The mutants and bandits that roam the Mojave wasteland are formidable opponents that will require stellar gear to take down. Luckily, there are plenty of unique weapons present in Fallout: New Vegas to make killing the toughest of Deathclaws a little bit easier.

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Unique weapons are variants of weapons that have special properties, which can take the form of better damage stats or properties never before seen. Revolvers, grenade launchers, melee weapons, practically every weapon category has unique variants that are hidden throughout the world. Here are the 20 best unique weapons players can find and use in Fallout: New Vegas.

Updated December 10th, 2020 by Charles Burgar: Replayability is a core part of any RPG, New Vegas included. Every playthrough can be radically different based on a player's S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats or weapons Listing ten weapons for New Vegas simply isn't enough when showcasing the best unique weapons. Here are ten additional picks to consider when creating a new build for Fallout: New Vegas. Note that this list covers unique weapons only, so the likes of the Anti-Material Rifle and Riot Shotgun are omitted from this list.

20 Ratslayer

Fallout New Vegas Ratslayer

Ratslayer is a highly-modified variant of the Varmint Rifle the Courier starts with. This powerful weapon can be found in the Broc flower cave hiding under a desk on the upper level of the cave.

Despite what its name implies, Ratslayer is not only good at killing rats. This weapon deals 23 damage a shot, has a 5x critical multiplier, and has every Varmint Rifle modification pre-installed. In other words, this is a fantastic early-game rifle that is equally deadly in chaotic gunfights and stealthy skirmishes.

19 Sleepytyme

Fallout New Vegas SleepyTyme

Image from No Mutants Allowed

The Gun Runners certainly know how to make quality weaponry. Sleepytyme is a unique take on the 10mm SMG that comes with a suppressor pre-installed and higher base stats. It can be purchased from the Gun Runners outside of Freeside if you own the Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC.

With a fire rate of ten and a damage output of 20 per bullet, this small SMG can take down most targets in seconds. Its critical stats are rather lackluster because of its 0.1x critical multiplier, but that downside is counteracted by this weapon having the improved holdout weapon tag. You can bring Sleepytyme into casinos and other restricted areas so long as your Stealth skill is high enough. Considering this weapon is a full-auto monster, having this quality certainly makes it unique.

18 Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle

Fallout New Vegas Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle

Image from thepcwalkthrough (YouTube)

Christine's CoS Silencer Rifle is a variant of the sniper rifle that features a suppressor and an absurdly high damage output of 62 per bullet—the highest damage per shot of any .308 weapon in New Vegas. This weapon can be found leaning against a crumbling building near Little Yangtze, a location tied to the Old World Blues DLC.

On paper, this sniper has a lower DPS rating than the Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle since it fires much slower. In practice, this weapon is better suited for stealth or critical-oriented builds since its high base damage and 2.5x critical multiplier allows it to one-shot most enemies in the game. Pair this gun with JSP rounds to annihilate any enemy that you can see.

17 Q-35 Matter Modulator

Fallout New Vegas Q 35 Matter Modulator

Image from Funnyjunk.com

Locked behind a Very Hard lock in the REPCONN headquarters, the Q-35 Matter Modulator is a variant of a plasma rifle featuring a suite of improvement, most notably its doubled fire rate.

Plasma projectiles from this weapon travel much faster than other plasma weapons. While they deal seven less damage than a standard plasma weapon, the critical damage has been enhanced by 15 to make this better suited for Luck builds. Since this weapon fires twice as fast and consumes half as much ammo as a standard model, the Q-35 Matter Modulator's improvements go from being niche to game-changing. This weapon combines the fast fire rate of a laser rifle with the hard-hitting nature of plasma. It's the best of both worlds.

16 Esther

Fallout New Vegas Esther

This list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Esther, a unique variant of the iconic Fat Man rocket launcher. This weapon launches miniature nukes that annihilate anything remotely near the blast radius. It can be purchased from the Gun Runners outside of Freeside.

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Esther's unique modifications include a blast shield that grants your character passive damage resistance while the weapon is equipped. While it is ten pounds heavier than the non-unique counterpart, Esther can launch GRA mini nuke variants. These variants include Tiny Tots—a take on Fallout 3's MIRV Launcher—the Big Kid mini nuke that deals increased damage, and a timed mini nuke that gives you five seconds to find cover before it explodes. It is by no means a practical weapon, but not every gunfight in New Vegas demands a practical solution.

