Best Melee Build in Core Keeper: Weapons, Armor, Accessories & Food

Best weapons for a melee build (Lv.20)

Melee weapons sorted by expected DPS at Lv.20 with endgame gear (top 10). Effects on the weapon such as critical hit chance and attack speed are included.

Rank	Weapon	Base Lv	Melee damage (Lv.20)	Attacks /s	Expected DPS (with endgame gear)	Weapon only /s	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Rune Song	13	350–426	2.5	10,850	970	+17 health on melee hit +8% chance on melee hit to increase melee attack speed by 50% for a short duration The +50% attack speed buff (2 s) is counted as active about 53% of the time. The special attack (a line attack of up to 3x damage) is not included.
2	Galaxite Dagger	14	264–322	3.33	10,726	977	+18% critical hit chance
3	Ritual Dagger	9	259–315	3.33	10,567	957	+3 blue glow +9% critical hit chance +25% critical hit damage
4	Rusty Dagger	3	257–313	3.33	10,282	950	+16% critical hit chance
5	Scarlet Dagger	9	252–308	3.33	9,959	933	+44% critical hit damage
6	Splintered Wooden Sword	2	322–392	2.5	9,873	893	+19% critical hit chance
7	Prehistoric Crystal Spear	15	321–391	2.5	9,788	890	+47% physical melee damage
8	Void Club	18	369–449	2.5	9,765	1,023	—
9	Galaxite Sword	14	313–381	2.5	9,323	868	+47% critical hit damage
10	Scarlet Sword	9	307–375	2.5	9,227	853	+16% critical hit chance

See the full sword and melee weapon ranking (all weapons, early to late game) →

Best armor for a melee build (helm, chest, pants)

Keeping every other slot of the best combination above as is, this shows how much damage (expected DPS) rises when only that slot is swapped (compared with leaving the slot empty; set bonuses included). Accessories use the same calculation.

Best helm for melee

Rank	Helm	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Atlantean Worm Helmet	17	+26.7%	+46 max health +24 armor +1.3 health every sec +18.7% melee and range attack speed +7% critical hit chance +21% critical hit damage
2	Core Commander Helm	17	+11.9%	+52 max health +25 armor +8.2% melee and range attack speed +7.4% damage +4% critical hit chance
3	Ninja Cowl	17	+11.8%	+50 max health +20 armor +8% dodge chance +7% critical hit chance +22% critical hit damage
4	Pot Lid	5	+10.4%	+33 armor +7% critical hit chance +17% critical hit damage
5	Omoroth's Helm	13	+7.8%	+52 max health +26 armor +8.2% damage +6.9% melee and range attack speed

Best chest armor for melee

Rank	Chest armor	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Core Commander Brigandine	17	+23.2%	+66 max health +35 armor +10.5% melee and range attack speed +7.6% damage +11% critical hit damage
2	Ninja Garments	17	+14.4%	+68 max health +23 armor +9% dodge chance +9% critical hit chance +22% critical hit damage
3	Ivy's Thorn Harness	11	+13.3%	+97 max health +50% critical hit damage
4	Moldweb Breastplate	10	+11.6%	+65 max health +32 armor +16% damage against bosses +14.6% physical melee damage
5	Shadow Chestplate	19	+11.6%	+70 max health +37 armor +12.5% damage +10% melee and range attack speed

Best pants for melee

Rank	Pants	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Core Commander Greaves	17	+22.9%	+58 max health +29 armor +9% melee and range attack speed +12% critical hit damage +4% critical hit chance
2	Ninja Leggings	17	+14.1%	+57 max health +20 armor +8% dodge chance +8% critical hit chance +25% critical hit damage
3	Ivy's Pants	11	+12.0%	+89 max health +49% critical hit damage
4	Omoroth's Leg Armor	13	+9.3%	+56 max health +30 armor +9.7% damage +8.4% melee and range attack speed
5	Hazmat Suit Pants	16	+8.1%	+55 max health +32 armor +23.2% physical melee damage

Best accessories for a melee build (necklace, rings, off-hand)

Best necklace for melee

Rank	Necklace	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Copper Cross Necklace	2	+18.0%	+18% critical hit chance
2	Polished Copper Cross Necklace	13	+15.0%	+9% critical hit chance +26% critical hit damage
3	Grub Egg Necklace	8	+13.2%	+41% physical melee damage
4	Glass Bead Necklace	17	+12.3%	+85% critical hit damage +33.5% damage taken
5	Helio Necklace	16	+10.8%	+21% physical melee damage +24% critical hit damage

Best ring for melee

Rank	Ring	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Spine Ring	13	+19.5%	+43% damage against bosses
2	Sky Ring	11	+14.8%	+8% critical hit chance +23.3% physical melee damage
3	Mold Ring	11	+13.6%	+16% critical hit chance
4	Morpha's Ring	13	+13.1%	+51% critical hit damage
5	Lava Spike Ring	14	+13.0%	+19.9% physical melee damage +24% critical hit damage

You can wear 2 rings. This table ranks swaps for one ring while keeping the other (Polished Golden Spike Ring) equipped.

