Fat Man (Fallout 76) (2024)

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The Fat Man is a ranged weapon inFallout 76.

Background[]

The M42 Fat Man was developed at Fort Strong near Boston, Massachusetts. Development began in February 2076, with the goal being the development of a man-portable tactical nuclear launcher easy enough for use by troops on the ground, to destroy reinforced and entrenched positions.^[1][2] Problems manifested instantly, as warheads were simply too heavy to clear the blast radius fast enough to provide safety for the operator. Even stripping them to the minimal possible size failed to produce an acceptable effect. Instead, the development team decided to increase the power of the launcher unit, even considering using railgun technology to accelerate the warhead. The notion was largely academic, as it would require for the overburdened soldier to carry an additional power pack the size of a suitcase and turn the Fat Man into a crew-served weapon.^[3] Concurrent development ran on the MIRV version of the launcher. Live-fire testing claimed lives, in fact, with two soldiers killed during a test. No remains were recovered and the commanding officer in charge of the project, General Brock, covered up the incident, ordering his subordinates to send sand packed in an urn to their relatives.^[4]

The project hit a breakthrough in December 2076,^[5] when the project lead discovered a solution for the launcher problems. Six hours, fourteen cups, and one concerned night shift lab crew later, the future M42 launcher was conceptualized: Based on the spigot mortar mechanism, the launcher would only have to accommodate a firing through and system, relying on mechanical launching, rather than chemical or electrical means. The Fat Man warhead would be propelled by a sub-charge embedded inside the warhead, "catapulting" the warhead through the air to the target - giving plenty of range with the added bonus of not producing a smoke trail that could reveal the firing team to the enemy.^[6]

By September 2077,^[7] after one hundred test firings the weapon was complete and ready to be shipped to units overseas. A large number of units was manufactured and shipped together with the appropriate warheads to select locations throughout the United States.^[8]

Characteristics[]

The Fat Man is a portable heavy weapon that launches mini nukes at distant targets in an arching trajectory.

If the Fat Man has the MIRV launcher mod, the Fat Man needs to be aimed such that the trajectory of the mini nuke reaches apogee above the target, as opposed to aiming such that the mini nuke hits the target or adjacent ground. When a MIRV mini nuke reaches apogee, it stops and splits into four projectiles. These projectiles fall straight down, detonating if they do not hit anything after falling 100 feet or 30 meters.

Due to the large explosion being capable of blinding players and causing extreme lag and potentially server crashes, the Fat Man is commonly used by griefers and trolls. It most infamously reaches its peak at the end of 2022 and in the first few weeks of 2023, when thousands of players started banding together to spam the Fat Man (especially ones with the Two Shot legendary effect) during events in order to protest the removal of explosive energy weapons.

Weapon modifications[]

• Launcher

• Appearance

Launcher[show IDs][show resources]
Mod	Description	Effects								Requirements	Resources	Form ID
Bowling ball	Launches bowling balls.	Doesn't explode, changes ammo type to modified bowling balls.	+99	–	–	–	–	+0.5	+2.5%	––	–	0043B76C
MIRV (Experimental MIRV)	–	Projectile splits into 6 bomblets that deal 145 damage each. Blast Radius Inner: 10 Outer: 50	–	–	–	–	+25%	+4	+30%	Read plan to learnGunsmith 5 to craft	Adhesive x5 Aluminum x7 Circuitry x3 Gear x5 Nuclear material x6 Screw x6 Spring x4	001AC24C
Standard	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Known by default–	Adhesive x2 Aluminum x4 Gear x4 Nuclear material x4 Screw x4 Spring x4 Steel x13	001C6C03

Paint[show IDs][show resources]
Appearance	Name	Description	Requirements	Resources	Form ID
	Aviator Paint	Give your Fat Man that aerodynamic look with the Aviator Paint. Shiny!	Unlocked via Atomic Shop	Oil x1	00482C91
	Vault-Tec Paint	An officially branded Paint for your Fat Man from your friends at Vault-Tec. Included with 2019 Twitch Prime promotion.		Oil x1	00475C18

Variants[]

• Daisycutter - A quest reward for completing An Organic Solution.
• The Guarantee - A unique Fat Man given as a Survival mode reward from April 16–22, 2019.
• Overkill - Rarely given for using a Mutated package or a Mutated party pack.

Locations[]

• West Tek research center, inside the FEV vats.
• On top of a monorail pylon near Garrahan Mining Headquarters. Climb the monorail staircase east of the Garrahan building, jump atop the station itself and run along the top of the monorail until you arrive at the fourth pylon.
• Berkeley Springs Station

Legendary effects[]

Available Legendary Effects
Anti-Armor	Aristocrat's	Assassin's	Berserker's	Bloodied
Executioner's	Exterminator's	Furious	Ghoul Slayer's	Gourmand's
Hunter's	Instigating	Juggernaut's	Junkie's	Medic's
Mutant Slayer's	Mutant's	Nocturnal	Quad	Stalker's
Suppressor's	Troubleshooter's	Two Shot	Vampire	Zealot's
Basher's	Crippling	Explosive	Explosive (Shotguns)	Hitman's
Inertial	Last Shot	Lucky	Rapid	VATS Enhanced
Agility	Durability	Ghost's	Lightweight	Lucky
Nimble	Perception	Rapid	Resilient	Steadfast
VATS Enhanced

Behind the scenes[]

"Fat Man" was the codename for the plutonium atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. With the exception of the tail fins, the mini nuke has a similar look to Fat Man.

References[]