Tutorial:Melee Weapon Guide

Melee weapons are essential for many activities within SkyBlock and serve as a marker for progression through the game. This tutorial aims to provide a guide on melee weapons for all stages of the game.

Early Game
At this stage, a player has only recently logged in for the first time. They will have less than to their name and a skill average below 15.
 * The Undead Sword is a good starter weapon due to its increased damage against Undead mobs. It is purchased from the Weaponsmith for.
 * The Silver Fang or Flaming Sword can be purchased as an optional intermediate upgrade to the next weapons.
 * There are three weapons to consider for the next upgrade: the Aspect of the End, the Raider Axe, and the End Stone Sword.
 * The Aspect of the End or AOTE is the worst option for damage (though better than a non-upgraded Raider Axe) but has a teleport ability that will be used for the rest of the game. It costs about 100k to 200k on BIN.
 * The Raider Axe deals the least damage when not upgraded, but the most damage when it is. If the player decides to use this weapon, they should keep it for a while for it to get fully maxed out.
 * The End Stone Sword deals less damage than the halfway-upgraded Raider Axe, but has Epic rarity, meaning its reforges will deal much more Critical Damage and . It costs about 180k on BIN and is the most commonly-used in speedruns to one-shot Zealots.
 * After saving up around to 1,300,000, the Aspect of the Dragons is a value upgrade due to its high  and  for relatively low cost. It is not reccommended to buy one if the price is over 1.2 million coins.
 * The Phantom Rod is a similarly-priced alternative to the Aspect of the Dragons if its requirements of 21 can be met. Its stats are mostly similar, and its ability deals damage to hooked enemies from a safe distance, without needing to aim for the enemy. As it is a Fishing Weapon,  can be applied to it, which increases its damage further.

Mid Game
At this stage, a player will have some basic experience under their belt. Their net worth is about, skill average around 25 and they are beginning to do Slayer quests and Dungeons.
 * A choice between 3 weapons is presented at this point: Livid Dagger, Shadow Fury, and Flower of Truth.
 * The Livid Dagger is the most popular choice. Its 100, 100 and double damage when hitting from behind make up for its low  and , allowing one to deal high damage per second without needing to reforge Accessories for . It requires a Catacombs - Floor 5 completion to use and costs.
 * The Shadow Fury's high and  stats allow it to deal more damage on a single hit compared to Livid Dagger. It can be cheaply upgraded using Livid Fragment for improved stats. Its ability has some niche uses within Dungeons as well. It is on the costly side, at ; like the Livid Dagger, it requires a Catacombs - Floor 5 completion to use.
 * The Flower of Truth, unlike the others, does not have any requirements tied to it. Not only does it have an exceptionally high base of 300, its ability deals melee-type damage from range, triggering  and . The Flower of Truth's ability can strike multiple enemies, making it good for clearing rooms in Dungeons; it is used through the levels of play for this reason. It is crafted with Ancient Rose x9 costing about . (After the nerf, the Flower of Truth is not a good investment, because its ability's damage does not count as melee damage anymore, so it can't crit or trigger  or )
 * When optimised properly, each of these weapons end up dealing around the same amount of damage per second. There is heavy discussion within the community as to which weapon can deal the highest DPS.
 * No matter which weapon is ultimately chosen, at this stage it is worthwhile sinking more money into upgrading them. Upgrades such as Hot Potato Book,, , , , and are all relatively cheap and worthwhile. If running Dungeons with the items, they should be upgraded to 5 stars as soon as possible, whether that be through upgrading them with Essence, paying others to upgrade them with their Essence or purchasing them with stars already applied.
 * The Reaper Falchion and Scorpion Foil upgraded with Wood Singularity can deal higher damage to their respective Slayer bosses than the general weapons. When grinding bosses, they become essential to increase kill speed. On the other hand, the Pooch Sword only works well with Mastiff Armor, and the general weapons can deal more damage to Sven Packmaster than it.
 * While the correct choice of melee weapon is important, a high-damage armor set, skill and large collection of correctly reforged Accessories will contribute equally to damage output.

Late Game
At this stage, a player will be relatively seasoned, worth about and with skill average of around 35. They are gearing up to conquer the most difficult challenges of the game, The Catacombs - Floor VII and the Revenant Horror.
 * The previously mentioned Livid Dagger, Shadow Fury and Flower of Truth remain the general weapons for this stage. However, one can afford to apply more expensive upgrades to them, such as Recombobulator 3000,, or , Fuming Potato Book, The Art of War, and  or.
 * Weapons should be reforged with Wither Blood to Withered for the high, or for weapons which are used for DPS, with Dirt Bottle to Dirty for extra.
 * Weapons which are used mainly within Dungeons or against undead mobs should have ; the majority of Dungeon mobs are affected by . Otherwise, should be taken.
 * The Soul Whip is an optional tool. It has a unique usage: right clicking launches an arc of particles forward, damaging enemies it hits. It can be used for hitting multiple enemies at once to heal, or for grinding Ghost in the Dwarven Mines for high amounts of XP. It requires  26 to use and costs about.

Sword Swapping
The technique of sword swapping is used commonly in the late game with devastating outcomes. To sword swap, hold a high-damage weapon, then switch to a weapon with bonus damage and immediately strike the enemy. The high damage from weapon 1 and bonus of weapon 2 both apply on hit. This method is used to deal millions of damage in a single hit, defeating Revenant Horror with ease. A high-damage weapon is required to sword swap. The Giant's Sword is the typical choice for this owing to its highest base in the game, though at  it is costly. Budget alternatives are Reaper Scythe and Shadow Fury. These weapons should be enchanted with to increase their. The Emerald Blade can also be used with many coins in the Purse, however can be useable relatively cheaply, as an Emerald Blade with 10M in your purse can still greatly increase your damage. It takes 550,000,000 coins for an Emerald Blade to deal more damage than a Giant's Sword, but a Giant's Sword is better in dungeons for Left Click Mage, or as the Archer class.

End Game
Endgame players have conquered the majority of SkyBlock and are willing to spend lots of money on small stat increases. Their net worth is or more and they have a skill average around 45.
 * The Axe of the Shredded is the best weapon against Revenant Horror . Its ability is used by the Berserk class with swapping to a high-damage weapon.
 * The Daedalus Axe can be used in conjunction with a Griffin Pet to get high for Slayer. It is also the best melee weapon for the Mythological Ritual.
 * The Giant's Sword, (without One For All) can be used as an effective upgrade to the Livid Dagger, Shadow Fury and Flower of Truth, while being relatively cheap.
 * The ultimate melee weapon is the Valkyrie, with its unmatched, and . It is also by far the most costly, at  for a basic one and a further  for Wither Impact.
 * Extremely expensive upgrades such as, and  become worth getting by virtue of them being the only upgrades left available.