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Unfortunately, not all weapons are made equal. Some of these unique items are pretty much unusable in combat due to the minimal amount of damage they inflict and only make for situational or funny items. However, other weapons in Fallout 4’s Nuka World DLC are absolute must-haves and can deal some serious damage.
Updated on July 26, 2022, by Anastasia Maillot: There’s not much new on the Fallout frontier, given Bethesda’s focus on Starfield. Those who haven’t been seduced by Fallout 76’s promise of an immersive multiplayer environment can still return to Fallout 4 and its Nuka-World DLC, which both hold up surprisingly well even years after its release. Nuka-World, although not the most interesting DLCs in terms of story, came packed with a bunch of cool and extremely niche weapons. This list has been updated with little hints on when to best use these weapons – including even the weirder ones, such as the infamous Paddle Ball.
13 Paddle Ball
The paddle ball is a unique ballistic weapon, which is found at the Nuka-Cade. The price is 500 Nuka-Cade tickets, although they might not always be available depending on the day. It uses special ammunition which can be bought also at the arcade for 50 tickets. With the Project Cobalt schematics, the paddle ball receives a nice upgrade in damage, becoming a Nuka-Cola Quantum ball.
There are other minor upgrades for it as well, although it doesn’t really do any significant damage unless the Project Cobalt schematics are used. Its range is quite small, and all in all, it’s just a very inconvenient weapon that requires a lot of tinkering to turn into something remotely decent.
When To Use The Paddle Ball
In all honesty, it’s probably best not to use the paddle ball. Like a few other weapons in the game, it’s a “meme” weapon more than anything. Given that it needs some work to even become decent, players are better off using something else. Even with the Nuka-Cola Quantum paddle ball upgrade, players will be doing around 50 damage per hit, which is miserable compared to other weapons on the list. In sum, only use this one against weak enemies, or when players are hopelessly bored out of their minds and want a challenge.
12 Thirst Zapper
The Thirst Zapper is first introduced when the Sole Survivor makes their way to the final part of the Gauntlet to face Overboss Colter. Initially, the gun is nothing but a squirt gun, and its ammo can be replenished with Nuka-Cola. Still, its iconic look makes it a must-have for anyone’s collection.
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As a “gun,” the Thirst Zapper falls under the Gunslinger perk, so it’s possible to make it a somewhat decent weapon, provided it’s modified. The perks needed are Science! and Gun Nut, and the best version, the Quantum Gun, requires the Project Cobalt schematics. At its best, the Thirst Zapper can deal 402 damage, but due to it requiring so much modification and work, it’s not the best.
When To Use The Thirst Zapper
While the Quantum Gun version of the Thirst Zapper requires extensive upgrading and for the players to craft their own ammo, it does a lot of damage. 402 per explosive shot is nothing to scoff at, though due to its rather slow reload animation (which is also one of its most charming features), players are probably best off using this against relatively weak enemies.
11 Acid Soaker
Another cool item from the Nuka-Cade is the Acid Soaker, which costs over 6000 Nuka-Cade tickets. It won’t be available every day, so keep an eye on the prizes on a daily basis until the gun pops up again. Although the gun can’t be modified, it does have its own niche uses.
The acid inside actually sets a burning effect on a hit target and reduces their damage resistance. Moreover, players who know the ins and outs of making chems will be able to create ammo for the gun at chemistry stations.
When To Use The Acid Soaker
The Acid Soaker has a decent range, but the damage itself isn’t great. That said, it doesn’t require a ton of tinkering and can be a nice weapon to use first before switching to a better one to dish out serious damage to a target with now lower resistances. The ability to reduce a target’s damage resistance can be extremely handy against enemies that have higher damage resistances, whether they’re Deathclaws or Super mutant behemoths.
10 Smart Fragmentation Grenade
Explosives may not be the go-to for many players, but there are a few unique options that can be found in Nuka-World that are worth grabbing. The smart frag grenade in particular is a cool variant of the traditional frag grenade, as it never deals damage to the person who threw it in the first place. Great for those times when close-range grenades are needed!
