Fallout 4 throws players into the dangerous Boston Wasteland with little more than a general direction and good luck pat on the back. It seems like a harsh thing to do, and it is, but the game provides all the tools needed for survival in the now twisted world. Most of these tools come in the form of weapon.
Scattered around the nuclear Wasteland are many different types of weapons that cover the myriad ammunition types available to players. But like with most things in the world of Fallout 4, everything serves its purpose, and having the right tool for the right purpose will help you go a long way. This is especially true when trying to figure out what is the right gun to use at a given time.
Having so many options can make things difficult, so we’re going to help you figure out what weapons to use and how to use them.
First Step: Bring Many Weapons
Before we help you figure out which weapons are best for which types of encounters, it’s a good idea for you to choose a varied arsenal to take out into Fallout 4’s dangerous world. This includes the arsenal you will be providing your companion. Most types of ammunition are fairly rare, and that is doubly true for the more powerful types like .44mm or Mini-Nukes. Because of this, you’ll end up switching weapons quite often unless you plan on sticking to the common, but usually weaker, weaponry.
It’s a good idea to try and cover your bases by bringing weapons that utilize the different ammunition types you have. While you’re at it, make sure they’re different classes too. Don’t bring all handguns if you have the opportunity to use rifles of the same caliber as they will offer different benefits when out in the field.
Of course, you should always lean more towards something that suits your playstyle. But always keep at least one weapon just in case you get pushed into a desperate situation. For instance, you may not like to play it close, but a shotgun will save your life if you end up with your back against a wall.
You can check our complete Fallout 4 weapons guide for help, as well as the best classes, best attachments, and best places to find ammo.
Dealing With Ghouls
Ghouls are those shriveled up, highly aggressive enemies you tend to encounter in dark alleyways and lower levels of caves and other establishments. They are very fast and rely on quick, irradiated strikes. One may seem simple enough to take down, but Fallout 4 almost never throws only one at you. These guys can be vicious when facing a number of them, but luckily their limbs are easy to take out.
Using pretty much any weapon (including weak ones such as a pipe pistol), aim directly for the legs. If you can take out a Ghoul’s leg it is no longer a threat, even if it’s a strong one. It will lay helplessly on the floor until you walk up and put it out of its misery.
Humans
The thing that makes Fallout 4’s humans tricky is that they come in many different types. All humans are relatively easy to kill, being one of the only enemies that is generally susceptible to all different damage types. But, their ability to don things like power armor tends to give them an extra edge as well as some versatility.
Your basic and lightly armored humans can be taken out with any ballistic weapon, fire, or explosive. There is really no need to get fancy and waste your more powerful weaponry. If need be, you can hit them with some radiation from a gamma weapon. They are easily managed and those armed with guns would sooner go for cover than charge at you.
Melee enemies can be dealt with just like you would a Ghoul. Slow them down and you’re good to go. It’s the ones in heavy armor and Power Suits that you need to be wary of. Bring out your strongest weaponry, and if you have anything with armor piercing capabilities, use it. Energy weapons such as pulse grenades usually do a good job against these guys as well.
Super Mutants
These guys are easily recognizable. They are huge, green, and will yell obscenities in broken sentences because… well because they aren’t too bright. What they are, though, is insanely powerful. They tend to use explosives, energy weapons, and brutal melee attacks. Seriously, you do not want to stand next to these guys.
Most damage types will do the trick, just avoid using any Gamma weapons since these guys are already so highly irradiated they won’t even notice. Mutant Skirmishers (the melee types) usually aren’t heavily armored, although they are extremely aggressive. Take out their legs if possible, and if you’re forced to be close, use a shotgun. Those are very good at dealing high damage and crippling limbs. Do not go blow for blow with melee attacks, because unless you’re in a suit of Power Armor or have the Rooted perk maxed out, you’re going to lose.
