Opinion on sniper rifles: .50 cal, plasma & laser

[Funnyboy1000]

Sup fellas, level 55 sniper build here

 

I just want your opinion on the sniper rifles, specifically of the .50 cal, plasma and lase. I'm currently rolling with the plasma after the .50 cal effectiveness in battle started dwindling. Your thoughts ? Any and every insight, comment, etc will be appreciated

[LordGrievous]

I use a double damage to full health targets .50 cal.

 

Its a stealth build, so a 4x damage sneak attack headshots one shots essentially everything.

 

If I get discovered I use a two-shot .308 combat rifle.

[Warmaker01]

For the early game, .50 is nice. But late game, Plasma or Laser are great but it depends on personal preferences:

 

As someone that likes to shoot manually or with VATS, Laser, all the way. Fast velocity (big deal in manual aiming), less kick, good punch, superior range. It's a nice combo. The others have merits but:

 

.50 has a violent kick and ammo is still a scarce thing despite not being an energy weapon cell. Inferior range than Laser.

 

Plasma could be as deadly as Laser. But the issue with Plasma is the extremely slow shot velocity if you're into manual aiming and not VATS. Inferior range than Laser.

 

Granted, it may take a while to get a good Laser Rifle set up as a Sniper configuration and Fusion Cells are precious. But since you're Lv55, I think ammo and availability is no longer an issue anymore. I had an awesome regular sniper rifle for a very long time until Lasers and their ammo were in better supply. Plasma rocks in a short to medium range combatant in its many configurations. But the longer the distance, the more annoying how slow the shots are when manual firing.

 

There's also the Gauss Rifles but those are very late game weapons. But again, at Lv55, you're in the availability range for it. They are extremely rare weapons though. They have less range than Sniper configured Laser Rifles and a significant kick, but the damage is stupidly high.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Warmaker01

[Warmaker01]

I hopped on my cheat character, grabbed my best, non-legendary weapons configured for sniper play so people can contrast them. I have Full Rifleman Perk, Full Commando, all but 1 Bloody Mess Perks, Full Science & Gun Nut for the mods. Being able to build all the mods, these are, I believe "final configurations" unless I'm wrong. My mod selection emphasized:

#1 Damage

#2 Range

#3 Accuracy

#4 Recoil

 

I do both manual firing as well as utilizing VATS. This is a very important factor later on.

 

Minutemen Laser Musket

 

http://i.imgur.com/q2nLpD1.jpg

 

 

Laser Muskets are of course an outright poor choice. Don't bother. They have excellent range but everything else is just mediocre. To top it off, she's heavy.

 

Combat Rifle (.308 sniper)

 

http://i.imgur.com/hoF0Oha.jpg

 

 

The Combat Rifles in long barrel form in FO4 are essentially M-14's. Treat them as such... Battle Rifles or Designated Marksmen Rifles. I felt they were rounded performers but just lacked that "oomph" for sniper purposes. Weighs a lot.

 

.50 Sniper Rifle

 

http://i.imgur.com/DD6KgaT.jpg

 

 

Until I got enough mods and ammo for my laser weaponry, this was my work horse Sniper Rifle. Even then I was reluctant at first because I did so much with her. I experimented with compensators and such, even suppressors. But it's a bolt-action and the kick will be strong anyways, so I dropped the compensators et al to gain max range with her. Weighs a lot but not like the previous rifles I listed.

 

From here on, the Energy Weapons (better than trash musket) and 1 special type.

 

Institute Pistol (Semi-auto Rifle Configuration)

 

http://i.imgur.com/F0wAlLn.jpg

 

I'm a very big fan of how the Institute weapons look in every configuration. Excellent range to rank at the higher tiers. Her shots are "Laser Instant" to land on the target and engaging targets at range manually, like other laser weapons, is easy because of this. However, she lacks punch for a sniper. This is more for a "Battle Rifle" type of setup with controlled, semi-auto firing because none of the Institute weapons can spike damage in a single blast like some the other weapons on this list. She's okay in a Battle Rifle style but Institute weapons ROCK in automatic or scatter configurations. There's even a way to configure a Scatter+Automatic Institute weapon but the kick is insane. Another beautiful thing? As a rifle, look at that weight...

