Mining speed

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Mining speed (also known as "tool speed") is an invisible statistic that determines how fast the player can mine (or break walls, or chop down trees/cacti). Its value shows the time per hit in 60ths of second. It is therefore something of a misnomer: it is presented in the form of the amount of time taken for a certain event, whereas speed is the number of events that take place in a certain amount of time (or, in mathematical terms, the number that is seen is the reciprocal of the speed). This means that faster tools have smaller numbers, not larger. For example, a mining speed of 15 means that the tool will hit the block every 15/60 of a second, or four times per second. A mining speed of 20, on the other hand, means that the tool will hit the block every 20/60 of a second, or three times per second.

When breaking walls, its value is cut in half, then any numbers after the decimal point removed (e.g. 2.8 would be rounded down to 2). Thus, walls break at least twice as fast as blocks.

The final mining speed is determined by the following:

  • The tool's base tool speed, which is hidden in the game's code and not normally visible in game (but can be looked up on this wiki, referred to as "tool speed" on each tool's page and as "mining speed" as a column header in a table of tools).
  • Any speed-modifying modifier on the tool (the best being "Light," with a 15% increase. Note that for some tools, there are other modifiers which will work just as well. Details below). Changing other stats via a modifier (e.g. damage) has no effect on mining speed.
  • Buffs and items specifically affecting mining speed. Note that these only apply to tools (except drills) that have pickaxe power. Interestingly, tools that can function as both pickaxes and axes will benefit from these bonuses even whilst being used as axes.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Only pickaxes, Pickaxe Axe and Shroomite Digging Claw can have their speed modified. Furthermore, boost is capped at 400%/3 (133% after rounding).

In particular, a tool's mining speed is independent of how quickly it swings, which is the speed visible in the in-game tooltip (e.g. "Copper Pickaxe—Fast Speed") which can also be referred to as "use time." Speed-modifying modifiers affect both mining speed and use time, potentially leading to the misconception that "melee speed" bonuses from armor and accessories improve mining speed. In truth, melee speed bonuses affect only use time, which is useful for combat but has no influence on mining speed.

What this wiki refers to for clarity's sake as "use time" is represented by an item's useAnimation property in the game's source code, and what it refers to as "mining speed" or "tool speed" is actually represented by useTime. Thus, "use time" and useTime are two separate things and should not be confused.

Useful modifiers

Pickaxes (including the Pickaxe Axe, Shroomite Digging Claw, and Picksaw), axes, hammers, and hamaxes (including The Axe) can be reforged with speed bonuses to improve their mining speed. Drills (including the Drax), chainsaws, and the Chlorophyte Jackhammer cannot. The speed-increasing modifiers are displayed in the following table.

Displayed values in-game may differ due to rounding.

Modifier Damage Speed Critical strike chance Size Knockback Tier Value
Light-+15%---10%-+7.12%
Legendary+15%+10%+5%+10%+15%+2+209.85%
Deadly+10%+10%---+2+46.41%
Agile-+10%+3%--+1+35.96%
Quick-+10%---+1+21%
Nasty+5%+10%+2%--10%+1+16.87%
Murderous+7%+6%+3%--+2+44.54%
Nimble-+5%---+1+10.25%

While the best modifier for mining in general is Light, certain tools will achieve the same speed with lesser modifiers due to rounding, which means it is much easier (and cheaper) to reforge these tools, since there are more modifiers that tie for "most optimal." This is complicated by the fact that tool speed is halved and floored when hammering, but the long and short of it is this:

Speed-increasing buffs and items

These are the buffs and items which improve mining speed (pickaxes only):

This increase is capped at 70%, even though all items together add 130% ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)).

Modification formula

1. Start with the tool's base tool speed (as documented on its page on this wiki).
2. Multiply by [1 - speed modification from tool modifier].
3. Round to the nearest whole number.

