Fallout Tactics Best Weapons
Anita Damelio
Everyone in Fallout tells you that Deathclaws are bad news. Everyone tells you it would be suicide to take them on alone. But this is a game, I'm the hero and I win against impossible odds all the time.
Well, it seems they really mean what they say this time. Deathclaws are extremely dangerous. They are fast, can take an absurd amount of damage, have a very high damage threshold and they kill you in a few swings.
What are effective tactics for killing Deathclaws in Fallout New Vegas? I'm not really looking for exploiting glitches like bad pathfinding, but legitimate tactics to have a good chance against those beasts.
Extreme range, sneak attack criticals, and armor-piercing bullets are your friends versus Deathclaws. If you're in possession of (and a decent shot with) a scoped hunting rifle or better sniper-type rifle, you can usually pick them off one at a time since they tend not to group up. If you're finding it impossible to get enough damage before they close the distance, you can always augment your plan by throwing down some mines on the path between you and the Deathclaw (make sure you back up some). Finally, it's handy to be able to quick switch to an automatic rifle to finish the job if the mines fail you.
Improve your sneak skill and get a decent sniper rifle (or even a hunting rifle with a scope). Crouch in an area the Deathclaws can't reach and bask in the glory of your sneak attack criticals. This is a great way of clearing the quarry full of them, even in the early game.
That said, in the early game you may not be equipped to deal with the radscorpions and cazadors in the route to a safe area to fire from in the quarry. But if you can get past them, I believe you can also score some standing with the Great Khans who have an outpost up there.
Cripple the legs, aim high. Use a high powered medium/long ranged weapon to take out the legs and then aim for the head/torso. Most likely you would be using a grenade launcher, missile launcher, or alien blaster. You can get the alien blaster by going to the NW part of the map, where an alien commander and two other aliens are guarding there downed ship at the top of the cliff. This can only be performed with the Wild Wasteland perk on. Otherwise a group of bandits will be there, one containing a Gauss Rifle.
I tend to use the sniper rifle myself, but I rarely bother with hand loaded ammo. Get as far back as you can get, take your time for a headshot, and then go for body shots as they get closer. If you have decent aim, you should be able to hit with 3-4, and that should be enough if you're good with long guns. Better crits, finesse, high luck and perception are all very useful here.
If it's not enough, stop after 2-3 shots, and switch to a close range weapon with a low AP cost. Wait till you can get an 80% or better headshot, and let 'em have it. You shouldn't get hit more than once.
I started doing this with the Cowboy Repeater, which should give you an idea of how it'll roll with the Sniper Rifle or better, though there you had to hit them with at least 2 headshots before they got close. Very aim intensive, and they'd often get a second hit during the close range part of the fight (no way to kill full grown ones from a distance with the CR).
Another close-range method of killing deathclaws is the Riot Shotgun (holds 12 rounds) plus a boost to AP (like the Action Boy perk, Jet, or Rocket). With a high enough Gun skill, you can let the deathclaw come right into range (ideally 90% to hit or better), aim at a leg, and empty the gun into him.
Close-range methods like this can be particularly useful when one or more deathclaws missed the "poker night at the quarry" memo and decide to go for a walk in the mountains, where long-range shots aren't necessarily possible, or when your steady aim has deserted you and a deathclaw has come over to see what exactly it was that you were firing at him.
Also, have at least 2 companions with you. If playing in non-hardcore mode, they won't die. They will just be "unconscious" if their hit points are zero, and will wake up soon. They could be used to absorb damage from or slow down the Deathclaws.
Then, hope that your companions and/or the Archimedes II or sniper rifle shots kills the Deathclaw(s). If all else fails, and the Deathclaw is now on its way to kill you, take out the highest-DPS weapon you have and pump that Deathclaw full of lead (or energy, if using energy-based weapons), and die in full glory (hopefully before the Deathclaw spills your guts with, in what some might say, their "claws of death").
I like to try to divide death claws so I can take them out one at a time. High dps weapons are the best bet, obviously at long range if possible. However, if you can't snipe them the fully auto assault rifles are awesome for shredding their health, as are the high caliber pistols, preferably with a scope. Also, don't be afraid to spend a fortune on non-surplus ammo. Incendiary, armor piercing, and hollow points are good at crippling and killing.
Also using a grenade machine gun in sneak mode on a group usually works pretty well. At the unmarked location on the other side of the river (bottom right of map), I have taken down the 15+ deathclaws in that area with this method, also not receiving a single scratch.
