Talk: Dart gun

?

Why is it that when you get a critical killing headshot with the dart gun, both the target's legs get blown off, but not their head?

Two points!

a dart does not really blow off a head.

the venom of the scorpion makes the legs explode!

I've never seen the dart gun blow off anything, legs or head. But the more damaged a body part is, the more likely it is to explode if it's hit with the killing blow. Since the dart gun instantly cripples the legs (-1000 to each leg) that may have something to do with it.--69.243.182.54 12:03, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it possible to hit yourself with a dart by firing up in the air as with the mini nuke?

Extra Schematics

"Acquiring additional schematics is supposed to increase the weapon's effectiveness by 10%. However, acquiring additional schematics does not increase the already low damage done by the weapon, nor does it increase the potency or duration of the poison effect. Thus it would appear as if gathering any further schematics past the first is completely pointless."

But does acquiring extra schematics increase the weapon's durability? (i.e. reduce the need for repair) - 86.129.170.195 07:34, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

That's not quite how it works. Extra schematics (for the weapons that degrade) increase their condition. The item created appears to be the same (item ID), it's just the condition you get it at. 74.14.118.127 18:34, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

The way to get big damage out of the Dart Gun is to use it for sneak attack headshots, its silent, and that's what its made for. To be more specific the weapon has a (+70) damage critical (6+64), or 50% more (+105) with the Better Criticals perk, and that's not counting another 64 poison for the next 8sec. Against any humanoid target, human or ghoul, the Dart gun is a murder weapon in the hands of a ninja (ninja:silent running, repeated sneak attack critical 1-hit deaths). Just don't use the dart gun on Robots, or Super Mutants, they soak up or ignore poison dmg. --AshRandom 17:00, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't have + 70 damage on a critical hit. It does kill raiders by one sneak head shot. But I tried to kill Talon mercenaries with it, it's far from 1-shot kill. Then I loaded the saved file and tried Wazer Wifle/Ol'Painless, both can 1-shot kill Talon mercenaries.

The Dart Gun is not really meant for killing anyway, more likely to weaken down enemies. Criple legs to slow them down and backpedal, criple arms to lower their acuracy or shoot one dart and hide, waiting for the poison to kill them. Setimir92 22:00, October 13, 2009 (UTC)

Well, Talon have some impressive damage resistance, a non-critical headshot with a Lincoln only does about 60% damage and its doing 50. Anyway, with the better criticals perk I'm often able to 1-shot Talon Company mercs, so you should be able to as well (Xbox360, Normal). --AshRandom 11:47, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

Can We get a better picture?

There's a rather bad picture of the Dart Gun on the page (the low quality one of the guy holding it), can we replace it with a better pic of the dart gun being used in VATS?--Clean Up 17:23, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

I second this request, we can do much better. Techercizer^{(say hi)}_(pwnage) 19:11, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

Acquiring

Can someone add a section on obtaining the Dart Gun? Not everyone wants to watch Youtube videos on it. - Dweller93 09:51, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

The easiest way to obtain this gun is to go to tenpenny tower and buy the schematic. It will be less then 800, way less if your barter is high. Next easiest is simply walk to the MDPL-05 Power Station, where a schematic is laying on the ground.

Challenge to some ideas in Main Article

Can someone provide proof that Dart Gun is less effective against Radscorpions than other creatures? I don't see that to be true. And, BTW, from a game design pov, it makes no sense that Radscorpions get any damage at all from their own poison.

Yeah it does. Our own stomach bacteria can kill us, but we're safe from it as long as it stays within our stomach.AbsentCollaborator (talk) 04:17, May 29, 2013 (UTC)

Also, Star Palidan Cross is not the only NPC who will equip the Dart Gun. I've seen Charon do it. I had to remove all other guns and ammo from his inventory, but Charon used it as well. 67.172.16.255 15:03, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

That sounds dubvious, considering you can't remove his shotgun. -DragonJTS^{Leave me a message} 15:37, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Reload time

I don't know where people keep getting this ".6 of a second." If you check the GECK, it says the reload time is 2.33 seconds, and if you use it in game, you can clearly count more than 2 seconds. For all you people who think it reloads in little more than half a second, try disabling all your mods and THEN tell us. Oh, by the way, the Alien Blaster is also 2.33 seconds, which means it's the same as the Dart Gun, not slower. Here are some more numbers from the GECK:

The 10mm Pistol is 1.3 seconds
The Plasma Pistol is 2 seconds
The Assault Rifle is 2 seconds
The Chinese Assault Rifle is 2.2 seconds
The Flamer is 1.5 seconds.

