Guns are so overrated. Melee’s where it’s at.
In Fallout 4, you make every decision for your character. Will they befriend people throughout the Commonwealth and band together, or will they steal and plunder from the Commonwealth to serve themselves? Will they handle their problems with a smile and silver tongue, or will they quickly draw their pistol and headshot everyone within ten feet?
If you decide that your character is going to be a real-life Grognac the Barbarian and subdue Fallout 4’s wasteland with might, muscle, and melee, then these weapons should be your highest priority.
Melee is often overlooked in Fallout 4. And why wouldn’t it be? The guns you get to play with are straight out of a science fiction comic. But the melee weapons aren’t far behind. And while we didn’t find ourselves using melee much in the later portions of the game, we were certainly thankful for many of these weapons in the early game.
Here is a collection of the most unique, powerful, and just plain weird Fallout 4 legendary melee weapons you don’t want to miss.
1. Assassin’s Black Baseball Bat
- Damage: 31
- Speed: Slow
- Perk: Does 50% more damage against humans
You might find this baseball bat in a different color, but ours was a wicked black. The assassin’s black baseball bat wasn’t a weapon we found ourselves carrying into late-game dungeons or boss fights. But we cleared out entire factories with this weapon early and mid-game.
Plenty of compounds, apartment complexes, and various other buildings are home to no one but raiders. Carrying a weapon that does extra damage to raiders–aka humans–is a good idea when facing them. The Ironworks near Lexington, and Lexington itself, were full of human raiders when a nearby settlement asked us for help. We went through both locations with heavy armor and a razor-edged assassin’s black baseball bat, making Babe Ruth proud.
2. Blazing Baton
- Damage: 17
- Speed: Medium
- Perk: Has a 25% chance to deal 50 fire damage on a successful block
Timing is everything with the blazing baton. It might not seem that feasible to use all the time, and you’re right; it’s not. But its perk does a lot of damage to enemies, especially early-game. Not to mention you’ll often send the enemy fleeing once they’re on fire, which lets you get plenty of free shots in. The blazing baton was the first melee weapon we used and didn’t hate. We didn’t love it, but we can’t deny it was quite satisfying lighting our enemies on fire with perfectly timed blocks.
3. Cavalier’s Combat Knife
- Damage: 14
- Speed: Fast
- Perk: Take 15% less damage while blocking or sprinting
We used this knife for two purposes: charging at our enemies and fleeing them. 15% less damage isn’t much, but it certainly takes the edge off when you’re sprinting to the next enemy. It negates the need to block and slowly approach your opponent; it encourages a full frontal assault. And it can also be the difference between life and death when running away while under fire. Equipping this knife while trying to flee the scene of a crime will increase your chances of survival by at least 15%.
4. Furious Powerfist
- Damage: 47
- Speed: Medium
- Perk: Increased damage after each consecutive hit on the same target
This weapon rocks. Mid-game, early-game, late-game–doesn’t matter. The furious powerfist packs a punch (literally) and gets stronger with each successful hit. When going up against enemies in power armor, you might find that the first hit shows little. But after three or four, you’re easily knocking chunks off their health bar.
We found ourselves using this weapon to get into slugfests with mutants when we found strongholds. Mutants are challenging at the worst of times, but when you find a band of them, there are usually a few in mutant armor. However, they went down easily when facing down a mechanical fist with steel rebar and concrete attached to the front.
5. Hunter’s Sledgehammer
- Damage: 36
- Speed: Slow
- Perk: Deal 50% more damage against animals
The irradiated, mutated animals of Fallout 4’s wasteland are annoying more than they are dangerous. And their attack patterns are so different than regular enemies we found ourselves wasting lots of ammo trying to shoot them.
Whipping out a hunter’s sledgehammer whenever we ran into a swarm of bloodbugs, radscorpions, or mirelurks was the right move. The sledgehammer is slow and unwieldy, but it can smash several enemies at once, and you can use that to your advantage. Let several bugs or mole rats group together, then bash them in a fell swoop.
6. Nocturnal Machete
- Damage: 22
- Speed: Medium
- Perk: Does increasingly more damage as night grows longer and less damage during the day
We were lucky enough to find several weapons with the nocturnal perk, but our favorite was the machete. We wanted to take advantage of acceptable speed, good base damage, and increasingly more damage at night.
Yes, the nocturnal supersledge was a close second pick, but the machete was easier to wield. We could dash through alleyways and buildings quicker, navigate indoors better, and move in and out of our enemy’s reach. If only we could’ve found more legendary machetes, we would’ve fully embodied Danny Trejo.
7. Pickman’s Blade
- Damage: 23
- Speed: Fast
- Perk: Targets bleed for 25 points of additional damage
Pickman’s blade is Pickman’s gift to you after you save him from a group of raiders. It’s a small combat knife, so your reach is limited, but causing targets to bleed continuously is a fantastic perk. Upgrade Pickman’s blade with mods and enhancements, and you’ve got a deadly knife for just about any enemy you come across.
8. Troubleshooter’s Combat Knife
- Damage: 23
- Speed: Fast
- Perk: Deal 50% more damage against robots
Much like there are areas where you’ll encounter only humans, there are plenty of locations full of nothing but robots. Also, synths are considered robots, so this knife is a beautiful addition to your inventory when facing down members of the Institute.
Like the other melee weapons, we didn’t remember we even had this knife after reaching level 30. But we cannot forget at least one robot-filled bunker in the northeast portion of the map that required the use of the Troubleshooter’s combat knife.
9. Shishkebab
- Damage: 20 regular, 13 fire
- Speed: Medium
- Perk: NA
Okay, okay. I know this isn’t a legendary weapon, but just hear me out for a minute. This weapon doesn’t have a perk listed because its perk is built into the weapon. The shishkebab is a sword tied to the side quest Out Of The Fire. You’ll have to help Abraham Finch get his son back from a band of fire-obsessed raiders and retrieve Abraham’s grandfather’s sword back in the process. If you successfully bring Abraham his son and his sword, he’ll let you keep the sword as extra payment.
When you play with the shishkebab, it makes sense why the forged raiders would want it. It’s a sword with a gas canister attached to the handle and a pilot flame attached to the hilt. With every swing of the shishkebab, you light your enemies on fire.
It’s glorious.
And that fire damage is more powerful than some of the perks listed here. The shishkebab is the melee weapon we used the most in our Fallout 4 journey, and it’s not even a competition.
10. Shem Drowne Sword
- Damage: 25 regular, 9 radiation
- Speed: Medium
- Perk: Targets take radiation damage
Radiation damage works differently in Fallout 4, detracting from your maximum health amount. The more radiation damage you take, the less max health you have.
When attacking enemies with the Shem Drowne Sword, you’re both damaging them and inflicting radiation damage at once. Meaning you’re lowering their max health while lowering their regular health.
It’s super effective!
The only problem about the Shem Drowne Sword is that there are plenty of enemies throughout Fallout 4 who are immune to radiation damage. Mutated animals, ghouls, enemies in power armor, mutants, synths, robots, and deathclaws are all resistant to radiation. So you’re only going to be using this sword in engagements with other humans for the most part. Still, if going up against the Railroad, a band of raiders, or any other human faction, the Shem Drowne Sword is a solid pick.
Wrapping up
There are many more legendary weapons to discover in the wastelands of Fallout 4. While we love melee weapons, there are many legendary guns you won’t want to miss. Most legendary weapons will be randomized across the wasteland and spawn in a different place whenever you start a new save file. So the sooner you explore, the more you’ll come across.
