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Best Pre-hardmode weapons and armor in Terraria

Best Pre-hardmode weapons and armor in Terraria

In the game’s early stages, your gear selection is pretty limited. While many more armor sets and weapons will be unlocked later, you must know the best pre-hard mode gear to make your initial journey easier in Terraria.

The best pre-hardmode weapon and armor selection in Terraria comes down to what type of build you’re going for. One weapon might not be the best until you pair it with class-related accessories.

So the best armor and weapon will be according to your character’s class, like Summoner, Melee, Ranged, and Magic.

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Keep reading this detailed article to find out which weapons and armor are the best once you start the Pre-Hardmode in Terraria.

Best Melee Weapons and Armor

Melee is an awesome class for dealing with most enemies in the game, but it becomes more difficult regarding bosses. In particular, the Wall of Flesh is difficult to defeat with melee because he constantly moves.

1. Molten Armor

Molten Armor - Best Pre Hardmode Weapons Terraria
DefenseSet Bonus
2517% extra melee damage

This set of melee armor is the set that will carry you into hardmode. It has the best defense of any early-game armor and is probably the most difficult to obtain.

It emits some cool-looking fire particles and is just a cool-looking armor set in general. You don’t end up using it for very long, as hardmode allows you to get many more sets that are better than this. If melee is your style, then you need this armor before hardmode.

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How to get it: You can craft this armor by creating 45 Hellstone Bars at an anvil. This set requires 135 Hellstone and 45 obsidian, which you smelt into bars at a Hellforge.

The hardest part is mining the Hellstone, which spawns lava when you mine it. Also, many Hellstone ore veins are under the lava, so you may need a lot of Obsidian Skin potions to protect you from the heat.

2. Arkhalis

Arkhalis - Best Pre Hardmode Weapons Terraria
DamageKnockbackSpeed
20WeakFast

The Arkhalis is a rare hardmode weapon with a very small chance of spawning in your world. When you use it, it auto swings in continuous slashes, doing a large amount of damage to enemies that get caught in the swings.

The damage might not be as good as the Night’s Edge, but the auto-swing makes up for it. If you manage to get a hold of an Arkhalis, pre-hard mode will get even easier.

How to get it: You must locate a sword shrine underground. You’ll need to find a single block-wide shaft descending straight to locate these shrines. At the bottom of the shaft is a hollow area with a breakable sword shrine in the middle.

Each sword shrine has a 33% chance of being a fake sword, which is indicated by the sword appearing wooden in the shrine. If the sword appears blue, then it’s a real sword. The only thing is, there’s only a 10% chance of getting an Arkhalis. 90% of the time, you’ll get an Enchanted Sword, which shoots beams.

3. Night’s Edge

Night's Edge
DamageKnockbackSpeed
42AverageAverage

If you’re looking for a weapon to carry you into hardmode, this is the sword for you! It’s the best sword in all of the pre-hard mode regarding damage, so you want to craft one of these.

How to get it: This sword has a unique crafting requirement. You’ll need a Light’s Bane (Corruption) or Blood Butcherer (Crimson), Marumasa, Blade of Grass, and a Fiery Greatsword. Combine all these weapons at a Demon/Crimson Alter, and you’ll have a very powerful weapon.

Best Ranged Weapons and Armor

Ranged weapons are my personal favorites, as you can attack enemies without getting close to them. Not only is there a huge variety of weapons, but there are also a ton of bullets and accessories to modify your weapons.RELATED:

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There are many more weapons than the few I list here, but these are the weapons that many people in the Terraria community consider to be the best pre-hard mode ranged weapons.

1. Necro Armor

DefenseSet Bonus
1620% chance of not consuming ammo

There is really only one ranged set of armor pre-hard mode: the Necro Armor. You cannot craft one until you’ve beaten Skeletron, so it’s a set you’ll get later in pre-hard mode.

You need this armor for ranged weapons, as it’ll save a ton of your ammo. Each piece also increased your ranged damage, so don’t miss out on this awesome armor set.

How to get it: After beating Skeletron, you must farm for bones and cobwebs. You’ll need 135 cobwebs and 150 bones, so it’s not too hard to get.

