Weapons

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Weapons are items that players and humanoid NPCs use to deal damage to opponents in combat.

Player-usable weapons are either procedurally generated or they're unique with a predetermined appearance and power level. Weapons used by NPCs may have a randomized appearance, but their stats are almost always predetermined.

Found weapons can be of any rarity from common to legendary, which in turn affects which stat ranges and effects are available.[1]

Power Icon.png Armor sets crafted as the game progresses have a power multiplier stat. The total is summed under and then applied as a flat damage multiplier on weapon base DPS. As a result players can improve their armor and not need to update their weapon as quickly since its damage will scale up. NPCs and their weapons do not benefit from armor bonuses - instead, they gain a damage bonus based on the Tier of planet on which they appear.

The amount of possible weapons in the game has not been calculated, but when ignoring the stats such as base DPS, damage per swing, and swing speed there are over 1,000,000 possibilities using the data available.

Weapon Generation

Unless the weapon is a Unique Weapon with fixed abilities, it will be procedurally generated and can have a very wide variety of stats, appearances and secondary abilities.

Tier

The weapon's damage is based on its Tier. The weapon will have the same Tier as the planet it is found on. Specifically, a weapons base damage is multiplied by its tier plus one, then divided by two, causing its damage to increase by 50% of its tier 1 base for each tier above 1. Armor bonuses (for players) or tier-based damage bonuses (for NPCs) are applied (along with other damage bonuses) to this total to calculate actual damage dealt by the weapon to opponents with no damage reduction.

All other stats remain unaffected by weapon tier.

Certain classes of weapons require a minimum planet tier before they can begin to appear as Treasure. Specifically, firearms other than pistols and machine pistols do not begin to appear until tier 2, and staves and wands only start appearing at tier 3.

Because Unique Weapons have fixed abilities and damage, they are assigned to one of three tier brackets. Low-tier unique weapons are only found on Low and Moderate threat planets, mid-tier unique weapons are only found on Risky and Dangerous threat planets, and high-tier unique weapons are only found on Extreme and Inconceivable threat planets.

Currently the highest available planet Tier is Tier 6. If you are looking for the most powerful weapons they appear only on Inconceivable threat level worlds and have 3.5x the weapon damage of weapons found on Tier 1 worlds. Not all Legendary weapons are Tier 6, however; you will be able to very rarely find Legendary weapons starting from Tier 2 worlds (or even Tier 1 worlds if you're lucky).

Rarity

All objects in the game have an assigned Rarity. For weapons, this is used as a rough indication of how unusual the weapon's features are as well as how likely you are to find one.

  • Common generated weapons deal physical damage. Many 2-handed common weapon types have access to a variety of abilities unavailable to weapons of higher rarities.
  • Uncommon weapons deal elemental damage. They typically have a slightly higher damage output than common weapons of the same tier. Two-handed uncommon weapons also have access to a different, though usually smaller, set of abilities which inflict elemental Status Effects corresponding to the weapon's element.
  • Rare weapons, otherwise identical to uncommon weapons in performance and ability selection, have the advantage of being able to inflict elemental status effects with their primary ability in addition to their special ability.
  • Legendary rarity is reserved for Unique Weapons - weapons that are not procedurally generated. Many legendary weapons have unique features and abilities that set them apart from other weapons. Late-game players can spend essence at the Weapon Upgrade Anvil to upgrade certain legendary weapons and increase their damage output.

A rare weapon may not necessarily be better than a common weapon of the same tier. It does, however, mean that it is much more likely to have a better main ability than a more common weapon. The weapon generation system could also roll the worst possible numbers of the range it can select from - the worst possible Rare weapon will be less powerful overall than the best Uncommon weapon, and so on.

Currently, all Staves (Staffs) and Wands are Rare or Legendary - this is because procedurally generated Staves and Wands always inflict elemental damage and status effects with their main abilities, a privilege reserved for rare and legendary weapons.

Because of these quirks in weapon generation, you may find a generated Uncommon weapon more to your liking than a Legendary offering, depending on what you're looking for in your arsenal. Even two-handed common weapons can be worth keeping if they have abilities which you like better than those that come with higher-rarity two-handed weapons.

Elemental Damage

Uncommon and Rare weapons have an assigned elemental damage type. Some damage types are more effective against specific enemies than others, but weapons are never useless against certain enemies because of their element - fire-type enemies will still take damage from fire-type weapons. As of Version 1.2.0, enemies are all weak to a certain damage type and strong against another type - this increases or decreases the damage they take by 50%. You may find it useful to have several variants of a weapon that deal different types of damage for different enemies.

