Nimbus Rod

Nimbus Rod

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Statistics

Type	Weapon
Damage	30 / 36 (Magic)
Knockback	0 (No knockback)
Mana	30 / 10
Critical chance	4%
Use time	22 (Fast)
Velocity	16
Tooltip	Summons a cloud to rain down on your foes
Rarity	06*
Sell	350
Research	1 required

Projectiles created

• Rain Cloud Moving
  
• Rain Cloud Raining
  
• Rain (friendly)
  

Sounds

Use

• Internal Item ID: 1244
• Internal Projectile ID: 237, 238, 239

 Obtained from

 Classic

 Expert

 Master

Entity	Qty.	Rate
Angry Nimbus Angry Nimbus	1	6.67%

The Nimbus Rod's rain cloud attacking Target Dummies. Note how the rain pierces enemies, cannot penetrate walls, and can be summoned twice.

The Nimbus Rod is a Hardmode magic weapon that creates clouds that cause damaging "rain" projectiles to fire downward. When cast, a cloud projectile is fired from the rod and travels towards the cursor. Upon reaching its destination or colliding with a solid block, the cloud stops and starts sending rain particles downward. Each drop of rain deals the weapon's stated damage. The drop can pierce up to 4 targets, hitting a total of 5 targets./ The drop can pierce an infinite number of targets. Each cloud lasts for five minutes / one minute. Up to two clouds can be spawned at once; using the weapon when there are already two active clouds will cause the oldest cloud to disappear.

The Nimbus Rod has a 6.67*1/15 (6.67%) chance of dropping from an Angry Nimbus, which spawns during rain.

Its best modifier is Demonic or Deadly for damage output, or Mystic for mana conservation because it cannot get modifiers that affect knockback. Because of the weapon's negligible mana cost, Demonic is usually preferred.

Notes

• The clouds themselves cannot travel through solid objects like blocks or closed doors, but can pass through platforms and liquids.
• The cloud spawns 6.67 raindrops per second.
• The raindrops dissipate after 5 seconds, giving them a maximum range of 96.5 tiles.

Tips

• The Nimbus Rod is somewhat similar in function to sentries: Its fire-and-forget nature, low cost, long duration and relatively high damage over time make it an ideal weapon to have during fights against large enemies like bosses. The piercing property of the raindrops proves effective against multi-segmented enemies, such as The Destroyer. The player is also left free to use other weapons while the clouds are active, since the cloud stays for a long time and only the initial cost consumes mana.
• Since the critical strike chance of a projectile is not based on the weapon that fired it but rather the one the player is currently holding, this weapon pairs very well with magic weapons with a higher base critical strike chance than usual, most notably Sky Fracture, Stellar Tune, and Staff of Earth.
• Each individual raindrop will trigger damage-related set bonuses, such as those of the Orichalcum armor and Spectre armor.
• As there is very limited space between drops, the rain can serve as a barrier against destructible projectiles, such as Burning Spheres.
• The Crimson Cloud from the Crimson Rod can also be active, allowing the player to have up to three clouds on the screen at once. However, one will find the Crimson Rod to be relatively underperforming in Hardmode.
• Acquiring a Nimbus Rod can be difficult, given that the Angry Nimbus is somewhat rare even during rain. As with all enemies, its spawn rate can be increased with Water Candles and Battle Potions, as well as during events like the Blood Moon or Solar Eclipse. With a properly fortified base where they can attack the Nimbuses from safety, a player can have a reasonable chance at getting a Nimbus Rod.

Trivia

• It can be seen as a Hardmode upgrade to the Crimson Rod, which has a similar effect with lower damage.
• The term nimbus is an outdated term for the type of cloud now classified as the nimbostratus cloud. A nimbostratus cloud is a low, gray, often dark, amorphous, nearly uniform cloud that usually produces continuous rain or snow.
• The rain from the Nimbus Rod travels at 51 mph, the same speed as a falling player.
• During a Blood Moon, the raindrops from Nimbus Rods will become red, like in the Crimson Rod.

History

 Desktop version

• Desktop 1.4.4:
  • Duration of clouds increased to 5 minutes.
  • Damage reduced from 36 to 30.
  • Now uses static frames, so immune frames will no longer interfere with non-Nimbus Rod sources of damage.
  • Mana cost increased from 10 to 30.
  • Pierce count reduced from infinite to 5.

• Desktop 1.4.0.1: Sprite updated.

• Desktop 1.2: Introduced.

 Console version

• Console 1.02: Introduced.

 Nintendo Switch version

• Switch 1.0.711.6: Introduced.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.2.6508: Introduced.

Nintendo 3DS version

• 3DS-Release: Introduced.