Defeating skeletons in the dungeon is the only way to get bones, and the best place to get cobwebs is in spider caves underground. Finding a single spider cave will probably give you all the webs you need, so you must kill skeletons until you’re ready to craft your new armor.

2. Star Cannon

DamageKnockbackSpeed
55No KnockbackVery Fast

The Star Cannon has been greatly buffed since Journey’s End!

There’s no doubt from anyone that this is the most powerful ranged weapon pre-hard mode and possibly the best weapon from any class before beating the Wall of Flesh.

The only downside of this awesome cannon is that you’ll need to farm a lot of stars to use as ammo. If you manage to get many stars, you’ll be able to shred any pre-hard mode boss easily.

How to get it: Gather together a Minishark, 20 Meteorite bars, and 5 Fallen Stars, and you’ll be able to craft a Star Cannon at an anvil. After creating the weapon, you should craft a sky bridge to collect stars for you at night. Be sure to collect the stars before dawn, or they’ll disappear.

3. Phoenix Blaster

DamageKnockbackSpeed
24Very WeakVery Fast

While this isn’t as powerful as the Star Cannon, it’s an awesome option due to readily available ammo. The best ammo to use with the Phoenix Blaster is Meteor Shot, as it’ll bounce after hitting a surface.

Besides doing a good amount of damage per second, you can use Meteor Shot to locate floating islands. Any ranged player should have one of these awesome weapons in their arsenal.

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How to get it: Purchase a handgun from the Arms Dealer, then mine 10 Hellstone bars from the underworld. Craft it at an anvil, and you’re ready to take on the Wall of Flesh! Due to the low cost, farming the necessary items will barely take time.

4. Bee’s Knees

DamageKnockbackSpeed
23Very WeakFast

When fired using Wooden Arrows, the bow instead emits a special projectile resembling a line of bees. On impact with an enemy or solid block, the projectile will break apart, spawning 3 to 6 bees which quickly break formation and begin to home in on nearby enemies This weapon is great for single targets as the bees pile on damage as it keeps shooting.

I have to say this is the best weapon to use against Skeletron since the bees will take out the hands and tall other parts as well. You could also use this for the Wall of Flesh but it will struggle a bit more. All in all, this is a weapon that’s really good for pre-hardmode players who are about to enter hard mode.

How to get it: This bow has a 33% (1/3) chance of dropping from Queen Bee Boss.

Best Magic Weapons and Armor

While I don’t play as a mage as much as other classes, magic weapons are some of the game’s most diverse and interesting weapons. There’s a huge variety, and many more options open up later in the game.

1. Jungle Armor

Jungle Armor
DefenseSet Bonus
1716% reduced mana usage

It provides the reduced mana cost, and each piece provides the player with 20 more mana. This is extremely useful when playing as a mage since you can use your weapon longer.

This also reduced the number of mana potions you’ll need to craft. The cost of this armor is very low, but it may prove difficult to get in an Expert mode jungle.

How to get it: The total cost is 10 stingers, 2 vines, and 32 jungle spores. The stingers are the hardest to get since they require exterminating a few deadly hornets. Jungle spores are easy to spot since they glow in the dark jungle. Since there is such a low cost to make this armor, a mage player wants to make this armor.

2. Water Bolt

Water Bolt
DamageKnockbackSpeed
19AverageVery Fast

While the damage seems low, the projectiles can last 30 seconds, 5 ricochets, or pierce 10 enemies. These make it awesome for crowd control, and you can create massive damage in confined spaces.

Any boss in pre-hard mode can easily fall into this spell with the right arena. You can use this to great effect against the Wall of Flesh, so be sure to pick one of these up as soon as possible.

How to get it: You’ve probably noticed that the dungeon’s walls are lined with bookshelves. You can break these books with a hammer, one of which is a Water Bolt. Just look for a blue book with a gold bank around the bottom, and you’ll find the book.

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Several of these spawn in every dungeon, so you don’t have to worry about them not being there. I’ve been able to get these even before I beat Skeletron, so always check for these near the surface.

