Fallout 3 has many weapons skills, but none seem to be as popular as Small Guns. Despite their name, Small Guns are very powerful, as the skill represents all of the games sniper rifles, shotguns, and machine guns. This gives the user of Small Guns the ability to kill with a variety of tools, and it also helps ease the pressure of having to find ammo for one favorite gun. The anticipation for Fallout 4 we are doing a breakdown of our Top 10 Weapons in Fallout 3! If we missed any, be sure to let us in the comments below!
Throughout the many hours spent playing Fallout, the need to find bigger and better weapons always lingered. With over 500 hours of experience on the last two installments of the series (Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas) I have seen pretty much all the Wasteland can throw at you, whether it's much needed Stimpaks sneakily tucked away in the corner of a destroyed toilet or running into the Legendary Deathclaw for the first (and last time) whilst running away from three other members of his family.
Fallout Weapons Top 10
To survive the many challenging obstacles ahead of you a varied arsenal of weapons will be required, in no particular order and in my opinion, the best weapons to help you through your travels in the Wasteland. Without further ado, I present to you Top 10 Fallout Weapons.
10. Fisto! (Fallout 3) Firsto! is a unique variant of the pneumatic Power Fist that is more durable and deals higher base damage than the standard model. It can be found in the upper area of the derelict power plant right across from MDPL-13 power station, next to a terminal on a desk. This is northwest of Minefield. Inside the power plant are multiple feral ghouls, and, depending on your level, you may also encounter multiple feral ghoul roamers, glowing ones and, with Broken Steel installed, feral ghoul reavers. This Fallout weapon will be in poor condition (~20%) when found.
Fisto! is a handy (pardon the pun) weapon to possess in the Wasteland, especially for players with lower character levels that lack caps or find themselves with limited ammunition.
9. BlackHawk (Fallout 3) Like the standard scoped .44 magnum, Blackhawk is a powerful, accurate sidearm. It deals more damage than a sniper rifle, and holds a single bullet more. It has no recoil when looking down the scope and firing. You obtain the weapon from Agatha (her house can be found west of the Scrapyard and northeast of Meresti trainyard), after completing the quest 'Agatha's Song' and giving her the sheet music book, but you have to ask for a reward to obtain the revolver.
Who doesn't love wandering the wasteland holding a 44. Magnum like Clint Eastwood? Do you feel lucky, Raider? Well, do ya?
8. Lincoln's Repeater (Fallout 3) Lincoln's repeater is a very high-powered lever-action rifle, dealing 25 more damage than the hunting rifle. It lacks a scope, but accuracy at long range can be maintained by ignoring the bugged scope auto-aim. It also has three times the ammunition capacity of the hunting rifle and is very effective at long range in V.A.T.S. Lincoln's repeater can be found in the Museum of History. To obtain it, enter the Museum of History, go through the lobby and enter the room with the statue of a wooly mammoth, left of the skull hanging over the entrance to Underworld.
7. The All-American (Fallout: New Vegas) The All-American is the unique variant of the semi-automatic Marksman carbine with woodland camouflage, a magazine capacity of 24 and a higher magnification scope. It also bears the distinctive 82nd 'All-American' Airborne division insignia.
It is highly accurate, reliable and powerful with its fast rate of fire, making it one of the most versatile weapons in the game. This versatility includes the wide range of 5.56mm ammunition types; players should make sure to stock up on different 5.56mm variants to utilize this weapon to its full potential.
Personally, as a result of its versatility I find myself using this gun as the ammo is easy to acquire and is very durable for long missions within and out of the Mojave.
6. Vengeance (Fallout 3) Vengeance has one of the highest DPS (Damage Per Second) ratings of all automatic weapons in Fallout 3, and can handily slaughter most opponents. Like all Gatling lasers, it runs on electron charge packs.
Vengeance can be found in the Deathclaw Sanctuary, which is located in a mountain, west of Paradise Falls near the Potomac, and southwest from Fort Constantine, right next to Broadcast tower KB5. The sanctuary outside has a small number of deathclaws, and around ten reside in the sanctuary itself. There is also usually an Enclave outpost close to the entrance, so beware. Vengeance can fire a total of about 3,000 beams, the equivalent of 13 reloads, from full condition before breaking.
5. Minigun (Fallout 3 & New Vegas) The Mini-gun is a multi-barrel machine gun with a high rate of fire, employing Gatling-style rotating barrels. It was a standard military weapon before the Great War, with Rockwell's CZ series being the most popular choice in the United States.
