If you’ve spent hours grinding through Terraria’s early hardmode, you’ve definitely heard other players rave about Excalibur, the glowing golden blade that shreds through most pre-Plantera enemies like butter. I remember my first playthrough, I wasted three weeks hunting for a boss drop that didn’t exist before I finally figured out how to get Excalibur in Terraria, so I put together this guide to help you skip all that frustrating trial and error. It’s not just a strong melee weapon either—its upgraded True Excalibur form is a key ingredient for the Zenith, the strongest weapon in the entire game. So even if you’re just starting hardmode, it’s worth planning for this craft early to speed up your progression by miles.
Pre-Requisites You Need Before Crafting Excalibur
First, let’s get the most important rule out of the way. You cannot access any Excalibur crafting materials until you have defeated the Wall of Flesh and unlocked hardmode. Excalibur is a hardmode-exclusive item, and none of the materials you need will spawn or drop until you trigger the world’s hardmode state by throwing a Guide Voodoo Doll into underworld lava. If you’re trying to rush how to get Excalibur in Terraria, the biggest mistake you can make is triggering hardmode before you have a decent weapon and armor set to handle the new enemies that spawn immediately after.
Next, you’ll need two core pre-requisite resources to craft Excalibur: 12 Hallowed Bars, and access to either a Mythril Anvil or Orichalcum Anvil. Hallowed Bars only drop from the three mechanical bosses (The Destroyer, Skeletron Prime, and The Twins) so you will need to beat at least one of these bosses to collect enough bars for the craft. Mythril and Orichalcum anvils are functionally identical for this craft, so you only need one of the two, depending on which hardmode ore spawns in your world.
You don’t need any special biomes or NPCs for this craft, but it helps to have a base set up near your mining areas so you can smelt ore and craft items without running back and forth across the map.
How to Get Excalibur in Terraria: Full Crafting Walkthrough
Once you’ve unlocked hardmode and have a basic set of hardmode armor (Molten Armor works perfectly for early mech boss fights), you can follow these simple steps to craft your Excalibur in under two hours if you’re lucky with spawns. Start by mining enough Mythril or Orichalcum ore to make 10 bars of whichever ore you have access to. You’ll need 40 ore total for 10 bars, which is enough to craft your anvil.
Next, take down your first mechanical boss. I always recommend fighting The Destroyer first for melee builds, since its linear movement pattern is easy to dodge with a fast mount or early wings, and it drops an average of 20-25 Hallowed Bars per kill, which is more than enough for the 12 you need. If you’re playing a ranged or magic build, The Twins are usually easier to take down from a distance.
Once you have your 12 Hallowed Bars and your Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil set up, simply stand next to the anvil and open your crafting menu. Excalibur will appear in the melee weapons section, and you can craft it with one click. You only need 12 Hallowed Bars for the base Excalibur, so you won't have to grind multiple mech bosses if you get a standard drop. I made the mistake of farming Skeletron Prime four times on my first playthrough because I thought Excalibur was a boss drop, so don’t repeat that mistake—it’s 100% craftable, no rare drop required.
Pro Tips to Make Excalibur Acquisition Faster
There are a ton of small hacks you can use to cut down the time it takes to get your Excalibur, especially if you’re playing on a fresh world with no existing hardmode resources. I’ve tested all of these across dozens of playthroughs, and they consistently cut my grind time by 70% or more.
- Use a Spelunker Potion paired with a Mining Potion when digging for Mythril or Orichalcum to spot ore veins faster and mine through stone 25% quicker, cutting your prep time by more than half.
- Fight The Destroyer first if you main melee—its straight-line movement pattern is easy to dodge with a quick mount or wings, and it drops more Hallowed Bars on average than the other two mech bosses.
- Set up a small hallow farm underground if you want to farm Hallowed Mimics for extra loot while you wait for mech boss spawns—just place a Key of Light in a regular chest, close it, and a mimic will spawn instantly.
Spelunker Potions are one of the most underrated quality of life items for early hardmode progression, so always keep a stack on hand when you’re mining for new ore. You can craft them with bottled water, blinkroot, moonglow, gold ore, and a glow mushroom, so all ingredients are easy to find even in pre-hardmode.
Hallowed mimics only spawn if you place a key of light inside a regular chest in the underground hallow, so don't waste time wandering around looking for them naturally. They drop powerful early hardmode weapons like the Daedalus Stormbow, which melts mech bosses in seconds even with basic wooden arrows, so they’re worth farming if you’re struggling to take down your first mech boss. These small hacks cut the time I spent to get Excalibur in my last playthrough down to just two hours, compared to the three weeks I wasted on my first run.
What to Do With Excalibur After You Craft It
Base Excalibur has 66 melee damage, a very fast swing speed, 4% critical strike chance, and full auto-swing, so it’s more than strong enough to carry you through all pre-Plantera content. I use mine to farm pirate invasions, goblin armies, and wandering hardmode enemies while I’m collecting Chlorophyte ore for endgame armor. It also works great for clearing out large biomes quickly, since its wide swing hits multiple enemies at once.
If you main melee, you’ll want to upgrade it to True Excalibur as soon as you beat all three mechanical bosses and unlock the jungle Chlorophyte biome. To craft True Excalibur, you just need your base Excalibur plus 24 Chlorophyte Bars, crafted at the same Mythril or Orichalcum Anvil you used for the base weapon. True Excalibur fires a glowing golden projectile that deals full damage to enemies from 20 blocks away, which makes it far more useful for fighting flying bosses and enemies that are hard to reach with melee.
True Excalibur is a massive upgrade for melee players, so start farming Chlorophyte as soon as you beat all three mechanical bosses. Later on, you can combine True Excalibur with True Night’s Edge to make the Terra Blade, which is one of the core ingredients for the Zenith, the strongest weapon in Terraria. Even if you don’t main melee, it’s worth crafting Excalibur later in your playthrough if you plan on unlocking the Zenith before you finish your run.
Once you know what materials you need and what steps to follow, figuring out how to get Excalibur in Terraria doesn't have to be the weeks-long grind it was for my first playthrough. It's one of the most reliable early hardmode melee weapons, and it paves the way for some of the strongest endgame gear available in the game. Don't rush the process though—make sure you have a solid armor set and plenty of healing potions before you take on your first mechanical boss, so you don't waste hours dying over and over for a few bars. Even if you don't main melee, adding this blade to your collection is a smart move if you plan on unlocking the Zenith before you finish your playthrough.