Question Creating new objects: Copy from prefab or make an asset building script?

Hello!

I'm currently working on a 2d Zelda-like adventure game and was wondering what your thoughts are on creating new objects. My thoughts are that the easiest way to create a new enemy or weapon would be to duplicate an existing object and change the necessary components. There are, however, other ways to create new objects such as making an asset that creates a "base" of an object. What are your thoughts on creating new objects?

To clarify, I don't mean spawning an existing prefab onto the scene, but creating variations of existing types of objects.