After a few run-throughs with conventional weapon (i.e., Guns) sniper characters, I'm starting up an EW sniper. The first thing that seems different is that energy weapons evidently cannot be silenced, so landing multiple sneak attacks from stealth mode will be more difficult. Ammo management might be a concern, as I don't know how much EW ammo is to be found/purchased in the wasteland. So I'm asking those of you with EW experience (especially long-range sniper types) for advice.

first be patience alright. you will get nerfed stuff at the start best early-mid is the modded laser rifle. Focus on crit perks and melt down is a must turns you turn into a demo guy on crack. Get a gauss as soon as you can you can cheat here by going to black MT nabing some dead bos guys get into the bunker the sneak kill a gauss user. holo rifle from DM is nice to. Best one IMO is the YCS which is north of a farm which you can not get if you got wild wasteland instead you get the alien blaster

I play EW sniper on normal difficulty.....i went with high luck, every crit perk, high EW and sneak skills boone beret, grahams armour....I'm lvl 19 and use fully modded laser rifle, with max charge and crits I one shot kill 90% or more of the time...haven't tried deathclaws yet, but modded laser will take you along ways

I should be able to help you, since 90% of the time I've done energy weapons characters.

If you happen to like the Brotherhood, I would say ally with them asap, get the bunker key and use their bunker because it is like the only safehouse with a workbench besides the Lucky 38. You will also want to get some free energy weapons ammo and power armor. Unless you really need the strength bonus, the Enclave Tesla armor can help you early to mid game until you can max out energy weapons.

Another crucial element is you will want to raise your science to make max-charged cells. You'll need a Science skill of at least 75 to make max charged microfusion cells. I raise my science to 90 for the Nuka Chemist perk.

I wouldn't recommend making max-charged ECP (which requires a science of 90) except for very hard targets, but you can always buy over-charged ECP cells (save that for Pretorians, etc.), I find regular ECP ammo with Laser Commander and a high luck and high strength is more than enough to take down most targets in 2-3 seconds...and I play Very Hard.

Microfusion is a different story, you will want to always make max-charged cells. Even for ammo consuming weapons like the Tri-Beam Laser Rifle. This is where Raul and Dead Money come into play. Max-Charged Microfusion cells will eat away your weapons so fast its ridiculous, so to combat this you should have Raul and get his Full Maintenaince perk through his quest (check the vault wiki). You don't need to have Raul following you around, just make him wait at base so he can have his -75% weapons decay perk. Also you will want to return to the Abandoned BOS bunker every once in a while and exchange your chips (you get a few thousand chips every 3 days) for Weapon Repair Kits. The Weapon Repait Kit schematic is in the police station, near the prison cells on top of a cabinet in Dead Money.

You can't go wrong with Laser. if you prefer real time combat to VATS combat, the fast firing Lasers will always do you good.

Despite what people say, Plasma Weapons are very effective. The Plasma Caster can drop a Legendary Deathclaw in 2 shots. A word of warning though, if you have a strength of less than 10, the Plasma Caster can be very inaccurate beyond mid-range combat. For longer range, the Q-35 Modulater will suit you better. The Multi-Plas is also very good at short-midrange (it's basically an energy weapons shotgun). The Plasma Defender's hidden talent is that it has a very very low AP cost. So if your into VATS a lot, Plasma is gotta be your choice. With a high Agility + Math Wrath + Plasma Spaz + Nuka Cola Victories you will destroy anything with ease.

I stress it is very important to have a high luck for energy weapons, their critical multipliers and max charged ammo is what makes them so superior to Guns in every respect.

Good long range energy weapons are pretty much the Tesla Cannon, any Laser Weaponry, and Gauss Rifles/YCS-186. Because there is no silenced energy weapons, it is better to be a full-out heavy trooper, kill your enemies from far away if you can but don't shy away from a fight when you have superior weapons and superior protection in power armor.

Generally I start off the game with guns, and then finish the game with EW. This is because EW are rare and weak in the beginning of the game, but gradually become much better in the later tiers of the game

Eh, depends on how you play really. Though I do notice you are a sniper like myself, (:rock:) so I'd recommend your kit revolving around 3 Main weapons: Laser Rifle+++, YCS/186 or Gauss Rifle, and Holorifle++.

Also, I would advise having a high luck build, mainly because Energy Weapons shine with high crit builds, and on that note, Laser Commander and Meltdown (if you so choose) will be your best friends perk wise.

As for Plasma or Laser, it's up to you really, personal preference speaks volume here, I've only ever used Laser because, well, Plasma is complete [censored] compared to a fully modded Laser Rifle with Laser Commander. :shrug: Though, this is entirely my opinion.

http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/YCS%2F186 +http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Microfusion_cell,_max_charge#Microfusion_cell.2C_max_charge +http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Meltdown = :drool: