I don't claim to be an energy weapons expert, but recently I've been playing around with a few, and the Holorifle just seems like the do-all end-all of energy weapons. This kinda surprised me because guns are extremely well balanced, with the best gun being highly subjective and dependent on your character. With energy weapons though, this does it all. It's durable as hell (literally never breaks when upgraded), doesn't waste tons of ammo (which is good, since MFC can be hard to come by), hits like a truck, fires fairly fast and has the second highest DPH of them all.


Am I missing something? Is there ANY reason to use a different energy weapons rifle? I know I could use the YCS/186 to get higher DPH while sniping and I know I could use a gatling laser for higher DPS, but energy weapons ammo is VERY heavy; I don't wanna carry even more weight, especially when the Holorifle already one-shots most targets while sniping and the Gatling Laser has issues with high DT enemies whereas the Holorifle does not. AND those weapons have repair issues, too.

Meh, Energy Weapons are for over emotional power armored LARPers, Small Guns and Sniper Rifles for the win.

You can get a laser pistol within the first minute if the game, and it's a lot better at taking down Radscorpions the almost any gun you can get at that point due to the armor piercing effect.

Also their just cool!

Pew-pew-pew-pew-*CRITICAL HIT*-sizzle sizzle
*loots pile of ash*

Not a fan of overpowered weapons, myself.

In lonesome road I found my holoeifle to be ineffective... well to deathclaws. It may have taken 4 or 5 normal shots, and maybe 2 or 3 with a sneak shot. But the YCS/186 one shot killed deathclaws from a mile away, and I killed Dawes with one shot. Otherwise the new tr-beam laser rifle is pretty good, and I have found that Elijah's LAER kills tougher enemies faster, you just have to keep some weapon repair kits on you.

The Holorifle is pretty inaccurate for an EW, its magazine is small, it doesn't have a crit multiplier(it does enough damage, however, my build is crit-optimized, so the Holorifle doesn't outclass the other weapons for me) and its rate of fire not exactly high.
I only used it in Dead Money, since my return I gladly switched back to the AER-14, while the Gobi gets into the game whenever I need a scope.
Sure, not as ammo efficient, but who cares? I have tons of ammo, you can find lots just by dispatching fiends, and you can buy lots of it. I'm a big fan of bulk ammo, btw.
Weight shouldn't be an issue, either. ED-E is a perfect ammo mule, and with the GRA and Vigilant Recycler, you even have the option to reduce your ammo weight down to a third.
My Holorifle is collecting dust, and I have no intention of using at any point in time.

Holorifle doesn't benefit from most perks that affect Energy Weapons, including Set lasers For Fun, Laser Commander & Beam Me Up. It's an easy to use Energy Weapon that gets most of it's upgrades from perks that are also used by Guns. In short, it was designed for a Guns freak to pick up and use with minimal effort. (Source: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Holorifle) It's possible that it doesn't benefit from Meltdown.

Honestly, my reason to use different EW rifles goes back to: 1) Holorifle has terrible spread. 2) Holorifle < Tesla Cannon for the same weight(DoT, shock value, something that uses those fricking ECP). 3) Holorifle is ugly. 4) Holorifle doesn't get stronger as I level & take perks I'd really prefer to be USING. 5) Invulnerable Holorifle is a glitch.

That, and consider it only has a 4-shot magazine for a close range weapon. Compare it to the LAER in the exact same area of combat specialty, and you see that the LAER is just as strong, with a better RoF, much better mag capacity, the same ammunition consumption, is affected by Energy Weapons specialist perks, with really the only weak point being it's low durability.

Just my 2 cents.

-Nukeknockout

I don't think I've ever had a energy weapon character

Cheers

It's a gimmick DLC weapon the same way the Gauss Rifle was for Operation Anchorage (or the item chest is at the end of Honest Hearts, or the dog gun in OWB, you get the idea). It's an overpowered weapon that incentivizes DLC purchase by a certain portion of the player base. The same part of the player base that like the Courier's Stash.

