The Gauss Pistol Stands Above the Rest as the Best Pistol in Fallout 76

As a long-time pistol enthusiast in Fallout 76, I‘ve tested extensively to determine what pistol reigns supreme in terms of raw damage output. And the Gauss Pistol stands firmly at the top of the mountain.

While revolvers satisfy with their sharp crack and plasma pistols ooze sci-fi appeal, when it comes to putting down enemies quickly, no sidearm surpasses the Gauss Pistol. Its versatile charged shots allow it to adapt to any situation, dishing out explosive punishment to nearby groups or focused sniper-like damage from afar.

In this guide, I‘ll explain why the Gauss Pistol claims the title of Fallout 76‘s best pistol, profiling its unique strengths, ideal perk pairings, and where to obtain it. I‘ll also highlight formidable alternatives like the Western Revolver, Gamma Gun, and more that pistol-wielding Vault Dwellers should keep stashed as backup.

Why Gauss Reigns Supreme

Unmatched Damage Potential

The Gauss Pistol‘s damage output potential is downright staggering compared to other pistols. My tests indicate it can potentially one-shot the Scorchbeast Queen herself with the right setup. No other pistol enters that conversation.

Fully-charged Nuka Quantum rounds deal a whopping 158 base damage. And that‘s before perks, armor effects, and consumables that can nearly or even double that damage. Plus, charged shots always explosive for 15% splash damage – fantastic for clustered enemies.

For comparison, top tier Western Revolvers and Plasma Pistols deliver around 50 base damage. The Gauss Pistol opens up a whole new world of damage.

Efficient Ammo

Despite the high damage, 2mm EC ammo is relatively plentiful and inexpensive to craft. Victims often drop it. Plus, charged shots get more damage per ammo used – value that pistol ammo typically lacks. You‘ll fire slower than rapid pistols, but land bigger hits.

Adaptable Combat Style

Charged pistol shots introduce a unique combat rhythm compared to traditional run-and-gun pistol play. You constantly assess whether to unleash the long-range full power single blast or clear groups with hip fired smaller shots.

It encourages adaptive play and experimentation. In contrast, most pistols rigidly fill a narrow niche. The Gauss excels up close and afar whether against single targets or clusters.

Additional Perks

And we can‘t forget about the Gauss Pistol‘s bonus robot and power armor damage. With so many Assaultrons, Gutsys, and heavy foes trodding Appalachia, these help round it out as a true jack-of-all-trades pistol perfect for any situation.

So while pistols like the Western Revolver satisfy traditional gunslinger fantasies, the Gauss Pistol offers something wholly unique and powerful. The numbers and versatility cement its place at the top of the food chain.

Gauss Pistol Crafting and Modding

While dominant in combat, the Gauss Pistol takes some work to unlock. You‘ll need:

• Plan: Gauss Pistol: Purchased from Regs in Vault 79 for ~2000 gold bullion
• 10 Copper
• 15 Crystal Shards
• 10 Screws
• 8 Nuclear Material

As endgame content, it costs a hefty amount of rare resources and Gold Bullion. But the firepower is well worth the cost of admission.

For mods:

• Brotherhood plan vendors in Regs or Samuel sell most
• Conserve the more expensive ammo with Powerful Automatic Receiver
• Boost damage further with Refined Receiver
• Focus Enhancing Barrel enhances long-range sniping

So once you‘ve stockpiled ammo and materials, crafting your first Gauss Pistol makes for a momentous occasion for pistol devotees in the Wasteland!

Ideal Perk Loadouts for Boosting Gauss Pistol Damage

The key to magnifying your Gauss Pistol‘s outrageous damage lies in Luck and Agility perks tailored for critical hits.