If the tool is a pickaxe:
4. Add up all the bonuses to mining speed from buffs and items.
5. Use 70% if the answer was anything higher than 70%.
6. Multiply the number from step 3 by [1 - the number from in step 5].
7. Round down.

If the tool is a hammer:
4. Divide by 2.
5. Round down.

Example A: digging a tunnel with a Light Shroomite Digging Claw, having drunk a Mining Potion and wearing a Celestial Stone.

  1. The Claw's tool speed is 4.
  2. The Light modifier has +15% speed. 4×(1-0.15) = 3.4.
  3. 3.4 is rounded to 3.
  4. The Mining Potion adds 25% and the Celestial Stone adds 15%. These total 40%.
  5. 40% is less than 70%, so nothing happens in this step.
  6. 3×(1-0.40) = 1.8.
  7. 1.8 is rounded down to 1.

Performance will be one hit every 1/60s (e.g. it will mine 60/1 = 60 dirt blocks per second).

Example B: chopping trees with an Annoying Pickaxe Axe, having drunk a Mining Potion.

  1. The Pickaxe Axe's tool speed is 7.
  2. The Annoying modifier has -15% speed. 7×(1-(-0.15)) = 8.05.
  3. 8.05 is rounded to 8.
  4. The Mining Potion adds 25%.
  5. 25% is less than 70% so nothing happens in this step.
  6. 8×(1-0.25) = 6.
  7. 6 is already a whole number, so nothing happens in this step.

Performance will be one hit every 6/60s, or 60/6 = 10 hits per second.
Trees have 500% hit points and the Pickaxe Axe has 110% axe power, so it will take CEILING(500%/110%) = 5 hits to chop down a tree, which will take (6×5)/60 = 0.5 seconds.

Example C: tearing down background walls with a Murderous The Axe, wearing full Mining armor.

  1. The Axe's tool speed is 7.
  2. The Murderous modifier has +6% speed. 7×(1-0.06) = 6.58.
  3. 6.58 is rounded to 7.
  4. 7/2 = 3.5.
  5. 3.5 is rounded down to 3.

Step 3 illustrates why some tools do not have their speed improved by some modifiers.
The Mining armor was a red herring: it has no effect on The Axe. Since the bonus it provides is mining speed, and axes are not affected by mining speed
Performance will be one hit every 3/60s, so it will break 60/3 = 20 walls per second.

Mining speed tables

The Legendary, Deadly, Agile, and Nasty modifiers have exactly the same impact on mining speed as Quick.

Pickaxes/Drills

All drills' mining speeds are not affected by modifiers.

