety: 5/5, as with all summoning weapons. Having one spider on hand to summon on top of an enemy is very handy.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spider Fang x16 at an Iron/Lead Anvil.
Best prefix: Ruthless ¢
Queen Spider Staff: S-
While it is really nothing special when first obtained, the Queen Spider Staff has monstrous potential and scales extraordinarily well into the lategame. In the beginning of hardmode, it is held back by its low base damage and the relatively high defense of its targets; there's no opportunity cost for using it, but don't expect a solitary Queen Spider to accomplish much. After you beat your first mechanical boss and clear the Old One's Army a few times, you'll unlock new armors and new sentries. However, none of the new sentries are nearly as flexible as the Queen Spider, whose accumulated "missed" shots amass together into a highly-damaging sea of spiders that cover any terrain, above ground or below. In the absence of set bonuses, the Queen Spider arguably remains the best sentry available, losing only to the Ballista + Panic combination. And in the lategame, after you have access to the best gear from the Tavernkeep, this early hardmode weapon is still relevant, and potentially ties in DPS with an unpanicked Ballista Staff, dealing up to nine hits over a scattered area in the time it takes for the Ballista to fire once.
Well, your mileage may vary. The Queen Spider's potential is only realized if you use hybrid sentry-based sets. Non-summoner characters will find it mediocre, and full sets will prefer their corresponding sentries to take advantage of their set bonuses. Nevertheless, you might find such hybrid sets surprisingly viable, as some of the best individual armor pieces in the game (Squire's Great Helm, Valhalla Knight's Breastplate, and Forbidden Treads) provide benefits that can easily outweigh set bonuses.
DPS: 3/5. Needs armor bonuses to become truly good, and those are locked behind bosses. But it inflicts Venom, which helps a little bit early on.
Crowd control: 2/5. It spawns a miniature carpet of spiders that can contribute to crowd thinning, but it's not a piercing weapon.
Accuracy: 4/5. Even if the eggs miss, the spiders spawned from the eggs are still likely to hit grounded enemies. You'll often end up with a nice army of baby spiders assaulting enemies over a wide area. Obviously it does very little to flying enemies that you cannot lure towards the ground.
Disruption: 1/5. There's a little bit of knockback, but not enough to do much more than slow enemies down slightly.
Safety: 5/5. Really shines while caving, since you can just cheese enemies anywhere on the screen.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spider Fang x24 at an Iron/Lead Anvil.
Best prefix: Ruthless $$
Well, your mileage may vary. The Queen Spider's potential is only realized if you use hybrid sentry-based sets. Non-summoner characters will find it mediocre, and full sets will prefer their corresponding sentries to take advantage of their set bonuses. Nevertheless, you might find such hybrid sets surprisingly viable, as some of the best individual armor pieces in the game (Squire's Great Helm, Valhalla Knight's Breastplate, and Forbidden Treads) provide benefits that can easily outweigh set bonuses.
DPS: 3/5. Needs armor bonuses to become truly good, and those are locked behind bosses. But it inflicts Venom, which helps a little bit early on.
Crowd control: 2/5. It spawns a miniature carpet of spiders that can contribute to crowd thinning, but it's not a piercing weapon.
Accuracy: 4/5. Even if the eggs miss, the spiders spawned from the eggs are still likely to hit grounded enemies. You'll often end up with a nice army of baby spiders assaulting enemies over a wide area. Obviously it does very little to flying enemies that you cannot lure towards the ground.
Disruption: 1/5. There's a little bit of knockback, but not enough to do much more than slow enemies down slightly.
Safety: 5/5. Really shines while caving, since you can just cheese enemies anywhere on the screen.
Availability: 5/5. Crafted from Spider Fang x24 at an Iron/Lead Anvil.
Best prefix: Ruthless $$
Obtained through Fishing
Crystal Serpent: B+
Among the better magic weapons available at this point, it deals respectable damage with decent speed. The splash damage is a lot like a Crystal Bullet's, which means that enemies will take more damage if they're charging at you. Its low mana cost is probably one of the biggest things going for it.
DPS: 4/5. Each shot takes a decent chunk out of whatever it hits, with a chance to deal multiple hits in one shot.
Crowd control: 2/5. Though it does not pierce, splash damage contributes a bit to crowd control.
Accuracy: 3/5. The splash damage allows you to deal damage even if you miss sometimes. A lot of magic weapons have higher velocity, though.
Disruption: 2/5. It's pretty fast, but its knockback is low enough for most enemies to ignore.
Safety: 4/5. Unlike a lot of direct projectile weapons, this doesn't suffer much from being in tight spaces.
Availability: 2/5. 0.5% chance to be caught when fishing in the Hallowed Biome in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Mythical $$
DPS: 4/5. Each shot takes a decent chunk out of whatever it hits, with a chance to deal multiple hits in one shot.
Crowd control: 2/5. Though it does not pierce, splash damage contributes a bit to crowd control.
Accuracy: 3/5. The splash damage allows you to deal damage even if you miss sometimes. A lot of magic weapons have higher velocity, though.
Disruption: 2/5. It's pretty fast, but its knockback is low enough for most enemies to ignore.
Safety: 4/5. Unlike a lot of direct projectile weapons, this doesn't suffer much from being in tight spaces.
Availability: 2/5. 0.5% chance to be caught when fishing in the Hallowed Biome in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Mythical $$
Toxikarp: B-
♪ all bubble-blowing babies will be beaten senseless by every able-bodied patron in the bar ♪
I have a soft spot for this weapon because it looks dumb, has a silly name, and blows bubbles. While its projectile behaviour is pretty weird, it still deals respectable damage at mid-range, and works better against flying enemies than against grounded ones. Against grounded enemies, the Toxikarp's upside-down projectile arc severely limits its usefulness.
