Sandgun

The Sandgun is a ranged weapon that can use Sand, Pearlsand, Ebonsand, or Crimsand as its ammunition, which are affected by gravity. When the sand projectile hits any object, it will turn into a clump of Sand Blocks that will gather on the ground.

When Pearlsand, Ebonsand, or Crimsand are used as ammo, each have the added effect of piercing through enemies.

If infected sand is used as ammo, damage is increased internally by 5. However, all sand blocks have default damage value of -1, reducing Sandgun's actual damage by 1.

In contrast to most non-explosive weapons, it is possible for a player firing the Sandgun to hit themselves and cause damage. Falling sand will also cause damage to any and all players.

Tips
The Sandgun is incredibly strong for when it can be obtained, outperforming the Phoenix Blaster in raw damage. However, the resulting sand can impede the player. Consider using a Featherfall Potion and shooting downwards to avoid the falling sand.


 * Because of this, using the Sandgun to fight against the Wall of Flesh can be effective because the boss forces the player to continually move away. However, fallen sand can disrupt placed stairs, meaning a hell bridge made of platforms might have to be repaired after the battle.
 * While regular sand can only hit one enemy before falling, the falling sand ball will deal considerable damage to enemies it strikes as it falls. While the sand can't damage NPCs as a missile, suffocation can hurt NPCs.


 * The Sandgun can function as a more reliable (albeit slower to spread) version of Thrown Water due to its ability to shoot sand of all types.
 * The ability to place sand can be useful in blocking tunnels or filling lava-filled gaps from a distance.
 * Shooting the Gun downward while on the ground will cause the player to automatically rise one block. This can be handy in reaching Space with low effort.
 * The Gravedigger's Shovel can synergize very well with the sandgun. Both are obtainable once a new world starts with no prior requirements (other than to craft them) and the shovel can dig up massive quantities of ammo for the sandgun and allow for very quick and easy sand clean-up without relying on explosives or higher tier pickaxes. However, it requires a graveyard mini-biome to be present, which may be difficult/impossible to obtain very early on for hardcore characters.
 * An effective way to utilize the sandgun in an arena without creating a mess is to utilize a placed entity that entities pass through which will count as a block to the environment, such as minecart tracks or torches. Using these will allow sand to no longer pile up, as it is destroyed or turned into a ground item, allowing for no sand build up and easy sand recovery.
 * This can be done relatively cheaply using the previously mentioned minecart tracks and torches, as minecart tracks are cheap to craft, meaning a decently sized arena can be set up with just a few lead/iron bars and wood worth of rails. Even a hellbridge spanning thousands of blocks won't require much. However, sand will still place on fireplaces, so the player will need to adjust rail placement to accommodate.

Sand Farming
The Sandgun is affected by boosts that reduce ammo usage, allowing it to create more sand than what was used as ammo, which translates to "sand farming".


 * For the actual multiplying of the sand, start with the Ammo Box and/or Ammo Reservation Potion, then add an armor that provides ammo reservation; see "Ammo Reservation" below for more detail.
 * Firing that much sand takes time; using a modifier of Rapid or Frenzying can improve speed over Unreal, but even with the better modifiers, you will likely need a second potion, and perhaps another visit to the Ammo Box.


 * In 1.4, the player can stand next to a torch with a ceiling or wall handy above, and shoot the sand so that it hits the blocks and then falls onto the torch. The falling sand will be itemized and immediately picked up, and all the player needs to do is to hold down the fire button. (However, firing directly at the torch will simply destroy the sand.)
 * With Fossil Armor, an Ammo Box, and no distractions, a player can just create a full stack of sand in the duration of an Ammo Reservation Potion.
 * Before pausing to catch some critters or whatever, consider that with the above setup, a player is effectively earning 14-20 silver pieces (above their gems' value) per second while sand-farming.
 * For pre-1.4 platforms, sand farming is more involved, requiring letting the Sandgun pile up the sand and then mining it yourself. Farming a full stack of sand will fill a large part of the screen, and will take the better part of a day.
 * It may be worthwhile to set up a high drop over a flat area, say 30×70, for easier collection.
 * For collection, a fast pickaxe is a must. (See also the Mining speed page for hints.)
 * Before Hardmode, the best is the Bone Pickaxe. Afterwards, use the Hardmode ore pickaxes until Plantera unlocks the Shroomite Digging Claw.
 * Any of the modifiers Legendary, Deadly, Agile, and Nasty, or Light will give the best mining speed (they vary in melee speed and other statistics).
 * A Mining Potion will speed up collecting the sand, as will Mining armor and a Sun/Moon/Celestial Stone or Celestial Shell. Food helps a bit too.
 * Using Bombs or Dynamite to farm needed Sand can be less time-intensive, but expensive and less precise. You can also place Explosives beforehand, wire them to a safely distant switch, then pile the sand up around the explosives for a perfect blast.

Ammo Reservation
Ammo reservation is a feature provided by two buffs and several armor sets, that lets a variety of weapons and tools have a chance to avoid consuming ammunition when they otherwise would do so. It affects not just guns, but arrows, rocket launchers, more eccentric weapons (including the Sandgun), and even tools such as the Clentaminator.

For purposes of maximizing ammo reservation, start with the Ammo Box and/or Ammo Reservation Potion, each of which give 20%, stacking with each other and with armor. The earlier armor options have changed a bit in 1.4:


 * Before Hardmode, the only option is Fossil Armor or Necro armor (both 20%).
 * In Hardmode, Cobalt Armor (with Mask) and Mythril Armor (with Hat) share a 20% set bonus before or after 1.4.
 * Adamantite Armor (with Mask) improves that to 25%. Before 1.4,  so does Hallowed armor (with Helmet).
 * After defeating Plantera, the Shroomite Breastplate and Chlorophyte Helmet each give 20% as individual pieces, so combining them can beat any set bonus. With these plus the Ammo Box and the Ammo Reservation Potion, a player can double their sand in a single pass.
 * After the endgame, the Vortex Breastplate (25% bonus) can replace the Shroomite Breastplate.

Trivia

 * The Sandgun's sprite resembles the Illegal Gun Parts that are used to craft it.
 * This is because when the Sandgun was introduced, it was the only item to use Illegal Gun Parts in its recipe.
 * The Sandgun is the only weapon crafted at a Furnace.
 * Despite the large cost to obtain this weapon ( /   for Illegal Gun Parts, and getting 10 Antlion Mandibles can be tedious because of the low drop rate), its sell price is absurdly low, reducing the potential cost that a player will need to get a good modifier.
 * It is the only gun-styled weapon whose ammunition can be retrieved.
 * The gun works with the same mechanics that the Antlion uses. This is why antlion mandibles are used to craft the gun.
 * Despite Amber being found exclusively in Desert biomes and has a much more close relation to sand, the Sandgun uses Topaz in its crafting recipe. This is likely because the Sandgun was introduced before Amber was.
 * It is possible the name is a pun on Handgun.