Weapon generation

Weapon generation is the process by which Starbound creates the wide variety of weaponry in the game. Weapons are procedurally generated, meaning that the statistical likelihood of finding the same weapon twice is basically 0.

Ranged Weapons
A ranged weapon may be a Ballistic Weapon or an Energy Weapon, meaning it either uses bullets/projectiles, or it depletes the Player's energy pool. Ranged weapon classes include:
 * Pistols
 * Assault Rifles
 * Shotguns
 * Rocket Launchers

Melee Weapons
Please help by adding information about Melee Weapon generation here.

Number of Weapons
There are millions of possible weapons in Starbound. The exact number is unknown but can be calculated from the number of stats per weapon and the number of possible variations for each stat. One quote states that there are over 500,000 different varieties of Rocket Launcher alone, and over 800,000 different Shotguns.

''HERO Note: This sounds cool but I don't like it for PVP. You can't look at a players gun and know what he is firing. You could walk into a battle and find out you are outguned way to late.''--HeroGaming (talk) 07:51, January 17, 2013 (UTC)

Rarity
The rarity of a weapon determines which Weapon Mods may be included with the weapon. This table (incomplete) shows what the different Rarity values unlock:

HERO Note: This sounds great. This sounds like attachable Weapon upgrades. Something like what the reborn mod was supposed to have in Terraria.--HeroGaming (talk) 07:51, January 17, 2013 (UTC)

Details
Each of these characteristic stats is calculated when a weapon is generated:

Damage
Damage represents the base amount of damage received by the target of a weapon.

Rate of Fire
A weapon's Rate of Fire is how quickly it can be used in succession, also known as Cooldown. This is different from Reload Speed.

Range
A weapon's Range is the distance from which it can strike an enemy.

Cost
The Cost to use a weapon represents the energy or ammunition consumed upon its use.

Price
A derivative value based on a its stats, a weapon's Price is its monetary value when bought or sold.