What is the best weapon for ranged class to get right after beating plantera (don't tell me something you get for beating aliens)

Post-Plantera Ranged Weapon Analysis

As with the first iteration - melee weapons - testing is done in such a way as to prevent extrinsic factors influencing the quantitative element of the discussion:

• Single-target dummy

• 5, 10, 15, 20 block distances with exclusions as relevant (omitting adjecency, since this is ranged combat)

• No buffs, armor, or special ammunition

• No affixes (Modifiers) on any weapons

• No enemies in a position to be hit by weapons

• Firing so that shots hit the target only one time each

• Firing so that as many shots in any given salvo hit the target (middle of fire cones, elevated/declined for close grouping, etc.)

• All tests conducted with Endless Musket Pouch, Endless Quiver, and a shitload of Rockets I.

Entries use the following template:

<Weapon Name> DMG/Crit%/Use Speed (DMG/C%/US) DPS 5blocks/10/15/20 <Qualitative assessment>

At the end of the entry is a ridiculously subjective tier list where I arrange the weapons in tiers of utility according to overall utility, personal experience, and boyish whimsy.

Test Result Entries

Venus Magnum

38/4%/7 frames

DPS: 313/same (all ranges)

Plantera-dropped pistol. No autofire, but this does very good DPS if you can click rapidly or set up a keyboard macro to click quickly in your stead. I can already tell that this test will cause carpal tunnel. Due to identical Use Times, the DPS is theoretically much better than the Megashark, but also requires a good deal more user consistency and input. Performs much better against high-defense enemies due to the high base damage. Of final note is the extremely high projectile velocity, which makes it hard to miss if the enemy is onscreen.

Tactical Shotgun

29 (x6)/4%/33 frames

DPS: 494/312/263/170

Tactical Skeleton-dropped shotgun. Autofire is nice, and at point-blank range this does very hefty DPS. The cost is a significant falloff with even a small amount of distance, making it a great candidate for chlorophyte or crystal bullets for tracking or mass suppression, respectively. Strong knockback makes it a decent candidate for a ranger needing to keep enemies at arm's length.

Sniper Rifle

185/29%/35 frames

DPS: 342/same (all ranges)

Sniper Skeleton-dropped rifle. No autofire. DPS is not a very effective representation of the utility/power of this weapon due to the slow speed and exceedingly high damage/critical hit chance. Stacking damage modifiers can make this hit like a truck, great for chunky damage against even the highest defense; additional crit chance magnifies this effect. Not the most practical weapon for skirmishes, but great for killing enemies from relative safety. Same high bullet velocity as the Venus Magnum, making it very much a point-and-hit weapon.

Grenade Launcher

60/4%/29 frames

DPS: 230/same (all test ranges) (100% splash)

Plantera-dropped launcher. Autofire enabled. This weapon's single-target DPS is acceptable though unremarkable, but it really shines when confronting large groups of enemies. With 100% splash damage and a reasonable rate of fire, this weapon effectively multiplies its DPS by the number of clustered targets - though they will not live long. Projectiles are slow andobey ballistic motion, however, so the weapon loses effectiveness at long range or against highly mobile targets.

Rocket Launcher

50/4%/29 frames

DPS: 175/same (all test ranges) (100% splash)

Skeleton Commando-dropped launcher. Autofire enabled. Essentially a sidegrade of the Grenade Launcher, trading some damage per-hit for projectiles that ignore gravity. Easier to aim, but less overall destruction if both weapons are simultaneously viable.

Proximity Mine Launcher

80/4/39 frames

DPS: 185/same (all test ranges)

Cyborg-sold launcher. Autofire enabled. Essentially another sidegrade of the grenade launcher. Less direct DPS, but can be used to set up an extemporaneous trap by scattering proximity mines along a floor. Very short range even compared to the grenade launcher.

Piranha Gun

38/4%/29 frames (8 for the piranha)

DPS: 296/all ranges

Jungle biome chest-looted unique gun. Unique mode of attack - this weapon fires a single piranha that latches onto the first enemy it strikes and then bites that enemy until the attack button is released or the enemy dies. If the enemy dies, the piranha moves to the nearest living enemy to repeat the process. Wonderful weapon for attacking an enemy from relative safety, and the piranha gains modifier benefits on initial firings from the weapon only. Very solid single-target DPS, but not great at killing groups of enemies due to the delay between piranha latchings and the ability to attack only one enemy at a time.

