Terraria: Best Hardmode Swords, Ranked (2024)

Swords remain a staple weapon in fantasy RPGs, and Terraria is no different in its selection of powerful blades. In Terraria gameplay, Swords are one of the most important armaments of the Melee Class, giving them access to a wide range of special attacks capable of going toe to toe against the game’s toughest enemies up close.

Players who want to create the most efficient Melee Class builds should rely on the right Swords, especially when using them in the game’s tougher Hardmode difficulty. When facing Terraria's endgame opponents, the right Sword could spell the difference between victory and utter death.

Updated January 28, 2024 by Rhenn Taguiam: The upcoming 1.4.5 Update for Terraria this 2024 goes to show that the sandbox RPG still has more to offer for fans despite being in the market for almost thirteen years. Thanks to the game’s expansive slate of gameplay options, locales, and even difficulty offerings, Terraria allows players to thrive in its fantasy environment.

In the case of using weapons in the game’s Hardmode difficulty, the right Sword can have a big impact. Among the game’s more recommended swords are versions of a popular sword in real life, a video game-inspired giant sword, a nature-based armament, as well as a mere butcher knife.

15 Breaker Blade

70 Damage

Players who want to dominate their Sword game in Terraria Hardmode should consider the Breaker Blade for its vicious appearance. Boasting a similar design motif as the Fusion Swords upgrade of Cloud’s Buster Sword, this imposing blade can tear through opponents quickly in the earlier stages of the RPG’s challenging difficulty.

Despite its averaging stats for its size, its specialty lies in its capability of being able to bring the pain to stronger foes. Whenever an enemy has over 90% Health, the Breaker Blade provides a +250% Damage buff, allowing players to square against tougher enemies, such as bosses with higher chances of survival.

14 Excalibur

72 Damage

Befitting its namesake, Excalibur in Terraria gameplay boasts a rather elegant appearance with a sleek ornamental golden blade with a regal guard. While its antique appearance is nowhere near other Excalibur swords like those in anime, the weapon remains a rather efficient armament against foes in a player’s Hardmode journey.

At its core, Excalibur releases yellow particles whenever they strike opponents. They majorly seem aesthetic in nature, as Excalibur’s main appeal lies in its attack pattern. Given how Excalibur’s swing starts from its rear, it can hit opponents who try to surround the player. And given the sword’s attack radius, players may be able to hit foes from behind while walking backward.

13 True Excalibur

72 Damage

The gem-like appearance of True Excalibur in Terraria gameplay resembles the traditional ornate styling of the Ultima Weapon in Final Fantasy. While technically nowhere near the strongest Hardmode Sword in the game, its more regal appearance makes it a must-have for players who want a blade tailor-made for their power level.

When acquired, True Excalibur releases an area of yellow and pink energy around its blade when swung. This increases the overall range of the sword’s swing, allowing players to attack enemies from much further away without relying on mid-ranged weapons.

12 Terra Blade

85 Damage

The unique green blade of the Terra Blade gives it an appearance similar to , although its effect gives its practitioners more of a nature-wielding background than fierce flames. When acquired, the Terra Blade releases a green wave projectile that can travel up to 250 tiles, practically giving players a ranged attack on top of its standard swing.

Moreover, the projectile itself can deal up to 25% to 50% more damage than the Terra Blade’s base DPS as well as pierce up to two opponents. Players in a pinch may be able to rely on the weapon to get out of difficult situations much faster.

11 Psycho Knife

85 Damage

Despite the base appearance of the Psycho Knife being that of a bloodied knife, it can help players become melee powerhouses with the right momentum. When equipped, players using the Psycho Knife gradually enter into Stealth Mode, practically making them invisible. This mode ends as soon as they engage in combat.

However, what makes Stealth Mode special is its inherent effects. While invisible, the players can stack buffs that can transform them into extremely deadly first-hitters. At its core, Stealth Mode provides players with bonuses such as +300% Damage, +30 Critical Chance, and +100% Knockback. This allows players to sneak up on more powerful opponents, potentially giving them a much-needed edge against elites and bosses.

10 Christmas Tree Sword

86 Damage

It’s often a running gag during the Holidays that Christmas saves the world from yet another catastrophe, and this is exactly what the Christmas Tree Sword does. Players can acquire this weapon in their Terraria experience from the evil Christmas tree Everscream in the “Frost Moon” event. Upon acquisition, players acquire a Christmas Tree for a weapon, capturing its implied Yuletide spirit with a penchant for hurling Christmas Ornaments.

The Tree Sword’s Ornaments differ based on the Terraria version played, with PC loyalists being able to enjoy a Star Ornament as a projectile against the likes of the Golem. This version travels in a straight line before releasing four other Ornaments and another Star Ornament before dropping. Due to its simplistic nature, an efficient way of using the Christmas Tree Sword is by applying debuffs via Flasks, ensuring enemies get more loads of hurt.

9 Chlorophyte Claymore

95 Damage

Boasting one of the most unique appearances for a weapon in the Terraria experience is the Chlorophyte Claymore, arguably looking more like a grass blade than an actual sword. However, using the Chlorophyte Claymore yields some interesting effects, especially since it releases a Chlorophyte Orb that deals the same damage as the base Sword but with unlimited pierces.

The projectile disappears only after hitting a solid block, making it a decent anti-mob weapon, especially in closed spaces. Another noteworthy aspect of the Chlorophyte Claymore once it’s crafted is its arcing slash as it also hits enemies at the back.