DPS: 4/5. Decent speed and damage even against armored opponents.
Crowd control: 1/5. Hits only one enemy at a time, so it's easy to get overwhelmed.
Accuracy: 3/5. The bubbles are pretty big, but because they float upwards, they are useless against grounded enemies beyond mid-range.
Disruption: 3/5. It can just about hold one enemy in place, but isn't fast enough to repel multiple.
Safety: 3/5. In practice, the floating behavior of the bubbles causes its range to not be as good as you'd hope.
Availability: 2/5. 0.5% chance to be caught when fishing in the Corruption Biome in Hardmode. Be sure to defend yourself from World Feeders when fishing.
Best prefix: Unreal $$
I have a soft spot for this weapon because it looks dumb, has a silly name, and blows bubbles. While its projectile behaviour is pretty weird, it still deals respectable damage at mid-range, and works better against flying enemies than against grounded ones. Against grounded enemies, the Toxikarp's upside-down projectile arc severely limits its usefulness.
DPS: 4/5. Decent speed and damage even against armored opponents.
Crowd control: 1/5. Hits only one enemy at a time, so it's easy to get overwhelmed.
Accuracy: 3/5. The bubbles are pretty big, but because they float upwards, they are useless against grounded enemies beyond mid-range.
Disruption: 3/5. It can just about hold one enemy in place, but isn't fast enough to repel multiple.
Safety: 3/5. In practice, the floating behavior of the bubbles causes its range to not be as good as you'd hope.
Availability: 2/5. 0.5% chance to be caught when fishing in the Corruption Biome in Hardmode. Be sure to defend yourself from World Feeders when fishing.
Best prefix: Unreal $$
Bladetongue: B+
A highly effective primary weapon with a marvelous secondary effect, and among the best non-beam swords in the game. This isn't something you can use to apply ichor to enemies from a distance, though. It's kind of like the Butcher's Chainsaw's younger brother, and it's much more useful thanks to the ichor debuff and its earlier availability.
DPS: 4/5, enhanced somewhat by the ichor debuff.
Crowd control: 5/5. Chews through groups of enemies, semi-accurately. It's a good thing that most crowd control situations involve hordes of grounded fighters.
Accuracy: 3/5 for the stream. It doesn't always bounce they way you'd want. How do I describe this? It has a projectile, but it's not a "projectile sword".
Disruption: 3/5. It isn't consistent with interrupting enemies on the far end of an ichor stream, though its knockback is decent.
Safety: 1/5. You still have to be in melee range to activate the secondary ichor streams. You can swing while walking backwards, which is nice.
Availability: 2/5. 0.5% chance to be caught when fishing in the Crimson Biome in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
DPS: 4/5, enhanced somewhat by the ichor debuff.
Crowd control: 5/5. Chews through groups of enemies, semi-accurately. It's a good thing that most crowd control situations involve hordes of grounded fighters.
Accuracy: 3/5 for the stream. It doesn't always bounce they way you'd want. How do I describe this? It has a projectile, but it's not a "projectile sword".
Disruption: 3/5. It isn't consistent with interrupting enemies on the far end of an ichor stream, though its knockback is decent.
Safety: 1/5. You still have to be in melee range to activate the secondary ichor streams. You can swing while walking backwards, which is nice.
Availability: 2/5. 0.5% chance to be caught when fishing in the Crimson Biome in Hardmode.
Best prefix: Legendary $$
Obsidian Swordfish: C
By the time you've played for the eternity it takes to earn a Hotline Fishing Rod, it's likely that the Obsidian Swordfish's usefulness will have long expired.
DPS: 4/5. It is a very fast spear with high base damage and a boosted critical strike chance.
Crowd control: 4/5. Somewhat behind most spears due to its poor range, but it pierces all targets. You'd better hope it's more of a small, dense crowd of fighter enemies.
Accuracy: 3/5. Its range is low enough to actually be somewhat of a problem when trying to hit enemies.
Disruption: 5/5. Strong knockback and very fast speed. It's good at repelling enemies, though whether it can do so safely is a different matter.
Safety: 1/5. With half the range of most ore spears, this is tricky to use against most enemies, and nearly impossible to use against anything knockback-immune.
Availability: 1/5. 14.29% chance to be caught when fishing in lava in Hardmode. The Hotline Fishing Rod itself has a 1.33% chance to be obtained from an Angler quest in Hardmode, starting with the 25th quest turned in.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic ¢
DPS: 4/5. It is a very fast spear with high base damage and a boosted critical strike chance.
Crowd control: 4/5. Somewhat behind most spears due to its poor range, but it pierces all targets. You'd better hope it's more of a small, dense crowd of fighter enemies.
Accuracy: 3/5. Its range is low enough to actually be somewhat of a problem when trying to hit enemies.
Disruption: 5/5. Strong knockback and very fast speed. It's good at repelling enemies, though whether it can do so safely is a different matter.
Safety: 1/5. With half the range of most ore spears, this is tricky to use against most enemies, and nearly impossible to use against anything knockback-immune.
Availability: 1/5. 14.29% chance to be caught when fishing in lava in Hardmode. The Hotline Fishing Rod itself has a 1.33% chance to be obtained from an Angler quest in Hardmode, starting with the 25th quest turned in.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic ¢
Anchor: F
Arguably outclassed by the Flamarang and Thorn Chakram, this is unquestionably the worst flail in the game. It might have been meant as an upgrade to the Harpoon, but it is actually debatable whether it is better than a Harpoon. I can confidently say that it has no potential whatsoever, and should be sold for pocket change at your earliest convenience.
