There are lots of weapons in Fallout 76 that players can craft, find, and buy. From small knives to huge rocket launchers, there’s something to suit everyone. That said, out of the long list of weapons, there are a few that stand head and shoulders above the rest. In fact, some of the weapons in the game are outright overpowered.
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While weapons aren’t as overpowered as they used to be, there are still a handful of weapons that can be used to take down some of the toughest enemies in the game with relative ease. From the Auto Axe to the Railway Rifle, these examples are some of the most overpowered weapons in the game.
Article updated on January 19, 2025, by Benjamin Joe: There are lots of fantastic weapons in Fallout 76. While the most recent version of this article did cover many of the most overpowered weapons in the game, a couple of weapons didn’t quite make it onto the original list. Those weapons are the Chainsaw and the Cold Shoulder. While these weapons aren’t as overpowered as many of the other items featured on this list, they are overpowered within their category. The Cold Shoulder is among the most powerful shotguns in the game. And the Chainsaw, while it’s not as powerful as the Auto Axe, it’s much easier to obtain, and it still slices through enemies incredibly fast. This update will introduce the two aforementioned weapons to the list.
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Cold Shoulder
An Incredibly Powerful Shotgun
- How To Get: A former scoreboard reward. Available in the Atomic Shop.
When it was released, it was available at rank 5 on the Rip Daring scoreboard. While this scoreboard is long gone, players can still get their hands on this weapon via the Atomic Shop. This shotgun is incredibly powerful. It also has a rare ability. It deals cryo damage which slows down enemies. While this isn’t the only weapon that deals cryo damage, most other cryo damage weapons don’t have high damage output.
The Cold Shoulder is a devastating shotgun that can one-shot many enemies with its icy blast. For those who enjoy using shotguns, this is a must-have weapon. While it doesn’t appear as a legendary weapon, it is in fact legendary. First is the cryo damage. This slows down enemies while dealing damage. Second is its bonus damage to cryptids. It deals an extra 50% damage against all cryptids. Its final effect is its ammo capacity. It has the quad effect, making it an incredibly hard-hitting and surprisingly fast-firing shotgun.
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Chainsaw
A Top-Notch Two-Handed Melee Weapon
- How To Get: This weapon can’t be crafted. Players instead need to either find one out in the world, trade with other players for one, or receive one as an enemy drop.
The Chainsaw isn’t as powerful as the Auto Axe. However, it comes in close behind. The Chainsaw is much easier to obtain than the Auto Axe, making it a great weapon for players who don’t have a lot of Stamps to spare. With the Vampire’s effect, the Chainsaw becomes a very overpowered weapon that slices through enemies with ease while also ensuring that the player’s health doesn’t dip too low.
With the right build, the Chainsaw can be used to take down most enemies in the game. This includes various bosses, such as Earle Williams and the Storm Goliaths.
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Enclave Plasma Flamer
Expensive To Mod, But Incredibly Powerful
- How To Get: The standard variant can be purchased from MODUS inside the Whitespring Bunker. It can also be given as an event reward or purchased from another player.
The Enclave Plasma Flamer has always ranked among the best energy weapons in the game. It has a great damage output and a fantastic fire rate, and it melts most enemies in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, players will need to get hold of some rare mods to turn an Enclave Plasma Gun/Rifle into a flamer. Enclave weapons really need to have both the Reflex Sight and Stabilized Stock mods attached to make them more accurate and easier to handle. Also, they need a flamer barrel. Without a flamer barrel, the weapon can still be powerful, but to make it great, players should do what they can to get a flamer mod.
There are a couple of ways of getting Enclave Mods. The first is by completing “Cop A Squatter.” This daily quest awards players with a random mod. There’s a small chance for that mod to be an Enclave Flamer Mod. The other ways are either by trading with other players or by visiting the Vendor Bots in Watoga and the one in Berkeley Springs Station. The chance for one of the aforementioned vendors to sell an Enclave Box mod is very low, so players will need to hop from server to server in the hopes of finding one. Players will also need to try to get their hands on some good legendary effects, like Bloodied, Vampire’s, or Anti-Armor, to make this weapon shine.
