Arrows in Terraria are used when you fire an equipped bow. The bow will not fire otherwise.
The damage and properties of the arrows are added with the bow upon impact on an enemy.
Many arrows can be crafted or found scattered about in chests—a few even drop from enemies.
If you plan to be an archer, our Arrows Terraria Guide will be advantageous to your journey through the swarms of enemies and bosses this indie game throws at you.
Crafting Arrows
A wooden bow and arrows are some of the earliest weapons you can make and one of the best first weapons. You’ll find it keeps zombies back at night, does more damage than base swords, and can be crafted with just some wood, a little bit of stone, and a workbench.
Cut down some trees, make a workbench and get your bow and wooden arrows ready to handle the beginning of Terraria more efficiently.
Wooden Arrow: Craft by a workbench. Any Wood(x1) and Stone Block(x1) = Wooden Arrows(x25)
To quickly increase your damage, turn your wooden arrows into flaming arrows as soon as you’ve acquired some torches. Doing this can give you a good weapon very early on.
Flaming Arrow: Craft by hand. Wooden Arrow(x10) and Torch(x1) = Flaming Arrow(x10)
Another early game trick is to use the dirt you’ve been digging up to make a Sky Bridge and start collecting Fallen Stars as quickly as possible. The Fallen Stars will get you early access to the Jester’s Arrow.
Jester’s Arrow: Craft by hand. Wooden Arrow(x20) and Fallen Star(x1) = Jester’s Arrow(x20)
If you aren’t far from a Snow Biome, you can make some of the best Pre-Hardmode arrows very early in the game; the Frostburn Arrows. The ability to cause Frostburn makes these arrows the most useful early game arrow if you are using a bow in any capacity.
Frostburn does more damage than On Fire! and it continues to cause damage even underwater.
Frostburn Arrow: Craft by hand. Wooden Arrow(x10) and Ice Torch(x1) = Frostburn Arrow(x10)
You can make ice torches with wood, one ice block, and some gel.
Further Into the Dark
As the difficulty of the game spikes and you pick up new bows, you’ll likely be looking for some other arrows. You can get Unholy Arrows pretty quickly if you have the Corruption by collecting worm teeth.
Unholy Arrows: Wooden Arrow(x5) and a Worm Tooth by an anvil= Unholy Arrow(x5)
Against Multi-Section Bosses, you may find more use from the Jester’s Arrows, however, and otherwise Frostburn Arrows for single section enemies.
Yet, as you dig down into the depths, you will find the Underworld. There, among the lava and demons, you will discover Hellfire Arrows scattered about and Hellstone to craft them.
These arrows are good even into Hardmode.
Hellfire Arrow: Wooden Arrow(x100) and Hellstone Bar by an anvil = Hellfire Arrow(x100)
Once the Wall of Flesh is defeated, you can purchase these arrows from the Demotolition’s Expert in town for one silver coin. You can also buy Unholy Arrows from the Arms Dealer now.
While that’s nice, you are in Hardmode. So let’s get you to some stronger arrows as quickly as we can.
Infinite Arrows
I want to back you up to before you’ve killed the Wall of Flesh. Ask you to go up and cut down a lot of trees and plant a ton of acorns.
Why? Because in Hardmode, you can make something called an ‘Endless Quiver.’
With 3996 Wooden Arrows. That’s right; you’ll need four full stacks of 999 Wooden Arrows to make it. You’ll also need to be near a Crystal Ball, which you can purchase from the Wizard. You’ll be able to get him as soon as Hardmode unlocks.
The Wizard spawns right when the Wall of Flesh is defeated in the cavern layers, so just go-a-looking for him and have an empty house ready. Do be careful, of course; it is Hardmode.
The Endless Quiver can be placed in the tiny ammo slots in your inventory like any other arrow, and it doesn’t waste ammo. It fires only at the strength of Wooden Arrows, but that’s okay. Hopefully, you should have acquired the Bee’s Knees Bow before going into Hardmode or the Molten Fury. Meaning your infinite arrows will shoot swarms of bees or set people on fire!
The Endless Quiver will be a great boon to any archer as you find more bows in Hardmode that convert arrows to certain projectiles.
Endless Quiver: Wooden Arrow(x3996) by a Crystal Ball= The Endless Quiver
The Upper Echelon of Arrows
Now for the strongest arrows available in Hardmode and the order of ease in which you can get them.
