Mining speed (2024)

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 prefix on the tool (the best being "Light," with a 15% increase. Note that for some tools, there are other prefixes which will work just as well. Details below). Changing other stats via a prefix (e.g. damage) has no effect on mining speed.
• Buffs and items specifically affecting mining speed. Note that these only apply to tools that are capable of actual "mining," i.e. pickaxes and drills. Interestingly, the Drax, Laser Drill, Pickaxe Axe, Picksaw and Shroomite Digging Claw, which can function as both pickaxes and axes, will benefit from these bonuses even whilst being used as axes.
• Note: As of 1.4, 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 prefixes 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.

Useful prefixes[]

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.

While the best prefix for mining in general is Light, certain tools will achieve the same speed with lesser prefixes due to rounding, which means it is much easier (and cheaper) to reforge these tools, since there are more prefixes 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:

• For pickaxes and axes:
  • Tools with a tool speed of 9 or 10 will achieve equal block/tree/cactus-breaking speeds with either a +6%, +10%, or +15% prefix — these include the Mythril Pickaxe, Mythril Waraxe, Orichalcum Pickaxe, and Orichalcum Waraxe.
  • Tools with a tool speed of 6, 7, 8, or 16 will achieve equal block/tree/cactus-breaking speeds with either a +10% or +15% prefix — these include the Adamantite Pickaxe, Adamantite Waraxe, Cactus Pickaxe, Candy Cane Pickaxe, Chlorophyte Greataxe, Chlorophyte Pickaxe, Meteor Hamaxe, Nebula Axe, Nebula Hamaxe, Nebula Pickaxe, Pickaxe Axe, Picksaw, Solar Flare Axe, Solar Flare Hamaxe, Solar Flare Pickaxe, Spectre Hamaxe, Spectre Pickaxe, Stardust Axe, Stardust Hamaxe, Stardust Pickaxe, The Axe, Titanium Pickaxe, Titanium Waraxe, Vortex Axe, Vortex Hamaxe, and Vortex Pickaxe.
  • Tools with a tool speed of 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, or 21 will achieve their maximum block/tree/cactus-breaking speeds only with +15% prefix — these include the Blood Lust Cluster, Bone Pickaxe, Cobalt Pickaxe, Cobalt Waraxe, Copper Axe, Copper Pickaxe, Deathbringer Pickaxe, Fossil Pickaxe, Gold Axe, Gold Pickaxe, Haemorrhaxe, Iron Axe, Iron Pickaxe, Lead Axe, Lead Pickaxe, Lucy the Axe, Molten Hamaxe, Molten Pickaxe, Nightmare Pickaxe, Palladium Pickaxe, Palladium Waraxe, Platinum Axe, Platinum Pickaxe, Reaver Shark, Shroomite Digging Claw, Silver Axe, Silver Pickaxe, Tin Axe, Tin Pickaxe, Tungsten Axe, Tungsten Pickaxe, and War Axe of the Night.
  • Tools with a tool speed of 4 or 5 require the Light prefix for their speed to be improved at all. The only tool with a tool speed of 4 or 5 is the Shroomite Digging Claw. And if there were any tools with a tool speed of less than 4, not even the Light prefix would improve their speed.
• For hammers:
  • Hammers with a tool speed of 7 cannot have their wall-breaking speed improved by prefixes at all — these include the Nebula Hamaxe, Nebula Hammer, Solar Flare Hamaxe, Solar Flare Hammer, Stardust Hamaxe, Stardust Hammer, The Axe, Vortex Hamaxe, and Vortex Hammer.
  • Hammers with a tool speed of 12, 14, or 16 will achieve equal wall-breaking speeds with either a +5%, +6%, +10%, or +15% prefix — these include the Chlorophyte Warhammer, Hammush, Meteor Hamaxe, Molten Hamaxe, Pwnhammer, and Rockfish.
  • Hammers with a tool speed of 8, 17, 19, 21, or 23 will achieve equal wall-breaking speeds with either a +10% or +15% prefix — these include the Boreal Wood Hammer, Copper Hammer, Flesh Grinder, Gold Hammer, Lead Hammer, Palm Wood Hammer, Pearlwood Hammer, Platinum Hammer, Rich Mahogany Hammer, Silver Hammer, Spectre Hamaxe, The Breaker, and Tin Hammer.
  • Hammers with a tool speed of 11, 20, or 25 will achieve their maximum wall-breaking speeds only with +15% prefix — these include the Ebonwood Hammer, Haemorrhaxe, Iron Hammer, Shadewood Hammer, Tungsten Hammer, and Wooden Hammer.

