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Running a melee build has been some of the dumbest fun I’ve had with Fallout 4. You get to rush in, swing your weapon with reckless abandon and leave the battlefield caked in blood and guts. After a well-earned battle cry and a quick Stimpak, you’re ready to go again. There are a lot of great melee weapons in Fallout 4, but I think it’s important to rank them based on their performance so you can make the most of your melee build.
10. The Fish Catcher
Far Harbor added the Pole Hook, which is a decent weapon in and of itself, but the unique Fish Catcher deserves a shoutout. While it deals the same as its non-unique variant, its special effect reduces AP cost in VATS by 40%, making it perfect for melee builds that lean into VATS a lot. In fact, it has one of the highest DPAP (damage per action point) in Fallout 4.
If you don’t plan on using the Fish Catcher, at least pick it up for display purposes. It looks awesome hanging over a doorway and it’s really easy to obtain, too. As soon as you reach Far Harbor, stop at the gun store; Allen Lee will sell it to you.
9. Cito’s Shiny Slugger
Speaking of AP melee builds, the Cito’s Shiny Slugger should also be on your radar, especially if your build leans heavily into critical hits. Every time you use your critical hit, your AP will refill, meaning you can load up more melee hits in VATS. Rinse and repeat until your enemy is a bloody mess. Oh, and you can load it with fire, energy, or bleeding damage!
You can obtain Cito’s Shiny Slugger from Cito himself, over in Nuka-World at Safari Adventure. There’s a gator problem at the exhibit, which he wants you to take care of. As long as his family is safe by the end, you’ll get the bat as a reward.
8. Sword of Wonders
As it turns out, downing beefier targets feels a lot smoother with the Sword of Wonders when 30% of their damage and energy resistances are ignored. Mod it with the Electrified Serrated Blade for energy damage and bleeding and you’ve got a strong, fast secondary weapon for hybrid gun/melee builds that also won’t weigh you down like the Power Sledge.
When you reach Nuka-World, head over to Kiddie Kingdom and you’ll trigger the ‘A Magical Kingdom’ quest. See the quest to its end and you’ll obtain the Sword of Wonders either from Oswald or from looting him.
7. Deathclaw Gauntlet
Unarmed builds don’t start showing worthwhile results until after you’ve unlocked a couple perks and armed yourself with a good fist weapon, like the Deathclaw Gauntlet. However, it truly shines when you’ve added the Extra Claw mod, increasing its damage and, most importantly, adding a 25% chance to disarm enemies. With the Deathclaw Gauntlet being relatively quick, it happens quite often!
If you hang around Diamond City, you’ll hear a guard talk about the Museum of Witchcraft. Investigating the museum will put you on the side quest The Devil’s Due, which involves a Deathclaw egg. You’ll have the option to return the egg, and in doing so, the Deathclaw will leave the gauntlet behind.
6. Grognak’s Axe
Compared to many melee weapons in Fallout 4, Grognak’s Axe is seriously overloaded with effects. For starters, it swings as fast as a sword, despite being two-handed and causes enemies to bleed, making for a deadly combination already. Secondly, it has a 50% chance to stagger, so more often than not your target won’t be able to react as you pummel them. And lastly, its AP cost is on par with knives, meaning you can keep swinging away in VATS.
You know what the craziest part is? The only thing standing between you and Grognak’s Axe is a display case with a measly advanced lock and terminal at Hubris Comics. It’s near Trinity Tower, where you can recruit Strong, who is also a great candidate to wield Grognak’s Axe if and when you replace it.
5. Kremvh’s Tooth
Kremvh’s Tooth is quite the unique weapon in Fallout 4 just by virtue of being the only melee weapon that deals poison damage. Admittedly, it isn’t much, nor does it stack, but that’s not the reason you’d use it. For bleed builds, Kremvh’s Tooth is among the best and is only really outclassed by Pickman’s Blade or the Ripper.
Interestingly enough, the best way to use Kremvh’s Tooth is to not use it at all, but rather its mod. The trick is to remove the Sacrificial Blade mod and apply it to a legendary machete with either Furious (for more melee damage) or Wounding (for more bleeding damage). Normally, you can’t stack legendary effects, but that’s what makes it special.
You can find Kremvh’s Tooth at Dunwich Borers, which is just east of The Slog, on the othe side of the river. At the bottom of the quarry, you’ll come to what appears to be a small pond, but it’s a very deep pit. Swim through the tunnel and you’ll find the machete on an altar.
4. Furious Power Fist
If we’re talking base damage, the Deathclaw Gauntlet is slightly better than your run-of-the-mill Power Fist. Once you start modding the Power Fist, the dynamic flips drastically, especially with the Puncturing mod for 30% armor penetration. What you really want is a Power Fist with the Furious legendary effect. It’ll increase the amount of damage you do every consecutive hit. Imagine you’ve got the arm of Mike Tyson and you’ll get the picture.
There’s just one itty bitty problem: you’ll have to take down Swan, a super mutant behemoth. The good news is that you can keep Swan at a distance by using the fence around Swan’s Pond. Down him with guns and explosives, use the fence to avoid his boulders, and you’ll be fine. For your efforts, you’ll be awarded not only one of the best melee weapons in Fallout 4, but arguably the best unarmed weapon.
3. Pickman’s Blade
Do you love stealth builds as much as I do? Well, combine a couple perks and Pickman’s Blade and you can deal a crazy amount of damage with such a dinky weapon. Sure, its base damage is garbage, but you don’t use it for its raw damage. Pickman’s Blade’s true value comes from its bleed damage caused in a single swing, the highest amount of any weapon.
Pickman’s Blade is located in Pickman Gallery, south of the USS Constitution and across the bay. Once inside, you can choose to help Pickman or simply kill him for his key, which opens up a safe behind Pickman’s painting (the one with a red face).
2. The Ripper
I always find myself using the Ripper at some point in Fallout 4, but at first glance, it doesn’t seem like much. Its base damage appears abysmal, until you realize the Ripper’s damage ticks are incredibly fast. The Ripper essentially ticks damage as fast as an automatic weapon.
So, here’s what you do: the run-of-the-mill Ripper is fine, but what you really want is a version with either the Wounding or Furious legendary effect. Because of how fast it ticks damage, you’ll either stack a lot of bleed damage in seconds or ramp up its damage, respectively.
There’s a really fun variant called The Harvester, which staggers your targets. It attacks so fast you can actually stun-lock enemies to death. For The Harvester, look in the trunk at Echo Lake Lumber, whereas a Wounding or Furious Ripper is found from defeating legendary enemies.
1. Atom’s Judgement
Atom’s Judgement—the perfect name for such an awesome weapon. With a single swing, you can deal well over 800 damage, making you feel like you’re truly wielding a weapon of, well, Atom. It all comes from combining a variety of perks—maxing our Strength, Big Leagues, Nuclear Physicist, Lone Wanderer, Bloody Mess—and the weapon’s damage type.
What Fallout 4 fails to mention is there are two types of radiation damage: one that’s affected by radiation resistance and immunity (like a Gamma Gun) and one that ignores it. Atom’s Judgement is the latter, making it just as useful against humans and super mutants alike.
