Bows easily become one of the strongest Terraria weapons in a player’s arsenal, especially when gamers know how to integrate various Bow stats and Arrow effects into their gameplay. It’s this versatility of the Terraria weapon that makes it viable for long-term use, especially against the tougher foes of Hardmode.

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However, players might find their favorite Bows not always effective against the beefier and more aggressive enemies waiting for them in Terraria’s endgame difficulty mode. Thankfully, there are certain Bows that, when equipped, can drastically change a Ranged Class character’s playstyle that can dominate even the mightiest of opponents.

Updated January 28, 2024 by Rhenn Taguiam: Update 1.4.5 is slated to grace Terraria this 2024, giving fans of the 13-year-old game more reasons to love the sandbox on top of its slate of difficulty options, gameplay features, and unique mechanics. As the fantasy title allows players to explore a wide variety of locales, being equipped with the right armaments always makes for a more pleasant playthrough.

In the case of Bows for the game’s difficult Hardmode, players need to start with some of the more basic Bows to secure a more consistent performance in the long term. Among the more ideal mid-game Bows for Terraria’s Hardmode include flame-themed Bows, a long-ranged weapon that converts arrows into a rain of blood, and a weapon that converts projectiles into horrific bees.

15 Tendon Bow

19 Damage

Similar to Stardew Valley where bones matter in certain situations, so too does the Tendon Bow in Terraria. Taking on the appearance of a mound of flesh, blood, and bone, the Tendon Bow's grisly nature is surprisingly more straightforward than other weapons. At its core, the Tendon Bow is a version of the Demon Bow, albeit obtained from the Crimson instead of the Corruption for the latter.

The Bow itself doesn't have any special effects, although its 19 Ranged Damage is more consistent compared to most weaker Bows in the game. Players who want a consistently performing Bow at the beginning of their Hardmode playthroughs would do well with the Tendon Bow.

14 Hellwing Bow

22 Damage

Stylized as a weapon straight out of hell itself, the Hellwing Bow in Terraria gameplay allows players to seemingly wield the power of the Underworld to gain an advantage. The Hellwing Bow shines not just in its appearance of a giant fire bat as the base of its arrow. Rather, it's in its projectiles that the Hellwing can become a compatible asset to a long-ranged player's arsenal.

When fired, the Hellwing Bow's arrows transform into individual fire bats. The trajectory of these bats revolves around a 30-degree cone, allowing players to potentially hit foes across different vertical surfaces provided the shots are angled properly. This extra feature of the Hellwing Bow makes it suitable for players to tinker with their playstyles during Hardmode.

13 The Bee’s Knees

23 Damage

The overall appearance of The Bee's Knees is that of a bee head as a guard while large legs extend into the main Bow's body, resembling gear straight out of a Monster Hunter game. However, where The Bee's Knees shines is exactly due to this insect-inspired nature. When players shoot arrows from The Bee's Knees, they immediately transform into a swarm of three to six bees that hit the enemy.

While the bees deal small amounts of damage when hitting foes, The Bee's Knees shines in its strong knockback. When the bee arrows hit enemies, they are pushed hard - allowing players to create distance between them and heavy-hitting foes. This should allow players to reposition themselves or strengthen their overall defensive strategies.

12 Molten Fury

31 Damage

Just like in Rust where the survival game has all sorts of arrows, so too does Terraria excel in enhancing Bows with modified projectiles. Such is the case of Molten Fury, a lava-red Bow capable of forcing any arrow to burn through the enemy with its namesake.

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In terms of the game's technicalities, Molten Fury practically transforms all of its Wooden Arrow ammunition into Flaming Arrows. When hitting the enemy, the target suddenly becomes inflicted with the On Fire! debuff, burning them consistently for -4 Health per second. Players who want to deal more consistent damage at the start of their Hardmode journey won't go wrong with Molten Fury.

11 Sharanga

36 Damage

Named after the bow of the Hindu god Vishnu, Sharanga is arguably one of Terraria's strongest Bows, especially going into Hardmode. Being a uniquely named bow, the red bow Sharanga does boast special effects for players who manage to wield them.

Shooting arrows with Sharanga immediately transforms them into Spectral Arrows, adjusting arrows to deal 16 Damage each with decent Knockback. Likewise, hitting an enemy will inflict the Cursed Inferno debuff on them, practically burning them for 24 Damage on top of a constant 6 Health burn over time.

10 Phantom Phoenix

32 Damage

Boasting one of the most stylish visuals among Terraria items and Hardmode Bows is the Phantom Phoenix, sporting a body with one limb stylized as its namesake. Players can acquire this weapon after defeating the Ogre in the “Old One’s Army” crossover event with Dungeons Defenders 2, directly referencing the weapon of the same name.

Its effects make the Phantom Phoenix a must-have Bow in Hardmode, where the Bow not only releases two projectiles at a time but also releases a flaming phoenix as a third arrow. This phoenix in particular deals double damage with unlimited pierces. When the phoenix wave hits an enemy, they also gain the Hellfire debuff that stops Health regeneration on top of a 15 Damage per second penalty.

9 Daedalus Stormbow

33 Damage

Named after the genius inventor whose son died after flying too close to the sun, the Daedalus Stormbow references the same character with both its visuals and effects. After its acquisition from Hallowed Mimics, the Daedalus Stormbow uses one ammo to release three arrows from the sky.

