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For an overview of alien blaster models in the Fallout series of games, see Alien blaster. |
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Firelance is a weapon in Fallout 3. It is the unique variant of the alien blaster.
Characteristics
In addition to its 100% critical chance and high damage, the Firelance sets its target on fire upon strike, causing 2 points of damage every second for 5 seconds. Both the Pyromaniac and Xenotech Expert perks affect this weapon and it uses the rare alien power cells as ammunition.
Durability
Firelance can fire 63 shots, the equivalent of 7 reloads, from full condition, before breaking.
Variants
- Alien blaster - The common variant in Fallout 3.
- Captain's sidearm
- A unique, cleaner, shinier alien blaster used by the alien captain.
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 | |||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alien blaster | 100 | 300 | 3 | x100 | 100 | 20 | 5 | 0.0 | 10 | 125 | 2 | 500 | 250 | |
| Firelance | 80 | 242 | +2 /5s | 3 | x100 | 80 | 20 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 10 | 63 | 2 | 750 | 375 |
Captain's sidearm  | 35 (5.8x6) | 105 | 3 | x1 | 40 | 20 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 30(10) | 714 | 2 | 500 | 250 |
Locations
Main article: Fallout 3 random encounters
The Firelance can only be obtained in the "Unidentified Flying Debris" random encounter or through console commands. See Fallout 3 random encounter locations (Type A) for locations where this event may take place. The encounter occurs only once per game (character play through).
Notes
- There is no guaranteed location and the ammunition scatters across the general area of the event which can make recovering it a difficult task.
- The Firelance event produces a brief radiation field which is usually centered on the weapon itself. The weapon may not always be found within the irradiated area but will usually be very nearby.
- The Firelance can get stuck on buildings, such as a water tower.
- If the Firelance event took place near hostile non-player characters, they may utilize the Firelance. If the Firelance has fallen on top of a building the non-player character will take the Firelance to use, even if it couldn't normally be picked up. It will be retrievable by simply killing them and take it off their corpse.
- Normally, this weapon is weaker (but still very hard-hitting) than the alien blaster due to its burning effect. However, with the Pyromaniac perk, its power exceeds that of the blaster. It still wears down significantly faster, though.
Behind the scenes
- The Firelance is a reference to an identically named martian weapon appearing in the Wasteland paragraph book, in the red herring Mars plot.
- Both the Firelance and the alien blaster resemble Commander Adams' pistol from the 1956 movie the Forbidden Planet, both in design and firing. The "bullets" disperse in a very similar way when they hit solid objects, such as walls.
Sounds
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Gallery
The Firelance event