Big Guns



Big Guns is a Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics, and Fallout 3 skill. It determines your combat effectiveness with over-sized weapons such as Fat Man, Missile Launcher, Flamer, etc.

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics
The strength requirements of most big guns, combined with the weight of the guns themselves and the large amounts of ammo they require make investing into strength points at character creation a prudent choice for players planning to use these weapons as their mainstays. Most, if not all, big guns in Fallout are burst weapons exclusively, meaning that players cannot make targeted attacks with them. This makes taking the Fast Shot trait a much more viable option for big gun enthusiasts, as they enjoy the benefits of the trait without the drawback.

Initial Level:
 * Fallout: 10% + (1% x Agility). Average characters have a 15% skill.
 * Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics: 2% x Agility. Average characters have a 10% skill.

Fallout 3
S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Statistic: Endurance

Initial Level: Starting Big Guns skill is equal to 2 + (2 x Endurance) + Luck/2 (rounded up). Average starting characters (End 5, Lck 5) will have a Big Guns skill of 15%.

Weapons specifically affected by this skill are the Flamer, Gatling Laser, Minigun, Fat Man, Missile Launcher, Rock-it Launcher, Heavy Incinerator (Broken Steel only), Drone Cannon (Mothership Zeta only) and any unique variants of these weapons. As this skill increases, so does your accuracy and damage with all of these weapons, both in and out of V.A.T.S. mode.

In addition to assigning Skill Points at Level up, Big Guns can be permanently raised by taking the Size Matters Perk, finding the Big Guns bobblehead, and reading U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes. Big Guns can be temporarily raised by wearing clothing that enhances Endurance, or by wearing the Raider Blastmaster Helmet or Linden's Outcast Power Armor, each of which grant +5 to Big Guns. The Bombshell Armor, from The Pitt, grants an even greater bonus of +10.

The perks Size Matters and Tag! both give the opportunity to raise Big Guns by 15, so with an endurance of 5 by level 16, you could have 45 Big Guns without having to level it.

Fallout 3 big guns
If you're following the Main Quest you can pick up your very own Fat Man early on, and there are several super mutants wielding Miniguns and Missile-Launchers who can be killed for their weapons. Although difficult to obtain and use in the initial stage of the game, Big Guns and their ammo become a deceptively self-sustaining resource after the early-middle stages (particularly the Minigun, and to a lesser extent the Flamer). At higher levels (&gt;50) of the Big Guns Skill, the Minigun becomes very efficient in the mid-range against armored and unarmored foes. Alternating with the Flamer for short range/melee enemies and the Missile-Launcher for long range/sniper enemies provides you with a complete arsenal set for all occasions.

Ammo is always a concern for these weapons and should be supplemented whenever possible from shops and traveling merchants. Fortunately, the 5mm Round is one of the most common forms of ammo sold, and selling looted weapons will readily provide for your needs. Alternatively, making use of the Ammo Press in The Pitt will ensure your requirements are met.

For the first segment of the game, while most big guns and their ammo are still scarce, you could consider acquiring and building a Rock-It Launcher. It's one of the most easily acquired blueprint (Moira Brown sells it) and it is the gun with the most plentiful ammo in the game (since it uses the game's clutter items as ammo). On top of that, spent ammo can be picked up and used again and again. Combined with Bloody Mess, it's also one of the most hilarious weapons in the game.

Unfortunately all Big Guns in the game, regardless of condition, will rapidly degrade with constant usage - nearly twice as much as any Small Gun. Their predominantly fully automatic operation exacerbates this. The Flamer, having only a flame instead of hard bullets scraping the barrel or a burning projectile coming out, is excepted to a degree.