EvaUnit02 on 7/5/2009 at 07:17
I've currently invested 60 points into energy weapons and they don't seem any better in comparison to normal small guns, aside from being more deadly vs. robots.
What are the advantages of energy weapons?
PeeperStorm on 7/5/2009 at 08:29
For my money Energy Weapons are generally more effective than their Small Guns analogues.
Laser Pistol: Better than the 10mm Pistol because of the much greater magazine capacity, somewhat higher base and critical damage, slightly higher chance to hit in VATS (3%), longer maximum range, higher critical multiplier (1.5), and minimum spread of zero. That last one means that when you shoot in non-VATS combat, it will hit exactly where you're aiming it when you have a high Energy Weapons skill.
Laser Rifle: Similar advantages over the Hunting Rifle, plus significantly higher rate of fire and almost 5x the magizine capacity.
Plasma Rifle: Similar advantages again when compared to the Combat Shotgun, with slightly lower damage but useful at much longer range.
Alien Blaster/Firelance: Significantly higher damage than any other non-explosive weapons in the game. Firelance + Pyromaniac perk is just obnoxiously deadly.
Mesmertron: If you don't mind the negative karma it's a bottlecap-making machine, especially for a stealthy character.
But it's not all kittens and sunshine. Energy Weapons are more expensive to maintain and buy ammo for. They're a lot rarer until the Enclave shows up. They aren't any good for shooting inanimate objects like bottles, cans or mines. Plasma weapon projectiles move slowly enough that when you're trying to get a long-range stealth shot with them, your target might be alerted by the time it hits. Small guns are more versatile.
Generally, I like Energy Weapons when I'm also working on one or two other combat skills like Unarmed and Explosives. If I'm just putting points into one combat skill, I go with Small Guns for the greater versatility.
foldy on 12/5/2009 at 13:35
It also pays off later on when you're fighting the Enclave (Broken Steel, especially), and they drop droves of Energy Weapon ammo.
I pretty much only use a Plasma Rifle at this point, and my ammo count is over 1000.
Jason Moyer on 13/5/2009 at 18:04
By the endgame I found myself basically keeping my combat shotgun in hand in case I was jumped by something, and using the plasma rifle or sniper rifle for anything medium to long range, depending on how much I was able to surprise the enemy.
The plasma rifle is a pretty awesome medium range stealth weapon once you find it. The other energy weapons I found less use for.
PeeperStorm on 14/5/2009 at 04:48
I find the Laser Rifle to be perfect for long range stealth sharpshooting. I can use it from far enough away that they can never locate me between shots before I become "hidden" again, and since I'm not using a scope I can stay aware of my surroundings while keeping an eye on my targets, and if something manages to find or sneak up on me I can unload a bunch of shots into it in VATS without having to switch weapons because of the high rate of fire. The Laser Pistol can fill the same role, albeit with about half the damage, if there's no Laser Rifle available.
