Best Guns To Use In Terraria

Terraria is a base-building video game with many weapons, both 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.

There are many ranged weapons for you to pick from in Terraria, including magical weapons, but guns are a great choice since they deal with lots of damage and have high fire rates. The following guns are the best Terraria’s arsenal offers, as well as how to get them.

Updated March 26, 2025, by Will Quick: A big announcement happened recently when the creators behind Terraria officially announced that a sequel, Terraria 2, is on the horizon. We have little to go on regarding content, mechanics, or even a release date, but we still have the first game to keep us busy. You could spend days, if not weeks or months, trying to do everything in Terraria, from finding the best materials to crafting the best gear to take down the baddest bosses. It would help to have a good weapon to do that, and guns are a viable option for fighting and survival. Here are some of the best ones you can fire.

16

Chain Gun

If the Terminator taught us anything, it’s that being able to pick up what is the equivalent of an entrenched turret gun and use it to shred through any bad guys in your way would be sweet. While Terraria is not nearly as extreme or bleak as the Terminator movies, it still finds a place for the Chain Gun.

This weapon is currently considered to have the highest rate of fire in the whole game and will easily tear through enemies and bosses (as long as you have the ammo on hand). It’s a pretty rare weapon that can only be received during the Frost Moon Event by the Santa-NK1 boss, who has a chance to drop it upon defeat.

15

Gatligator

You can never have enough Gatling guns in the world of Terraria, but your collection will be limited to two specific ones: The Chain Gun and the Gatligator. This toothy barrel is similar to its more gun-like counterpart, but it looks cooler because it’s a gator jaw that spits bullets as long as you have enough to find it.

It’s a fast-firing and decently damaging weapon that is most effective against large enemies and groups that need to be torn apart by a hail of bullets. It’s one of the easier fancy weapons to obtain as you need to buy it from the Traveling Merchant for 35 Gold (Expert Mode).

14

Sandgun

A memorable feeling is combing through sandy areas or digging through dirt, only to loosen some sand and watch it all fall away beneath your feet. Sand blocks are not the most reliable in Terraria, but they are handy, and their power can serve another purpose if you manage to get your hands on the Sandgun.

This odd-looking pistol (?) can turn any sand you give it into ammo and create sand blocks when shots impact anything. To get your hands on this wonder of firearm technology, you must craft it in the Furnace using Illegal Gun Parts, 10 Antlion Mandibles, and five pieces of Topaz.

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, you can always rely on the Phoenix Blaster if you’re having trouble getting your hands on those weapons.

The biggest issue with the weapon is the distinct lack of auto-swing, 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, 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.

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

The Tactical Shotgun stands out because of 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.

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

Regarding 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. Few guns in Terraria 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 the gel as their ammo source.

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 defeat a powerful enemy for a drop chance directly.

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 weak knockback potential and a low critical chance.

If you want to add the Xenopopper to your arsenal, 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 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 great damage, crowd control, and cheap defense reduction, all Pre-Plantera, then the Dart Rifle and Dart Gun are your weapons. Consuming darts as ammunition instead of bullets, these two guns are obtained from destroying Mimics from your evil biome.

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 not to use an ammo round upon use. The Megashark can deal 25 damage per hit with low knockback and critical chance.

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.