Core Keeperis an interesting game. It’s one partStardew Valley,one partMinecraft— with a sprinkle ofLegend of Zelda: A Link to the PastandDiablothrown in for good measure. As with nearly any action-adventure RPG, using the best weapons is important for staying alive, and players have quite a few to choose from. So which weapons inCore Keeperare the best, and which ones are not worth the time and effort to find or craft?
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For a huge portion of the game, the player is going to have to rely on the Copper Sword or Slingshot. After their first encounter with a Caveling, though, most players will realize they are woefully equipped for the dangers that lie ahead. Any of the weapons on this list are suitable as a primary weapon and will give the player the best chance at surviving.
Updated on June 19, 2025, by Jeff Drake:Core Keeper keeps things fresh with new content, and this often includes new biomes, gear, and weapons. The new weapons included in the periodic updates are quite powerful, some of them are close to game-breaking - against bosses anyway. Notable among these weapons are those crafted from the Galaxite Bars. This update adds five new weapons to the list, and following the grand tradition of power creep in games, most of these additional weapons are from the most recent update.
20Flintlock Musket
There are several reasons this weapon made the list. For starters, the Flintlock Musket can be acquired very early in the game. This will let the player increase their range skill. This weapon is also quite powerful for such an early-game weapon. It may take a little longer to reload than most ranged weapons, but the damage is worth it until something better comes along.
Another reason this weapon made the list is that it isn’t very difficult to get hold of one. The Flintlock Musket can be purchased; however, this weapon can be dropped as loot from enemies.
19Iron Sword
In many games, the trusty iron sword is the first weapon a player acquires. It is typically used until something better is found, then it’s sold or cast away the dark corners of the inventory. InCore Keeper, the iron sword is actually an excellent weapon. It is the weapon by which to measure the other weapons.
This weapon doesn’t have any special powers—it’s just an iron sword. However, if they think about their experience playingCore Keeper, many players will realize they used the Iron Sword more than any weapon, other than the Copper Sword. It takeseight iron bars and one gold barto craft the Iron Sword.
18Larva Spike Club
Being swarmed by enemies can be dangerous in games like Core Keeper. The Larva Spike Club helps prevent that scenario. Even if a player does get surrounded, this weapon can help them break free and get to safety. The Larva Spike Club does this by offering a50% chance to knock the target back.
Crafting this item requires12 Iron Bars, 10 Larva Meat, and 10 Woodat the Hive Mother statue.The knockback ability of the Larva Spike Club makes this melee weapon possibly the best at crowd control.
17Scarlet Sword
Core Keepergets much easier once a player gets access to the scarlet ore bars.The Scarlet Armor pieces are widely considered the best in the game. What’s more, there are only a handful of melee weapons that do more damage per hit than the Scarlet Sword, and its durability is on par with the best weapons as well.
The Scarlet Swordincreases the chance of scoring a critical hit by 11%. This weapon can be forgedat a Scarlet Anvil with four iron bars and ten scarlet bars.Scarlet ore can be found in the grass walls in Azeos' Wilderness.
16Ritual Dagger
The ritual dagger, on paper, doesn’t look too appealing. Its damage per swing isn’t that high; however, players need to keep in mind this is a fast attack weapon. At 3.3 attacks per second, at 106-128 damage, this weapon produces a DPS of 353-426.There aren’t that many weapons that can match this damage output potential.
On top of a great DPS, the Ritual Dagger has a +2 Glow, so the player won’t be caught in the dark - and remember, Glow bonuses stack. The Ritual Dagger can be obtained by defeating Malugaz the Corrupted in the Forgotten Ruins. Players should do themselves a favor and use the Blowpipe against Malugaz.
15Fireball Staff
This is not only an excellent weapon but it can also be picked up relatively early. The Fireball Staff, as the name implies,shoots a large fireball that explodes upon impactwith something solid. This staff does a lot of damage for its rate of fire and is great for dealing with the smaller, weaker, enemies — like the small larvae.
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The Fireball Staff can beobtained from a defeated Caveling Shaman.These creatures don’t always drop them, but it’s not too uncommon. This weapon shoots a little slower than the Blowpipe; however, its larger projectile makes it a lot easier to hit the target.
14Blowpipe
The ranged weapons inCore Keeperare quite varied. If a player were to just look at damage per attack, they might be fooled into thinking this is the weakest distance weapon after the Slingshot. The Blowpipe may do less damage per shot, but it makes up for this with a high rate of fire. Thus, the damage per second of the Blowpipe is quite a bit higher than that of other ranged weapons with comparable damage.
The Blowpipe also has a15% chance of poisoning the target. Poison in Core Keeper temporarily reduces the amount of healing for those afflicted.
13Scholar’s Staff
The Scholar’s Staff operates much like the Fireball Staff, except instead of fireballsthis staff fires bolts of magical energy. This is a slow, distance weapon, so it isn’t much use against faster enemies unless the player isreallyconfident in their ability to aim.
Unlike the Fireball Staff, the Scholar’s Staff doesn’t cause persistent burning damage. What it does do is outclass the Fireball Staff in every other category. This staff is occasionally (2% chance) dropped by Caveling Scholars in the Sunken Sea. Farm this staff as soon as possible.
12Hand Mortar
The Hand Mortar is the highest-ranked ranged weapon on this list. That said, the Blowpipe is probably better against smaller, faster foes. However, for large groups of enemies, the Hand Mortar should be a player’s ranged weapon of choice. It doesn’t have a fast rate of fire, but it doesn’t take many shots to clear a room of enemies.
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This weaponcan also be used for mining purposes,at least for some of the weaker blocks. It does 156 mining damage per hit. For comparison, the Iron Pickaxe has a mining damage of 176. One shot from the Hand Mortar can clear up to three blocks at a time.
11Scarlet Dagger
The Scarlet Dagger may not have much reach, but it gives the player the ability to quickly kill any enemy that dares to get too close. It does a lot less damage per hit than the Scarlet Sword, but due to its faster attack rate, it does much more damage per second. This weapon gives a24% increase to critical hit damage.
For weaker enemies, a larger weapon might be better due to the higher damage per hit; however, against bosses, the Scarlet Dagger is an absolute beast.The slower the enemy, the better this weapon performs.
