Pickaxes

For other items which have pickaxe power, see drills.

Pickaxes are tools used to remove ("mine") blocks and furniture, normally converting them to item form. They cannot remove background walls (this requires a hammer instead), nor cut down trees (which requires an axe or chainsaw). They also double as basic melee weapons. Some of the Hardmode-tier pickaxes have drill counterparts, which as of 1.4 will mine faster than their pickaxe counterparts. New players spawn with a Copper Pickaxe; in Journey Mode(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) with an Iron Pickaxe instead.

When evaluating the practical efficiency of a pickaxe, two things should be taken into consideration: the amount of hits required (from high pickaxe power); as well as the ticks per hit from low mining speed – see the respective pages for more details. The use time attribute can safely be disregarded, because it reflects the weapon swing/animation and is not related to the hits for mining.

Pickaxes can use modifiers that increase speed, like Quick and Light. Accessories with a melee speed bonus will only affect the weapon swing, and will not affect mining hits (by affecting use speed not mining speed).

Types

There are 31 different types of pickaxes, 15 of which are Hardmode-exclusive.

Name		Max Block	Pickaxe power	Axe power	Damage	Bonus	Use time	Mining speed	Knockback	HM	Rarity	Sell
	Cactus PickaxeInternal Item ID: 882		35%	-	4 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) / 5 (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	-	25 (Fast) (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) / 23 (Fast) (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	16 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) / 15 (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	4 SC
	Copper PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3509		35%	-	4	-1 range	23 (Fast)	15	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	1 SC
	Tin PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3503		35%	-	5	-	21 (Fast)	14	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	1 SC50 CC
	Iron PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1		40%	-	5	-	20 (Very fast)	13	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	4 SC
	Lead PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3497		43%	-	6	-	19 (Very fast)	12	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	6 SC
	Silver PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3515		45%	-	6	-	19 (Very fast)	11	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	10 SC
	Tungsten PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3491		50%	-	6	-	21 (Fast)	19	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	15 SC
	Gold PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3521		55%	-	6	-	20 (Very fast)	17	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	20 SC
	Candy Cane Pickaxe(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 1917		55%	-	7	-	20 (Very fast)	16	2.5 (Very weak)	❌	00*	20 SC
	Fossil Pickaxe(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 4059		55%	-	8	-	18 (Very fast)	14	4 (Weak)	❌	01*	30 SC
	Bone PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1320	(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	55% (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 50% (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	-	8	-	19 (Very fast)	11	3 (Very weak)	❌	01*	30 SC (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 36 SC (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)
	Platinum PickaxeInternal Item ID: 3485		59%	-	7	-	19 (Very fast)	15	2 (Very weak)	❌	00*	30 SC
	Reaver SharkInternal Item ID: 2341	(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	59% (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) 100% (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	-	16	-	22 (Fast)	13 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) / 18 (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	3 (Very weak)	❌	03*	1 GC50 SC
	Nightmare PickaxeInternal Item ID: 103		65%	-	9	-	20 (Very fast)	15	3 (Very weak)	❌	01*	36 SC
	Deathbringer PickaxeInternal Item ID: 798		70%	-	12	-	22 (Fast)	14	3.5 (Weak)	❌	01*	36 SC
	Molten PickaxeInternal Item ID: 122		100%	-	12	-	23 (Fast)	18	2 (Very weak)	❌	03*	54 SC
	Cobalt PickaxeInternal Item ID: 776		110%	-	10	-	25 (Fast)	13	5 (Average)	✔️	04*	1 GC8 SC
	Palladium PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1188		130%	-	12	-	25 (Fast)	12	5 (Average)	✔️	04*	1 GC44 SC
	Mythril PickaxeInternal Item ID: 777		150%	-	15	-	25 (Fast)	10	5 (Average)	✔️	04*	1 GC62 SC
	Orichalcum PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1195		165%	-	17	-	25 (Fast)	9	5 (Average)	✔️	04*	1 GC98 SC
	Adamantite PickaxeInternal Item ID: 778		180%	-	20	-	25 (Fast)	8	5 (Average)	✔️	04*	2 GC16 SC
	Titanium PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1202		190%	-	27	-	25 (Fast)	7	5 (Average)	✔️	04*	2 GC52 SC
	Spectre PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1506		200%	-	32	+3 range	24 (Fast)	8 (Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) / 10 (Old-gen console and 3DS versions)	5.25 (Average)	✔️	08*	4 GC32 SC
	Chlorophyte PickaxeInternal Item ID: 1230		200%	-	40	+1 range	25 (Fast)	7	5 (Average)	✔️	07*	4 GC32 SC
	Pickaxe AxeInternal Item ID: 990		200%	110%	35	-	25 (Fast)	7	4.75 (Average)	✔️	04*	4 GC40 SC
	Shroomite Digging Claw(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 2176		200%	125%	45	-1 range	12 (Very fast)	4	6 (Average)	✔️	08*	4 GC
	PicksawInternal Item ID: 1294		210%	125%	34	+1 range	16 (Very fast)	6	5.5 (Average)	✔️	07*	4 GC32 SC
	Vortex Pickaxe(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 2776		225%	-	80	+4 range	12 (Very fast)	6	5.5 (Average)	✔️	10*	7 GC
	Nebula Pickaxe(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 2781		225%	-	80	+4 range	12 (Very fast)	6	5.5 (Average)	✔️	10*	7 GC
	Solar Flare Pickaxe(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 2786		225%	-	80	+4 range	12 (Very fast)	6	5.5 (Average)	✔️	10*	7 GC
	Stardust Pickaxe(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Internal Item ID: 3466		225%	-	80	+4 range	12 (Very fast)	6	5.5 (Average)	✔️	10*	7 GC

