Max Physical Damage in Core Keeper: Upgraded Melee & Ranged Weapons

Max physical damage ranking: melee weapons (upgraded and reinforced)

Expected DPS of melee weapons upgraded to Lv.20 (with endgame gear). "+ reinforced" raises the weapon's effects (critical hit chance, +% physical melee damage, etc.) by about 15% (weapons without durability cannot be reinforced, so their value stays the same).

Rank	Weapon	Base Lv	Melee damage (Lv.20)	Expected DPS (Lv.20)	Expected DPS (Lv.20 + reinforced)	Ancient Coins to Lv.20
1	Rune Song	13	350–426	10,850	10,850	3,039
2	Galaxite Dagger	14	264–322	10,726	10,936	2,707
3	Ritual Dagger	9	259–315	10,567	10,806	4,059
4	Rusty Dagger	3	257–313	10,282	10,464	4,791
5	Scarlet Dagger	9	252–308	9,959	10,116	4,059
6	Splintered Wooden Sword	2	322–392	9,873	10,075	4,838
7	Prehistoric Crystal Spear	15	321–391	9,788	9,981	2,342
8	Void Club	18	369–449	9,765	9,765	1,044
9	Galaxite Sword	14	313–381	9,323	9,479	2,707
10	Scarlet Sword	9	307–375	9,227	9,390	4,059
11	Octarine Axe	12	453–553	9,207	9,387	3,339
12	Solarite Sword	16	312–380	9,113	9,244	1,944

See the best sword and melee weapon ranking →

Max physical damage ranking: ranged weapons (upgraded and reinforced)

Rank	Weapon	Base Lv	Range damage (Lv.20)	Expected DPS (Lv.20)	Expected DPS (Lv.20 + reinforced)	Ancient Coins to Lv.20
1	Scrap Minigun	18	52–62	5,083	5,198	1,044
2	Phantom Spark	15	261–317	4,825	4,825	2,342
3	Throwing Daggers	14	152–184	4,761	4,874	2,707
4	Iron Bow	7	262–320	4,617	4,715	4,399
5	Solarite Crossbow	16	258–314	4,543	4,645	1,944
6	Galaxite Chakram	14	152–184	4,506	4,582	2,707
7	Quill Rifle	7	85–103	4,200	4,293	4,399
8	Octarine Bow	12	252–308	4,038	4,071	3,339
9	Blowpipe	10	225–275	3,973	3,973	3,848
10	Bubble Gun	12	150–182	3,957	3,957	3,339
11	Slingshot	5	185–225	3,909	3,909	4,639
12	Flintlock Musket	5	725–885	3,838	3,838	4,639

See the best ranged build →

Max "+% physical melee damage" from gear (#1 per slot)

Slot	Gear with the max value	Lv.20	Lv.20 + reinforced
Helm	Void-Fused Helmet	23.9%	27.5%
Chest armor	Void-Fused Chestpiece	25.7%	29.6%
Pants	Hazmat Suit Pants	23.2%	26.7%
Necklace	Grub Egg Necklace	41%	41%
Ring (1)	Sky Ring	23.3%	23.3%
Ring (2)	Atlantean Worm Ring	20%	20%
Off-hand	Omoroth's Beak	40.4%	40.4%
Total (#1 in every slot)		198%	209%

You can wear 2 rings, so #1 and #2 are both counted. The +% on weapons is already included in the weapon table's expected DPS and is not in this total.

Max "+% physical range damage" from gear (#1 per slot)

Slot	Gear with the max value	Lv.20	Lv.20 + reinforced
Helm	Ranger Hood	17.8%	20.5%
Chest armor	Hunter Cloak	21.6%	24.8%
Pants	Bronze Pants	19.8%	22.8%
Necklace	Mold Vein Necklace	40.8%	40.8%
Ring (1)	Gold Crystal Ring	43.6%	43.6%
Ring (2)	Polished Gold Crystal Ring	29.5%	29.5%
Off-hand	Hydra Tooth	30.2%	30.2%
Total (#1 in every slot)		203%	212%

How to read these tables (upgraded and reinforced values)

• Upgraded (Lv.20): the value after upgrading to Lv.20 at the Upgrade Station. How to upgrade and the costs are covered in upgrading and reinforcing gear.
• + reinforced: reinforcing at the Salvage and Repair Station raises gear effect values by about 15%. The tables multiply effect values by 1.15 as an estimate (it only applies while durability is above the original maximum). Whether reinforcing raises a weapon's base damage could not be confirmed from the data, so weapon DPS only scales the effects.
• Expected DPS: weapon damage × (attacks per second), multiplied by endgame gear and the weapon's effects (damage %, attack speed, criticals, triple damage) (damage formula). Special attacks and enemy defense are not included.