In addition to determining the damage type, each element can apply a status effect. These can be damaging (Burning, Poisoned, or Electrified) or offer control by impairing enemy movement (Frost). The elemental damage type of each weapon is indicated by the corresponding icon in the in-game tooltip.

The secondary special attacks for rare and uncommon two handed weapons are shared by type. Only rare and legendary weapons will apply status effects with their primary attack, but all non-common two-handed weapons apply status effects with their special attacks.

Melee Weapons

Melee weapons are those used in close combat. They require that the player get close to their target so they can land attacks. They can be two handed, one handed, directional or non-directional as well as having a variety of elemental damage types.

In the later game the Separator's Table is designed to craft armor for melee combat focused characters. The armor it provides gives extra bonuses to total health over other armor types, allowing one to stay in the fray for longer.

One Handed

One handed melee weapons include daggers, shortswords, fist weapons and axes. Because one handed weapons are dual wielded they don't have a secondary attack, but weapons with different types and effects can be combined to give players many options for combat. In particular, wielding two one-handed melee weapons at once often results in higher damage output than many two-handed melee weapons.

One handed melee weapons do not use energy, so they can be used continuously in combat.

Daggers

Small Dagger Swipe.gif
Daggers attack with a flurry of blows, repeating the same attack every time the button is pressed. The tradeoff for their very high attack speed is the low damage and reach of the swipe; however, this attack is directional, making them useful weapons for vertical combat. Additionally, the directional attacks are extremely useful for applying status effects.

Non-Novakid characters can craft the Titanium Dagger, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 3 generated dagger.

Shortswords

Small Shortsword Swipe.gif

The Shortsword has longer reach and higher damage than the Dagger, but it also functions differently - instead of a constant barrage of the same attack, the Shortword can attack two times, a swipe followed by a longer reach stab. After those two attacks, there is a brief pause before the user can attack again, signified by the weapon blinking white.

Compared to a Broadsword, the Shortsword has considerably less reach and damage, as well as no Special; however, its attacks are quicker, and it leaves the other hand empty for pairing it with a shield, tool or ranged weapon, or even dual-wielding for double the attack speed and a higher theoretical damage output than many two-handed melee weapons.

Non-Novakid characters can craft the Iron Shortsword and the Durasteel Shortsword, Unique Weapons which are essentially optimized versions of Tier 1 and 4 generated shortswords, respectively.

In addition, all characters can craft the Violium Shortsword at a Separator's Table. This energy sword deploys while in use and retracts after a delay if no further attacks are made.

Axes

Small Axe Swipe.gif
Axes function noticeably differently from Daggers and Shortswords, behaving more like one-handed Hammers - pressing attack will make the character raise the Axe to strike, and will only attack if sufficiently charged (denoted by a noticeable 'jump' the animation); however, the Axe has the highest damage output potential of any one-handed weapon. This makes the Axe perfect for hit and run attacks, retreating to charge up and darting in to release.

Unique among generated weapons, axes do not experience an increase in damage output per time when going from common to uncommon. Rather, they gain a reduction in windup time, trading in damage per hit for the ability to deal damage more often.

Non-Novakid characters can craft the Tungsten Axe, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 2 generated axe.

Fist Weapons

Fist weapons, designed to hit enemies at point-blank range, have the smallest hitbox of any weapon type. Fist weapons are unique in that they're the only one handed melee weapon with secondary attacks (in the form of finishers) - these finishers are only available when wielding two fist weapons at once. Fist weapons attack and combo in whatever direction the player is facing.

When dual wielded, fist weapons can 'combo' a finisher after three strikes. The finisher available depends on the fist weapon itself, and two different fist weapons can be worn at the same time to give players the ability to use either finisher, though the finisher used will be the one of the fist weapon that did not initiate the combo.

Fist weapons are Unique Weapons - they'll always generate with the same set stats, appearance and special attacks.

Two Handed

Two handed melee weapons include broadswords, hammers and spears. Because two handed weapons cannot be dual wielded they have a variety of secondary attacks to compensate. These attacks depend on the weapon type and the weapon rarity. Each type of common melee weapon has its own set of special abilities, and uncommon and rare versions have their own sets of special abilities which may overlap with the common ability pools. Two handed weapons do not use energy with their primary attack, but do consume it for most special attacks, so those attacks cannot be used continuously in combat.

Broadswords

Small Broadsword Swipe.gif
Broadswords are the two handed sword class. They are slower and more powerful than one-handed shortswords. They cannot be aimed directionally, outside swinging in whatever direction the player is facing.