DPS: 1/5. It doesn't have the rapid-fire capabilities of the KO Cannon. Even point blank, it's just too slow to deal any significant damage.
Crowd control: 1/5. You're meant to fire it over a group of enemies and drag it into them from behind. In practice, it is way too slow and weak for this to be a worthwhile strategy.
Accuracy: 4/5. The Anchor is large and travels very quickly on its initial throw, making it reasonably accurate. This is only fair considering how harshly it penalizes you for missing.
Disruption: 1/5. At best you can hit an enemy maybe two times per second, which is not impressive at all.
Safety: 3/5. Its range is decent enough. Just remember that there's a lot of pressure for you to hit your target; you don't want to wait for the anchor to return to you after a long arc.
Availability: 5/5. 4% chance to drop from Wooden Crates in Hardmode. Since you've probably stocked up on a bunch of crates to open in Hardmode, you'll get an Anchor pretty easily, for what it's worth.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic ¢
DPS: 1/5. It doesn't have the rapid-fire capabilities of the KO Cannon. Even point blank, it's just too slow to deal any significant damage.
Crowd control: 1/5. You're meant to fire it over a group of enemies and drag it into them from behind. In practice, it is way too slow and weak for this to be a worthwhile strategy.
Accuracy: 4/5. The Anchor is large and travels very quickly on its initial throw, making it reasonably accurate. This is only fair considering how harshly it penalizes you for missing.
Disruption: 1/5. At best you can hit an enemy maybe two times per second, which is not impressive at all.
Safety: 3/5. Its range is decent enough. Just remember that there's a lot of pressure for you to hit your target; you don't want to wait for the anchor to return to you after a long arc.
Availability: 5/5. 4% chance to drop from Wooden Crates in Hardmode. Since you've probably stocked up on a bunch of crates to open in Hardmode, you'll get an Anchor pretty easily, for what it's worth.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic ¢
Goblin Invasion
Shadowflame Bow: A+
Its damage and piercing abilities make this bow very worthwhile and safe to use against bosses and invasions alike. It's also very economical since it works just as well with the Endless Quiver.
DPS: 4/5. Each shot packs a decent punch, and it fires quickly. Shadowflame also contributes to DPS.
Crowd control: 5/5. Pierces three enemies, more or less in a straight line.
Accuracy: 3/5. While its arrow velocity is low, it is still reasonably easy to hit things consistently if you're good at leading your shots.
Disruption: 4/5. Inherits the knockback value of the arrows you feed it. Even the Endless Quiver has enough knockback to stop enemies from reaching you.
Safety: 4/5. Gravity's effect on the arrows is negligible, making it essentially line-of-sight.
Availability: 2/5. 16.7% chance to drop from Goblin Summoners. 3/5 in Expert Mode where this is doubled, but Goblin Battle Standards are still difficult to farm.
Best prefix: Unreal $
DPS: 4/5. Each shot packs a decent punch, and it fires quickly. Shadowflame also contributes to DPS.
Crowd control: 5/5. Pierces three enemies, more or less in a straight line.
Accuracy: 3/5. While its arrow velocity is low, it is still reasonably easy to hit things consistently if you're good at leading your shots.
Disruption: 4/5. Inherits the knockback value of the arrows you feed it. Even the Endless Quiver has enough knockback to stop enemies from reaching you.
Safety: 4/5. Gravity's effect on the arrows is negligible, making it essentially line-of-sight.
Availability: 2/5. 16.7% chance to drop from Goblin Summoners. 3/5 in Expert Mode where this is doubled, but Goblin Battle Standards are still difficult to farm.
Best prefix: Unreal $
Shadowflame Knife: A
Should mainly be used as a single-target bossing weapon, though it’s capable of dealing some collateral damage if your screen is filled with enemies. The best thing about it is that it's a spammable projectile with no mana cost, and works extremely well against the Destroyer despite not technically being a piercing weapon.
DPS: 4/5. It needs multiple targets to reach its full potential DPS, though even its single-target damage is good enough to boss with.
Crowd control: 2/5. There is no way for it to consistently damage a dense crowd. Occasionally a knife will bounce from one enemy to the next, but don't count on it.
Accuracy: 4/5. It's affected by gravity, but thanks to its high velocity it travels quite a distance before this comes into play.
Disruption: 4/5. It has pretty good knockback and speed.
Safety: 4/5. Very good range for a weapon that deals melee damage.
Availability: 2/5. 16.7% chance to drop from Goblin Summoners. 3/5 in Expert Mode where this is doubled, but Goblin Battle Standards are still difficult to farm.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
DPS: 4/5. It needs multiple targets to reach its full potential DPS, though even its single-target damage is good enough to boss with.
Crowd control: 2/5. There is no way for it to consistently damage a dense crowd. Occasionally a knife will bounce from one enemy to the next, but don't count on it.
Accuracy: 4/5. It's affected by gravity, but thanks to its high velocity it travels quite a distance before this comes into play.
Disruption: 4/5. It has pretty good knockback and speed.
Safety: 4/5. Very good range for a weapon that deals melee damage.
Availability: 2/5. 16.7% chance to drop from Goblin Summoners. 3/5 in Expert Mode where this is doubled, but Goblin Battle Standards are still difficult to farm.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic $
Shadowflame Hex Doll: A-
A rare example of a close-range magical weapon, and its advantages easily make up for its lack of range. Great against multiple targets, even if they're somewhat scattered. It is mostly worthless against flying bosses, though.
