Some don't on certain enemies a laser pistol will have trouble with most armour, and a laser rifle with the beam spliter will have the same problem.
TBH if you use special ammo on most energy weapons they are far more powerfull and versitile than most guns due to low strength requirements, it's all how you use them.
The main problem most have is the price of ammo, the ammount of ammo they eat up, and lack of variety early of EW in the game.

I must be one of the few to find that EW are by far more deadly given any circumstance, with perks and a choice of 3 - 4 weapons they can kill anything, even quicker than guns will.
Case in point first game took on a famous deathclaw area, had to leave companions behind sneak carefully and hope to take them one on one with a sniper rifle died a few times when they came in pairs.
Case two energy weapons walked in kept companions a strength 4 pc boosted with buffout and weapon handling plasma caster max charge ammo it took me about three seconds to kill a single deathclaw...
The same for another deathclaw area with a multiplas this time solo, and the largest deathclaw area again solo and with a plasma defender..
Cazadors were a pain for me first game a max charge RCW eats through them like butter, a laser rifle normal charge with scope and lense will crit kill any ghoul where as my first time a scoped varmit rifle barely did anything till later on untill I loaded HP rounds.

So maybe guns are easier, but energy are not nerfed imo...

Oh one thing a silenced gun, undetected sneak crit kill, will not give negative faction points on around 90% + of npc's, you can kill just about anyone in a faction this way and still end up liked.

I like having the energy weapons in there to mix it up, wouldn't be a fallout game without energy weapons !

Laser rifle is still the fav, got Veronica bringing the hurt with the tri-beam and just found another unique one which sounds good but I'm short on the ammo and can't use it

Sure they're weak and ammo can be scarce at times but EWs are just as relevant as standard fire arms.

I wish rex had a laser attack ! Or if they put more effort into the adding the "crazy" back into the game we might get laser cats ! And Andy Samberg as their laser cat overlord.

Get it done Bethesda

Guns, I agree with another poster, the game has that western feel and energy weapons seem out of place, I definitely like the cowboy repeater and varmint rifle.

I like both, energy weapons a little bit more.

Guns all the way. Guns are easier to maintain, use cheap ammo, are abundant, and generally have more mods available. Energy Weapons are useless, with very few EW's being an exception to this and prove to be somewhat useful.

Its easier for me to kill things cheaper, quicker, and more effectively with Guns than with Energy Weapons.

I love Energy weapons in Fallout 3, so I thought it was going to be same thing in FONV. Guns are my all new favorite now, they seems to work better in FONV than FO3.

Its too early to judge because they havnt fixed any of thier mistakes yet. sawyer already said they made a fairly big oopsy on plasma rifles and as that set the standard for multiplas and plasma caster if he fixes the one he will likely fix all of them.

Also remember because of the way dt works.. it happens BEFORE damage mult... overcharge and max charge ammo is only useful if your weapon already greatly exceeds the dt of the target with normal ammo...

It's true, i destroyed an entire legion town like this

But anyway i have to go with guns > lasers for a few reasons.

1) Guns are much easier to find in the beginning.
2) Guns ammo weighs a lot less.
3) Lastly, and most importantly, the crack of a rifle sounds so much better than pew pew

Well i had a ton of fun getting a Gatling laser, stocking up on ammo, getting the meltdown perk, and killing every1 in the fort. So many explosions and body parts flying it was beautiful

I've seen a lot of people hate on EW lately. For the most part, I understand why that is, b/c AP svcks with them. However, many will have you believe that EW are worthless. This is not true. Need proof? Please direct your attention to that YCS/186 on your right...

Yay 5 MC cells when I can just use one .50 round and do more dmg...

Are you referring to the AM Rifle? Because last time I checked, 110 is less than 140.

YCS/186 and Plasma Caster make the game pretty easy. Not sure what you are all complaning about.

The only problem I see is the lack of variety for EW, while Guns have several viable options.

An EW character is more challenging, that's a fact. But if you persevere it can be really fun.
Also, there's a built-in cheat. I can't reveal it all here because of spoilers, but here's a hint or two --
Before doing anything else in the game except looting Goodsprings, take the long walk to The Silver Rush, avoiding towns (You'll make it if you're smart & careful; there will be a level in it for you). Go inside the store...
[perform spoilery cheat]
...and then go outside, fast travel back to Goodsprings, and let Sunny teach you how to shoot.
Yes, it's a terrible thing to do but it helps out the EW beginner.

^^^Thank you.^^^
The problem is not that there aren't great EW, it's that there isn't a lot of choices.

I always liked the tesla beacon prototype when running energy weapons. Nothing like a laser of doom cannon to fry some baddies. For practical use I'll use guns a mojaority of the time though.

Doubt I'll ever sink a skill point into energy weapons again.

I think it really matters what difficult you have it on with energy weapons. Normal and below i really dont have an issue, but once u go higher it becomes a lot harder.

Guns fit more in this game. The Enclave and Brotherhood have very minor presence. There's a very cowboy/vegas gangster/frontier aspect to it. If there were more weapons like the Laser RCW, I'd adore energy weapons. But that's the only one that really fits in with the ambiance.

But it's all about revolvers and rifles, otherwise.

call me crazy(you all probably will), but seeing as weapon repair kits exist and all, doesn't that pretty much throw the whole "easier to maintain" argument totally out?

I dunno about you guys, but i have a ton of repair kits stashed away and put more together pretty much every time i can find/buy a wrench and duct tape. Also I bought like 5 from one of the boomers for something like 31 caps a piece?

That and i don't really find a whole lot of anti-materiel rifles or riot shotguns just laying around.

Guns. Always guns. Guns guns guns guns guns.

Energy weapons? I could rant for roughly a thousand words. I'll just keep it to two: THEY svck.

The "problem" with energy weapon is your teenage love svck at your thirties, while teenage or tier 1 gun can last.

Lucky, Cowboy Rifle++, Hunting Rifle++, Vance's 9mm, 10mmSMG, Ratslayer are still effective and light; very attractive as a secondary weapon.

With EW the only keeper is Laser RCW, maybe Plasma Defender for some casino quest.

That's weird! My copy of the game is full of giant bugs, robots, ghouls, big blue guys and dudes dressed like Spartacus. Energy weapons are a perfect fit for the version I'm playing.

(You gotta love New Vegas for how easy it is to ignore some aspects of the game so your experience varies -- my last playthrough was all guns, soldiers and gangsters. This time, using EW, the '50's SF vibe is all over the place. Pretty sure that's a strength of the game.)

Guns is what i prefer, Because their ammo is cheaper and easier to find

I use both, but my mainstay is the Sniper Rifle. I love the Sniper Rifle