It’s been a little over a year since the Journey’s End update for Terraria was released. With it, a new goal was given for players that already beat the final boss - to craft the Zenith, the most powerful weapon in the game. 

Though it’s a melee weapon, the Zenith outclasses pretty much every other item the player can get. It can phase through walls and reach as far as the screen allows, on top of dealing some of the highest damage that can be found in Terraria. It’s an incredible weapon, and the requirements to craft it are equally as ridiculous.

Getting every item you need to craft the Zenith can be a tough journey from the moment you create your character, and there are plenty of variables to consider. This guide will set players on the best and quickest path towards obtaining the weapon, from character creation all the way up to the game’s end. Spoilers for end-game content ahead!

DISCLAIMER: This guide is for the current PC version of Terraria, 1.4.2.3.

A Guide to Obtaining Terraria’s Zenith

Before you start playing

If you’re making a brand-new character that you want to get the Zenith with, you can go about it in a few different ways. The most balanced option is to create a Classic (or Softcore) character. Mediumcore and Hardcore characters have too many risks associated with them, as the random generation of Terraria’s worlds makes it quite easy for players to suffer multiple deaths. This guide will assume you’re not playing in Journey Mode, as the difficulty options can negate any challenge that might get in the way of crafting the Zenith.

When creating a new world, you’ll want to make a large one. The extra size will generate more spawn points for rare items, including vital components of the Zenith. You might also want to consider using the custom world seed “05162020”. This will force all types of ore to spawn, as well as generate both Corruption and Crimson in a world. It’s not a requirement to use that seed, but it definitely helps in providing more options than a normal world.

As for difficulty, it depends on what your goal is. The best option, if your only concern is the Zenith, is Classic (or Normal) difficulty. Expert difficulty provides better accessories and loot, but the difficulty of even early-game bosses increases drastically - and none of its exclusive items are required to craft the Zenith. Master difficulty simply increases enemy health and damage taken, and should only be considered if you’re more interested in a challenge.

Getting Started

From the moment the player enters the world, there are four important weapons they can get their hands on. Players will need to make a Forge and an Anvil to craft one of those weapons, as well as many others down the line. Here are the Zenith components that can be found even before fighting your first boss:

• Copper Shortsword - All players, barring those in Journey Mode, start with this. You can’t use its counterpart, the Tin Shortsword, so be sure to keep it safe - especially if your world doesn’t have any more copper to spare.
• Starfury - This weapon is found in floating islands. Gravitation potions can be collected in chests underground, allowing players to easily reach these islands. It’s a useful weapon against bosses, as well, to the point where you might want to keep it in your inventory for the first few fights.
• Enchanted Sword - This weapon only generates in shrines located in the outer two-thirds of a world’s map. They can be tough to find, and they aren’t even guaranteed to spawn in some worlds. You might need to create an entire new world if you don’t get it on your first try.
• Blade of Grass - A sword crafted with 12 Jungle Spores and 12 Stingers at an Anvil. It’s not a very special sword on its own, but it’s one of the components of the Night’s Edge - a more powerful weapon that will bring you one step closer to the Zenith.

Reaching Hardmode

Image via Fanmade YouTube Thumbnail

Players will need to defeat nearly every boss before reaching hardmode, with the exception of King Slime. You can also choose whether or not to defeat the Eye of Cthulhu or the Corruption/Crimson bosses, as they drop similar resources.

• Light’s Bane or Blood Butcherer - Crafted with 10 Demonite or 10 Crimtane Bars at a Forge. You don’t need both, as either one acts as a necessary component in crafting the Night’s Edge.
• Bee Keeper - A sword dropped by the Queen Bee. It only has a 33% chance of dropping from the boss, so you might need to farm for it. If you’re desperate, you can use the custom seed “not the bees” to make a new world filled with Larvae, allowing you to spawn the boss numerous times over.
• Muramasa - A sword found in the dungeon. You’ll need to defeat Skeletron and search for Golden Keys, as it can only be obtained from Locked Gold Chests.
• Fiery Greatsword - Crafted using 20 Hellstone Bars at an anvil. You’ll need to make the bars with a total of 60 Hellstone and 20 Obsidian at a Hellforge. Hellstone can only be obtained with a pickaxe at 65% power or higher, and Obsidian is made through forcing water and lava to collide.
• Night’s Edge - Crafted at a Demon or Crimson Altar using the Blade of Grass, Muramasa, Fiery Greatsword, and either the Light’s Bane or the Blood Butcherer. The strongest sword before entering Hardmode, and one step closer to the strongest sword in the game.

