The Microwave Emitter is a unique weapon in the Fallout 3 add-on Point Lookout.
Gameplay
The weapon disintegrates a target with blasts of intense and concentrated microwave radiation. Limb shots may cause gibbing even without the Bloody Mess perk, and headshots will cause heads to explode. Fatal critical hits will not turn enemies into piles of goo as with plasma weapons but will turn enemies into piles of ash, like with laser weapons.
The Microwave Emitter ignores damage resistance which, coupled with its rather large damage, makes it ideal for use against heavily armored foes.
Durability
The Microwave Emitter can fire a total of about 375 shots, the equivalent of 75 reloads, from full condition before breaking.
Variants
- Mesmetron - An experimental weapon that can be given to the player character by Grouse, the Mesmetron will confuse and daze an enemy instead of disintegrating them but is visually identical to the Microwave Emitter.
Comparison
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Weapon name (melee or unarmed) |  |
Weapon name (gun, energy or explosive) |
 |
Damage per attack (damage per projectile) |  |
Damage per second |
 |
Area of effect damage |  |
Effect damage & duration |
 |
Bonus effects |  |
Attacks per second |
 |
Critical chance % multiplier |  |
Critical damage |
 |
Critical effect damage & duration |  |
With all mods attached |
 |
Attacks in V.A.T.S. |  |
Action point cost |
 |
Damage per action point |  |
Weapon spread |
 |
Magazine capacity (shots per reload) |  |
Durability (number of attacks before breaking) |
 |
Weight |  |
Value in caps |
 |
Value to weight ratio |  |
Skill required |
 |
Strength required | ||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesmetron | 1 | 1 | Chance to mesmerize(50%), frenzy(30%), or head explode (20%) | 1.03 | x1 | 0 | 65 | 0 | 0.0 | 5 | 2500 | 2 | 500 | 250 |
Microwave Emitter  | 60 | 62.1 | Ignores DR | 1.03 | x2 | 100 | 30 | 2 | 0.2 | 5 | 375 | 8 | 500 | 62.5 |
Location
The Microwave Emitter is found at the end of the quest A Meeting of the Minds, in the reward vault behind Professor Calvert's brain in his underground lab beneath the Point Lookout Lighthouse. This is the final reward in the Point Lookout main questline.
Notes
- When this weapon is reloaded, the animation will show the player character loading a Mesmetron Power Cell instead of a Microfusion Cell. However, Microfusion Cells are still loaded as normal.
- The Microwave Emitter can double as a light source, as sometimes the lit-up display of the microwave emitter will not turn off when the weapon is holstered. This usually happens after using V.A.T.S.
- There is a slight delay between pulling the trigger and actually firing the weapon.
- The blue, spinning balls of microwave radiation are visually similar to that of the head-crippling sonic attack of the Robobrain and the mirelurk kings.
- Unlike most energy weapons, the microwave beams will not ignite explosive gas from a distance.
Sounds
|
|
||
|
Gallery
The Emitter
Microwave Emitter in action
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||