DPS: 4/5. It depends on your distance from the target; try to catch them in the middle of the tentacles rather than the tip.
Crowd control: 5/5. Definitely something to consider using on the Destroyer, and any sort of invasion event.
Accuracy: 3/5. Huge area of effect at close range, but don't rely on hitting things at the tip.
Disruption: 5/5. It has weak knockback, but is pretty fast and can usually repel even large groups of fighter enemies.
Safety: 2/5. For a magic weapon, it has relatively low range.
Availability: 2/5. 16.7% chance to drop from Goblin Summoners. 3/5 in Expert Mode where this is doubled, but Goblin Battle Standards are still difficult to farm.
Best prefix: Mythical $
DPS: 4/5. It depends on your distance from the target; try to catch them in the middle of the tentacles rather than the tip.
Crowd control: 5/5. Definitely something to consider using on the Destroyer, and any sort of invasion event.
Accuracy: 3/5. Huge area of effect at close range, but don't rely on hitting things at the tip.
Disruption: 5/5. It has weak knockback, but is pretty fast and can usually repel even large groups of fighter enemies.
Safety: 2/5. For a magic weapon, it has relatively low range.
Availability: 2/5. 16.7% chance to drop from Goblin Summoners. 3/5 in Expert Mode where this is doubled, but Goblin Battle Standards are still difficult to farm.
Best prefix: Mythical $
Pirate Invasion
Cutlass: B-
Swords are overrated. But if you insist on using one, a Cutlass is a reasonable choice, and you couldn’t ask for more from a sword. It can easily overwhelm most of the randoms you encounter underground, but remember that swords are not an appropriate answer to all situations, especially bosses and invasion events.
DPS: 4/5. A cut above most ore swords.
Crowd control: 3/5. Unless you stack melee knockback, a sword's ability to repel enemies diminishes greatly when there are more of them, but it handles small groups of fighters just fine.
Accuracy: Not applicable. But do note that the Cutlass is reasonably large.
Disruption: 4/5. Holds off up to three enemies decently well with its good knockback and high speed.
Safety: 1/5. It's still a sword, with bad range and the inability to approach from above.
Availability: 4/5. 0.5% chance to be dropped by Pirates, boosted to 2% from Pirate Captains and 10% from the Flying Dutchman. You can expect to earn a Cutlass from the pirates around half the time.
Best prefix: Legendary $
DPS: 4/5. A cut above most ore swords.
Crowd control: 3/5. Unless you stack melee knockback, a sword's ability to repel enemies diminishes greatly when there are more of them, but it handles small groups of fighters just fine.
Accuracy: Not applicable. But do note that the Cutlass is reasonably large.
Disruption: 4/5. Holds off up to three enemies decently well with its good knockback and high speed.
Safety: 1/5. It's still a sword, with bad range and the inability to approach from above.
Availability: 4/5. 0.5% chance to be dropped by Pirates, boosted to 2% from Pirate Captains and 10% from the Flying Dutchman. You can expect to earn a Cutlass from the pirates around half the time.
Best prefix: Legendary $
Pirate Staff: B+
Surprisingly not that good for such a rare weapon, with no anti-air capabilities at all. The poop mechanic is kind of cute, though. They're much better when used underground, because they are very efficient at eliminating enemies that cannot move due to being in confined spaces. They are also the best minion to use against the Destroyer.
DPS: 4/5. It has more raw damage than spiders, but pirates don't cling to enemies like spiders do.
Crowd control: 5/5. They plow through every enemy in their path and damage everything, which is good.
Accuracy: 2/5. They have an annoying habit of running back and forth through enemies, so the damage stream isn't constant.
Disruption: 4/5. In a small group, pirates can match the Spider Staff's ability to stun-lock an enemy when used on flat ground. They can also knock some enemies back and carry them away.
Safety: 5/5. When it comes down to it, you can still wall yourself off and let the pirates do the work from complete safety, but don't expect them to do much without being resummoned.
Availability: 1/5. 0.05% chance to drop from Pirates, boosted to 0.2% from Pirate Captains and 1% from the Flying Dutchman.
Best prefix: Ruthless ¢
DPS: 4/5. It has more raw damage than spiders, but pirates don't cling to enemies like spiders do.
Crowd control: 5/5. They plow through every enemy in their path and damage everything, which is good.
Accuracy: 2/5. They have an annoying habit of running back and forth through enemies, so the damage stream isn't constant.
Disruption: 4/5. In a small group, pirates can match the Spider Staff's ability to stun-lock an enemy when used on flat ground. They can also knock some enemies back and carry them away.
Safety: 5/5. When it comes down to it, you can still wall yourself off and let the pirates do the work from complete safety, but don't expect them to do much without being resummoned.
Availability: 1/5. 0.05% chance to drop from Pirates, boosted to 0.2% from Pirate Captains and 1% from the Flying Dutchman.
Best prefix: Ruthless ¢
Coin Gun: A
Being forced to constantly convert coins into ammo makes it a bit annoying to use, but it is very strong nonetheless. To consistently use the intended ammo type (probably silver), you need to either enable autopause or fill your inventory with coin stacks in advance. Note that it will consume coins from your main inventory before spending the money in your coin slots. Due to its rarity, many people don't have any experience with this weapon, so be sure to try it out if you're one of the lucky few.
And I actually wouldn't recommend against using Gold Coins for an important boss fight if you're having trouble. It's not a bad way to spend one or two platinum coins, and can make a stressful fight relatively painless.
DPS: 2/5 (copper). 5/5 (silver). Anything higher than that is not reasonable.
Crowd control: 1/5. With its sheer speed, it can probably handle around two enemies clustered together, but no more.