So as you can see, the Alien Blaster is not even second fastest. Whoever wrote that note has no idea what they're talking about.

Two schematics in Tenpenny Tower

I have noticed a strange thing that I would like someone else to verify. During the Tenpenny Attack, when you let the Feral Ghouls in, you can loot a key from Lydia Montenegro, and then use this key to unlock the inventory box at Boutique Le Chic. Inside is a Dartgun Schematics, but when the ghouls are all settled in, you can buy another one from Michael Masters. Thus ending up with two from the same place. O.o--Lostevil99 18:41, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Is it confirmed that it doesn't work on Radscorpions of any sort? Because I just shot a Giant Radscorpion with the dart gun and it said "Giant Radscorpion Left Legs crippled", "Giant Radscorpion Right Legs crippled", and it even began lowering the scorpions health because of poison (I didn't shoot it more than once).

Repair?

Do NPc's have to repair this, and how fast does it degrade?

Use with the Grim Reaper's Sprit perk

re the 4 shots in a vats round example: the poison damage still occurs over 8 seconds. I'm not sure if (from the example) 4 shots in 1 round means that the round actually lasts 8 or 9 seconds (4x reload time), but if it does, then the first dart will do all its poison damage (64), the second 48, the 3rd 32 & the last 16. Now, unless your target dies during the vats round, GRS won't restore your action points (at least not on the 360). So if your target started with 362 hp, he would die, but only 6 seconds after the round has finished!

George 82.152.147.152 00:53, September 4, 2009 (UTC)

Strategy

The Dart Gun is best used for sneak attacks.

Low level players may find this critical for fighting Yao guai and Deathclaws. With their legs crippled, they cannot use their pounce attacks, nor can they run faster than you.

Great for players with a Stealth Boy, the Silent Running perk, or the Chinese stealth armor (Fallout 3).

The critical damage bonus for humanoids is presumed to be +76 (12 + 64 poison), or +82 (with the Better Criticals perk). Note: don't expect a big critical bonus for robots, monsters, or super mutants.

Sneak Attack Critical head shots will silently 1-hit kill most Raiders and Ghouls on Normal difficulty. Add in the 64 poison/8 sec effect that follows and one shot can total for as much as 160 damage. It is notably useful when taking out the Raiders at Evergreen Mills as this can be done from the top of the cliffs, and also when fighting through the metro tunnels infested with Ghouls during the Tenpenny Tower Quest.

The Dart Gun is silent, and functions the same as a Silenced 10mm pistol in that when you miss you often don't alert any enemies, so you can feel pretty safe setting up several long range 50% V.A.T.S. head shots, even if the first one misses it won't alert the enemy and ruin your sneak attack for the next.

The Dart Gun can be used to easily stop Deathclaws and Behemoths in their tracks, allowing you to finish them off (with a different weapon) while their legs are crippled.

As a result of it being a silent weapon, when sneaking around, double or triple darting a single enemy often won't result in attracting attention. The enemy himself doesn't know what happened, so it doesn't go directly into [DANGER] attack mode (like when hit with a rifle), instead it searches for you in [CAUTION] mode, then drops dead from poison effects a few seconds later. Upon its death you snap right back to [HIDDEN] status because the only thing looking for you just died.

A good way to get 2 schematics is to let the ghouls into Tenpenny Tower, there you can buy one schematic. Then go to the temple of the union and do the quest for them, the Ghoul Mask may come in handy.

It is the only weapon stealthy enough to let a hidden player silently kill multiple Raiders in one batch of V.A.T.S.. (without giving away his position). Starting characters can kill three, but as many as ten silent kills in one V.A.T.S.. can be performed utilizing +AP edibles and equipment (See: The Fallout 3 AP Bonuses table).

Well equipped humans (NPCs, Brotherhood, Enclave) may use stimpaks when they're poisoned.

Darts seem to do full damage against Power armor, the piddly 6 pts of weapon damage is reduced, but the 64pts of poison still take effect. Yeah, who knew you could penetrate power armor with rubber tubing and children's toys?!

Really shouldn't be used against Robots or Turrets, who ignore poison dmg and limb crippling effects .

Darts are typically sold by most weapons dealers. Lucky Harith is always a good bet for 10 darts at a time. After making friends with the vampire family, Karl of Meresti Trainyard will often sell 100 darts at a time.

If you give this gun to a companion he/she will cripple the enemy allowing you to make the kill. Xbox 360 Note: Star Paladin Cross appears to be one of the only companions willing to equip the Dart Gun. Her default ranged weapon (the Laser Pistol) is the weakest of all companion weapons, (most have a base damage of 50+) and might explain why her character A.I. favors the Dart Gun. Butch DeLoria will also use this weapon, since his 10mm Pistol is a weak weapon as well, and Charon will choose to use it over his shotgun at longer range.