 

Laser Sniper Rifle

 

http://i.imgur.com/WSvvgbr.jpg

 

 

In easier to access weapons, the Laser Sniper Configuration, IMO, is the "Gold Standard" provided you can get the mods and ammo if you want to play Sniper with her. From what I've seen, the absolute best range. Very good damage. The kick is fairly strong. Laser & Institute shots are "instant" on the target. This makes them excellent in manual fire. Once you move past ballistic weapons, Fusion Cell ammo is the first you start to pile up compared to Plasma Cells which come a lot later and in less quantities. Like the Institute Rifle config, look at that sexy low weight.

 

Plasma Sniper

 

http://i.imgur.com/NbtVbEx.jpg

 

 

Just look at that. Insane damage, stupidly high accuracy (great for VATS), range not as good as Laser but more than enough. Like the Institute and Laser weapons, sexy low weight. Looking at the stats, this should be my End-All-Be-All Sniper Rifle. But there are several issues preventing that:

 

1. Plasma Weapons arrive fairly late in the game. In vanilla, Plasma Weapons and Cells start showing up quite a bit later than Lasers and Fusion Cells. By the time Plasma shows up, you should already have a decent stockpile to use Lasers with ease and more frequency.

 

2. Unlike Institute and Laser shots, Plasma travels slow as the plasma blob flies to the target. This is very annoying once targets start moving. However, if you're a VATS Sniper, this is less an issue so the Plasma Sniper configuration is very sexy. But even in VATS mode, there is this annoying tendency... Even with 95% headshot probability, the shots travel so slow that the target could run behind cover if you did not engage quickly enough. This doesn't happen all the time but enough times to piss me off.

 

3. To me, in scoped views, the Plasma gunfire "flash" is blinding and disorienting. Laser and Institute weapons have that energy weapons "flash" also but not as disorienting as Plasma.

 

Because of this, if you're a manual fire Sniper player, Plasma is less useful. But if you're a VATS Sniper, seriously consider chasing down those Plasma Cells and stockpile them and get a Plasma weapon.

 

Gauss Rifle

 

http://i.imgur.com/UYVr1Ep.jpg

 

Gauss Rifle straddles the lines of Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle. The thing is so stupidly high in raw damage. Unlike Plasma, the shots are "instant" impacts. Very strong kick. Unlike Institute, Laser, Plasma, the "flash" from gunfire is minimal. The catch?

 

1. Very, very late game weapon.

2. If you're playing vanilla, the ammo is scarcer. But then again, she's a Semi-auto only weapon.

3. Unlike Laser, Institute, Plasma weaponry, she weighs a ton.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that the Gauss Rifle has a charge capability. It's not used in VATS mode but if you're a manual fire guy, just imagine that damage value on this rifle increasing...

 

Last comment: If you're playing a vanilla game, the lower in this list you go, the later in the game the weapons and the appropriate ammo show up. The lower in the list you go, the amount of ammo you find or can buy at one time is lower. Something to consider. Which was why I placed the Laser Sniper Rifle so high. It strikes a balance in exotic power in a Sniper Configuration while having plenty enough Fusion Cell ammo compared to Plasma and 2mm EC rounds.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Warmaker01

[Earende]

Doesn't cranking up the laser musket make it an overly uber (but slow) sniper rifle? Also, based on your damage numbers, then the laser musket damage after max cranked is probably around that of a gauss, unless I'm mistaken. For the weight problem, mods like the full stock (recoil, what for?) or bracketed long barrel (+10 odd range, really, you need that 10 extra range?) is unnecessary.

 

I haven't reach the stage of plasma or gauss, but currently, the laser musket is the only weapon that'll allow me to 1 shot everything.

 

Did you perhaps mistake the cranking for storing and being able to shoot six times? When it's actually damage x6 for a single shot?