Pickaxe Made from Pickaxe
power
Range Mining
speed
Best speed
(Minimum modifier)
Can mine
Copper PickaxeCopper Pickaxe Copper Bar×12 + Wood×4 35% -1 15 13 (Light) Everything below Meteorite
Cactus PickaxeCactus Pickaxe Cactus×15 35% 0 15 13 (Light) Everything below Meteorite
Tin PickaxeTin Pickaxe Tin Bar×12 + Wood×4 35% 0 14 12 (Light) Everything below Meteorite
Iron PickaxeIron Pickaxe Iron Bar×12 + Wood×3 40% 0 13 11 (Light) Everything below Meteorite
Lead PickaxeLead Pickaxe Lead Bar×12 + Wood×3 43% 0 12 10 (Light) Everything below Meteorite
Silver PickaxeSilver Pickaxe Silver Bar×12 + Wood×4 45% 0 11 9 (Light) Everything below Meteorite
Tungsten PickaxeTungsten Pickaxe Tungsten Bar×12 + Wood×4 50% 0 19 16 (Light) Meteorite
Bone PickaxeBone Pickaxe n/a (Dropped by Undead Miner) 55% 0 11 9 (Light) Meteorite
Gold PickaxeGold Pickaxe Gold Bar×12 + Wood×4 55% 0 17 14 (Light) Meteorite, Demonite, Crimtane
Candy Cane PickaxeCandy Cane Pickaxe(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) n/a (Dropped by Present) 55% 0 16 14 (Quick) Meteorite, Demonite, Crimtane
Reaver SharkReaver Shark n/a (Obtained from fishing) 59% (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)100% (Old-gen console and 3DS versions) 0 13 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 18 (Old-gen console and 3DS versions) 11 (Light) (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 15 (Light) (Old-gen console and 3DS versions) Meteorite, Demonite, Crimtane
Platinum PickaxePlatinum Pickaxe Platinum Bar×12 + Wood×4 59% 0 15 13 (Light) Meteorite, Demonite, Crimtane
Nightmare PickaxeNightmare Pickaxe Demonite Bar×12 + Shadow Scale×6 65% 0 15 13 (Light) Hellstone, Obsidian,
Ebonstone/Crimstone, Dungeon Brick
Deathbringer PickaxeDeathbringer Pickaxe Crimtane Bar×12 + Tissue Sample×6 70% 0 14 12 (Light) Hellstone, Obsidian,
Ebonstone/Crimstone, Dungeon Brick
Molten PickaxeMolten Pickaxe Hellstone Bar×20 100% 0 18 15 (Light) Cobalt, Palladium
Cobalt PickaxeCobalt Pickaxe Cobalt Bar×15 110% 0 13 11 (Light) Mythril, Orichalcum
Cobalt DrillCobalt Drill Cobalt Bar×15 110% -1 7 7 (None) Mythril, Orichalcum
Palladium PickaxePalladium Pickaxe Palladium Bar×18 130% 0 12 10 (Light) Mythril, Orichalcum
Palladium DrillPalladium Drill Palladium Bar×18 130% -1 7 7 (None) Mythril, Orichalcum
Mythril PickaxeMythril Pickaxe Mythril Bar×15 150% 0 10 9 (Murderous) Adamantite, Titanium
Mythril DrillMythril Drill Mythril Bar×15 150% -1 6 6 (None) Adamantite, Titanium
Orichalcum PickaxeOrichalcum Pickaxe Orichalcum Bar×18 165% 0 9 8 (Quick) Adamantite, Titanium
Orichalcum DrillOrichalcum Drill Orichalcum Bar×18 165% -1 5 5 (None) Adamantite, Titanium
Adamantite PickaxeAdamantite Pickaxe Adamantite Bar×18 180% 0 8 7 (Quick) Adamantite, Titanium
Adamantite DrillAdamantite Drill Adamantite Bar×18 180% -1 4 4 (None) Adamantite, Titanium
Titanium PickaxeTitanium Pickaxe Titanium Bar×20 190% 0 7 6 (Quick) Adamantite, Titanium
Titanium DrillTitanium Drill Titanium Bar×20 190% -1 4 4 (None) Adamantite, Titanium
Pickaxe AxePickaxe Axe Hallowed Bar×18 + Soul of Might×1 + Soul of Fright×1 + Soul of Sight×1 200% 0 7 6 (Quick) Chlorophyte
DraxDrax Hallowed Bar×18 + Soul of Might×1 + Soul of Fright×1 + Soul of Sight×1 200% -1 4 4 (None) Chlorophyte
Chlorophyte PickaxeChlorophyte Pickaxe Chlorophyte Bar×18 200% +1 7 6 (Quick) Chlorophyte
Chlorophyte DrillChlorophyte Drill Chlorophyte Bar×18 200% 0 4 4 (None) Chlorophyte
Spectre PickaxeSpectre Pickaxe ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)) Spectre Bar×18
((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) Ectoplasm×18 + Chlorophyte Bar×18
200% +3 10 9 (Murderous) Chlorophyte
Shroomite Digging ClawShroomite Digging Claw(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Shroomite Bar×18 200% -1 4 3 (Light) Chlorophyte
PicksawPicksaw n/a (Dropped by Golem 12.5%) 210% +1 6 5 (Quick) Lihzahrd Brick
Luminite PickaxesLuminite Pickaxes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Luminite Bar×10 + Solar Fragment / Vortex Fragment / Nebula Fragment / Stardust Fragment×12 225% +4 6 5 (Quick) Lihzahrd Brick
Laser DrillLaser Drill(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Dropped by most Martian Madness enemies (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) / ( versions) 11.11% from Martian Saucer) 230% + 10 6 6 (None) Lihzahrd Brick
Luminite DrillsLuminite Drills(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Luminite Bar×10 + Solar Fragment / Vortex Fragment / Nebula Fragment / Stardust Fragment×12 225% +2 2 2 (None) Lihzahrd Brick

