Experimental MIRV (Fallout 3)

The  is a weapon in Fallout 3.

Gameplay attributes
The experimental MIRV is a unique Fat Man that can be found in the bomb shelter area in the National Guard depot. This weapon deals the most damage in the entire game as it acts like a shotgun version of the Fat Man delivering eight mini nukes at once. The MIRV actually does the same damage as a Fat Man per mini nuke, as 12880/8 equals 1610. This means that the MIRV is simply a Fat Man with extra capacity and increased ammunition usage. However, the MIRV can only shoot all eight mini nukes at once, even if seven are loaded it will not fire them.

Variants

 * Fat Man, the "common" variant.

Location
The player must complete the unmarked quest Keller Family Refuge before they can gain access to the secure section of the depot housing the weapon.

It's also possible to gain entrance to the armory by using a glitch.

Behind the scenes
MIRV is a military term for Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (or Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle). It is a collection of nuclear weapons carried on a single intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Using a MIRV warhead, a single launched missile can strike several targets, or fewer targets redundantly. The MIRV system was developed throughout the middle of the 20th Century, and one of the main ideas behind the weapon system was to take out an enemy country with a single missile attack before the enemy nation could be able to respond.

Bugs

 * Sometimes a graphics error can occur when detonation is very close. It can cause large, black rectangles to extend from the weapon out to as far as you can see. A console restart will fix this.
 * Sometimes acquiring this weapon may lead to a crash every time one accesses Tenpenny Tower.
 * Sometimes when lifting the item, it will twirl around in the air, making it very hard to decorate your Megaton house or Tenpenny suite with it.