A Light Shining in Darkness

A Light Shining in Darkness is a unique weapon in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on, Honest Hearts.

Characteristics
A unique, shorter variant of the .45 Auto pistol, it features a custom commander-style hammer, skeletonized trigger, and a snake-skin grip, along with the etched Greek text "καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει" on the right side and "καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν" on the left side, which translates as "And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not". It also has "trench" sights (a groove running along the top of the pistol which the player aims down), rather than having a rear notch and a front post.

Like most unique weapons, weapon modifications cannot be added to this firearm. Compared to its standard counterpart, the .45 Auto pistol, it has greater damage per shot, less spread, a greater rate of fire and greater durability, albeit having one less round in the magazine. As with the .45 Auto pistol, it is considered an improved holdout weapon, and can be concealed and taken into weapon-free locations so long as the player's Sneak skill is 50 or greater.

Durability
A Light Shining in Darkness can fire a total of about 1245 rounds, the equivalent of 208 reloads, from full condition before breaking.

Variants

 * .45 Auto pistol, standard variant found throughout Zion Canyon and purchasable from merchants in the Mojave Wasteland after the completion of Honest Hearts.
 * A Light Shining in Darkness (non-player character), a unique playable variant used by Joshua Graham. It differs from the standard variant by having 50 base and crit damage, 2x crit chance and a min spread of 0.35. It also uses the same Pip-boy icon as the 9mm pistol.
 * Joshua's Pistol Whippin' .45, a unique non-playable variant used by Joshua Graham. It differs from the standard variant by being used as a melee weapon.
 * Follows-Chalk's .45 Auto pistol, a unique variant used by Follows-Chalk, a Dead Horses tribal and companion to the Courier. It only differs from the standard pistol in its use of companion ammunition and possession of the standard iron-sights.

Locations
It is carried by Joshua Graham. It can be retrieved from his corpse if killed. Alternatively, it can be found in a footlocker at the Southern passage in Zion Canyon after completion of the Honest Hearts main quest.

Behind the scenes

 * The design is loosely based on various Officer-sized compact Colt M1911s. It is not a complete copy, as it should have a reversed recoil plug.
 * The phrase engraved on the slide of the pistol is from the Bible passage John 1:5, "And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not."

Bugs

 * If loading a saved game from the main menu in which you have A Light Shining in Darkness equipped and drawn, the reload animation takes twice as long as normal. This can be solved by simply switching to another gun and then back again.