Accuracy: 4/5. It is very accurate, and the coins travel quickly.
Disruption: 4/5. While it's very fast, the Coin Gun's knockback is very poor. You can stunlock one enemy, but not multiple.
Safety: 4/5. Great velocity and range.
Availability: 1/5, bordering on zero. 0.0125% chance to drop from Pirates, boosted to 0.05% from Pirate Captains and 0.25% from the Flying Dutchman.
Best prefix: Agile $$$
And I actually wouldn't recommend against using Gold Coins for an important boss fight if you're having trouble. It's not a bad way to spend one or two platinum coins, and can make a stressful fight relatively painless.
DPS: 2/5 (copper). 5/5 (silver). Anything higher than that is not reasonable.
Crowd control: 1/5. With its sheer speed, it can probably handle around two enemies clustered together, but no more.
Accuracy: 4/5. It is very accurate, and the coins travel quickly.
Disruption: 4/5. While it's very fast, the Coin Gun's knockback is very poor. You can stunlock one enemy, but not multiple.
Safety: 4/5. Great velocity and range.
Availability: 1/5, bordering on zero. 0.0125% chance to drop from Pirates, boosted to 0.05% from Pirate Captains and 0.25% from the Flying Dutchman.
Best prefix: Agile $$$
Dropped by special Mimics
Daedalus Stormbow: S+
Uses standard arrows.
Most people know how terrifyingly effective this weapon is against bosses when paired with Holy Arrows. It is a bit difficult and expensive to use effectively in other situations, and most certainly wouldn't be S tier if Holy Arrows didn't exist. But as long as you can diligently farm Pixie Dust and Unicorn Horns, the Daedalus Stormbow is so powerful that it's actually considered game-breaking. Even a player with considerably below-average skill can defeat the Destroyer with this weapon using little to no effort.
DPS: 5/5. To compensate for its poor accuracy, it rains down an absurd number of projectiles; the DPS against mechanical bosses is practically unmatched.
Crowd control: 4/5. This assumes use of Holy Arrows, which cut through crowds quickly despite their awkward vertical trajectory. Hellfire Arrows work too.
Accuracy: 1/5. It is very hard to consistently hit enemies with this, unless they are incredibly large and mostly stationary. With Holy Arrows, it is still inaccurate, but basically nothing is going to dodge the solid curtain of arrows and stars.
Disruption: 1/5. Mostly due to its lack of precision and travel delay, using the Daedalus Stormbow to interrupt enemies as they approach you is extremely difficult. You can boost its knockback with Hellfire Arrows, but that won't solve the main problem.
Safety: 5/5. You can cheese things with it, but like the Meteor Staff it does require open space to work.
Availability: 2/5. 25% chance to drop from Hallowed Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Light.
Best prefix: Unreal $$$
Most people know how terrifyingly effective this weapon is against bosses when paired with Holy Arrows. It is a bit difficult and expensive to use effectively in other situations, and most certainly wouldn't be S tier if Holy Arrows didn't exist. But as long as you can diligently farm Pixie Dust and Unicorn Horns, the Daedalus Stormbow is so powerful that it's actually considered game-breaking. Even a player with considerably below-average skill can defeat the Destroyer with this weapon using little to no effort.
DPS: 5/5. To compensate for its poor accuracy, it rains down an absurd number of projectiles; the DPS against mechanical bosses is practically unmatched.
Crowd control: 4/5. This assumes use of Holy Arrows, which cut through crowds quickly despite their awkward vertical trajectory. Hellfire Arrows work too.
Accuracy: 1/5. It is very hard to consistently hit enemies with this, unless they are incredibly large and mostly stationary. With Holy Arrows, it is still inaccurate, but basically nothing is going to dodge the solid curtain of arrows and stars.
Disruption: 1/5. Mostly due to its lack of precision and travel delay, using the Daedalus Stormbow to interrupt enemies as they approach you is extremely difficult. You can boost its knockback with Hellfire Arrows, but that won't solve the main problem.
Safety: 5/5. You can cheese things with it, but like the Meteor Staff it does require open space to work.
Availability: 2/5. 25% chance to drop from Hallowed Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Light.
Best prefix: Unreal $$$
Flying Knife: B+
Using the Flying Knife is what using a flail should feel like, which isn't to say that it's for everyone. In exchange for gaining indefinite range, this weapon is psychedelic and difficult to control. However, it’s pretty good at smacking around groups of enemies, and surprisingly, it pulls its weight for far longer than most pre-mech weapons, remaining usable in the HM Dungeon. You also have the option to ignore its controllability gimmick and use it like a poor man’s Paladin’s Hammer, or you could press it against the ground to stabilize its hitbox and greatly increase its DPS against a single grounded target. Either way, just make sure to use a mouse rather than a trackpad. High skillcap, but potentially very rewarding.
DPS: 3/5. The Flying Knife doesn't hit quite as frequently as a yoyo, but still deals decent damage per second.
Crowd control: 5/5. It easily pierces rows of enemies, and is among the best melee weapons to use against the Destroyer.
Accuracy: 4/5. Not quite as good as yoyos, but with concentration it's possible to damage a single enemy consistently. Unfortunately, this can easily distract you from dodging attacks.
Disruption: 2/5. It has decent knockback, but won't be knocking enemies away from you half the time, so its knockback stat is basically useless. You usually still have to kite and dodge.
Safety: 5/5. Its fullscreen range gives it a small niche over yoyos. You can also kill Medusas without facing them. It can't attack enemies offscreen, though, which you might notice when you're facing Spazmatism's second stage.
Availability: 2/5. 25% chance to drop from Hallowed Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Light.
