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Best Hardmode Weapons and Armor in Terraria

Best Hardmode Weapons and Armor in Terraria

After defeating the Wall of Flesh, many people wonder what the best weapon is in Hardmode. This is a difficult question, as there are so many different types of weapons in the game. Some users might consider one weapon type superior to another, so a lot of that is their personal preference.

The undisputed best weapon in terms of DPS is the Coin Gun. The catch is that it’s wildly expensive to use to its full potential. To do the max damage, you need to use platinum coins as its ammunition.

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Weapon types vary wildly in Terraria, so you need to stick with the weapons made for your chosen class. Wearing the class armor boosts the damage and functionality, which will make the weapon much more effective.

Besides the class of the gear, you should also know that better weapons and armor can’t be obtained until you’ve defeated certain bosses. Because of this, I’ve written about the best ones you can get for every class at every point in Hardmode.

Sorry throwing class users, I didn’t include any throwing items on this list. It’s hard to use throwing weapons in Hardmode, so I don’t recommend using them.

Early Hardmode

The Wall of Flesh is defeated, and your world is completely changed to be much harder. You need to know what weapons and armor to get, so here are some of the best options for you.

Melee

Fetid Baghnaks

DamageKnockbackSpeed
70AverageInsanely Fast

The Fetid Baghnaks is a ridiculously powerful weapon. With the right armor and accessories, this weapon is viable even later in Hardmode.

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When I first got one of these, the speed blew me away and DPS these things have. Combine these with a Star Veil, and you’ll be an unstoppable death machine! These are only good for normal enemies and bosses with lower health, so don’t even try using these for the Harder bosses.

Adamantite Armor with Helmet

DefenseHelmet Bonus
50 7% increased melee critical strike chance
14% increased melee damage

Either Adamantite or Titanium will spawn in your world. Because of that, I’ve included what you should use depending on the ore type of your world.

I think Adamantite armor is one of the most boring-looking armor sets in Hardmode. It isn’t a great armor set, but it’s the best you can get before the mechanical bosses. Once you beat your first mechanical boss, you can start making progress towards Hallowed armor, which I recommend you make as soon as you can.

Titanium Armor with Mask

DefenseHelmet Bonus
49 8% increased melee damage and critical strike chance
8% increased melee speed

I have always preferred the look of Titanium to Adamantite (although finding it Titanium is much more difficult). The Titanium Armor boosts melee stats, but I think the increased Adamantite defense and bonuses are just a little bit better.

Ranged

Daedalus Stormbow

DamageKnockbackSpeed
43Very WeakVery Fast

Once you finally get the Daedalus Stormbow, you’ll be able to wreck all 3 mechanical bosses easily. It’s my go-to weapon for those bosses and has never let me down. Unlike normal bows, it causes a storm of arrows to rain from the sky.

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This bow is a drop from Hallowed Mimics, so you’ll have to farm them until you get it. Combine it with Holy Arrows and ranged damage boosters, and you’ll be able to obliterate the Destroyer in 30 seconds. The damage this bow outputs is insane, so the time it takes to get one is well worth it.

Adamantite Armor with Mask

DefenseHelmet Bonus
36 14% increased ranged damage
8% increased ranged critical strike chance

Once again, Titanium armor is one of the best options for early Hardmode. It’s not my favorite but I always make the set anyway, simply because there’s nothing better to craft.

Titanium Armor with Helmet

DefenseHelmet Bonus
34 16% increased ranged damage
7% increased ranged critical strike chance

Except the lower damage, I think the Titanium armor is the better one to have. After you’ve taken forever to locate lots of this elusive ore, you can make an armor set that’ll last you straight through the mechanical bosses.

Magic

Golden Shower

DamageKnockbackSpeed
21WeakVery Fast

Apart from the humorous name and the low damage, the Golden Shower is an extremely effective early Hardmode weapon. It inflicts a debuff called Ichor, with dramatically reduced enemies’ defense.

Unfortunately, this is only obtainable in Crimson Worlds. This article is about the single best weapons and armor, so I will only write about the weapons deemed the best by the Terraria community.

Adamantite Armor with Headgear

DefenseHelmet Bonus
32Increases maximum mana by 80
11% increased magic damage and critical strike chance

The Adamantite armor receives the short end of the stick with this one. If you’re into world-hopping, I recommend heading to another world and crafting the Titanium armor. If not, it’s still a great armor set but not the absolute best you can get.

