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The Gauss Rifle uses magnetic induction to propel a projectile at incredible and devastating speed. Each shot can be "charged" for maximum damage by keeping the trigger held in for a moment before releasing.Fallout 4 loading screens

The Gauss rifle is a weapon in Fallout 4.

Characteristics[]

The Gauss rifle is able to deliver very high damage after being fired when fully charged. It can be modded with more capacitors, a shielded barrel, and a compensator or suppressor.

Capacitors and exposed copper wiring run alongside the barrel, and a Nixie tube display above the stock gives the weapon's charge percentage. The rifle operates on a charging principle: the user holds down the trigger to build up the charge, and releasing the trigger fires a round (roughly 50% of a fully charged shot). It is fed rounds through a dorsal mounted cylindrical magazine and its projectile produces a momentary blue trail, similar to a lightning bolt.

The Gauss rifle is rather inaccurate when attempting to shoot from the hip. The reflex sight is essentially a "rear sight" aperture for a glowing front sight post. Most of the main advantages of most reflex sights (clear sight picture unobstructed by the weapon's bulk) are lost when attempting to use one on a Gauss rifle.

The Gauss rifle is inaccurate with its standard sights. The scopes needed to offset this deficiency require a heavy investment in the Gun Nut perk to craft, with night-vision and recon versions also requiring investment in the Science! perk.

The Gauss rifle is chambered for the rare and expensive 2mm EC rounds as opposed to the microfusion cells used by the Anchorage-era variants. Gauss rifle shots produce a bluish explosion upon impact. This enables the Gauss rifle to hit multiple targets with a single shot, provided they are clustered together in proximity to each other. However, secondary targets don't receive any damage, as the rifle's explosion effect has no damage value assigned to it.

Weapon modifications[]

Slot Mod Description Weapon prefix Damage per shot change Fire rate change Range change Accuracy change Magazine capacity (shots per reload) change Weight change< Weapon value change in caps Perk needed Components Form ID
Barrel Standard barrel Standard. Adhesive x4
Aluminum x10
Screw x5
001889F6
Shielded barrel Better range and damage. Shielded +27 +24 +37 Gun Nut 3 Adhesive x9
Aluminum x15
Lead x10
Screw x8
001889F5
Stock Standard stock Standard. Adhesive x5
Screw x6
Wood x8
001889F8
Recoil compensating stock Exceptional recoil. Recoil compensated +7 +1.3 +30 Gun Nut 4 Adhesive x8
Aluminum x9
Rubber x2
Screw x8
Spring x6
001889F7
Capacitors Half capacitors Standard. Adhesive x4
Aluminum x2
Circuitry x4
Nuclear material x2
Screw x4
Silver x2
Spring x4
001C34BC
Full capacitors Superior ammo capacity. Better damage. High capacity +27 +3 +0.4 +37 Gun Nut 3
Science! 2
Adhesive x6
Aluminum x4
Circuitry x8
Nuclear material x4
Screw x8
Silver x4
Spring x8
001C34BB
Capacitor boosting coil Exceptional ammo capacity. Superior damage. Maximum capacity +55 +13 +2 +82 Gun Nut 4
Science! 3
Adhesive x8
Aluminum x4
Circuitry x8
Gold x5
Nuclear material x5
Screw x10
Spring x10
001C34BA
Sights Standard sights Standard. Adhesive x2
Aluminum x2
Steel x3
????????
Short scope Improved magnification. Superior sighted accuracy. Scoped +12 +1.4 +27 Adhesive x2
Glass x1
Screw x2
Steel x3
001889FA
Gauss reflex sight Better focus and sighted accuracy. Tactical +3 +1.3 +34 Gun Nut 3
Science! 1
Adhesive x2
Aluminum x2
Glass x1
Nuclear material x2
Screw x2
Silver x1
00238A5F
Medium scope Better magnification. Superior sighted accuracy. Scoped +19 +1.8 +57 Gun Nut 4
Science! 1
Adhesive x3
Glass x2
Screw x2
Steel x4
001C34C0
Long scope Superior magnification and sighted accuracy. Scoped +32 +2.3 +72 Gun Nut 4
Science! 1
Adhesive x4
Glass x4
Screw x4
Steel x5
001C34BE
Short night vision scope Night vision. Improved magnification. Superior sighted accuracy. Night-vision +12 +1.4 +94 Gun Nut 4
Science! 2
Adhesive x4
Aluminum x5
Circuitry x1
Fiber optics x1
Glass x2
Nuclear material x3
Screw x2
Silver x2
001C34C2
Medium night vision scope Night vision. Better magnification. Superior sighted accuracy. Night-vision +19 +1.8 +109 Gun Nut 4
Science! 2
Adhesive x4
Aluminum x6
Circuitry x2
Fiber optics x2
Glass x4
Nuclear material x4
Screw x2
Silver x2
001C34C1
Long night vision scope Night vision. Superior magnification and sighted accuracy. Night-vision +32 +2.3 +124 Gun Nut 4
Science! 2
Adhesive x5
Aluminum x7
Circuitry x3
Fiber optics x2
Glass x5
Nuclear material x6
Screw x4
001C34BF
Short recon scope Tracks targets. Improved magnification. Superior sighted accuracy. Recon +12 +2.6 +147 Gun Nut 4
Science! 1
Adhesive x6
Aluminum x8
Circuitry x4
Crystal x6
Fiber optics x4
Nuclear material x7
Screw x5
002492D9
Long recon scope Tracks targets. Improved magnification. Superior sighted accuracy. Recon +32 +2.6 +147 Gun Nut 4
Science! 1
Adhesive x6
Aluminum x8
Circuitry x4
Crystal x6
Fiber optics x4
Nuclear material x7
Screw x5
001C34C4
Muzzle No muzzle
Compensator Improved per-shot recoil. Improved recoil control. Reduced range. Compensated -12 +10 +1.6 +75 Gun Nut 3
Science! 1
Adhesive x6
Aluminum x7
Screw x4
001C34BD
Suppressor Suppresses sound from firing. Exceptional per-shot recoil. Improved recoil control. Poor range. Suppressed -30 +11 +2 +150 Gun Nut 4
Science! 2
Adhesive x8
Aluminum x9
Fiberglass x5
Screw x6
001889F9

