Terraria was first released in 2011 and less than a decade later, the game has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. This 2D sandbox game has countless items that are dropped by enemies or found in chests or treasure bags. Of course, some of these items are harder to obtain than others and can take hours of farming.
For the most part, the items on this list were chosen based on Terraria’s official drop rate numbers. Other items made this list because players often cite them as some of the rarest/hardest items to obtain. So, based on a player’s own experience, they may not necessarily agree with this list, but these drop rate numbers were obtained from Terraria’s Official Wiki.
As of October 2020, the information on this list is as accurate as possible and will be updated as needed.
- Paintings
- Arkhalis
- Rod of Discord
- KO Cannon
- Pirate Staff
- Discount Card
- Biome Keys
- Lucky Coin
- Coin Gun
- Slime Staff
Rarity Color: White
Type: Furniture
Dropped By: N/A – methods of obtaining vary
photo source: Terraria Fan Wiki
According to many players, Paintings are some of the rarest and hardest items to obtain in Terraria. Currently, there are 105 Paintings, 21 of which are sold by the Painter under certain conditions, 4 by the Golfer after a golf score of 2000 under certain Moon phases (Desktop and Mobile versions only), and 9 are randomly sold by the Traveling Merchant. 15 other paintings are found placed naturally in Underground Cabins, 14 in the Underground Desert (Desktop and Mobile version only), 24 in the Dungeon, 12 in The Underworld, 5 randomly acquired from Goodie Bags, and 1 awarded randomly by the Angler for completing a fishing quest.
As you can see, collecting every Painting is a difficult and time intense task. Additionally, players say that certain Paintings, like Impact, Trio Super Heroes, and The Creation of the Guide, are the most difficult to find. Some players report that they have had to visit dozens of dungeons, underworlds, and underground houses to find every painting.
Did You Know?
Some of the names of the Paintings in-game artists are references to members of Terraria’s development and testing staff.
Rarity Color: Cyan on Desktop and Mobile version; Purple on Console version
Type: Weapon
Dropped By: Treasure Bags on Hardmode (Desktop and Mobile); Enchanted Sword Shrine or Caverns layer (Console)
photo source: Pixilart via Spiderdog102
Although there are other items that have an official higher rarity, Arkhalis is often cited as one of the hardest/rarest weapons to obtain by Terraria players. Arkhalis a rare melee weapon that looks like a sword, but doesn’t show a blade when used and quick slashes appear instead.
On the desktop and mobile version of Terraria, Arkhalis is part of Arkhalis’s set and can only be obtained through Treasure Bags in Hardmode. On console, players can find Arkhalis from the unique background object found in an Enchanted Sword Shrine or very rarely in the Caverns layer. This is why Arkhalis is so rare because finding it is purely up to chance as it isn’t a monster drop item.
Did You Know?
Arkhalis is named for Arkhayla, a former Quality Director at Re-Logic, Terraria’s developer. The sword’s design and function is based off a Crissaegrim from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which is Arkhayla’s favorite sword.
Rarity Color: Lime
Type: Tool
Dropped By: Chaos Elemental
photo source: Pixilart via JamsNJellys
Rod of Discord is a tool that instantly teleports the player to the mouse cursor. This useful tools has a 0.2% (1/500) chance of being dropped by Chaos Elementals. Players can use the Rod of Discord without spending manna or ammunition, but each use does inflict the Chaos State debuff on the player for a few seconds. The Chaos State debuff deals damage equal to 14.29% of the player’s maximum health.
Did You Know?
The Chaos State debuff was added to the Rod of Discord during an update to stop players from using the Rod repeatedly without consequence, which gave players an overpowered method of evasion/transportation.
Rarity Color: Light Red
Type: Weapon
Dropped By: All enemies during a Blood Moon in Hardmode
photo source: Terraria Fan Wiki
KO Cannon is a Hardmode melee weapon that is rarely dropped during a Blood Moon. This weapon has a 0.1% (1/1000) drop chance. The KO Cannon fires a boxing glove that is connected to the cannon by a short, thick chain. After striking a target or traveling 17 blocks, the glove retracts back into the weapon before being ready to fire again. The KO Cannon has no cool down rate and can be used quickly again if enemies are within close range.
Did You Know?
The KO cannon has a very high speed when close to enemies due to the amount of time it takes for the glove to come back to the base as well as high damage.
Rarity Color: Pink
Type: Summon Weapon
Dropped By: Pirate Deckhand, Pirate Corsair, Pirate Deadeye, Pirate Crossbower, and Pirate Captain
photo source: Official Terraria Wiki
The Pirate Staff is yet another rare Pirate Invasion drop item. It has a drop rate of 1/2000 (0.05%) chance by common Pirate enemies and a 1/100 (1%) chance by the Flying Dutchman. The Pirate Staff is a summon weapon that spawns a pirate minion that will attack enemies via a melee sword attack. Compared to the other Pirate Invasion drop items, the Pirate Staff isn’t that rare and typically takes about 6-7 complete Pirate Invasions before this item drops.