Because broadswords cannot be equipped with a shield, some common broadswords have the ability to parry attacks. This is similar to blocking with a large shield, but the duration is limited, and one must go through a cooldown period before one can parry again.

Non-Novakid characters can craft the Iron Broadsword and the Durasteel Broadsword, Unique Weapons which are essentially optimized versions of Tier 1 and 4 generated broadswords, respectively.

In addition, all characters can craft the Violium Broadsword at a Separator's Table. This weapon's alt ability, the Flip Slash, send the character into a spinning leap, slashing foes as they fly by.

Hammers

Small Hammer Swipe.gif
Hammers are a swiping two handed weapon class. They cannot be aimed directionally, and swing in whatever direction the player is facing.

Hammers (similarly to Axes) are unique because they require a 'wind up' before they'll attack. To swing a hammer the attack button must be held down until the hammer is fully raised - otherwise it will not swing. After winding up players can continue to hold the attack button to keep the hammer ready to attack, releasing only when they're ready to swing. The Hammer's long wind up time makes them slower to attack than other melee weapons, but they deal the most damage on each hit.

Unique among generated melee weapons, hammers increase in both damage output per time and knockback power when going from common to uncommon.

Non-Novakid characters can craft the Tungsten Hammer, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 2 generated hammer.

Spears

Small Spear Swipe.gif
Spears are a jabbing two handed weapon class. They can be aimed directionally, allowing players to attack in the direction of the cursor.

Spears are unique because they can remain held outward to deal damage continually by holding down primary attack. While held outward players will injure any enemies the spear makes contact with, allowing players to charge in while dealing damage. Like all weapon classes, there are a variety of special spears found throughout the universe with unique effects, attacks, projectiles and appearances.

Non-Novakid characters can craft the Titanium Spear, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 3 generated spear.

Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons are those used to deal damage from a distance in combat. Most require that the player be within line of sight of their target to deal damage. Although there's no ammo for ranged weapons, they do consume energy when used, and running out of energy will prevent these weapons from functioning until energy is fully replenished.

In the later game the Accelerator's Table is designed to craft armor for ranged combat focused characters. The armor it provides gives extra bonuses to total energy over other armor types. The Manipulator's Table is designed for staff combat gear, but can be used for improved burst damage at the cost of total weapon uptime because the weapon will run out of energy much faster.

Firearms

Firearms, also commonly called guns, are the most common ranged weapon type which is procedurally generated. When equipped, the player's cursor changes to a crosshair, determining where the firearm will fire. Firearms use energy as their ammo which replenishes itself when not being used. All firearms are directionally aimed and will fire in a straight line toward the cursor.

Pistols and machine pistols appear as Treasure on all planets. All other classes of firearms only appear as treasure on tier 2+ worlds.

One Handed

Grenade Launchers

Grenade Launchers are one handed weapons which launch small explosive grenades. These grenades will explode dealing damage after a few seconds. Uncommon and rare launchers have elemental damage types which are applied to their grenade explosion - however, only rare grenade launchers also deal corresponding status effects.

The projectiles Grenade Launchers fire are randomly generated along with their other characteristics - you can find grenade launchers which fire bouncing grenades, impact grenades, sticky grenades or even proximity mines.

Though several other classes of guns can be crafted, Grenade Launchers cannot be crafted, only generated as Treasure.

Machine Pistols

Machine pistols are the automatic one handed gun class. They fire a fast stream of bullets, which deal elemental damage for uncommon and rare rarity guns (rare machine pistols also inflict status effects with their shots). They generally deal less burst damage compared to assault rifles, but because they can be dual wielded afford some versatility. Machine pistols have consistent and constant firing patterns allowing for reliable damage over time.

Dual-wielding machine pistols allows for a higher damage output than many two-handed ranged weapons; however, the energy required to operate two machine pistols at once makes this damage output short-lived.

Novakid characters can craft the Titanium Machine Pistol, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 3 generated machine pistol.

Pistols

Pistols are the manual one handed gun class. They deal more damage per hit and consume less energy per time than their automatic counterparts at the cost of reduced fire rate and damage output per time; the damage and fire rate stats are effectively inverted from machine pistols except that high tier pistols can deal double-digit damage (10+) per round.

Novakid characters can craft the Iron Revolver, the Tungsten Magnum, and the Durasteel Revolver, Unique Weapons which are essentially optimized versions of Tier 1, 2 and 4 generated pistols, respectively. Both revolvers have balanced stats, but the magnum has high damage per shot at the expense of a relatively low fire rate.

In addition, all characters can craft the Aegisalt Pistol at an Accelerator's Table. This unconventional weapon, rather than shooting discrete bullets, instead fires a continuous beam.

