Welcome back to the wasteland. This irradiated apocalypse world is full of danger and misfortune. Around every corner, there’s someone waiting to take everything you have! Luckily for you, we’ve prepared a guide for all the best unique weapons out there and how to find them. Maybe you’re on the other side of the scale? You feel that your game is too easy and want to get your hands on a weapon that makes it hard. To each their own. Whatever your reasons for coming here, don’t worry, TheGamer’s got your back!
Fallout 4 is littered with hundreds – if not thousands – of possible weapons that can spawn with traits of legendary proportions, but did you know some of these weapons are one of a kind? These unique weapons are the main center point of tonight’s article. We’ll be looking at weapons from all over the wastelands and giving you a run-down of their statistical advantages and disadvantages as well as how best to play with them. Regardless of whether you’re a grenade-tossing demolitions expert or a long-range sniper, whatever your play-style, we’ve got something for you.
We’ll be looking at weapons from all the DLC expansions, so whether or not you’ve got access to the DLC, there’s a new tool inside for you! Maybe you’re thinking of returning to the wastes after a well-deserved break, or perhaps you’ve only just begun your adventures, either way, this guide is essential to your survival! Get your inventory ready, it’s time to load up!
30 Best: Kellogg’s Pistol
Despite the morning breakfast cereal that you might associate with this name, the weapon itself is far beyond that sweet morning glory. Kellogg is an antagonist found through the main storyline and when you eventually defeat him you can get your hands on his trusted pistol.
The fact that it’s found so early makes it a great pistol for beginners.
This pistol’s Relentless ability makes it a key weapon to have at the start of your game. Relentless grants the ability to restore action points for critical hits. This pistol makes a great backup weapon for all players, long and short distanced.
29 Best: Righteous Authority
Righteous Authority is given to the player by Paladin Danse as a reward for completing the quest Call to Arms. This weapon grants players double damage for critical hits and refills the critical meter 15% faster when using V.A.T.S. This is because of the Lucky modifier. Righteous Authority has plenty of leeway for wiggling around on the workbench. Players can choose from a wide range of modifiers to implement on their weapon, so you can get Righteous Authority to bend around your play-styles.
28 Weak: Reba II
You can get your hands on the Reba from Barney Rook at the Rook Family House. Although, I wouldn’t know why you’d want to. Aside from its name, the Reba is just another ordinary Hunting Rifle. It spawns with random traits and there’s no guarantee as to which it’ll be, but they’re all level-based depending on what level the player is when they first encounter Barney. The Reba is not a legendary weapon and has no additional effects. You’re going to want to put this in the trash pile.
27 Best: Grognak’s Axe
Explorers of the wasteland alike probably know who Grognak is, the fictional comic-book star that gives players the Barbarian Perk. Well, you may be delighted to hear that Grognak’s Axe is available to find in the game.
This weapon can’t be renamed but it can be carried by Strong.
You can find the axe inside Hubris Comics, in a locked display case (Advanced), behind the front desk. Hits from the Axe will cause targets to bleed and stagger. Furthermore, it swings like a switchblade, allowing twice the action-points to be saved from hits in V.A.T.S.
26 Best: December’s Child
Exclusive to the Far Harbour DLC, December’s Child is a Combat Rifle that packs quite the punch. December’s Child comes fitted with an M4 Carbine mod that reduces the weapons weight and converts the ammunition it fires to 5.56mm rather than the .45 usually used by Combat Rifles. On top of this, the weapons reload speed is increased by 15% and the fire rate is increased by 25%. It is found inside the Vim! Pop factory, in an area that DiMA used as a secret medical lab. December’s Child is sitting beside the medical equipment at the back of the room. Take Nick Valentine along for an easy ride!
25 Weak: Silver Submachine Gun
Whoever thought that adding a unique color to a weapon qualified it for a Unique brand, thought wrong. The only difference between this Submachine Gun and any other is that it has a chrome finish to the metal work and a darker wooden stock. Aside from this, the weapon has no additional mods available or special effects. Furthermore, whenever the player adds a new mod to the weapon, the mod is the default color! I don’t know why you’d need to know this but the SMG is rewarded by Kent Connolly for finishing the quest The Silver Shroud.
