Fallout New Vegas is known for many things.This article however will cover the top 10 best legendary weapons from early to late game. For anyone who hasn't played this In short, it's the 4th title of the Fallout franchise.(Fallout 4 does exist but it's not as good) legendary items have always been a thing in but when it comes to the best look no further.

You start as a courier who has one mission, to find who shot you. You go on countless quests and face enemies that can be quite challenging at times that's where legendary weapons come into play. Scattered throughout the map there are unique weapon types of normal guns that have different effects. I will go over the best ones and how you can get them. 

#10. Big Boomer(Early game)

Number 10 on the list is the Big Boomer! This here is the best shotgun in new vegas dealing 120 damage per shot. Perfect for any creature in the wasteland or fiend who dares to get close.

WIth my time spent using this unique weapon I've noticed great things but also bad ones. Let's address the elephant in the room,(the bad)The range is terrible and the rate of fire and reload will get you killed without the right perks. Noww on the flip side, the damage can be 140 per shot with the right upgrades and it fires both barrels at once. 

I find it diverting seeing how fast enemies go down with this gun. Usually the arms or the head will stop most humans and ghouls. Whenever I have it equipped I feel like an adventurer.I guess it's because I wear a duster and a cowboy hat? 

What The Big Boomer Excels In : 

• Damage output per shot. 140 damage per shot is the highest damage on contact for a gun in the game not including dlc. 

• Critical damage. Compared to a normal sawed off crit of 7, the crit for the big boomer is 9. 

• Damage per second. The dps of a sawed off is 234.4, the boomer? 309.4 that's an increase of 75! 

How To Get The Big Boomer :

• To get this unique gem for yourself speak to Old Lady Gibson, who lives in the Gibson Scrapyard. 
• If you don't know where that is, head to Novac and go north a little bit until you see a scrap yard with dogs. You're going to have to steal it from her or kill her unfortunately. 

Big Boomer details: 

#9. That Gun(Early game)

Odd name for a gun I know. But this right here is the perfect early game pistol if you can't use a rifle but have all the ammo for it. I'm talking about a 5.56mm in case you didn't know. 

The damage per second and the constant rate of fire for the pistol is good. The chamber is futuristic looking and reloads like a revolver. It has the power to put most early game enemies down easily and once you repair it fully you'll have a handy pistol for getting out of tricky situations.

When I first found out about this weapon it was by accident. I was completing the Storyline to go to Novac and I went to the gift shop. I saw the gun all the way at the bottom of the list and bought it not realizing what it was at first.(This was on my first ever playthrough) 

What That Gun Excels In : 

• Ammo availability. Using the 5.56mm ar varmint rifles you can be sure to always have some around.
• Reload time. The reload time for this is quicker than most pistols because of the revolver-like shape that makes up the chamber. 
• Crit hit chance. That Gun has the second highest potential critical hit chance multiplier (x2.5) of all one-handed non-energy guns, after the silenced .22 pistol. 

How To Get That Gun : 

• This can be acquired In Novac. Go to the dino gift shop and talk to Cliff Briscoe. 
• You can buy it from him for around 1000 or 2000 caps(depending on your level and price at the time) orr you can steal it from the storage room once nightfall hits.

That Gun Details : 

#8. The Rat Slayer (Early Game) 

The Ratslayer!! Having a tally for the number of rat kills on the stock this sniper Is perfect for early game and late.(With the right upgrades)

What's interesting are its attachments it comes with right off the bat. Also the ratslayer has a very high critical multiplier of x5, making it the third highest multiplier after the alien blaster and Euclid's C-Finder. 

The first time I got this weapon I remember it helping me in a lot of situations. I was level 6 and had nothing except a varmint rifle and a 10mm. 

The Ratslayer Excels In : 

• Night Vision. This comes equipped with a night vision scope that's perfect for doing night time quests.

• Criticals. This has a much higher crit multiplier than regular varmint rifles. A shooter with a critical chance of 20 or higher would score a critical strike on every hit. 

• Repairability. Using 5.56 ammunition and repair parts (varmint rifles) keeping this gun in good condition is not difficult at all. 

How To Get The Ratslayer: 

• You want to travel Inside the Broc flower cave. Once you explore it you'll find it below a desk in 

• the makeshift laboratory on the upper level. 

• It might be hard to find a blue pipboy light or white. There will be lots of giant rats in this room so come prepared.

Ratslayer Details : 

#7. Knuckle dusters (Love and Hate) (Early Game)

Ah my favorite holdout melee weapon. The title of the knuckle dusters pays homage to the Robert Mitchem character in the 1955 movie The Night of the Hunter. There are two variants of these, one being a spiked version while the other is brass.

What makes these so unique besides the reference would be the damage per hit. Having 75.8 without skills is no joke with normal brass knuckles being 36 to 35. This is also considered a holdout weapon meaning you can still have it in your inventory whenever you have to give up your weapons. 

