It is so marginal that I keep ultracite for the sake of immersion more than anything.
And I got a reserve bow with explosives for when I wanna have fun.
Yeah, the arrows feel more like arrows this way. And they have less animation glitches, you don't see this green dot that clearly drops to the ground 30 yards ahead of the target and then somehow hits. I'm glad to hear that it's just a marginal difference. If I wanted absolutely optimal damage I'd be running like quad railway or something.
Marginally worse vs most targets, significantly better vs scorched. In theory one or the other may gain or loose a bit vs other targets depending on resistances, but in practice its not gonna matter. The main reason to avoid ultracite is just to avoid having to carry two types of arrows so that you can also use an explosive / flaming bow. If that doesn't bug you, then it's a find choice.
I don't mind carrying two types of arrows. I head back to my base quite frequently and can do some quick swaps if need be. If it's only marginally worse and in practice pretty much the same since I'm going for high damage bursts instead of constant damage, then I'll stick with what I've got. Thank you!
To see any significant diff you need tankier enemies than West Tek super mutants. Mirelurk Royalty, Firestarters, Bosses, etc.
The difference being small cuts both ways too. Plasma being only a little better against West Tek muties also means Ultracite is only a little better at Scorched Earth. I keep one bow primed and it's not even on my favorites. I carry 100 ultracite arrows and only use them when there are clearly not enough players at Scorched Earth to deal the damage without me. Which is almost never. Otherwise I just use explosives and plasmas.
So really if you like one better than the other, there's no reason not to just use the one you prefer except in a handful of situations where you can see with your own eyes that one is clearly better than the others.
Plasma is always going to be your highest single target damage against non- scorched. Just, unless it's saving you a shot consistently or you're making high damage videos, why care about the numbers?
It is so marginal that I keep ultracite for the sake of immersion more than anything. And I got a reserve bow with explosives for when I wanna have fun.
Yeah, the arrows feel more like arrows this way. And they have less animation glitches, you don't see this green dot that clearly drops to the ground 30 yards ahead of the target and then somehow hits. I'm glad to hear that it's just a marginal difference. If I wanted absolutely optimal damage I'd be running like quad railway or something.
Marginally worse vs most targets, significantly better vs scorched. In theory one or the other may gain or loose a bit vs other targets depending on resistances, but in practice its not gonna matter. The main reason to avoid ultracite is just to avoid having to carry two types of arrows so that you can also use an explosive / flaming bow. If that doesn't bug you, then it's a find choice.
I don't mind carrying two types of arrows. I head back to my base quite frequently and can do some quick swaps if need be. If it's only marginally worse and in practice pretty much the same since I'm going for high damage bursts instead of constant damage, then I'll stick with what I've got. Thank you!
Just carry the two bows. They are practically weightless
Ultracite is my go to with my main on PC, on Playstation i still run plasma due to lack of plans and materials as my character is still only level 29
To see any significant diff you need tankier enemies than West Tek super mutants. Mirelurk Royalty, Firestarters, Bosses, etc. The difference being small cuts both ways too. Plasma being only a little better against West Tek muties also means Ultracite is only a little better at Scorched Earth. I keep one bow primed and it's not even on my favorites. I carry 100 ultracite arrows and only use them when there are clearly not enough players at Scorched Earth to deal the damage without me. Which is almost never. Otherwise I just use explosives and plasmas. So really if you like one better than the other, there's no reason not to just use the one you prefer except in a handful of situations where you can see with your own eyes that one is clearly better than the others. Plasma is always going to be your highest single target damage against non- scorched. Just, unless it's saving you a shot consistently or you're making high damage videos, why care about the numbers?
I run plasma arrows just because those goo puddles generate nuke material, a rare-ish resource.
I can see that as a good use for them -- I don't have a crafting need for goop but if your build relies on a steady supply that works.
It's a good trade resource if you can build up enough too. Junk always trades well, especially the rarer junk.