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For an overview of plasma rifle models, see Plasma rifle. |
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The plasma caster is a weapon in Fallout: New Vegas.
Contents
Characteristics
The plasma caster is a powerful energy weapon, having a rather low AP cost and a high rate of fire. Compared to its rifle-based counterpart, it outclasses it in both damage and fire rate as well as ammunition consumption, using only one microfusion cell instead of two per shot.
At 20 pounds, it is the heaviest energy weapon in the base game and is only surpassed by Cleansing Flame with the Gun Runners' Arsenal add-on installed. It is rare and not very durable, so the Jury Rigging perk or weapon repair kits may be necessary for continued use of this weapon.
Durability
The plasma caster can fire a total of 395 times using standard packs, the equivalent of 40 reloads, from full condition before breaking.
| Ammunition type | Durability | |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | Reloads | |
| Standard | 395 | 40 |
| Bulk | 466 | 47 |
| Optimized | 359 | 36 |
| Over charge | 262 | 27 |
| Max charge | 155 | 16 |
Modifications
- Plasma caster high-speed electrode - Increases the rate of fire of the plasma caster by 25%.
Variants
- The Smitty Special
- A unique variant of the plasma caster.
Comparison
| Legend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | - Weapon name (melee or unarmed) |  | - Attacks in V.A.T.S. | |
 | - Weapon name (gun, energy or explosive) |  | - Action point cost | |
 | - Damage per attack (damage per projectile) |  | - Damage per action point | |
 | - Damage per second |  | - Weapon spread | |
 | - Area of effect damage |  | - Magazine capacity (shots per reload) | |
 | - Effect damage & duration |  | - Durability (number of attacks before breaking) | |
 | - Bonus effects |  | - Weight | |
 | - Attacks per second |  | - Value in caps | |
 | - Critical chance % multiplier |  | - Value to weight ratio | |
 | - Critical damage |  | - Skill required | |
 | - Critical effect damage & duration |  | - Strength required | |
 | - With all mods attached | |||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plasma caster | 65 | 195 | 3 | x1 | 65 | 1 | 25 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 10 | 395 | 20 | 7000 | 350 | 100 | 8 |
| Plasma caster | 65 | 243.8 | 3.75 | x1 | 65 | 1 | 25 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 10 | 395 | 20 | 9500 | 475 | 100 | 8 |
The Smitty Special  | 35 | 245 | 7 | x0.1 | 35 | 3 | 30 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 20 | 1095 | 20 | 20000 | 1000 | 100 | 8 |
Locations
- Silver Rush - one can be bought in very poor condition from Gloria Van Graff, or stolen in very poor/perfect condition (See: Silver Rush bugs for more information on how to get the perfect condition one).
- Orion Moreno - sometimes uses it in the Second Battle of Hoover Dam if he is alive after the For Auld Lang Syne quest.
- Y-17 trauma override harness - may rarely carry them at higher levels, becoming the most apparent around 40-50.
- - sometimes carried by marked men in the Divide.
- - can be found in high-tech gun cases.
- - carried by Colonel Royez and his Irradiated NCR heavy troopers in the Long 15.
Notes
- When viewed in third-person, depending on what armor is worn, the plasma caster may not be visible on the player character when holstered. Half-way through the holstering animation, the weapon model simply disappears, similar to the incinerator and heavy incinerator. If visible, the player character holds it in one hand with the pronged tip clipping through the ground.
- In the G.E.C.K., there is a plasma caster critical effect explosion that was cut out from the game. In the projectiles window, the explosion is already set but is unchecked.
- There is only one fixed plasma caster location in the base game.
Behind the scenes
- Joshua Sawyer was responsible for the inclusion of the weapon and Paul Fish modeled and textured it.[1]
- The naming of this weapon "Plasma Caster" instead of "Plasma Rifle" was because Fallout 3 had already introduced a plasma rifle, and the weapon does not look like a rifle.[2]
Bugs
- The weapon fails to fire a projectile properly when used in third-person view. After equipping it in third-person view, it may not work, even when switching to first-person view. Re-equipping it while in first-person view may solve this. [verified]
- Sometimes, after quick loading, the weapon is held in one hand by the handle and moves with the player's arm movement when holstered, or appears next to the player's arm. This can be fixed by un-equipping and then re-equipping the plasma caster. [verified]
- When using the weapon in V.A.T.S., the projectile will often not fire unless very close to the target, and if standing under a roof, the projectile may collide with the structure. [verified]
- While equipped, the weapon may become stuck to player's hand when changing outfits. To fix this, simply un-equip it, then re-equip. [verified]
- If one has more than one plasma caster stored in the same container, they may stack on top of each other. They can be separated but if the second one is placed back into the container, they will still stack on top of each other. [verified]
Sounds
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Gallery
Plasma caster with the high-speed electrode modification
References
- ↑ "whose idea was it to include the plasma caster its awesome!"
Joshua Sawyer: "Mine, but it's just the P94 Plasma Rifle from the original Fallout, so I can't take any real credit for it. Paul Fish modeled and textured it."
(J.E. Sawyer on Formspring March 3, 2011) - ↑ "Why did you guys change the Winchester Plasma Rifle to Plasma Caster? Was it because of F3's PR to not repeat the name or because you didn't agree with the 'rifle' classification? I understand why you removed the Winchester but not why the rifle part."
Joshua Sawyer: "Fallout 3 already had a Plasma Rifle. Additionally, it doesn't really look like a rifle, but it was mostly because of the existing name."
(J.E. Sawyer on Formspring September 3, 2011)