Speed-increasing buffs and items[]

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

• The Mining buff from the Mining Potion adds 25%.
• The Mining armor adds 30% with the set bonus.
• The Celestial Shell and Celestial Stone each add 15%.
• The Sun Stone and Moon Stone add 15% during day and night respectively or during a Solar Eclipse.
• The Ancient Chisel or Hand of Creation adds 25%.
• The Slice of Cake adds 20%.
• The Well Fed, Plenty Satisfied and Exquisitely Stuffed buff add 5%, 10% and 15% respectively.
• The Ambrosia, adds 5%.

This increase is capped at 70%, even though all items together add 135%.

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 prefix].
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 prefix 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 prefix 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 prefix 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 prefixes.
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 prefixes 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 prefix)	Can mine
Cactus Pickaxe	15  ( @  )	35%	0	16	14 (Quick)	Everything below Meteorite
Copper Pickaxe	: 12  + 4  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 4  ( @  /  ) ​Merchant (5)	35%	−1	15	13 (Light)	Everything below Meteorite
Tin Pickaxe	: 12  + 4  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 4  ( @  /  )	35%	0	14	12 (Light)	Everything below Meteorite
Iron Pickaxe	: 12  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 10  + 3  ( @  /  )	40%	0	13	11 (Light)	Everything below Meteorite
Lead Pickaxe	: 12  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 10  + 3  ( @  /  )	43%	0	12	10 (Light)	Everything below Meteorite
Silver Pickaxe	: 12  + 4  ( @  /  ) or    : 10  + 4  ( @  /  )	45%	0	11	9 (Light)	Everything below Meteorite
Tungsten Pickaxe	: 12  + 4  ( @  /  ) or    : 10  + 4  ( @  /  )	50%	0	19	16 (Light)	Meteorite, Demonite, Crimtane
Bone Pickaxe	​	55%	0	11	9 (Light)	Ebonstone, Pearlstone, Hellstone, Crimstone
Gold Pickaxe	: 12  + 4  ( @  /  ) or    : 10  + 4  ( @  /  )	55%	0	17	14 (Light)	Ebonstone, Pearlstone, Hellstone, Crimstone
Candy Cane Pickaxe		55%	0	16	14 (Quick)	Ebonstone, Pearlstone, Hellstone, Crimstone
Reaver Shark	Fishing	59% / 100%	0	13 / 18	11 (Light) / 15 (Light)	Ebonstone, Pearlstone, Hellstone, Crimstone
Platinum Pickaxe	: 12  + 4  ( @  /  ) or    : 10  + 4  ( @  /  )	59%	0	15	13 (Light)	Ebonstone, Pearlstone, Hellstone, Crimstone
Nightmare Pickaxe	12  + 6  ( @  /  )	65%	0	15	13 (Light)	Cobalt, Palladium
Deathbringer Pickaxe	12  + 6  ( @  /  )	70%	0	14	12 (Light)	Cobalt, Palladium
Molten Pickaxe	20  ( @  /  )	100%	0	18	15 (Light)	Mythril, Orichalcum
Cobalt Pickaxe	15  ( @  /  )	110%	0	13	11 (Light)	Adamantite, Titanium
Cobalt Drill	15  ( @  /  )	110%	−1	7	7 (None)	Adamantite, Titanium
Palladium Pickaxe	18  ( @  /  )	130%	0	12	10 (Light)	Adamantite, Titanium
Palladium Drill	18  ( @  /  )	130%	−1	7	7 (None)	Adamantite, Titanium
Mythril Pickaxe	15  ( @  /  )	150%	0	10	9 (Murderous)	Chlorophyte
Mythril Drill	15  ( @  /  )	150%	−1	6	6 (None)	Chlorophyte
Orichalcum Pickaxe	18  ( @  /  )	165%	0	9	8 (Murderous)	Chlorophyte
Orichalcum Drill	18  ( @  /  )	165%	−1	5	5 (None)	Chlorophyte
Adamantite Pickaxe	18  ( @  /  )	180%	0	8	7 (Quick)	Chlorophyte
Adamantite Drill	18  ( @  /  )	180%	−1	4	4 (None)	Chlorophyte
Titanium Pickaxe	20  ( @  /  )	190%	0	7	6 (Quick)	Chlorophyte
