“Cobbled together from a robot's arm-mounted weapon, the Tesla Rifle can shoot deadly arcs of electricity that jump from enemy to enemy, injuring anyone caught in the chain.”— Loading screen hint
The Tesla rifle is a unique weapon in the Fallout 4 add-on Automatron.
Characteristics[]
Bearing the unique Lightning legendary effect, it fires an electrical discharge that arcs between targets and uses fusion cells as ammunition. Due to its arcing nature, the Tesla rifle is capable of damaging multiple enemies at once, but with a limited range. It is an ideal choice for close-range crowd control, for example, against feral ghouls.
Weapon modifications[]
| Slot | Mod | Description | Weapon prefix | 
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Range change | 
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Perk needed | Components | Form ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrel | Semi-auto barrel | Standard. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Adhesive x1 Circuitry x2 Crystal x1 Nuclear material x2 Plastic x6 Screw x3 |
xx002481 |
| Automatic barrel | Improved rate of fire. Inferior damage and range. | Automatic | -1 | +50 | – | -3 | +30 | +1.7 | +8 | Science! 1 | Adhesive x2 Circuitry x2 Crystal x3 Fiber optics x5 Gears x4 Plastic x7 Screw x4 Silver x2 |
xx00E30F | |
| Charging barrel | Hold fire to charge. | Charging | +78 | -4 | +12 | – | -7 | – | +24 | Science! 1 | Adhesive x2 Circuitry x3 Crystal x4 Fiber optics x8 Plastic x10 Screw x5 Silver x2 |
xx002477 | |
| Charging shotgun barrel | Hold fire to charge, releases shotgun blast. | Charging | +98 | -4 | -12 | -57 | -7 | +1.2 | +16 | Science! 2 | Adhesive x4 Circuitry x4 Crystal x6 Fiber optics x16 Fiberglass x10 Gold x3 Screw x6 Spring x2 |
xx00247A | |
| Charging lob barrel | Release electrified traps. | Charging | +78 | -4 | – | -57 | -7 | +1.2 | +20 | Science! 2 | Adhesive x5 Circuitry x5 Crystal x6 Fiber optics x16 Fiberglass x10 Gold x4 Screw x6 Spring x2 |
xx007891 | |
| Sights | Standard sights | Standard. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Steel x2 | xx002480 |
| Reflex sight | Better focus and sighted accuracy. | Tactical | – | – | – | +6 | – | +0.7 | +18 | – | Adhesive x2 Fiber optics x2 Fiberglass x2 Glass x2 Nuclear material x1 Screw x2 Silver x1 |
xx007893 |
Location[]
It can be looted from Ivey at the end of the quest Headhunting in the Fort Hagen hangar.
Notes[]
- Victims killed by a critical strike are turned into a blue ash pile, similar to the Institute laser weapons.
- For charging variants, the weapon glows a greenish-yellow color when fully charged. The origin of the light isn't clear and is easy to miss if one doesn't know to look for it, or in certain lighting. The rifle variant takes approximately three seconds to charge.
- The Commando perk affects the automatic barrel and the other barrels are affected by the Rifleman perk.
- When using the rifle in a crowded place, a shot that hits an enemy can arc between friendly NPCs also (with the exception of companions).
- This affect is similar to the Tesla Cannon with the Tesla-Beaton modification
- The charging shotgun barrel sometimes does full damage at any distance because the shots may all jump to one target, then to the next, etc.
- Shots in V.A.T.S. with a charging barrel deal full charged damage.
- Critical strikes increase the arc distance slightly and increase the arcing damage as well.
- The Tesla rifle offers the highest damage-per-shot for all weapons that use fusion cells as ammunition.
- The Tesla rifle is one of the most efficient weapons in Survival mode, offering high damage and using very lightweight ammunition. Per pound, without damage boosting perks and with the charging barrel, the weapon can deal around 3,000 points of damage per pound of fusion cells. By comparison, a .50 hunting rifle deals 870.
- When equipping a companion or NPC with the Tesla rifle, it causes the character to start making the Gauss rifle charge sound forever. The bug stays across save files and cannot be fixed.
Gallery[]
The weapon being fired
Tesla rifle as seen in the loading screen hints
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