Highlights
- Energy Weapons in Fallout 3 offer unique and powerful options for combat, such as the Metal Blaster and A3-21's Plasma Rifle.
- The Alien Blaster and Tesla Cannon are highly sought-after weapons due to their exceptional damage and critical hit capabilities.
- The Gauss Rifle and Atomic Pulverizer are strong choices for long-range and close-quarters combat, respectively, offering high damage and unique perks.
The future looks bright in Fallout 3. Barring the fact that a post-apocalyptic war has ravaged the world, and the United States is a barren wasteland compared to what it once was, there is still a light at the end of the tiunnel, and that light is the bright flash from the muzzle of the game’s Energy Weapons.
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Why settle for bullets and clubs when plasma and laser weapons are so much more befitting for a fight in the 2200s? On top of that, there are many amazing weapons to get one’s hands on as well, including some unique variants that have considerably high stats.
8 Metal Blaster
Nine split lasers per shot promise nine chances of getting a critical hit.
Why bother with a Laser Rifle that splits into three separate beams when the Lone Wanderer can bring along a crazier variant that emits nine beams per shot? This weapon is a reward for finding 50 Steel Ingots for Everett in The Pitt DLC. Considering how each beam can cause a critical hit on its own, that makes this weapon even better for sneak attacks, as it can fizzle and fry most turrets in a flash.
Admittedly, it’s not quite as damaging as a Tri-Beam Laser Rifle. However, it is a bit more durable (though flimsier than the regular ones) and its spreading beams do make it a lot more befitting for feuding with packs of enemies on the approach. It may require more frequent repairs, but it’s absolutely worth it.
7 A3-21's Plasma Rifle
This unique variant hits harder and deals more punishing critical hits.
A unique variant of the Plasma Rifle, this version is better than the mass-produced ones in a few small but noteworthy ways. Not only does it deal slightly more damage, but it also has a slightly higher critical chance multiplier, alongside the ability to deal more damage from crits as well.
Getting it will require completing ‘The Replicated Man’ in Rivet City in certain ways - either by agreeing to help the mystery android kill their former master, or watching him do the dirty work before being handed the weapon as a reward. Either way, it’s a stellar reward.
6 Alien Blaster
One of the most powerful weapons out there, it will always deliver a critical hit.
For those who want to defeat foes without breaking a sweat, the Alien Blaster will prove to be a stellar choice. One is available in a crash-landed UFO north of the MDPL-13 Power Station, and another can be looted from Adams Air Force Base in the armory of the launch platform in the Broken Steel add-on. Though ammo is rare, more can be found in the Mothership Zeta DLC.
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Those extraterrestrials sure know how to make stellar weapons, as it’s capable of killing targets in a single shot, thanks to its magnificent damage and ability to guarantee critical hits. Don’t bother giving this one away!
5 Tesla Cannon
Firing a concentrated burst of electricity, it continues to drain health after its initial hit.
During the Broken Steel DLC, the Lone Wanderer will be tasked with finding a tesla coil for the Brotherhood of Steel. Eventually, this will be used to create a Tesla Cannon, though a handful of others can be found scattered around as well.
This beast of a weapon delivers excellent damage, including blast damage and a few seconds of electrical shocks to drain a significant amount of health from a target. Even armored foes like Enclave soldiers and their aircraft are totaled by it with ease. The fact that it uses only a single microfusion cell per shot more than makes up for its need to reload after every discharge.
4 Gauss Rifle
Being a single-shot sniper rifle, it’s deadly at long ranges and can knock over foes.
Upon completion of the Operation: Anchorage DLC, one of the rewards to get is a unique sniper rifle which feels more like a futuristic portable cannon, to be frank. The Gauss Rifle packs a scope for long-range encounters and produces an extremely powerful projectile that is capable of knocking over foes when it deals a critical hit.
Despite requiring a reload after each shot, much like the Tesla Cannon, it only requires a single microfusion cell per shot (Fallout 3 is hardly balanced in this regard), so it won’t eat up ammo. It will prove to be an excellent option to take into battle.
3 Alien Disintegrator
This alien-made rifle can fire many hard-hitting shots before requiring a reload.
The standard Alien Disintegrator from the Mothership Zeta add-on is a stellar weapon in itself. It’s funny to think that the one unique variant, the Destabilizer, pales in comparison to the original model. For starters, it can fire a whopping 100 shots before reloading, which will only take two seconds to accomplish.
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On top of that, the damage is pretty great, it has low spread, and it’s quite accurate. Though it struggles at longer ranges, at least the ‘Xenotech Expert’ perk is there to increase its firepower by 20%, making it significantly more deadly. Be sure to try it out in the target practice area to unlock that perk.
2 Atomic Pulverizer
A sidearm of alien origin, it requires less AP for V.A.T.S than the regular versions.
The Xenotech weaponry is already stellar as it is, though there’s no harm in snagging a slightly better version of one of their pistols. The Atomic Pulverizer, another inclusion as part of the Mothership Zeta DLC, is a bit stronger than the regular Alien Atomizer that it is based on. Of course, the aforementioned 'Xenotech Expert' perk increasing its damage by 20% is always going to come in handy here.
The other bonus here is that it requires fewer AP (Action Points) for targeting enemies in V.A.T.S. That means more precise shots to pull off on targets. To get it, seek out the weapons lab and hack the computer - don’t shoot it by accident, or players will have to load a previous save or start a new game altogether to get it!
1 MPLX Novasurge
A Plasma Pistol variant, this heavier version uses twice as much ammo, but deals more damage and critical hits.
Mothership Zeta is home to yet another excellent side arm to grab, that being the MPLX Novasurge. The cargo hold area has Reid Underwood's terminal, which can be hacked with a Science skill of 75 or higher to open a safe… unless one has already teleported to the bridge. In that case, hard luck - time to reload a save or start a new game yet again.
It may weigh twice as much and use up twice as much ammo per shot when compared with the Plasma Pistol, yet its increased critical hit multiplier and damage, on top of being over three times more powerful, are all solid reasons to run with his weapon.