Titanium Drill	20  ( @  /  )	190%	−1	4	4 (None)	Chlorophyte
Pickaxe Axe	18  + + + ( @  /  )	200%	0	7	6 (Quick)	Lihzahrd Brick
Drax	18  + + + ( @  /  )	200%	−1	4	4 (None)	Lihzahrd Brick
Chlorophyte Pickaxe	18  ( @  /  )	200%	+1	7	6 (Quick)	Lihzahrd Brick
Chlorophyte Drill	18  ( @  /  )	200%	0	4	4 (None)	Lihzahrd Brick
Spectre Pickaxe	18  ( @  /  ) or   : 18  + 18  ( @  /  )	200%	+3	8	7 (Quick)	Lihzahrd Brick
Shroomite Digging Claw	18  ( @  /  )	200%	−1	4	3 (Light)	Lihzahrd Brick
Picksaw	​ ​	210%	+1	6	5 (Quick)	Lihzahrd Brick
Luminite Pickaxes	12  + 10  ( @  )12  + 10  ( @  )12  + 10  ( @  )12  + 10  ( @  )	225%	+4	6	5 (Quick)	Lihzahrd Brick
Luminite Drills	: 12  + 10  ( @  )   : 12  + 10  ( @  )   : 12  + 10  ( @  )   : 12  + 10  ( @  )	225%	+2	2	2 (None)	Lihzahrd Brick
Laser Drill	​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​	230%	+11	6	6 (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 prefix)	Tree time (No prefix)	Tree time (Best prefix)
Copper Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 6  + 3  ( @  /  ) ​Merchant (4)	35%	−1	21	18 (Light)	5.25 sec.	4.5 sec.
Tin Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 6  + 3  ( @  /  )	40%	0	20	17 (Light)	4.33 sec.	3.68 sec.
Iron Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	45%	0	19	16 (Light)	3.8 sec.	3.2 sec.
Lead Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	50%	0	19	16 (Light)	3.17 sec.	2.67 sec.
Silver Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	50%	0	18	15 (Light)	3 sec.	2.5 sec.
Gold Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	55%	0	18	15 (Light)	3 sec.	2.5 sec.
Tungsten Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	55%	0	18	15 (Light)	3 sec.	2.5 sec.
Platinum Axe	: 9  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	60%	0	17	14 (Light)	2.55 sec.	2.1 sec.
Cobalt Waraxe	10  ( @  /  )	70%	0	13	11 (Light)	1.73 sec.	1.47 sec.
Sawtooth Shark	Fishing	70%	−1	4	4 (None)	0.53 sec.	0.53 sec.
Blood Lust Cluster	10  ( @  /  )	75%	0	15	13 (Light)	1.75 sec.	1.52 sec.
Palladium Waraxe	12  ( @  /  )	75%	0	12	10 (Light)	1.4 sec.	1.17 sec.
War Axe of the Night	10  ( @  /  )	75%	0	15	13 (Light)	1.75 sec.	1.52 sec.
Mythril Waraxe	10  ( @  /  )	85%	0	10	9 (Murderous)	1 sec.	0.9 sec.
Orichalcum Waraxe	12  ( @  /  )	90%	0	9	8 (Murderous)	0.9 sec.	0.8 sec.
Adamantite Waraxe	12  ( @  /  )	100%	0	8	7 (Quick)	0.67 sec.	0.58 sec.
Meteor Hamaxe	: 35  ( @  /  ) or     : 20  ( @  /  )	100%	0	16	14 (Quick)	1.33 sec.	1.17 sec.
Titanium Waraxe	13  ( @  /  )	105%	0	7	6 (Quick)	0.58 sec.	0.5 sec.
Pickaxe Axe	18  + + + ( @  /  )	110%	0	7	6 (Quick)	0.58 sec.	0.5 sec.
Chlorophyte Greataxe	18  ( @  /  )	115%	+1	7	6 (Quick)	0.58 sec.	0.5 sec.
Chlorophyte Chainsaw	18  ( @  /  )	115%	0	4	4 (None)	0.33 sec.	0.33 sec.
Picksaw	​ ​	125%	+1	6	5 (Quick)	0.4 sec.	0.33 sec.
Shroomite Digging Claw	18  ( @  /  )	125%	−1	4	3 (Light)	0.27 sec.	0.2 sec.
Luminite Hamaxes	14  + 12  ( @  )14  + 12  ( @  )14  + 12  ( @  )14  + 12  ( @  )	150%	+4	7	6 (Quick)	0.47 sec.	0.4 sec.
Molten Hamaxe	15  ( @  /  )	150%	0	14	12 (Light)	0.93 sec.	0.8 sec.
Axe of Regrowth	+ + 12  + 3  ( @  ) or + + 12  + 3  ( @  )	150%	0	12	12 (None)	0.8 sec.	0.8 sec.
Spectre Hamaxe	18  ( @  /  ) or   : 18  + 18  ( @  /  )	150%	+3	8	7 (Quick)	0.53 sec.	0.47 sec.
Butcher's Chainsaw	​	150%	−1	4	4 (None)	0.27 sec.	0.27 sec.
The Axe	​ ​	175%	+1	7 / 6	6 (Quick) / 5 (Quick)	0.35 sec. / 0.3 sec	0.3 sec. / 0.25 sec

