Fallout 4’s Commonwealth is full of landmarks, enemies and incredible scenery. Making your way through the entire map will see you run into countless opponents, all of which you’ll likely try to kill before they kill you. You can mow them down with Gatling Lasers, disintegrate them with Mini-Nukes or simply bash their heads in. All of these playstyles are engaging to play, one of the most fun though is sniping from a distance.
I was using the Modern Weapon Replacer mod, using the latest patch allowing me to customize my own list. I downloaded a bunch of guns, I ticked correctly, making sure there's only 1 gun replacing the Combat Rifle, 1 for the Assault Rifle, 1 for the Handmade Rifle, and so on. Replaces assault rifles and/or combat rifles with Deadpool2099 's Service Rifle. Replaced weapons will spawn with the following modifications: All replaced weapons will be named 'Service Rifle' in-game and use the instance naming conventions Replaced weapons will spawn with a random low-tier Trigger Mechanism (Semi-Auto and Automatic). A fallout 4 combat rifle and shotgun reload replacer. Animation By: Chad509 A HUGE help from: WarDaddy755.
So often you see raiders holed up in a huge district, it’s tempting to run straight in with your trusty shotgun but take a minute to use a marksman rifle from range. The satisfaction is endless, enemies will have a hard time shooting back and you can clear the area without stepping inside at all.
If you’re looking to start sniping in Fallout 4, you need to know which weapons to use. This list will detail the 10 best sniper rifles in the game, with enough information for you to snipe from level 1 to level 70!
10. Pipe Bolt-Action Pistol
One of the very, very first weapons you’ll encounter. Pipe weapons are all over the place, not just in the early game but for your entire playthrough. Their robust, hand-made nature makes them a favorite among small time thieves and soldiers in the Commonwealth.
Bolt-action weapons tend to have extremely low fire-rates with high damage and accuracy. This particular entry doesn’t really have any of the latter but it’s the best option for new characters!
Mod recommendations
Receiver: Standard
Barrel: Stub
Grip: Standard
Magazine: N/A
Sights: Long Scope
Muzzle: None
9. Laser Musket
Shortly after leaving the starting area, you’ll enter Concord, if you’re following the quest-line anyway. You can’t miss the Laser Musket found outside the Museum. While it lacks the range of other rifles, this weapon has a high damage output for how early you obtain it.
A horrific reload system is a nightmare to use though, so really try to use a Laser Musket at longer ranges!
Mod recommendations
Receiver: Standard
Barrel: Bracketed Long
Grip: Full Stock
Magazine: N/A
Sights: Long Scope
Muzzle: Beam Focuser
8. Pipe Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle
A weapon’s workbench, plenty of resources and the Gun Nut 2 perk is required to turn your Bolt-Action Pistol into a Sniper Rifle. Or you can get lucky and find this weapon on a corpse. The main difference between this entry and the 10th entry is the receiver, as the Pipe Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle uses .50 caliber rounds instead of the low-damaging .308.
It’s as close to a strong sniper rifle as you’ll get in the early game, you can actually find one in a house in Concord so I highly recommend new players pick it up as soon as possible.
Mod recommendations
Receiver: .50
Barrel: Long Light
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Magazine: N/A
Sights: Long Scope
Muzzle: Large Bayonet
7. Hunting Rifle
Hunting Rifles can be found all over the place, from raiders to your average weapon crate. With considerably high damage, acquiring a Hunting Rifle will set you up for dozens of levels to come. Absurdly good in the early game, this weapon translates well into the mid and late game, especially with workbench improvements.
Mod recommendations
Receiver: Standard
Barrel: Short Light
Grip: Short Stock
Magazine: Medium
Sights: Medium Scope
Muzzle: None
6. Reba 2
If you’re tired of searching for a half-decent rifle, Reba 2 is right up your street. A simple quest is required to obtain this weapon, simply visit Salem and speak to Barney Rook. He’ll need you to switch on 5 turrets, which requires you get past a dozen or so Mirelurks.
