Terraria: Pickaxe Power does more than you think

Terraria: Pickaxe Power does more than you think

Pickaxe power is an important number in Terraria, and most of you probably know that it determines what blocks a pickaxe or drill can mine. For example, a Drax can’t mine Lihzahrd Bricks but a Picksaw can. However, it is more than a tier system.

There’s a rhyme and reason to all these numbers, and it determines more than mining tiers. Most of you have probably never heard of “block hitpoints”, but they’re crucial to this. You may, however, have noticed that some blocks take more hits to mine than others.

Dirt takes 1 hit with a Nightmare Pickaxe, but Stone takes 2. This is because each tier of block has a hitpoint value that describes how hard it is to break, and each pickaxe’s pickaxe power is the amount of damage it does to a block in one swing. Yeah. It’s pretty simple.

Normally, pickaxe power differences don’t really matter that much, as it’s a very discrete scale, but sometimes they do. Take the “soft” blocks, like Dirt, Mud, Sand, Silt, and Spikes. These blocks have a hitpoint value of 50%. So, every pickaxe up to the Silver Pickaxe will take two hits to mine Dirt, while the

Tungsten Pickaxe and up all take one hit. So, despite being of the same ore tier, the Tungsten Pickaxe can break Dirt Blocks in one hit, while the Silver takes two. This, is, however compensated by the fact that the Tungsten Pickaxe is the slowest pickaxe

In the game, at 3.16 strikes/sec, while the Silver Pickaxe gets a respectable 5.45 strikes/sec. Another example of small pickaxe power differences mattering is the Nightmare Pickaxe and Deathbringer Pickaxe. These pickaxes are primarily used to mine Hellstone in middle-to-late pre-Hardmode, which has a hitpoint value of 200%.

The Nightmare Pickaxe requires 4 hits to mine Hellstone, but the Deathbringer Pickaxe only requires 3. Why? The Nightmare Pickaxe’s power of 65% deals 195% damage in 3 swings, JUST short of the 200% needed to break Hellstone. Meanwhile, the marginally higher pickaxe power offered by the Deathbringer means it can deal

210% damage in 3 swings, netting it enough to break Hellstone. Unlike the Tungsten Pickaxe though, the Deathbringer Pickaxe is actually slightly faster than the Nightmare Pickaxe, making it just better. I guess that’s the case with most Crimson items, though. The same thing applies to Axes as well.

Trees have a total hitpoint value of 500%, so higher Axe Power means faster Tree Mining. In this vein, the Axe, with 175% power, mines Trees with the least strikes, as it’s the only axe capable of mining a Tree in 3 hits.

However, the Shroomite Digging Claw is still faster overall, as while it does take 4 hits to mine a Tree, it mines almost twice as quickly. This results in a Tree time of 0.27s vs. 0.35s for the Axe. Hammers, meanwhile, are a bit different though.

All walls have a hitpoint value around 65-68%, so there are only three tiers of hammer. The Wooden Hammer takes 3 hits, all intermediate hammers take 2 hits, and any Hammer with 70% hammer power and above just take 1 hit. Nowadays though in 1.4.4, the buffed Drill Containment unit is the best pickaxe.

It has a pickaxe power of 210% and a mining speed of 1 on Blocks, Trees, and even Walls with right-click. Truly the best hampicksaw. Hello! If you’re among the 90% or so of you who are not subscribed, I ask you to subscribe. Here’s another video about mining speed.

Thank you for watching, and good day and good bye.

Pickaxe Power in Terraria does more than you think
Well, as the thumbnail says – it’s not just an ore tier. It determines what ore you can mine, but it does a whole lot more than that.
Terraria mechanics are rather simple, and we’re delving into pickaxe power this time. How much hits it takes to break a block, as well as trees and walls for axes and hammers. Time for a ride!

0:00 Introduction
0:17 Pickaxes
1:59 Axes
2:30 Hammers

Texture Packs & Shader Mods:
Foundry & Alchemy (Texture Pack)
Fancy Lighting (Mod) – make sure to set to Ultra Settings
Lights & Shadows
Atmospheric Torches

Music:
“serenity” – Theme of the Lantern Night (Calamity Unofficial OST) by Heart Plus Up!

#terraria

Pickaxe Power in Terraria does more than you think