Best Melee Weapon Fallout 4: Best To Worst Melees

Fallout 4 offers players dozens of weapons – both melee and ranged. Fans of stealth gameplay and close combat will want to try out the various melee weapons offered in the game. This is why today’s guide will focus on the Best Melee Weapon Fallout 4.

This list also includes weapons from the DLCs since they are quite effective as well. All of the mentioned melee weapons are the best in Fallout 4 and superior when compared to other options. Whether you are a fan of melee weapons or not, I recommend that you give these a try and you’ll surely like them.

Best Fallout 4 Melee Weapons And Comparison

No.	Weapons	Type	Damage	Speed	Range	AP Cost	Value	Weight
1	Super Sledge	Melee	40	Slow	0.8	45	180	20
2	Heavy Pipe Wrench	Melee	13	Medium	0.8	35	30	2
3	Chinese Officer Sword	Melee	16	Medium	0	35	50	3
4	Shem Drowne Sword	Unique Melee	25	Medium	0	35	250	3
5	Puncturing Power Fist	Unarmed	20	Medium	-	35	100	4
6	Grognak’s Axe	Unique Melee	25	Medium	0.8	20	100	10
7	Ripper	Melee	4	Very Fast	0.8	40	50	6
8	Shishkebab	Melee	26	Medium	0.8	35	200	3
9	Kremvh’s Tooth	Unique Melee	31	Medium	-	30	50	2

There are many advantages of using melee weapons especially if you are conserving ammo. While they lack the conventional range of guns, these types of weapons deal tons of damage. This list will also include the various variants of melee weapons that are considered top-tier. Just like the Best Heavy Weapons, this guide will include the 10 best melee weapons in Fallout 4.

Super Sledge

Attribute	Value
Type	Melee
Damage	40
Speed	Slow
Range	0.8
AP Cost	45
Value	180
Weight	20

The Super Sledge in Fallout 4 is an early-game powerhouse with a damage of 40 and an AP cost of 45. It’s a formidable weapon, but its variant, the Atom’s Judgement, stands out even more. You can obtain Atom’s Judgement during a quest for the Children of Atom faction. It deals radiation damage, making it effective against various enemy types, especially raiders.

However, Atom’s Judgement has its drawbacks. It’s heavy, which can be mitigated with lightweight armor, but its slow attack speed remains a concern. It’s an excellent choice for a brute build, but for this guide, we’re focusing on base versions, where the Super Sledge is a decent weapon but not the top pick.

Heavy Pipe Wrench

Attribute	Value
Type	Melee
Damage	13
Speed	Medium
Range	0.8
AP Cost	35
Value	30
Weight	2

The Heavy Pipe Wrench in Fallout 4 is a formidable blunt weapon, ideal for dispatching smaller enemies effortlessly. It can be further enhanced with mods to add an armor penetration stat, making it effective against armored foes.

A unique variant, the Big Jim, is worth keeping an eye out for. You can find it early, at the Walden Pond drainage pipe within the first hour of gameplay. Big Jim comes with the kneecapper effect, which is useful against a wide range of enemies.

While it has a medium attack speed due to its heavy nature, it’s still a significant improvement over the Super Sledge. With the Pipe Wrench, you can deal more damage and enjoy a better attack speed.

Chinese Officer Sword

Attribute	Value
Type	Melee
Damage	16
Speed	Medium
Range	0-
AP Cost	35
Value	50
Weight	3

The Heavy Pipe Wrench in Fallout 4 is a formidable blunt weapon, ideal for dispatching smaller enemies effortlessly. It can be further enhanced with mods to add an armor penetration stat, making it effective against armored foes.

A unique variant, the Big Jim, is worth keeping an eye out for. You can find it early, at the Walden Pond drainage pipe within the first hour of gameplay. Big Jim comes with the kneecapper effect, which is useful against a wide range of enemies.

While it has a medium attack speed due to its heavy nature, it’s still a significant improvement over the Super Sledge. With the Pipe Wrench, you can deal more damage and enjoy a better attack speed.

Shem Drowne Sword

Attribute	Value
Type	Unique Melee
Damage	25
Speed	Medium
Range	0-
AP Cost	35
Value	250
Weight	3

During the Gilded Grasshopper quest, you can find this sword in the grave of Shem Drowne’s. It has a base damage of 16 with additional radiation damage of 5. This makes this sword extremely good as it is one of the rare melee weapons that deal radiation damage.

It has a weight of only 3 which is quite helpful since you can carry other heavy weapons alongside this without being over-encumbered. What makes this sword unique is that it applies radiation damage from two sources. One is when you initially attack and the other is damage over time. This is mostly useful against human-type enemies and will kill them quickly.