Pulse Bow

65/11%/21 frames

DPS: 233/all ranges

Traveling Merchant-sold bow. Causes fired arrows to pierce enemies/rebound from solid blocks until any combination of six impacts occurs, with the arrow dissipating on the sixth. Single target damage can be enhanced somewhat by the rebound effect, hitting one enemy up to three times if aimed well. Excellent for groups due to the six-enemy piercing maximum. Good damage, and when used on groups can easily clear 1200 DPS. Rebounds also allow for creative trick-shots to fight from safety.

Tsunami

60 (x5)/4%/23 frames

DPS: 867/all ranges (low gravitational influence)

Duke Fishron-dropped bow. Not strictly post-Plantera since Fishron can be killed prior, but Fishron is generally a more difficult (and optional) boss and will come later in progression. Fires five arrows abreast with each shot, each capable of separate ammunition proc effects. Even with wooden arrows, this bow has excellent DPS and more than enough base damage to be effective against even high-defense enemies. Combined with various arrow types (particularly Holy arrows, or Luminite arrows postgame), it can provide a withering stream of damage against any foe. Only major drawbacks are clustered shots - meaning that missing badly interrupts DPS - and somewhat low projectile velocity.

Nail Gun

85/4%/14 frames

DPS: 588/same (all test ranges)

Nailhead-dropped launcher. Autofire enabled. Quickly fires small nails which remain in the enemy or surface they impact for a brief period before exploding. Nails do very minor damage, but explosion does significantly higher damage than nail + gun damage combined and deals splash damage. Strong single-target weapon with a high capacity for crowd control and multi-hitting due to the AoE effect of the explosions. Limited at long range by projectile ballistics and moderate projectile velocity.

Stake Launcher

75/14%/25 frames

DPS: 243/same (all ranges)

Mourning Wood-dropped bow. Autofire enabled. Fires stakes that ignore gravity and infinitely pierce enemies for full damage, making it a superb crowd control weapon and strong against enemies vulnerable to piercing. High base damage and critical hit chance make this an effective all-purpose weapon. Gains arrow bonuses from Shroomite/Magic Quiver, but does not benefit from Archery Potions.

Jack O'Lantern Launcher

65/10%/29 frames

DPS: 390/same (all test ranges) (100% splash)

Pumpking-dropped launcher. Autofire enabled. Fires exploding Jack O'Lanterns that double-hit the enemy they strike and deal splash damage to surrounding enemies. Jack O'Lanterns bounce vigorously off solid blocks for roughly 7 seconds. Powerful crowd-control weapon and effectively a much stronger alternative to using Rockets I/III with the Grenade Launcher and its sidegrades. Suffers from relatively low projectile velocity and poor projectile trajectory, but still quite formidable.

Candy Corn Rifle

44/10%/9 frames

DPS: 383/same (all test ranges)

Pumpking-dropped machine gun. Autofire enabled. Fires candy corn projectiles bounce up to five times or pierce up to three enemies; projectiles are affected by gravity. Decent single target damage and quite effective for small-area piercing or minor crowd control. Range suffers significantly in open fields of engagement, however.

Chain Gun

31/4%/4 frames

DPS: 585/547/464/417

Santa-NK1-dropped machine gun. Autofire enabled. Combination of reasonable base damage and exceptionally low Use Time results in a massive number of shots per unit time, but this gun also suffers from a spread of ~45 degrees, comparable to various shotguns. Best paired with explosive/crystal bullets for mass suppression or chlorophyte bullets to shore up its accuracy issues; with the latter the Chain Gun becomes an excellent single-target weapon. Chews through ammunition even with its 50% chance to conserve, so bring many bullets.

Elf Melter

40/4%/30 frames

DPS: 240/same (all test ranges)

Santa-NK1-dropped flamethrower. Autofire enabled. Fires a series of fire-jets each Use Time cycle with a reach of approximately 30 blocks, dealing damage and inflicting the "On Fire!" debuff as well as piercing up to five enemies. Uses common Gel for fuel. Reasonable crowd-control weapon, best suited to destroying weak enemies. The ammunition is noticeably more difficult to procure in large quantities than most, making it something of a niche tool, and the Elf Melter is significantly less effective against enemies with high defense and/or resistance to its signature debuff. Suffers greatly from limited range.

Snowman Cannon

67/4%/15 frames

DPS: 457/same (all ranges) (100% splash)

Ice Queen-dropped launcher. Autofire enabled. Effectively a straight upgrade to the Rocket Launcher, with higher damage, rate of fire, and homing rockets. Effective single-target and staggeringly powerful against crowds or large enemies vulnerable to multi-hitting. Projectile homing is strong enough to allow 180 degree turns in 1-2 blocks' distance, giving the weapon excellent trick-shot capabilities.

