The Wasteland's Most Dangerous and Terrifying
Since Fallout takes place in an irradiated post-apocalyptic world, it makes sense for there to be a myriad of mutated enemies to fend off as you struggle to survive. From the very begining, the series has never shied away from spooking us with dangerous beasts, twisted mutants, and gurgling monsters that go bump in the night (especially in dark and dank subway tunnels).
Fallout 4 is no exception.
From the dangerous to the creepy, encountering these 15 scary enemies will send even the most daring adventurer into fits of full-blown panic.
15. Feral Ghoul
"Give me five!"
Ghouls are humans who’ve suffered extensive radiation poisoning. The exposure eventually resulted in a zombie-like transformation, resistance to readiation, and a seemingly endless lifespan. Because of their survivability, many ghouls lived before the Great War. Feral ghouls differ from normal ghouls in that they lack intelligence and attack on sight. Their sickness culminated into severe brain degradation, which left them crazed and cannibalistic.
As with mice, if you spot one feral ghoul, more are sure to follow. They travel and gather in packs, roaming the wasteland and infesting tunnels, facilities, and abandoned buildings. While each ghoul has relatively low health, they attack en masse, running erratically at their targets to dodge fire.
They charge with a tackle, rolling to the ground afterwards and leaving themselves momentarily exposed to counterattacks. Up close, they sweep and claw with their rotted hands. Some are prone to lie down and impersonate corpses or hide underwater before springing up and attacking nearby victims. Inside buildings, ferals will crawl from holes in the ceiling and floor to ambush the unsuspecting spelunker.
14. Bloodbug
Mosquitoes were never meant to be this big.
These engorged, mutated mosquitoes fly and skitter about in groups of two or more. Bloodbugs can be encountered in the wilderness, in the Glowing Sea, or chasing and feasting on brahmin.
Their thin bodies and evasive maneuvers make them difficult targets to shoot. Their HP is relatively low, but they can soak up one to three hits before dying. Swarms of bloodbugs fan out and surround their target before closing in. Upon reaching their intended prey, they will attempt to latch on to their victim and drink their blood using their horrendously large proboscis. If they succeed, they are then able to spit irradiated acid back at their victims.
13. Raider
The result of putting a trigger happy junkie in power armor.
Raiders are a permanently hostile faction and a scourge upon the wasteland. They prey on survivors and settlers and attack anything in sight. Their camps are typically made of metal sheets and protected with barbed wire. The weaker raiders are relatively easy to deal with, but psychos, veterans, and bosses are not to be trifled with.
High level raiders are equipped with heavy armor that grants them durability in a firefight. Psychos attack with melee weapons and grenades, and veterans fight with military-grade assault and combat rifles. Bosses are suited up in power armor, making them incredibly difficult to take down. As raiders always fight in packs, you can easily find yourself overwhelmed by a battle-hardened boss surrounded by his cronies.
12. Mutant Hound
"Nice doggie..."
Similar to their super mutant masters, mutant hounds are the result of the experimental Forced Evolutionary Virus. These hulking, green canines can be found alongside super mutants either solo or in packs of two to three.
Their increased muscle mass isn’t just for show. Mutant hounds are twice the size of mongrels with double the health. Should you try to sneak up on a super mutant encampment, the patrolling hounds will howl upon spotting you, alerting the others to your presence. They attack by biting and deal radiation damage.
11. Super Mutant
What's green, ugly, and red all over?
Super mutants are nasty, vaguely humanoid monstrosities, with their grotesque appearance, tendency for violence, and gory decor consisting of bloody skulls, spikes, and meat bags. Nothing will send you packing quite like a squad of war mongering super mutants.
Super mutants fight with scrappy pipe guns and crude melee weapons. Skirmishers, brutes, and other high-leveled super mutants tear their victims apart with miniguns, assault rifles, laser weapons, and explosives. While the common variants are easy enough to take out, the more powerful monsters have a hefty amount of HP and heavy armor to suppress damage.
Platoons are made up of warriors of varying strength, the mutant hounds they command, and suiciders. In the heat of combat, out charges a bulky green giant with a mini nuke emitting a crescendo of beeps strapped to its arm. If you fail to bring it down, it’ll run right up to you and explode in a burst of broiling flame. Suiciders will soak up bullets like any other super mutant, but can be dispatched by headshots or set off early by shooting the mini nuke with V.A.T.S. or an aimed shot.
10. Radscorpion
Remember to always shake out your shoes.
Mutated from the already creepy emperor scorpion, radscorpions are large, armored arachnids with hefty claws suitable for clubbing and a venomous stinger poised for striking. While rare in the Commonwealth, a great number of them can be found wandering the Glowing Sea.
The radscorpion’s high HP, durability, and damage resistance make it a formidable foe. They move in swiftly to deal close combat damage and are capable of burrowing in the earth to reappear when you least expect it. In addition to using their claws for melee attacks, they administer deadly amounts of poison damage with their stinger. Higher leveled variations of Radscorpions are amongst the dangerous creatures you can come across. Due to their high speed and determined hostility, escape is often impossible.
9. Yao Guai
With irradiated skin, huge claws, and violent instincts, this bear's got all the bare necessities.