Crafting the Terra Blade

Image via Steam Community

Once players defeat the Wall of Flesh and enter hardmode, they’ll reach a far more difficult point in their journey. A Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil should be crafted as soon as possible, alongside an Adamantite or Titanium Forge. The hardmode Anvils are where you’ll be making the rest of the craftable swords. Afterwards, players will need to take down the three mechanical bosses and Plantera, finally getting the tools they need to craft a vital component of the Zenith.

• Excalibur - Crafted at a hardmode Anvil using 12 Hallowed Bars. Each Mechanical Boss drops a minimum of 15 - more than enough to make the Excalibur after beating just one.
• True Night’s Edge - Crafted at a hardmode Anvil. It requires the original Night’s Edge alongside 20 of each mechanical boss’s soul. Again, not much farming is required to make this weapon, as the bosses drop more than enough souls for players wanting to craft it.
• True Excalibur - Crafted at a hardmode Anvil. It requires the original Excalibur alongside 24 Chlorophyte Bars. These bars must be made from a hardmode Forge using a total of 120 Chlorophyte Ore, which can be obtained with a Drax or a Pickaxe Axe. These tools are obtainable after defeating all three mechanical bosses, using one of each type of their soul.
• Seedler - Dropped by Plantera. It only has an 11% chance of being obtained, so you might need to fight this boss more than once. It’s not a component of the Terra Blade, but I’m mentioning it here since it’s possible to obtain the Seedler first.
• Terra Blade - Crafted at a hardmode Anvil. It requires the True Night’s Edge, the True Excalibur, and a Broken Hero Sword. The final component is dropped by Mothron, an enemy that only appears during Solar Eclipses after Plantera is defeated.

The Final Components

Image via YouTube

The Terra Blade is more than capable of assisting players all the way up to the final boss of Terraria. Only four more weapons are needed, but getting them won’t be any easier.

• The Horseman’s Blade - Dropped by Pumpking, a miniboss that appears starting on wave 7 of the Pumpkin Moon event. The item used to start the event must be crafted at a hardmode Anvil using 30 Pumpkins (which can be planted after buying seeds from the Dryad), 5 Ectoplasm (obtained from the dungeon after beating Plantera), and 10 Hallowed Bars. Killing one Pumpking won’t guarantee you get the weapon, but it’s more likely to drop during later waves; fight efficiently and it’ll be yours before long.
• Influx Waver - Dropped by the Martian Saucer, a miniboss that appears during the Martian Madness event. The event can be initiated by looking for Martian Probes around the map and letting them escape after they see you. This weapon isn’t a guaranteed drop, either, but its chances won’t increase as the event goes on. You might need to initiate this event multiple times before you get your hands on the Influx Waver.
• Star Wrath - A weapon dropped by the Moon Lord, the final boss of Terraria. Even with such a monumental achievement needing to be fulfilled, it only has an 11% chance of being dropped by the boss. Not that it matters, as you’ll need to fight the Moon Lord at least once more anyway.
• Meowmere - Another weapon dropped by the Moon Lord. You can’t obtain both it and the Star Wrath at the same time, so you’ll need to defeat the Moon Lord a minimum of two times.

End of the Guide - Crafting Terraria’s Zenith

After having obtained every item on this list, you’re finally ready to craft the Zenith. With everything prepared, you’ll need to bring these weapons to a hardmode Anvil:

• Copper Shortsword
• Starfury
• Enchanted Sword
• Bee Keeper
• Terra Blade
• Seedler
• The Horseman’s Blade
• Influx Waver
• Star Wrath
• Meowmere

With that, the Zenith should appear as a craftable item, just waiting for you to click on it. Once you’ve done so, pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself - you’ve obtained the strongest weapon in Terraria history!

Since you’ve already defeated the final boss at least twice over, there admittedly isn’t much you can do with the Zenith. But you can always make new words on harder difficulties and use it to plow through everything you come across. Sometimes, a bit of power fantasy is the perfect end to such a lengthy journey.

Information and additional images sourced from the Official Terraria Wiki.

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