Best off-hand for melee

Rank	Off-hand	Base Lv	Damage gain	Effects (Lv.20)
1	Omoroth's Beak	14	+14.9%	+40.4% physical melee damage
2	Crystal Meteor Chunk	15	+11.1%	+3 blue glow -30.5% armor +30% damage dealt by you and all nearby allies
3	Concealed Blade	13	+10.2%	+12% critical hit chance
4	Hydra Tooth	16	+10.0%	+5% chance on hit to deal triple amount of damage +30.2% physical range damage
5	Gilded Hookshot	14	+3.8%	+10.4% melee damage +8.8% range damage

Recommended set bonuses for a melee build

Keeping the other slots and food from the best combination above, these sets give the highest damage when their pieces are swapped in (set bonus included). "Damage" is relative to the best combination = 100.

Recommended food for a melee build

Best combination

Golden Pinegrapple+Tornis Kingfish

• +9 health every sec (20 s)
• +28.2% physical melee damage (10 min)
• +8.4% melee attack speed (10 min)
• +50.4% damage (10 min)

Ingredients with strong effects

• Tornis Kingfish
  • +7.8 health every sec
  • +50.4% damage
• Golden Pinegrapple
  • +9 health every sec
  • +28.2% physical melee damage
  • +8.4% melee attack speed
• Mold Shark
  • +4.8 health every sec
  • +38.6% physical melee damage
• Elder Dragonfish
  • +14% critical hit chance
  • Immune to burning
• Shiny Larva Meat
  • +13% critical hit chance
  • +4 health on melee hit
• Starlight Nautilus
  • +17.7 health every sec
  • +7% critical hit chance
  • +8.5% melee and range attack speed
  • +100 max health

See the best food for each goal →

Recommended pets for a melee build

• Owlux
  • +7.6% movement speed
  • +6.5% damage
• Pheromoth
  • +12.6% physical range damage
  • +7% dodge chance
• Arcane Symbiote
  • +28 magic barrier
  • +11% mana regeneration while casting

See the best pet rankings →

Recommended talents for a melee build

1. MeleeQuick strikesPer point: +2% melee attack speedMelee attack speed raises DPS with every melee weapon, so take it first.
2. MeleeBuilding angerPer point: Gain 2% melee damage every time an enemy is hit, stacks up to 2 timesMelee damage grows the longer you keep hitting. Strong when you hit the same target for a long time, like in boss fights.
3. MeleeStrength of the AncientsPer point: +4% damage against bossesMore damage against bosses. Good when you want to push through the boss order.
4. VitalityStrong and healthyPer point: +2% damage while at max healthBonus damage at full health. Pairs well with melee builds that bring healing.
5. VitalityMaxed out!Per point: +6% of all skill points added to max healthMelee fighters get hit a lot up close, so raise max health too.
6. MiningMiner's strengthPer point: +2% of mining damage added as melee damageAdds part of your mining damage to melee damage. Grows with an upgraded pickaxe and mining gear.
7. CookingFast foodPer point: +10% melee attack speed when eating cooked foodEating cooked food raises melee attack speed. Big value if you always keep food buffs up.

See recommended talents for every build →

How gear is scored

Each gear effect (value at Lv.20) is multiplied by the points below and summed. 1 point ≈ +1% damage (expected DPS) with endgame gear. "Damage %" effects such as physical melee damage and all damage add together in one bucket, so late game, when that bucket is already large, each 1% is worth little, and effects in other (multiplying) buckets like attack speed, critical hit chance and triple damage score higher (damage formula and detailed calculation).

• +1% chance on hit to deal triple amount of damage2 pts
• +1% critical hit chance0.83 pts
• +1% melee attack speed0.65 pts
• +1% melee and range attack speed0.65 pts
• +1% damage against bosses0.38 pts
• +1% damage0.32 pts
• +1% damage dealt by you and all nearby allies0.32 pts
• +1% physical melee damage0.32 pts
• +1% melee damage0.32 pts
• +1% critical hit damage0.27 pts
• +1% damage while at max health0.16 pts
• +1% melee damage while not having taken any direct damage for a while0.16 pts
• +1 health on melee hit0.16 pts
• +1% damage taken-0.16 pts
• +1% damage-0.32 pts

Conditional effects (only at full health, etc.) are counted at about half. Effects other than damage, such as healing and mana, are valued in "points of damage %" so they share the same unit. A weapon's expected DPS is damage × attacks per second, multiplied by endgame gear and the weapon's own effects using this calculation.