This is due to their absence from a number of leveled item lists while being present on several other lists that are not used. The Plasma Defender is a powerful energy-based pistol that fires superheated bolts of green. Plasma Defenders are not randomly sold by any merchants, including the Van Graffs and the Gun Runners. The Plasma Defender is an energy weapon in Fallout: New Vegas.
The Plasma Defender can fire a total of about 495 times using standard cells, the equivalent of 31 reloads, from full condition before breaking. Unlike the plasma pistol, the plasma defender is not considered a holdout weapon. and has a higher rate of fire in real-time, delivering almost twice as much DPS. However, the plasma defender is a more accurate weapon, uses fewer Action Points in V.A.T.S. In comparison to the plasma pistol, the plasma defender does an additional 5 damage per shot, has a reduced critical chance, and is less durable.
The mod contains three different versions of the rifle, a semi-auto version like the vanilla one, an automatic version, and a beam version similar in concept to the laser detonator from Lonesome Road. Additionally, it causes a large green burst of plasma upon firing which in addition to partially obscuring the view, travels at a slower rate, resulting in the need to lead the target. So I had my friend Butchcassidy1118 make a model of a plasma rifle based off of the defender and a piece of art from Artstation. This is offset by the fact that it consumes energy cells at twice the rate, has reduced durability, and has a slightly increased spread. In comparison to the standard laser pistol, the Plasma Defender deals more than 3 times the damage per shot and over twice as much damage-per-second (DPS). It is able to punch through most critters and low-level armor with ease, when compared to the more commonly found and cheaper laser pistol. The Plasma Defender is a powerful energy-based pistol that fires superheated bolts of green plasma.