Chinese Assault Rifle (Fallout 3)

The Chinese Assault Rifle is a Small Guns weapon in Fallout 3.

Background
It was designed and manufactured by Chinese industrial conglomerate Norinco for the People's Liberation Army during the Resource Wars, for the purpose of equipping the Chinese infiltrators and American fifth-columnists. To this end, it was chambered for the abundant NATO 5.56mm round.

Thousands of these weapons were smuggled into the US for use by Chinese operatives and sympathizers on the East Coast, and many remain functional even two hundred years after the Great War. These rifles are also proven to be ready for manufacturing in post-war conditions.

Surviving examples are used by various groups and individuals in the Capital Wasteland, including Super mutants (particularly super mutant masters), Talon Company mercenaries (on lower levels), Chinese commandos (before and after the war), certain scavengers and some members of the Brotherhood of Steel. It's also carried by Lucas Simms, sheriff of Megaton. Jericho is also armed with this weapon.

Characteristics
The Chinese Assault Rifle is a second-tier, general purpose automatic firearm. Chambered with the same 5.56mm ammo as the R91 Assault Rifle, it is the most powerful of the generic assault rifles in base damage, DPS, and durability. It has the same ammo capacity, AP cost, and spread statistic as other assault rifles (though it appears less accurate in practice). It may also suffer the same weakness in close quarters combat as other rifles (see below). Regardless, it remains a formidable automatic weapon for any Small Guns character in the early to late-game.

Due to the abundance of ammunition, a Chinese Assault Rifle makes a fine main combat weapon through the majority of the game, two to three magazines can destroy a Sentry Bot from close range.

A fully repaired Chinese Assault Rifle can fire 1210 rounds, about 51 magazines, before breaking.

Variants

 * Xuanlong Assault Rifle - The Xuanlong is available by completing the unmarked Jiggs' Loot quest. It has a 36 round box magazine and the highest damage of any automatic Small Gun.
 * Jericho's Chinese Assault Rifle is only obtainable via console command.


 * A variant named Chinese Dragoon Assault Rifle can be found in the data files for Operation: Anchorage; it can only be obtained via console commands.
 * An additional variant with 1000 damage can also be found in Operation: Anchorage, used in the  and cannot be obtained under normal circumstances.

Related Quests
Pronto, in Paradise Falls, wants 20 of these guns to expand his store inventory.

Locations

 * Lucas Simms carries a Chinese Assault Rifle.
 * Can be found in the Megaton Armory.
 * Many Talon Company Mercs carry this weapon.
 * Several Chinese Assault Rifles can be found on dead Talon Mercenaries in Metro Central.
 * Almost every Chinese Remnant soldier in Mama Dolce's carries one.
 * Super Mutant Masters often use this weapon.
 * 7 can be obtained at the point Point lookout Chinese Bunker.
 * There may be one or two sold at Flak 'N Shrapnel's that restocks every couple days or so.

Operation: Anchorage
In the first add-on certain weapons have been re-skinned to make them look like actual pre-War weapons. The Chinese Assault Rifle is among the small group that was chosen for use in the add-on.

The new looks include brown-colored hand and fore grips, and the outer plating is a darker black with fewer scratches than the post-War version. The stats and name are exactly the same, but the durability (as with every in-simulation item) is near-infinite, making the weapon (almost) impervious to damage and frequent use. The only downside is that the condition must be lowered dramatically if you wish to repair this weapon up to 100%.

Despite the barriers the developers have placed to prevent looting, it is possible to acquire as many of these as you can carry and take them out of the simulation into the rest of the game, by using a combination of glitches. To do this you'll first need to prepare the simulation pod so you can take your pre-War items out of the simulation. A guide including a video with instructions can be found on the Operation: Anchorage bugs page.

Appearances
Chinese Assault Rifles appear only in Fallout 3.

Bugs

 * In close quarters conditions, the rifle can clip targets or level geometry. This causes all shots to miss the target or be absorbed by geometry, even when the muzzle protrudes beyond the obstruction.

Behind the scenes

 * The rifle features various aspects from the AK family of weapons, and uses features from a multitude of variants that have been produced.

Chiński Karabin Szturmowy Китайский автомат