Titanium Armor with Headgear

DefenseHelmet Bonus
34 16% increased magic damage and 7% increased magic critical strike chance
Increases maximum mana by 100

Since Adamantite and Titanium are so similar. Magic users at this point in the game would prefer the Titanium armor, so craft yourself a set and enjoy destroying the mechanical bosses!

Summoning

Spider Staff

DamageKnockbackSpeed
26Very WeakVery Slow

Playing pure summoner is extremely hard, so you need to use whatever gear you can get. In this weapon’s case, this is a minion weapon, meaning it summons a minion to help fight for you. To get the full potential of a summoner class, you must use this weapon and the next one on the list.

Queen Spider Staff

DamageKnockbackSpeed
26Very StrongAverage

The Queen Spider Staff is a turret weapon, meaning you place it in one spot where it remains stationary. It can be used with the Spider Staff and supplemented by using whatever weapon type you want.

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Using a ranged or magic weapon is preferable simply because you don’t have enough defense to do close-range damage. If you decide to play pure Summoner, I wish you good luck!

Spider Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
20 Increases minion damage by 12%

Each piece of Spider armor allows you to have more minions. Since that’s combined with the increased minion damage, this is the only armor a summoner should be using at this point. The only crafting items needed are Spider Fangs, which can be easily farmed if you find a Spider’s Nest.

Post Mechanical Bosses

The first 3 Hardmode bosses have been defeated, and it’s time to move on to the even harder part of Hardmode. You need to prepare to beat Plantera, the ruler of the jungle, so here are the best weapons and armors you’ll need to defeat him.

Melee

Death Sickle

DamageKnockbackSpeed
57StrongFast

If you’re looking for a powerful melee weapon to help you destroy Plantera, the Death Sickle is the way to go! Many people say the Terra Blade is better, but the Death Sickle can put out much more DPS without worrying about being too close to your target.

When you throw a sickle, it’ll fly forward and hover in place, dealing damage as it spins. It can also fly through blocks, making it extremely powerful against normal enemies.

Chlorophyte Armor with Mask

DefenseHelmet Bonus
56 16% increased melee damage
6% increased melee critical strike chance

Despite this being one of the better Hardmode armors, Chlorophyte is one of the easiest ores to find. All you have to do is use a Spelunker Potion in the Jungle, and you’ll see Chlorophyte everywhere.

I usually make every type of helmet so that I can switch depending on what class I’d like to use. It won’t take too long, and it’s an easy way to try out different classes against Plantera.

Ranged

Chlorophyte Shotbow

DamageKnockbackSpeed
26Very StrongAverage

You might be wondering why the Megashark isn’t in this spot, and that’s because the Chlorophyte Shotbow is insanely powerful if you have good aim. The Megashark with Chlorophyte Bullets is best when fighting small enemies underground, but this is much better for taking out bosses.

Chlorophyte Armor with Helmet

DefenseHelmet Bonus
44 16% increased ranged damage
20% chance to not consume ammo

Chlorophyte armor is the go-to armor for most classes, so spend a lot of time farming Chlorophyte. If you’ve made every helmet type for it, you’ll have no issues swapping between classes.

Magic

Crystal Serpent

DamageKnockbackSpeed
40AverageAverage

The Crystal Serpent is a unique magic weapon that shoots a pink beam, splitting into many other damaging beams upon impact. I love some of the magic weapons in Terraria, and this weapon is no exception.

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This can be obtained by fishing in the Hallow to get it anytime during Hardmode. I included this here because the previous magic weapons aren’t as effective against Plantera. The Golden Shower is still good for lowering bosses’ defense, so using it with the Crystal Serpent is great.

Chlorophyte Armor with Headgear

DefenseHelmet Bonus
38 Increases maximum mana by 80 and reduces mana usage by 17%
16% increased magic damage

Any good set of magic armor will increase your mana points, and the Chlorophyte armor does that and increase your magic damage. You won’t get as much defense as many other class types, but that’s the price we must pay to use the mage class.

Summoning

Optic Staff

DamageKnockbackSpeed
30Very WeakVery Slow

The Optic Staff is a pretty cool summoning weapon. With it, you can summon a mini version of The Twins, allowing you to have up to 22 minions at once! It’s awesome to see your army of mini mechanical eyeballs wreaking havoc on enemies.

Spider Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
20 Increases minion damage by 12%

Spider armor again? Unfortunately, yes, there aren’t any better options to use now. The good news is that the minion damage increase works very well with the Optic Staff, so your army of Twins minions becomes unstoppable!