Some fun I had was mainly in V.A.T.S. I found out that damage is doubled while in it so I always try to aim for the weakest part. The blood on the knuckles give character and an idea for roleplay. (this is for the ones who create stories and backgrounds everytime they play)

What Love & Hate Excels In : 

• High damage Per hit. Like already mentioned this does 75 per hit compared to low level ones. With your skills put mostly into unarmed and strength you can increase your damage ratio. 
• Good conditioning. When you acquire this it can come in a few conditions depending on the game. What I discovered was that it had low conditioning most of the time. Now the durability is very good being 1495(how many hits before it breaks) 
• Holdout ability. The reason why this is here is because of the limited amount of weapons you already have access to for holdout.(especially melee) Usually the holdout weapons you bring aren't that powerful, that's where this changes the game. 

How To Get Love & Hate: 

• To get this melee weapon for yourself you want to go to bonnie springs due north of the goodsprings cemetery. 
• There it will be on the viper gang leader. They will be fighting you with it equipped or it's going to be stashed in their inventory. (Good luck as there's Cazadores and blind Deathclaws that await)

Love & Hate Details :

#6. Sleepytyme(Late Game)

Anytime I want a 10mm submachine gun I want Sleepytyme. This unique late game weapon is one of the best in the game before DLC. Dealing 220 damage per second this is better than a normal 10mm with mods included being 171 at most. 

The unique thing about this are the mods it already comes with when you acquire it. It's great for medium range and when you can't find any 10mm pistols around. Not to mention the value to weight ratio is surprisingly good being 1650.

When I first had this, I didn't think much of it, I figured it was going to be like any modded SMG. I was very wrong as it quickly became my favorite for all the times it's been reliable getting me out of many situations late game.

What Sleepytyme Excels In :

• Damage per second. The damage for this 10mm SMG is higher than any normal one in the game. Like mentioned dealing 220 without skills.

• Damage per attack (damage per projectile). Compared to a fully upgraded SMG the Sleepytyme has 22 instead of the original 19. This is a + 3 increase in terms of DPS which is very good when you have a fast fire rate. 

• Attacks per second. This isn't huge but this gun does 10 attacks per second. Compared to the norm of 9 this makes a difference for how many times you can hit something in a single second.(other words lets you shoot first and gain the upper hand)

How To Get Sleepytyme : 

• Probably the easiest legendary to get on this list once you get it youll be happy, though your caps won't be. 

• Go to the gun runners vendor which is located south of freeside. It's gated off and heavily guarded. You'll see one NPC on the outside then a robot behind glass. You can't miss it. 

Sleepytyme Details: 

#5. Q-35 Matter Modulator(Early Game)

If your build is energy weapons this legendary plasma rifle is for you! This can be acquired very early game though goes missed until late game for some. A little history on this weapon is that it was created by REPCONN Aerospace engineers as part of the Quantum Plasma Modulation Matter Injection Rifle project.

This has less damage per action point than a regular plasma rifle so V.A.T.s wouldn't be ideal having 1.4 compared to 1.6, it's not a big difference but if you use V.A.T.s a lot then its important. Bad news aside this rifle makes up for it in damage and critical attacks which are the highest in the game for plasma weapons damage being 96 and crit being 62.

What The Q-35 Matter Modulator Excels In : 

• Plasma Damage and Critical hits. WIth the high damage and crit already mentioned this weapon turns most enemies to plasma once you get a critical hit or they are on low health.
• Being lightweight. Weighing about the same as a multiplas rifle (which is 7) This plasma rifle is good to carry around without the worry of having to drop items.
• Condition. Most legendary guns have good condition but this one is good for this reason. You can use normal plasma rifles to repair it, saving you tons of caps in the long run.

How To Get The Q-35 Matter Modulator : 

• This one is tricky to get and can be acquired using 3 different methods. For this go to the REPCONN headquarters main floor. 
• Once there you'll encounter a locked door that needs 100 lockpick skill to get opened. 
• If you don't have that, there's a wall terminal next to the door that can be unlocked with the keycard in a briefcase on the third floor. You'll find that near the remains of a Brotherhood of Steel paladin. 
• Alternatively, if you take the stairs (near the already mentioned door) to the second floor and turn left. You'll want to continue forward and take the next three rights. This leads to another locked door that requires 75 lockpick skill to open. This method gives you access to the room containing the weapon through a hole in the ground. (easiest one in my opinion)

Q-35 Matter Modulator Details : 

#4. All-American(Late Game)

The All American…This assault rifle compliments the 82nd airborne division with the logo imprinted on the side. Every fallout player who collects legendaries knows this assault rifle is one of if not the best to have late game.  

The added suppressor is one of the reasons this weapon is so great. You can take out enemies without giving away your position or sacrificing damage to do it. As you can see from the picture it also has improved rifling which increases the damage per shot even more. 

