The science weapons and their locations.
The Outer Worlds is a fun game, striking a sharp mix of tight gameplay, light political commentary, and zany retro-future aesthetics. It hits that zeerust aesthetic perfectly, and nowhere does it do so better than the “Science weapons” you can get from a questline a bit into the game. ‘Weapons From The Void’ gives you the opportunity to planet hop, collecting five strange and wonderful weapons to add to your collection: the Prismatic Hammer, Mandibular Rearranger, Gloop Gun, Shrink Ray, and Mind Control Ray.
While each does a bit of damage and scales from your Science skill, their real value lies in utility, changing the way combats play out rather than ending anyone on their own. Here are their locations and effects (most appear on your map if you have this set as your active quest):
Prismatic Hammer: Groundbreaker
The Prismatic Hammer is a two-handed melee weapon that deals a cycling carousel of all the damage types available in the game with each swing (based on your Science skill) and can fire a projectile energy burst on a power attack. Sweep attacks instead deal with multiple damage types at once. The damage (72) seems low but is a bit deceptive when you keep that factor in mind and make this a great melee weapon for crowd control purposes, though it may stumble against single targets.
Mandibular Rearranger: Groundbreaker
A one-handed melee weapon this time, the Mandibular Rearranger deals about as much damage as the Sentry Blade you get at the start of the game (a mere 73 DPS). This effect makes it an unpalatable choice as a primary damage dealer for melee types. Where it excels is battles against a single giant foe. It slows enemies with each hit, and eventually paralyzes them, allowing you to effectively keep out of the reach of any enemy and stunlock them, providing easy kills.
Gloop Gun: Monarch
The Gloop Gun is a heavy weapon that runs on energy cells and splashes goop in a wide radius. Enemies splashed are weakened (the duration scaling with Science) and dealt a low amount of shock damage. The real value comes in it periodically levitating foes, rendering them entirely helpless and easy pickings for a more damaging area weapon.
The Gloop Gun is the only gun that doesn’t appear on your map. You can procure it during the Errors Unseen side mission behind a hackable terminal. If your hacking isn’t up to snuff, fret not; you cannot access it by answering a series of security questions. The answers are evident if you remember this game is based heavily on satirizing corporate culture.
Shrink Ray: Near Phineas
This one is especially hard to miss. Unfortunately, it’s the least useful of the bunch. It’s an amusing one-handed handgun that runs on energy cells. It deals a small amount of plasma damage and shrinks a single enemy for as long as you hold the trigger.
That last part is why this weapon doesn’t cut it, except maybe in the niche circumstance that you are a ‘Companion specialist’ who specced almost entirely into Dialog.
Mind Control Ray: Monarch
This last one is a long gun that deals plasma damage and uses energy cells, and it’s a bit of a doozy. It has a ridiculously long-range, and turns enemies against each other; your Science skill improves their move and attack speed, making them more lethal. The massive range couple with the surprisingly low noise detect range means it can be used effectively form stealth, making it an excellent weapon for rewarding stealth players who don’t want to get their hands dirty directly.
