Miss Launcher (Fallout 3)

The Miss Launcher is a unique Missile Launcher. It is comparable to a grenade launcher, as it has an arcing flight similar to the fat man. If used non-VATS it is excellent practice for the Fat Man, as you won't kill yourself with a badly placed shot most of the time.

Location

 * Found in the lower level of Fort Independence behind a locked door (requires 75 lockpick). You can also pick up the key to the room. The key is in a foot locker by some of the beds in the same general level.

Characteristics

 * The Miss Launcher is stronger than the standard missile launcher due to several Outcast modifications.
 * Standard missiles fired from this weapon do not fly, instead the missile-tube itself has been converted to propel them pneumatically. In doing so both the missile's explosive warhead and unused solid rocket fuel are free to detonate together, increasing the missile's explosive damage potential by 30%.
 * The damage bonus comes at the cost of range, Miss Launcher's drastically underpowered propulsion system will never be capable of hitting targets farther than 30 feet away, half the range possible with thrown grenades.
 * Research Terminal reports in Fort Independence reveal that Outcast researcher J.J. Browne attempted to modify the Miss Launcher to increase its accuracy. After numerous failed attempts, the ultimately broken Miss Launcher was thrown into storage until someone else could be tasked with working on it.
 * While the Miss Launcher still fires missiles, they do not fly in a straight line. In fact, to say they fly at all is a misnomer; the projectiles get lobbed out of the chamber in a manner compared most similarly to the Fatman in behavior.
 * Because of the nature of the weapon's sharp ballistic trajectory it can be an extremely challenging weapon to aim in real-time. Using this weapon outside of VATS isn't recommended.
 * Even in VATS, this weapon is horribly inaccurate. The game fails to take into account projectile arc, meaning any shots fired fall completely short. Realtime aiming is the only way to shoot anything at range.
 * At close range, sometimes VATS is exited before the projectile detonates, negating the benefit of limited invulnerability.
 * This close-range bug may also lead to freezing issues on the Xbox 360 - the controller will remain rumbling, and the console will freeze.
 * It's powerful enough to kill regular Super Mutants, or any human, with a single shot.

Trivia

 * If you say the name quickly, your mind will comprehend it as if you were saying Missile Launcher.
 * The part of the name "Miss" probably reflects the defective nature of the launcher. No pun intended.

Bugs

 * If this item is placed in one's house it may move and glitch into walls. In time, this will disappear from one's house altogether.
 * If Charon or Star Paladin Cross is in your party upon entering the basement, they will automatically unlock the door to get to the enemies they detect.

YouTube Videos
Obtaining the Miss Launcher 59yBnkIr444