This is a page explaining each attribute of a given weapon. These attributes are listed in the order of which they appear on the weapon editor in Pfiffel’s DPS tool. Many of these attributes may also apply to abilities as well.
Projectile speed is the speed at which projectiles travel in a straight line away from the player. A weapon’s projectile speed is typically listed on this wiki as tiles per second (t/s). If a weapon’s projectile speed is set to 0, then the projectile will remain stationary (see Void Blade). A weapon’s projectile speed is not shown in-game.
Tezcacoatl’s Tail is an example of a weapon with a very high projectile speed (22.5 t/s).
The Indomptable is an example of a weapon with a very low (but above zero) projectile speed (7 t/s).
Projectile lifetime is the amount of time (measured in milliseconds or seconds) that the projectile remains in existence. When a weapon is fired, the projectile fired travels at its designated speed until it has reached the end of its lifetime. Weapons with very fast projectiles tend to have relatively short projectile lifetimes, and vice versa. Like projectile speed, a weapon’s projectile lifetime is not shown in-game.
The Symbiotic Ripper is an example of a weapon with a long-lasting projectile (747 ms).
The Etherite Dagger is an example of a weapon with a very short-lived projectile (240 ms).
A weapon’s range is the length (measured in tiles) of which any weapon’s projectiles will reach out to. A weapon’s projectile speed and lifetime are both used to determine the exact range of the weapon.
Projectile Speed (in t/s) * Projectile Lifetime (in seconds) = Range (in tiles)
For example, a tiered sword has a projectile speed of 10 t/s and a projectile lifetime of 350 ms. If we combine those measurements using the above formula, we get this:
10 t/s * .35 seconds = rr = 3.5 tiles
Unlike projectile speed and lifetime, a weapon’s range is shown in-game. For additional clarity, the typical visual length of a tile is 50 pixels (assuming you are playing the game at its normal 800x600 resolution). So a tiered sword has a range of 175 pixels.
A projectile’s amplitude is the existence of a sine wave pattern in each projectile. If this value is set to 0 (like it is on most weapons besides staves), the projectiles will fly straight and true. If the value is set to any number above zero, the shots will adopt a sine wave pattern with a width dependent on the amplitude value. The value of a projectile’s amplitude correlates directly with the range (in tiles) that a projectile will deviate perpendicularly from the straight line of aim. A projectile with an amplitude of 1, for example, will deviate no more than 1 tile away from the line of aim. The width (in tiles) of the path the projectile travels will always be twice that of the amplitude value. Amplitude will not affect the forward speed of a projectile, and thus will not affect a weapon’s range lengthwise.
Tiered staves are known for having sine-wave pattern shots; the amplitude value on these weapons is set to 0.5 tiles, meaning that the staff shots deviate no more than a half-tile away from the line of aim. This said, the maximum width of the staff’s shot pattern is one tile.
A projectile’s amplitude frequency is the amount of times a projectile is allowed to complete a full sine wave. For instance, any weapon with a frequency value of 1 (such as the Doku no Ken) will have projectiles that sway fully to one side, true up at the middle of its range, then sway to the other side before truing up again exactly before it disappears. In other words, the projectile forms the path of a complete sine wave before disappearing. Tiered staves have a frequency value of 2, meaning that each projectile will complete two sine waves before disappearing. The value of this attribute is irrelevant to a weapon unless the amplitude value is set to a number above zero. In addition, a projectile will always complete f sine waves before disappearing (f being the value that frequency is set to), regardless of the actual range of the weapon.
A weapon that fires wavy shots will fire shots that have an increasing amplitude as the projectile travels farther away from the player.
A weapon with parametric shots will fire in a fixed figure-eight pattern. The projectile will traverse the entire figure eight before disappearing, regardless of the actual projectile’s lifetime value.
All weapons will fire at least one projectile for each use, but many weapons offer the ability to fire multiple projectiles per use. Tiered bows between 8 and 13 will fire three projectiles per use. Weapons that fire multiple shots can potentially do more damage than single-shot weapons, but at the cost of enemy defense affecting the weapons by a factor of how many shots are fired per use.
A weapon’s arc gap is the radial distance (in degrees) at which each projectile is spaced apart. If this value is set to 0, every shot fired by the weapon will fly directly toward the point of aim. Tiered bows between 8 and 13 have an arc gap of 8 degrees, meaning that each of the three projectiles are spread 8 degrees apart. A wider arc gap allows for a wider area of which enemies will be hit by projectiles, but the true range (the farthest one can stand from an enemy while still landing every shot per use) is also reduced.
For any weapon that has an amplitude and an odd number of shots fired per use, each shot will alternate between firing a projectile with a positive (left-right) and negative (right-left) sine wave pattern. If a weapon fires two shots that both have amplitude (tiered staves), then there is no alternation and both shots will always have a consistent sine wave pattern.
The relationship between shot count and amplitude can cause anomalies with certain amplitude-using weapons or abilities that have an even number of projectiles fired per use (such as the Nectar Crossfire). It causes the shot pattern of these weapons to change whenever an odd number of projectiles are fired in between the use of the affected weapons (by use of an ability or another weapon). This theoretically also affects tiered staves, but because staves do not have an arc gap, the affliction is not noticable, nor will it affect the usability of the weapon.
Many weapons have a rate of fire modifier that cause them to fire faster or slower than tiered weapons depending on what the modifier is set to. The rate of fire modifier is typically shown as a percentage (normal tiered weapons have a 100% rate of fire modifier and thus are unaffected).
The Doom Bow is an example of a weapon with a slow rate of fire (33% modifier).
The Thousand Shot has a high rate of fire (200% modifier).
Weapon damage is typically listed in-game as a minimum and maximum value. For example, the Archon Sword has a minimum damage value of 210 and a maximum damage value of 255. The highest damage number is never rolled on any weapon, and thus the maximum damage value is one less than the number shown in-game. This said, the average damage of each weapon is one-half less than the average of the min-max values would indicate. The numbers shown in-game are before the attack stat comes into play, and are thus only truly accurate for a character that has 25 ATT.
A weapon with this attribute will fire projectiles that pierce through every enemy that they happen to hit within their lifetime. There is no limit as to how many enemies can be hit by a single piercing projectile. Bows, katanas, and wands typically have piercing projectiles, while daggers, staves, and swords typically do not.
A weapon with this attribute will fire projectiles that do the same amount of damage to any enemy, regardless of the amount of defense the enemy possesses. No weapon type typically possesses this attribute, but all weapon types except bows and katanas have at least one weapon capable of armor piercing. Oryx’s Greatsword is an example of an armor-piercing weapon.
A weapon with this attribute will fire projectiles that are unaffected by certain obstacles that would block other shots. No weapon type typically possesses this attribute. The Wand of the Bulwark and Kazekiri are examples of weapons that are capable of firing through these obstacles.
Most weapons do not provide stat bonuses on their own. However, there are a few exceptions:
Typical weapons for each type are divided into tiers. Weapons of higher tier are typically more powerful than the weapons of the lower tiers. Weapons that have unusual attributes are designated as “untiered” (UT). Weapons that belong to a special themed set are designated “ST”. Weapons with UT or ST designations may or may not be more practical than a tiered weapon of the same type.