3. Book of Skulls

DamageKnockbackSpeed
29WeakAverage

The Book of Skulls is an awesome weapon, but it isn’t guaranteed that you’ll get one. The skulls it fires can hit 3 enemies and potentially hit the same enemy multiple times before dissipating. While it’s not as good for crowd control as the Water Bolt, you can destroy smaller amounts of enemies even easier due to its damage.

How to get it: In normal mode, the Book of Skulls has a 10% chance of dropping from Skeletron instead of the 33% chance in Expert mode. It’s worth farming it from Skeletron once the Clothier spawns, as it’s an awesome weapon that can easily destroy enemies.

4. Flamelash

DamageKnockbackSpeed
32StrongAverage

Before 1.4 this weapon was mediocre but after its overhaul in the said update, it has become really powerful. The attacks of the Flamelash home onto enemies if the enemy is close enough to the projectile it also has a piercing ability that pierces one enemy. The projectiles are also controllable proving even more utility mid-battle.

I would highly recommend this weapon to pre-hardmode Mages who are looking to fight the Wall of Flesh. This weapon also helps out a ton in hardmode due to the homing ability, which allows you to kill enemies while staying behind cover.

How to get it: It is obtained from Shadow Chests in The Underworld. It can also be found in the Obsidian Lock Box, Obsidian Crates, and Hellstone Crates.

Best Summoner Weapons and Armor

Why should you do all the dirty work when you’re minions can do it for you? A summoner is all about sending others to fight for you, and they have the potential to do some great damage.RELATED:

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In the early stages of the game, it’s very hard to play a pure summoner, so you should always have a backup melee weapon on hand. As you progress further into hardmode, you’ll finally be able to use purely summoner gear.

1. Bee armor

Bee Armor - Best Pre Hardmode Weapons Terraria
DefenseSet Bonus
13Increases minion damage by 10%

Since both the head and the chest pieces increase your maximum number of minions, a summoner will need this armor. You’ll be able to dispatch enemies much quicker with more allies to fight with you.

How to get it: The entire set requires 30 total Bee Wax, which drops from the Queen Bee. Since she doesn’t drop more than a maximum of 26, you’ll need to defeat her at least 2 times to craft this armor.

2. Imp Staff

Imp Staff - Best Pre Hardmode Weapons Terraria
DamageKnockbackSpeed
21Very WeakVery Slow

The Imp Staff is an awesome weapon you should get regardless of whether you’re a summoner. It’s awesome to have a little imp follow you around and attack enemies for you, like a little deadly pet. Since it’s the best summoner weapon before hardmode, any summoner needs to craft this powerful staff.

How to get it: All you’ll need to craft an Imp Staff is 17 Hellstone Bars, which will cost you 85 Hellstone and 17 obsidian. Chug some Obsidian Skin potions and get to work on mining that Hellstone ore and it won’t take you long to obtain the necessary materials.

3. Spinal Tap

Spinal Tap - Best Pre Hardmode Weapons Terraria
DamageKnockbackSpeed
36Very WeakAverage

The attack damage of this weapon is really good and the knockback is better compared to other weapons in this category. The best thing about it is your summoning damage goes up to seven from six of the others.

The weapon’s damage reduction per hit in a single swing is minimal at just 5%, but this actually makes it a great choice for controlling groups of enemies and defeating The Hungry when fighting the Wall of Flesh. Additionally, it’s considered one of the top weapons for farming the Brain of Cthulhu before entering Hardmode, and it can also be effective against the Eater of Worlds to some extent.

When paired with Obsidian Armor and accessories that increase damage or summon count, the Spinal Tap can become one of the most powerful weapons in the game for farming before Hardmode, and it can remain effective even after the Obsidian Armor was significantly weakened in version 1.4.1.2.

How to get it: It is crafted from Cobwebs and Bones from a Workbench after beating Skeletron.


Conclusion

While everyone has their favorite pre hardmode weapons in Terraria, these are the ones I use through most of my playthroughs. Many players online also agree with these weapons, so you’ll have to try them out and see which ones are your favorite!