Ratslayer

The  is a weapon in Fallout: New Vegas. It is a unique version of the Varmint rifle.

Characteristics
The has black synthetic furniture instead of wood, what seems to be stainless steel metal parts, and appears to have marks on the stock showing that the previous user killed 69 rats with it.

Compared to the Varmint Rifle, the Ratslayer boasts a higher DPS, much higher critical multiplier, and lighter weight, as well as coming with all possible varmint rifle mods already built in, including the Varmint rifle extended mags, Varmint rifle night scope, and Varmint rifle silencer; nevertheless, it remains repairable with common Varmint rifles. Because of these factors, and a modest strength requirement, this weapon can be a good start for lower level characters who lack the funds to buy all of the Varmint rifle's attachments outright.

Due to its 5x critical chance multiplier, the Ratslayer is about the best weapon available for sniper players until the Courier obtains a scoped Hunting Rifle (which does more damage but sacrifices critical chance at only 1x and has no silencer option) or better yet the Sniper Rifle or its Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle variant.

In addition, with its attached silencer, this weapon is especially well suited to stealthy snipers. A Sneak attack critical to the head with the Ratslayer will kill most humanoid characters and most animals, with the notable exceptions of creatures such as Giant Radscorpions, Deathclaws, Cazadors, most robots, and other heavily armored foes, even with armor-piercing rounds.

Even after mid-level, the Ratslayer remains useful for taking out lightly-armored targets due to its light weight, night-vision scope, silencer, ease of maintenance, and common ammo availability.

The Ratslayer's only major disadvantage is it's high AP cost (45 compared to the Varmint Rifle's 22). This may not be an issue for most players considering sniping is not usually most effectively done in V.A.T.S.

Locations
Broc Flower Cave on a desk or occasionally on the floor beside it.

Appearances
The appears in Fallout: New Vegas.

Videos
RatSlayer Guide thumb|300px|left thumb|300px|right

23:05, October 23, 2010 (UTC)PCUser