Just find some obstructed terrain so they can't beeline straight at you. Stand behind a small boulder or by the corner of a building. The AI doesn't sprint around corners or jump over boulders. Then just unload your ranged weapon of choice and backpedal or run around the corner when the Deathclaw closes.
Anti-materiel rifle (ideally with .50 MG Incendiary) fully repaired (+ Steady) + 12.7mm submachine gun for close combat + headshots. There is no better fun in New Vegas than to take down a Deathclaw from the distance with only one headshot. As a backup I'm using E-DE and Cass (Rose of Sharon Cassidy) because of close combat (especially in caves). When you are leved-up you can take out a Deathclaw as a lamb ;-)
Long range combat is obvious (strong rifle + stealth + Distance). If you are low ranked, defend your position with mines or other explosives. In New Vegas, hobbling the legs doesn't slow down deathclaws as much if at all.
Two-step goodbye 100 unarmed and all the techniques(khan trick,scribe counter,legion assault) and high dt armor preferably power armor or elite riot gear and you will pwn any dethclaw unlucky enough to cross your path but if ranged is your style use the survivalists rifle and jet/rocket
Melee is not suicide. Thermic lance, poison and a stealth boy. The thermic lance is a monstrous weapon when coated with poison as it ignores a targets DT. Having the challenge perk for killing abominations is useful, and the stealth girl or chemist perk (effects stealth boys and not just chems).
My Favorite toy, and one that never fails me unless they get way too close and refuse to get crippled, happens occasionally for some weird reason, is to use the .50 and either Hand-Loaded rounds, if I can get a clean shot at it's head, or Explosive rounds if I can't, aim for their hip to cripple them and troll them till you decide to put them out of their misery.
First, have the holorifle and upgrade in the DLC Dead Money, or have a Gauss rifle, or anti-materiel rifle. Next, have ED-E upgrade, have him as a companion, and also be sure to have Raul as a companion and the Ranger Sequoia pistol in his inventory and ammo, or have Boone as a companion. With these weapons and companions, I have even killed mother, alpha male, and legendary deathclaws.
use gauss rifle(full repaired, max charge) plus meltdown perk plus high ground, best used against groups of deathclaws.ex grat khans encampement. took out mother deathclaw two shot plus a couple of young ones as well at quarry
Have at least 50 unarmed, Veronica Santiago (she's an easy aquireable companion at 188 trading post) rushing water( purified water+jet if you have honest hearts add-on) Turbo, and greased lightning with all these you will unload a crapload of pain on thief friggin' faces.
Almost every weapon in the game can fire in burst mode. This means that the character fires in short bursts, and not that the actual weapon is capable of firing in burst mode! (The most common burst mode is the 3-round burst, but some weapons can fire in 5- or 8-round burst.)
There is a large range of ammunition types available for the weapons: For example the Beretta 92FS can fire 9mm Ball, 9mm JHP and 9mm AP bullets. There are also fictional ammunition types, like the EMP Shells for the shotguns.
The Beretta 92FS makes an appearance in this game. It is the starting weapon of Farsight and Stitch. It has a 15-round magazine and can fire all 3 types of 9mm ammo. Appears as "M92FS" in the game.
The description of the weapon in the inventory: One of the more common 9mm pistols, the Beretta is popular due to its reliability, 15 round magazine and good looks.
The Browning Hi-Power appears in Fallout Tactics under its actual name. It deals slightly more damage than Beretta but bizarrely weights 6 pounds unloaded (almost triple its actual weight).
The description of the weapon in the inventory: Browning High Power Pistol. Originally made in Belgium, construction of North American models had a renaissance in the early 2010s.
A revolver of unknown make appears in the game as a usable small gun. Although it is called "Casull Revolver", it fires .45 rounds instead of the .454 Casull. Holds 6 rounds and can only be fired one shot at a time. Judging by this, it appears to be some form of Single Action Army-type revolver.
The description of the weapon in the inventory: A Casull Revolver. The origins of the Casull are lost to the mists of time.
The M1911A1 is more powerful than the 92FS or the Browning Hi-Power, but the ".45 Caliber" round is not so common as the "9mm". It erroneously holds 12 rounds.
The description of the weapon in the inventory: The classic Colt M1911 A1. Easy to use, accurate and with tremendous stopping power, this weapon will not let you down.