If you’re a Terraria player who loves fast, high-damage ranged builds, you’ve definitely heard of the Megashark. This iconic minigun boasts an insanely high fire rate, low recoil, and 50% ammo saving perk that makes it a staple for everything from boss fights to dungeon clears. We’ll break down exactly how to craft a Megashark in Terraria, including all the hidden pre-requisites you might miss if you’re new to hardmode. I’ve crafted this weapon at least 20 times across different playthroughs, so I’ll also share the little hacks that cut down my farming time by hours when I’m rushing to get it pre-Plantera.
Pre-Requisites to Craft a Megashark in Terraria
Before you even start collecting materials, there are a few non-negotiable boxes you need to tick first. The Megashark is a hardmode-exclusive item, so you won’t be able to get it in pre-hardmode no matter how much grinding you do. First, you need to unlock hardmode by defeating the Wall of Flesh at the bottom of the underworld. That will trigger all the hardmode biomes, enemies, and crafting recipes to spawn in your world.
Second, you need to have the Arms Dealer NPC living in a valid, furnished house in your world. He sells two of the core components you need for the Megashark, so you can’t skip this step. He’ll move in as long as you have at least one gun or bullet in your inventory and an empty house available. Third, you need access to a Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil, the hardmode upgrade of the standard Iron/Lead Anvil. You’ll need 10 bars of either Mythril or Orichalcum to craft one, both of which spawn in hardmode underground biomes.
You don’t need to beat all three mechanical bosses to craft the Megashark, but you will need to beat one specific one to get a required crafting material. We’ll cover that in the next section.
Full List of Materials You Need to Make the Megashark
All the materials required for the Megashark are fairly easy to farm once you know where to look, even for new hardmode players. I recommend collecting them in the order listed below to save time, as some require specific conditions to find. Here’s the full recipe for the latest 1.4 version of Terraria:
- 1 Minishark, purchased from the Arms Dealer for 35 gold coins
- 20 Illegal Gun Parts, sold by the Arms Dealer at night during hardmode for 5 gold each
- 5 Shark Fins, dropped by Sharks spawned in Ocean biomes at either edge of your world
- 1 Soul of Might, dropped by The Destroyer hardmode mechanical boss
If you’re short on gold for the Minishark and Illegal Gun Parts, farm Goblin Army events or sell excess hardmode ores to the Merchant to rack up gold fast. For Illegal Gun Parts, sleeping in a bed skips daytime 10x faster, so you don’t have to wait around for 10 in-game minutes for night to fall naturally. For Shark Fins, use a Water Walking Potion or build a small wooden platform above the ocean to fight sharks without drowning, and place a Water Candle nearby to boost spawn rates by 50%.
The Soul of Might only drops from The Destroyer, which is the easiest mechanical boss for ranged players to beat. I recommend using a Daedalus Stormbow with Holy Arrows to take it down in under 5 minutes even if you’re still wearing pre-hardmode armor. You only need one Soul of Might, so you won’t have to fight The Destroyer multiple times unless you want to craft extra Megasharks for friends.
Step-by-Step Crafting Walkthrough
Once you have all four materials in your inventory, crafting the Megashark only takes a few seconds. First, travel to your Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil, and make sure all materials are in your personal inventory, not stored in a chest nearby. Open your crafting menu, and scroll to the Ranged Weapons category to find the Megashark recipe. Click craft, and the weapon will appear in your inventory immediately.
The most common mistake new players make here is trying to craft the Megashark at a standard Iron or Lead Anvil. The recipe only appears when you’re standing next to a hardmode anvil, so don’t waste time searching for the recipe if you haven’t crafted one yet. If you’re playing on Journey Mode with recipe locking enabled, you’ll need to collect each material at least once first to unlock the recipe before you can craft it in bulk.
After you craft your Megashark, head to the Goblin Tinkerer to reforge it. Unreal is the best reforge modifier for the Megashark, as it boosts damage, critical strike chance, fire rate, and accuracy all at once. It can cost a lot of gold to get the Unreal modifier if you’re unlucky, but it’s 100% worth the investment for the extra damage output.
Pro Tips for Using Your New Megashark Effectively
The Megashark’s 50% ammo saving perk makes it one of the most cost-effective endgame weapons in the game, but you’ll get way more out of it if you pair it with the right ammo and accessories. If you have access to Chlorophyte Ore already, craft Chlorophyte Bullets to use with the Megashark. These bullets home in on enemies automatically, so you don’t have to aim perfectly to hit fast-moving bosses like Skeletron Prime or The Twins.
If you haven’t unlocked Chlorophyte yet, use Crystal Bullets instead. Their shrapnel burst deals extra area-of-effect damage to crowds of enemies, which is perfect for clearing out the Hardmode Dungeon or fighting event enemies like the Frost Legion. Avoid using basic Musket Balls with the Megashark for boss fights, even with the high fire rate, their low base damage will make fights take twice as long as they need to.
You don’t need to replace the Megashark with rarer ranged weapons like the Chain Gun or Vortex Beater unless you want to. I’ve beaten the Moon Lord on Expert Mode using only a Megashark with Chlorophyte Bullets and a full set of Shroomite Armor, so it’s more than strong enough to handle every piece of endgame content. If you pair it with the Magic Quiver and Ranger Emblem accessories, you’ll get an extra 30% damage boost that makes it even more powerful.
Crafting the Megashark is a huge milestone for any hardmode ranged player, and it opens up so many possibilities for taking on harder content without spending hours grinding for rarer weapons. Once you learn how to craft a Megashark in Terraria, you’ll wonder how you ever played hardmode without it. Don’t skip the small tips we shared to cut down your farming time, and experiment with different ammo types to find what works best for your playstyle. If you have a favorite way to use the Megashark, drop it in the comments below!