Thankfully, it's not the end-all of energy weapons due to factors others have pointed out (accuracy and clip size namely, or that it uses MFCs which svck). However, it's still an unfortunately good weapon so it's primarily embarrassment at using an overpowered freebie weapon that should prevent it from replacing other energy weapons.

Queue

Its a shame.

More than a year has passed and most people still don't know how to use Energy Weapons to their full potential.

What's that supposed to mean? and why are people calling the Holorifle Inaccurate?...this thing pretty much fires pretty decently,packs enough firepower to some decent high level enemies, It's pretty much an all-around energy weapon. Not the most damaging output mind you, but overall? pretty nice.

GRA Tri-Beam with a crit. build takes a dump on the Holorifle.

I'm not sure why people like the Holorifle so much. I think it's the PTSD from Dead Money- the Holorifle, being the only energy weapon available, grows on you for lack of other options.

When I did my Energy playthrough, I was really looking forward to the Holorifle; I ended up ditching it as soon as I was done with Dead Money.

The Holorifle combines two traits that should never have been combined; poor spread and a scope. At long range, it has half the DAM and half the crit chatce of the YSC/186, and it it can't hit the broad side of the barn. At short range, the scope just gets in the way, forcing you to fire from the hip for even LESS accuracy; it's magazine is too small and it's reloading speed too slow. For those of us with slower FPS reflexes, the Holorifle lacks the automatic fire, with its ability to "walk" your fire onto targets.

Granted, LAERS also svck, mainly because of their ridiculous fragility. If you need a high DAM gun, get a Tesla Cannon. If you need a FAST high DAM gun, get a Plasma Caster.

And to be honest, I have not met, in this entire game, a single enemy that couldn't be taken down wth a Gattling Laser and max charge ammo.

It means whatever you think it means.

Energy weapons are not fully exploited because most people on this forum favor optimal weapons above everything else. The general attitude is "why put more work into this weapon when this other weapon can do the same job and requires little to no work?"

Its a quality of modern society gaming or real life. It can't be helped.

ah, now I understand, thank you and yes your correct.

@Golem...wth are you talking about? spread is 0.4 and you say that's terrible? yes compared to every other scoped weapon (except the Bozar) it's terrible in spread, but overall it's not that bad. As I said before, it's a decent overall weapon, just like every other gun in the game, it's balanced. Who the hell said the Holorifle has no critical chance? it has x1 critical chance to do additional 80 damage. sheesh, the weapon itself compared to the YCS/186 is efficient in it's own right: ammo consumption. YCS takes up 4 Microfusion Cells per shot, while the Holorifle uses only one. if you add that all together, you get more 'bang' for your buck with the Holorifle, simple as that. If you want something that just hits them hard and fast at the beginning of the battle, gor for the YCS/186. If your into the weapon that can handle things overall and be good in most situations, go for the Holorifle.

hell with the trait rigger Discipline, it gets to the spread of 0.32, not much, but it's still something.

Well I'm not asking as if to say "screw you, other guns!" I'm asking because I fail to see a single flaw in this gun. I can only imagine that it's probably not a great pick for a low-agility character for obvious reasons, but other than that, no flaws. I want to be educated.

And if you're saying people should stop searching for the BEST gun and rather look at guns as DIFFERENT and give each one a try, I agree, but within reason. For example, the Brush Gun vs. the AMR, vs. the Trail Carbine vs. the fully modded Cowboy Repeater vs. the Gobi Sniper Campaign Rifle vs. the fully modded Hunting Rifle. I can see myself using every single one of those and feeling powerful; as if I have reason to use them. But that's just it: "as if I have reason to use them." Currently, with the Holorifle present, I fail to see how anyone could use any of the other energy rifles without that haunting feeling that they're simply limiting themselves and really gaining no benefit for it. The gun not being low-Agility friendly is literally the only weakness I can think of. Even the claims that it has bad spread are, in my experience, exaggerated. Lucky has very similar spread to the Holorifle, and Lucky is more than capable of acting as a sniper.