Firstly, in Hardmode, the Underground itself becomes infected with either Crimson or Corruption. The enemies that now spawn there are stronger and will attack you for certain, but it’s the only place to get Hardmode Ore, so you might as well go item finding at their expense.
Killing Ghouls in the Underground will drop either Ichor or Cursed Flames. Collecting these will allow you to make some great arrows.
Cursed Arrows: Wooden Arrows(x150) and a Cursed Flame by a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil.
Ichor Arrows: Wooden Arrows(x150)and Ichor by a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil.
The Ichor Sticker will also drop Ichor, as will a World Feeder or Clinger drop Cursed Flames.
Unicorn Horns
What may be more accessible, I use the word ‘may’ sparingly here, as Unicorns are anything but easy when you first encounter them. Try to get some of the best DPS(damage per second) arrows in the game. Holy Arrows.
Go to the surface and find where your world has been turned into Hallow. Unicorns and pixies will spawn there, ready to look cute and kill you. Kill them first and take their stuff. Now, make some Holy Arrows.
Holy Arrows: Wooden Arrow(x200), Unicorn Horn(x1), and Pixie Dust(x3) by any Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil=Holy Arrows(x200)
If you have the right bow, Holy Arrows can leave a storm of star attacks in their wake. You’ll need a bow that fires multiple arrows at a time as the Daedalus dropped from Hallow Mimics. That will increase the number of stars that fall when the Holy Arrows strike. These conditions make the Holy Arrow an excellent arrow to use against a Boss.
If you don’t, I suggest sticking with Hell Arrows, Cursed Arrows, or Ichor Arrows until you get such a bow.
After the Mechanical Bosses
These arrows are a tricky subject to approach. Like me, you may be tempted to get the fun, bouncing Chlorophyte Arrows. I am going to suggest against it initially. They don’t do as well as the arrows mentioned above in combat, and they use up the Chlorophyte Ore, which has so many better uses.
Chlorophyte Arrow: Chlorophyte Bar by a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil= Chlorophyte Arrow(x150)
Post-Plantera
After Plantera has been defeated, the Witch Doctor sells Vials of Venom for 15 silver. These can be used to craft the highest damage-dealing arrows in the game. Though they may not add the defense reduction of Ichor or the extra star damage of Holy Arrows, they are worth their cost.
Venom Arrows: Wooden Arrow(x35) and a Vile of Venom by a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil= Venom Arrow(x35)
Whenever you use a bow that converts an arrow into its unique type, such as Marrow, only the arrow’s damage will matter, not the arrow’s effects. For this purpose, the Venom Arrows will always be the optimal damage choice.
Luminite Arrows
The endgame arrows that can be crafted after you have felled the Moon Lord are the Luminite Arrows. They fire lasers after each arrow is shot. That means multiple lasers will be fired if a bow fires numerous arrows. So, while they have less damage than the Venom Arrows, they do far more in a bow that doesn’t change the arrow type used.
The lasers will always fire from where the arrows were launched in the same trajectory, meaning they might get dodged by a particularly mobile enemy. However, the arrows can be very effective against multi-sectional enemies or giant bosses. In fact, extremely effective.
To craft them, you only need the following.
Luminite Arrows: Luminite Bar by an Ancient Manipulator = Luminite Arrows(x333)
Three Bars, and you have 999 arrows ready to go.
Our Recommendation
Keep an Endless Quiver around for emergencies. Otherwise, get some Frostburn Arrows as soon as possible. Move up to Hellfire Arrows for early Hardmode.
Once in Hardmode, keep multiple stacks of Cursed Arrows and Holy Arrows if you can’t get Ichor. Switch between the two depending on the fight.
If you can get Ichor Arrows, keep them handy. That lower Defense Debuff from Ichor is great to apply to an enemy.
Hit them with some Ichor Arrows and then go at them with any weapon.
With a strong bow that converts arrows, stock up on some Venom Arrows for maximum damage output.
The Arrows
A quick graph guide.
- c=copper
- g=gold.
