Explosive weapons guide — set bonus, every weapon, who should build it
Updated 2026-11-01 · for v1.1 + Paws & Claws
Area damage that makes crowds disappear; the set grows the radius, not the hit. 9 weapons carry the Explosive tag; the set bonus below applies for every Explosive weapon you hold at once, duplicates included.
Set bonus
| Weapons held | Bonus |
|---|---|
| 2 | +5% Explosive Size |
| 3 | +10% Explosive Size |
| 4 | +15% Explosive Size |
| 5 | +20% Explosive Size |
| 6 | +25% Explosive Size |
How a Explosive build plays
Explosives deal damage in a radius and scale with Explosion Damage items on top of their base stat. Rocket Launcher (30 damage, 500 range) and Nuclear Launcher (60 damage, 800 range) are the backbone; Shredder is a Gun with explosions that also bounces. The set bonus is up to +25% Explosion Size, which is valuable on Loud's dense waves and pointless against a lone boss. Scale the weapon's own stat (Ranged for launchers, Melee for Power Fist, Elemental for Plasma Sledge) and then Explosion Damage.
Every Explosive weapon
Numbers are the lowest tier the weapon exists at; open a weapon for all four tiers and its scaling.
| Weapon | Tiers | Damage | Cooldown | DPS | Crit | Range | Also |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plank | 1–4 | 10 | 1.23s | 8.1 | 3% | 150 | Elemental |
| Shredder | 1–4 | 5 | 1.3s | 3.8 | 3% | 450 | Gun |
| Rocket Launcher | 2–4 | 30 | 1.78s | 16.9 | 3% | 500 | Heavy |
| Grenade Launcher | 2–4 | 12 | 0.37s | 5.9 | – | 350 | Heavy (DLC) |
| Fireball | 2–4 | 5 | 1.12s | 4.5 | – | 400 | Elemental |
| Power Fist | 3–4 | 40 | 0.69s | 58 | 1% | 150 | Unarmed |
| Plasma Sledge | 3–4 | 80 | 1.55s | 51.6 | 3% | 175 | Elemental |
| Nuclear Launcher | 3–4 | 60 | 2.12s | 28.3 | 3% | 800 | Heavy |
| DEX-troyer | 4 | 100 | 1.33s | 75.3 | – | 400 | Legendary |
The core of a six-of set is usually Rocket Launcher, Nuclear Launcher, Shredder, Grenade Launcher, Plasma Sledge; the rest fill in as the shop offers them.
Characters that fit the class
- Artificer — Explosions scale with elemental damage, and nothing else matters.
- Loud — More enemies is more materials; the damage bonus does the rest.
Overlapping classes
Explosive weapons also count as Elemental, Gun, Heavy, Unarmed, Legendary, so a Explosive rack can trigger a second set bonus without an extra slot. The weapons list filters by class.
The mistake that ends runs
Bringing six Explosives to wave 20 with nothing for single target. The boss is one enemy; the radius bonus is worthless there.
See the set bonus ranking for how Explosive compares with the other sixteen classes, or test a rack in the build planner.