Thankfully, the gear they carried will remain for the most part unharmed. Victims to powerful blasts of energy will disintegrate. The most basic of the energy weapons deals nice damage, and they are for the most part quite accurate, especially in the form of the Laser Rifle. You will go a short time without access to quality energy weapons, but once you have them you will be very powerful. Energy weapons are very interesting guns in Fallout 3.
