Stake Launcher

The Stake Launcher is a Hardmode, post-Plantera repeater-like weapon that auto-fires Stakes as ammunition. Stakes are not affected by gravity, pierce through 9 enemies, hitting a total of 10 enemies, and travel faster than most other Bow or Repeater projectiles. The Stake Launcher receives a substantial damage boost against Vampires, in which case its damage is increased to nearly 5000 per shot. The Stake Launcher has a base 14% critical strike chance as opposed to the usual 4% as well.

The Stake Launcher is dropped by Mourning Wood during the Pumpkin Moon event, and is always accompanied by 30 to 60 stakes. The rate at which they drop scales based on the wave, starting at 2% from wave 4 and reaching a maximum of 20% during wave 15. Additional stakes are sold by the Witch Doctor and Arms Dealer while the Stake Launcher is in the player's inventory.

Tips

 * The Stake Launcher is easily one of the most powerful ranged weapons obtainable, given its extremely high damage (base of 100 with the stakes), powerful knockback, high velocity, automatic fire, cheap ammunition, and the fact that said ammunition can pierce up to ten times and are not affected by gravity. The only downside would be the fire rate, which is relatively slow in comparison to other high-tier ranged weapons, like the Megashark.
 * This weapon is very effective against multi-segmented enemies, against which its piercing effect can damage multiple segments.

Trivia

 * The Stake Launcher's damage bonus references vampire folklore, in which the only way to completely kill a vampire is to drive a wooden stake through its heart.

History
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