Laser Rifle (Fallout 3)

The AER9 laser rifle is a weapon in Fallout 3.

Characteristics
The laser rifle is a military-grade weapon used by the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave, instead of the Wattz 2000 laser rifle used in previous Fallout games. Its pistol-sized counterpart is the AEP7 laser pistol.

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 microfusion 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.

In combat, the laser rifle is an exceptional weapon. It performs admirably at medium and long ranges where its accurate semi-automatic fire combined with its large ammunition capacity makes short work of most opponents. However, its semi-automatic nature prevents it from being a viable close quarters combat weapon. As such, the laser rifle is a good weapon for traveling through the open wastelands where dispatching enemies at a distance is a frequent opportunity. Although its damage output is only comparable to the hunting rifle and lower than the sniper rifle, its rapid semi-automatic action, sizable magazine, minimum spread of 0 (meaning potentially perfect accuracy), extreme effective range, and exceptionally low AP cost allows the laser rifle to really stand out. A deadly critical hit from this weapon, as with other laser weapons, will not only kill enemies but also turn them into a pile of colored sparkling ashes, which can still be looted as normal.

A fully repaired laser rifle can fire 1086 bolts, about 46 full cells, before breaking.

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 - 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 - 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. This weapon is not unique, dropped from super mutant overlords and is not repairable with anything but other Tri-beam laser rifles. It was first made available in Broken Steel.


 * Operation: Anchorage add-on includes an unused DLC-specific version of the laser rifle. It is identical to the normal laser rifle in both statistics and appearance. Its intended purpose in the DLC is unknown and it was cut from the final release, rendering it accessible only through the use of console commands.
 * A "demo" version of the laser rifle is included in Fallout 3, presumably left from the game's E3 demo. It does one point less damage per shot and less than half the critical damage than the standard variant, but has a much higher critical chance percentage. It is not used anywhere in the game and is only accessible through the use of console commands.

Locations

 * 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.
 * 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, but sometimes patrolling Brotherhood Outcasts will destroy it.
 * One in a cabinet in The Family's home.
 * Can be discovered in a room next to some skeletons during the Stealing Independence quest.
 * Carried by some Talon Company mercs at higher levels.

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 reference to the internationally used laser class rating system, which currently rates the strongest industrial lasers as "Class 5".