Some standouts I utilize after hundreds of levels pistoleering:

Luck

• Better Criticals (60% crit damage)
• Critical Savvy (only -25% crit meter in VATS)
• Four Leaf Clover (restore crit meter)

Agility

• Action Boy / Action Girl (refill AP quicker)
• Covert Operative (2.5x sneak attack damage)
• Gunslinger (20% pistol damage per rank)

Here‘s a sample perk loadout built around maximizing criticals to obliterate enemies:

And the damage math illustrates how extreme it can get:

• 158 base charged shot damage
• x 1.6 Better Criticals
• x 2.5 Covert Operative Sneak Attack Critical
• x 1.2 Gunslinger ranks
• = 756 damage!

No enemy can withstand an assault like that for long!

Armor and Consumables for Even Higher Damage

With the right supporting gear, you can enhance Gauss Pistol headshot damage into absolutely nuclear levels:

Armor

• Unyielding armor (up to +15 SPECIAL stats at low health)
• Thorn armor (reflect bleed damage)
• Solar armor (critical during the day)

Consumables

• Overdrive (+30% damage for 8 minutes)
• Psychotats (+25 damage and +3 PER for 6 minutes)
• Nuka-Cherry (+15% damage for 30 seconds)
• Guns and Bullets 3 (+10% Ballistic damage for 1 hour)

Mixing some of these can nearly double your already extreme damage into quad digit levels. It‘s not unheard of for stealth sniper headshots to hit over 2000 damage – one-shot killing the mightiest foes including Scorchbeast Queens with some luck!

Still Formidable: Alternative Top Pistols in Fallout 76

As awe-inspiring as the Gauss Pistol performs, some dwellers still prefer classic revolvers. Plus having backup pistols offers tactical flexibility to handle various threats.

Here‘s some fast firing or hard hitting alternatives to consider stashing in your loadout:

In particular, here‘s some highlights around these other pistols:

Western Revolver

• Iconic cowboy era pistol; high damage at range
• Common ammo; craft or loot .44 rounds easily
• Must manually cock hammer after each shot
• Seek Instigating or Executioner‘s legendaries

Plasma Pistol

• Automatic fire; vaporizes unarmored flesh rapidly
• Best against clustered, rushing enemies like ghouls
• Rare ammo – buy or loot plasma cartridges
• Prime receiver doubles damage but uses ultracite ammo

Gamma Gun

• Shoots radiation bursts; absolutely melts human enemies
• Ignores armor and works on nearly all foes
• Underwhelming base damage, but massive rads
• Must loot rare gamma rounds; can‘t craft bulk

The classic revolver remains easy and reliable while the automatic Plasma melts crowds. And the Gamma Gun punishes human foes.URSELVES!

Pipe Pistol

• Weak damage, but extreme fire rate with powerful receiver
• The most ubiquitous pistol; easy to find legendaries
• Cheap and common crafting ammo like .38 or 10mm

So while specializing in mastering the Gauss Pistol, keep these other pistols handy for when you need to quickly vats something at close range or conserve scarce 2mm EC ammo. It helps round out your capabilities.

Wrapping Up: Embrace the Gauss Pistol Power!

The extreme damage ceiling and versatility to engage enemies both near and far cement the Gauss Pistol as Fallout 76‘s apex pistol. And with all pistols benefiting from massive critical damage boosting perks, it‘s an overlooked powerhouse.

Revolvers satisfy our cowboy fantasies, automatics tackle crowds, and radiation dominates humans. Yet, the Gauss Pistol boasts raw stopping power to stand above them all. And there are few thrills like charging up and one-shot obliterating enemies who dared to wander into your crosshairs.

Yet it still takes skill and optimized builds to draw out that lethal potential. You must carefully perk, sneak, and gear up to unleash that theoretical damage onto foes. When all the stats align – watch out! The downrange results speak deafeningly for themselves.

So while ammo may be scarce, stashes limited, and charging tedious at times, those minor gripes wash away the moment you witness nearly 1600 damage rocket across the hills to ruthlessly smite some poor Super Mutant who dared tread too close.

The wasteland is home to no shortage of horrors, but with trusty Gauss Pistol in hand, you have the equalizer needed to stand tall against them all. So embrace the power only a Gauss Pistol can provide – and claim your rightful place as the wasteland‘s apex predator!