Attack speed

Attack Speed in Terraria is handled in a somewhat unusual fashion compared to the accepted "norms" of other games featuring this combat model. While attack speed items do stack together, the actual bonus derived is different than a player would expect based on the in-game description.

The descriptions presented on items themselves are inaccurate. A description could say "10% melee attack speed" when the actual bonus is closer to 11.1%. Combining multiple items exacerbates the effect, where three 10% melee attack speed bonuses actually amount to a 37.1% increase in attack speed.

Furthermore, the attack speed bonus through gear is capped at 42.8%.

Below is a simple lookup table showing the "written" bonus compared to the actual bonus.

Melee Attack Speed
Melee attack speed affects the swing speed of all melee items. This includes swords, pickaxes, hammers and other tools. However, improving your melee attack speed won't improve the speed of mining.