Stynger

45/4%/21 frames

DPS: 183/same (all test ranges) (100% splash + splash on shrapnel)

Golem-dropped launcher. Autofire enabled. Fires single large bolts that strike the primary target and adjacent enemies for damage and explode, spawning a collection of lesser shrapnel projectiles that explode upon first contact after they spawn. For a single target, this weapon's DPS is mediocre unless the target moves sufficiently or is large enough to take multiple shrapnel hits. Otherwise, this weapon is an strong tool for crowd control or enemies with clumped segments, as each individual shrapnel projectile has an AoE comparable to the initial bolt. Has a mild spread and moderate projectile velocity, but is not really a weapon built for precision.

Xenopopper

45/4%/20 frames

DPS: 705/same (all test ranges)

Martian Saucer-dropped "shotgun." Autofire enabled. Essentially a twist on the concept of the shotgun, this fires a spread of bubbles which pop after one second and release one shot each in the direction of the cursor. While this weapon requires a bit of acclimation for proper aiming, it is essentially a much more effective version of the shotgun class of weapons, moving from an initial spread of shots to a tight concentration. With chlorophyte bullets this weapon can be an excellent source of consistent damage that allows for more creative movement than might otherwise be possible, while with explosive/crystal bullets it can decimate tight clusters of targets. Definitely leaves something to be desired for large-scale crowd control, but excels in single target damage.

Electrosphere Launcher

40/4%/11 frames

DPS: 624/same (all ranges) (100% splash)

Martian Saucer-dropped launcher. No autofire. A twist of sorts on the Proximity Mine Launcher, this fires a rocket to the location of the cursor at the time of firing, where the rocket establishes an electrical field that lingers and deals continuous damage for ~8 seconds. No limit to the number of simultaneously spawned fields, but new fields overwrite any existing ones that they happen to overlap. Good for holding chokepoints or creating general havoc, but suffers immensely from the need for the intended target(s) to remain in the field for as long as possible. Can wreak havoc on multi-segmented or large enemies with careful placement.

Phantasm

60/4%/12 frames

DPS: 867/same (all test ranges)

Vortex Fragment-crafted bow. Autofire enabled. Fires a group of four arrows per shot in semi-random fashion, resulting in a continuous-looking stream. Fire rate ramps up over the first few seconds of firing, and if continuous damage is maintained on a single live target for more than two seconds the bow begins to fire a separate stream of homing arrows as well. Coupled with Holy or Luminite arrows for the immense proc rate the weapon allows, this bow can output extreme single-target damage. Suffers from lack of utility for multi-target situations and from low effectiveness against enemies that die in under two volleys of arrows due to ramp-up time for firing rate and homing arrows.

Vortex Beater

50/4%/20 frames

DPS: 1059/875/686/452

Vortex Fragment-crafted machine gun. Autofire enabled. Fires bullets as a normal automatic gun and periodically dispenses homing grenades with tracking similar to the Snowman Cannon's rockets; the grenades give the weapon significant flexibility in dealing with both single-target and crowd-control situations. Has a spread of ~30-35 degrees, causing heavy damage falloff at range due to poor accuracy. Best paired with chlorophyte bullets for high single target DPS or with explosive/crystal bullets for area suppression.

Conclusions and Whimsical Tier-list

The types of guns, bows, and launchers available post-Plantera are extremely varied, and straight-up DPS testing is not necessarily the most accurate representation of the effectiveness of many of these due to the special properties - thus getting a feel for any given weapon on this list requires significant qualitative assessment. Nevertheless, some of these weapons do fall flat when compared to others in the endgame, while certain others pull markedly ahead of the pack.

Below is a tier list based on a combination of the above testing entries and my own preference and experience. Remember, it is quite subjective - I may class weapons quite differently than you. Note that the tier names are whimsical and irrelevant, and the tiers are listed from best to worst.

Cheesecake Fantasy Ice Cream-tier (These are great)!

Vortex Beater, Phantasm, Snowman Cannon, Xenopopper

Rhonda Rousey-tier (Pretty good, but not as good as the above).

Tsunami, Chain Gun, Piranha Gun, Nail Gun, Stake Launcher

Peyote-tier (Good. Not exceptional, but also not bad).

Candy Corn Rifle, Electrosphere Launcher. Stynger, Jack O'Lantern Launcher, Venus Magnum, Grenade Launcher

MacBook Air-tier (Niche uses or decent performance, but generally not the best).

Rocket Launcher, Proximity Mine Launcher, Pulse Bow

13in Double Sided Black Dildo-tier (Lacking in overall utility or in efficacy of damage).

Tactical Shotgun, Elf Melter, Sniper Rifle

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