harpoon gun op

[Sichimus]

seriously I just killed a glowing angler in survival mode at level 8. I started far harbor at like lvl 5 ish for a challenge. not only does the harpoon gun match the rocket launchers damage, but it gets literally worthless ammo. 1-3 caps a harpoon. not to mention the harpoon gun itself is also very cheap. why do they make a ROCKET LAUNCHER deal the same damage as a harpoon gun? I get it is strong, but it doesnt make a whole lot of sense on the balance side.

[casualsailor]

I believe the answer to your question is: Reasons.

[DrEarlInsanity]

the disco gods chose to make impaling people with harpoons op.

[Drakenson]

Well in a realistic sense, harpoons are just sharpened metal attached to a wooden pole. Missiles involve a lot more than just metal and wood. Which could explain the buying price.

As for damage output, harpoons were made to kill whales and other large animals, so it isn't surprising that it can kill anything smaller than a whale.

Don't worry about balance, it's a single player game.

[Inner Sight]

Hm. considering harpoons are 0.2 weight and missiles are about 7.0 or 8.0 (I forget which) it really sounds OP. But I've never really used either enough to say much about them.

[Spiltmilk]

It's powerful, but doesn't have the area splash damage like that of a missile - which is noticable when it misses. More effective when you are closer, but it's easy to get mobbed since it has a long reload. With missiles, you can upgrade it to a quad barrel - for a barrage. Honestly, I've put harpoons in storage and still carried my launcher. You have to be pragmatic about the pros and cons.

[Sichimus]

Originally posted by Spiltmilk:

It's powerful, but doesn't have the area splash damage like that of a missile - which is noticable when it misses. More effective when you are closer, but it's easy to get mobbed since it has a long reload. With missiles, you can upgrade it to a quad barrel - for a barrage. Honestly, I've put harpoons in storage and still carried my launcher. You have to be pragmatic about the pros and cons.

a small amount of splash damage isnt worth the ammo weighing 6.8 more.

[Stardustfire]

why carry a heavy harpon when u can carry much more Gauss Ammo for the same weight and just instagib anything by using that instead of a harpon?

[Sichimus]

Originally posted by Stardustfire:

why carry a heavy harpon when u can carry much more Gauss Ammo for the same weight and just instagib anything by using that instead of a harpon?

because im level 16 now lol.

[Doombringer]

Harpoon maybe okay at low level, but at high level the terrible rate of fire holds it back.
Also, with all the perks missile damage gets multiplied a millions times.

(in addition to normal damage bonuses, missiles benefit from additional explosive damage mods that harpoon guns do not: x2 heavy weapons, x2 demolitions, x1.25 lone wander (no companion), x1.15 explosive bobblehead)

missiles do 15impact + 135 explosive (which is affected by above multipliers AND weapon damage multipliers, so it gets an extra x5.75 damage multiplier over non-explosive heavy weapons)

[DouglasGrave]

Originally posted by Doombringer:

Harpoon maybe okay at low level, but at high level the terrible rate of fire holds it back.

Its slow reload speed can be partly bypassed by switching into VATS after firing, where the reloading occurs at full speed while everything else is slowed down.

Which reminds me, I should check whether this is a standard behaviour or unique to the harpoon gun.

[Borrolan]

Originally posted by Doombringer:

Harpoon maybe okay at low level, but at high level the terrible rate of fire holds it back.
Also, with all the perks missile damage gets multiplied a millions times

That was the first thing I thought of - fire rate. (Douglas mentioned VATS but I think that is an exploit) the Laser Musket can pack a punch with six cranks. Six cranks is the key drawback.

Old Reliable is the same. Very high damage - with perks and a modded weapon - but slow fire speed. I think old Reliable is deliberately meant to be old fashioned "slow and steady" with a big punch. It's low-tech - doesn't even have the option for a Recon scope.

The simplest way to avoid anything that the player considers OP is to avoid using it. Ballistic Weave has excellent protection at higher levels. Think it's OP? Use the lower grades of weave or don't bother to apply it - it's optional. Just as the Harpoon Gun is optional.

[red255]

Originally posted by Drakenson:

Don't worry about balance, it's a single player game.

when a missle weighs 7 and the launcher weighs 20-40 and a harpoon weighs .2 you gotta ask the questions.

and the reason is because survival mode hates missle and fatman launchers.

[Neutralize]

Originally posted by red255:

Originally posted by Drakenson:

Don't worry about balance, it's a single player game.

when a missle weighs 7 and the launcher weighs 20-40 and a harpoon weighs .2 you gotta ask the questions.

and the reason is because survival mode hates missle and fatman launchers.

You should download the RAW Launcher mod and try equipping the Nuclear Reactor modification on it. Makes missiles well worth it, imo. Though kind of removes the Fat Man as the ultimate, mass murder weapon, bar possibly when it is equipped with the MIRV mod and a Two-Shot Legendary effect.

Also- Harpoon has no splash, has no potential tracking, and (I might be wrong here) is not boosted by two different damage perks (as in Demolitions Expert and Heavy Gunner, I mean). Pretty certain with perks that it (the Missile Launcher) tops out to a much higher damage potential. Though given the weight of the weapon and the ammo, the Missile Launcher is unarguably situational, especially in Survival, and you definitely need a certain kind of character build to get the most mileage out of it (Strong Back ranks and Power Armor with Calibrated Shocks seems the way to go) . Even moreso for the Fat Man. Still, there is something to be said for a fire-and-forget one shot on a tough enemy, or blowing a whole group of Rust Devils or Gunners to ♥♥♥♥ in a giant mushroom cloud. :3

[kaffekoppen]

I didn't notice the Harpoon Gun being all that strong, especially considering the terrible reload speed. I tried seriously to find a use for it but found myself killing noticeably slower with it.

Haven't found a Wounding or Explosive version yet, but I suspect it gets better with the flechette mod.

The most hilarious thing about the Harpoon Gun is that you will sometimes find more harpoons than you spent if you use the flechette mod.

[Inner Sight]

Does that mean harpoons are reusable - similar to arrows in Skyrim?