Star Cannon

Nothing before hardmode puts out damage like this, and nothing empties faster. The stars only fall at night, they only land on the surface, and they are gone by morning. A long flat platform built high in the sky, walked once each dawn, is the only way to keep the stack healthy. Most players run out mid boss and never touch the weapon again, which is a shame, because the answer is one afternoon of building.

The shots ignore gravity and pass through an unlimited number of enemies, so a straight line of targets takes the full hit at every point along it. Line up along a worm boss and each star scores against every segment it crosses. The Wall of Flesh gets the same treatment. Against a single compact target it is still strong, but you are burning a rare resource for damage a cheaper gun could manage.

Plenty of pre-hardmode weapons become dead weight the moment you break an altar. This one keeps pace with early hardmode guns and beats them against crowds, so it is worth carrying into the first mechanical boss if your star supply can stand it.

In the two joke seeds most bosses reflect the stars straight back. In those worlds the cannon is a way to kill yourself, not a way to win, so leave it in a chest.