Wasteland 3 weapons

This page covers ***Wasteland 3* weapons**. There are many weapons in the game, tied to overhauled skills and their damage will generally scale with skill level. Damage is also affected by weapon mods.
Note the armor and penetration mechanics. The game uses a simple method to determine armor effectiveness: Armor - Penetration. The results are:

* Penetration > Armor = 100% Damage
* Penetration < Armor = Damage proportional to the penetration (eg. Penetration 5 vs. Armor 10 = 50% damage) and cannot exceed 80% base damage.

## List

All the weapons are grouped by skill, however, even within the skill there are subtypes.

Automatic weapons
* Assault rifles are the wasteland all-rounders. Mobile, quick to fire, with decent range, and decent damage. They also penetrate all but the heaviest of armor. Get one for everyone on your Christmas list.
* SMG: If you’ve got a clear shot (like you’re shooting some punk in the back) an SMG is devastating. They’re not so great against enemies in cover or heavy armor, so you’ve gotta be mobile and pick your targets. But when you do - damn!

Small arms
* Handguns are accurate and quick, and deal solid damage to unarmored enemies, but have a hard time penetrating armor. On the plus side, if you want to quickly build your Strike Meter, they're a terrific choice!
* Shotguns: You won’t do a lot of damage to single enemies with a shotty, but if you wanna hurt two or three at once, they’re the way to go. Everyone in front of you will catch some lead. They’re also great for blowing away enemy cover.

Sniper rifles
* Sniper rifles are too slow and too heavy to fire on the move, but they have fantastic range, high armor penetration, and do a ton of damage. So find a nice, quiet spot, sit yourself down, and get to sniping.

Big guns
* Heavy machine guns deal tons of damage and punch through armor with ease. Shooting them while moving, however, is almost impossible. They’re far too heavy and inaccurate. But with training they’re great for laying down covering fire.
* Flamethrowers: Is there anything more badass than a flamethrower? No. There isn’t. One shot from a flamethrower can literally set a whole squad of bad-guys on fire. Of course it’s heavy and awkward to operate, but who cares? It’s a fucking flamethrower!

Melee Combat
* Bladed: Your best friend in the wastes is a finely honed blade. Blades and are perfect for fighters who like to get up close and personal. They strike often, and deal high damage to enemies with light armor.
* Blunt: It doesn’t get more basic than hitting people with a stick - or more satisfying! Blunt weapons deal high damage to enemies in heavy armor, and with a little training, you can stun with them too.

Brawling
* Sometimes you just wanna haul off and sock somebody. Brawlers start out weak but have huge potential at higher levels. They also gain critical hit bonuses for each consecutive strike, so make with the jabby-jabby.

### Damage types

Physical damage
Low to medium penetration, effectiveness does not depend on the enemy's type, only on their armor.
Fire damage
Scales with Weird Science, maximum armor penetration, effective against organic targets (+30% Damage), ineffective against non-organic targets (-30% Damage), often has a chance to apply Burning  (-15% CON per turn).
Cold damage
Scales with Weird Science, maximum armor penetration, effective against organic targets (+30% Damage), ineffective against non-organic targets (-30% Damage), often has a chance to apply Frozen  (-4 AP and -4 AP (max)).
Energy damage
Scales with Weird Science, maximum armor penetration, effective against non-organic targets (+30% Damage), ineffective against organic targets (-30% Damage), often has a chance to apply Shocked  (-10% CON per turn, -2 AP and -2 AP (max)).
Explosive damage
Scales with Explosives, maximum armor penetration, equally effective against any targets.
## Automatic Weapons

Submachine guns and assault rifles. Recommended Attributes: Coordination, Awareness, Speed.

### Assault Rifles

Main article: Wasteland 3 automatic weapons

### Submachine Guns

Main article: Wasteland 3 automatic weapons

## Small Arms

Handguns and shotguns. Recommended Attributes: Coordination, Awareness, Luck.

## Sniper Rifles

Sniper rifles. Recommended Attributes: Intelligence, Awareness, Luck.

Main article: Wasteland 3 sniper rifles

## Big Guns

Heavy machine guns, flamethrowers, and other oversized weapons. Recommended Attributes: Awareness, Coordination, Strength.

## Melee Combat

Bladed and blunt weapons. Recommended Attributes: Strength, Coordination, Speed.

## Brawling

Fist-based weapons. Brawlers start out weak but have great potential at high levels. Recommended Attributes: Coordination, Intelligence, Charisma.

Main article: Wasteland 3 brawling weapons

## Explosive Rocket Launchers

Exactly what it says on the tin. Recommended Attributes: Awareness, Coordination, Strength.

Main article: Wasteland 3 explosive rocket launchers

## Weird Weapons

A group of strange and unusual weapons from different weapon classes. Recomended Attributes: Awareness, Coordination, Intelligence.

Main article: Wasteland 3 weird weapons