It is widely used by many factions such as the Super Mutants, Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, due to its extraordinary firepower at close range. This weapon is extremely useful when swarmed by enemies due to its high fire rate, not many enemies will be left standing after you empty the linked ammunition. Perhaps, only Liberty Prime, a super mutant Behemoth or the Predator (yes, the one from the movie) can survive such a barrage of bullets at a close range.
4. Mercy (Fallout: New Vegas) A veritable relic, Mercy is a pre-War US Army automatic grenade launcher that was apparently used by one of the US Army's counter-insurgency units hunting Chinese Hei-Gui commandos in the American southwest. Presumably during this period, one of its operators spray-painted 'Hei Gui Bye Bye' on the chassis. At an undetermined time, it was obtained by the Brotherhood of Steel and continued to serve as a weapon, eventually ending up in the hands of a Paladin in the Mojave chapter. It was lost when its operator was killed while exploring Dead Wind Cavern.
BEWARE! This location host several deathclaws including the Legendary Deathclaw, which can be a real challenge for even the most hardened Fallout player, as its damage is much greater than any average deathclaws. This can result in even a level 30+ player dying as a result of one hit from the Legendary Deathclaw, little wonder as to why the name of the gun is 'Mercy', as it offers you just that in a time of need, although its last owner did not share the same fate nor luck as your character.
Mercy can fire a total of about 2,500 standard rounds of 40mm grenades, the equivalent of 140 reloads, from full condition before breaking.
3. Anti-Material Rifle (AMR) (Fallout: New Vegas) The Anti-Material Rifle makes this list as it is one of the better sniper rifles available in the game. This unique version of the sniper rifle is especially lethal against targets who possess strong or heavy armor and has a various range of bullets which can be used to kill your opponent, such range includes, standard, armor piercing, explosive and incendiary rounds.
This weapon is especially useful for players who wish to acquire NCR Ranger armor from an NPC without having to deal with the consequences of their actions. The AMR comes in handy as its incredible long range and accuracy allows players to sneak attack NCR Rangers from a distance of over 100 yards which almost always results in a one-hit-kill without a loss of Karma or Reputation with the New California Republic. Due to your character being well out of eyesight it's as simple as walking up to the dead NPC and taking his NCR Ranger armor.
Additionally, its .50 MG ammunition is very uncommon, very expensive, and is heavy if carried in bulk in hardcore mode; a full magazine weighs two pounds without the Pack Rat perk, and one pound with the perk. When fired from the hip (without aiming), the resulting recoil from the weapons large caliber will result in the user being pushed backwards (evident in third-person view).
2. Firelance (Fallout 3) The Firelance is a unique variant of the Alien Blaster. This weapon packs an astonishing 100% critical chance and damage, like its basic twin model, this unique weapon uses the same rare alien power cells as the Alien Blaster. Therefore carefully using your ammunition for tough battles or sticky situations is recommended for this weapon. The Firelance can fire 63 shots, the equivalent of 7 reloads, from full condition before you can throw it away.
1. Experimental M.I.R.V (Fallout 3) Surprise, surprise! #1 is the Experimental M.I.R.V, a modified Fat Man launcher which can be located in the National Guard Depot roughly northeast of the Vault-Tec Headquarters. This weapon deals the most damage in any Fallout game and is capable of firing up to 8 mini nukes at a time. It is an unbelievably impressive complement of weaponry, an absolute death machine.
The Experimental M.I.R.V can fire a total of 63 shots, around 500 mini-nukes before repair is required.
Honorable Mention
Euclid's C FinderM (Fallout: New Vegas) The Archimedes II orbital laser releases a huge amount of heat energy, capable of reducing many foes to ashes. In order to use Euclid's C-Finder, the player's character must complete the quest 'That Lucky Old Sun' and choose to direct power to Archimedes II at the end of the quest. The weapon can only be used once every 24-hours in-game, due to the recharge time of the lasers. This therefore is a good weapon to take down the bigger, stronger enemies within the game.
Euclid's C-Finder is not a weapon in its own right, but rather a targeting device, or 'range finder,' for the Archimedes II orbital laser platform. Euclid's C-Finder inflicts 0 damage on a direct hit to a target, with all the damage coming from the blast caused by the Archimedes II orbital laser strike. This also makes Euclid's C-Finder inoperable when fired indoors.
This ends our Top 10 Fallout Weapons list. Within MY list is a varied category of weapons to suit every Fallout fan, although this will not be statistically the best or most powerful weapons in Fallout, they are in my opinion very reliable in making life easier when facing the harsh realities of life in both the decaying Capital Wasteland and the blistering Mojave Desert.
by Lee Halliday
Feel free to leave a message in the comments section with your Top 10 Fallout Weapons list or to simply tell me what you thought about this article. I'd like to hear your opinion. Cheers!
