For the Fallout mods there aren't very many energy weapons compared to regular guns. It's kind of sad because I'm sure people could create some really awesome stuff if they'd just turn their heads towards energy weapons. I love regular guns but I also think energy weapon mods could have a LOT of potential. It'd be so cool to see all of the crazy and futuristic designs! I've seen some energy weapon mods and they seem pretty awesome, yet they go unnoticed because most weapon mods consist of guns and explosives! I'd make one myself if I could actually Nifskope (tried it once to create a new securitron face, it just didn't make sense to me). If anyone out there is able to make one please do so, and if you do leave me a link so I can try it out!

It might have to do with the fact there are far more examples of Firearms than Energy weapons. Though I agree with you on that. I'm using a plasma revolver and it's awesome, totally fits my current character. Fallout 4 seems to address this issue as we saw some variants on energy weapons, or I hope at least.

I love them, but when you have many mods adding conventional firearms with degrees of customization.. It's hard to keep interest in energy weapons. Few people even make mods anymore, adding new energy weapons.

Plus, you can't really get optics on energy weapons. Well, no. You're either stuck with an embedded optic, or stuck with/without ironsights. Unless you're using EVE. Makes energy weapons much more practical.

Also, hard to really get something like this in an energy weapon,

RPK_Acog:

RPK_C-More:

M16_Holo:

I'd love hack-ups of conventional and energy weapons in one. In the style of Mass Effect. The reloading.. Maybe even a silenced laser pistol/rifle. Don't ask me how I'd produce such an concept. XD

Energy weapons are highly neglected. I'm sure FO:4 means to manage that. If not, than their loss, a modder will do their job for them in that case. I like them, but dislike the quality and lack of upgrades they offer in FO;NV, FO:3 was a bit better.

Only Energy Weapons in any game I have ever liked were those in Mass Effect. The ones in Fallout have always felt clunky and too slow.. plus ammo is easier to find for normal guns (and they have a better design).

Yeah, problem is it's extremely hard to make a character that is tech savvy if you prefer modded guns over vanilla. I would prefer using energy weapons when I wear power armor but there are no modded ones so I don't use any. Also, to be honest I'm not one to care about attachments. Sure scopes and all are okay, but it doesn't make the whole weapon for me y'know? I just want an energy weapon with an awesome design that is also awesome in the battlefield.

I've actually never been a huge fan of energy weapons. If I were to use them there would have to be better looks for them (some of them are just....cute) and more importantly the sound. They don't sound very intimidating. But I do like the disintegrating effect when you make a critical hit .

With EVE energy weapons are a lot more tolerable. Without that I can't say I ever used them much.

I love energy weapons more than normal ones, they fit the world very nicely and it helps me remember that it is in the future XD. It is sad, though, that there are very few Energy weapon mods out there :/
Hopefully we'll see some in the future, but at least Fallout 4 seems to have its fill

I really don't like the design of most of the basic energy weapons in Fallout.  I also find them cumbersome to maintain and operate, so I never see a reason to put points into their skill until I finish maxing ones I use most.  I do usually end up carrying around a modded gauss rifle or the Project Nevada rail cannon(?) on my high level characters, since they are very useful against certain types of enemies.  But in most scenarios, a standard firearm manages just as well at a lower cost.

That being said, there are a few really great looking energy weapons from mods.  Classic fallout weapons adds some of the original fallout design energy weapons, and Project Nevada adds a few new ones of its own.  A few others I found around the Nexus, if you are interested (not sure what you have already looked into, so I apologize if this is useless info):

Spoiler:

And others if you feel like doing some more exploration.  There definitely aren't as many as the plethora of firearms you normally see, but what there is appears to be pretty well done and interesting.  But like I said, I don't really use energy weapons, so I cannot vouch for their actual balance or effectiveness as I have never used them :/

Not when im playing a enclave build.