While I was searching for other legendaries I came across this one. I knew what it was as far as a legendary but didn't understand what it did in terms of effects. I tried it out on some geckos and one deathclaw and I quickly fell in love. 

What The All American Excels In : 

• Long distance. Being semi auto makes long distance with this weapon a breeze. Also with its low weapon spread of 0.035 compared to 0.04 your rounds will reach longer distances.
• Stealth attacks. With the suppressor already added you can deal massive sneak damage and almost take out most enemies.(or at least hurt them enough to finish off)
• Accuracy. This is just as accurate as a sniper rifle having the long range scope to help. The recoil is slightly better than other assault rifles being a semi automatic weapon.

How To Get The All American : 

• Now before you think about getting this after everything you read, just know that the location is one of the hardest vaults in the game! (Vault 34) Getting in and out requires its own guide. 
• It’s located in Vault 34's armory which can only be opened with the overseer's terminal. It will be on an overturned table to the right side of the armory.

 All-American Details : 

#3. Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle(Late Game)

The Best Sniper Rifle in The game before DLC. The Gobi campaign scout rifle is a heavy sniper That can handle mostly anything in its way.(From a distance of course) 

Compared to other snipers in the game this one fires more rapidly and has reduced V.A.T points. The durability is 759 meaning it can fire that many rounds at full condition before breaking. On the downside it can be kind of tricky repairing due to the lack of snipers you'll find.(use the Jury Rigging perk to make it easier) 

During my first playthrough I came across this weapon but with limited knowledge. I didn't realize what I was passing up every time so when I figured out what it was and got more experience I tested it in every way I could. Critical shots are 8/10 always going to happen for the scout. 

What The Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle Excels In : 

• Rate of fire. The attacks per second are 2.14 compared to 1.93 of a regular sniper. 

• High Damage. Dealing 102.9 damage per second is nothing to laugh at. That's higher than Christine's CoS silencer rifle which is 99.6. ( this weapon is in the Old World Blues DLC)

• Action Points. Having the least amount of action points(24) you can do more in V.A.T.s with this than regular ones.

How To Get The Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle : 

• This is located in a sniper's nest which is west of Cottonwood Cove and south of Ranger Station Echo.

• It can be found in the locked gun case next to an ammunition crate with .308 rounds. There is no key to open it if the lock breaks so unless you have a lockpick skill of 75 or higher you can't open it. 

Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle Details : 

#2. Euclid's C Finder(Late or Early Game)

Saving the best two for last This can easily be number 1. What you see before you is not really a weapon, but a targeting device to fire the weapon! This fires a very powerful beam of energy from the ARCHIMEDES II orbital laser platform.

The capabilities aren't that good at first glance. But once you power up the orbital laser platform you will have ammo. The good part about that is the ammo will never run out. The bad part? You can only use it once per day. 

I never could get this to work on my first playthrough. For some reason I thought there was a glitch in the game because I couldn't find any ammo for it. Once I did, I used it to get rid of enemies in groups, like the deathclaws in the excavation site.

What The Euclid's C Finder Excels In : 

• Explosiveness. The blast radius is so powerful killing your character in the blast is a huge possibility.
• Reliability. This is one of the only weapons in the game that regenerates its ammo. Like already mentioned this refills once per day so it will always come in handy. 

How to get the Euclid's C Finder : 

• Now getting this legendary itself is not that hard. The ammo on the other hand is its own little guide. 
• First go to freeside which is located adjacent to the new vegas strip. 
• Next, Just outside of Mick & Ralph's, look for a kid named Max. (during the day he's running around with it) 
• Max will sell it to you for 1000 caps, or 20 caps if you have a Barter skill of 45 or more. 

Euclid's C Finder Details : 

#1. CZ57 Avenger (Late Game)

The CZ57 Avenger minigun is a unique version of the regular minigun. It deals slightly more damage per shot and has the highest damage per second dealing 390. This is power armor's best friend no matter what you wear.

The fire rate allows you to fire more rounds at an enemy per second. This usually means you get to have a better chance at hitting your target in V.A.T.s or regular attacks. The AP cost is lower as well being 25 in comparison to a regular minigun of 30. 

When I was playing this game for the second time It was a challenge. The location is called the devil's throat for a reason. With Deathclaws and Cazadores along with other creatures getting this will feel rewarding. When i'm wearing power armor when I have this equipped 

What The CZ57 Avenger Excels In : 

• Low weight. The overall weight for this is 18 pounds. This is because the CZ57 holds less ammo than a normal minigun. (The weight for that is 25 pounds)
• Weapons spread. This is reduced to half of what a normal one would be. Because of this you can fire at longer distances. 

How Do You Get The CZ57 Avenger :

• The CZ57 Avenger can be found in the Devil's Throat.
• Once there it will be next to the body of a dead prospector, inside a blue truck located in
• the center. 

CZ57 Avenger Details : 

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