Kid Icarus: Uprising/Weapons

Kid Icarus: Uprising has nine categories of weapons, each with a dozen types, for a total of over a hundred weapons. However, every individual example of a weapon has unique properties, such as melee and ranged power, stat boosts, and status ailments. For example, two First Blades can have radically different properties. Therefore, the following guide refers to weapons in their vanilla form.

Arms
Arms are bulky, powerful weapons that work great as melee weapons, and have great dash attacks, but have a limited range.


 * Crusher - A standard form of the Arm.
 * Compact - High movement speed, but lower melee power.
 * Electroshock - Charged shots expand with distance, and can deal paralysis. Melee combos knock back foes.
 * Volcano - Has a limited range and long charge times, but all attacks can set enemies aflame.
 * Drill - Charged shots do ongoing damage, and have a high homing ability.
 * Bomber - Weak continuous fire and very short range, but good charge attacks that charge quickly.
 * Bowl - Potent charged shots.
 * End-All - Long charge time and slow user movement are counteracted by this weapon's destructive continuous fire.
 * Taurus
 * Upperdash - Regular melee is weak, but dash attacks deal massive damage.
 * Kraken
 * Phoenix

Blades
Blades are the game's most balanced category of weapon. They work decently in any situation except for extremely long ranges and have some homing ability. This makes them an excellent choice for beginners. That said, Blades rarely excel at any one thing, making them frequently outmatched by other types of weapons in Together mode.


 * First - The game's default armament, this is a balanced weapon.
 * Burst - Sacrifices Attack power and range for the abilities to shoot multiple bullets and possibly nullify incoming fire.
 * Viper - Inflicts poison damage.
 * Crusader - This heavy weapon is good at melee and negating enemy fire.
 * Royal - Excels at backward dashes.
 * Optical - Longest Range of any Blade, with Staff-like charge shots.
 * Samurai - Improves quickness, but has weaker shots and longer charge times.
 * Bullet - Lacks homing and melee prowess, but works well at a distance.
 * Aquarius - Charge shots push enemies back. Melee can freeze foes.
 * Aurum - Quick Charge and high homing abilities.
 * Palutena - Sacrifices power for shot nullification, speedy dash shots, and range.
 * Gaol

Bows
Bows work well at medium and long ranges. They also have limited homing abilities. However, their melee potential is limited.


 * Fortune - Fires fast homing shots, excelling at medium to long ranged combat. Fairly balanced.
 * Silver - More powerful at close ranges, high range, and good homing ability.
 * Meteor - Longest Range for any Bow. Charged shots are large and fast, but lack homing. Regular fire has heavy homing.
 * Divine - Charged shots frequently nullify enemy fire. Charges quickly and has good homing.
 * Darkness - Powerful attacks, but has low homing and long charge times.
 * Crystal - High attack and large projectiles, but limited range.
 * Angel - Excellent homing, but the slow projectiles lack power.
 * Hawkeye - Long range and the ability to nullify incoming fire are balanced by weak melee and longer charge times.
 * Sagittarius - Shots can pierce multiple opponents. Long charge time, but high damage and shot speed.
 * Aurum
 * Palutena - Shots gain speed with distance. Dash shots are stronger than normal, but standing shots are worse.
 * Phosphora

Cannons
Cannons are roughly the ranged equivalent of Arms. Their size slows Pit down, but their powerful shots can affect an entire small area, taking out multiple enemies.


 * EZ - Bouncing shots have above average homing.
 * Ball - Particularly powerful.
 * Dynamo - Charged shots detonate upon impact, and attacks may paralyze enemies.
 * Rail - Greatest range of a cannon, but attacks a smaller area. Comparable to a Staff in some respects.
 * Doom - Charge attacks take more time to prepare and are slow moving, but affect a huge, expanding area after hitting.
 * Cragalanche - Powerful attack, but lacks speed and creates smaller explosions.
 * Predator - Raises speed and has the best melee of any cannon.
 * Poseidon - Entangles enemies and shoots rapidly.
 * Fireworks - Strong homing, a fast charge, wide explosions, and the ability to knock foes into the air are balanced by low power and range.
 * Twinbellows
 * Leo
 * Sonic

Claws
Claws are fast weapons. They work best as melee tools, but also have a limited ranged attack.