15 Lucky

Fallout New Vegas Lucky revolver.

Very few weapons in Fallout: New Vegas look as beautiful as Lucky. This elegant .357 round revolver can be found in a hard safe found in an abandoned building in Primm.

If players can unlock this chest, prepare for an insanely strong revolver. For its ammo type, this weapon hits exceptionally hard and fires rather fast. Its boosted critical stats make this perfect for Luck-based perks and builds, causing nearly every enemy to explode in gore because of the frequent critical hits.

14 Li'l Devil

Fallout New Vegas Lil Devil and various consumables.

This modified 12.7mm pistol was added in the Gun Runner's Arsenal expansion for New Vegas, featuring dozens of new weapons and ammo types for players to try.

Li'l Devil is perfect for virtually any character that uses guns. It counts as a holdout 1 weapon, meaning it can be snuck into casinos. Compared to its base counterpart, it has a much better critical hit chance, damage, fire rate, and costs less AP to use in V.A.T.S. There are very few pistols that can match the damage output of this modified monster.

13 This Machine

Fallout New Vegas This Machine rifle.

The M1 Garand is one of the most iconic weapons in not just video games but in world history. Its iconic ping sound on a clip being expended makes it instantly recognizable in any medium.

This Machine is a slightly modified M1 that players can find by doing a rather obscure side mission for the NCR. In essence, the player will need to find out where critical supplies are being siphoned from and turn in who's responsible. The result of this unmarked quest is This Machine, a .308 rifle with misaligned sights but a nasty bite. Aim for the head with this gun and nothing will stand more than a few rounds.

12 All-American

Fallout New Vegas All-American unique marksman carbine. From Nexus Mods.
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39074/.popup-topic?tab=images

Image from LazyMonk (Nexus Mods)

All-American is a modified marksman carbine that can be found in Vault 34's armory. Unlocking the door through the overseer's terminal than locating the armory door can be quite the challenge, but the All-American is worth the hassle.

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A base DPS of 156 makes this a fantastic semi-auto weapon in its class, which can be amplified as high as 314 DPS with 100 Gun skill and perks. Those with an itchy trigger finger will not be disappointed.

11 A Light Shining In Darkness

Fallout New Vegas Burned Man maintaining .45 pistols.

Joshua Graham, otherwise known as the Burned Man, is the main character players will talk to in the Honest Hearts expansion for New Vegas. He has a unique .45 pistol that pistol builds will want to use.

To obtain this beautiful gun, players simply need to finish the main story quest arc. Upon completion, regardless of choices made, a footlocker near the entrance to Zion will contain unique items from NPCs the player interacted with. One of them is A Light Shining In Darkness, a unique .45 pistol that has a high critical multiplier and amazing base DPS of 144.4.

10 Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle

Fallout New Vegas Gobi Rifle.

Who doesn't want to use a camouflaged sniper rifle? The Gobi Campaign Scout Rifle is located at Sniper's Nest, hidden in a 100 skill gun case near a crate of .308 ammo.

Power is all this weapon is about, featuring higher base damage and critical bonus than the standard sniper rifle. Also, the Gobi comes with a much lower weapon spread, making this one of the best long-ranged guns in New Vegas. Its downsides of not being able to be modded are made up with its raw stopping power and unique looks.

9 Paciencia

Fallout New Vegas Paciencia rifle.

At first glance, the Paciencia seems to be a mediocre hunting rifle. Three shots per magazine seem lacking for the weapon's boost in damage, but that is not considering this weapon's immense critical stats. A 2x critical multiplier and 110 critical damage stat make this gun comparable with the anti-material rifle when it crits. Any build that focuses on critical hits should pick this weapon up from the Gun Runners outside of Freeside.

8 YCS/186

Fallout New Vegas YCS gauss rifle.

The YCS is a unique variant of the gauss rifle, featuring additional ammo conservation, more HP, and the chance to cripple enemies on a direct hit.

Players can find this weapon in the north-most part of New Vegas. Head to the gate at Freeside and continue north until a mountain range is close. A group of mercenaries should be there, who the player can kill to claim this sweet gun. If players can afford the ammo for this gun, it will cripple anything it doesn't immediately kill, setting up a perfect second shot.

