Fallout is a game series that has gripped the gaming world since its inception as Fallout 1 way back in 1997. The series has come a very long way since then. The modern series especially – beginning with Fallout 3 in 2008 – offers players a huge assortment of ways in which to dispatch foes and friends alike, with everything from a gamma ray disintegrator gun, to a portable nuclear missile launcher – apparently humanity didn’t learn the lessons of 2077 very well. So without further ado, these are the best weapons in the modern Fallout series, to date:

Fallout 3 and DLC

5. Lincoln Repeater

Named for the man who abolished Slavery in the US in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln. This old-world relic can be found in the Museum Of History. It boasts a critical multiplier of X2, a base damage of 50 and a critical damage bonus of 50. The Lincoln Repeater is the strongest precision rifle in the base game and fires .44 magnum rounds as standard.

The high damage will shred anything it comes into contact with, and if you decide to opt for the descope, the precision nature of the rifle comes into its own. As this powerhouse of a rifle, tears through flesh, armor and bone of any thing, you will find yourself wondering “why is this rifle so easy to find?”. The only real cost of this rifle is the aforementioned .44 ammo type, which is increasingly rare throughout the Capital Wasteland.

4. Callahan’s Magnum

Taking it’s name from the iconic Dirty Harry series – named for Clint Eastwood’s character, Harry Callahan – this magnum can be obtained by opening a ‘hard’ level safe, within the ruins of the Citadel after opting to destroy it in the Broken Steel DLC pack.

This small, light revolver is one of the strongest weapons in the game and offers a huge 65 damage rating per shot, while maintaining the original fire-rate of the .44 magnum. It is the best small gun in the game, and is ever more useful than the .44 magnum, due to the addition of a scope. Perfect side-arm for any ‘would-be’ snipers, looking to take out raiders and mutants alike.

3. Disintegrator

The Mothership Zeta DLC houses the exceptionally powerful and iconic rifle, the Alien Disintegrator. This rifle annihilates enemies within a few shots, leaving only a pile of unidentifiable ash behind as they meet their demise. It fires energy ammo, rarely found throughout the Capital Wasteland, making it one of the most unique weapons in the modern Fallout series.

Despite the scarcity of its ammunition, the rifle can be found on regular aliens, in the weapons lab, in the robot assembly, and in the hangar. Stockpiling the ammo is worthwhile, as it never gets boring to watch enemies burst into ash as you unleash rounds with reckless abandon. With an automatic version also available, the Alien Disintegrator deserves a place in anyone’s arsenal.

2. Rock-it Launcher

Probably not the ‘best’ by most peoples standards, the Rock-it Launcher is a unique palate-cleanser which can be found nowhere in the game, but it is buildable once the components for it are found. The weapon is a heavy offensive tool which can fire 100 objects from full-condition and deals a base damage of 166.7. The Rock-it Launcher fires junk at extreme speeds towards your foes, and the resultant impact destroys armour, flesh and bone alike.

The junk placed within the weapon shoot in a various number of directions and orientations, this ultimately means that the weapon is far more shock-and-awe, than tactical precision. Having said that, watching a raider lose their limbs and heads to flying silverware and exploded Nuka-cola bottles never becomes tedious.

1. Fat Man

Nuclear weapons are to Fallout, what Skateboards are to Bart Simpson. Regardless of the fact that the world within Fallout is in the state it is, due to nuclear weaponry, this weapon stands to be one of – if not – THE most iconic weapon in Fallout. The weapon fires miniature nuclear warheads in an artillery-style aiming configuration. Geared more towards crowd control and area-of-effect than precision strikes, the Fat Man is a devastating weapon that boasts a base damage of 2542.

The damage, combined with the ease-of-use and access and finally the aiming-style mean that, anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves on the receiving end of the Fat Man will have to be cleaned up using a mop and bucket. This, in no small part, makes the Fatman the best weapon available in Fallout 3.

Fallout New Vegas and DLC

5. Lucky

Definitely not the best weapon in Fallout: New Vegas, but easily the most beautiful. Lucky is a .357 revolver which can be found in a ‘hard’ safe in an abandoned building within the ‘Primm’ township. This immensely impressive revolver hits harder than most and fires exceptionally fast, for its ammo type. Critical stats and luck-based perks and builds can make this revolver something to be feared across the Mojave Wasteland.

4. Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle

Hidden in a ‘100’ skill gun-case near a crate of .308 ammo at Sniper’s Nest – which the rifle fires. The Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle as a higher base damage and critical bonus than the standard sniper rifle. Gobi also features a very low weapon spread, combining this with the DPS and critical damage, means that this rifle is one of the best long guns throughout the Mojave Wasteland. It may not be moddable, but it is a heavily-camouflaged and dangerous weapon which belongs in any would-be Wanderer’s backpack.

3. Euclid’s C Finder

Not technically a ‘gun’ in the traditional sense. The Euclid C-finder looks like a water pistol, but upon stumbling across it within Freeside, you will quickly realise the devastating power of this weapon. The reason for this, is that this unassuming pistol is a orbital laser designation tool which is capable of calling down air strikes and destroying enemies across the wasteland with ease. Paint your target and run like hell, this weapon means business. You cannot fire it indoors, but you can use it 3995 times from full-condition before it breaks. And remember, you can only use it once every 24 hours, making it the very definition of a ‘rainy day’ tool, especially if your definition of rain is high-caliber explosive payloads.

2. Oh Baby!

Delivering a massive 309 DPS and a 50% VATS damage increase. Oh Baby can be found in the Charleston Cave near a dead nightkin. This devastatingly powerful super sledge, will give any melee/strength builds the upper-hand in any close combat scenario. Combine this with a maxed melee skill and related melee perks, and the Oh Baby! will leave your mouth agape and your bloodlust sated as you smash, crunch and slam your way through anything unlucky enough to cross you.

1. Survivalist Rifle

Coming from the Honest Hearts DLC, this rifle is easily the best long-gun in the game – and possibly the series. It can be found at Red Gate in a duffle bag. It has bent iron-sights and mismatched wood decor. But don’t be fooled by its haphazard appearance. Every bullet fired from this monster carries the weight of a small plane. A survivor of the great war, the rifle was used through every encounter by the survivalist.

If you can get past the hideous appearance of the rifle, this weapon will deliver a killing-blow unlike any seen before. Whether your target is 100 yards away, or 10 feet from you. If this rifle hits them, there won’t be enough left to bury.

Fallout 4 and DLC

5. Overseer’s Guardian

Obtainable very early into the game, the Overseer’s Guardian is one of the best guns in the game. It allows it to fire 2 rounds at once due to its special ability and uses .45 rounds, a relatively common ammo type found throughout the commonwealth. Offering a range of 119, this rifle is perfectly capable of picking distant enemies off with ease, or softening a harder enemy up before approaching for that final blow. It can be found in Alexis Combes’ inventory in Vault 81 and is worth every one of the 1230 bottlecaps with which you have to part.

4. Gamma Gun

This radiation-based sidearm, resembling a relatively inoffensive science project, features a clip size of 8 and inflicts a base damage of 100 radiation. Despite its accuracy rating of 69, it’s not the most precise weapon in the game, often missing if one isn’t careful. Direct aiming isn’t always necessary; due to its large area of effect, hitting close to the enemy still results in impactful damage.

While it doesn’t affect most robots and creatures, this weapon excels in human-to-human encounters where more drastic measures are needed after all else has failed. Lootable from the corpses of Child Of Atom cultists in Decayed Reactor Site or the Kingsport Lighthouse, this gun rewards those with the patience and time to mod it to its full potential.

3. Cryolator

Displayed, just out of player reach, this rifle is locked behind a ‘master’ level lock and for good reason. If you could get your hands on the gun at the beginning of the game, the whole affair would seem trivial. With its ability to freeze enemies, the Cryolator finishes most arguments before they even begin. And for anyone who survives the freezing, the Cryolator holds them in place for that all important encore of destruction.

2. Spray and Pray

This 1920’s throwback submachine gun, a nightmare to find and a pleasure to use, delights in unleashing havoc upon people. It deals 48 damage and offers a unique perk, causing each bullet to explode for 15+ AOE damage. You can purchase it from roaming trader Cricket or discover it at Bunker Hill, Warwick Homestead, and often, Diamond City.