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 prefixes beyond Nimble, they can improve their axe performance.
• While the Luminite Hamaxes and The Axe do not improve their hammer performance with prefixes, they can improve their axe performance.

Hammer	Made from	Hammer power	Range	Mining speed	Effective speed	Best effective speed (Minimum prefix)
Wooden Hammer	8  ( @  )	25%	−1	25	12	10 (Light)
Boreal Wood Hammer	8  ( @  )	35%	0	23	11	10 (Quick)
Palm Wood Hammer	8  ( @  )	35%	0	23	11	10 (Quick)
Rich Mahogany Hammer	8  ( @  )	35%	0	23	11	10 (Quick)
Tin Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	38%	0	21	10	9 (Quick)
Ebonwood Hammer	8  ( @  )	40%	0	20	10	8 (Light)
Iron Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	40%	0	20	10	8 (Light)
Shadewood Hammer	8  ( @  )	40%	0	20	10	8 (Light)
Lead Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	43%	0	19	9	8 (Quick)
Pearlwood Hammer	8  ( @  )	55%	0	19	9	8 (Quick)
Silver Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	45%	0	19	9	8 (Quick)
Tungsten Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	50%	0	25	12	10 (Light)
Flesh Grinder	10  + 5  ( @  /  )	55%	0	19	9	8 (Quick)
The Breaker	10  + 5  ( @  /  )	55%	0	19	9	8 (Quick)
Gold Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	55%	0	23	11	10 (Quick)
Platinum Hammer	: 10  + 3  ( @  /  ) or    : 8  + 3  ( @  /  )	59%	0	21	10	9 (Quick)
Meteor Hamaxe	: 35  ( @  /  ) or     : 20  ( @  /  )	60%	0	16	8	7 (Nimble)
Rockfish	Fishing	70%	0	14	7	6 (Nimble)
Molten Hamaxe	15  ( @  /  )	70%	0	14	7	6 (Nimble)
Pwnhammer	​ ​	80%	0	14	7	6 (Nimble)
Hammush	​Truffle (40)	85%	0	14	7	6 (Nimble)
Chlorophyte Warhammer	18  ( @  /  )	90%	+1	14	7	6 (Nimble)
Chlorophyte Jackhammer	18  ( @  /  )	90%	0	4	2	2 (None)
Spectre Hamaxe	18  ( @  /  ) or   : 18  + 18  ( @  /  )	90%	+3	8	4	3 (Quick)
Luminite Hamaxes	14  + 12  ( @  )14  + 12  ( @  )14  + 12  ( @  )14  + 12  ( @  )	100%	+4	7	3	3 (None)
The Axe	​ ​	100%	+1	7 / 6	3	3 (None)