Best prefix: Demonic/Godly $$$
DPS: 3/5. The Flying Knife doesn't hit quite as frequently as a yoyo, but still deals decent damage per second.
Crowd control: 5/5. It easily pierces rows of enemies, and is among the best melee weapons to use against the Destroyer.
Accuracy: 4/5. Not quite as good as yoyos, but with concentration it's possible to damage a single enemy consistently. Unfortunately, this can easily distract you from dodging attacks.
Disruption: 2/5. It has decent knockback, but won't be knocking enemies away from you half the time, so its knockback stat is basically useless. You usually still have to kite and dodge.
Safety: 5/5. Its fullscreen range gives it a small niche over yoyos. You can also kill Medusas without facing them. It can't attack enemies offscreen, though, which you might notice when you're facing Spazmatism's second stage.
Availability: 2/5. 25% chance to drop from Hallowed Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Light.
Best prefix: Demonic/Godly $$$
Crystal Vile Shard: C
It will never be your first choice for DPS, and obviously does extremely poorly against bosses (other than the Destroyer, against which it is only slightly below average). However, it is pretty good against random enemies underground, safely picking them off from behind barriers. It is a lot like a poor man's magical version of the Flamethrower. No one would ever call it a good weapon, but it's far from unusable, and definitely better than the Poison Staff. Probably not the prize you wanted from a Hallowed Mimic, though. If you're strong enough to kill a Hallowed Mimic, chances are good that you won't need this.
DPS: 1/5. Barely on the edge of what I'd consider viable for hardmode. It hits extremely fast, which almost makes up for its pitiful damage per hit. Mana cost could afford to be lower.
Crowd control: 5/5. Like the Flamethrower, it cuts through crowds really well, piercing any number of enemies.
Accuracy: 3/5. Its hitbox is relatively wide, but not as easy to aim as a Flamethrower.
Disruption: 4/5. Very effective at stunlocking and immobilizing enemies with constant hits. Obviously, you shouldn't use it against things that can't be stunlocked.
Safety: 5/5. It's best used to eliminate enemies that can't reach you. If you try to use it aboveground (which you shouldn't), its mediocre range will become more of an issue.
Availability: 2/5. 25% chance to drop from Hallowed Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Light.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$
DPS: 1/5. Barely on the edge of what I'd consider viable for hardmode. It hits extremely fast, which almost makes up for its pitiful damage per hit. Mana cost could afford to be lower.
Crowd control: 5/5. Like the Flamethrower, it cuts through crowds really well, piercing any number of enemies.
Accuracy: 3/5. Its hitbox is relatively wide, but not as easy to aim as a Flamethrower.
Disruption: 4/5. Very effective at stunlocking and immobilizing enemies with constant hits. Obviously, you shouldn't use it against things that can't be stunlocked.
Safety: 5/5. It's best used to eliminate enemies that can't reach you. If you try to use it aboveground (which you shouldn't), its mediocre range will become more of an issue.
Availability: 2/5. 25% chance to drop from Hallowed Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Light.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$
Dart Pistol: S+
With Crystal Darts, the Dart Pistol works a lot like a miniature version of the Razorblade Typhoon. Strikes multiple enemies with deadly accuracy, especially when used underground. It is also very convenient that Crystal Darts can be crafted by hand, and Crystal Shards are incredibly easy to gather.
DPS: 4/5. In an enclosed space, a Crystal Dart can hit a single enemy multiple times in rapid succession.
Crowd control: 5/5. Even better than linear piercing; Crystal Darts reliably bounce from one enemy to the next.
Accuracy: 5/5. Crystal Darts are functionally homing projectiles. This effect becomes more reliable when you use them underground.
Disruption: 4/5. Can slow down enemies considerably with a steady barrage of hits.
Safety: 5/5. Performs trick shots with no effort, because the darts always choose the best angle to ricochet.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Crystal Shard yields 100 Crystal Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
DPS: 4/5. In an enclosed space, a Crystal Dart can hit a single enemy multiple times in rapid succession.
Crowd control: 5/5. Even better than linear piercing; Crystal Darts reliably bounce from one enemy to the next.
Accuracy: 5/5. Crystal Darts are functionally homing projectiles. This effect becomes more reliable when you use them underground.
Disruption: 4/5. Can slow down enemies considerably with a steady barrage of hits.
Safety: 5/5. Performs trick shots with no effort, because the darts always choose the best angle to ricochet.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Crystal Shard yields 100 Crystal Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
With Ichor Darts, the Dart Pistol isn't quite as reliable at dealing single-target damage since it's almost impossible to predict how far a dart will travel before splitting. However, it is still great for tagging enemies with the Ichor debuff, especially when paired with a primary weapon that deals multiple small hits in rapid succession.
DPS: 4/5. Its DPS is naturally enhanced by Ichor, which compliments the Dart Pistol's rapid firing speed. It has the potential to one-shot enemies if spaced correctly.
Crowd control: 3/5. Curiously, Ichor Darts pierce enemies until they split, making them effective for crowd control only at point-blank range.
Accuracy: 3/5. In order to maximize DPS, you must catch enemies at a somewhat precise range. Not too close, and not too far. Since one dart always follows the original path, it's unlikely to miss entirely, but some spacing is needed for it to perform at its best.
Disruption: 4/5. Can slow down enemies considerably with a steady barrage of hits.
Safety: 4/5. Decent for strafing enemies from a distance, but unlike Crystal Darts, they aren't quite as effective when used underground.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Ichor yields 100 Ichor Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
DPS: 4/5. Its DPS is naturally enhanced by Ichor, which compliments the Dart Pistol's rapid firing speed. It has the potential to one-shot enemies if spaced correctly.