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Tesla Rifle
Overpowered In An Unconventional Way
- How To Get: The plan to craft the Tesla Rifle can be found in various loot containers across the map, several vendor inventories, and on the bodies of downed enemies. It is a pretty easy plan to find.
Unlike the other entries, the Tesla Rifle, while powerful, isn’t overpowered in terms of damage output. Instead, it is overpowered due to how much extra XP players can earn by using it. When fired, the Tesla Rifle’s beams will bounce around and not only hit the intended target but also any other enemies who are nearby.
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This weapon gives players the ability to level up much faster than normal. This weapon shines during Radiation Rumble as there are lots of tough enemies nearby, meaning that players can earn tens of thousands of XP in just a few minutes. While effects like Bloodied and Vampire’s are pretty good primary effects to have on a Tesla Rifle, Quad is by far the most beneficial effect to have. Being able to fire off more shots before needing to reload can help players earn lots of extra XP.
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Holy Fire
Much More Powerful Than The Standard Flamer
- How To Get: A possible reward for completing the event; Beasts Of Burden. It can also be purchased from other players.
By default, the Holy Fire comes with the following effects; Vampire’s, Rapid, and Durability. While these effects are great, unlike some of the other named legendary weapons in the game, the legendary effects that are tied to the Holy Fire can be changed to suit the player’s build. The desirable effects will depend on the player’s perks, armor, and taste. But, regardless of the legendary effects, the Holy Fire is a very powerful flamer variant that, much like the Enclave Plasma Flamer, can burn through enemies with ease.
Because enemies drop contextual ammo and the Holy Fire does quite a lot of damage, more often than not, players will find themselves finding more ammo on enemy bodies than they used to take down the enemy in the first place. While this doesn’t make a lot of sense, players won’t need to worry about running out of fuel very often.
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Auto Axe
A Truly Overpowered Two-Handed Melee Weapon
- How To Get: The plan to craft the Auto Axe can be purchased from Giuseppe in the Whitespring Refuge for 500 Stamps.
The Auto Axe is a powerful weapon in itself. That said, if the player uses either the electric or poison mods, then this weapon becomes much more powerful. Add that to some good legendary effects, sturdy armor, and two-handed weapon perks, and the Auto Axe can slice through almost every enemy in the game.
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While it is a rather costly investment, it is more than worth it due to the incredibly high damage output. Since it has a very fast swing, the damage stacks up very quickly. Also, if the player is lucky enough to have one with the Vampire’s effect, then they can become borderline invincible while attacking enemies.
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Cremator
A Devastatingly Powerful Flamer
- How To Get: It was available during Season 16. However, it can now be purchased from Mortimer in the Crater Core for 750 Gold Bullion after the player reaches the rank of ally.
The Cremator, like the Auto Axe, is incredibly powerful without any effects or mods. That said, with the right setup, the Cremator becomes one of the most overpowered weapons in the game.
Newer players will have to wait a while as they’ll need to reach the rank of ally with the raiders before they’ll be able to purchase the plan to craft this untradable weapon. Almost all of the mods for this weapon are powerful. That said, there are a few mods that players tend to prefer. Mods like the Heavy Barrel, Multi-Shot Barrel, Fast Propellant Tank, and the Slow-Burning Tank are among the most popular mods. As legendary effects, Instigating, Vampire’s, and Quad are pretty popular for the first star. But the best option will depend on the player’s build and preference.
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Railway Rifle
An Unstoppable Rifle
- How To Get: The plan to craft this weapon is a fairly common drop on enemies and events in the Savage Divide, Ash Heap, Mire Region, and Cranberry Bog. It can also be purchased from other players and various NPC vendors.
Despite being nerfed not long ago, the Railway Rifle is still a very overpowered weapon that can take down boss enemies such as Earle Williams and the Scorchbeast Queen with relative ease. This weapon does come with a couple of drawbacks. First, the recoil makes it almost impossible to use outside of V.A.T.S. and the ammo is pretty weighty. But those are small drawbacks when compared to the damage output of this weapon.
With the right build and effects, the Railway Rifle can take down most common enemies in just a couple of shots. As for legendary effects, Quad is by far the most desirable legendary prefix on this weapon due to its somewhat limited standard ammo capacity. While it does take a bit of time to master using the Railway Rifle, it is a truly devastating weapon.
- Released
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November 14, 2018