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The tri-beam laser rifle is a weapon which is added to Fallout 3 with the Broken Steel add-on.

Characteristics

The tri-beam laser rifle has the appearance of a shortened laser rifle. It lacks the tube on the bottom length of the barrel, but has a new emitter aperture, wire assembly, and a darker color. The new emitter fires three laser beams with each shot. Unlike the Metal Blaster, and Protectron's Gaze, it expends three microfusion cells per shot. Since each pull of the trigger consumes three microfusion cells, it has an effective magazine size of eight shots.

This weapon is smaller than a normal AER9 laser rifle, yet it's one pound heavier.

This weapon has an object effect that allows it do 40 additional HP of damage when the target is the player. The +40 damage is for EACH beam, thereby increasing its damage potential by 120 per shot, and this value is not mitigated by your damage resistance, nor the condition of the gun itself. Therefore, even a high level player can be decimated by an opponent wielding this weapon within 4-5 hits.

Unlike other energy weapons, tri-beam laser rifles do not ignite trapped gas.

Durability

The tri-beam laser rifle can fire a total of about 333 shots, the equivalent of 42 reloads, from full condition before breaking.

Variants

Variations of the AER9 exist in Fallout 3 and its add-ons:

  • Laser rifle - Standard version found throughout the Wasteland.
  • Wazer Wifle - This unique variant of the AER9 has higher damage and durability, as well as a larger magazine. It is obtained from Biwwy in Little Lamplight for five hundred caps or free with the Child at Heart perk.
  • Metal Blaster The Pitt (add-on)- This unique variant of the AER9 fires nine beams at once, using one microfusion cell similar to the Protectron's Gaze laser pistol. This feature, coupled with its remarkably high damage-per-shot makes it a devastating short to close-range weapon, though its effectiveness greatly diminishes at a range with the "shotgun effect". It can be obtained by bringing fifty steel ingots to Everett in The Pitt.
  • Operation: Anchorage add-on includes an unused add-on-specific version of the laser rifle. It is identical to the normal laser rifle in both statistics and appearance. Its intended purpose in the add-on is unknown and it was cut from the final release, rendering it accessible only through the use of console commands.
  • A "demo" version of the laser rifle is included in Fallout 3, presumably left from the game's E3 demo. It does one point less damage per shot and less than half the critical damage than the standard variant, but has a much higher critical chance percentage. It is not used anywhere in the game and is only accessible through the use of console commands.

Comparison

Weapon Type Dmg/Shot DPS ATT/sec Proj # Spread Crit % Mult Crit Dmg Shots in V.A.T.S. Mag WG AP Cost DMG/AP Durability Value
AER9 laser rifle Laser rifle 23 47.2512 2.0455 1 0 x1.5 22 1 24 8 17 1.35 1086 shots 1000
Wazer Wifle Laser rifle 28 59.3195 2.0455 1 0 x1.5 28 1 30 8 17 1.65 1955 shots 900
Metal Blaster Laser rifle shotgun 55 112.5025 2.0455 9 2.5 x1.5 27 1 24 8 17 3.24 1086 shots 1000
Tri-beam laser rifle Laser rifle shotgun 75 204.5475 2.7273 3 2 x1.5 15 1 24* 9 23 3.26 1086 shots 1000

Tri-beam laser rifle vs. Metal Blaster

Tri-beam laser rifle Metal Blaster
The tri-beam laser rifle has a longer effective range. The Metal Blaster's effective range increases the higher your Energy Weapons skill is.
The tri-beam laser rifle will do more damage with a V.A.T.S. sneak attack (only one critical bonus allowed per V.A.T.S. attack). The Metal Blaster will deal greater damage in a non-V.A.T.S. sneak attack (one critical bonus per beam allowed in free-aim).
The tri-beam laser rifle will generally do more damage for a player with a low critical chance. The Metal Blaster will generally do more damage for a player with a high critical chance.
The tri-beam laser rifle uses three microfusion cells. The Metal Blaster uses only one cell per discharge.
The tri-beam laser rifle is repairable only with other tri-beam laser rifles. The Metal Blaster can be repaired with any AER9 laser rifles or the Wazer Wifle.
The tri-beam laser rifle degrades three times as fast as the Metal Blaster (since it fires three shots at a time)

Locations

  • Super mutant overlords often carry a tri-beam laser rifle. Although they are incredibly powerful against the player, the weapon itself is usually only in mid- to low condition, the weapon will be more common in the later stage of the game, since the overlords are more likely to be encountered.
  • Talon Company Mercs and Enclave soldiers sometimes carry them.

Gallery

Sounds

SingleShotVB ReloadVB
JamVB
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