Terraria is a base-building video game with lots of weapons, both of the melee and ranged varieties. Which weapon type you choose to use is up to you, but ranged weapons are often best for harder content, especially while fighting enemies that can fly since it's easier to hit a target in the air with a projectile.
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There are lots of ranged weapons for you to pick from in Terraria, including magical weapons, but guns are a great choice since they deal lots of damage and have high fire-rates. The following guns are the best that Terraria's arsenal has to offer and how to get them.
Updated March 27, 2023 by Ja Vaughn Marshall: There's no reason not to jump back into Terraria to beat the Moon Lord once and for all– with the freedom that Post-Moon Lord items can provide, you'll be able to enjoy all the content that the Dead Cells crossover has to offer. You're going to need a strong set of weapons if you even want to get to the Moon Lord, and guns remain one of the strongest types you can get your hands on to date. Even if you don't plan to play a strictly gun-based build, it's always a good idea to keep your hands on at least one in case melee doesn't cut it.
Some weapons you can't obtain Pre-Hardmode, so check out this guide for the best pre-hardmode weapons in Terraria.
13 Phoenix Blaster
The Phoenix Blaster is the only Pre-Hardmode gun worth taking past the Wall of Flesh, outputting a consistent stream of damage without requiring too large of an ammunition pool. While it eventually falls off due to the immediate availability of weapons like the Uzi, if you're having trouble getting your hands on those weapons, you can always rely on the Phoenix Blaster.
The biggest issue with the weapon is the distinct lack of autoswing, meaning that you have to click the shoot button rapidly to get the maximum value from its high shot speed. Regardless, very few Pre-Hardmode weapons can be so useful against every enemy you'll encounter at the start of Hardmode.
12 Venus Magnum
The Venus Magnum is a very fast-firing gun that deals 50 damage. It's fun to use if you prefer to shoot quickly and one-shot weaker enemies in combat. With an average knockback and a four percent critical chance, the Venus Magnum is on the lower side of top-tier guns in Terraria.
If you want to acquire the Venus Magnum weapon for yourself, then you need to defeat Plantera. However, it only has a 14 percent chance to drop this gun, so it's quite a rare piece of equipment.
11 Sniper Rifle
The Sniper Rifle is the ultimate long-range weapon in Terraria because of how much damage it deals and its high knockback stat. At 185 damage per shot, the Sniper Rifle is hard to beat, especially when you factor in the 29 percent chance it has to perform a critical hit upon impact.
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You can get your hands on a Sniper Rifle by defeating Skeleton Snipers for a 16 percent chance to drop the weapon. Skeleton Snipers reside in the Dungeon section with slab walls after defeating the Plantera boss.
10 Tactical Shotgun
What makes the Tactical Shotgun stand out is its spread, which fires six projectiles with each shot. You can hit multiple enemies using this gun, so it's perfect for situations where you're fighting many foes at once. The Tactical Shotgun deals 29 damage and has a fairly high knockback value, along with a four percent chance to hit for critical damage.
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Getting the Tactical Shotgun isn't too difficult on a Hardmode world, you simply need to kill Tactical Skeletons for an eight percent chance to drop one. After you defeat Plantera, you can find Tactical Skeletons inside the Dungeon.
9 Super Star Shooter
When it comes to raw power, the Super Star Shooter is a contender for the strongest– though there are better weapons, there aren't many hard hitters that can be obtained so early in Hardmode. Since it only costs a Star Cannon and some Hallowed Bars, you can get your hands on this mighty weapon after one fight with the Twins.
Since it can only shoot Fallen Stars, the primary problem with the Super Star Shooter is ammo collection. Thankfully, every shot that hits an enemy will spawn a second star that will do even more damage, giving it major crowd control potential on top of its boss-killing ability.
8 Uzi
The Uzi deals 30 damage and has a reputation for its very high rate of fire. There are few guns in Terraria that can match the Uzi's incredible speed, which is why many choose it over other weapons in the game. On the flip side, the Uzi has almost no knockback effect or critical chance, which are two of its primary disadvantages.
Earning an Uzi is difficult because you have to defeat Angry Trappers, who have a one percent chance of dropping the weapon. You can encounter Angry Trappers in the Jungle and Underground Jungle biomes.
7 Flamethrower
The Flamethrower is one of the most fun weapons to use in Terraria simply because of its effect. You deal 35 damage while using the Flamethrower, but its critical chance and knockback are particularly weak. Flamethrowers use gel as their ammo source.
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You can craft a Flamethrower at an Orichalcum or Mythril Anvil with Illegal Gun Parts, 20 Souls Of Fright, and 20 Iron Bars, so it's somewhat easier to get than weapons that require you to directly defeat a powerful enemy for a drop chance.
6 Xenopopper
The Xenopopper is a strange weapon because of its effect, which shoots bubbles that turn into projectiles and attack an enemy. It deals 45 damage but has a weak knockback potential and a low critical chance.
If you want to add the Xenopopper to your arsenal, then you'll need to defeat the Martian Saucer. Unfortunately, the Martian Saucer only has a 16 percent chance to drop a Xenopopper, so it's rather difficult to get if you're looking for a gun to acquire quickly.
5 Vortex Beater
The Vortex Beater is a versatile weapon that deals 50 damage with bullets and 70 damage with rockets. What the Vortex Beater lacks in knockback and critical chance, it immediately gains back in fire rate.
You can create a Vortex Beater at an Ancient Manipulator with 18 Vortex Fragments. It's worth noting that the Vortex Beater is best to use while fighting large enemies since its accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Although you can also try to use it against small enemies, it's not as effective.
4 Dart Rifle And Dart Gun
If you're looking for a gun that can do high damage, crowd control, and cheap defense reduction all Pre-Plantera, then the Dart Rifle and Dart Gun are the weapons for you. Consuming darts as ammunition instead of bullets, these two guns are obtained from destroying Mimics from your evil biome.
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Thanks to the different types of darts that can be used, as well as the high fire rate of both guns, you can completely pin down any encounter you face– Ichor Darts do the job especially well, cutting down the defense of bullet-sponge bosses to earn you a quicker victory.
3 Onyx Blaster
The Onyx Blaster shoots a projectile that explodes upon impact with an enemy. Although the spread on the Onyx Blaster isn't particularly impressive, it's still higher than many other guns due to its explosive effect. The Onyx Blaster deals 24 damage and has a low critical chance, although it has high knockback power.
To get the Onyx Blaster, you need to use two Dark Shards, ten Souls Of Night, and one Shotgun to craft it at an Orichalcum or Mythril Anvil while in Hardmode.
2 Megashark
The Megashark has two things that set it apart from other guns. First, it has an incredibly quick fire rate. More notably, the Megashark has a 50 percent chance to not use an ammo round upon use. With low knockback and critical chance, the Megashark can deal 25 damage per hit.
If you want to start using the Megashark against your enemies, then you need to use an Orichalcum or Mythril Anvil to craft it with one Illegal Gun Parts, five Shark Fins, 20 Souls Of Might, and one Minishark.
1 S.D.M.G.
One of the strongest weapons in Terraria, the S.D.M.G. has high potential if you use it correctly. The S.M.D.G. deals 85 damage and has a 14 percent critical chance. Unfortunately, its knockback is quite weak. Whenever you fire the S.D.M.G., you have a 66 percent chance to negate the ammo cost entirely.
You have an 11 percent chance to obtain the S.D.M.G. by defeating the Moon Lord, so it's not an easy gun to get. However, it's all worth it in the end due to its sheer power alone.
NEXT: Terraria: Best Summoner Weapons
