Velocity

Velocity is the speed of a projectile fired from a weapon. Do not confuse this with use time, which is the speed at which an item can be used. For example, the fire rate of the Megashark would be its use time, while how fast the bullets travel as they are fired would be the velocity. The Megashark and Musket have very similar projectile velocities, but the musket has a far inferior use time. Velocity (usually) has no effect on damage; an arrow fired from the same bow will do just as much damage hanging in the air as it would rocketing towards its target. The boulders fired from the Staff of Earth are different, and have a damage bonus based upon velocity.

To add to the confusion, even though this wiki usually refers to the rate at which weapons or tools can be used as use time, in-game, the tooltip descriptions of use time are described as "speed". Hence, in this wiki, velocity and speed are two different things, in spite of normally being synonyms.

The higher your weapon's velocity, the sooner you will hit your target and you won't have to "lead" your shots nearly as much if you're trying to hit a moving target. This is an advantage that may prove very useful when fighting bosses. Different weapons can fire at higher or lower velocities in and of themselves. Weapons that use arrows essentially fire at lower velocities but do more damage. In contrast, bullet firing weapons fire at higher velocities but don't do as much damage. The difference is substantial when using a bow for a while and then immediately switching to a gun. Modifiers and different kinds of ammunition can affect your weapon's velocity for the better or worse. Some weapons don't always have constant and consistent velocity patterns; For example, the Demon Scythe fires a projectile which starts out with minimal, but slowly increasing, velocity. The Magical Harp's note projectiles have a velocity based upon how far from the player character you click. The Cursed Flames increase in velocity every time they bounce.

Many projectiles have a sudden and significant decrease in velocity when impacting liquids like water. (Some projectiles, especially flame-related ones, are immediately destroyed upon impacting water.) In the case of bullets and many magical projectiles, the projectiles have a "lifespan" that causes the projectile to disappear after a certain period of time has passed, regardless of distance traveled. This means water can significantly reduce not just velocity, but also the range of those weapons.

On another note, bullets and some magic projectiles, among a few others, are not affected by gravity; they will maintain their velocity as you shoot straight up as opposed to slowing down and eventually falling. This can be considered an advantage for guns that makes up for its inferior damage.