Tags: top 10 fallout weapons, top 10 fallout 3 weapons, top 10 fallout new vegas weapons
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Fallout 3, like all of Bethesda’s games, is a mod paradise. If you’re looking for the best Fallout 3 mods, you’ve found them right here in our handy list. The game has so many systems to fiddle with, so much lore to expand on, and plenty of iffy-looking NPCs in need of a graphical face lift. Thanks to the modding community, Fallout 3 is a vastly different game now than it was at launch.
If you’re planning on revisiting the bombed-out remains of Washington DC before the Fallout 4 release date, then these are the mods we recommend packing for the trip.
How do I install Fallout 3 mods?
Installing a single mod into Fallout 3 is easy. All you need to do is place the new files you’ve downloaded into the ‘Data’ folder of your Fallout 3 installation. If you have the Steam version, typically this will be:
C:Program FilesSteamsteamappsCommonFallout 3Data
Windows will alert you that you’re overwriting files, so press ‘OK’ to accept the changes. It’s best to make a backup of your Data folder before you start modding in case you need to return Fallout 3 to its original form.
You’re probably going to want lots of mods installed though, so it’s best to use the Fallout Mod Manager. This installs and uninstalls mods for you with a lot more ease than doing it manually. To set it up, first download and install the program. It’s then useful to create a folder on your hard drive called ‘Fallout 3 mods’ or something similar. Downloaded mods come in .zip files, so use something like WinRAR to extract the mod files into your new ‘Fallout 3 mods’ folder.
In Fallout Mod Manager, open the ‘Package Manager’ using the button to the right hand side of the window. The new window will have a button labelled ‘Add FOMod’. Click this, and then use the file browser to find your mod folder and select the mod you wish to install. The mod will now be displayed in the Package Manager window, with a tick box next to it. If the checkbox is ticked, the mod will be active in your game. Simply untick if you want to remove the mod.
Essential Fallout 3 Mods
Fallout 3 Mod Manager
Fallout 3 isn’t supported by the Steam Workshop, so you’ll have to mod it the traditional, slightly fiddly way. The whole process of adding mods to the game can be made a whole lot easier with the Fallout Mod Manager though, so it’s essential you grab it before applying anything.
Fallout Script Extender
Adding lots of mods to the game may require an extension of Fallout 3’s scripting capabilities. This tiny Fallout Script Extender mod will make sure the game’s script is sufficiently extended to allow hundreds of mods to work simultaneously.
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch
Fallout 3 is a Bethesda game, so it’s no surprise that it’s a bit on the buggy side. The Unofficial Fallout 3 patch is an ongoing effort to eliminate every glitch and bug in the game, and so far has done a wonderful job. Essential if you want a smooth experience.
Better Game Performance
A ‘does what it says on the tin’ mod, Better Game Performance removes unused items that you’ll never notice are missing in order to boost the overall performance of the game.
FO3 Wanderers Edition
Wanderers Edition is a massive overhaul mod for Fallout 3, altering core game mechanics to create a better sense of immersion and a higher degree of challenge. The FPS elements of the game are tweaked and beaten into shape so it plays as a shooter much more effectively. The role-playing mechanics are refined to enhance choice and consequence and depth of character.
Fallout 3 Re-Animated
There’s no denying that Fallout 3’s character animation is definitely on the naff side. Stiff, ugly, and sort of Action Man-like, it effectively shatters the illusion that you are interacting with people. This Fallout 3 Re-Animated mod helps rectify that by replacing gameplay-related animations.
Fellout
Fallout 3 is obsessed with the colour green, so much so everything is seen through a hazy green filter. It is, at least for many players, god damn ugly. K dcan usb driver download. Fellout gets rid of the green and allows a more natural colour pallette to shine through, evoking the style of the original Fallout games.
Graphical Fallout 3 Mods
Energy Visuals Enhanced
Fallout’s energy weapons don’t so much as crackle but fizzle out. In short: they’re no where near as cool as they should be. Energy Visuals Enhanced changes that, adding loads of cool graphical effects to muzzle flash, projectiles, and impacts. Plasma rifles are finally as brilliant to use as they sound.
Flora Overhaul
Fallout’s world is, by design, entirely barren. Not a shrub or grass patch in sight. Flora Overhaul changes this, and is available in a variety of different settings. Forested Edition adds wonderful trees, plants, flowers, and grasses to the game for a much more overgrown DC wasteland, whilst Dead Edition and Total Devastation lean closer towards Bethesda’s original vision.
