Terraria is now in its final iteration — the 1.4 Journey's End update — and we can create the ultimate tier list of the best weapons available in Pre-Hardmode. Forget your wobbly copper shortsword or wooden yoyo; Terraria is packed full of awesome gear that will help you defeat bosses and reach Hardmode.
Cover everything you need to know about the best weapons to pick up during your Pre-Hardmode adventures. We'll include some tips and tricks on how to take down the various bosses, and what you should prepare yourself with as you defeat the Wall of Flesh.
Updated on August 1, 2023 by Roland Martinez: Terraria is packed with content and the array of armaments in the game has only grown since the launch of the game in 2011. There's a wide variety of weaponry available for all class types including quite a few for Pre-Hardmode during the beginning of the game. That being said, going up against bosses under-equipped is a nightmare that can easily be prevented by having the best weapons available to you.
15 The Night's Edge
The Night's Edge is what you get when you slam all the other awesome swords together. It requires all four of the iconic Pre-Hardmode swords (the Muramasa, Fiery Great Sword, Blade of Grass, and either the Light's Bane or Blood Butcherer) to craft. Head to a Demon or Crimson Altar and you'll have the only sword worth having immediately after the Wall of Flesh.
How to craft the Night's Edge:
- Muramasa - Found in the locked Golden Chests in the Dungeon. Its best modifier is Legendary, though you may only have one or two in your world.
- Fiery Great Sword - This sword is crafted from 20 Hellstone bars. It's a slow sword but has a long reach and plenty of damage out of the Pre-Hardmode swords.
- Blade of Grass - Crafted with 15 Jungle Spores, 12 Stingers, and three vines, the Blade of Grass has a chance to inflict the Poisoned debuff on enemies.
- Light's Bane / Blood Butcherer - Crafted from either 10 Demonite or Crimtane, depending on which evil biome you have on your world.
14 The Enchanted Sword
This sword is rare, but not as rare you as think. The Enchanted Sword is found in underground chambers. A pool of water, falling vines, and a sword stuck in a stone. It's a magical scene, but not every chamber has a real sword in it.
Yes. Some of the swords are fake and will drop nothing when the shrine is broken. If you're lucky enough to get the Enchanted Sword it's a top-tier weapon (with fancy projectiles) that can carry you through Pre-Hardmode Terraria. Always look out for tunnels that lead from the surface into a chamber. Throwing grenades or using a weapon that can fire light projectiles through blocks is a good way of finding the Enchanted Sword. It should've noted that the tunnels only spawn in the jungle biome.
13 The Bee Keeper
Bees! Bees! The Bee Keeper is a sword dropped by the Queen Bee somewhere deep in the Jungle. Find her hive and then defeat her and you've got a fairly high chance of getting the Bee Keeper.
This is a unique sword and holds its own against the Wall of Flesh. Anything you hit with the Bee Keeper is attacked by a swarm of bees. It works great against heavier targets since the bees will enhance DPS while you dish out more attacks.
12 Beenades
As with most thrown weapons, you might expect underwhelming damage and rarely make use of the weapon. The Beenades are quite the opposite since they're one of the most potent weapons available in Pre-Hardmode. When thrown, between 15–25 bees emerge to attack up to three times, dealing 14 damage per hit.
That's some serious damage that is great against some beefy enemies like Granite Golem or even the Wall Of Flesh itself. They're very easy to obtain. Just kill Queen Bee for a 75 percent chance to drop 10-30. They've even seen effective use in Hardmode.
11 The Cascade
The Cascade is the most powerful Pre-Hardmode yoyo with a damage stat of 27 for its base variation. You're looking for the Godly or Demonic modifier for the ultimate yoyo stats.
This yoyo is dropped in the Dungeon once Skeletron has been defeated. Grab it before Hardmode, because it's later replaced by the Hel-Fire yoyo. Cascade can be used well into Hardmode, especially if you've got a viable melee build.
10 Malaise & Artery
These two yoyos are best for the early game before you've even thought about tackling the Dungeon to try and find a Cascade. These two yoyos are crafted by Demonite or Crimtane bars, depending on which corrupted area you have in your Terraria world.
The Malaise and Artery are fun to use until you find a better yoyo later in the game. We wouldn't recommend these items beyond the Wall of Flesh, as they simply don't do enough damage to sustain you into Hardmode.
9 The Dark Lance Spear
The Dark Lance can only be found in Shadow chests in the Underworld. The Dark Lance is the strongest Pre-Hardmode spear. Spears aren't particularly powerful or very popular, but the Dark Lance has proven to be the outlier and can hold its own in combat.