Post Plantera

You’ve finally beaten Plantera and gotten the Temple Key, so your next steps are to check out the Post-Plantera Dungeon and destroy Golem. Golem is a fairly easy boss, but beating him will bring you into the most difficult part of the game.

Melee

Vampire Knives

DamageKnockbackSpeed
29Very WeakVery Fast

The Vampire Knives may not deal much damage but make up for it with their Life Steal ability. Every enemy you damage will give you some health back, allowing you to stay alive for much longer without healing. This weapon isn’t ideal for crowd control, but it destroys larger enemies and bosses.

Cholorophyte Mask, Turtle Scale Mail, and Squire’s Greaves

DefenseSet Bonus
69This combination provides more defense and bonuses than any armor set you can get at this point.

This is the weirdest armor combination on this list. Someone much smarter than I am figured out that this specific combination will give you the best melee stats available and the most defense. Spend some time getting all 3 of these armor pieces, and you’ll have a much easier time in Hardmode.

Ranged

Phantasm

DamageKnockbackSpeed
50Very WeakVery Fast

Shroomite Armor with Headgear

DefenseSet Bonus
51 Not moving puts you in stealth,
increasing ranged ability and reducing chance for enemies to target you

Shroomite armor is probably one of the coolest armor sets, as it turns you invisible if you stand still. I recommend you use the headgear because that one specifically increases arrow stats, which you’ll need if you use the Phantasm I recommended above.

Magic

Inferno Fork

DamageKnockbackSpeed
65Very StrongAverage

Once you’ve defeated Plantera, an enemy called a Diabolist will begin to spawn in the Dungeon. These enemies drop the Inferno Fork, a magic weapon that shoots a ball of fire at your enemies. When it hits an enemy, the fireball will explode into a large area that deals damage for 1 second.

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If you ever take the time to get this weapon, it’ll be worthwhile. It’s amazing against certain bosses, especially Golem. This weapon isn’t to be confused with the Unholy Trident, another trident weapon dropped by Red Devils in the Underworld.

Spectre Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
42/30 Mask: Magic damage done will hurt extra nearby enemies
Hood: Magic damage done to enemies heals the player with lowest health

There’s been a lot of online debate about which helmet is better, and there is no real conclusion. Judging by the stats above, I’ll let you gauge which is better.

The hood has a lower defense than the mask, but it makes up for it with its life-steal ability. This can work especially well if you’re playing coop, as it’ll heal that one friend that won’t stop dying.

Summoning

Raven Staff

DamageKnockbackSpeed
26Very StrongAverage

The Raven Staff is a minion summon weapon that spawns fast-moving ravens that attack your enemies. This weapon is better than the Optic Staff due to how quickly the ravens can move and attack.

Spooky Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
27 Increases minion damage by 25%

Many people argue that Tiki armor is better than this, but one user on Reddit pointed out that you can get more damage per second with Spooky armor. Even though you get another minion with Tiki armor, the extra damage from the Spooky armor is enough to pull it ahead.

Post Golem

Golem has been destroyed, and now you’re ready to take on the hardest boss of them all: The Moon Lord. This boss is no joke, so you’ll need every possible advantage to beat him, especially in expert mode.

Melee

Influx Waver

DamageKnockbackSpeed
110AverageVery Fast

If you thought the Terra Blade was awesome, wait until you see the Influx Waver! It acts similarly to the Terra Blade, except that random blades will spawn in the air and home in on your target when it hits a target.

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This awesome blade is a drop from the Alien Invasion you don’t want to pass up. Even though it’s a melee weapon, it has good enough range and damage for you to avoid getting too close to enemies.

Beetle Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
63/73Scale Mail: Beetles increase your melee damage and speed
Shell: Beetles protect you from damage

Like the other armor sets with multiple helmet choices. you are free to decide which helmet is best for you. I personally prefer the increased melee damage and speed, but if you find yourself dying a lot then you might want to use the Shell for its higher defense.

Ranged

Tsunami

DamageKnockbackSpeed
60Very WeakFast

The Tsunami is a powerful bow from Duke Fishron that shoots 5 arrows at one time. Even though 5 arrows are being fired, only one arrow in consumed from your inventory. The Tsunami even shoots automatically, making it an insanely powerful bow.