Variants[]

Locations[]

  • Up to five Gauss rifles can be found at Skylanes Flight 1981 and Skylanes Flight 1665. One needs rank 3 of the Locksmith perk to get them from a hidden compartment of the far most trunk under the cockpit. This cache contains leveled loot (causing different versions of the corresponding manifest to spawn). If the player is below level 32, they will not encounter Gauss rifles at this location.
  • A Gauss rifle is found on the Prydwen in Teagan's shop. This will always spawn regardless of level and can only be stolen.
  • Carried very often by level 35+ Railroad heavy units.
  • Rarely carried by super mutant warlords at higher levels.
  • The Gauss rifle can be purchased from weapons vendors after reaching level 25.
  • A large quantity of Gauss rifles can be found during The Battle of Bunker Hill, as the constantly spawning Railroad and Brotherhood troops will carry them. One must be quick in picking them up because NPCs will pick them up at the first chance.
  • Nuka-World (add-on) Aaron Corbett can sell this weapon, and at a much earlier level than any other weapon merchant in the game.

Notes[]

  • The Gauss rifle, as the name implies, benefits from the Rifleman perk and not from Heavy Gunner, despite its heavy image. It gains no bonus from Demolition Expert either despite the explosive nature of its shots.
  • Shots fired in V.A.T.S. seem to skip the pre-charging phase of the rifle, instantaneously dealing fully charged damage. The rifle also has the advantage of low AP cost as a ballistic weapon. Hence, firing the Gauss rifle in V.A.T.S. while having some AP restoration perks or armor pieces allows the player character to continuously deal a large amount of damage.
  • Despite Gauss rifle variants in some previous games being classed as energy weapons, the Fallout 4 Gauss rifle exclusively inflicts ballistic damage, barring legendary effects that can add additional damage types. This can be considered lore-consistent since Gauss or coil guns fire a physical projectile that acts as a ballistic body, rather than the directed energy of laser weapons, or blasts of ionized matter fired by plasma weapons.
  • With 5 ranks in the Rifleman perk, the Gauss rifle becomes capable of destroying almost any power armor pieces except torso pieces with one shot. It is also able to destroy a fusion core in one shot.
  • Its raw damage output per shot is outclassed only by the 6-crank laser musket and the Fat Man and its variants during general combat. However, when stealth combat is involved and a silencer is equipped, with the Mister Sandman perk 50% more sneak critical damage is dealt. A fully upgraded Gauss rifle along with a fully upgraded Ninja perk will boost the sneak critical to 5.25x the base damage (6.3x with Deacon's Cloak & Dagger perk). One can combine that with Rifleman 5 and can do approximately 2,000+ ballistic damage. (As of patch 1.4 the maximum multiplier is 4.8) One of the highest amounts of single-shot damage. During a field test with the 6-crank laser musket at its highest, the laser musket does not do as much damage as a fully upgraded and perk supported Gauss rifle.
  • The two-shot legendary variant of the Gauss rifle is one of the most powerful rifles in the game. With the right perks and the right circumstances, this weapon can kill even the strongest enemies in a single shot.
  • Legendary versions can be acquired at level 36.
  • AP cost/shot in V.A.T.S. ranges from 36 to 57, depending on sights and capacitors. (Base 42.0 AP, half-capacitors -1.5, Gauss reflex sight -4.5, short/medium/long scope +9/+12/+15)
  • The projectile fired is wider than other ballistic bullets and will not be able to pass through some railings and other small spaces.
  • This weapon's behavior in relation to the Penetrator perk is inconsistent at best.
    • Gauss rifle shots are often capable of penetrating their target and hitting others behind the first one, occasionally killing three or more enemies with one shot. Currently, it is unclear if this is a trait inherent to the weapon or owed to the Penetrator perk.
  • If given to companions, settlers or any other NPCs they take much longer to aim and fire; this may be due to them charging their shots. This can result in cases of them failing to fire at the right moment, either resulting in the player character or said NPC being killed.
  • The scope attachment does not behave like other scopes and instead uses two different components, one component at the end of the barrel and one above the charge meter.
  • When using a gamepad, the right trigger can be depressed slightly to charge the rifle but not fire when released.

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 4Playstation 4 Xbox OneXbox One When drawing the Gauss rifle, if holding "attack," the weapon will charge a shot, but upon release, no shot will be fired, or ammunition consumed.[verified]
  • PCPC "Aborting" a reload of a Gauss rifle (by either bringing up the Pip-Boy or using a weapon-bash) will make the next charge-up a dud that will not expend ammunition or fire as expected.[verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 4Playstation 4 Xbox OneXbox One Charging the Gauss rifle, then switching to another weapon, will keep the charging sound looping until the Gauss rifle is switched to again.[verified]
  • PCPC When repeatedly zooming in with a scope, the player may become stuck within the scope and will only be able to fire dud shots. [verification needed]
  • Xbox OneXbox One Equipping Strong with a Gauss rifle that has the shielded barrel mod (like The Last Minute) results in the shield plate disappearing from the barrel top and instead appearing to clip inside the rifle butt as well into Strong's arm.

Sounds[]

SingleShotVB SingleShotVB
ReloadVB ReloadVB
ReloadVB

Gallery[]

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