8 Brand Of The Inferno

95 Damage

The Brand of the Inferno is one of the most menacing yet visually striking Terraria Swords a player can acquire in their gameplay, where its demon-like hilt extends to a purple helix-like swirling blade. At its core, the Brand of the Inferno allows players to use their right-click to immediately brace for the next attack. Parrying successfully will return 200% of the supposed contact damage to the enemy with a fierce knockback.

What’s more brutal is how this activates Striking Moment, which deals +400% Damage in the next melee strike, opening neat combo options such as a Brand parry before transitioning to potent Swords such as the Zenith. All of these perks are on top of applying the Hellfire debuff, forcing enemies to lose 15 Health per second for up to more than 10 seconds.

7 Influx Waver

105 Damage

The rather alien nature of the Influx Waver and its electrified blade is a direct reference to its source, the Martian Saucer in a player’s Melee Class Hardmode Terraria experience. When used, the weapon makes a normal slash before releasing an Influx Waver energy sword to the enemy.

The fact that the Influx Waver projectile can teleport after disappearing can make it quite a flexible weapon against multiple targets. However, the consistent barrage of energy swords can make the Influx Waver a deadly single-target specialist.

6 Keybrand

105 Damage

Taking on the appearance of the popular Keyblade, the Keybrand is a powerful weapon that is dropped by Dungeon creatures such as the Blue Armored Bones, Hell Armored Bones, and Rusty Armored Bones.

Aside from being a Kingdom Hearts reference, the Keybrand acts like an ordinary blade. Its only special effect is dealing 1/60 more damage to opponents per 1% of their Health lost while jumping to a whopping 250% Damage dealt to enemies at 10% or lower Health. This incremental damage increase makes the Keybrand a good option against slow-moving targets such as the Ogre and the Nailhead, and may give players a shot against Duke Fishron.

5 The Horseman’s Blade

150 Damage

Despite being named the Horseman’s Blade, players can acquire this spooky weapon in their Hardmode Terraria experience after defeating the Pumpkin. Its attacks are also pumpkin-themed, featuring a wide semi-circle slash that can hit up to three enemies at once before releasing homing pumpkin heads that target enemies.

The flexibility of the Horseman's Blade and its slate of attacks make it quite an efficient weapon in Hardmode, especially against multi-part Terraria bosses and mobs. Its semicircular slash can hit enemies from behind while at the same time, its homing pumpkins can attack enemies at a distance.

4 Star Wrath

170 Damage

Players who defeat the Moon Lord in their Hardmode Terraria playthrough can acquire the Star Wrath. Its naming scheme and overall stats make it a direct upgrade to the Starfury, even down to its attack style. This auto-swinging Sword takes on the visual of a golden sword with purple details engulfed with cosmic energy. When players swing this Sword, three pink projectiles will rain toward the direction of the cursor.

As with the Starfury, it is imperative to study the Star Wrath’s attack patterns to maximize its efficiency. Its auto-swing nature makes the Star Wrath extremely efficient against mobs of targets or even bosses like Plantera. However, players should ensure enemies are hit by both the Sword and the Star Wrath projectiles, as the projectiles deal the same base damage as the physical blade.

3 Flying Dragon

180 Damage

Players who acquire Flying Dragon in their Terraria gameplay would encounter one of the fiercest-looking weapons in the game, boasting a rendition of Betsy’s head in the “Old One’s Army” event with her mouth for a blade and her fiery breath as its end part.

When used, Flying Dragon will release wide Hearty Slash projectiles that not only can pierce up to four enemies but also travel through solid blocks. The wide nature of Flying Dragon slashes makes them efficient against multi-part bosses like the Destroyer as well as waves of enemies.

2 Meowmere

200/250 Damage

When players defeat the Moon Lord in their Terraria experience, Hardmode players may acquire the cutesy Meowmere. The cat’s appearance is based on the Nyan Cat meme, with 200 Damage that counts towards the game’s highest base damage for swords.

This auto-swinging Sword fires a cat head with a rainbow tail that can either pierce or ricochet (with a matching explosion) up to four opponents. The Meowmere’s pierce and explosive ricochets make it quite the efficient close-range weapon against mobs that are tightly packed in small spaces.

1 Zenith

190 Damage

Whereas the Final Fantasy franchise has the iconic Ultima Weapon, so too does Terraria Hardmode gameplay in the form of the Zenith. Available for crafting after defeating the challenging Moon Lord, players need to combine ten of the game’s most notable swords (Bee Keeper, Copper Shortsword, Enchanted Sword, Influx Waver, Meowmere, Seedler, Starfury, Star Wrath, Terra Blade, The Horseman’s Blade) to create this grand greatsword.

On top of its auto-swing, the Zenith releases all its component swords toward its targets in swinging arcs that reach up to 20 tiles. The first of the sword sets, the Zenith, deals 190 Damage. However, all other components of swords deal their full base damage. Since the Zenith ignores invincibility frames plus also deals damage as they return to the player after their swing, the Zenith may generate up to 30,000 DPS.

Terraria

Platform(s)

PC , PS3 , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X , Switch , Vita , iOS , Android , macOS , Linux , 3DS , Stadia

Released

May 16, 2011

Developer(s)

Re-Logic

Genre(s)

Action , Adventure , Sandbox