Wasn't all that impressed by most of the energy weapons I'd encountered so far, up to level 18. Used guns as much or more than EW's, for the most part. But after just getting the Meltdown perk... wowsers. Soon as I picked it up, I went over north of Vegas, to where the five random mercenaries are all singin' around the campfire and toasting marshmallows by the edge of the map.... snuck up about 30 yards from them in the dark, and fired a single normal round from my RCW into one of them... BOOOM!!!! Just like I'd thrown a plasma and an incendiary grenade into their midst simultaneously. Five flaming greaseballs flying through the air, becoming five smoking ash heaps scattered all over the landscape. One shot. I can get used to this.

And then playing with the YCS/186 you get off of the one dead merc... dang. With max charge ammo, it does 226 dam and 771 dps. And my EW skill isn't even fully maxed yet! Tested it out on some clusters of travelling merchants and their merc escorts coming into Novac... BOOOOM! Nothing but piles of arms and legs, and no torsos to be seen anywhere. I can see that finding bodies to loot may become quite the treasure hunt. Now if I can just remember to switch to my hunting shotty for when they get in close... lol!

Things definitely just got more interesting in the EW dept.

Step 1: Choose Energy Weapons

Step 2: Find a Gauss Rifle

Step 3: Find a generous amount of Microfusion Cells.

Step 4: Liberally hand out Gauss Rifle shots.

Step 5: ??????

Step 6: Profit.

Ah, Wow.

just be careful indoors, you might blow your legs off

dunno about most of u but meltdown screws up every ally around who in turn starts to shoot u becouse it get's hit , i think they need to redesign it

Meltdown is a double-edged sword. It's great fun when you're sniping, but it makes close-range combat a bit of a nightmare and can cause all sorts of friendly-fire instances. I'm not sure I'd take it again on an EW specialist, all things considered.

Same here, quite honestly. I might reroll my EW character entirely, but I've already got 9 hours on her.

Yeah, Meltdown in doors isn't really the best thing. I mean, I almost killed myself in vault 34 a few times <_<

Yep, I'm fully aware of the hazards of Meltdown, which is why I already got Adamantium Skeleton and will have Spray 'n Pray within a couple more levels. I've read plenty of accounts of what *not* to do once you aquire it, so I feel fully prepared to play smart and be careful, and enjoy the fights where it can be used to awesome effect.

Also, I'm bringing up guns nicely too, and will always have plenty of alternative weapons with which to use at closer ranges, or when friendly NPC's are at risk. It helps to have done a number of playthroughs already, so I'm pretty familiar with most of the fights and mob locations already. But I definitely would not recommend Meltdown for players who are just starting out :no:

Smart tactics for Meltdown? Always equip a gun instead of an EW, for travelling and exploring and sneaking around indoors... if you encounter a situation where you can use EW's safely, swap to one. If you get surprised or jumped up close, you'll already have a 'safe' weapon equipped to deal with them at near range. Also, if there is any risk of a mob your firing at with an EW getting up close before you can kill it, never use more than one VATS shot- try for the sneak-crit kill, but don't risk continuing multiple VATS attacks as it runs up close to you. I'm sure I'll learn more tricks for using it as I continue this adventure

Meltdown is easily my favorite new perk in NV. I can't imagine an energy weapons character without it.

I tried to do an EW playthrough. I got halfway through, not because of EW themselves, I just got bored of doing the main quest again. The gauss rifle tore everything to shreds, from BoS paladins to the Deathclaw mother. But I think I'll stick with A Light Shining in Darkness with .45 P+ rounds for now :wink_smile:

Yeah, the YCS/186 with Meltdown is the closest thing I've seen yet in NV, to an 'I WIN' button. Will use it sparingly and see how it goes as I level up farther.

Just read up in the YCS. I won't be able to get it because I selected the Wild Wasteland perk at the beginning, at least on my EW character :brokencomputer: