Fallout 76 features several unique weapons you can take with you as you brave the wilderness of Appalachia. From melee weapons and shotguns to Gatling Guns and flamers, the choices are endless, and when you throw in weapon mods and legendary mods, you can create several thousand different combinations.
With so much RNG and so many possible combinations, it can often be hard to find the best weapons in the game, so this is where we come in. In this guide, we’ll review the 10 best weapons in Fallout 76. We’ll also discuss how to acquire each weapon and what legendary mods work best for that weapon.
10. Gauss Rifle
How to acquire: Craftable through its weapon plan
Ammo: 2mm EC
The Gauss Rifle is a great option for the Rifleman build in Fallout 76. It uses 2mm EC rounds and can be unlocked by acquiring its weapon plans. It has a respectable damage output that can be increased further by equipping it with the right weapon mods. However, you’ll need to use legendary mods to unlock this weapon’s true potential. We recommend using the following:
- 1-star mod – Anti-armor: This legendary 1-star mod ignores 50% of your enemy’s armor.
- 2-star mod – Crippling: increases limb damage by +50%
- 3-star mod – Durability: lastly, the Durability reduces the rate at which your weapon breaks by 50%
9. Holy Fire
How to acquire: Dropped as a reward during the event “Beasts of Burden”
Ammo: Fuel
The Holy Fire is a unique flamer variant that is earned as a potential reward during the “Beasts of Burden” event. Like all flamers, it has a large AOE and is very good at crowd control. This weapon has two unique effects; firstly, it inflicts 18 fire damage over 3 seconds, which is significantly higher than a standard flamer, and it comes with the Cursed innate legendary mod, which allows it to deal +15% damage and grants it +20% faster attack speed at the cost of -4 durability.
For Holy Fire, use the following legendary mods:
- 1-star mod – Vampires: The vampire mod heals you for 2% of your health for every enemy you kill
- 2-star mod – Bashers: Basher increases the damage of bash attacks by +50%
- 3-star mod – Lightweight: Lightweight significantly reduces the weight of your weapon, allowing you a little more space in your inventory
8. Troubleshooter’s Handmade Rifle
How to acquire: Craftable through its weapon plan
Ammo: 5.56
One of the most sought-after weapons in Fallout 76 is the Handmade Rifle, which resembles an AK-47. It is chambered for 5.56 rounds and has a base damage higher than the standard Assault Rifle. The weapon is an absolute powerhouse for Commando builds, and with the right mods, it can be very effective against Scorchbeasts.
The best legendary mods to use with this weapon are:
- 1-star mod – Bloodied: This legendary 1-star mod lets you increase your damage output as your health drops.
- 2-star mod – Rapid: This mod allows your weapon to fire shots +50% faster.
- 3-star mod – Agility: for added agility
7. Minigun
How to acquire: Purchase from Mortimer for 750 Gold Bullion after completing the Wastelanders questline
Ammo: 5mm / Ultracite 5mm
Perhaps the most effective boss weapon in the game, the Minigun is a hard-hitting, fast-firing heavy weapon that lends itself well to most scenarios but especially to boss encounters like the Scorchbeast. This weapon can be acquired from Mortimer and is chambered for either 5mm or Ultracite 5mm rounds.
It has a fairly low base damage, but when coupled with its firing speed and powerful mods, it can melt health bars in seconds. Use the following legendary mods on this weapon:
- 1-star mod – Furious: Lets you increase your damage by +5% upon a successful consecutive hit on the same target (up to +45%)
- 2-star mod – Rapid: Allows your weapon to fire shots +50% faster.
- 3-star mod—Nimble: This mod increases your movement speed by 100%, which is especially useful considering the gun’s weight.
6. Lever Action Rifle
How to acquire: Craftable after acquiring its weapon plans
Ammo: .45
The Lever Action Rifle marginally beats out the Marksman Rifle on our list for one reason: speed. This weapon has a considerably faster base rechambering speed than the Marksman Rifle, which allows you to fire shots in quick succession.
This is another excellent Rifleman weapon that is built for .45 rounds. We recommend equipping a long barrel and sniper scope for this weapon for increased range and accuracy. Equip the following legendary mods:
- 1-star mod – Instigating: When using the Instigating weapon mod, your Lever Action rifle will deal 2x the damage when you attack your enemy at full health
- 2-star mod – Explosive: Bullets explode for 20% of weapon damage
- 3-star mod – Agility: for added maneuverability
5. Gauss Shotgun
How to acquire: After completing the Wastlanders quest line, you can purchase 500 gold coins from Samuel or Minerva.
Ammo: 2mm EC
The Gauss Shotgun is perhaps the best in the game, owing to its immense damage output and good range. Its magazine size is on the lower side, but it can be increased by equipping it with the appropriate extended mag weapon mod. Since shotguns are all about increasing damage output, the legendary mods will be around this idea:
- 1-star mod – Bloodied / Anti-armor: depending on how your character is built, use either the bloodied mod (damage increases as health decreases) or the Anti-armor mod (ignores 50% of your enemies’ armor)
- 2-star mod – Crippling: you deal an additional +50% damage to limbs
- 3-star mod – Rapid: for faster reloading
4. Flaming Chainsaw
How to acquire: Craftable after acquiring its weapon plans
Ammo: none
The Chainsaw weapon can be acquired from random world drops in Fallout 76, but to make it into a Flaming Chainsaw, you’ll need to acquire the Flamer weapon mod. This weapon is perfect for two-handed melee builds, owing to its burning and high base damage effects. Once again, you can opt for a Bloodied or Anti-armor build with this weapon.
- 1-star mod – Bloodied / Anti-armor: choose either of the two depending on your build
- 2-star mod – Crippling: you deal an additional +50% to limbs
- 3-star mod – Durability: your weapon breaks 50% slower
3. The Fixer
How to acquire: Given as a reward for completing the quest “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”
Ammo: .45
The Fixer is an alternate version of the Combat Rifle with increased base damage. It comes with a couple of unique legendary effects, including a +20% increase in speed when sneaking and +20% base damage. This weapon also grants a stealth bonus equal to three pieces of shadowed armor.
As the legendary effects suggest, this weapon is mainly built around stealth. As such, your legendary mods should complement this:
- 1-star mod – Bloodied / Anti-armor: depending on your playstyle
- 2-star mod – Last shot: The last bullet in your magazine has a 25% chance to deal 2x damage
- 3-star mod – Rapid: Increases reload speed by +15%
2. Gatling Plasma
How to acquire: Can be crafted after acquiring its plasma
Ammo: Plasma Core / Ultracite Plasma Core
The Gatling Plasma is another hard-hitting and fast-firing weapon that quickly takes down bosses like the Scorchbeast. Once you’ve acquired its plans, you can craft this weapon.
- 1-star mod – Furious / Bloodied: Based on your build select either of these two legendary mods
- 2-star mod – Rapid: Allows your weapon to fire shots +50% faster.
- 3-star mod—Nimble: This mod increases your movement speed by 100%, which is especially useful considering the gun’s weight.
1. Furious Mole Miner Gauntlet
How to acquire: Find plans to craft this weapon or kill/loot Mole Miners
Ammo: none
The Mole Miner Gauntlet is one of the best one-handed melee weapons in Fallout 76. If you have a one-handed melee build, you need to look no further. Before we go into this weapon’s legendary mod recommendations, add an extra blade to the gauntlet through the Extra Blade weapon mod. The best legendary weapon mods for this melee weapon are:
