Fallout 4 Weapons

Here is my opinion after close to 600 hours of play. My default play level now is Very Hard. Do you agree or disagree?

Pipe Guns: The only time I've ever used a pipe gun is if I happen to stumble upon an early, useful legendary. The other primary use is with the Scrapper perk. I don't even give these to my settlers. They're like Fallout 4's version of the .32 revolver -- crap guns for low-level enemies. It's a shame, in a sense, because they are one of the most modifiable weapons in the game. Even the Commando perk doesn't redeem them in my eye, despite being the only low-level weapon with enough ammo to take it early. Another issue is that .38 rounds are substitutes for caps at merchants.

Pipe Revolvers: These are better than the .38 pipe guns, and could theoretically make a better weapon. The use of .45 ammo is kind of problematic to me, as the SMG and the combat rifle both have very nice unique named variants that make use of the same round. The six-shot limit is also a hassle in the early game on Very Hard, as it can easily take more than 6 shots to take down even a raider.

Pipe Bolt-Action Guns: These I have used very early, as they chamber .308 which can be found early enough that you might not be able to properly mod a hunting rifle into a useful sniper weapon. I'll even hang onto to one longer if they have a good legendary tag. Rate of fire is an issue, as is low damage output, even with a .50 upgrade.

10mm Pistol: This is actually a very good gun, easily useful through mid-game with appropriate mods. I don't like the recon scope, but otherwise like to trick it out fully. It rocks on full auto with the right legendary like Explosive. The only drawback to full game use is that you get a better named 10mm that both performs better and simply looks cooler (though I like the fact that the Fallout 4 models no longer all look like they weight 15 lbs. apiece, unlike in 3).

Double-barrel Shotgun: I have yet to find a modded one of these; they all seem to be short-barrel with pistol grips. I can't say I've never used one, as the damage output is OK in an emergency. The rate of fire is a huge issue, unfortunately, and you get combat shotguns pretty quickly anyway.

.44 Revolvers: You can find one of these within spitting distance of Sanctuary, and the damage output is quite respectable with even basic mods. The issue with this early-on is ammunition. Unlike the pipe revolver, six shots from this is enough to put most things down assuming you can hit your target. I actually find the named variants to be kind of meh, and used the Endless legendary I found more than Kellog's pistol or any of the other uniques.

Hunting Rifles: These are mostly useful as heavily upgraded sniper rifles. They are the go-to weapon for reaching out and touching somebody up until you find your first gauss rifle. These are the only weapons I really like the more species-specific legendary tags, as setting up for sniping gives you the chance to bring along a mutant-, mirelurk- or even ghoul-specific gun.

Institute Guns: Useful for scrap. You can't do anything with these that you can't do with a regular laser weapon.

Laser Guns: The biggest plus for these guys is that ammunition is relatively plentiful. The biggest drawback is that mods for them tend to require things like crystal and fiber optics, which are hard to get earlier in the game when the laser guns would be most useful for their versatility. I'm also find the named variants kind of bland. An endless laser rifle sound good, but they're already quick to reload and high capacity.

Combat Rifles: Other than the Overseer's Guardian, I mostly give these to settlers. They're not bad mid-game, but they tend to be eclipsed by other weapons relatively quickly, i.e., by the time you can fully mod them. They can produce a sniper rifle with a faster rate of fire than the hunting rifle, but that's only really useful if you're heavily invested in sneak. Otherwise, your targets just rush you.

Combat Shotguns: These are great close-in damage weapons...if you've taken enough Rifleman perk. The extra penetration from Rifleman makes them extremely lethal. If you don't have Rifleman, though, then they perform less well. Gunslinger-heavy builds will probably get better performance from a .44. I've never tried them on full auto, as I suspect the recoil makes it hard to hold them on target.

Assault rifles: Like most weapons, the early unmodded versions aren't very impressive. With mods, they quickly become quite capable weapons. Even the semi-auto receivers have a very high rate of fire, making it easy to lay a lot of lead down range quickly. The biggest drawback is that the models in game seem to be designed for power armor, and they are heavy as hell.

Plasma Guns: These guys can be flamers, shotguns, sniper rifles or regular rifles. They have relatively rare ammunition. On the plus side, they do energy damage and can generate nuclear material when they goo a bad guy. These are, for me, a sometimes weapon. Wait until I build up a supply of ammo, and then I'll use one for a quest or two...but I usually end up going back to ballistic.

Railway Rifle: This is hands down my favorite specialty gun. The only things I don't like about it are the weight, the scarcity of ammunition, and the fact that the steam can obscure your vision in low light. This is more than made up for by the crippling effect, the propensity to nail body parts to the wall, and the fact that it makes a "choo choo" sound on reloading. I admit, while effective in combat, the theatrics of this gun do it for me.

Cryolator: This would be higher ranked if the ammo for it were either craftable or less expensive. Arturo and KLEO really gouge you for the cryo ammo, though. It is a cool effect, but railway spikes are much cheaper.

Flamer: Oh, you mean there's a use for flamer fuel other than crafting Jet Fuel? My preference, if I feel the need for a flamer, is the plasma flamer. The problem, as I see it, is that a flamer doesn't do much you can't do with a VATS-optimized pistol, as there is no penalty for shooting at close-in foes.

Missile Launcher: I can't think of a case where I wanted to lay down a high-explosive smack-down on the bad guys that wasn't better suited for a) grenades, b) a Fat Man, or c) an artillery barrage. I've actually tried these a few times, since I build up quite a stock of missiles. I just can't get into them.

Junk Jet: I'm a hoarder. I can't bring myself to shoot my precious junk...and that sentence came out differently than I intended. Pre-war cash is too good as money. Pencils provide much-needed wood. Beer bottles are too heavy to carry. Maybe if I could shoot burned magazines?

Gauss Rifle: This is your end-game silenced sniper, with an excellent named unique version. What's not to love. By the time you get it, you probably won't remember what it was ever like to run short of ammo. Just got to remember to hold the button down to charge up the shot.

Syringer Rifle: I have to carry 10 different kinds of ammo to take advantage of this weapon's flexibility, and they all weigh 0.1 lbs? They also don't seem to work consistently on the foes I most want them to work upon. Maybe the new survival mode will make the weight discrepancy go away, so I may revisit it then.

Minigun: These would be awesome against a horde of ghouls or raiders. Too bad you so often run into things that have high damage resistance, which makes them less than great. I tend to give these to my guards at settlements, as they maximize the "only need 1 round" advantage. I've used an irradiated one in an anti-human role before.

Fat Man: Useful against giant enemies. They actually would have been quite convenient against Skyrim dragons. Having said that...you can carry a boatload of artillery grenades for the weight, so I rarely use them once I retake the Castle.

Grenades: Very little is more satisfying than tossing a bomb around a corner and seeing bits of ghoul or gunner come flying through the door. I tend to not use these in the open as much until I get Demo Expert 2 with the visible guide, by which time I've got tons of frag grenades stored up.

Mines: These are basically grenades that require planning in advance. Despite the impressive power of explosive lunchboxes, I almost never use them.

Melee and Unarmed: In the rare case where these would make sense, like against mirelurk spawn, I just whack them with my gun butt. Note that for the proper build, I'm sure these are quite awe inspiring and I've even seen videos to that effect. I like shooting lead too much to specialize here, though.

So, where do you disagree with these summaries? Anybody love missile launchers or the syringer rifle? Anybody think laser weapons are awesome despite the difficulty in getting material for mods?