Summary
In the current state ofFallout 76’s weapon balancing, there aren’t too many melee weapons in the game’s meta. This isn’t to say that melee weapons aren’t still viable inFallout 76anymore, but they aren’t quite as strong as they once were. However, one melee weapon in particular has recently gone from one of the worst to one of the best weapons in the game.
Chainsaws have been inFallout 76for a while, but only recently have players begun to put them to use. This is because chainsaws were originally ineffective at dealing damage, so they were essentially collector’s items that players would obtain just to put on display. Ever sinceFallout 76’s Pitt updatethough, chainsaws have emerged as one of the highest DPS weapons in the game, even outside of melee weapons.
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Fallout 76’s Pitt Update Forever Changed the Meta
The chainsaw is one of two automatic melee weapons that has become part ofFallout 76’s meta ever since the Pitt update, where this weapon type received a damage boost and the capability of having Legendary weapon effects. The other meta weapon is the Auto-Axe, and while this weapon has a slightly higher DPS than the chainsaw, it’s much harder to obtain the Auto-Axe and any of its weapon mods since it requiresFallout 76’s Stamps currency.
Chainsaws, on the other hand, can be collected from fixed locations aroundFallout 76’s Appalachian wasteland as well as inside the Pitt Expeditions. Most of the locations where chainsaws spawn are considered middle to late-game areas, but there’s nothing preventing players from picking up these chainsaws that spawn around the map in the early game.
The best part about the chainsaw is that this weapon doesn’t need a dedicated build to be viable inFallout 76’s endgame content. Not to mention, chainsaws don’t require any ammo either, so players can essentially add this weapon onto their existing builds as a reliable backup weapon.
Generally, the only thing that players need to set up amelee build inFallout 76with the chainsaw are the right weapon mods, because the weapon itself is naturally powerful without needing much other investment. There are only two mod slots on the chainsaw, and just like the weapon itself, the best-in-slot mods that players would want to equip are fairly easy to get as well.
With chainsaws being incredibly easy to obtain and the fact that the weapon doesn’t need much investment to be powerful, this weapon has consequently shaken upFallout 76’s meta by giving players another viable option for endgame builds.
The Best Legendary Effects For Chainsaws in Fallout 76
While the ability to craft and find chainsaws withLegendary weapon effects inFallout 76has been revolutionary, the way that chainsaws and other automatic melee weapons work is a little unusual. While the chainsaw has a surprisingly high DPS, the damage generally comes from its incredibly fast attack speed more than the damage it deals per attack. Ultimately, the second and third-star Legendary effects are generally what boost the chainsaw’s performance the most, such as increased durability, or decreased Action Point cost to use the weapon.
Overall, the primary Legendary weapon effects that boost damage generally don’t amount to much higher DPS for the chainsaw unless players stack multiple sources of a particular damage type. Given how popular Bloodied builds are, though, one particular legendary effect is a game-changer for chainsaws.
Specifically, theVampire’s Legendary effectthat heals players upon each attack they land.Fallout 76’s Bloodied builds require players to stay below 20% of their maximum health to achieve optimal damage, so since the chainsaw has such a high attack speed, even players with Bloodied builds can practically become immortal as long as they are attacking with a Vampire’s chainsaw.
Fallout 76
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
