Laser Rifle (Fallout 3)

The AER9 is a military-grade Laser Rifle used by the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave in Fallout 3 instead of the Wattz 2000 Laser Rifle used in previous Fallout games. Talon Company mercenaries may also be armed with them. Its Pistol-sized counterpart is the AEP7 Laser Pistol.

Characteristics
The AER9 was not considered cutting-edge technology before the war, being an older model than the state-of-the-art AER 12, used in a handful of specialty units. The redeeming feature of the AER9 was its reliability - the focusing crystal array was housed in a titanium casing, rather than the gold alloys used in later models, which allowed it to withstand years of exposure to the environment without loss in array focus.

As with all energy weapons, the AER9 can suffer from poor performance if not properly maintained. The crystal arrays and non-mechanical components are delicate and if not properly serviced can lead to a loss of beam intensity, overheating, and energy regulation failure. Given that laser weapons were still in their infancy as regular military weapons, parts can be hard to come by in the wasteland. However, its lack of moving parts (aside from the MF cell holding latch and trigger mechanism) means it is resilient against extended use.

By nature of firing a beam projectile, its shots will instantly hit, negating any need to lead the shot.

Locations
There are a number of Laser Rifles that can be found from an early level:


 * Laying next to a dead Brotherhood Initiate in the north office building off of Falls Church (the one without Initiate Pek).


 * In a cabinet in the Talon Company Camp


 * On a shelf in the Overseer's Office of Vault 92


 * In a tent near a wrecked army truck north east of Smith Casey's Garage (guarded by a level adjusted robot which can be a tough fight, but sometimes patrolling Brotherhood Outcasts will destroy it.


 * One in a cabinet in The Family's home. (Hard lock)

These Laser Rifles aren't usually in the best shape and getting them repaired by merchants can be quite expensive.

Additionally, Enclave Soldiers typically have Laser and/or Plasma weapons equipped (usually at about 1/3 CND) so plenty of Laser Rifles can be found inside of the Enclave Headquarters at Raven Rock.

Variants
Variations of the AER9 exist in Fallout 3 and its add-ons:


 * Wazer Wifle - This unique variant of the AER9 has higher damage and durability, as well as a larger magazine. It is obtained from Biwwy in Little Lamplight for five hundred caps or free with the Child at Heart perk.


 * Metal Blaster (The Pitt add-on) - This unique variant of the AER9 fires nine beams at once, using one Microfusion Cell similar to the Protectron's Gaze Laser Pistol. This feature, coupled with its remarkably high damage-per-shot makes it a devastating short to close-range weapon, though its effectiveness greatly diminishes at a range with the "shotgun effect". It can be obtained by bringing fifty Steel Ingots to Everett in The Pitt.


 * Tri-Beam Laser Rifle (Broken Steel add-on) - The Tri-Beam Laser Rifle is a variant of the AER9 that fires three high-powered beams per shot - similar to the Metal Blaster - though it does require three Microfusion Cells every time the trigger is pulled. It is technically not a unique version of the AER9 but rather a variant as it frequently drops from Super Mutant Overlords and is not repairable with anything but other Tri-Beam Laser Rifles. It was first made available in Broken Steel.

Behind the scenes
On the barrel, there is a warning: "Caution: laser radiation". It's also rated as a "Class 6" laser, which may be a subtle nod to the internationally used laser class rating system, which currently rates the strongest industrial lasers as "Class 5".

Interestingly, shooting a laser beam at the water produces surface waves. While in theory there should be little or no interaction between the photons of the beam and the (transparent) water, it seems likely that particles of dirt and other impurities are being heated, causing some of the water to flash into steam and produce waves.

Something to notice while viewing this weapon in 3rd person, it has a huge hole in the bottom where the foregrip is. You can see through the gun. (Xbox 360)

Interestingly, as it appears relatively common in the Capital Wasteland, the weapon was not deployed during the Anchorage Reclamation. One way of explaining this inconsistency is that it was deployed elsewhere and had not reached a high enough production capacity to become widespread. (As a matter of fact, at the end of Operation: Anchorage when you encounter General Jingwei, some T-51B units are using laser rifles.  Checking their inventories shows that they are, in fact, ordinary Laser Rifles, and were not reskinned or redone for Anchorage.)