Terraria: 11 Best Axes You Should Start Using

Copper Axe is one reliable tree-cutting tool you’ve owned at the most basic level of Terraria gameplay. It may be that impressive but trust us. Without it, you couldn’t have built your first base and set of items.

As you progress, it’s more fitting to seek better alternatives. Since the game has different difficulties with deadlier opponents as days pass by, it makes sense. That’s why in this guide, we’re revealing 11 of the best axes you should start using whenever possible.

Short on time? Here’s a non-detailed ranking alongside the attributes of each item. Note that all bells and whistles are discussed below.

What is an Axe in Terraria?

The tool mentioned is indispensable for cutting trees for Wood and Cacti. Currently, there are 30 different types. Seventeen of them are Hardmode-exclusive, which are more powerful than their pre-Hardmode counterparts.

When spawning with the Classic difficulty, you’ll always get a Copper Axe. Starting a new game with Journey Mode will get you its Iron counterpart.

There are two preferred modifiers for pre-Hardmode and Hardmode Axes. These are Light and Legendary, respectively. Aside from resource-gathering, dealing true damage against enemies is possible with an Axe.

The Best Axes To Collect

Creating this comprehensive list considers the following criteria:

• Axe Power
• Tool Speed
• Use Time
• Extra Stats

Although we prioritized Axe Power, we still looked for benefits from other factors.

Pickaxe Axe

When a Pickaxe and Axe are combined, this tool’s the result. The Pickaxe Axe is a pretty solid option if you’re barely scraping off resources in Hardmode. It’s also a Drax alternative, with the slower mining speed and longer range tradeoffs.

With this item, getting any blocks is possible except Lihzahrd Bricks. To get the Pickaxe Axe, you’ll need either a Mythril Anvil or Orichalcum Anvil first. Afterward, have the following items:

• Hallowed Bar (18) – dropped by all mechanical bosses
• Soul of Fright – Skeletron Prime loot
• Soul of Might – The Destroyer loot
• Soul of Sight – The Twins loot

Note: Slay all mechanical bosses first to unlock its crafting recipe.

Haemorrhaxe

The Haemorrhaxe is a tool for chopping down trees and a weapon for slaying enemies. But since we’re talking about resource-gathering as a utility, Light is the perfect modifier for this tool.

Haemorrhaxe’s drop rate has a 12.5% chance from Blood Eels and Hemoglobin Sharks. Both monsters are available during the Blood Moon event. Regardless of the difficulty, there’ll be zero change from its initial chance of dropping.

Spectre Hamaxe

Spectre Hamaxe is a pretty okay choice, although better than the previous two. We recommend using it, assuming you don’t have better alternatives, and upon defeating Plantera. Don’t forget to enhance its mining speed with either Light or Legendary!

The Spectre Hamaxe is available to craft using Mythril Anvil or Orichalcum Anvil. However, you need to reach Hardmode first to get its crafting recipe. The following are items you’ll need:

• Spectre Bar – Crafted at the Adamantite Forge or Titanium Forge with Ectoplasm (1) and Chlorophyte Bar (2)

Since Old-gen consoles don’t have the Spectre Bar, the crafting recipe is instead the missing ingredient’s components stated above.

Picksaw

When mining every block in Terraria, Picksaw is one of many great options. Because of the availability, it’s usually the first tool you can get to extract all blocks.

Speaking of drops, defeating the Golem has a 25% yield chance that you can collect. Remember that you can always respawn the boss at a Lihzahrd Altar and Lihzahrd Power Cell if Picksaw isn’t on your inventory yet.

Note: Expert Mode and Master Mode have better odds of dropping a Picksaw at a 33.33% rate.

Shroomite Digging Claw

With the Light modifier, the Shroomite Digging Claw can quickly chop trees and dig dirt. Although the reduced range is a clear tradeoff, it’s still better than the Picksaw because of its speed. Unfortunately, getting Lihzahrd Bricks would be impossible with this tool.