Fastest mining tools[]

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

Pre-Hardmode[]

Pickaxes[]

• Light Bone Pickaxe for things that it can break in one hit (e.g. Dirt, Mud, Sand, Snow), as well as things that will take two hits regardless of pick strength (e.g. Grass).
• If the Bone Pickaxe is too difficult to obtain, substitute a Light Silver Pickaxe.
• If using a Bone Pickaxe, also use it for everything else that it can mine (namely, Meteorite and below, plus Spikes).
• If using a Deathbringer Pickaxe, also use it for things it mines in three hits: Ebonstone, Crimstone, Hellstone and Dungeon Brick.
• Light Reaver Shark or Light Molten Pickaxe ( ) for everything else.
• Keep in mind that Bombs and Dynamites can mine faster than pickaxes when used well. It is also possible to make them more intuitive to use by combining them with gel to make Sticky Bombs and Sticky Dynamites.

Axes[]

• Light Molten Hamaxe.
• Without access to Hellstone, the best chopping tool is a Sawtooth Shark (any prefix), followed by a Quick/Light Meteor Hamaxe.

Hammers[]

• Rockfish/Molten Hamaxe with any speed-increasing prefix.
• Meteor Hamaxe with any speed-increasing prefix is a distant second, since it takes two hits to break a wall.

Hardmode[]

Pickaxes[]

• Light Shroomite Digging Claw for everything except Lihzahrd Brick (which it cannot mine).
• Post-Moon Lord, the Light Luminite Pickaxe can be used for Lihzahrd Brick, or if the Claw's -1 range is unfavorable to the player.
• A Luminite Pickaxe can be subsituted by a Quick/Light Picksaw if necessary.
• When range is more important than speed, the Laser Drill (any prefix) has an extreme +11 range.
• Pre-Plantera, a Quick/Light Chlorophyte Pickaxe (a Quick/Light Pickaxe Axe, which must be crafted first, has the same speed but lacks a range bonus).
• pre-Mechanical Bosses, a Quick/Light Adamantite/Titanium Pickaxe is best.
• Bombs, Dynamite, Rockets II and IV and Mini Nuke IIs (most preferably used with the Celebration Mk2) as well as the Drill Containment Unit might be more effective strategies for mining large areas but they can lack the precision of standard tools.

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 Picksaw can be substituted.
• 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 prefixes 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[]

• Luminite Hamaxe or The Axe, with any speed-increasing or speed-neutral prefix.
• Quick/Light Spectre Hamaxe if the player is pre-Moon Lord and can't get The Axe, can't stand its sound effect, or want even more range.
  • Pre-Moon Lord, a Quick/Light Spectre Hamaxe has the same speed as the Luminite Hamaxes, but a smaller range bonus.
• Pre-Plantera, a Chlorophyte Warhammer with any speed-increasing prefix (a Hammush/Pwnhammer/Molten Hamaxe/Rockfish with any speed-increasing prefix has the same speed but lacks a range bonus).
• When pre-Mechanical Bosses, the Hammush/Pwnhammer/Molten Hamaxe/Rockfish with any speed-increasing prefix are useful.

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, 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.
• Though a mining speed higher than 60 Blocks per second is possible, the in-game tick rate limits this to 60 blocks mined per second.