The rest are dealt with a lot like the humans, except you’ll want to avoid using your cheaper more common ammo types if you don’t want to drive the fight on. Things like 10mm and .38 ammo aren’t going to put much of a dent into their health even with a headshot. They are just about always armored, so explosives and armor piercing weapons will definitely help you out here.
Your main course of action will be to keep distance between you and these brutes and to find cover since they love the use of fully automatic weapons. Charging into an area full of these guys will lead to you being filled up with holes, and that’s something you probably don’t want.
Synths
Synths are faced almost entirely like humans, the only difference is that they are a bit more resilient and are immune to Radiation. Their skin is basically armor that you can break down to expose their inner workings. Synths use energy weapons pretty much exclusively. Even the melee types use batons charged with electricity, which add an extra bit of damage to their attacks and can stun you.
The trick here is to pick a spot and take out the armor for a certain area. V.A.T.S. makes this much easier, so make good use of it. Luckily, unlike many other types of robotic beings in Fallout 4, Synths aren’t too strong against normal ballistic fire. That makes them a relative breeze when compared to other enemy types. But, there is one type of Synth you should be wary of. Coursers are Synths on steroids, and they have one job, hunt down rogue Synths.
These guys are immensely powerful, fast, and will use invisibility when necessary. They still follow the same rules as a Synth, carrying the same weaknesses with the one exception – you’ll want to use your much stronger ammunition and go for the legs above all else. Stopping these guys from moving around is of the utmost importance so that you can take them out quickly.
Protectrons
These are those fellas you find encased in storage tubes that you can activate with a specific role. They are a bit clunky looking, and incredibly slow (something you should be thankful for). If they are in medic mode they’re only able to damage you if you stand right next to them since they use an electrical arm attack. Police mode is much more dangerous, allowing them to shoot constant laser blasts from each hand.
The best advice against these guys is to not destroy their arms. If you do, it will trigger the self destruct sequence (indicated by the body becoming red hot and glowing). At this point the Protectron will try to charge at you. Take it out quickly or suffer an explosive death. If you happen to be at a safe distance, though, feel free to take out the arms since you’ll have ample time to destroy the bot before it gets close.
Other than the whole self destruct issue, stick to shotguns, armor piercing rounds, and energy weapons. These will make short work of these poor clunky beings.
Assaultrons
Assaultrons are among the most infuriating bots you face in Fallout 4. The only thing more deadly than these black robots are the Sentry Bots, but we’ll get to those in a bit. Assaultrons are fast and powerful at both close and long range. As soon as they spot you they will start running towards you. As with most things, you’ll want to take out its legs, which is much easier said than done.
The armor on Assaultrons is very tough. On top of that, they will close the distance really fast. Their melee attacks knock you down and shake up your screen, making aiming extraordinarily difficult. V.A.T.S. will help to a degree, but you’ll want to keep dancing around if possible until you get a leg off. That will take care of half the threat.
The other major problem when confronting Assaultrons is the eye beam, a huge, continuous laser blast that can easily take you from full health to death if you don’t get out in a timely fashion. The one benefit you have is that when it fires this attack, Assaultrons are relatively stuck. It can shift it slightly to the left or right, but it will lock its stance, allowing you to get to the side, behind it, or run away. It will even try to use this attack while on the ground with no legs, but its inability to move well will take the scare out of this Assaultron attack.
One tip that may help you if you’re fast enough is to throw down mines. The Assaultron will always try to close the distance, it will come even closer if you take cover. Use that to your advantage and set a mine before it gets too close, then back away.
Sentry Bots
Be thankful that these guys are pretty rare. They are a nightmare when in a room with lots of cover, but are downright impossible to face out in the open. These are those huge robots with four legs that end in wheels. They are all black and armed with a mini-gun, a charging ability, smoke, and just all around meanness.
They have really tough armor, and can turn on a dime. A Sentry Bot’s weak spot is right on its back, but you’ll need to wait before you can take a stab at it. This robot can sense when there is a threat behind it and will instantly turn. That is, unless you wait for a specific attack.