Shroomite Armor with Headgear

DefenseSet Bonus
51 Not moving puts you in stealth,
increasing ranged ability and reducing chance for enemies to target you

Shroomite armor makes the list once again with the same helmet as before. If you’re making the Tsunami your main ranged weapon, you’ll want to use the Headgear for its arrow buffing abilities.

Magic

Razerblade Typhoon

DamageKnockbackSpeed
60AverageVery Slow

Spectre Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
42/30 Mask: Magic damage done will hurt extra nearby enemies
Hood: Magic damage done to enemies heals the player with lowest health

Spectre armor is still viable for use post-Golem, and neither helmet is better. For bosses, you’ll probably want to have the Hood on to get more health. Normal enemies will probably be better dealt with using the Mask, which transfers some of your damage to more enemies.

Summoning

Xeno Staff

DamageKnockbackSpeed
36Very WeakVery Slow

The Xeno Staff is another minion summoning item that can be obtained from the Alien Invasion. This time, it summons tiny UFOs that teleport around and attack enemies using lasers. It’s definitely one of my favorite minion summoners in the game and it’s the best summoning item you can get at this point.

Spooky Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
27 Increases minion damage by 25%

Here we still have the low-damage spooky armor. I highly recommend not playing pure summoner because it would be insanely hard to kill the Moon Lord with a 27-defense armor.

I’m sure it can be done, but I even have trouble with the final boss using late-game ranged and melee armor. The minions should be used with another class, but you can attempt to finish the game using only Spooky armor.

Post Moon Lord

After many tries and annoying deaths, the Moon Lord finally fell by your hand. You now have a lot of cool materials to work with, especially if you defeated him multiple times. At this point in the game, some weapons are definitely the best for each class.

Melee

Meowmere

DamageKnockbackSpeed
200StrongVery Fast

As you can probably guess from the name, this weapon is kind of a joke. The only thing is, it’s the most powerful sword in the entire game. Some people would have liked to see an epic weapon with sick skin, but we got the Meowmere.

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I think it’s a good choice for the endgame sword, as Terraria has never taken itself too seriously (e.g., Golden Shower and Mourning Wood). It’s funny to see dozens of cat projectiles melting through enemies as they meow.

Solar Flare Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
78Solar shields generate over time protecting you,
consume the shield power to dash, damaging enemies

By endgame, there are also definite armors for each class. You don’t have to worry about having the right helmet, so pick your class and run with it. Solar Flare armor is an awesome-looking set that complements a melee user.

Ranged

S.D.M.G

DamageKnockbackSpeed
77Very WeakInsanely Fast

Continuing the theme of making a joke weapon the best in the game is the S.D.M.G (or Space Dolphin Machine Gun). It may not make cute animal sounds, but it does pack a punch that’ll wreck enemies faster than any weapon in the game (except for the Coin Gun of course).

Vortex Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
62 Double tap Down to toggle stealth,
increasing ranged ability and reducing chance for enemies to target you but slowing movement speed

The Vortex armor is my personal favorite armor set out of the last 4 endgame sets. The look of this armor is insanely cool, especially if you place some dyes on it. This is the only way to go for users at this point, but other class users might want to craft this simply because it looks so cool.

Magic

Last Prism

DamageKnockbackSpeed
100No KnockbackVery Fast

What the heck is even happening with this weapon? I love this thing so much despite its rapid mana consumption. It shoots out many damaging beams of light that move around and shred enemies, and then the beams come together to form one massive beam. If you’re a mage with the Last Prism, nothing stands a chance against you.

Nebula Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
46 Hurting enemies has a chance to spawn buff boosters,
pick boosters up to get stacking buffs

The defense isn’t anywhere near as good as it is with the ranged or melee, but you need it if you’re doing a pure mage playthrough. Even though Mage is probably my favorite, it’s probably my least favorite look out of the 4 endgame armors.

Summoning

Lunar Portal Staff

DamageKnockbackSpeed
50Very StrongAverage

The Lunar Portal Staff is a sentry-type weapon that spawns a portal that shoots laser beams. It’s the best sentry in the game and is only obtained by defeating the Moon Lord. Pair this with the Stardust Cell Staff and the Stardust Dragon Staff, and you’ll have the most powerful summoner setup you can get!

Stardust Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
38Spawns a Stardust Guardian that follows you

Besides the already great summoner weapons you have, this armor set spawns one giant minion to aid you. Now, you have so many minions that you don’t have to fight anything yourself. Simply walk into a room and watch as your small army destroys everything.