Did you ever install the mods for the holorifle? Fully modded the holorifle has a spread of 0.15 instead of 0.4 which when combined with the size of the projectile makes hit targets fairly easy. The only problem you'll have with sniping is the speed of the projectile. It can also use max charged ammo without melting like other energy weapons. (or taking any damage at all if Raul if your companion).

This pretty much. Low-agility is pretty much one of the very few flaws it has that can be a problem since it would take a helluva long time to reload. But! why would any energy weapon character HAVE a low-agility build? It's like going for a Guns character or Unarmed/Melee and say "screw LUCK! Im gonna place everything on Intelligence"
plus with all the mods, the weapon nearly beats the YCS/186 in damage. The person who said the Tri-beam Laser Critcal Build owns this must realize that the beams have a 1.5 critical chance. Holorifle has 1 critical chance. Not very much, but hey, what can I say?

I don't feel like I'm limiting myself because I don't play to have the most powerful character I could make. I play in ways that make sense in the character's psyche. On a personal note, the Holorifle is ugly, made by Elijah, and doesn't feel like an Energy Weapon. The Holorifle feels like a Gun, not an Energy Weapon. I get enough of scopes, muzzle flash, bullets & the whiff of gunpowder everywhere else. To me, the Holorifle reminds me of the same old crap. I'd take a Laser Pistol any day.

Course, that's my personal hatred for the Holorifle. I feel like the original plan was for it to be a .357 Magnum rifle and then plans changed at the last minute, because the Holorifle clearly doesn't handle like an Energy Weapon to me.

-Nukeknockout

Yes, I did install the mods. Still found its sniping accuracy about as inadequate as that of the Hunting Revolver. Headshotting someone at the outer limit of non-scoped visibility is near-impossible with the Holorifle, and easy as pie with the YCS/186.

Ammo consumption is not a major factor by the time you get that Holorifle. YCs/186 may be single shot, but it reloads fast; with reloading times factored in, both weapons' DPS is roughly equal, and YCS has the upper hand once you factor in the crit chance.

And if you think that Holorifle is good with Trigger Discipline, consider YCS/186 with Fast Shot.

already checked it, Fast shot barely does anything for YCS/186, seeing as soon as you attack, you must reload again, it factors with DPS, but what's the point if you can't fire another target instantly? thus imo Fast Shot has no benefit for YCS/186.

MF Hyperbreeder Alpha (automatic recharger pistol from GRA) with Laser Commander is one of my favorite weapons in the game. Have yet to try it on a deathclaw but it seems to handle everything else pretty good

YCS = best energy weapon in the game but it gets boring owning everything so much

Ever compared the DPS of both weapons? It's roughly 3 shots per second (180dam) vs 1 shot per second (89dam).
And it doesn't end there. Any sane EW build will have a considerably higher base crit value due to Laser Commander and Set Lasers for fun(both perks not working on the Holo), and on top there goes the multiplier.
So yeah, the Tri-Beam Laser beats the Holorifle with ease, assuming you have the right build.

uhhh where did you get 89? rofl with all the mods, and 100 Energy weapons, its over 120, around 140 on regular MFC, on a single target. Using the Tri-beam is nice and all on weak/no DT targets, but it quickly dies once hitting it against Deathclaws or so. Also where are you getting your facts? it does 66 damage all together with no crits, 22 damager per beam. This is when you have the requirements and 75 Energy Weapons. with a critical shot, it goes up to 44, 44x3=132 on a 0DT enemy. Not bad, but it still fails when the Holorifles base damage comes in and kicks it off. The only time you ever push beyond the Holorifle is when you get Better Criticals and then get a critical shot. Even with all the perks, it's damage only comes up to 108.9 at max damage when all 3 beams hit a 0DT target. The only use for this much overkill is for large Cazadores, period. When facing against Deathclaws, nope. Fails hard.