Adding weapon mods will allow you to enhance the sword by adding electric attacks as well. Not only that, but you can also add a stun pack that – as the name states – will stun enemies when hit. Having these mods are essential because they can make your life easier and make this weapon a must-have in your arsenal.

Puncturing Power Fist

Attribute	Value
Type	Unarmed
Damage	20
Speed	Medium
Range	-
AP Cost	35
Value	100
Weight	4

From the perspective of Fallout 4, this weapon is considered an unarmed one. Although, for my purpose, this is an amazing melee weapon that can save most players from unfortunate situations. Just like other unarmed weapons, the Power Fist has an attack speed of medium and cannot be used if the player is using power armor.

Out of all other unarmed melee weapons, the Puncturing Power Fist is the best choice as it deals an insane amount of damage that is useful against armored enemies. Its variant – the Furious Power Fist – is one of my favorite weapons in Fallout 4.

Thanks to its passive, the more successful hits you land, the more damage you’ll deal. According to this; in theory, the power fist can eventually deal more damage than any other melee weapon in the game. The main reason why this is ranked at this number is due to the inability to equip the Power Fist with power armor. This greatly reduces its effectiveness, especially in survival mode.

Grognak’s Axe

Attribute	Value
Type	Unique Melee
Damage	25
Speed	Medium
Range	0.8
AP Cost	20
Value	100
Weight	10

Moving on to the first and only axe in Fallout 4, the Grognak’s Axe is an excellent weapon that is deserving of a spot on this list. Having an attack speed of medium, this axe deals tremendous damage at the cost of low AP. Using this weapon on enemies will allow you to not only deal damage but stagger them as well.

This effect is especially useful when fighting against tons of enemies as it gives you ample space to move around and avoid getting grouped on. To get this, you must go inside Hubris Comics and lockpick a display case. Keep in mind that the case is difficult to open and might take a few tries.

Ripper

Attribute	Value
Type	Melee
Damage	4
Speed	Very fast
Range	0.8
AP Cost	40
Value	50
Weight	6

Ripper is an extremely unique weapon that not only looks cool but also gets the job done easily. While the base damage output is fairly low, you can add bleed damage once upgrading the weapon to an Extended Ripper. Doing so will not only add bleed but will increase the overall DPS as well.

Not only that, but the Ripper also has a swift attack speed that allows you to slice through anything that stands in your way. Combined with its damage, you will kill any type of enemy within seconds. The Far Harbor DLC introduced a legendary variant called Harvester. If you think the Ripper was good before, the Harvester takes it to a whole new level. You now have a chance to stagger enemies which is a massive benefit.

Rocket Bat

You can get the baseball bat quite early on in Fallout 4 and it can get you through the start of the game without any problems. However, the Nuka-World DLC gave players the option to convert their baseball bat to a rocket bat. When you look at base damage only, this isn’t the best weapon for that.

Apart from raw damage, you should carry this solely for armor penetration. Thanks to the added spikes, your attacks hit like a train. Plus, you can even stagger opponents which is always a welcomed addition. Since it is a simple weapon mod, you can add this to other variants of the bat as well such as Fence Buster. Having these upgraded is a must-have for this weapon otherwise you won’t be able to maximize your damage output.

Shishkebab

Attribute	Value
Type	Melee
Damage	26
Speed	Medium
Range	0.8
AP Cost	35
Value	200
Weight	3

Often preferred by most players, the Shishkebab is considered to be the most powerful sword present in Fallout 4. Located at the Saugus Ironworks, you are guaranteed to get a weapon that helps you even in the end game. It deals 13 base damage but adds another 13-energy damage on top of it.

Being a sword, this weapon has medium attack speed but it somehow feels faster than other medium weapons. When this sword is equipped, you will see steam coming out from it, giving it a unique and cool look. On top of that, when you swing it, the sword will get flaming red and emit fire from its nozzles.

Kremvh’s Tooth

Attribute	Value
Type	Unique Melee
Damage	31
Speed	Medium
Range	-
AP Cost	30
Value	50
Weight	2

The Kremvh’s Tooth deals an insane amount of base damage plus the added poison damage as well. Since it is a strong and unique weapon, it is quite difficult to get. You will have to complete the Dunwich Borers dungeon and find it in the last room of the area.

If you decide to mod this weapon, you’ll add the bleed damage on top of other effects currently present. It also gives a massive damage boost which can one-shot most things in Fallout 4. However, once you mod it, you will not be able to remove the mod to apply on other machetes.

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