Guide to the Weapon Workshop

Overview

The guide to the Weapon Workshop:Comments thread for potential ideas.Intended for newer players – does not cover advanced techniques but rather, skims over the basic concepts and how to use them.

Weapon types:

Kinetic weapons are the simplest type of weapon. They deal minimal elemental damage but deal the most basic damage of all the weapon types.

Use this for weaponry intended to kill non-lava creatures.

Plasma weapons deal elemental damage. This type lights the enemy on fire.
Like ice, fire spreads to blocks within its vicinity. Fire slowly damages the blocks lit.

Cyro weapons deal elemental damage. This type freezes the enemy.
Like fire, ice spreads to blocks directly near it. Ice cripples any abilites the block may possess and prevents them from activating. A frozen thruster for example will not be able to propell you.

Bio weapons grow terrain back. For all your terraforming needs!

Weapons

Blasters are the mainstay of most drones. Blasters stand out due to their:
High fire rate,
Good damage,
and their Medium range.

With upgrades, blasters can fill any role. But generally they don’t fit any individual role.

Best upgrade set for damage: Minigun, Shot++, Damage++ or Firerate++.

Best upgrade set for spam: Energy, Energy+, Shot++.

Jack of all trades, Master of none.

Flamethrowers deal better damage then blasters but gain less range. Semi useful for digging. However they are best used as elemental sidearms.
They are known for their
Insane fire rate,
Very good damage,
but low range.

With upgrades, flamethrowers can fit most roles. The roles they do fit in they do so greatly.

Best upgrade set for damage: Speed++, Lifetime++, ElmDamage++

Best upgrade set for digging: Digging++, Digging+, Bouncy projectiles.

Since grenade launchers no longer are impacted by projectile speed buffs, they lost their main use as a sniping weapon. They don’t fit many nieches.

Grenade launchers are best known for their high damage and accuracy considering their ease to spam.

With upgrades, Grenade launchers can’t fit many roles. Usually you are better off with rockets.

Best upgrade set overall: Shot++, Sticky, Minigun or Damage++.

With more range comes less damage and mining. Ironically better for mining then short laser.

They are best known for their
Powerful digging
Long range
But not much else.

With upgrades, long lasers dig better and be longer.

Best upgrade set for digging: Penetrating laser, Range++, Digging++
I feel like there is a joke to be made here.

Best upgrade set for cool times: ElmDamage+, ElmDamage, Range++

With less range comes more damage and mining. Ironically better for damage then long laser.

They are tagged with:
Short range
Good damage
Nothing else however.

With upgrades, short lasers can defeat enemies better then even the blaster at times.

Best upgrade set for damage: Attracting laser or Penetrating laser, Damage++, Range>Time.

Best upgrade set for doing everything: Damage++, Beams++, Digging++

It is possible to argue that this is better then the blaster. It is up to you to decide what you like.
Rockets deal good damage,
good fire rate,
poor spread.

With upgrades, a single rocket launcher can lag your game out.

Best upgrade set for groups: Cluster rockets, Big explosion, Shot++ or Homing

Best upgrade set for single target: Accuracy++, Homing, Shot++

Best upgrade set for spam: Cluster rockets, Minigun, Homing rockets.

No game with guns in it leaves out the Shotgun. A close range damage dealer and good vs groups and single targets.

With upgrades, shotguns can take on many close range damage roles.
This is the weapon in which bullet speed matters more then ever.

Best upgrade set for damage and groups: Shot++, Shootforce++, Accuracy+

Best upgrade set for digging: Shot++, Digging++, Digging+

An obsolete side-grade to the flamethrower. Higher spread in exchange for ricochet bullets. Can’t access many of the flamethrower upgrades.

Good for maybe digging.

Best upgrade set overall: Digging++, ElmDamage++, Digging+

If it can get projec-gravity, then it would be the best mining weapon currently besides Plaser.

The most damage in a single shot. Comes with perfect accuracy and bspeed. And insane recoil.

Known for its insane damage
and low fire rate
and high recoil.

With upgrades, it is possible to let Sniper one-shot one of the large rocket-shooting test enemies.

Best upgrade set for damage: Shot++, Damage++, Shot+ or Rate++

Best upgrade set for long-range shotgun?: Shot++, BigExplosions, Accuracy-.

Notable Upgrades

Shot++
(This is my opinion!)
The best upgrade. For no energy cost you get 4x the potential damage, plus group damage.

Minigun

Over time, more shots and fire rate, but more energy cost. Also sometimes considered the best upgrade. Sadly additional energy cost is the last thing you want on bullet weapons and rockets.

Damage++, Digging++, ElmDamage++

Do more damage vs things. Good slot fillers (except on sniper where they’re needed for anything)
Damage++ damages enemies, Digging++ damages the ground, ElmDamage++ only benefits you if you choose to not use kinetic.

Accuracy++

Be more accurate. When a group damage weapon does little single damage, use this!

If you want to retain some group damage, use Accuracy+.

Recoil–

Reduce recoil to allow things to be used on small drones. Best used with sniper and shotgun.

Recoil++ allows you to gain recoil. Unorthodox use on snipers to instantly activate afterburners.

Penetrating Laser

Without this, lasers would be obsolete. Instant group damage, Insane mining, overall the best laser upgrade.

Beams++ / Beams>time

Sometimes used by mining lasers, although not very useful out of mining. May see combat use.

Flame gravity

I AM A DRONE AND IM DIGGING A HOLE
DIGGY DIGGY HOLE
DIGGING A HOLE

Flame Lifetime++

Use this, or Flame Speed++, to allow your flamethrowers to do damage.

I have no idea why it works, but a Flamespeed++, flame lifetime++, ricochet flames flamethrower can do damage.

Homing

death Rockets follow your cursor. To kill something, hold left click and put your mouse on it.

Cluster / Big explosion

Clean house. Group damage is the name of the game when you are using these.

Ironically sniper, a bullet weapon, can use these. Meaning sniper does have group damage potential. which is rare for sniper weapons in video games.

It is said that one who finds a way to get a kinetic minigun homing ricochet rocket launcher will be the king of the world.