MPLX Novasurge

The MPLX Novasurge is a weapon which is added to Fallout 3 in the Mothership Zeta add-on.

Characteristics
The weapon acts very similarly to the plasma pistol it formed the basis for, barring several prototype features. First and foremost, this weapon does more than three times as much damage as the regular plasma pistol, and has a higher critical multiplier (3x as opposed to 2x). However, it uses two energy cells to power each shot, and weighs twice as much as the normal, almost as much as an R91 assault rifle.

Durability
The MPLX Novasurge can fire 376 energy cells' worth of shots, a total of 188 bolts or 23 and a half batteries, from full condition, before breaking. That's 24 cells fewer than the usual plasma pistol.

Variants

 * Plasma pistol - The common variant in Fallout 3.

Location
The weapon is found in the cargo hold area of Mothership Zeta. In one area is a Reid Underwood's terminal (hard) which can be hacked to unlock a safe, to get to the terminal go to the Research lab door go north then a bit east you should see a group of terminals, it's the only one that isn't broken. The safe itself is found in another area among several piles of rubble, next to a machine that is dropping items into a pit. Inside the safe is the weapon, a note detailing the weapon, and energy cells (amount may vary due to the Scrounger perk).

The Cargo hold becomes inaccessible after teleporting to the Bridge, making it impossible to obtain the weapon afterwards.

Bugs

 * While using V.A.T.S., selecting a target causes the ammunition counter to drop by one, not two. The bolt will still use two energy cells, but this may force an unexpected reload sequence.
 * Sometimes Paladin Hoss will unexpectedly show up (even though he's not supposed to) and take the pistol after you've unlocked the safe.