Fallout 3 Redesigned
Formally known as Project Beauty HD, Fallout 3 Redesigned transforms Fallout’s NPCs into far more natural looking models. The whole facial model is adjusted to look less potato-like, with better skin tones than the grubby originals. It’s a bit fiddly to install, so follow the instructions carefully, but it’s worth the hassle.
Enhanced Camera
Fallout 3’s first person view is typical of many games in that it’s just a floating set of eyes. The Enhanced Camera mod adds a physical body to the game for you to inhabit, meaning you can finally see what your legs look like without resorting to the truly horrific third-person view. Also any acts that automatically swap to third-person (such as standing or sitting) will now be performed in immersion-sustaining first-person.
Best Guns In Fallout 3
Blackout ENB
ENB’s are well known for bringing games closer to photorealism, and Blackout ENB does a fine job with Fallout 3. High quality SSAO, Depth of field, Bloom, and anamorphic lens effects are added, with enhanced in-game shadows, color correction and eye adaptation. It’s also compatible with night vision and thermal vision so night time raids will still be easily accomplished.
ENB First Person Transparency
If you’re going to use the ENB mod, you’ll also need this ENB First Person Transparency fix to prevent your hands and arms going all transparent like jelly.
NMC Texture Pack
Texture packs go a long way to helping older games feel more modern than they are, and the NMC Texture Pack is a vital tool to keeping Fallout fresh. It replaces almost all environmental textures with HD variants; be that the ground and walls, building interiors, furniture, vehicles, and even litter.
Enhanced Weather
Fallout doesn’t really have weather, it’s just kind of drab and cloudy all day. Enhanced Weather adds rain, snow, and thunderstorms to the wasteland’s climate. You can even gain a sneak bonus during storms, using the howl of the wind to cover your steps.
Project Reality
Project Reality does a great deal with lighting – both sun and moon – to add a more realistic atmosphere to the game. Features like heat haze and eye adapting help the immersion, and a variety of retooled sound effects add some authenticity to Fallout’s audio. Like Enhanced Weather, things like thunderstorms and radioactive rain are also part of Project Reality.
Enhanced Blood Textures
Thanks to explosive rounds and the slow-motion VATs system, you’re going to be seeing a lot of blood during your time in Fallout 3. Don’t settle for low-res spoonfuls of jam; get some high quality blood spatter with this Enhanced Blood Textures mod.
Fallout Street Lights
Add a little atmosphere to your nighttime wasteland strolls with this Fallout Street Lights mod, adding light beams to all the streetlamps and signs in the game. Some even flicker on and off for that authentic broken technology feel.
Hi-Res Weapons
Give a nice, high-resolution coat of paint to many of Fallout 3’s weapons with this Hi-Res Weapons mod. Since they’re in your hands and close-up for most of the game, this really helps keep the game looking pretty.
Pip-Boy HD Retexture
Another thing you’ll be spending a lot of time looking at in Fallout 3 is your wrist-mounted Pip-Boy, so why not make it easier on the eyes and double its resolution from the one Bethesda provides with this Pip-Boy HD Retexture.
MTUI interface mod
Fallout 3 isn’t very good at making the most of screen real estate, so the MTUI mod tweaks the User Interface to display a lot more information at any one time. The days of scrolling through dialogue options or Pip-Boy pages is over.
Fallout 3 Best Pistol In The Game
Gameplay Fallout 3 Mods
Underground Hideout
If you want a little place to call your own in DC, then grab this Underground Hideout mod. Located at the southeast end of the Wasteland near Rivet City, the vault includes everything a wasteland survivor could need, including a stocked armory, display areas, item sorters, and special weapons.
Mothership Zeta Crew
You’ll need the Mothership Zeta DLC for this mod to work. When you finish the DLC, you’ll find yourself in command of a starship, but with very little in the form of a crew. With this Mothership Zeta crew mod installed, a button on the starship can be pressed to engage a new quest line that will see you recruit a new crew that will become a faction worthy to go up against the Enclave or Brotherhood of Steel.
Mart’s Mutant Mod
A mod all about adding diversity, Mart’s Mutant Mod adds more variety when it comes to creatures and NPCs, as well as adding whole new enemies and friendlies to meet during your travels. It makes every NPC unique in stats, size, and skin textures. There’s also a lot of AI sharpening going on behind the scenes, ensuring variety is not only in the visuals but also the way enemies behave.
Real Time Settler
One of the big things coming to Fallout 4 is the ability to build settlements and start trade routes between them. If you want that kind of feature right now, Real Time Settler adds something similar to Fallout 3. You can build your own village, decorate it how you wish, and then start manufacturing weapons and armour to sell on the black market.