The reason there arent as many is because people forget about them. By the time in the vanilla game you get an energy weapon (freeside usually) they aren't that great. There damage is good but there fire rate is very bad compared to other weapons

But I agree with you that we could get some really crazy good designs

Its not that I forgot about them its just the fact that the only one I ever liked using was AER-9 in the Vault 22, but was always a pain to get, so I just stuck with guns most of the time, I wouldve used the LAERs but they always depreciated too quick as well.

I personally don't find them as rewarding to use... no sense of impact.

I created tons of custom energy weapons for my Metroid mods, custom projectiles and effects and all that... but I kept going back to the explosive weapons (missiles/super missiles) and eventually the Mass Effect guns that I modded in.

for me its the familiarity, when i see a gun in the fallout universe (looting containers, bodies, vendors) i know what it is, and what round i need for it, and the range and accuracy i can come to expect from it, im not going to use a 9mm pistol to do the job of a battle rifle, nor would i use a battle rifle when i need a light machine gun. when it comes to the less varied lazur weapons i have no idea what they are, nor the inclination to use them lol

also, firearms dont need batteries they are mechanical, energy weapons are electronic and literally require batteries, when i need something to go "bang" i wont reach for something that goes "pew"

A couple of thoughts on energy weapons...yeah, there really aren't a ton of mods out there that give you modern looking/sci-fi gear that is comparable to what we get with the tactical firearm mods. However, there are a few energy weapon mods that I highly suggest you take a look at...

Probably the one that I enjoy using the most is MrRadioativ's: http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/43506/?

It's a nice blend of practical & energy weapons, some of the energy weapons are attachments (imagine an assault rifle with a plasma weapon slung below the barrel) or are pure energy weapons. I did a little bit of GECK-ing around with some of them and changed the ammo type to the Micro Fusion Breeder...essentially a recharger rifle. Many of the models have optical sights available as well as more traditional iron sights...it's a pretty awesome mod, well worth digging into.

If you looking for a more sci-fi look, but still with a Fallout aesthetic (1950's "Forbidden Planet" type stuff) then look no further than this mod:
http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/45273/?

True iron sights and full frame scopes for this mod...you could probably add optical sights to these weapons in NifSkope if you really wanted to, but I think they have a certain charm about them the way they are.

As for energy weapons lacking a feel of impact, I got to agree with people there. The SFX for energy weapons are a bit weak / vanilla. I ended up using the GECK to change the sounds over after installing this mod: http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/56146/?
(Being a huge fan of the movie Blade Runner, it just makes me smile every time I click my mouse button when aiming at a Raider )
...and changed the basics of the weapons to 'explode only' & no critical effects on death. So now my favorite energy weapons behave more like practical firearms. With some of the extra perk mods and EVE added, you end up with really forceful and awesome weapons to explore the wastelands with.

As a side note, this is why modding Bethesda games is so great. You don't like something, you can change it...and every edit I mentioned above can be done in about 5-10 minutes in the GECK. Making edits in NifSkope is a bit trickier and tedious (zeroing added optical sights...ugh), but still doable. I can customize mods by other people to get the exact experience I want, while still supporting the mod author...I don't need to ask them to make the changes for me, I just do it myself. Proactive editing folks...it's the best way to go.

TL;DR, right?

N~dles

qqq ppp qqq ppp

i found the q-35 modular mod is pretty cool. you can actually see the light beam inside the tubes instead of a nasty green paste. too bad i can't make it compatible with eve so i just skip eve. and never look back.weapon mod expansion make some cool changes to the plasma rifle as well. pretty neat.

I would really like some more energy weapon mods for fallout new vegas, I don't really use energy weapons anymore because I don't like the vanilla ones, the only one I do like is the tesla cannon and its variants. If there were more energy weapon mods then I would probably use them more than normal weapons.

In New Vegas playing with only energy weapons is like playing only archer in Skyrim.
Also in NV energy weapons are a bit neglected. This is not wrong, however, as IMO it goes better with the ambience of the game to have more guns than energy weapons.
I myself, rather have guns than energy weapons, don't know why, it may be because I love 20/21st century guns, and I also feel that guns are more powerful than energy weapons.