Plasma gun (Fallout 4)

Plasma weapons are a type of weapon in Fallout 4. Variants include the plasma pistol, plasma rifle, plasma scattergun and plasma thrower.

Characteristics
Plasma weapons are a versatile urban warfare weapon that can be used as a pistol, sniper rifle, assault rifle, shotgun, or even as 'plasma flamethrower'. It is usually encountered later in the game and found on technologically advanced opponents, although at even higher levels it can be found on raiders and legendary enemies.

Compared to the previous iterations, Fallout 4's plasma weapon projectiles travel much faster and cause both ballistic damage and energy damage as opposed to only energy damage. It is a good weapon for facing high tier enemies, especially with its dual damage output.

Not only is the weapon itself much rarer than other energy weapons, its plasma cartridge ammo is much more valuable as well. This reduces the validity of this weapon as an all-around firearm.

One of the other only downsides to this weapon is the lack of an ability to add a silencer meaning to some builds, a weapon with this option would be far better suited.

Plasma weapons are the lightest ranged weapon class in the game, closely followed by laser weaponry. A fully upgraded plasma weapon weighs just over 8 pounds while a top tier assault rifle for instance is four times as heavy and only deals about half as much damage. This makes them even more useful as a powerful backup weapon that can be carried around at all times without weighing its owner down too much.

Location
Found on enemies of level 30 and higher, and in shops after reaching level 25.