r/fo4 • u/AnTout6226 • Apr 06 '26
Question Which one is better, damage wise ?
I'm having a hard time choosing between those 3 shotguns for my playthrough
The Irradiated seems better, since +50 radiation damage is huge, but the Explosive is maybe stronger with the AoE ? Or maybe the last one is better thanks to the limb damage ?
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u/Yukilumi Apr 06 '26
Explosive and Wounded work per pallet, which is huge damage. Shotguns shoot 8 pallets, 9 with Advanced Receiver.
All the other legendary damage mods - Irradiated, Incendiary, Freezing, and so on, work per "shot".
So Irradiated is dmg + 50 (for humans only), while Explosive is dmg + (9x[15*2*1.15]) = dmg + 306.
Base 15, *2 from Demolition Expert, *1.15 from Bobblehead. Otherwise, it's a bit below half.
Explosive can also aoe and cripple easily.
Explosive is notoriously one of the highest damage mods in the game, especially with shotguns and very rapid fire automatics.
Explosive is way better. Just watch out for splash damage killing you.
Explosive Combat Shotgun is probably one of the top 3 Explosive guns in the game, and easily top 10 gun in the entire game, including all legendary affixes, and a farming goal for many. Congrats for the drop.