The smart frag grenade isn’t hard to find either. Just head over to the Nuka-Town marketplace and speak with Shelbie Chase. It’s good to keep in mind that these are one-of-a-kind grenades, so once they’re sold out from Shelbie’s inventory, she won’t ever restock them.
When To Use Smart Fragmentation Grenades
Considering that these are some of the best grenades in Fallout 4, players can make them work with any build that incorporates grenades and explosives. The only thing to remember is that they come in limited quantity. Close quarter fights where enemies can’t escape grenades and players would otherwise risk taking damage are ideal for these smart frag grenades.
9 Fragmentation Grenade MIRV
Another type of grenade that’s slightly better and more versatile is the frag grenade MIRV. These grenades look deceptively tame when inspected, but the real kick comes from the fact that when thrown they explode into multiple tiny grenades that rack up quite a bit of damage.
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These grenades are extremely rare and very difficult to get a hand on. In fact, they can only be looted off the three raider leaders living in Nuka-Town. For the Operators, it’s specifically Mags Black that needs to be looted, and then Nisha from the Disciples and Mason of the Pack. Another reason to actually do Open Season.
When To Use Fragmentation Grenade MIRV
Like the previous grenade type, these are hard to come by, so players will want to save them for any endgame gameplay that features a ton of enemies. The reason it works well for crowds is because of its explosion into tiny, multiple grenades. Any explosive build with benefit from these as an addition to their arsenal.
8 Cito’s Shiny Slugger
One of the parks that needs to be dealt with is Safari Adventure, and upon entering, the Sole Survivor will become friends with Cito, a survivor living among gorillas. After helping him get rid of the Gatorclaws infesting the park, he’ll offer a unique melee weapon: Cito’s Shiny Slugger.
This unique baseball bat basically refills the player’s AP when a critical strike is hit. It’s a pretty decent bat and does 123 damage while consuming 35 AP. Still, melee weapons aren’t necessarily the go-to option for many players, which is why it’s not the best of the best.
When To Use Cito’s Shiny Slugger
Melee builds can be incredibly powerful in Fallout 4,and have also become quite popular over the years due to them being initially quite niche. If players choose to go this route and play through the entire game with melee weapons only, then this weapon should be part of their arsenal. In fact, Cito’s Shiny Slugger can easily become a player’s main melee weapon of choice due to its decent damage.
7 Sword Of Wonders
Another cool but somewhat useless melee weapon is found in Kiddie Kingdom. This sword is Oswald’s weapon, and it can be looted off of him if he dies. He’ll also give it to the player if he’s persuaded to leave or if Rachel’s holotape found in Bradberton is given to him.
The sword does 16 base damage, but what makes it a bit more special is the fact that it nullifies 30% of the enemy’s damage and energy resistance.
When To Use Sword Of Wonders
For pure melee builds and hybrid builds, Sword of Wonders can easily become a secondary weapon that can be used to debuff enemies thanks to it lowering the enemy’s damage and energy resistance. As a primary melee weapon, however, its base damage isn’t that great, so players who want a more simple playstyle with a single melee weapon that fits every scenario might find this annoying to use.
6 Throatslicer
The best in the melee category is the Throatslicer. The blade is inspired by the style of the Disciples gang. It’s fairly easy to find at the Nuka-Town marketplace, and it’s sold by the trader Katelyn Alden.
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The Throatslicer does 70 damage and with the effect of causing a target to bleed after, it receives an additional 25 damage boost.
When To Use The Throatslicer
Considering the impressive damage the Throatslicer does with one hit, with the additional bleed damage boost, it’s a fantastic option for melee builds. Players can even use this as their primary melee weapon that can be used very fast against most enemies.
