Summary
- Explosives in Fallout 3, such as the Fat Man and Nuka-Grenade, are incredibly powerful and can decimate enemies with ease.
- Crafting weapons like the Bottlecap Mine and Nuka-Grenade can be worth the effort, as they dish out significantly more damage than regular weapons.
- Unique weapons like the Miss Launcher and Experimental MIRV offer interesting and powerful options for players to use in combat.
Bullets, blades, and lasers are fun to use in Fallout 3. There’s no denying that. Causing a mini-earthquake with an ear-shattering explosion is even more fun in comparison. Explosives are fun toys in the right hand and can reduce any nasty Raider or pesky Enclave trooper into red mist if all goes well.
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Regardless of whether a weapon is classed as "Big Guns" or "Explosives," if it goes boom, it’s an explosive weapon. Some of these are regular, if somewhat uncommon, inclusions, while others can be created at a workbench. Meanwhile, some are unique and can only be found once in a playthrough.
1 Fat Man
Infamous For Being Exceptionally Dangerous
- Location: Various, though a free one is outside Galaxy News Radio.
- Base Damage: 10 (+1,600 from explosion)
There’s just no denying that the Fat Man is the ultimate explosive weapon in the game… or is it? Foreshadowing aside, this baby can pop out a mini-nuke from afar, capable of turning packs of foes into dust, and with the ability to topple Super Mutant Behemoths with one or two shots as well.
Using it at close range is suicide, and is not recommended unless one has a save state ready to jump back to immediately after making a fool of the poor Lone Wanderer. Ammo is uncommon, so it’s best to hold onto any mini-nukes collected. A free Fat Man is available to collect from a fallen Brotherhood of Steel member outside of Galaxy News Radio, so keep it safe.
2 Nuka-Grenade
More Than 3x Stronger Than Other Grenades
- Location: N/A, must be crafted at a workbench with the required items and respective schematics in the player’s inventory.
- Base Damage: 1 (+501 from explosion, +2 fire damage for 5 seconds)
Makeshift weapons in Fallout 3 may take a bit of time scavenging for all the necessary parts, but it’s well worth it. Craftable bombs like the Nuka-Grenade are a testament to that. It will require the necessary schematics, one of which is located in the Robot Repair Center, south-southeast of Canterbury Commons. They require a tin can, Nuka Cola Quantum, turpentine, and Abraxo cleaner.
One of these bombs can deliver a hefty 500 points of damage, along with 5 points of lingering fire damage for two seconds. Fire and radiation will be emitted upon detonation, but it’ll all go away shortly afterward. While it’s not affected by either the "Pyromaniac" or "Demolition Expert" perks, "Quantum Chemist" from the Broken Steel DLC will turn 10 bottles of Nuka-Cola into a Quantum, which is perfect, since they’re otherwise limited in number.
3 Miss Launcher
Deals More Damage Than A Bazooka
- Location: Fort Independence.
- Base Damage: 20 (+200 from explosion)
Admittedly, the Miss Launcher is more of a novelty weapon than anything. Rockets are flung out, rather than propelled, and will detonate after a few seconds once they hit a surface. Range-wise, it’s terrible and will take longer to blow up if one’s Explosives skill is low. Turning that up will make them explode much quicker.
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With that being said, the game doesn’t have a grenade launcher, so this fills the void quite nicely. On top of that, it deals roughly 30% more damage per shot. It’ll take plenty of practice to get used to a projectile’s traveling arc, yet it may just prove to be very effective in some situations, like when firing over barricades or reflecting off of walls.
4 Bottlecap Mine
Deal Over Triple The Amount Of Damage That Regular Mines Dish Out
- Location: N/A, must be crafted at a workbench with the required items and respective schematics in the player’s inventory.
- Base Damage: 1 (+500 from explosion)
Bottlecap Mines require a lunchbox, a cherry bomb, a handful of caps, and a sensor module, along with the appropriate blueprints. One of them is offered as a reward by Moira Brown in Megaton after completing the Minefield section of her "Wasteland Survival Guide" quest.
Similar to the Nuka-Grenade, these little beauties dish out more than triple the damage that a regular mine does. One can create even more of them after collecting schematic copies. Most workbenches around the Capital Wasteland will already have one on it, ready to steal if there are no witnesses. It’s well worth it, considering their destructive capabilities. They can even be placed on an NPC’s person to blow them up, too, provided the protagonist is sneaky enough.
5 Heavy Incinerator
BBQ Enemies From Afar With This Rapid-Firing, Highly-Accurate Napalm Cannon
- Location: Carried by Enclave Hellfire troopers (must be level 15 or higher and have the Broken Steel DLC).
- Base Damage: 35 (+45 from explosion, +8 fire damage for 5 seconds)
Introduced in the Broken Steel DLC, the Heavy Incinerator will appear when the player has reached level 15. The Mobile Base Crawler's launch platform at Adams Air Force Base has one lying around and ready for the taking, too.
This hefty napalm cannon launches fireballs that can splash on surfaces and ignite anyone unlucky enough to be on the receiving end. That’s approximately 120 points in total per successful hit. The range on this thing makes it feel like it’s portable artillery, and it is capable of firing 24 shots before performing a surprisingly quick reload - perfect for any twisted fire-starters out there.
6 Drone Cannon
A Devastating Alien Weapon
- Location: Wielded by Guardian Drones on the spaceship in the Mothership Zeta DLC.
- Base Damage: 40 (+100 from explosion)
Xenotech weaponry is, by all accounts, borderline overpowered at times. The Drone Cannon, however, is a bit of an exception as it requires a fair bit of practice to use before one can truly become a beast in a fight with it.
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The initial projectile will deal 40 damage on impact and will bounce like a grenade for about 3 seconds before exploding and dealing 100 damage. To add further insult to injury, it delivers 8 points of shock damage for 5 seconds. It can even launch up to 24 shots before reloading! It’s honestly possible to spam these in a confined space before reaching for cover. Plus, with a bit of practice on the alien firing range to get the "Xenotech Expert" perk, it can deal 20% more damage.
7 Experimental MIRV
This Fat Man Variant Launches 8 Mini Nukes At Once, Making It The Strongest Weapon In The Game
- Location: National Guard depot (requires holotapes collected from Pylon Shack, Hallowed Moors Cemetery, Grisly Diner, Sniper Shack, and in a tent behind the Anchorage Memorial).
- Base Damage: 80 (+12,800 from explosion)
Located within the bomb shelter of the National Guard Depot (northeast of Vernon Square North), the Experimental MIRV is a unique variant of the Fat Man launcher. It’s also the most costly one to use, as it fires not one, but EIGHT mini-nukes in one devastating barrage!
This is technically the most powerful weapon in the entire game. The damage output topples well over 20,000 points, which is the dictionary definition of overkill. Wasting that much ammo is painful since eight mini-nukes cost roughly 2,000 caps! Best to only use this after acquiring the "Scrounger" perk, in hopes of finding significantly more of them in ammo containers.
Fallout 3
- Released
- October 28, 2008