Embark on the hunt for this fantastic weapon and you’ll reap the rewards of a gun worthy of the name and a brilliant tool for Nuka-world, allowing you to rake in those Bandit Roundup tickets for hours on end. This weapon’s spiritual successor, the ‘street sweeper,’ earned its name and managed to end prohibition for good. Worthy of the name and even more worthy of your time, there’s never a dull day to be had with the ‘spray ‘n’ pray.’

1. Wounding Combat Shotgun

Finding this weapon can be just as irksome as trying to find the ‘spray n pray’. Given that the Wounding Combat Shotgun is a legendary loot item, it often appears in many dead legendary enemies’ inventories. Upon finding this gun, you will be gifted one of the most powerful shotguns ever seen in Fallout. Dealing a whopping 50 damage per shot, this powerhouse is capable of downing most bosses in a few hits.

Combine the bleeding effect, dealing 25 additional damage, and you have a winning shotgun worthy of its name. The Wounding combat shotgun trivializes most encounters, delivering a level of destruction rarely seen in the series. Each shot is devastating, causing anyone staring down the barrel to question their life choices. Firing at an impressive rate, the wounding combat shotgun obliterates anything in its path, easily one of the best weapons in Fallout 4 and the modern Fallout series.

Fallout 76

5. Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm is a 10mm submachine gun that sets enemies on fire within 3 seconds of firing upon them. The resultant effect deals further additional fire damage. If that wasn’t enough, equipping the Commando perk boosts the damage of the Perfect Storm further and allows fast dispatch of most enemies. Once fully modified and equipped with the aforementioned perk, the Perfect Storm quickly becomes a survivors/thrivers favourite weapon of choice.

4. Sniper/Hunting Rifle

Long-distance encounters are nothing new to Fallout. As stated in this list, the Lincoln Repeater was a wonderful distance weapon back in Fallout 3 and pulling us back to today, is the Sniper Rifle in Fallout 76. The Sniper Rifle continues the tradition of impressive long-guns began way back in 2008. Offering scope mods and the ability to convert to fire the superior .50 round type. In addition to this, entering ‘sneak’ – basically crouching – affords you a further bonus for performing a sneak attack which rewards you with bonus damage on your target. There really is no better distance weapon in Fallout 76 than the Sniper Rifle.

3. Gauss Rifle

Able to throw radiactive materials – who doesn’t love radiation? – at your enemies at speed is one thing. The Gauss Rifle takes it up a notch by using the 2mm EM cartridge ammo-type. This makes it better to use due to the common availability of the ammo. Usable with the ‘rifleman’ perk to boost the damage and the ‘covert operative’ perk to max the sneak multiplier. The Gauss rifle is able to deliver massive amounts of energy damage in short order. Whether you are a dyed-in-the-wool 76 player or new to the Appalachian wasteland, this rifle is sure to become a firm friend for many hours to come.

2. Tesla Rifle

Sticking again with rifles, the Tesla Rifle is a horde-cleaner if ever there was one. The rifle fires energy cell ammo and deals a respectable 94 damage. Every time you pull the trigger of this wonderfully creative weapon, arcing energy bursting forth greets you and chains between unfortunate foes as they fry to death. Each chained target take 35 percent less damage but hitting them quickly, one-after-the-other means the damage mounts up quickly. Using a Charging Shotgun Barrel mod gains you extra damage per hit. That adjustment is JUST enough to make the difference to this shockingly good rifle.

1. Handmade Rifle

When modded and applied with the right perks, the Handmade Rifle is probably the most wanted rifle in all of Appalachia. It is capable of dispatching most enemies with ease and can fit most receivers, augments and magazines. You can increase the DPS, rocket the fire-rate, and even attach a suppressor for those ‘hush hush’ encounters. Combining this gives a gun which any Fallout 76 owner will climb over mountains and corpses to obtain.

Fallout has some of the best weapons in gaming history featured in its entire catalogue. As you can see from the list above, they range from tactically effective, to gratuitously destructive. But one thing is for sure, Fallout has a weapon for every and any playstyle.

What is your favourite weapon in Fallout and why? let us know over on X @PowerUpGamingUK or throw me a line at @JaxsoPlays. I am always happy chat about all things Fallout, but until next time, remember, war never changes…