Edited November 24, 2015 by Earende

[Warmaker01]

Doesn't cranking up the laser musket make it an overly uber (but slow) sniper rifle? Also, based on your damage numbers, then the laser musket damage after max cranked is probably around that of a gauss, unless I'm mistaken. For the weight problem, mods like the full stock (recoil, what for?) or bracketed long barrel (+10 odd range, really, you need that 10 extra range?) is unnecessary.

 

I haven't reach the stage of plasma or gauss, but currently, the laser musket is the only weapon that'll allow me to 1 shot everything.

 

Did you perhaps mistake the cranking for storing and being able to shoot six times? When it's actually damage x6 for a single shot?

I may have. I tried using the muskets the same way I typically would most other ranged weapons. There are a few charge up type weapons out there.

[TheOriginalEvilD]

I forgot to check all my perks, but I have all the gun nuts, all the rifle, and all the pistol for sure, and a few of the crit related perks. I can double check if you really want.

 

Here's the best I've found so far, and I'm level 46.

 

This was my go-to sniper rifle for a long time..drops a lot of mid range stuff with one shot. Almost anything else in two especially with crits.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee275/EVIL85SSP/Fallout%204/2015-11-24_00002_zpsnijvvxk4.jpg

 

Then there's Righteous Authority. If you're relying on crits (which if you're a sniper, you should be) then this is a badass weapon. Double crit damage and it fills the AP bar 15% faster.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee275/EVIL85SSP/Fallout%204/2015-11-24_00005_zpsv92xzjfu.jpg

 

But here's the interesting thing I noticed. I also use pistols as a secondary/close range weapon so I have all the pistol perks too. Being an energy weapon it can also be converted to pistol type. Look at the damage increase and that range bump...this is the highest range I've seen yet.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee275/EVIL85SSP/Fallout%204/2015-11-24_00003_zpsx9qhlk5d.jpg

 

That thing will VATS from a mile away. Unfortunately it does seem to suffer from more spread in pistol form. I really wish we had GECK so I could confirm that. I can't seem to snipe as well from greater distances with this gun regardless of pistol or rifle version, but this thing is brutal in VATS.

 

For close range, I just have this exploding .44 that I named BAM BAM that does more damage than a sawed off shotgun. It isn't bad for sniping either, but again I'm not so sure on the spread.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee275/EVIL85SSP/Fallout%204/2015-11-24_00004_zpsn7fmk7tl.jpg

 

Overall I feel more comfortable sniping with the .50, I just feel like it hits target more often than anything else. I tried the plasma route because they do so much damage, but I can't stand how slow the projectile travels. I need instant hits with sniping...the target isn't always standing still and I hate losing my sneak attack advantage. One shot = one kill.

 

Once GECK gets here, I plan on modding the .50 to do a more realistic amount of damage. I find it hilarious that a damn .50 cal rifle can't do more damage than a .44.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Evil D

[Warmaker01]

Righteous Authority is awesome once I got that from Paladin Danse. Fabulous sniper's weapon and a weapon you can use for ages. I only used something different just to try something new. Otherwise, Sniper Configured Righteous Authority is a highlight of a weapon for snipers to use for a long, long time.

[TheOriginalEvilD]

Now this is more like it...I don't know if this actually exists in the game, but a little console editing was all it took. If I can have a Fatman that shoots two nukes, this seems probable too lol. I need to rename it now though.

 

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee275/EVIL85SSP/Fallout%204/2015-11-24_00006_zpssvtrvkvw.jpg

[Vagrant0]

6 crank laser musket is actually pretty damn strong for a single shot instance. Each crank seems to increase damage by the amount of the damage modifier, making it do roughly 300 damage in a single hit. If you get lucky with a legendary one, such as ignoring armor or higher damage, that damage can increase significantly. Damage, which, gets multiplied for critical attacks and based on perks. Just because the damage number doesn't look impressive doesn't mean it is a weapon to be discounted. You can rather capably 1-shot deathclaws and many types of legendary spawns. It takes time to crank it up, but works well for taking out stronger enemies.