Effectiveness

Block	Hit points
		Pickaxe hits required (minimum Pickaxe power required)
		(35)	(50)	(55)	(65)	(70)	(100)	(110)	(150)	(200)	(210)
Dirt Block Sand Block Clay Block Mud Block Silt Block Ash Block Snow Block Slush Block Hardened Sand Block(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) Spike Wooden Spike	50%	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Stone Block Ebonsand Block Gold Ore Gray Brick all blocks not listed here	100%	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Meteorite	100%	-	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Demonite Ore Crimtane Ore	100%	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Obsidian	100%	-	-	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Ebonstone Block Pearlstone Block Hellstone Crimstone Block	200%	-	-	-	4	3	2	2	2	1	1
Dungeon Bricks	200%	6	4	4	4	3	2	2	2	1	1
Cobalt Ore Palladium Ore	200%	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	2	1	1
Mythril Ore Orichalcum Ore	300%	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	2	2	2
Tombstones	300%	9	6	6	5	5	3	3	2	2	2
Adamantite Ore Titanium Ore	400%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	2	2
Lihzahrd Brick	400%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
Chlorophyte Ore	500%	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3

History

 Desktop version

• Desktop 1.4.0.1:
  • Reaver Shark can no longer mine Hellstone.
  • Drills now mine faster than Pickaxes of the same tier, but have smaller range and do not benefit from mining speed bonuses.

• Desktop 1.3.0.1: Added four new pickaxes crafted using Luminite Bars and Lunar Fragments.

• Desktop 1.2.4: Added Reaver Shark pickaxe.

• Desktop 1.2.3:
  • Pickaxe Axe now requires 1 soul from each Mechanical boss to craft.
  • Palladium Pickaxe can no longer mine Adamantite and Titanium Ores.

• Desktop 1.2.0.3: Chlorophyte Drill and Pickaxe can now mine Chlorophyte Ore.

• Desktop 1.2:
  • Pickaxes now used to remove furniture and wood blocks.
  • Hardmode metals can be made into pickaxes as well as drills.
  • Added pickaxes and drills for all the new alternate ores.

• Desktop-Release: Introduced.

 Console version

• Console-Release: Introduced.

 Nintendo Switch version

• Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced.

 Mobile version

• Mobile-Release: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced.