Overview
If you’re like me, you finished the quest before going for achievements and didn’t like the blow torch so you were not picking it up. This makes getting the Smart Pack Rat achievement a pain in the butt. I had to get 25 more to hit 50, and had all the weapons unlocked so the chances of a blow torch spawning were small. I was in for a grind until I found a method.
The Method
So, this method is based off the fact that when you take the Random Weapon perk, you can choose any weapon you have unlocked, and this counts as collecting it. This method is all about getting perks so you can try to get this perk.
Go to a quest level that has enemies you can easily deal with and has a good number of level ups. I personally found the most luck with 3.7 Spiders Inc. Simply choose a level and start killing things until you level up. When you level up, keep an eye out for the Random Weapon perk, represented by a question mark
When you get this perk, take it, choose the blow torch, then either die or restart the level. Repeat until you have the 50 to give you the achievement.
Useful Perks
There are a few useful perks to look out for to help with this method, as they give you more chances to have the Random Weapon perk appear in the level up method.
While normally not a particularly useful perk, this is a fantastic perk when trying to get the Random Weapon perk. It leaves you with a sliver of health, but essentially gives you three level ups, which is three chances for Random Weapon to appear.
These perks are simple; they increase the number or perks you have to choose from in subsequent level up menus. In addition to this, they also give you a bunch of XP towards your next level. Perk Expert gives you 5 perks to choose from on level up and brings you 25% of the way to next level. Perk Master requires for Perk Expert to be taken before it will appear and gives you 6 perks to choose from and brings you half way to the next level. When combined with Infernal Contract, these can give you up to 18 chances for Random Weapon to appear.
This perk is simple but useful, especially if taken early. It gives a 30% increase to all XP gains, letting you level up quicker.
Another simple one, this perk gives you a flat lump sum of XP toward your next level.
This is a perk you’re not always going to use, but it can be useful if you’re running out of enemies in the level. It makes you die in 30 seconds, but until that happens, you get double XP. This can bring the last level or two very quickly.
In Closing
I know the standard advice for this feat is to use the Weapon Picker survival mode, but with all weapons unlocked it is annoying waiting for the correct weapon to spawn and I found this went much faster. Getting 25 of them took under an hour. If this helps, I am happy to have been of assistance.