This weapon can even take down characters such as Lucas Simms or Jericho on normal very easily for even a starting character. The critical damage alone is enough to knock off quite a few bars of health but then the added effects of the poison will knock off another good bit. Used consecutively in V.A.T.S, and despite this weapons overall poor looking damage, it makes for one of the best stealth weapons in the game right up there with the Perforator and the Infiltrator.

So lets say you have the Better Criticals perk, and you have maxed out Small Guns. You only have 4 shots in V.A.T.S, you're in sneak mode and have not yet been detected. You fire four shots consecutively. Thats 24 damage + 82 damage for the sneak attack critical + 4(64) or 256. That is exactly 362 points of damage for 1 round of V.A.T.S, now picture ten shots in one rounds, and lets say you have the Grim Reaper's Sprint, you're dealing over 900 points of damage in 1 round and if you kill just one person out of that round, you get to deal all that damage again.

--ArmeniusLOD 17:23, October 4, 2009 (UTC)

I've also found it invaluable for taking out nuisance enemies such as bloatflies and radroaches silently at a distance, very useful when sneaking around such places as the Germantown Police Headquarters. The roaches show up with exactly the same red mark as a Super Mutant on your display so it's best to sweep them out to avoid confusion. Wunengzi 04:24, August 27, 2010 (UTC)

Incorrect Information?

In the main article under Glitches: "If you crouch whilst having the dart gun equipped, the rod on the back of the paint gun component will constantly move back and forth (as if you were reloading). This only happens when viewing your character in 3rd person."

I tested this extensively on the 360, post-patch, and I just didn't have this happen at all. Not while holstered on my hip nor while being held in my hand. Perhaps this should be removed/revised. --98.180.4.125 21:53, October 13, 2009 (UTC)

Something which I'm currently finding in the current playing stretch is that if the Poison kills the target I'm not getting any XP. Currently advancing to level 27, so I know I should be getting XP.

Dart Gun Related Query

I have something which I've been trying to find the answer to for a while now, alas, I've not been successfull. What I want to do is give the dart gun to Red, that part's easy. However, I was wondering if giving her clothing items to improve her luck, such as Three Dog's headwear and the Lucky Shades would improve her effectiveness with this weapon. To anyone who can help, thank you. StarfishCostume 14:18, January 26, 2010 (UTC)

Luck increase critical chance upto a max of 10% base purely on stats, there fore with said attire she'd be more likely to critical shot an opponent, but the diffenece would be small and it woud still be a rare thing. You'd be better using it yourself for 1 shot then using a better gun and letting red plough into them with paulsons revolver.

Components

All components for the Dart Gun exept the poison gland can be found in the second story of the Evergreen Mills Foundry (how you get to the Bazaar). Paint gun is on a shelf in the first room you pass while on the second floor. Turn right into the second door on the catwalk.turn right again to go to a room with a toy car on a shelf and turn left and surgical tubing is in a corner behond a locked door.

One or Two Hands?

Is this a one-handed weapon or a two-handed weapon? I just got the game, so I have no idea where to go to get the schematics to see for myself. Swk3000 22:02, October 22, 2010 (UTC)

Looks to be a one handed weapon. Will check once I find a schematic to confirm if it is one handed.

Edit: Confirmed, it is counted as a one handed gun.

--71.70.219.78 18:04, February 21, 2011 (UTC) Random Guy

Have You Seen Me?

I have to say it is outright criminal to not include this weapon (or something specifically designed for Deathclaw hunting) in New Vegas. The lack of this weapon, combined with the resurrection of Threshold, makes the Deathclaw a completely peerless killing machine. As opposed to the living joke that the Dart Gun turned it into in Fallout 3. Nymphonomicon 00:17, November 4, 2010 (UTC)

Best bet is to use a long ranger gun like a sniper rifle against them in New Vegas.

--71.70.219.78 19:04, February 21, 2011 (UTC) Random Guy

Interesting little detail.

If you look down on the dart gun's paint canister it has a little jolly roger on it.

--71.70.219.78 19:17, February 21, 2011 (UTC) Random Guy

Why is it surprising that the radscorpian venom affects radscorpians?

Venom is not the same as poison, most venomous animals would also be killed by their own venom, they just do not ever allow it into their bloodstream. It stays in their tail, fangs, etc, etc. That radscorpians are paralyzed by venom is not surprising.