Did You Know?
The Pirate Staff is one of several crossover references to the game Pixel Piracy and the summoned pirate minion randomly defecates, similar to the characters in Pixel Piracy.
Rarity Color: Pink
Type: Accessory and Crafting Material
Dropped By: Pirate Deckhand, Pirate Corsair, Pirate Deadeye, Pirate Crossbower, and Pirate Captain
photo source: Official Terraria Wiki
The Discount Card is an accessory dropped during Hardmode Pirate Invasions. When equipped, the Discount Card causes items in NPC inventories (such as shops) to be discounted by 20%. The discount also applies to Reforging costs, which makes the Discount Card even more valuable to a player. The Discount Card has a drop rate of 0.05% (1/2000) from common Pirate enemies and a 1% chance (1/100) to be dropped by the Flying Dutchman.
Did You Know?
The effect of the Discount Card multiplicatively stacks with the effects of NPC happiness, effectively allowing the player to buy items at up to 40% off.
Rarity Color: Yellow
Type: Key
Dropped By: All enemies during Hardmode in the key’s biome
photo source: Steam Community
Biome Keys are rare drop items that open special chests that contain specific rare and powerful weapons. There are six different keys: Jungle Key, Corruption Key, Crimson Key, Hallowed Key, Frozen Key, and Desert Key. Each key can be obtained in its respective biome from any enemy that will drop coins in that biome during Hardmode. Each key has a 0.04% (1/2500) chance of dropping.
The rare and special weapons associated with the Biome Keys are: Piranha Gun (Jungle Key), Scourge of the Corrupter (Corruption Key), Vampire Knives (Crimson Key), Rainbow Gun (Hallowed Key), Staff of the Frost Hydra (Frozen Key), and Desert Tiger Staff (Desert Key).
Did You Know?
Any Biome Keys dropped before beating Plantera cannot be used and will display the tooltip, “It has been cursed by a powerful Jungle creature.”
Rarity Color: Pink
Type: Accessory and Crafting Material
Dropped By: Pirate Deckhand, Pirate Corsair, Pirate Deadeye, Pirate Crossbower, and Pirate Captain
photo source: YouTube
Along with the Coin Gun, the Lucky Coin is a rare dropped item from Pirate Invasions. The Lucky Coin is a Hardmode accessory that causes enemies to drop extra coins when the player has it equipped. Common Pirate enemies during a Pirate Invasion drop the Lucky Coin at a rate of 0.025% or 1/4000. The Flying Dutchman Mini Boss has a higher chance of 1/200 (0.5%). Although the Lucky Coin is very rare, its worth obtaining because it’s considered the best way to make money in Terraria.
Did You Know?
If the Lucky Coin receives the Lucky modifier, its name will change to “Lucky Lucky Coin.”
Rarity Color: Light Purple
Type: Weapon
Dropped By: Pirate Deckhand, Pirate Corsair, Pirate Deadeye, Pirate Crossbower, and Pirate Captain
photo source: pixelartmaker.com
The Coin Gun is dropped very rarely by Pirate Invasion enemies at a rate of 0.0125% or 1/8000 chance. This Hardmode ranged weapon uses coins as ammunition, which can’t be picked up again after they’re fired. The damage done by the Coin Gun depends on the coins used and the gun itself has 0 base damage. Higher valued coins do more damage, but it is more cost efficient to use lower denominations.
Before the 1.3 update, it would take an average of 66-67 Pirate Invasions completed before a Coin Gun dropped for players. After the Flying Dutchman (a Hardmode Mini Boss) was added, the Coin Gun’s drop rate slightly increased, but it is still a very rare item.
Did You Know?
If the Coin Gun is used with Platinum Coins, it becomes one of the most powerful weapons in Terraria, but using a large number of Platinum Coins as ammunition is expensive.
Rarity Color: Light Red
Type: Summon Weapon
Dropped By: Most Slimes
photo source: Terraria Fan Wiki
The Slime Staff is the rarest item in Terraria based on its drop rate of 0.01% or 1 out of every 10,000 Slimes. This makes farming for a Slime Staff quite tedious. Sand Slimes have a slightly higher drop rate of 1/8000 (0.0125%). Also, the rare Slime, Pinky, has has a greatly increased drop rate of 1/100 (1%). While most Slimes can drop the Slime Staff, the following Slimes will never drop the item: Dungeon Slime, Lava Slime, Umbrella Slime, Hoppin’ Jack, Corrupt Slime (Shadow 3DS game), King Slime, Crimslime, Gastropod (Spectral 3DS game), and Rainbow Slime.
The Slime Staff is a summoning weapon that calls out a Baby Slime minion. The Baby Slime summoned by the Slime Staff appears to be a baby version of the Toxic Sludge slime, being similar in color, and having a face as well.
Did You Know?
Unlike other summon weapons, the Slime Staff’s best possible modifier is Mythical because both the
