Flails

Flails are weapons that can be used in a limited ranged manner, but inflict melee damage. A Flail consists of an object linked to the player by a chain, and is automatically reeled back in after being thrown.

Types
There are two styles of Flails: thrown and launched.

Thrown
Thrown flails have special mechanics unlike any other weapon. Holding down will cause the flail to be rapidly swung around the player, dealing half of the flail's listed damage. Letting go of during this state will throw the flail in the direction of the mouse cursor, dealing full damage and piercing enemies infinitely. After the flail is thrown, holding again will cause the flail to suddenly drop to the ground and stay there, dealing contact damage to enemies for as long as  is held.

Launched
Launched flails lack the physics of thrown flails, cannot pierce, and cannot be swung around by holding the attack button. However, they make up for this by firing rapidly and being unaffected by gravity (except for the Anchor). This generally makes it easier to aim launched flails, particularly upwards, and grants them higher damage potential. Rather than smoothly stretching and then swinging back, a launched flail will extend at a fixed speed until it strikes a block or reaches its maximum length, and then retract at a slightly faster fixed speed. Most launched flails can auto-fire &mdash; this makes them extremely effective at short ranges. Enemies that are vulnerable to knockback can be pushed away easily, and enemies that are immune to knockback, like bosses, can be quickly dealt a large amount of damage by the rapidly-firing flail.

History
철퇴류 连枷