As a fan of energy weapons its a little sad to see them outclassed by Guns but NV isn't that a hard game and Energy weapons are still more then capable of getting your courier to the end game. Sure they are a little weak initially but with a little planing we can make it work. Here are a collection of tips and suggestions, particularly in the early game. Alot of it may just seem like common sense but it doesn't hurt to have a recap
1) Walk out of Doc's house? forget that laser pistol and get a Recharging rifle. Yes its heavy, yes its not a powerful gun. But its got its advantages, it doesn't use ammo so you can feel free to spam a target and not worry about using up too many energy cells and it has a awesome .02 spread. That can help you vaporize folks quasi sniper like. You don't want to use the gun for very long but initially before you start to run into armor it'll serve you well .
2) Get Vigilant Recylcer as soon as you can, sure at 70 science it might be a little much for some folks to get it at lvl 6 but if you use energy weapons you really really want it as soon as you can. It does 3 things for you. it makes you hold on you empty EW ammo more often, it makes recycling more efficient AND it give you better ammo. people often complain that energy weapons seem inefficent, like how the Gause rifle uses 4/5 rounds a shot or how the multi plas and the Laser RCW drain cells like a college student at a kegger. In reality its because its so easy to get energy weapon rounds. For example all those small energy cells u didn't use because you had the recharging rifle? you can make it into microfusion cells for your Q35 easily. Sure you can convert gun round but its a lot more of complicated with the primers and the casings then switching energy around. Sure the anti material rifle only uses 1 .50 round but I've always found those rounds to be a lot harder to keep in stock then Microfusion rounds.
3) Energy weapons are very niche oriented there usually isn't a 1 gun fits all situation. Don't go into a laser rifle or plasma weapon thinking its going to be the end all be all. You'll just get disappointed. The laser rifle is actually pretty bad, a max repaired laser rifle does 15 damage, that's little more then the recharging rifles 9. its less then a Varmit gun. Honestly the only real use for that gun is when you get the scope. at that point i think of it as the energy equivalent of the scoped varmit gun, good for sneak attack sniping till armor shows up. Still its a valuable enough niche to want to carry one with you but know when to swap it out for a better gun. For example in the early game (pre level 15) that better gun will be the Laser RCW. Sure i dont like the way it looks either but its easily the best addition to energy weapons in NV. its a Gatling laser except lighter, with lesser stat requirements and available early in the game when its most effective. its not an end all be all gun but its as close as you get in Energy weapons.
4) dont be afraid to use less conventional guns. some folks seem to think energy weapons are just lasers and plasma and forget that flamers and incenerators are energy weapons too (well at least in NV). hell you get a incinerator as early as primm and if you give it a chance you'll find that its a fantastic weapons to clear out critters (scorpions, ants and dogs etc) as well as groups of humans when clustered together.
5) Repcon HQ should be one of your first stops early game. Im not saying to head there right after goodspring but i tend to do it as soon as i hit novac. Between the Q-35 (perfect gun to use when dealing with armor early to mid game) the two Energy weapon skill books and ample ammo its a great place to gear up.
6) Grab Veronica Early. Shes voiced my Felicia Day so she an automatic win there but shes not just a pretty voice shes the perfect addition to the Energy weapon use for a few reasons. 1 shes a portable workbench. need to recycle all thoes empty cells? she can do it, running out on Overcharge or max charge cells and need to convert some regular ones? she can do it. Need access to the BoS bunker to start their quest line early for all the benefits it provides? she can do it. Not to mention the fact that shes a low maintenance death dealer (give her a ballistic fist and watch in awe).
Thats all for now but if anyone has more to contribute feel free to add
1) Walk out of Doc's house? forget that laser pistol and get a Recharging rifle. Yes its heavy, yes its not a powerful gun. But its got its advantages, it doesn't use ammo so you can feel free to spam a target and not worry about using up too many energy cells and it has a awesome .02 spread. That can help you vaporize folks quasi sniper like. You don't want to use the gun for very long but initially before you start to run into armor it'll serve you well .
2) Get Vigilant Recylcer as soon as you can, sure at 70 science it might be a little much for some folks to get it at lvl 6 but if you use energy weapons you really really want it as soon as you can. It does 3 things for you. it makes you hold on you empty EW ammo more often, it makes recycling more efficient AND it give you better ammo. people often complain that energy weapons seem inefficent, like how the Gause rifle uses 4/5 rounds a shot or how the multi plas and the Laser RCW drain cells like a college student at a kegger. In reality its because its so easy to get energy weapon rounds. For example all those small energy cells u didn't use because you had the recharging rifle? you can make it into microfusion cells for your Q35 easily. Sure you can convert gun round but its a lot more of complicated with the primers and the casings then switching energy around. Sure the anti material rifle only uses 1 .50 round but I've always found those rounds to be a lot harder to keep in stock then Microfusion rounds.
3) Energy weapons are very niche oriented there usually isn't a 1 gun fits all situation. Don't go into a laser rifle or plasma weapon thinking its going to be the end all be all. You'll just get disappointed. The laser rifle is actually pretty bad, a max repaired laser rifle does 15 damage, that's little more then the recharging rifles 9. its less then a Varmit gun. Honestly the only real use for that gun is when you get the scope. at that point i think of it as the energy equivalent of the scoped varmit gun, good for sneak attack sniping till armor shows up. Still its a valuable enough niche to want to carry one with you but know when to swap it out for a better gun. For example in the early game (pre level 15) that better gun will be the Laser RCW. Sure i dont like the way it looks either but its easily the best addition to energy weapons in NV. its a Gatling laser except lighter, with lesser stat requirements and available early in the game when its most effective. its not an end all be all gun but its as close as you get in Energy weapons.
4) dont be afraid to use less conventional guns. some folks seem to think energy weapons are just lasers and plasma and forget that flamers and incenerators are energy weapons too (well at least in NV). hell you get a incinerator as early as primm and if you give it a chance you'll find that its a fantastic weapons to clear out critters (scorpions, ants and dogs etc) as well as groups of humans when clustered together.
5) Repcon HQ should be one of your first stops early game. Im not saying to head there right after goodspring but i tend to do it as soon as i hit novac. Between the Q-35 (perfect gun to use when dealing with armor early to mid game) the two Energy weapon skill books and ample ammo its a great place to gear up.
6) Grab Veronica Early. Shes voiced my Felicia Day so she an automatic win there but shes not just a pretty voice shes the perfect addition to the Energy weapon use for a few reasons. 1 shes a portable workbench. need to recycle all thoes empty cells? she can do it, running out on Overcharge or max charge cells and need to convert some regular ones? she can do it. Need access to the BoS bunker to start their quest line early for all the benefits it provides? she can do it. Not to mention the fact that shes a low maintenance death dealer (give her a ballistic fist and watch in awe).
Thats all for now but if anyone has more to contribute feel free to add
thanks for contributing. though didn't they nerf VATS so it only gives you 5% crit instead of 15%?
Or in other words: I´m also following some threads about energy weapons in general and 
but I digress. 
One perk just changes the characteristics of this weapon category from "surgical" to "smart bombs" and completely alters the way you have to play your character.