Ranged weapons in Terraria are often regarded as one of the best endgame choices for players because they allow damage to be dealt with minimal risk. It’s no wonder why most players want the best gun in Terraria. Guns tend to be popular because of their stylish design and ease of use compared to launchers and bows.
The “run-and-gun” play style in Terraria is not only efficient, but it is also satisfying. You can shoot down enemies while dodging and avoiding enemy attacks. Clearing hardmode boss fights tend to be easier with guns since they have a high-speed projectile coupled with high damage-per-second.
Terraria offers a wide selection of guns per rarity tier, but each has its perks and qualities. Let’s talk about Terraria’s best obtainable/craftable gun.
What is the Best Gun in Terraria?
Our pick for the best gun in Terraria has to be the S.D.M.G. (also known as the Space Dolphin Machine Gun). The S.D.M.G. is a hardmode gun that deals 85 base damage (77 on console) per bullet. In the Journey’s End update, the S.D.M.G. also received a buff that increases its chance to avoid ammo consumption by 66%.
The S.D.M.G. has the second-fastest firing rate in the game, making it one of the best weapons for shredding down boss mobs. Its advantage over the Chain Gun is its overall raw damage dealt, making it undoubtedly the most powerful gun in the game. Overall, the S.D.M.G. has the best stats compared to any other gun in the game.
The only downside to the S.D.M.G. is that it is only obtainable at the endgame, which means it is less valuable if you want to try speed-running the game on a new save file.
How to get the best gun in Terraria
You cannot craft the S.D.M.G. but you can get it from the Moon Lord (11.11% drop rate chance).
Other Contenders for the best gun in Terraria
We can’t forget to mention the other best hardmode guns that nearly match the strongest gun in the game. These guns are also easy to use and they come with perks that make hardmode easier.
- Vortex Blaster – high fire rate and damage, rockets with additional knockback
- Uzi – high fire rate, causes bullets to pierce enemies
- Megashark – easy to obtain, chance not to consume ammo
Pre-hardmode best gun
Guns are also viable weapons even before you’ve entered hardmode, but there is a particular gun in Terraria that shines in the early game: the Minishark.
A relatively high fire rate and decent damage-per-second make the Minishark the best choice for the early game. With the Minishark, you can deal continuous damage against high H.P. mobs without needing to aim carefully. Plus, it is the only pre-hardmode gun with a 33% chance to avoid ammo consumption and is used as an ingredient to craft the Megashark.
The downside of having no knockback isn’t significant in pre-hardmode due to low spawn rates. Focused damage-per-second is more important as the main focus is to beat boss monsters to unlock hardmode.
How to get the best pre-hardmode gun in Terraria
You cannot craft the Minishark, but you can purchase it from the Arms Dealer for 35 gold.
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Conclusion
Guns in Terraria allow for a thrilling and action-packed play style. You dodge while shooting enemies at the same time. While each gun has its characteristics that make them suitable for different playstyles and challenges, some guns shine due to their general purpose and viability.
Terraria’s best gun is considered to be the S.D.M.G. because of its high performance. Having the greatest damage among the hardmode guns, combined with its high fire rate, allows the S.D.M.G. to be used for different playstyles.
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Dan Western is the founder of Gaming Gorilla, as well as several other infotainment blogs. When he's not working on his business, he's likely in the gym or playing video games. Dan's current setup is a PS5/Nintendo Switch living room setup, and a custom RTX 3090, I9-10850K inside the Lian Li 011D Mini for his office setup.
FAQs
The S.D.M.G. is a direct upgrade to the Megashark, though unlike the Megashark, it is an exclusive drop. When firing straight down, one can see that the bullets appear just above the barrel, near the fins.
What's the fastest gun in Terraria? ›
The Chain Gun is a Hardmode, post-Plantera Gun, and is currently the fastest gun by rate of fire to date. It has a 50% chance of not consuming Ammunition, but fires in random directions of about a 30 degree spread, similar to the Gatligator.
What's the best ranged weapon in Terraria? ›
The S.D.M.G is the best gun in the game that is dropped by the Moon Lord, the final boss of Terraria. With a staggering 85 damage and the ability to rapid-fire bullets like a machine gun, this weapon effectively destroys any boss you come across.
What is the rarest gun in Terraria? ›
The rarest item to drop is the Slime Staff, since it has a 1/10000 chance to drop from Slimes. However, there used to be an even rarer item, the Uzi, which had a 1/80000 drop chance from Angry Trappers. For some reason, they had the drop chance being so low, despite the weapon being just a slightly better Megashark.
What is the fastest hitting weapon in Terraria? ›
The Fetid Baghnakhs are tied with the Psycho Knife for fastest melee weapon in the game. However, given the Baghnakhs' 75% melee speed bonus reduction compared to the Psycho Knife's 66% speed reduction, the Psycho Knife is capable of reaching higher speeds. The Fetid Baghnakhs are the fastest melee weapon in the game.
What gun is after Megashark? ›
The Megalodon is a craftable Hardmode gun that is an upgrade to the Megashark and the Archerfish. When used, it rapidly fires bullets, with every other shot turning into a stream of water that does not consume ammo and pierces once.
Is the Uzi or Megashark better? ›
The Uzi is slightly slower but deals more damage per round. On enemies with more than 36 defense, the Uzi deals more damage per second using Crystal Bullets than a Megashark using the same. The Uzi lacks the Megashark's ammo conservation feature, which can easily be compensated for with an Endless Musket Pouch.
What is the strongest gun type? ›
Overall, the Barrett M82A1 is considered to be one of the most powerful rifles in the world, known for its exceptional range, accuracy, and stopping power.
What is the best gun ammo in Terraria? ›
Crystal Bullets generally give the highest damage per second output on guns (excluding luminite bullets) and synergize extremely well with ichor. Chlorophyte Bullets have a very potent homing that makes them extremely convenient to use and negate the spread of many guns (such as Chain Gun).
What is the infinite ammo gun in Terraria? ›
The Endless Musket Pouch is a Hardmode item that acts as ammunition, and can be placed in the ammo slots of the player's inventory. While in the inventory, it acts as a single Musket Ball that can be fired from any appropriate gun infinitely.
A fantastic early weapon is the Musket. For many players, it is the first firearm they obtain. It uses a minimal amount of bullets and offers a good knockback and fair damage, although its rate of fire is quite slow. It is probably one of the most accessible guns, being found by smashing Shadow Orbs in The Corruption.
What's the most powerful weapon in Terraria? ›
The best Terraria Hardmode weapons are:
- Palladium Sword.
- Death Sickle.
- Seedler.
- Megashark.
- Daedalus Stormbow.
- Staff of the Frost Hydra.
- Rainbow Gun.
If used with Platinum Coins, the Coin Gun is easily one of the most powerful weapons, though it can make combat prohibitively expensive. Combining the Greedy Ring or Lucky Coin with the Coin Gun can establish a somewhat infinite supply of ammo, as long as combat is intensive.
What is the best gun in pre Moon Lord? ›
Vortex Beater is the strongest gun available. Chlorophyte Bullets are more useful for the second phase, in which you are practically forced to retreat. They also allow you to focus more on dodging the attacks, as they home in on targets.
What is the strongest bullet in Terraria? ›
Crystal Bullets generally give the highest damage per second output on guns (excluding luminite bullets) and synergize extremely well with ichor.
Is Zenith the most powerful weapon in Terraria? ›
It is widely regarded as the best weapon in the entire game, alongside the Last Prism and the Celebration MK. II. The word 'zenith' means the highest point of something, which is a nod to the Zenith being the 'final weapon' in the game.
