Gauss Rifle (Fallout 3)

The Gauss Rifle is an advanced sniper rifle included in the Fallout 3 add-on, Operation: Anchorage. The rifle uses a series of electromagnetic fields to propel 2mm rounds at tremendous speed. It has a knockdown effect that will knock enemies off their feet following a critical hit.

Unlike the German M72 Gauss Rifle, which uses 2mm EC magazines containing both batteries and ammunition, this gun requires the user to load in the Microfusion Cells needed to magnetize each preloaded 2mm round contained in the magazine attached to the side of the weapon. Each round produces a small "explosion" on impact, dealing minor splash damage.

Location
In the Capital Wasteland:
 * One is located in the VSS Armory after completing the Anchorage Reclamation simulation.

In the Anchorage Reclamation simulation:
 * During The Guns of Anchorage quest, there will be a deceased paratrooper with a Gauss Rifle.
 * One can be obtained from the Quartermaster at the U.S. Army Field Headquarters after successfully passing a speech check.
 * One can also be found on an American Power Armored Soldier during the fight with General Jingwei.

Comparison
The following table compares the stats of the various sniper rifles.

The Gauss Rifle has greater reliability per shot than the Victory Rifle for knocking down enemies, but its buggy VATS performance and low clip size limits its usefulness in close-quarters combat.

Bugs

 * Sometimes (especially outside of V.A.T.S.) the Gauss Rifle's projectile will travel straight through your foe or even directly hitting them, doing no damage and alerting him and his companions to your presence. This is more likely to happen in close range.
 * This weapon does not deal proper damage when in V.A.T.S. Any hit will do exactly 95.244% of the maximum damage, regardless of enemy DR, critical hits, or sneak attacks. This means that, with 100 Energy Weapons, a Gauss Rifle shot will do 95.244 points of damage with every V.A.T.S. shot. This is still lower than free aiming, and no bonuses are applied to headshots.
 * If your character is knocked down, either by a gas explosion or a lucky frag grenade, the Gauss Rifle may go flying. It will stay wherever it lands, and pulling the trigger will cause the rifle to fire from wherever it landed. Holstering the weapon has no effect. Equipping another weapon will fix the issue.