Strength is as follows. Poor-Weak-Average-Good-Strong
|
Arrow |
Damage | Knockback | Velocity | Sell |
How to Acquire |
Additional Information |
| Wooden Arrow | 5 | Poor | 3 | 1c | Craft, Zombie, Chests | Used in crafting |
| Flaming Arrow | 7 | Poor | 3.5 | 2c | Craft, Chests | Causes On Fire! |
| Bone Arrow | 8 | Poor | 3.5 | 3c | Skeleton Merchant | Buy for 15c apiece, not worth it. |
| Frostburn Arrow | 9 | Poor | 3.75 | 3c | Craft | Causes Frostburn |
| Jester’s Arrow | 10 | Average | 0.5 | 20c | Craft, Gold Chests | x2 Velocity, Piercing, Explodes. |
| Unholy Arrow | 12 | Weak | 3.4 | 8c | Craft, Purchase in Hardmode, Drop from Eye of Cthulhu. | Piercing(x5). |
| Hellfire Arrow | 13 | Strong | 6.5 | 20c | Craft, Found in Underworld Pots, Shadow Chests, Purchased in Hardmode. | Explode on impact causing grenade-like damage. |
| Holy Arrow | 13 | Poor | 3.5 | 16c | Craft | Summons two falling stars after impact that pierce. |
| Chlorophyte Arrow | 16 | Weak | 4.5 | 20c | Craft | x2 Velocity, Bounce of Walls |
| Ichor Arrow | 16 | Poor | 4.25 | 8c | Craft | x2 Velocity, Causes the Ichor Debuff. |
| Cursed Arrow | 17 | Weak | 4 | 8c | Craft | Causes Cursed Inferno Debuff. |
| Venom Arrow | 19 | Average | 4.3 | 18c | Craft | Causes Acid Venom Debuff, x2 Velocity. |
| Luminite Arrow | 15 | Weak | 3 | 2c | Craft | A laser shoots out after them, Pierces(x3), x2 Velocity |
| Endless Quiver | 5 | Poor | 3 | 1g | Craft by a Crystal Ball | Infinite Wooden Arrows |
Arrows Unique to the 3DS
The Spectral Arrow, the Heart Arrow, and the Vulcan Bolt are arrows unique to the 3Ds. Here’s a quick table.
| Arrow 3DSÂ | Damage | Knockback | Velocity | Sell | Acquire |
Extra |
| Spectral Arrow | 16 | Poor | 0.5 | 18c | Defeating Ocram | Causes Cursed Inferno |
| Vulcan Bolt | 12 | Strong | – | – | All arrows fired by the Vulcan Repeater become these. | They explode on impact. |
| Heart Arrow | 4 | Poor | – | 10c | The Merchant sells them during the Valentine Day Events on the 3DS | Cause Stun. |
Any Tips?
- Finding the best bows will be more critical, so get to hunting bows as most are good drops from enemies and not crafted.
- The Endless Quiver with the Bees Knees and Ranged Attack Buffs is still effective in Early Hardmode. Really effective.
- Once you have some Hardmode Armor, making 999 Cursed/Ichor Arrows is easy, and I would keep them on the ready.
- Frost Armor can add an extra Frostburn effect to your arrows.
- The Endless Quiver is kind of useless in Journey Mode as only 99 arrows are needed to make infinite copies.
- Find the Magic Quiver, a drop by the Skeleton Archer underground in Hardmode, to boost all your arrows extensively.
- The Empress of Lights’ Eventide Bow with an Endless Quiver is a great combo.
FAQ’s
Question: What Arrow is best in Terraria?
Answer: The Luminite Arrow. I will say that arrows are the most useful early game. For that reason, the Frostburn arrows have an argument for best overall arrows even if they get outclassed in Hardmode.
Question: Do you need Arrows to use the bow?
Answer: Yes. No Bow will fire without Arrows.
Question: Do the Arrow and the Bow get Boosts from Range Buffs?
Answer: You can see the real-time modifier to your bow when you equip range buffing armor or accessories. However, it should also apply to the stacked damage from the bow and the arrow.
Question: Are Good Arrows Hard to Find in Terraria?
Answer: No. Many will drop out of jars regardless of the crafting requirements. As the article shares, crafting requirements are pretty easy to come by.
Question: Is There Arrow Boosting Equipment in Terraria?
Answer: Yes. The Magic Quiver, Molten Quiver, and Stalker Quiver all give your arrows a +10% damage boost. The Shroomite Headgear also gives you an x1.15 arrow damage effect.
Overall
Arrows are effective and necessary ammo in Terraria for an archer but can assist any playstyle you’ve chosen. They are easy to craft, apply many debuffs onto your foes, and will be an asset to you through all stages of the game.
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