24 Best: The Problem Solver
Exclusive to the Nuka-World add-on, this rifle is a one-time deal, when you miss it, it’s gone for good. What makes the Problem Solver so literal is the Furious Legendary Effect that comes with it, meaning each consecutive shot on the same target increases damage dealt.
Despite its difficulty to obtain, it’ll require some heavy investment to increase damage.
The only way to obtain it is through an extensive Charisma check (Hard) with Mason during An Ambitious Plan, you’ll want to follow all the dialogue options on the right in an aggressive manner. However, if you screw this up, say bye-bye to The Problem Solver.
23 Best: Cryolater
This freezing cold rifle is one of the most iconic Unique weapons in the game. Found in the starting area of Vault 111, players can get it by picking the Master Lock in the Overseer’s Office.
The Cryolator is a great weapon for starting players because none of its upgrades require the Science or Gun Nut perks.
This unique weapon fires a stream of liquid-nitrogen that freezes enemies when exposed to it. Some enemies will require a longer time to freeze and some won’t freeze at all. It’s highly recommended installing a crystal barrel mod for maximum performance.
22 Weak: 2076 World Series Baseball Bat
This Baseball Bat is located at the Jamaica Plain Town Hall basement, found in the display on the right side of the Treasures exhibit. Aside from having a 6% chance to knock enemies back and a fancy logo on it, the weapon is practically no different from any other bat. However, it can be sold to Moe Cronin in the Diamond City market for 200 caps, or up to 400 caps after passing speech checks. Interestingly, the effect found on the bat can’t be found on any other weapon in the game, and it will work with any Melee weapon.
21 Best: Splattercannon
Sticking with the theme of Furious Legendary Effects, you should consider giving the Splattercannon a spin! Just like The Problem Solver above, this weapon is exclusive to the Nuka-World add-on and will require some heavy investment to get the damage ranking you seek. You’ll want to call upon the Gun Nut perk to get what you’re after. Unlike The Problem Solver, this weapon is easy to obtain and not missable. Players can grab it from Aaron Corbett in the Nuka-Town market.
20 Best: Butcher’s Hook
Bloodthirsty and sharp, this unarmed weapon is exclusive to the Far Harbour DLC and can be purchased from Erickson at Horizon Flight 1207. Using the Relentless weapon effect, critical hits from this weapon restore your V.A.T.S! In terms of upgrades, this weapon is like any other Meat Hook in the game, you can add two extra hooks to increase damage and give a chance to disarm. It’s probably worth mentioning that this weapon is the only unarmed Unique weapon in the game. If you take Dogmeat along with you when you purchase the Butcher’s Hook, he’ll give Dogmeat a Blue Bandana.
19 Weak: Salvaged Assaultron Head
Found exclusively in the Automatron DLC inside a large chest before the player exits Fort Hagen hangar, after the fight against Ivey. This unique laser pistol weapon may look fantastic and one-of-a-kind, however, it’s the negative effect that it inflicts on players that make it one of the worst unique weapons on the game. Sure, you can build your player around not taking radiation damage, but the fact this weapon will inflict 50 rads on the player before it’s fired make it a double-edged sword. Combine this with a slow reload time and clunky accuracy and you’ve got a real contender for one of the worst unique weapons in the Commonwealth.
18 Best: Wazer Wifle
Is it just me who thinks of Kripke from the Big Bang Theory every time I read this weapon’s name? The Wazer Wifle (Laser Rifle) is one of the most useful tools you can acquire in a play-through.
The Wazer Wifle comes with four mods already equipped.
These mods include Overcharged Capacitor, Improved Long Barrel, Full Stock and Standard Sights.