Weapon Mod Kits
Weapons are not just single answers to all problems. Sometimes they need adjusting to work for the job. If you could do with a silencer adding to that pistol. a scope on that rifle, or an extended magazine in that machinegun, you need the Weapon Mod Kits mod. Simply take it to a workbench and start upgrading.
Existence 2.0 Robot Radio
Not everyone is going to be at home listening to a bit of swing or jazz music on their Pip-Boy, so it was only a matter of time before a modder opened up a new broadcast channel. Existence 2.0 is DJ’d by a robot, who sends out ‘experimental ambient terror’ music over the waves. Whatsmore, the mod actually puts a physical recording studio for the station in the world, which you can visit to learn more about the robotic DJ.
Alternate Fast Travel
Some players despite fast travel systems, so this Alternate Fast Travel mod retools Fallout 3’s travel system to be more akin to the logical method as used in Morrowind. Now you can only fast-travel from certain places, with paths that only lead to specific destinations. For example, you could catch a boat from Big Town to Rivet City, which has a couple of stops on the way you could hop off at.
Arefu Expanded
The Arefu Expanded mod takes the simple shack-like settlement of Arefu and turns it into a thriving wasteland village. 16 lore-friendly characters are added, who can help you out with new quests, as well as a new player home for you to bunk in.
DCnteriors Project
Like so many open-world games, Fallout 3 is filled with uncountable locked doors you’ll never see behind (because they’re just set dressing, not real doors). The DCnteriors Project mod changes all that, adding hundreds of new areas to explore behind doors that were previously just scenery. From shops to abandoned houses, plenty more looting opportunities await you.
Simple Realism
Whilst many mods overhaul many of Fallout’s features and mechanics for a tougher experience, Simple Realism is all about keeping as close to Bethesda’s style as possible, whilst also keeping your life expectancy in the realms of reality. Simple Realism reduces ammo supplies, makes weapons deadlier, reduces the amount you can carry, and makes you much more susceptible to radiation.
Sydney Follower
Sydney is an NPC that can help you out during the Stealing Independence quest. She disappears after, but if you’d rather she stuck around forever, then this Sydney Follower mod allows you to recruit her as a follower. The mod includes 400 lines of additional dialogue for Sydney, all voiced by the original voice actress, so it’s an authentic experience.
Alton, IL
Fallout 3 is set in Washington DC, and lets you explore a very sizable city with all it’s tourist attractions and underground metro system. If that’s not enough for you, then the Alton, IL mod adds the city of Alton, Illinois to the game. Essentially an expansion pack, it contains a branching main quest with two rivalling factions, loads of lore, and full voice acting. The world is about twice the size of the Point Lookout DLC, so there’s plenty to explore.
FOOK 2
FOOK 2, like Wanderers Edition, is a full overhaul of Fallout 3 to offer a slightly different experience. It adds a huge collection of new weapons, armours, and items, rebalances the damage system, and retextures many items with HD skins. There’s also some bug fixes in there too. For the full experience, you’ll want to combine FOOK 2 with Wanderers Edition, but to make the two work together you’ll need this patch.
Galaxy News Radio Enhanced
Galaxy News Radio has a great set of tunes, but the playlist is a bit on the limited side. This Galaxy News Radio Enhanced mod adds 100 new songs to the station, as well as adding new sections to news broadcasts, and allowing DJ Three Dog to talk to you after you hit level 20.
Sprint mod
The wasteland is a pretty big world, and you’ve got places to be. Make that trip quicker by modding your character so they can sprint. As long as you have AP, you can run faster than you ever have before.
Iron Sights
Fallout 3 isn’t all that great at the shooting side of things. You can improve the guns experience with a few mods though, and this Iron Sights mod will allow you to use the sights on weapons for a feel closer to regular FPS games.
Ultimate Perk Pack
As you progress through the levels of Fallout, you can pick up new perks to make your character more powerful and useful. The Ultimate Perk Pack mods the game to have a massive collection of new perks that add interesting new qualities to your character.
Fallout 3 Best Weapons
Vault 101 Revisited
A short questline that sees you returning to the Vault where you used to live. Vault 101 Revisited explores the possibility of the people of 101 opening the door and rejoining the outside over the course of four new quests.
If all this Fallout 3 modding has got you in the mood for a more modern visit to the nuclear apocalypse, you’ll certainly be looking forward to Fallout 4. Check out everything we know about Fallout 4 here, from the story to all the new gameplay features.