Crowd control: 3/5. Curiously, Ichor Darts pierce enemies until they split, making them effective for crowd control only at point-blank range.
Accuracy: 3/5. In order to maximize DPS, you must catch enemies at a somewhat precise range. Not too close, and not too far. Since one dart always follows the original path, it's unlikely to miss entirely, but some spacing is needed for it to perform at its best.
Disruption: 4/5. Can slow down enemies considerably with a steady barrage of hits.
Safety: 4/5. Decent for strafing enemies from a distance, but unlike Crystal Darts, they aren't quite as effective when used underground.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Ichor yields 100 Ichor Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
Fetid Baghnakhs: A-
The swordiest sword in the game, and people tend to disagree about its placement given how absurdly powerful yet situational it is. Its ability to kill enemies in close range is unmatched; you can facetank Plantera and kill it before it kills you. Unlike many pre-mech weapons, its DPS will never fall off. That said, you do need to be a bit confident in your defenses if you're planning to use them, and you should also probably equip an Obsidian Shield for knockback immunity. Many weaknesses that apply to most swords, such as limited crowd control and lack of knockback, don't apply to the Fetid Baghnakhs because it's so mind-blowingly fast.
DPS: 5/5. This weapon's DPS matches that of many endgame weapons. With the Fetid Baghnakhs, you're meant to challenge enemies to DPS races and win.
Crowd control: 5/5. It can shred through groups of enemies simply by overwhelming them with a bajillion hits.
Accuracy: Not applicable. Whether it hits or not depends entirely on whether the enemy is programmed to approach you or keep its distance.
Disruption: 5/5. Nothing can approach you from the direction you're swinging in, but enemies might still shoot at you.
Safety: 1/5. For all its strengths, it is only worthwhile if you can make a safe approach, which can be difficult.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Legendary $$$
DPS: 5/5. This weapon's DPS matches that of many endgame weapons. With the Fetid Baghnakhs, you're meant to challenge enemies to DPS races and win.
Crowd control: 5/5. It can shred through groups of enemies simply by overwhelming them with a bajillion hits.
Accuracy: Not applicable. Whether it hits or not depends entirely on whether the enemy is programmed to approach you or keep its distance.
Disruption: 5/5. Nothing can approach you from the direction you're swinging in, but enemies might still shoot at you.
Safety: 1/5. For all its strengths, it is only worthwhile if you can make a safe approach, which can be difficult.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Legendary $$$
Life Drain: B+
The life restoration offered by this weapon doesn't even come close to actual lifesteal. Use it instead for dealing with groups. It is extremely effective for eliminating swarms of flying enemies thanks to its enormous hitbox, and like the Inferno Fork, it even penetrates into walls a little bit, making it one of the greatest weapons for use underground. Unfortunately, it consumes mana relatively quickly, so it is an inefficient choice against single targets.
DPS: 2/5. It's single-target DPS is poor, and it cannot deal critical hits. However, the damage dealt by the Life Drain debuff is not insignificant, and it can erode the health of enemies with high defenses.
Crowd control: 5/5. Eliminates crowds of enemies with ease, and deals great damage to both the Destroyer and its Probes.
Accuracy: 5/5. Its hitbox is incredibly wide, and it strikes instantly. Flying or not, nothing can dodge the Life Drain.
Disruption: 4/5. Interrupts enemies and consistently slows their movement while preventing them from firing.
Safety: 4/5. It may not be obvious, but this weapon still requires line-of-sight. It penetrates into walls a short distance, making it the ideal weapon for killing worms.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$
DPS: 2/5. It's single-target DPS is poor, and it cannot deal critical hits. However, the damage dealt by the Life Drain debuff is not insignificant, and it can erode the health of enemies with high defenses.
Crowd control: 5/5. Eliminates crowds of enemies with ease, and deals great damage to both the Destroyer and its Probes.
Accuracy: 5/5. Its hitbox is incredibly wide, and it strikes instantly. Flying or not, nothing can dodge the Life Drain.
Disruption: 4/5. Interrupts enemies and consistently slows their movement while preventing them from firing.
Safety: 4/5. It may not be obvious, but this weapon still requires line-of-sight. It penetrates into walls a short distance, making it the ideal weapon for killing worms.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Crimson Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Mythical $$$
Dart Rifle: S
You can consider it a slower, more damaging version of the Dart Pistol. Usually that's not a good thing, since it's harder to aim at and stunlock enemies with a slower weapon, but Crystal Darts are so powerful and reliable that those faults are mostly irrelevant.
DPS: 4/5. Crystal Darts can rebound and hit the same enemy, which lets them compete with Cursed Darts a little bit.
Crowd control: 5/5. It can even strike down scattered crowds of flying enemies, such as Probes.
Accuracy: 5/5. Even when fired randomly, Crystal Darts can still easily catch enemies on the rebound.
Disruption: 3/5. Compared to the Dart Pistol, it is somewhat slow.
Safety: 5/5. Works from any distance, in any terrain.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Crystal Shard yields 100 Crystal Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
DPS: 4/5. Crystal Darts can rebound and hit the same enemy, which lets them compete with Cursed Darts a little bit.
Crowd control: 5/5. It can even strike down scattered crowds of flying enemies, such as Probes.
Accuracy: 5/5. Even when fired randomly, Crystal Darts can still easily catch enemies on the rebound.
Disruption: 3/5. Compared to the Dart Pistol, it is somewhat slow.
