Fallout 4: Gun Nut

Upgrading Weapons and Using Mods from Others

Fallout 4's Gun Nut Perk allows the customization of all form of ballistic ranged weapons, and thus damage, accuracy, recoil, and other alterations. Weapons can even be changed from semi-automatic to fully automatic, from pistols, to rifles. Energy weapons tend to use Science! instead, while ballistic weapons may take one or both for more advanced upgrades. Gun Nut gives you a lot of flexibility, but for some players isn't viewed as entirely necessary. It is a matter of convenience.

Gameplay Effects & Utility
I personally enjoy this Perk because it reduces my reliance on random generation of weapons, but for some players it is not 100% necessary due to the fact that you can:

• 1. find a weapon of the same type with an upgrade you want
• 2. mod that weapon and put the standard upgrade in that slot
• 3. this frees up the weapon modification and puts it in your inventory
• 4. you can now put that modification on your weapon of the same type. This is particularly useful if you found a legendary weapon and need a mod but don't have enough ranks in Gun Nut or the required materials.

While this works, the odds of finding that exact weapon type with the best upgrades for that slot are low. You should pay attention to weapons you find though, as you may be mid-game and find a high-rank mod for a weapon even if you have Gun Nut, just not enough ranks! You can generally tell just by the name of the gun. Taking mods off weapons will reduce their sell value a bit but if you find one you really think you might use later, the standard modification should only take common components and be much easier to craft than the advanced ones which take things like fiber optics, nuclear material, and others that are more rare than steel and screws.

For players contemplating taking ranks in this, first look at the weapons workbench and your current loadout and see if you even need it yet. You may have next to no materials required for an upgrade, or find that those upgrades only offer you marginal benefits.

If you want a chance to try out all the weapons in Fallout 4 without forcing yourself into a particular type of ranged weapon, Gun Nut is a good solution, but later you will need to choose, especially if you're playing a high-difficulty game. The modifications added to weapons get multiplied by Rifleman, Gunslinger, etc. and give you even more 'bang' out of these Perk points.

If you are early in a game and sure you want, for example, a high-Luck pistol build, you would be better off taking Gunslinger over Gun Nut for pure damage, but Gun Nut gives a spread of performance increases. With one or two ranks you can add substantial damage, accuracy, range, and recoil reduction to a weapon, increased ammo capacity, a silencer or a scope.

Overall, look at what is available for your weapon and whether Gun Nut would benefit you now as opposed to later. It is one of those cases where you can investigate before blowing a perk point that might go toward something more immediately useful. I highly recommend you take it at some point, but when is up to you!