Two Handed

Assault Rifles

Assault rifles are the two handed automatic gun class. They are designed for burst damage at distance and have a variety of special attacks designed to cover for their inability to fire at point blank range. They generally consume more energy and deal more damage than their one-handed counterpart machine pistols (though they are more energy efficient than two machine pistols used simultaneously), but come in automatic and burst fire varieties. Automatic assault rifles operate similarly to machine pistols while burst-fire assault rifles instead fire their bullets in bursts of 2 to 4 at a time.

Novakid characters can craft the Iron Assault Rifle and the Durasteel Assault Rifle, Unique Weapons which are essentially optimized versions of Tier 1 and 4 generated assault rifles, respectively. The Iron Assault Rifle also has the distinction of being the only tier 1 assault rifle in the game (pistols and machine pistols are the only generated firearms which appear as Treasure on tier 1 worlds).

Rocket Launchers

Rocket launchers are a two handed weapon class that fires explosive rockets toward the target. Their primary attack is to fire a rocket directly at the target. Uncommon and rare rocket launchers always have Guided Rocket as their special attack - this ability fires a rocket which flies towards your cursor, allowing you to guide it behind terrain to hit targets. Common rocket launchers can also have Guided Rocket, though they may instead possess Rocket Burst (a burst of five miniature rockets) or Homing Rocket (instead of you guiding the rocket, the rocket locks on to nearby enemies and guides itself).

Despite what logic might suggest, your own rockets cannot damage you.

Though several other classes of guns can be crafted, Rocket Launchers cannot be crafted, only generated as Treasure.

Shotguns

Shotguns are a two handed gun class which fires scattered cones of small bullets, dealing damage in a wide area. The closer the target is to the player when the shotgun is fired, the more bullets will strike them and the more damage they'll take. Shotguns are useful for dealing a small amount of damage in a spread or high damage at close range. Their special attacks generally are meant to be used during the downtime between shots from the primary attack.

Novakid characters can craft the Tungsten Shotgun, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 2 generated shotgun.

Sniper Rifles

Sniper rifles are the non-automatic two handed gun class, trading fire rate and damage output per time for greatly increased shot damage and lower energy costs per time. They're able to deal high damage from a great distance. They also possess special attacks which help them destroy crowds of enemies.

Novakid characters can craft the Titanium Sniper Rifle, a Unique Weapon which is essentially an optimized version of a Tier 3 generated sniper rifle.

Staffs and Wands

Staves (Staffs) and Wands are weapon types that are specialized to be used with armor crafted at a Manipulator's Table. They are designed to attack occasionally but deal devastating damage with each shot, making full use of the damage bonus of Ferozium armor.

Most are not crafted, but can be found as procedurally generated weapons throughout the game which deal elemental damage and inflict elemental Status Effects. All characters can, however, craft the Ferozium Wand and Ferozium Staff at a Manipulator's Table. Unlike generated magic weapons, these Unique Weapons possess primary abilities which deal plasma damage rather than elemental damage, and the Ferozium Staff's alt ability creates an obstruction which can be used to trap enemies in place.

Staffs are two handed, and have a variety of 'Area of Effect' secondary abilities available which provide a support bonus or debuff to friends and foes that stand in the created "zone". Wands are one handed and have no secondary abilities, but their one-handedness allows them to be combined with a second one-handed item, such as a Shield, a Grappling Hook, or another one-handed weapon.

Both staves and wands are ranged weapons which drain a large portion of your energy pool in order to execute their abilities. Each staff or wand has a unique effect when used, much like a "spell" being cast.

For all staff and wand weapons, the mouse cursor changes to a red crosshair when equipped. After holding down the mouse button to charge the weapon the cursor will turn green provided it is within line of sight of the Player. When the cursor is green the mouse button can be released to detonate the staff attack/ability.

Staves and wands only generate as Treasure on Tier 3+ worlds, though they appear more frequently on tier 5+ worlds.

Bows

Bows generally fire arcing projectiles and are the only hunting weapons with infinite ammunition. The bow type determines the damage output of arrows fired from it. Bows are Unique Weapons, so their appearance and stats are the same regardless of where or how they are obtained.

All bows have the Bow Shot ability, assigned to the left-hand button while a bow is equipped. Holding down the left-hand button causes the player to pull the bowstring back with an arrow nocked. For the first 0.9 seconds of draw time, arrow base power scales up to a maximum of 100% of base max damage, and 30 energy is drained from the player's energy pool. Starting at 0.9 seconds of draw time and ending at 1.1 seconds, the bow will usually turn white to indicate that the shot is fully charged. For maximum damage output, the arrow should be released within this interval - keeping the bow drawn for too long will reduce arrow base power to 80% of base max damage, indicated by the bow returning to its normal color.

