Fallout 4 is a weird game in general and feels "not quite at home" in the long-running franchise. There’s plenty to like about the title and there are plenty of fun and interesting moments, but the game isn’t quite as cohesive as the previous Fallout games. Moreover, the cracks in Fallout 4 are the same that destroyed the foundation of Fallout 76 and made it a fundamentally broken experience. Fallout 4 might have the series’ classic look and is far more approachable to newcomers to the series, but its story and themes just don’t have the same punch as the original titles or Fallout: New Vegas.

A big part of this disconnect is the game’s increased focus on combat, rather than the role-playing game elements that defined much of the series. You can still role-play in this title but the protagonist is more defined than in any other Fallout games, and minimizing combat in a playthrough really weakens the experience. However, one benefit of this focus on fighting is that Fallout 4 gives a player loads of fun weapons to battle the scourges of the wasteland.

Some of these weapons make you a monster-destroying machine, others are fun for a while and then become quickly outclassed, and a few are downright useless. With such an emphasis on battling enemies, using these inferior weapons for too long can really sour a playthrough of Fallout 4. With that in mind, these are the 15 best and 15 worst items the Soul Survivor can use as they explore the nuclear wasteland.

Useless: Western Revolver

The Western Revolver is exclusive to a quest in the Nuka World DLC. The player will have to use the Western Revolver to beat a robot in a quick draw contest so that they can get part of a code to unlock a safe. The Western Revolver isn’t a great item, because at this point in the game most, players will have handguns that far outclass this weapon. It is pretty fun that this quest limits what weapons a player can use, though, and Fallout 4 might be a better game overall if there were more of that.

Best: Ashmaker

Miniguns are one of the most powerful weapons in the Fallout series. The unique Ashmaker takes the already ridiculous power of the minigun and adds an incendiary effect. This means that a player isn’t just ripping enemies to shreds with bullets, the sole survivor is also setting them on fire! This effect plus the minigun's high rate of fire gives the Ashmaker one of the highest damage per second stats in the game and a player can use it to take out even the tankiest of enemies with ease.

Useless: Syringer

The Syringer is an odd item in Fallout 4 that applies various effects to enemies depending on the ammunition it fires. For instance, the Syringer can cause an enemy to forget about a player temporarily or spawn a Bloatfly after they are defeated, if the player crafts the appropriate ammunition at a chemistry station beforehand. While the Syringer can create some hectic situations and distract enemies in tougher battles, the ease at which a player can just brute force their way through most situations makes it rather useless.

Best: Railway Rifle

The Railway Rifle is a unique and brutal item in Fallout 4 that lets a player battle countless enemies without worrying much about ammunition. Rather than fire traditional bullets, the Railway Rifle shoots railway spikes, which sometimes pin enemies or their limbs to walls. Best of all, a player can usually recover these spikes from an enemy's corpse, and reuse them. This vicious weapon lets a player fight countless enemies and recycle their ammunition after, making it one of the best items in the entire game.

Useless: Cappy Glasses

The Cappy Glasses are a unique clothing item that is used to complete the Cappy in a Haystack sidequest in the Nuka World DLC. They allow a player to see hidden mascots and get a code to meet the living head of the creator of Nuka Cola. After a player completes this quest, the Cappy Glasses become functionally worthless and don’t even provide a stat buff like most other glasses in the game. These glasses are purposeless outside of one sidequest, and therefore one of the most useless items in Fallout 4.

Best: Gauss Rifle

The Gauss Rifle is an incredibly powerful weapon in Fallout 4 that forces a player to fight strategically and carefully. To deal max damage, the Gauss Rifle needs to charge for a few seconds and can only hit a target accurately when aimed down the sight. It lets a player deal tremendous damage to a single large enemy or a cluster of enemies, but leaves them defenseless while preparing to fire. It adds a risk-and-reward element held by few other items in the game, and most players should definitely make room for it in their inventory.

Useless: Robot Repair Kit

The Robot Repair Kit only appears in Fallout 4 following the installation of the Automatron DLC. It’s basically a stimpak, but for robot companions and will revive them if they are downed in battle. However, it only works on robot companions and is completely useless if a player is not traveling with a bot. Additionally, companions will heal themselves over time, making the Robot Repair Kit even more unnecessary. Basically, it’s an unnecessary healing item that can’t even heal the player and should never take up an inventory slot.

Best: Reba II

Reba II is a unique sniper rifle in Fallout 4 that inflicts increased damage against Mirelurk and insect enemies. Considering how often a player will fight Mirelurks, and how they usually just meander in an area before they notice the sole survivor, this makes Reba II one of the best sniper rifles in the game. A player can obtain this item by completing the Gun Run quest, or by stealing it from the Rook family house. Either way, with so much utility it definitely deserves a spot in a player’s main rotation of weapons.

Useless: Pipe Bolt-Action

The Pipe Bolt-Action gun is probably one of the first weapons a player will pick up after they leave Vault 111, and also one of the worst weapons in the game. The Pipe Bolt-Action does very little damage to enemies, takes forever to reload, and is literally cobbled together from discarded pieces of wood and metal. Sure, they might use some of the most common ammunition in the game and bost a high rate of fire when modified, but before too long pipe weapons of any variety become entirely obsolete. This is doubly true for the Pipe Bolt-Action weapon.

Best: Freefall Legs

The Freefall Legs are a unique set of leg armor that entirely negate fall damage. A player can only find the Freefall Legs by exploring the Mass Fusion building in a set of Power Armor with a jetpack, but the hassle is well worth it as wearing this armor makes traversing the game much easier. Wearing this armor lets a player ignore the damage from otherwise lethal falls and adventure through the world in ways that would almost be impossible otherwise. Every player should go out of their way to acquire theses liberating legs.