Axes/Chainsaws

Modifiers aside, all chainsaws which have a corresponding axe are functionally identical to that axe and have therefore been omitted, except for the Chlorophyte Chainsaw.

Axe Made from Axe
power
Range Mining
speed
Best Speed
(Minimum modifier)
Tree time
(No modifier)
Tree time
(Best modifier)
Copper AxeCopper Axe Copper Bar×9 + Wood×3 35% 0 21 18 (Light) 5.25s 4.50s
Tin AxeTin Axe Tin Bar×9 + Wood×3 40% 0 20 17 (Light) 4.33s 3.68s
Iron AxeIron Axe Iron Bar×9 + Wood×3 45% 0 19 16 (Light) 3.80s 3.20s
Lead AxeLead Axe Lead Bar×9 + Wood×3 50% 0 19 16 (Light) 3.17s 2.67s
Silver AxeSilver Axe Silver Bar×9 + Wood×3 50% 0 18 15 (Light) 3.00s 2.50s
Gold AxeGold Axe Gold Bar×9 + Wood×3 55% 0 18 15 (Light) 3.00s 2.50s
Tungsten AxeTungsten Axe Tungsten Bar×9 + Wood×3 55% 0 18 15 (Light) 3.00s 2.50s
Platinum AxePlatinum Axe Platinum Bar×9 + Wood×3 60% 0 17 14 (Light) 2.55s 2.10s
Cobalt WaraxeCobalt Waraxe Cobalt Bar×10 70% 0 8 7 (Quick) 1.07s 0.93s
Sawtooth SharkSawtooth Shark n/a (Obtained from fishing) 70% 0 8 8 (ineligible) 1.07s 1.07s
Blood Lust ClusterBlood Lust Cluster Crimtane Bar×10 75% 0 15 13 (Light) 1.75s 1.52s
Palladium WaraxePalladium Waraxe Palladium Bar×12 75% 0 8 7 (Quick) 0.93s 0.82s
War Axe of the NightWar Axe of the Night Demonite Bar×10 75% 0 15 13 (Light) 1.75s 1.52s
Mythril WaraxeMythril Waraxe Mythril Bar×10 85% 0 8 7 (Quick) 0.80s 0.70s
Orichalcum WaraxeOrichalcum Waraxe Orichalcum Bar×12 90% 0 7 6 (Quick) 0.70s 0.60s
Adamantite WaraxeAdamantite Waraxe Adamantite Bar×12 100% 0 6 5 (Quick) 0.50s 0.42s
Meteor HamaxeMeteor Hamaxe ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)) Meteorite Bar×20
((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) Meteorite Bar×35
100% 0 16 14 (Quick) 1.33s 1.17s
Titanium WaraxeTitanium Waraxe Titanium Bar×13 105% 0 6 5 (Quick) 0.50s 0.42s
Pickaxe AxePickaxe Axe Hallowed Bar×18 + Soul of Might×1 + Soul of Sight×1 + Soul of Fright×1 110% 0 7 6 (Quick) 0.58s 0.50s
Chlorophyte GreataxeChlorophyte Greataxe Chlorophyte Bar×18 115% +1 6 5 (Quick) 0.50s 0.42s
Chlorophyte ChainsawChlorophyte Chainsaw Chlorophyte Bar×18 115% +1 7 7 (ineligible) 0.58s 0.58s
PicksawPicksaw n/a (Dropped by Golem 12.5%) 125% +1 6 5 (Quick) 0.40s 0.33s
Shroomite Digging ClawShroomite Digging Claw(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Shroomite Bar×18 125% -1 4 3 (Light) 0.27s 0.20s
Luminite HamaxesLuminite Hamaxes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Luminite Bar×12 + Solar Fragment / Vortex Fragment / Nebula Fragment / Stardust Fragment×14 150% +4 7 6 (Quick) 0.47s 0.40s
Molten HamaxeMolten Hamaxe Hellstone Bar×15 150% 0 14 12 (Light) 0.93s 0.80s
Spectre HamaxeSpectre Hamaxe ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)) Spectre Bar×18
((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) Ectoplasm×18 + Chlorophyte Bar×18
150% +3 8 7 (Quick) 0.53s 0.47s
Butcher's ChainsawButcher's Chainsaw(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a (Dropped by Butcher 2.5%) 150% 0 9 9 (ineligible) 0.60s 0.60s
Laser DrillLaser Drill(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) n/a (Dropped by Martian Saucer 11.11%) 150% +10 8 8 (ineligible) 0.53s 0.53s
The AxeThe Axe n/a (Dropped by Plantera 2%) 175% +1 7 ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
6 ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions))
6 (Quick) ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
5 (Quick) ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions))
0.35s ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
0.30s ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions))
0.30s ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
0.25s ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions))