 * Tiger - Basic version of Claws.
 * Wolf - Set foes aflame, and charged shots are homing, but has limited range.
 * Bear - Very powerful melee attacks, with strong but short-ranged shots.
 * Hedgehog - Charge quickly and provide a speed boost. Lack homing ability and attack power, but have rapid fire.
 * Brawler - Let Pit move faster than any other weapon.
 * Stealth - Hard to see continuous fire, but low melee power.
 * Raptor - Strong attacks, but slow charge times.
 * Artillery - Poor melee and homing, but have impressive shot range, decent distance, and allow for quick movement.
 * Cancer - Good melee, hovering charge shots, and a user speed boost during continuous fire.
 * Viridi - Features a strong Homing ability, long stretches of continuous fire, and charge shots with a one in three chance of paralyzing opponents
 * Pandora - Backward Dash creates a barrier and combos can knock opponents into the air.
 * Beam

Clubs
Clubs slow down the player, and lack a rapid-fire ranged option. However, they are very powerful at a close range, can deflect enemy shots and feature powerful charged shots. This makes them difficult to use, but arguably the best weapon to use in Together mode.


 * Ore - A basic variant of the Club.
 * Atlas - Behaves a lot like non-Club weapons. Allows users to move quickly, and dash attacks have high homing. However, shots don't pass through obstacles.
 * Babel - Longest charge time of any weapon, but charged shots deal consecutive strikes.
 * Skyscraper - Charged shots deal massive damage at a close range. Notably decreases user speed.
 * Halo - This lightweight club is weak at melee, but charged shots can paralyze foes.
 * Earthmaul - Longest range of any weapon, with charge shots that go over 400 in-game feet.
 * Black - High attack power an homing, but long charge times and slow shots. Charged shots can cancel enemy fire.
 * Capricorn - Charge shots lack range and do relatively little damage. However, these shots are fast and recharge quickly.
 * Hewdraw - Charge shots have high range homing ability, but lacks power. Melee, on the other hand, is particularly powerful.
 * Ogre - Slow charged shots are balanced by powerful melee attacks.
 * Aurum
 * Magnus - Boosts speed and deals the most melee damage of any weapon, but has no projectile attacks at all.

Orbitars
Orbitars can target either one or two enemies at a time. They are best used at a range.


 * Standard - Lack power, but are good in most other regards.
 * Guardian - Charged shots create a shield.
 * Shock - Unspectacular speed and range, but charged shots have high homing, and projectiles disperse upon impact.
 * Eyetrack - Extremely high homing, making them very easy to use. However, they lack power and have a slow charge time.
 * Fairy - Charge quickly and can confuse enemies.
 * Paw Pad - Short range, but shots bounce like a cannon's.
 * Gemini - Charge shots start by going straight, but then veer towards a target.
 * Boom - Despite being the most powerful orbitars, they lack homing ability and slow down the user.
 * Jetstream - Lack homing, but have powerful shots, especially at a close range.
 * Centurion
 * Aurum - Limited range, but extremely fast attacks.
 * Arlon - Longest range of any orbitars.

Palms
Palms perform similarly to bows. Generally, they sacrifice power and range for extreme homing abilities.


 * Violet - Relatively Basic Palm. Rapid fire, but basic range.
 * Burning - Sets enemies on fire, and has the strongest melee for Palms, but lacks charge speed and range.
 * Needle - Fast shots with limited homing.
 * Midnight - Easily nullifies incoming fire, with powerful but slow shots.
 * Cursed - Charged shots move slowly and lose power over time, but have great homing. Good for melee.
 * Cutter - Powerful, but lacks charge speed and regular homing ability
 * Ninja - A very mixed weapon. Its perks are fast moving shots, speed and agility boosts, and melee. Its weaknesses are power, range, and homing.
 * Pudgy - Short charge time and strong homing.
 * Viridi - Great at consecutive hits, with good accuracy over a distance.
 * Great Reaper - Long charge speed, but charged shots cut regular enemies' health in half.
 * Aurum
 * Virgo

Staffs
Staffs are the best long range weapon. Their shots gain power the further they travel. However, this makes them all but useless as melee weapons.


 * Insight - A balanced version of the staff.
 * Orb - Increased melee and shot size, but low damage, distance, and knock-back.
 * Knuckle - Sacrifices range, power, and charge speed for melee strength.
 * Ancient - Charged shots linger and paralyze foes.
 * Flintlock - Shots gain power with distance and move quickly. Possibly the worst melee in the game.
 * Somewhat - Behaves similarly to a Blade.
 * Scorpio - Sacrifices range for poison and Pit's speed.
 * Laser - Extreme range, but slow charge. Doesn't alert foes, making it similar to a sniper rifle.
 * Thanatos
 * Lancer - Charges quickly and has decent melee. Shots move slowly, but are effective at a close range.
 * Rose - Charges fast, and has exceptional attack power, but shots go slowly.
 * Dark Pit - Charged shots do immense damage at a long range. Continuous fire is powerful, but lacks size and range.