5 Nuka-Nuke Launcher
The Fat Man is one of the most iconic weapons in the game. Basically its own little nuke launcher, it’s a must-have. Luckily, a pretty cool version of it is found in Nuka-World.
Complete the Cappy quest in a Haystack and choose to let Bradberton die at the end. The man will reward the player with this special Nuka-Nuke Launcher, as well as a bunch of Nuka-Nukes. To make more Nuka-nukes, the schematics are needed, as well as a mini-nuke and Nuka-Cola Quantum. Damage-wise, it does almost 800 damage.
When To Use The Nuka-Nuke Launcher
Builds that rely on explosives will need to get their hands on the Nuka-Nuke Launcher. Now, the downside to this is having to craft additional Nuka-nukes for the weapon, so players will need to scavenge for mini-nukes and Nuka-Cola Quantum. However, the payoff is a massive explosion of a whopping 800 damage, which is more than double the damage of the original Fat Man mini-nuke launcher. For big burst damage, this is what players need to get, as it’s perfect against strong enemies or enemy groups.
4 Hub’s Alien Blaster
Another variant of a well-known weapon, Hub’s Alien Blaster is based on the traditional alien blaster. Critical hits have doubled damage, and the critical strike meter fills 15% quicker. It can be modified with the Science! perk as well, to get some extra damage.
In order to get it, head over to the Hubologist’s camp southwest of the Galactic Zone and speak to Dara. Finish the quest Trip to the Stars and she’ll not only give the player the gun, but also some additional ammo. With a base damage of 50, this is an excellent gun, although it does need to be modded to accept fusion cells as ammo.
When To Use Hub’s Alien Blaster
Hub’s Alien Blaster is just as good and useful as the original Alien Blaster. Players specializing in fusion weapons and centering their build around energy weapons, in general, will see great use from this, though only against humanoid enemies like raiders and ghouls. Pair it up with a build that specializes in dealing critical strikes, and this blaster can downright snipe enemies in combat.
3 Splattercannon
The Splattercannon is the ideal handmade rifle for those who never had the chance to get The Problem Solver. With the right mods and perks, it can become almost as good, if not even better.
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Head over to Aaron Corbett’s shop. Its special effect allows each consecutive hit to have higher damage than the previous, making it quite devastating.
When To Use The Splattercannon
Given the versatility of The Splattercannon, it can work with a variety of builds. Players who are big on gun-related perks will see the most use out of it, and they’ll want to use it to focus on targets that take more than a few hits to be shot down since every consecutive shot will deal even more damage than the previous one. It’s an amazing primary weapon choice that can work for just about any type of Fallout 4 character.
2 The Problem Solver
During the An Ambitious Plan quest, Sole Survivor must speak with the gang leaders in Nuka-Town. When speaking to Mason, be very aggressive and pass the final Charisma check, which earns the player The Problem Solver.
The Problem Solver is the same as the Splattercannon, with higher base damage. Each hit on the same target increases in damage, and with the right perks, it can become a devastating weapon.
When To Use The Problem Solver
The rule of thumb here is the same as with The Splattercannon: it’s a versatile weapon, with a similar unique perk that increases its damage with every consecutive hit. This means players will want to stay on the target for a few shots to reach impressive damage numbers.
1 Aeternus
Finally, the best of the best: Aeternus. This unique variant of the Gatling laser is a must-have for any energy weapon fanatics. The special effect is unlimited ammo, which is incredibly convenient.
To get this, the player needs to continuously play the quest Amoral Combat, during which random challengers will come through the Gauntlet. The challenger who carries this is called the Rogue Knight, and the Aeternus can be looted from him.
When To Use The Aeternus
Energy weapon players will absolutely need this weapon as their primary, go-to weapon. This is the perfect weapon to take down the rank-and-file enemies of Fallout 4, and even laser down some of the bigger enemies if needed, provided the player has the right perks. Its unlimited ammo makes it unparalleled compared to other Gatling lasers as well.
Fallout 4 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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