Most destructible blocks can be one hit with the Shroomite Digging Claw. Some exceptions include: 

• Chlorophyte Ore (three hits)
• Adamantite Ore, Mythril Ore, Orichalcum Ore, Titanium Ore, Wooden Spikes (two hits)

Chopping down trees takes 0.2 seconds with the Light modifier. That’s extremely fast versus other axes. However, the tool shines better for mining, as using the Smart Cursor would be the most brilliant move in utilizing its full advantage.

Getting the Shroomite Digging Claw requires you to defeat Plantera first. Afterward, bring Shroomite Bars (18) near a Mythril Anvil or Orichalcum Anvil to make the tool.

Lucy the Axe

Lucy might be the most evil Axe in the world of Terraria. Every swing to chop a tree gives pleasure to this tool, and keeping her waiting is a no-no. Don’t even try putting it in your Trash Can. But if you don’t care, move on.

Unless you don’t want to miss out, Lucy the Axe is one of your best options. Since it has better stats than its previous competitors, consider using this as your main until you acquire better ones. We also recommend enhancing it with the Light modifier, which shines the most with resource-gathering.

A useful tool and a sometimes annoying companion make Lucy the Axe unique. But to acquire her, you’ll need to defeat the Deerclops first. There’s a 25% chance of dropping the tool, but if you fail, you can always use the Deer Thing to respawn the monster.

Trivia: Lucy the Axe is the second strongest Axe in pre-Hardmode.

Nebula Hamaxe, Solar Flare Hamaxe, Stardust Hamaxe, Vortex Hamaxe

These four have all stats identical to each other, which makes sense to put them on the same rank. They wouldn’t rank higher if not for the bonus mining range, which is a clear advantage to reaching farther trees. Plus, their Axe power is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.

How you can acquire them makes Nebula, Solar Flare, Stardust, and Vortex Hamaxes unique from each other. For starters, they’re classified as Luminite Hamaxes – available on post-Moonlord only. Although stats are shared, they have special crafting ingredients.

At an Ancient Manipulator (Crafting Station), here are every Axe and its crafting materials:

Luminite Bar is exclusively available to obtain upon defeating the Moon Lord, the same pre-requisite before getting the Luminite Hamaxes. Luminite (4) is an included completion reward, which you can turn into a Bar at the Ancient Manipulator.

For the Fragments, there are different bosses you’ll need to defeat to get each:

• Nebula Fragment – Nebula Pillar boss (12-60)
• Solar Fragment – Solar Pillar boss (12-60)
• Stardust Fragment – Stardust Pillar boss (12-60)
• Vortex Fragment – Vortex Pillar boss (12-60)

It’s important to defeat the Lunatic Cultist first to get content access to the Celestial Pillars.

The Axe

Who’s down for obviously the best Axe in Terraria? Nerds? Geeks? Well, we’re super enthusiastic about using The Axe as it’s the most interesting! Every swing to chop trees plays a tune depending on the cursor’s distance from you. Magical, isn’t it?

What makes it better is the 175% axe power, which is the perfect indicator of its superior performance. Although it only has a +1 range than Luminite Axes’ +3 bonus, its speed is something more indispensable. The only downside is the inability to change your direction when autoswinging.

Since The Axe is the superior choice in Terraria, it’s also pretty rare. After defeating the Wall of Flesh and transitioning to Hardmode, you’ll need to find Plantera and defeat it. Afterward, the boss may drop the item at a 2% chance on Classic difficulty. It increases to 5% on Expert and Master difficulty.

Obviously, the tool is gracefully swinging with speed. That means you can gather Wood and Cacti while fending off enemies, especially on Evil Biomes. It doesn’t matter if you use Light or Legendary as modifiers, as they’re practically the same.

On a side note, The Axe can also break down Demon Altars and Crimson Altars. It’s a one-of-a-kind tool but is valuable enough to appear less frequently in the world.