Weapon worthy of a giants slayer/Kevin's old idea - The Blunderbuss

[Hudxesonael]

Introduction:

Before the age of modern weapons the firearms in use were far from perfect.

 

One of them was the grandfather of the shotgun - The Blunderbuss. Muzzle-loading, short ranged with a large caliber barrel. A deadly weapon with serious drawbacks.

 

Concept:

Ranged weapon that will need 2 inventory slots - 1 for the firearm with a rammer and 1 for the ammunition.

Blunderbuss will have 2 states - unloaded and loaded (self-explanatory).

Unlocked with the Alchemy Engine and requiring: 6 Gold Nuggets, 4 Boards, 2 Gears to craft.

Ammunition will need: 1 Gold Nugget, 1 Gunpowder and 1 Papyrus.

 

Loading the weapon will take 6 seconds.

The weapon will deal 150 points of damage (enough to kill a Hound with a 1 shot).

 

Additional rules:

• Being attacked while loading will interrupt the whole process and makes the ammunition fall to the ground;
• The gun won't be able to fire while being wet;
• Loading a wet piece of ammunition will cause the gun to become wet;
• While on the ground it can catch fire and explode just like in the case of gunpowder;
• Each shot should decrease the weapons durability by 5%;
• Shooting it will leave a small but dense cloud of smoke and the gunfire will light up the surround area for a split of a second (even in complete dark);
• Shoots should aggro monster from a larger area than a normal weapon;
• For each Blunderbuss that you carry your movement speed will decrease by 15%;
• Shorter range than a Boomerang.

Much was said about ranged weapons in the past - how they would influence the game and even break its balance. I think that with an addition of the mentioned unique characteristics, a weapon such as The Blunderbuss can be safely added to the Don't Starve's arsenal. The long loading time will limit its use and make it the '1st hit weapon' after firing which you will most likely draw your melee sidearm. Players might start carrying multiple rifles of this type but their speed debuff will ensure that their firepower won't get abused. Using few Blunderbusses that lay waiting on the ground associates an explosion hazard as each of them can easily catch fire and start a devastating chain reaction.

 

Possible concept modification:

Depending on the ease of implementation, the fire mechanism can be made so multiple (about 5) shots are being fired in a cone and each one dealing 30 damage to the first creature that it hits. This will make the weapon less predictable and more resambling a real life Blunderbuss.

This weapon might also be allowed to fire 'improvised ammunition ' made with more common substitute materials (Flint or Rocks instead of Gold Nuggets) that decrease the firearms durability by (let's say) 25% per use.

[TeSrOy]

I would say maybe nitre instead of the 6 gold nuggets, just because it needs another use and maybe flint for the ammo or different types of ammo that do different things. Overall seems a pretty decent idea, just unsure that they would implement it.

[Hudxesonael]

 

I would say maybe nitre instead of the 6 gold nuggets, just because it needs another use

 

Nitre is already part of the Gunpowder recipe which is needed for the ammunition.

 

maybe flint for the ammo or different types of ammo that do different things.

 

That's a good point.

 

Overall seems a pretty decent idea, just unsure that they would implement it.

 

 

Thanks. The idea for a gunpowder weapon was floating around the forum for a while now. I thought it was an excellent time to bring it back now when we have the wetness mechanic.