Fallout 3 weapons

This is a list of known Fallout 3 weapons. Note that the list is not complete yet.

Note that the amount of damage done by the weapon depends on the character's skill and on the weapon's condition, and the weapons shown in screenshots and gameplay videos were in various condition and wielded by different characters, so the default values may vary from the ones given below. All but a few weapons remain without stats because they haven't been officially revealed yet.

The weapons on this page are arranged Skill (Small Guns vs. Big Guns, etc.), then by Perk category (Pistols vs. Rifles, etc.), then by sub-category (Assault Rifles vs. Long-Barreled Rifles), then by damage.

Melee weapons
* = based on condition when received.

Unarmed
* = based on condition when received, which is based on your skill with that type of weapon.
 * These weapons enhance the damage inflicted using your Unarmed skill when worn.

Small guns

 * The Small Guns category of weapons contains three sub-categories
 * Pistols
 * Rifles
 * Shotguns

Pistols
* = based on condition when received, which is based on your skill with that type of weapon.
 * Pistols are one of three families of weapons that fall under the Small Guns skill. There are two types of pistols: semi-automatic pistols and sub-machine guns (SMGs).  The two families differ in damage, magazine size, and rate of fire.  For example, SMGs have a larger magazine, do more damage, and are automatic, whereas semi-automatic pistols have smaller magazies, generally do less damage, and are (obviously) semi-automatic.
 * All pistols are affected by the Gunslinger perk.

Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs)

 * SMGs are considered Pistols for the purpose of Perks like Gunslinger. Think Uzis, not MP5s.

Rifles

 * Rifles are the second family of weapons that fall into the Small Guns category. There are two types of rifles: assault rifles and long-barreled rifles ("Long Guns").  The most obvious difference between the two is the zoom magnitude.  Assault rifles have a shorter zoom magnatude relative to long-barreled rifles. Assault rifles also tend to be automatic with larger magazines, whereas long-barreled rifles tend to be semi-automatic with smaller magazines.

Long-Barreled Rifles

 * Considered as Rifles for the purpose of Perks like Commando and Sniper.

Shotguns

 * Shotguns are the third family of weapons under the Small Guns skill. It is unclear whether normal shotguns are considered rifles (or close enough) to benefit from perks like Commando and Sniper.  Similarly, it is also unclear whether the Sawed-Off Shotgun is considered a Pistol for the Gunslinger perk.
 * Shotguns have a very short effective range, between melee weapons and Assault Rifles. They are best used against melee attackers, since they cannot hurt you beyond the effective range of your shotgun and they are forced to come into range to get you.  Shotguns are also most effective against unarmored targets or body parts.  Ghouls are the best example of what shotguns are best at killing.  If you are stuck with a shotgun against an attacker with a longer range weapon, you can attempt to lure your attacker around a blind corner of a building, hallway, or doorway, and then blast their head apart when they round that corner.

Big guns

 * Big Guns can be broken down into two sub-categories: direct fire and ordinance weapons. Direct Fire weapons only damage the target you are aiming at.  Ordinance weapons have an area-of-effect in which the primary target will absorb the brunt of the weapon's damage but nearby targets will also be damaged.  Heavy Flamers are currently classified as Direct Fire, though they may actually do AoE damage as well.

Direct Fire

 * Pyromaniac Perk offers +50% damage with Fire-based weapons, increasing the damage of the Flamer to 168 and the Burnmaster to 240.

Energy weapons

 * Please note that several Energy Weapons are also considered Pistols and are thus affected by the Gunslinger perk. These include the Laser Pistol, Plasma Pistol, Colonel Autumn's Laser Pistol, Smuggler's End, etc.

Other

 * Another energy weapon called Cryolator was removed from the final version of the game.

Custom-Built Weapons

 * These are weapons made from various items by the use of Schematics.
 * If you gain a second schematic the weapons damage improves by 10%
 * If you gain a third schematic the weapons damage improves by another 10% to a total of 20%
 * Additional Schematics for Bottlecap Mine and Nuka Grenade allow you to make more instead of giving more damage. With one schematic - you make one. With two - you make two. With three- you make three. Three is max.


 * The Cryolator was also a custom-built weapon but was removed from the final version of the game.