Pulse Bow



The Pulse Bow is a unique pre-Plantera Hardmode bow that auto-fires a high-velocity glowing light blue bolt, which is unaffected by gravity, will pierce enemies, can ricochet, and flies for 3.5 seconds (about 480 tiles) before dissipating. It is purchased from the Traveling Merchant for gold.

The projectile can pierce or ricochet five times in total, dissipating upon the sixth hit. Each ricochet causes the bolt to pierce one less enemy and vice versa.

Like other bows and repeaters, it can use any arrow type as ammunition. However, the Pulse Bow converts all arrows to its special bolt. Normal effects of various arrow types are canceled, except for their damage statistic. The Pulse Bow has a base critical strike chance as opposed to the usual 4%.

The Traveling Merchant will use it for self-defense once a world is in Hardmode.

Tips

 * Its piercing and ricochet abilities make it useful in confined spaces, such as the Dungeon.
 * If shot at the right angle, the Pulse Bow's projectiles can ricochet through one-block walls. This appears to happen when the projectile hits a block at an entry angle of 40 to 50 degrees, and is easier to pull off when first bouncing the projectile off of another surface. This useful trick can be used in many situations to attack enemies behind cover.
 * Because the Pulse Bow cancels additional arrow effects, damage is the only factor that should be considered in choosing an arrow type. The highest base damage of  /   can currently be achieved with Venom Arrows.
 * The Endless Quiver will work as usual, allowing the Pulse Bow to fire bolts indefinitely.
 * This weapon is very similar to the Stake Launcher, both firing piercing projectiles unaffected by gravity and suitable for crowd control on flat arenas. On the versions, their  (with Venom Arrows) is approximately equal, but the Pulse Bow is affected by the Archery Potion, pushing its damage higher, while the Stake Launcher is not. On the other hand, Stakes can hit up to ten enemies, while pulse bolts only manage six, and their damage decreases each time they pierce.
 * On the, the Stake Launcher is affected by the Archery Potion, and on the the Stake Launcher received a stat increase, thus making it superior to the Pulse Bow in most occasions.

Trivia

 * The Pulse Bow's color scheme is similar to that of Shroomite equipment.
 * The changelog for claims an increased damage reduction of 20% per hit (instead of 10%). This was not put into effect, however.
 * The Pulse Bow has the highest listed base damage of all bows in the game.