Reba 2 has the benefit of dealing 50% more damage to insects and Mirelurks. This doesn’t sound too great but if you’ve ever faced a Mirelurk Queen, you’ll know exactly how much damage they can take. Adding 50% bonus damage can significantly reduce the time it takes to get past one of these gigantic creatures.
Apparently it comes standard with a normal scope equipped but mine came with the Night Vision scope shown above? Very weird.
Mod recommendations
Receiver: .50
Barrel: Long Ported
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Magazine: Large Quick Eject Mag
Sights: Long Recon Scope
Muzzle: Bayonet
5. Plasma Gun
Not only does the plasma gun hit hard in terms of physical damage, it also deals some nice energy damage on top. Why is this important? Most enemies wear armor with either a balance or one-sided approach toward resistances. Having a weapon that hits both is deadly.
A normal Plasma Gun won’t be effective at long range but if you upgrade it with the below mods, you’ll have a potent long-range weapon. Getting your hands on a Plasma Gun is difficult though, they’ll only start popping up in the world from level 16!
Mod recommendations
Receiver: Overcharged Capacitor
Barrel: Improved Sniper Barrel
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Fallout 4 Assault Rifle Replacer
Magazine: N/A
Sights: Large Recon Scope
Muzzle: N/A
4. Combat Rifle
Number 5 to number 3 on this list are semi-automatic rifles, just letting you know. While you may only be interested in bolt-action rifles, these other weapons utilise different ammo types and it’s beneficial to use two or three different long range weapons.
Equipped with a .308 receiver, the Combat Rifle will deal heavy damag at all ranges while retaining a fairly high fire-rate. To find this rifle, there are pre-set locations across the Commonwealth but they won’t spawn on raiders/gunners etc until level 15.
Mod recommendations
Receiver: .308
Barrel: Long Ported
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Magazine: Medium Quick Eject Mag
Sights: Medium Scope
Muzzle: Large Bayonet
3. Laser Gun
Readily available to players at all levels, Laser Guns can be acquired early on and used as an alternative sniper rifle, utilising energy damage. The addition of a sniper barrel turns a regular Laser Gun into a Laser Sniper Rifle, equipping a Fune-tuned Beam Focuser will further bolster its range and recoil.
For how much damage it does, with high accuracy and range, you’d think the rate-of-fire suffered a lot but it really, really doesn’t. Every ex-vault dweller should have a Laser Gun in their inventory!
Mod recommendations
Receiver: Standard
Barrel: Sniper
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Magazine: N/A
Sights: Medium Scope
Muzzle: Fine-tuned Beam Focuser
2. Tinker Tom Special
Essentially a normal hunting rifle with some extra mods, the Tinker Tom Special comes fully equipped with the Stalker trait. This grants exceptional accuracy in VATS while out-of-combat, although it does increase AP usage.
Such a trait is amazing for starting fire-fights though, it almost guarantees a head-shot, even at far ranges!
Mod recommendations
Receiver: .50
Barrel: Long Light
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Magazine: Large Quick Eject Mag
Sights: Medium Scope
Fallout 4 Combat Rifle Replacer Holster
Muzzle: Bayonet
Fallout 4 Assault Rifle Replacer Mod Xbox One
1. Mighty Sniper Rifle
Yet another hunting rifle, however this one has a very special trait. The Mighty skill increases damage dealt by a whopping 25%, but you can also go for Plasma Infused which adds 10 points of energy damage. Either is great, but you shouldn’t get too attached to a sniper rifle without one of them.
As soon as you receive this weapon, you’ll have the perfect sniper rifle, especially if you can out-fit it with the below mods!
Mod recommendations
Receiver: .50
Barrel: Long Ported
Grip: Marksman’s Stock
Magazine: Large Quick Eject Mag
Sights: Medium Scope
Fallout 4 Assault Rifle Replacer
Muzzle: Bayonet