This weapon is very useful for farming a boss like the Eater of Worlds because it deals damage to multiple segments of its body with a single attack. The Dark Lance is also good at clearing out large hordes of enemies while keeping you a safe distance away due to its range and hard-hitting knockback.
8 The Flamarang
Boomerangs are often overlooked and seen as rather weak. Flamarang is a powerful weapon that can be useful in the transition to Hardmode. It's the perfect addition to a strong very early-game ranged build.
It's the upgraded version of the Enchanted Boomerang, so it deals more damage and will also cause the On Fire! debuff in hit enemies. You only need ten Hellstone Bars to upgrade the regular Boomerang, so worth checking out.
7 The Sunfury
Heavy, chunky, and powerful, the Sunfury is part of the mace weapon class that received a buff in 1.4. Now you can constantly swing the mace around rather than waiting for it to come back to them. It just makes the Sunfury a more versatile weapon.
In the old days, it was an often-overlooked weapon, but now it's a top-tier choice to make the transition to Hardmode. The Sunfury is a fairly common drop in Shadow Chests down in the Underworld.
6 The Space Gun
Despite the damage nerfs in Terraria 1.4, a Space Gun and a full set of Meteor Armor is still one of the most satisfying combos in the game. Meteor Armor speeds up your mana regen, and the Space Gun eats the mana. Put them together, and you have a gun that can shoot constantly, completely shredding enemies. The Space Gun is a crucial component in a powerful magic build.
What takes the Space Gun to another level of value is its ability to pierce at least one enemy with its shots, making it powerful against enemy-heavy areas like the Dungeon as well as bosses that have multiple moving parts. Even if you don't plan to build around this weapon specifically, it can be a great backup for when you're out of mana and need to keep your distance.
5 Water Bolt
Ah, the Water Bolt. Before the 1.4 update, it was possible to cheese your way into an early Water Bolt spell tome by checking out a few of the bookshelves in the surface dungeon. This pretty much made all the Pre-Hardmode bosses killable in a few minutes with the right arena set-up.
Since Journey's End rolled around, the developers decided an early Water Bolt was just completely broken, so they made them spawn deeper underground in the Dungeon. Despite this, the Water Bolt is still a powerful Pre-Hardmode weapon and perfect for farming bosses for materials.
4 Muramasa
While the Muramasa doesn't have the power of its contemporaries in the sword class, its ability to autoswing makes it a much safer alternative. Even if it's a bit weaker, its damage is nothing to scoff at: as long as its large hitbox stays activated through your repeated swings, you'll be protected from any enemy that isn't resistant to knockback.
Additionally, the Muramasa is one of the easier blades to obtain in the game since it can be found in the Dungeon post-Skeletron. Since it's a necessary component to crafting Night's Edge, it's worth keeping this blade around for its utility and potential to grow.
3 Phoenix Blaster
If you're looking to play at range with an ammunition-based weapon, the Pheonix Blaster is your best option when it comes to guns. While less powerful per shot than the Musket or Star Cannon, this Handgun upgrade fires at more than triple the rate of these two weapons.
The Phoenix Blaster is so strong that it's still useful well into Hardmode, able to outclass a decent number of other ranged weapons unlocked after the Wall of Flesh fight. The only real weaknesses here are its lack of ammo efficiency and low knockback against enemies.
2 Molten Fury
The Molten Fury is by far the most powerful standard bow in Pre-Hardmode, having the highest available damage in all current iterations of the game. If that wasn't enough, this weapon also applies the burning effect to any Wooden Arrows shot from its bowstring.
Since other arrows can still be used with this bow without losing their prebuilt effects, you can take full advantage of the high damage that it provides even if you don't want to use its gimmick. Plus, you can still use Wooden Arrows as backup ammunition with the added bonus that you'll be setting your foes ablaze.
1 The Bee's Knees
If the simplicity and cheapness of arrows bring you to the bow class of weapons, then the Bee's Knees is the perfect weapon for you. Unlike some of the other bows found before Hardmode, you don't need to have a particularly fancy arrow to make this thing shine; every Wooden Arrow shot from it will turn into a compact line of bees that can split apart to do individual damage.
The Bee's Knees is a fantastic weapon for both one-on-one and group encounters because its shots are unaffected by gravity and home in on the closest targets. Even if you miss an enemy, striking the ground or a wall with your shot will allow the bees to burst forth and find their way to any foe.