Fallout 76has a wide variety of Public Events to play, including some Seasonal and Holiday Events that make limited-time appearances. In its current state as of January 2023,Fallout 76also has three Boss Events that are potentially server-wide battles. While all the Public Events reward some consumables, resources, ammo, or outfits, some offer powerful and unique weapons.
Completing various Public Events and rolling legendary effects on gear to get the perfect combination makes up the majority ofFallout 76’s endgame. Any Public Event will reward players with Treasury Notes to turn into the Gold Bullion currency, but thebest Public Events inFallout 76are the ones with the best loot. Some of the limited-time Seasonal Public Events have such good rewards that players should prioritize these whenever they’re available.
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S-Tier
Foundation’s Vengeance:This weapon competes with Crowd Control as the best reward from the Eviction Notice Public Event. The only downside to this weapon is its weight, and that to see its full potential requires a Bloodied build usingFallout 76’s Adrenal Reaction Mutation. Although the three legendary effects don’t apply when used this way, spinning this weapon’s modded minigun barrel without ammo will hit enemies harder than some automatic melee weapons. With or without ammo, this weapon is a monster at dealing damage.
The Fixer:The Fixer is the most sought-after weapon from the general pool of Public Events. This weapon comes from the Encryptid Public Event that players can initiate whenever it’s not on cooldown. It features an innate bonus to stealth builds, and is one of the fewweapons inFallout 76that don’t require dedicated buildsto be powerful.
Tenderizer:A weapon fit forFallout 76’s Super Mutant Behemoths, the Tenderizer comes from Grahm’s Meat Week Seasonal Public Event. Also, rewards from the event include mods to add fire, bleeding, or energy damage to the weapon. This 20-pound bludgeon competes with the Super Sledge and War Glaive as the best two-handed melee weapons.
A-Tier
Crowd Control:Crowd Control comes from the Eviction Notice Public Event, and is an easy weapon to add onto existing builds because of its 90 percent reduced weight legendary weapon effect. Another one of the three other legendary effects is Explosive bullets, which greatly support the shotgun weapon types’ general superiority of crippling limbs. The last legendary effect, Suppressor, reduces the damage that struck enemies deal and helps to keep players alive at optimal range with this shotgun.
Sheepsquatch Staff:This weapon is the two-handed melee weapon from the Free Range Public Event, and legendary effects must be applied separately from receiving the weapon as an Event reward. Sheepsquatch Staff has plenty of mods to add utility damage types to mix up the effects with damage over time. This weapon is fairly powerful, although the one-handed Sheepsquatch melee weapon can compete with the damage of this weapon while providing a faster swing speed.
Sheepsquatch Club:The Sheepsquatch Club is the one-handed melee weapon that comes fromthe Free Range Public Event. Like the two-handed Sheepsquatch Staff, it has plenty of mods to add utility damage types and does not come with legendary effects, though they can be added after crafting the weapon. This is among thebest melee weapons inFallout 76.
B-Tier
Meteoric Sword:From the Chinese Officer Sword base weapon, the Meteoric Sword is a variant with a unique appearance and can’t be modified. The weapon is a rare reward from containers during the Breach And Clear Public Event. While the weapon has no listed legendary effects, it is still believed to have 10 percent bonus damage to humans, 90 percent reduced weight, and 50 percent extra durability.
Nailer:The Nailer comes from completing the optional objective during the One Violent Night Public Event. This weapon is relatively rare to acquire on Public Servers since most players in attendance don’t have the right weapons and will fail the optional objective for everyone. It only has one legendary effect, but it’s Bloodied, which is one of thebest perk builds inFallout 76for high damage.
Pepper-Shaker:The Pepper-Shaker is a lot more dangerous than it sounds, and comes from Grahm’s Meat Week Seasonal Public Event. This weapon is effectively a combination between a machine gun and a shotgun, with a variety of different modification options. The weapon is best used to cripple targets, like grounding the Scorchbeast QueenEvent Boss inFallout 76, by shooting its wings.
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C-Tier
Alien Blaster Pistol:A few variants of this weapon permanently exist as some of therarest items throughoutFallout 76, though the crafting plan comes from the Zeta Invaders Seasonal Public Event. This weapon comes with an impressive amount of mod options for damage types and status effects. At the end of the day though, pistols are one of the lesser weapon types inFallout 76.
Bear Arm:This weapon is one of the few rewards available from Public Events that aren’t legendary, and is also the only weapon from the Project Paradise Public Event.The Bear Arm only has a few mods and is effectively an unarmed variant of the power fist. It’s mostly a show weapon, and like all unarmed type weapons, it can’t be used in any ofFallout’s iconic Power Armors.
Electro Enforcer:The Electro Enforcer is the melee weapon of the alien family of weapons inFallout 76, coming from the Zeta Invaders Seasonal Public Event. Surprisingly enough, this weapon comes with a variety of damage-type mods like the rest of the alien weapons that are guns. Since a couple of two-handed melee weapons beat this weapon in terms of damage and are much easier to acquire, it comes down to being a style choice to use this weapon.
Sheepsquatch Shard:A rare reward from the Free Range Public Event, the Sheepsquatch Shard is one of the few throwable weapons. Though most throwable weapons can be retrieved to sustain ammo, this weapon is expensive to continuously craft, given that finding a Sheepsquatch outside the Public Event is arare random encounter inFallout 76. Sheepsquatch Shards are one of the better throwable melee weapons because they deal bleed damage to targets, as well as the highest in-class standard ballistic damage.
D-Tier
Alien Disintegrator:This weapon is effectively a rifle variation of the Alien Blaster pistol that has increased damage. The Disintegrator comes from the Zeta Invaders Seasonal Public Event. Like the Alien Blaster Pistol, this weapon has access to a variety of damage effects through mods.
Doctor’s Orders:Any long-range weapon that has Vampire, the health-leeching legendary effect, is somewhat of a missed opportunity for legendary effects that could instead increase damage. Since the extra limb damage legendary effect doesn’t increase overall damage, the best of this sniper’s legendary effects is the chance to generate a stealth field on hits. The Doctor’s Orders is one of the three weapons available from the Eviction Notice Public Event.
Meat Cleaver:The Meat Cleaver is a throwable weapon from Grahm’s Meat Week Seasonal Public Event. This is the lowest damage throwable weapon inFallout 76, and no perks beyond Bloody Mess can increase the damage. The plan to craft Meat Cleavers is only available for a limited amount of time each year, though some ofFallout 76’s creepiest locationscan spawn collectible Meat Cleavers.
Tone Death:Tone Death has some decent legendary effects for a melee weapon, but its damage pales in comparison to other weapons at short ranges, especially the other rewards from the Eviction Notice Public Event. The only thing this weapon has going on is the novelty behind the family of repurposed musical instrument weapons, and even then it’s still the underdog amongFallout’s most impractical weapons. Neither the Death Tambo base weapon nor the Tone Death has any mod options beyond legendary weapon effects.
Fallout 76is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