Say goodbye to reload times as this weapon never needs to reload (but still requires ammunition) thanks to the Never Ending effect. The Wazer Wifle is given to the player after doing three unmarked quests for Shaun. These quests only appear after ending the game with any faction.
17 Best: Broadsider
Unusually designed and highly powerful, the Broadsider is one of the strongest weapons in the game! The perfect gift for that Pirate of the Apocalypse in your life! Heavy weapons experts rejoice, the Broadsider fires explosive cannonballs at enemies and packs quite the punch. Although this weapon has a high-damage rating anyway, players with the Heavy Gunner perk will get more damage out of it. You’ll get the Broadsider rewarded to you by Ironsides during the quest Last Voyage of the U.S.S. Constitution. However, if you side with the scavengers on the quest, you’ll never find the Broadsider. Making it an unobtainable weapon if you don’t play your cards right.
16 Weak: Zeta Gun
Several factors contribute towards why the Zeta Gun is so terrible. Consider it a consolation prize for the quest The Secret of Cabot House. Zeta is a specially modified gamma gun that has significantly reduced damage and has no additional radiation damage! In comparison to its counterpart, Lorenzo’s Artifact, it is an incredibly watered down version. If the player sides with Lorenzo in this quest, the Zeta Gun can be found on Jack. However, a Zeta Gun can be found in the Cabot House on the science lab table, regardless of who you side with.
15 Best: Lorenzo’s Artifact
After the realization that you’ve got the worst deal out of The Secret of Cabot House with the Zeta Gun. Load in an older save and this time side with Jack, he’ll reward you with the much better, Lorenzo’s Artifact. Unlike other Gamma Guns in the game, Lorenzo’s Artifact doesn’t apply radiation damage to its foes.
Lorenzo’s Artifact only dishes out unconditional regular damage.
The unique damage modifier in this gun makes it knock back enemies. This effect is far greater in Lorenzo’s Artifact than regular Gamma Guns. You should also bear in mind, even though it looks like a normal Gamma Gun it handles very differently.
14 Best: Final Judgement
Gattling Lasers don’t come half as decent as Final Judgement. This unique Gatling Laser is the personal weapon of Arthur Maxson who can be seen using it in the quests Airship Down, Rockets’ Red Glare, Ad Victoriam, and The Nuclear Option. The player can obtain this weapon by searching Arthur’s body after defeating him or hitting him with a weapon that has a chance to disarm (this may turn him hostile). Its faster fire rate and reload speed, combined with various other mods, will make this THE most powerful weapon in the game.
13 Weak: Skipper’s Last Stand
Although on the outside this Far Harbour weapon might appear to offer players a nice bargain. That sweet 150% damage resistance to you whilst reloading is actually a bit pointless considering it takes around five seconds to reload. You’ll be given Skipper’s Last Stand by Old Longfellow as a reward for completing the quest Shipbreaker. Despite the unique weapon’s impressive statistics in the damage and range categories, the reload time alone makes the gun a big fat miss. However, it’s worth 1,005 caps at base value for a quick cash-in.
12 Best: Hub’s Alien Blaster
This Alien Blaster is identical to every other on the game, however, it has a wide range of modifications and has the Lucky effect. The Lucky effect causes the critical meter to fill 15% faster and critical shots do double damage!
You’ll want the Science perk as well as Gunslinger, Bloody Mess, and Basher to get the most from Hub’s Alien Blaster.
Players can get this unique Alien Blaster as a reward from the Trip to the Stars quest given by Dara Hubbell. This weapon is also exclusive to the Nuka-World DLC.
11 Best: The Gainer
Another .44 Magnum entry here, you’ll find that The Gainer offers a fairly different play-style than Kellogg’s Pistol. Thanks to the legendary incendiary effect, this pistol fires flaming bullets of apocalyptic justice! Not only does this weapon deal 15 points of fire damage over time, but the player’s controller also lightly vibrates whenever this weapon is equipped - literally humming with power. You can find this weapon in the Vitale pumphouse, an unmarked location south of the Hub City Auto Wreckers.