7 Euclid's C Finder

Fallout New Vegas Euclid C Finder explosion.

When players make their way to Freeside, they might notice a little kid running around with a toy pistol. It looks like a plastic pistol that's based on a sci-fi design, but it's actually an orbital laser gun that doesn't have ammo.

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Players can either purchase this weapon off of the kid or convince him to give it away. Once obtained, players need to power up the HELIOS power station to wield this weapon's true power. It lives up to the work, firing a massive orbital laser that deals hundreds of damage to anything caught in the blast zone. Note that it can only be fired once a day, so make every shot count.

6 Oh, Baby!

Fallout New Vegas Oh Baby Sledge

Melee builds will have a hard time finding a better weapon than the Oh, Baby! super sledge. With a maxed melee skill and related melee perks, the Oh, Baby! has a whopping 309 DPS rating. Better yet, this weapon can use the Mauler melee attack in V.A.T.S. for a 50% damage increase. Players can find this weapon in Charleston Cave in the southwest part of the cave near a dead nightkin.

5 Holorifle

Fallout New Vegas Holorifle. From Nexus Mods
Via: Nexus Mods
https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/49238/?tab=images

Image from ghost2021a (Nexus Mods)

Technically speaking, the Holorifle isn't a unique weapon. It can be modified with modifications and it is given to the player at the start of Dead Money. That said, this is the only weapon of its kind in the entire game, so it ticks enough boxes to be considered a unique gun.

Regardless, the Holorifle is one of the strongest weapons in New Vegas. Every shot from this weapon applies a damage-over-time effect that deals 15 damage over three seconds. When fully modded, this gun out damages the anti-material rifle. With the right type of microfusion cell ammo, the Holorifle is easily the best close-ranged energy weapon in the game.

4 Medicine Stick

Fallout New Vegas Medicine Stick.

The Medicine Stick is a unique Brush Gun added in the Gun Runner's Arsenal DLC. To obtain this gun, players simply need to purchase it from the Gun Runner store near Freeside.

While it is easy to obtain, the Medicine Stick is nothing short of astounding. The weapon deals 78 damage per shot without Gun scaling or ammo differences. Compared to other .45 Gov't ammo, the only other thing that compares to this gun is the anti-material rifle, New Vegas' version of a high-caliber sniper rifle.

3 CZ57 Avenger

Fallout New Vegas CZ57 Avenger unique minigun.

Found in the Devil's Throat inside a blue truck is the CZ57 Avenger, a unique minigun that has the highest DPS weapon out of any weapon in Fallout: New Vegas. With a maxed Gun skill and related perks, the CZ57 Avenger can dish out an insane 649.7 DPS rating.

While it comes with a reduced magazine capacity of 80, the increased damage this weapon deals more than makes up for it. Deathclaws, Cazadores, virtually any foe in New Vegas won't stand a chance against the CZ57 Avenger. Its only downside is being a heavy minigun that is unwieldy to use when compared to rifles and pistols.

2 Ranger Sequoia

Fallout New Vegas shots of Ranger Sequoia revolver.

The larger brother of most revolvers, the Ranger Sequoia is an insanely powerful .45 round revolver that NCR Rangers wield. Players will have to find this off of NCR Veteran Rangers or Chief Hanlon at Camp Golf.

The Ranger Sequoia is worth the effort, however. It deals 62 damage a shot without any Gun skill or perk scaling, enhanced even further with fire rate perks. Its visual design is also stunning, with nice gold trimming and engravings that make this gun stand out from the rest of the Revolver archetype.

1 Survivalist Rifle

Fallout New Vegas corpse of the Survivor and bag.

Honest Hearts added plenty of unique weapons from Colt pistols to Tommy Guns. The Survivalist Rifle, however, might be one of the coolest.

This modified service rifle can be found at the Red Gate in a duffle bag that its wielder once carried. As a weapon, it is unwieldy and equally powerful. Its bent iron sights and mismatched wood show a makeshift weapon that barely functions, yet every bullet fired from it hits like a truck. Better than the gun, though, is the story behind this weapon. The Survivalist was a survivor of the Great War and used this weapon through thick and thin during his life. It explains the worn appearance and the devastating power it contains.

NEXT: Fallout 4: 5 Overpowered Builds (& 5 That Are Just Ridiculous)