Hammers

  • The hit points of a wall are more than 65% and at most 68% (the exact value is unknown). Therefore, tools with at least 68% hammer power (Meteor Hamaxe/Rockfish or better) will break a wall in one hit, the Wooden Hammer will take three hits, and all other hammers will take two hits.
  • The Chlorophyte Jackhammer is the only jackhammer in the game.
  • While the Meteor and Molten Hamaxes do not further improve their hammer performance with modifiers beyond Nimble, they can improve their axe performance.
  • While the Luminite Hamaxes and The Axe do not improve their hammer performance with modifiers, they can improve their axe performance.
Hammer Made from Hammer
power
Range Mining
speed
Effective
speed
Best effective speed
(Minimum modifier)
Wooden HammerWooden Hammer Wood×8 25% 0 25 12 10 (Light)
Boreal Wood HammerBoreal Wood Hammer(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Boreal Wood×8 35% 0 23 11 10 (Quick)
Copper HammerCopper Hammer Copper Bar×10 + Wood×3 35% 0 23 11 10 (Quick)
Palm Wood HammerPalm Wood Hammer(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions) Palm Wood×8 35% 0 23 11 10 (Quick)
Rich Mahogany HammerRich Mahogany Hammer Rich Mahogany×8 35% 0 23 11 10 (Quick)
Tin HammerTin Hammer Tin Bar×10 + Wood×3 38% 0 21 10 9 (Quick)
Ebonwood HammerEbonwood Hammer Ebonwood×8 40% 0 20 10 8 (Light)
Iron HammerIron Hammer Iron Bar×10 + Wood×3 40% 0 20 10 8 (Light)
Shadewood HammerShadewood Hammer Shadewood×8 40% 0 20 10 8 (Light)
Lead HammerLead Hammer Lead Bar×10 + Wood×3 43% 0 19 9 8 (Quick)
Pearlwood HammerPearlwood Hammer Pearlwood×8 45% 0 19 9 8 (Quick)
Silver HammerSilver Hammer Silver Bar×10 + Wood×3 45% 0 19 9 8 (Quick)
Tungsten HammerTungsten Hammer Tungsten Bar×10 + Wood×3 50% 0 25 12 10 (Light)
Flesh GrinderFlesh Grinder Crimtane Bar×10 + Tissue Sample×5 55% 0 19 9 8 (Quick)
The BreakerThe Breaker Demonite Bar×10 + Shadow Scale×5 55% 0 19 9 8 (Quick)
Gold HammerGold Hammer Gold Bar×10 + Wood×3 55% 0 23 11 10 (Quick)
Platinum HammerPlatinum Hammer Platinum Bar×10 + Wood×3 59% 0 21 10 9 (Quick)
Meteor HamaxeMeteor Hamaxe ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)) Meteorite Bar×20
((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) Meteorite Bar×35
60% 0 16 8 7 (Nimble)
RockfishRockfish n/a (Obtained from fishing) 70% 0 14 7 6 (Nimble)
Molten HamaxeMolten Hamaxe Hellstone Bar×15 70% 0 14 7 6 (Nimble)
PwnhammerPwnhammer n/a (Dropped by the Wall of Flesh 100%) 80% 0 14 7 6 (Nimble)
HammushHammush n/a (Bought from the Truffle for 40 GC) 85% 0 14 7 6 (Nimble)
Chlorophyte WarhammerChlorophyte Warhammer Chlorophyte Bar×18 90% +1 14 7 6 (Nimble)
Chlorophyte JackhammerChlorophyte Jackhammer Chlorophyte Bar×18 90% +1 16 8 8 (ineligible)
Spectre HamaxeSpectre Hamaxe ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)) Spectre Bar×18
((Old-gen console and 3DS versions)) Ectoplasm×18 + Chlorophyte Bar×18
90% +3 8 4 3 (Quick)
Luminite HamaxesLuminite Hamaxes(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Desktop version Luminite Bar×12 + Solar Fragment / Vortex Fragment / Nebula Fragment / Stardust Fragment×14 100% +4 7 3 3 (none)
The AxeThe Axe n/a (Dropped by Plantera 2%) 100% +1 7 ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
6 ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions))
3 3 (none) ((Desktop, Console and Mobile versions))
2 (Quick) ((Old-gen console and 3DS versions))