Safety: 5/5. Works from any distance, in any terrain.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Crystal Shard yields 100 Crystal Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
Use Cursed Darts the same way you would use the North Pole; fire them directly upwards to create a curtain of falling flames that works excellently against the Destroyer. Usually you'll want to fire on enemies from a vertical angle to maximize the odds that the secondary fireballs will strike your targets. Against the Destroyer, a Dart Rifle with Cursed Darts is second only to the Daedalus Stormbow.
DPS: 5/5. Even when used against enemies directly, Cursed Darts deal multiple hits very reliably. This is especially the case when you have the height advantage.
Crowd control: 4/5. It's a bit odd that you have to fire above a crowd in order to hit everything in it, making it slightly less reliable for damaging dense crowds.
Accuracy: 4/5. Cursed Darts can deal very consistent damage against grounded enemies that try to approach, but you should still try to aim at your enemies to maximize damage.
Disruption: 5/5. By carpeting the floor with flames, it can completely stop fighter enemies from approaching. You can also set up a curtain of falling fireballs to repel flying enemies.
Safety: 4/5. Like the North Pole, it benefits greatly from having a bit of open space to work with, which isn't usually the case underground.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Cursed Flame yields 100 Cursed Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
DPS: 5/5. Even when used against enemies directly, Cursed Darts deal multiple hits very reliably. This is especially the case when you have the height advantage.
Crowd control: 4/5. It's a bit odd that you have to fire above a crowd in order to hit everything in it, making it slightly less reliable for damaging dense crowds.
Accuracy: 4/5. Cursed Darts can deal very consistent damage against grounded enemies that try to approach, but you should still try to aim at your enemies to maximize damage.
Disruption: 5/5. By carpeting the floor with flames, it can completely stop fighter enemies from approaching. You can also set up a curtain of falling fireballs to repel flying enemies.
Safety: 4/5. Like the North Pole, it benefits greatly from having a bit of open space to work with, which isn't usually the case underground.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night. 1 Cursed Flame yields 100 Cursed Darts (crafted by hand).
Best prefix: Unreal $$
Chain Guillotines: B+
laughs in French
A very straightforward, solid weapon that provides melee users with much-needed range and can be used in almost any situation. Roughly equivalent to a stack of 4 Bananarangs, or maybe a non-homing Possessed Hatchet. It gains a little bit of piercing when used at Fetid Baghnakhs range, making it decent against the Destroyer and invasion events. For some reason, it costs almost nothing to reforge, so take advantage of that small oversight while it lasts.
DPS: 4/5. More or less constant, and doesn't depend on distance to your target.
Crowd control: 2/5. It isn't completely useless when facing multiple enemies, but destroying crowds with the Chain Guillotines requires you to move into close range.
Accuracy: 3/5. The blades travel reasonably fast.
Disruption: 4/5. With its great attack speed, it can hold off enemies and sometimes repel them, despite only having weak knockback.
Safety: 4/5. Requires line of sight, but range is long enough to not be a problem.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic ¢
A very straightforward, solid weapon that provides melee users with much-needed range and can be used in almost any situation. Roughly equivalent to a stack of 4 Bananarangs, or maybe a non-homing Possessed Hatchet. It gains a little bit of piercing when used at Fetid Baghnakhs range, making it decent against the Destroyer and invasion events. For some reason, it costs almost nothing to reforge, so take advantage of that small oversight while it lasts.
DPS: 4/5. More or less constant, and doesn't depend on distance to your target.
Crowd control: 2/5. It isn't completely useless when facing multiple enemies, but destroying crowds with the Chain Guillotines requires you to move into close range.
Accuracy: 3/5. The blades travel reasonably fast.
Disruption: 4/5. With its great attack speed, it can hold off enemies and sometimes repel them, despite only having weak knockback.
Safety: 4/5. Requires line of sight, but range is long enough to not be a problem.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Godly/Demonic ¢
Clinger Staff: C
Somewhat like an inferior Nimbus Rod, in that it needs to be refreshed more often, can't hit flying enemies, and has a smaller area of effect. It can play a useful role against the Old One's Army, however. Consider it a portable, temporary barrier against grounded units. It's not really a fire-and-forget weapon because in the situations where it works well, you have to refresh it more often; in the Destroyer fight, the firewall lasts for less than a second, so you'll have to use it as a primary weapon if you want to use it at all. But since it costs such an enormous amount of mana when used this way, I would not recommend such an approach.
DPS: 2/5, mainly because you have to place it down and wait for enemies to ram into it themselves. It also cannot deal critical hits.
Crowd control: 4/5. It can certainly do work against multiple grounded enemies, though the more enemies there are, the faster it will break.
Accuracy: 2/5. It relies on enemies bumping against it to do damage. If you don't lure your enemies, it might end up doing nothing.
Disruption: 5/5. If we're talking about a weapon's ability to prevent enemies from approaching you, the Clinger Staff is as close to absolute disruption as it gets.
Safety: 4/5. You still need line of sight to place the flames down.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Masterful/Ruthless $$$
DPS: 2/5, mainly because you have to place it down and wait for enemies to ram into it themselves. It also cannot deal critical hits.
Crowd control: 4/5. It can certainly do work against multiple grounded enemies, though the more enemies there are, the faster it will break.
Accuracy: 2/5. It relies on enemies bumping against it to do damage. If you don't lure your enemies, it might end up doing nothing.
Disruption: 5/5. If we're talking about a weapon's ability to prevent enemies from approaching you, the Clinger Staff is as close to absolute disruption as it gets.
Safety: 4/5. You still need line of sight to place the flames down.
Availability: 2/5. 20% chance to drop from Corrupt Mimics, which can be summoned with a Key of Night.
Best prefix: Masterful/Ruthless $$$
