Sledgehammer (Fallout 4)

The sledgehammer is a melee weapon in Fallout 4.

Characteristics
A simple tool repurposed to serve as a basic melee weapon. It is relatively heavy and slow to swing but capable of inflicting reasonably high amounts of damage, especially in the early game stages. Later in the game, it usually finds itself outclassed by its big brother, the super sledge. Its upgrade options in the base game encompass only two modifications, both of which require fairly little in terms of perks and crafting components.

Like all slow melee weapons, the sledgehammer benefits greatly from Rank 4 of the Big Leagues perk as it allows for hitting multiple targets with every swing, a trait that goes a long way to counteract the slow attack speed in battle against numerous hostiles.

Nuka-World
The Nuka-World add-on adds several new modifications for the sledgehammer. While many of these require considerable investments in the Science! perk on top of Blacksmith, they are now capable of pushing the sledgehammer's damage output far beyond that of any other melee weapon in its class. In fact, a top-tier sledgehammer outclasses even a fully upgraded super sledge in every respect - it can inflict massive ballistic damage, energy damage, bleed damage and extra limb damage for a total of 500+ points with every hit. Various additional effects like stunning the target or setting it on fire plus an inherent chance to cripple only increase its combat value further. A lucky legendary find (such as an Irradiated sledgehammer for instance) can easily rival the game's most powerful melee weapon, Atom's Judgement, in overall effectiveness, if not surpass it. The drawback of this, however, is that the added weight of these modifications result in the weapon weighing over 40 pounds when fully upgraded.

Locations

 * This item can be found frequently in the hands of raiders and super mutants throughout the Commonwealth.
 * Can be purchased from traders, especially weapons vendors.
 * One may be found at Thicket Excavations, leaning against the water pump that Sully Mathis is working on.
 * One may be found in the waystation along the train tracks west-northwest of Vault 81.
 * One can be found on top of a building next to the Haymarket Mall entrance. It can only be reached by climbing some scaffolding and then jumping across two buildings.
 * Two may be found in Kendall Hospital: One in the irradiated hallway after the deathclaw pit, and another beyond the door just after the hallway, before opening the barred door.
 * One at the Super Duper Mart in the fusion core room.
 * A legendary crippling sledgehammer can be obtained by siding with Cog at the end of The Price of Memory.