Terraria Weapon Progression — Best Weapons by Stage

The best weapon for your class, at every stage

If you read one section, read this one. Terraria gates progression behind bosses, so at any moment there is a single target weapon for your class — the one worth crossing the map for — and everything else is noise until you have it. Find the row you are on, take the weapon in your class's column, and go. Every entry here is explained in detail further down.

Armor matters as much as the weapon at every one of those steps, and the late sets are class-locked:

Why the table above is the whole game

Terraria hands you a staggering arsenal, but the secret to using it is that weapons come in stages: at each point in the game there is a clear "target" weapon for your class, and your job is to chase it, use it to beat the next boss, and then chase the next one. Progression is gated by bosses — each major boss unlocks new materials and drops that let you craft or find stronger gear, which in turn makes the following boss beatable. So rather than hoarding hundreds of weapons, you want to know the best pick for your class at your current stage and aim straight for it. This guide lays out those targets for all four classes across the whole game.

Before anything else, pick a class to focus for boss fights — melee, ranged, magic or summoner — because a full class armor set and matching weapon are far stronger than a mixed grab-bag. You can dabble in other classes' tools early, but commit once you can craft a complete set. For deeper class builds, see our class builds guide, and for the fight order, our boss order guide.

Pre-hardmode and early hardmode

In pre-hardmode, your goal is to reach the Wall of Flesh with a solid class weapon. Melee builds toward the Night's Edge, the strongest craftable pre-hardmode sword. Ranged wants the Minishark from the Arms Dealer plus a good bow like the Molten Fury with Hellfire Arrows, or the Phoenix Blaster. Magic leans on the Water Bolt (found in the Dungeon) and the Demon Scythe from the Underworld. Summoners can use the Imp Staff. Any of these, with the best pre-hardmode armor you can craft, will take down the Wall of Flesh and open Hardmode.

Early Hardmode is a dangerous spike, so upgrade fast. Melee grabs new ore weapons and works toward the True Excalibur and True Night's Edge. Ranged turns the Minishark into the Megashark and can farm the Daedalus Stormbow. Magic loves the Crystal Serpent and the Golden Shower for its defence-shredding debuff. Summoners farm the Spider Staff from Spider Caves, which — with Spider or Obsidian armor — carries you through much of Hardmode. Get a full Hardmode armor set before the mechanical bosses.

The mechanical bosses to Plantera

Beating the three mechanical bosses — the Destroyer, the Twins and Skeletron Prime — is the gateway to the mid-game, and each class has a clear target weapon here. Melee's pinnacle is the Terra Blade, crafted by combining the True Excalibur and True Night's Edge into a sword that fires energy beams and carries you from the mechanical bosses through Golem. Ranged sticks with the Megashark or the Daedalus Stormbow and Holy Arrows, which shred the mechanical bosses. Magic pairs the Golden Shower's debuff with a strong bolt such as the Crystal Storm, or picks up the Rainbow Rod. Summoners upgrade from the Spider Staff to the Sanguine Staff, obtained by fishing up the Dreadnautilus during a Blood Moon, whose homing bats are among the most reliable minions in the game.

With these weapons and post-mechanical armor like Hallowed or Chlorophyte, you can take on Plantera — the boss that unlocks the game's back half. Plantera is a major difficulty wall, so make sure your class weapon and armor are fully upgraded before entering her Jungle arena.

Post-Plantera to the endgame

Defeating Plantera opens up the temple, Golem and the run to the Moon Lord, and your weapons take a big leap. Melee can move to the Influx Waver or keep the Terra Blade while equipping Beetle Armor, a post-Plantera set giving 73 defence and a stacking melee damage-and-speed effect. Ranged upgrades to the Chlorophyte Shotbow with Holy Arrows or keeps the Megashark. Magic gains one of its best weapons here: the Razorblade Typhoon, dropped by Duke Fishron, which fires homing blades and is devastating against Moon Lord. Summoners take the Pygmy Staff from Plantera, then the Deadly Sphere Staff.

The endgame is the Lunar Events and the Moon Lord. Here each class finishes with its strongest gear. Melee uses the Solar Eruption and Daybreak with Solar Flare armor (78 defence). Ranged uses the Phantasm, the Moon Lord's bow drop and the best bow in Terraria by a wide margin, or the Vortex Beater with Vortex armor. Magic runs the Razorblade Typhoon, Nebula Blaze or the Last Prism with Nebula armor. Summoners command the Stardust Dragon or Stardust Cell staff with Stardust armor, and the coveted Terraprisma from a daytime Empress of Light fight. Reach these and you have conquered Terraria's toughest content. For where each of these fits in the boss run, see our boss order guide, and to fund all this gear, our money-making guide.