The Stormbow’s effects are similar to the Meteor Staff, with the latter releasing meteors from the sky instead of shooting projectiles. This Bow also enjoys the possibility of one in three shots spawning four arrows instead of three. Due to the Stormbow’s combat style, the Bow works well with Holy Arrows that summon two stars upon firing. Regardless, the Stormbow’s high firing rate makes it efficient against large foes that occupy a lot of space such as Duke Fishron.

8 Ice Bow

39 Damage

Players enjoying their gameplay don’t always have to rely on Terraria boss drops for powerful Hardmode weapons, as evidenced by the Ice Bow. Dropped by Ice Mimics, players can get an ice-themed bow that transforms all arrows used into Frost Arrows that boast faster travel time.

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Unlike other frost-themed weapons and even the icy Frostburn Arrows, the ice-like Frost Arrows don’t inflict the Frostburn debuff. This property makes the Ice Bow similar to the Marrow in terms of effects, making the fast-firing Ice Bow a decent “base” weapon before the more potent Marrow upgrade.

7 Aerial Bane

39 Damage

Fans of Terraria gameplay who acquire Aerial Bane from “Old One’s Army” event’s Betsy may possess one of the more efficient Bows in the game due to its effects. At its core, Aerial Bane converts any arrow into its signature Aerial Bane arrow that deals 150% base damage to aerial foes. This roughly translates to 58 Damage when using most default arrows.

However, its usage in combat makes the Aerial Bane quite flexible as a Bow. Upon hitting an enemy, Aerial Bane splits into five arrows in an equal spread all over the map that explodes (but not split) upon contact. This property makes the Aerial Bane an efficient boss killer, especially since the game considers most bosses such as Plantera airborne.

6 Shadowflame Bow

47 Damage

When players first acquire the Shadowflame Bow in a Hardmode “Goblin Army” event, they might think the purple weapon is rather ordinary-looking for their more difficult Terraria gameplay. However, beneath the Shadowflame Bow’s unimposing appearance is one of the strongest Hardmode Bows in the game, courtesy of Shadowflame Arrow.

In more tactical plays, players may notice that the Shadowflame Bow can pierce up to two enemies on top of an efficient debuff. When hit by a Shadowflame Arrow, they suffer the debuff of the same name. Under the influence of Shadowflame, enemies lose their health regeneration on top of taking 15 Damage per second.

5 Phantasm

50 Damage

Players who obtain 18 x Vortex Fragments can use the Ancient Manipulator as a Crafting Station to create the Phantasm, a ghost-themed Bow that may as well transform itself into a gatling gun. The Phantasm auto-fires four arrows at the cost of a single shot, with each arrow potentially having slightly different ranges and trajectories. The Bow is the only one in its weapon group with a weapon conservation potential of 66%.

Its effects make Phantasm especially combat-viable, where players can enjoy a faster firing rate once every 18-24 sets of attacks, on top of each successful hit releasing three magical arrows that deal 30% of the original base damage without any ammo cost.

4 Eventide

50 Damage

Boasting a fairy-like appearance and multiple golden limbs with crystalline details, the Eventide from the mighty Empress of Light is deservedly a potent weapon that auto-fires five arrows. Wooden Arrows will convert all five shots into a Twilight Lance while using other arrows will only have one of five shots become a Twilight Lance.

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Not only do these Lances pierce up to four enemies, but one of them also deals double the base damage. Players can tinker with how shots are fired based on where they point the cursor, where having it close releases the shots as a burst like a shotgun whereas pointing it further increases the Lance’s accuracy.

3 Tsunami

53 Damage

Acquired after defeating Duke Fishron in a Ranged Class Terraria experience, players can use the Tsunami to auto-fire a barrage of five closely parallel arrows per ammo. The arrows themselves don’t have spread, making them unideal against multiple targets with vastly different angles.

Avoiding piercing arrows will help players avoid the invincibility frame they give opponents, ensuring that the other arrows from the parallel barrage can hit foes. Likewise, the barrage itself can deal a whopping 300 Damage on a single target if they are large enough such as “Pumpkin Moon” and “Frost Moon” bosses.

2 Marrow

53 Damage

The Marrow auto-converts all Arrows into the Bone Arrow and has a higher velocity and lower drop, giving it better accuracy with a straighter shot than regular arrows. The higher 9% Critical Chance may be a worthwhile trade-off with the lack of bonuses from the original arrows, especially against tough bosses like the Golem.

Due to the Marrow’s effects, players may want to consider using Venom Arrows and Cursed Arrows as Bone Arrow bases. Despite the Venom Arrow and Cursed Arrow losing the DOT-ing Acid Venom and Cursed Inferno, these arrows also have the highest base damage, at 19 and 17 per shot, respectively.

1 Pulse Bow

80 Damage

Perhaps the most powerful Hardmode Bow a player can encounter in their Terraria experience, the Pulse Bow only becomes available after defeating Hardmode’s three mechanical bosses: the Twins, the Destroyer, and Skeleton Prime. At its core, the Pulse Bow auto-fires a Pulse Bolt - a blue bolt unaffected by gravity that flies for 3.5 seconds.

Upon firing, this projectile can either pierce or ricochet five times. Moreover, the Pulse Bolt immediately converts any arrows into the Pulse Bolt, removing special effects but retaining base damage. This damage variability can transform the Pulse Bow into a potent weapon, especially with its high 11% Critical Chance.

Terraria

Platform(s)

PC , PS3 , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X , Switch , Vita , iOS , Android , macOS , Linux , 3DS , Stadia

Released

May 16, 2011

Developer(s)

Re-Logic

Genre(s)

Action , Adventure , Sandbox