Legendary weapon effects Legendary weapon effects are effects applied to basic weapons that use special prefix modifiers that cannot be obtained elsewhere . Legendary weapons cannot be scrapped , but can be modified and traded with vendors . They will appear on screen when picked up and are marked with a star . Unlike unique weapons , they are randomized and are never named . Legendary effects can provide the same effects as unique weapons ; a " Relentless . 44 pistol " is identical to Kellogg ' s pistol . Like unique weapons , Legendary weapons can be given a custom name and modified at a weapons station . Legendary weapons are only found on the bodies of " Legendary " variants of enemies . They can spawn at random locations throughout the Commonwealth , depending on the difficulty setting . Legendary enemies are more difficult to defeat than regular enemies , as each one has a chance to " mutate " after their health is depleted , restoring them to full health and boosting their stats . They will almost always have a legendary piece of equipment in their inventory . Sometimes the legendary enemy ( or ally ) is not labeled as " Legendary " , but can be identified by the healing waves during and after a fight ( if still alive ) . The Legendary chance in an encounter below level 5 is zero . > L5 10 % , > L20 12 % , > L30 15 % , > L40 18 % , > L50 20 % Legendary weapon prefixes . Most legendary weapons will have one of the following prefixes , which acts as a short description of the weapon ' s effects . Unique weapon effects . Some effects are not randomly generated legendary weapons . These are known as unique weapon effects , and they can only be found by adding the effect through commands , or getting the unique weapon that they are found on . Detailed explanation . The legendary weapons and armor that are found on enemies are random ; there are certain " pools " of said weapon and armor types specifically tied to the type of enemy and location in which they are spawned . Certain legendary variants of weapons encountered early in the game - such as laser muskets and pipe pistols - will not spawn on Gunners , but will always have a chance to be found on legendary enemies with an area - specific low level cap ( e . g . the ghouls in Super Duper Mart ) . " Damage Reduction " armor & weapon effects . All " Damage Reduction " ( i . e . Hunter ' s , Ghoul Slayer ' s , Assassin ' s , Exterminator ' s , Troubleshooter ' s , Mutant Slayer ' s , Cavalier ' s , and Sentinel ' s ) mod stacks with the armor and weapon mod of the same name . " Elemental " weapon effects . Freezing , Incendiary and Plasma infused mods are most effective on " automatic " or " low base damage " weaponry . " Explosive " weapon effects . Explosive mod is exceptionally powerful when paired with weapons with low base damage that boast a high rate of fire or shoot several projectiles , as each bullet or pellet of scattered shot will produce an independent explosion , and the flat damage bonus itself is usually more than percentile bonuses . " Nocturnal " weapon effects . The Nocturnal modifier works following way : Console command . Legendary effects can be added to items through the console by following the next steps : As a simpler alternative to points 2 - 4 you can simply left - click on the item when it is lying on the floor . The RefID will then be displayed on - screen just as if you used the mentioned console command . Bear in mind certain weapons can be unusually challenging to left - click when dropped , so if this is unsuccessful , use instead . You can ' t stack several mods on a single item , but you can replace a mod with another one via the console .