Fastest mining tools

The Legendary, Deadly, Agile, and Nasty modifiers have exactly the same impact on mining speed as Quick.

Pre-Hardmode

Pickaxes

Axes

Hammers

Hardmode

Pickaxes

Axes

  • Light Shroomite Digging Claw.
  • Quick/Light The Axe if the player finds the Claw's -1 range unfavorable.
  • If The Axe is too hard to obtain or too frustrating to use (due to its sound effect), a Quick/Light Picksawcan be substituted.
  • (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Quick/Light Luminite Hamaxe when post-Moon Lord and if more range than the Picksaw or The Axe (don't get confused: with the best modifiers on everything, the Picksaw is a faster axe than the Luminite Hamaxes but a slower pickaxe than the Luminite Pickaxes) is an absolute must.
    • If range is a priority, the Laser Drill might be a better choice.
  • Pre-Plantera, a Quick/Light Chlorophyte Greataxe (a Quick/Light Adamantite/Titanium Waraxe has the same speed but lacks a range bonus).
  • When pre-Mechanical Bosses, the Quick/Light Adamantite/Titanium Waraxe are useful.

Hammers

Trivia

  • Despite being presumably higher-tech, Chainsaws are generally inferior to Axes made out of the same material: they have the same or worse tool speed and they cannot be reforged to increase that speed. They do have the advantage that clicking "resets" the digging process, so the player can theoretically make up the difference (and then some) by clicking rapidly. However, faster tools require faster clicking to keep up, and realistically, doing this with even Cobalt tools is very demanding, most likely requiring two hands on the mouse for any player not thoroughly seasoned in rapid clicking from other games. As of 1.4(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions), all drills are faster than pickaxes, though they still do not benefit from speed boosts.
  • Using the Drill Containment Unit is probably a better, albeit more expensive alternative. But it doesn't benefit from any upgrades that are given.