All bows except for the Light Bow and the Aegisalt Bow also possess the Zen Shot ability, assigned to the right-hand button while equipped. Holding down the right-hand button causes the player to enter a zen state before drawing their bow and aiming high. Arrow base power scales to 100% of base max damage over the first 0.9 seconds of draw time while 60 energy is drained from the player's energy pool. When the arrow is released, it flies in a high arc and splits into three arrows after 1 second of flight. At the split point, the outer two arrows' flight directions deviate from the original arrow's flight direction by 10 degrees, and only the center arrow will actually pass through the position of the cursor at the time of release (the outer arrows, however, will usually be fairly close).

Killing a procedurally generated monster with a bow or thrown hunting weapon greatly increases the chance of obtaining food. Bipedal monsters will drop either Raw Steak or Leather, quadrupedal monsters will drop either Raw Steak, Raw Ribs or Leather, and flying monsters will drop Raw Poultry. Swimming monsters, both large and small, have the same item drop chances regardless of whether a hunting weapon dealt the killing blow.

Killing a Unique Monster with a bow or thrown hunting weapon usually improves the chance of obtaining meat and unique drops. However, unique monsters that do not drop meat will continue to not drop meat, resulting in a still-considerable chance of getting nothing from killing certain unique monsters with hunting weapons.

NPC-Exclusive Bows

Avian and Glitch NPCs, rather than using guns to attack from range, generally use one of three NPC-exclusive bows. The NPC Bow and the NPC Tungsten Bow, similar in appearance to the Hunting Bow and the Tungsten Hunting Bow, respectively, deal physical damage; the NPC Fire Bow, which also looks like the Hunting Bow, instead deals fire damage with its flaming arrows. All three NPC bows have the same base damage characteristics as the Hunting Bow; however, since NPCs cannot use alt abilities, these weapons have Bow Shot as their sole ability.

Whips

Whips are a set of Unique Weapons with a limited range. When a location on screen is clicked, the whip will hit that location a short time later if it is within range - otherwise, it will extend as far as it can toward the location. Like other melee weapons, aiming occurs relative to the player, so both player and target movements can affect whether a whip attack hits its target.

Throwing Weapons

Thrown weapons are those which are thrown at enemies for a variety of attacks and effects. These weapons do not consume energy, making them ideal as backup weapons. They are aimed like other ranged weapons.

Boomerangs

Boomerang type throwing weapons are not consumed on use and return to the player after being thrown. The behavior and damage of each of these weapons is unique.

Boomerangs and Chakrams deflect off walls, and in many cases their thrown behavior is different if they strike a surface. Chakram-type thrown weapons tend to return immediately to the player after hitting any surface, but boomerang-type thrown weapons do not exhibit this behavior - instead, they merely bounce off of the surface and continue along a new trajectory.

Consumable Throwables

Consumable thrown weapons are consumed when thrown, meaning the player has a finite supply and can run out. There are two main lines of consumable throwing weapons:

-The thrown hunting weapons, which include the Hunting Spear, the Iron Hunting Spear, the Javelin and the Energy Javelin, have high damage but slow throwing rates. Like bows, these items, when they deal the killing blow, cause monsters to drop meat and unique drops more often.

-The throwing weapons, which include Throwing Darts, Throwing Daggers, Throwing Axes, Throwing Knifes, Throwing Kunai and Throwing Stars, are more useful against multiple targets due to their (generally) fast throwing rates.

Other throwing items vary in terms of combat effectiveness, and some of them are not meant for killing at all.

Shields

Shields are 1-Handed "weapons" that do not deal damage but instead allow the player to block a limited amount of incoming damage. If the damage dealt to the player overwhelms the shield's limit, it temporarily breaks, forcing the player to lower the shield and wait for the shield's health to begin to regenerate (this takes 2 seconds) before they can raise the shield again to block attacks.

If a shield is raised just before an attack hits it, the shield will absorb the attack without taking damage - this move is called a perfect block. Mastering this move greatly improves effective shield durability.

There are two main varieties of shields. Small shields, distinguished by their round shape, have a 0.5-second cooldown but only have a base health of 25 before tier multipliers. Large shields, distinguished by their kite-like shape, have a base health of 35 before tier multipliers, but suffer from a 0.7-second cooldown.

All characters can craft the Basic Shield, which has 20 health and a 0.45-second cooldown.

References

  1. http://playstarbound.com/procedurally-generated-guns-pewpew/