Choosing the right melee weapon can make Terraria progression much smoother, especially as you move from basic early-game gear into Hardmode and eventually take on Moon Lord.

This guide covers the best melee weapon to aim for at each major stage of Terraria, from your first trips into the sky islands all the way to the Zenith after Moon Lord.

Early Game: Starfury

For the very beginning of Terraria, one of the best melee weapons to grab is the Starfury.

You can find it in Skyware Chests on Floating Islands, making Gravitation Potions especially useful. After spending some time mining and exploring underground, there’s a good chance you’ll have found a few Gravitation Potions already.

Use one to flip gravity and search across the sky for Floating Islands.

The Starfury is worth the trip because it gives you solid early-game melee damage while also providing an attack that can reach enemies from a distance.

That extra reach makes it much more practical than relying entirely on basic swords during the opening part of the game.

Mid Pre-Hardmode: Blade of Grass or Volcano

Once you’ve progressed beyond the very beginning of the game, two melee weapons stand out:

• Blade of Grass
• Volcano

Which one you should prioritize depends partly on your difficulty.

Blade of Grass for Classic and Expert Mode

The Blade of Grass deals surprisingly strong damage for this point in progression.

It can tear through many early-game bosses on Classic and Expert Mode, making it an excellent upgrade before you begin tackling the harder parts of pre-Hardmode.

It’s also an important weapon to obtain eventually because it becomes one of the ingredients needed for the Night’s Edge.

Volcano for Master Mode

If you’re playing Master Mode or another higher-difficulty world, consider putting in the extra work to get the Volcanoinstead.

The extra power can make difficult pre-Hardmode fights much more manageable, particularly a boss like Skeletron.

Like the Blade of Grass, the Volcano is also required later for crafting the Night’s Edge, so the effort isn’t wasted.

Late Pre-Hardmode: Night’s Edge

After defeating Skeletron and reaching the later stages of pre-Hardmode, the obvious melee weapon to work toward is the Night’s Edge.

It’s one of Terraria’s most iconic swords and requires a fairly substantial crafting progression compared with most other weapons available at this stage.

You’ll need to combine:

• Light’s Bane or Blood Butcherer
• Muramasa
• Blade of Grass
• Volcano

Once completed, however, the investment pays off.

The Night’s Edge deals excellent damage for pre-Hardmode and remains extremely effective even on Master Mode.

If you’re planning to stick with melee into Hardmode, it’s one of the most worthwhile weapons to craft before defeating the Wall of Flesh.

Terraria Sword Progression Guide: Every Sword You Need From Start to Zenith

Early Hardmode: Shadowflame Knife

Once Hardmode begins, the Shadowflame Knife is one of the best early melee weapons to target.

Despite being classified as a melee weapon, it throws fast projectiles, giving you the safety of fighting from range while still benefiting from melee bonuses.

The Shadowflame Knife:

• Attacks very quickly
• Deals strong early-Hardmode damage
• Inflicts Shadowflame
• Can bounce between enemies

It’s also relatively straightforward to obtain once Hardmode Goblin Armies begin appearing.

The weapon drops from Goblin Warlocks during a Goblin Army, so completing invasions early in Hardmode gives you a chance to pick one up.

Because Goblin Invasions can occur repeatedly, this is a practical weapon to farm without needing to progress deeply into Hardmode first.

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Mid Hardmode: Death Sickle

Once you’re further into Hardmode, there are plenty of strong melee weapons to choose from.

One option that is easy to overlook is the Death Sickle.

The Death Sickle is especially useful because its attacks extend beyond normal sword range, making it effective when you don’t want to stand directly next to dangerous Hardmode enemies.

The downside is its relatively low drop chance.

You’ll need to hunt for it during a Solar Eclipse, and obtaining one may require going through one or two events depending on your luck.

If it drops, though, it’s an excellent weapon for the middle part of Hardmode.

Late Hardmode: Terra Blade

For late-game melee progression, it’s difficult to go wrong with the Terra Blade.

The Terra Blade has been one of Terraria’s most recognizable weapons for years. While it isn’t the undisputed strongest weapon in the game anymore, it remains one of the best melee choices before fighting Golem.

Its biggest advantage is its extremely fast projectile.

The projectile can:

• Travel quickly across the screen
• Pierce through groups of enemies
• Let a melee character attack safely from range
• Clear hordes without constantly repositioning

That makes the Terra Blade particularly good for general exploration, events, and groups of enemies.

Is the Terra Blade Good for Bosses?

It’s not necessarily the absolute best boss-killing weapon available at this point, but it’s still more than capable of handling bosses such as:

• Golem
• Lunatic Cultist

Its combination of speed, range, and piercing makes it one of the most versatile melee weapons you can carry during late Hardmode.

Endgame: Daybreak

Once you’ve reached the final stages of Terraria progression, the Daybreak becomes one of the strongest melee choices for boss fights.

The Solar Eruption is also excellent and can arguably be more useful in some situations, but the Daybreak has an important advantage when you’re fighting individual bosses: strong focused damage.

Daybreak vs. Solar Eruption

A simple way to choose between them is:

Daybreak

• Better suited to bosses
• Excellent single-target damage
• Rewards accurate throws

Solar Eruption

• Better for crowd control
• Excellent against groups
• Particularly useful during invasions and events

If your main goal is defeating bosses such as Moon Lord, the Daybreak is an excellent choice.

As long as you can consistently land your attacks, it can quickly tear through even endgame bosses.

For invasions or large groups of enemies, switch to the Solar Eruption.

Post-Moon Lord: Zenith

After Moon Lord, there really isn’t much competition.

The weapon you ultimately want is the Zenith.

The Zenith is Terraria’s ultimate melee weapon and requires a long crafting chain involving weapons collected throughout the entire game.

That crafting process includes several swords you’ve likely encountered during your progression, including weapons such as:

• Starfury
• Blade of Grass
• Night’s Edge
• Terra Blade

Because of that, keeping important melee weapons instead of selling or discarding them can save you a lot of backtracking later.

Once you’ve gathered everything necessary and crafted the Zenith, you have one of the most powerful weapons available in Terraria.

And yes, the Enchanted Boomerang is pretty great too.

Best Terraria Melee Weapons by Progression Stage

If you just want the progression path, here’s the recommended order:

1. Early Game: Starfury
2. Mid Pre-Hardmode: Blade of Grass or Volcano
3. Late Pre-Hardmode: Night’s Edge
4. Early Hardmode: Shadowflame Knife
5. Mid Hardmode: Death Sickle
6. Late Hardmode: Terra Blade
7. Endgame: Daybreak
8. Post-Moon Lord: Zenith

These aren’t the only viable melee weapons in Terraria, especially once Hardmode opens up dozens of different options. But if you want a simple set of weapons to aim for throughout an entire melee playthrough, this progression gives you a strong upgrade path from your first Floating Island all the way to the Zenith.