As you fight the Sentry bot, it will go through a phase where it glows and lets off a lot of steam, pretty much going berserk for about 20 seconds or so. Do not engage when it is like this, it will literally just mow you down. Instead, wait for this phase to end, and then it will stop and cool off for a very short period of time. Use this opportunity to dash to a place where you can see the now exposed fusion cores on its upper back. Trigger V.A.T.S. and dump your ammo into this one spot.
The fusion cores on the Sentry Bot’s back are pretty weak. You should be able to destroy them during a single round of V.A.T.S. Even if you haven’t fired a single shot before this point, the Sentry Bot will be defeated, just make sure you create distance between yourself and the hulking robot. Upon death it triggers a mini nuclear explosion that can instantly kill you.
Animals/Bugs
Mutts, RadStags, Mole Rats, RadRoaches, Bloatflies, and Blood Bugs are extremely easy to take down as long as you don’t allow yourself to get surrounded. With the exception of RadRoaches, you will usually fight these things in an open area, which should give you ample opportunities to run if need be. Most die in one or two shots with any weapon (except for Gamma weapons, do not use radiation against these enemies). For the stronger Blood Bugs, shoot out the wings if you’re having trouble avoiding their attacks.
The only thing you need to be aware of is that they will often use attacks that do damage over time, and every attack often gives you some Rads to have to deal with. When you spot a large group of any of these, pop a Rad-X (raises your radiation resistance for a period of time) and go in and make a mess. Be sure to loot them all for food stuffs.
Mirelurks
These come in several forms: Softshell Mirelurk, Mirelurk, Mirelurk Hunter, Mirelurk King, and Mirelurk Queen. With the exception of the Softshell Mirelurk, they are all heavily armored on their backs, so do not waste any ammo there. Legs and torso should be your primary target when dealing with them, but you need to be aware of each form’s attack pattern.
- Softshell Mirelurk/Mirelurk- Melee only. They will close the distance and take a swipe at you. If they are taking too much damage they will hide under their shells.
- Hunter- These are faster and will shoot poison at you when given the chance.
- King- Similar to the Hunter but much stronger. Will often hide in the water and is one of the few enemy types that will chase and kill you in the water.
- Queen- The size of a building, powerful, lots of health, and very ugly. You’ll need all of your strongest weapons against this one. Launches large globs of poison and even uses poison gas. Does damage over time and can cover a large area with its attacks.
When facing Mirelurks, use Energy weapons on their fleshy bits along with fire and explosives. If you only have ballistic weapons, use the strongest ammo type you have or prepare for some long fights. Cryo weapons also work extraordinarily well against these.
Behemoths
Behemoths are another uncommon enemy type that you will rarely see in Fallout 4, but if you plan on doing everything, you’ll want to know how to take these large brutes down. The first thing you should note is that they are deceptively fast. They will run you down and smash you to bits faster than you can realize what the heck you’re fighting.
They don’t use guns (which is a plus) but they do chuck huge pieces of the earth at you. These do massive damage but are easy to dodge. The melee attacks have quite a bit of range thanks to the Behemoth’s size, and are much harder to avoid if you let them get close. The trick to these guys is pretty much how you’d beat a dragon in Skyrim if you were underleveled.
Find something to run around and keep shooting. As long as there is something between you and the Behemoth, it will continue to chase rather than attack. To shorten the fight, use Molotov Cockatails, a Mini-Gun, Missile Launcher, Flamer, Cryolater, or any other powerful firearm. These guys can soak up bullets, so your faster weapons are your best bet. Avoid Radiation because these guys pretty much brush their teeth with the stuff, and the difference between Energy and Ballistic damage never seems noticeable enough to warrant one over the other.
Check out more Fallout 4
- This Fallout 4 Vault Is Probably the Only Successful One Ever
- Glitch Lets You Max out SPECIAL at the Start of the Game
- Fallout 4 PSA: You Can Buy Another Dog For Your Settlement
- How to Get the Junk Jet, a Gun That Uses Junk for Ammo
- How to Level Up Quickly
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