This mutated bear got its name from the descendents of those admitted to Chinese internment camps during the Great War. In Chinese terminology, “yao guai” means “demon”. For this ragged and fearsome foes, demon is a fitting name. Even larger and more aggressive that the black bears they mutated from, yao guai prowl the wastes in search for their next victim to maul.
With five times the health of your average super mutant, the hulking yao guai proves difficult to take down. They close in quickly with a lumbering gait and maul with their heavy paws for massive melee damage.
8. Mirelurk King
The frog prince has seen better days.
Most mirelurks appear to be mutated from some variant of shellfish. However, the grotesque species seems to extend to multiple water-based creatures, as the mirelurk king appears more like a distorted, disturbed cross between a fish and a frog than a crab.
Rather than attacking with claws as mirelurks are oft to do, the king fires a ranged sonic projectile to fight at a distance. They have less health than higher leveled variants of mirelurk, but are capable of moving quickly and attacking from afar. If you can't close the distance in time or are otherwise preoccupied with another enemy, you'll be swiftly taken out.
7. Synth
The scrappiest of scrap metal.
Chances are you’ll hear about synths before you see one. The boogeyman tale of being taken out and replaced by an Institute synth is a very real threat the survivors in the Commonwealth face. The older generations of synths appear more as robots made from scavenged parts and can easily be differentiated from humans.
Typically found patrolling the wastes or occupying facility interiors, synths are relatively fragile enemies that fight in groups. Their limbs can be broken off to incapacitate them. They attack with Institute laser weapons and take cover like humanoid gunmen. Higher leveled synths are equipped with advanced weaponry and bolstered by increased damage resistance.
6. Swan
Anything that can use a canoe as an armguard will probably ruin your day.
A scientist turned super mutant behemoth after FEV experimentation, Swan makes his home beneath the water’s surface at Swan’s Pond. He and his towering form can be seen patrolling the fenced area in the wee hours of the morning. Otherwise, he sleeps in the water, appearing to be nothing more than an unassuming pile of garbage poking out of the pond. Upon approaching him, he will burst from the water and attack.
Swan is clad in scavenged armor, granting him damage resistance to support his already bulky HP. He attacks by slamming his anchor into the ground, chucking rocks and debris at a range, charging the player with a swing of his boat armguard, and stomping the ground to deal area damage to evasive or multiple targets.
5. Assaultron
She's beauty and she's grace, she's a laser to the face.
Developed by RobCo as a wartime combatant bot, the assaultron is an armored unit with the build of a woman. Compared to some of the sturdier RobCo models, the assaultron is as fast as it is deadly.
The assaultron is suited with heavy plating that grants it decent health and high damage resistance. It moves swiftly and fights at close range with unarmed attacks. Red static dances around its head whenever it charges its ultimate attack. This devastating energy beam can wipe out even the most experienced Sole Survivor in a single strike.
To make matters worse, its head is the hardiest part of its body, meaning there’s little you can do to stop an energy beam—other than running for cover. If you hope to stand a chance, you have to shoot out its legs. Granted, that might prove more difficult when up against the models that can turn invisible.
4. Glowing One
Sleep tight with your night light.
Ghouls who’ve absorbed so much radiation they become luminescent are known as glowing ones. They can be spotted in the wastes and interiors by their green glow and sometimes luminous surroundings. Not all glowing ones are ferals, but those that are prove to be terrifying encounters for anyone who stumbles upon them.
Glowing ones fight in a similar fashion to feral ghouls. However, they also emit radiation, possess a large amount of HP, and are capable of healing surrounding ghouls with a radiation burst. Even after death, their bodies continue to cause radiation exposure.
3. Deathclaw
Oh what hath science wrought?
Though they are mutated creatures, deathclaws were actually engineered before the Great War to fight in battle. Later, the FEV was used on them to create the monstrous lizard that now roams the wasteland. These hulking beasts have dark scales, long tails, wicked horns, and deadly claws. They’re relatively rare, appearing in a few select locations and the Glowing Sea.
Deathclaws roar and stomp the ground, creating a shockwave when they initiate combat. They charge swiftly, attacking with staggering headbutts and tearing claw swipes. Their high HP and damage resistance makes them difficult to put down. They use two special moves. At times, they’ll pick you up and slam you into the ground. When your health percentage is low enough, deathclaws are able to instantly kill you by lifting you up and running you through with their claws. Yikes.
2. Mirelurk Queen
"Let them eat crab cake."
Larger and tougher than her spawn, the mirelurk queen is a high level boss with a hard protective shell. Defeating this towering mutant crab proves a worthy challenge. Only a handful of queens can be found at select locations.
With a shell as tough as armor, a large amount of health, and solid damage resistance, it can take quite a bit of time and ammo to bring her down. The mirelurk queen fights by spraying punishing acid from her spouts, which can be damaged to prevent future projectile attack. In addition, she can spawn mirelurk hatchlings to fight for her and distract you.
1. Legendaries
Take every horrible thing you've witnessed and make it ten times stronger.
As you journey through the Commonwealth, you’ll sometimes come across a legendary variant of an enemy. Legendary enemies fight no differently than others of their class. However, they’re imbued with increased health and across-the-board stat multipliers.
Once a legendary reaches low health, they’re able to mutate and recover to full HP. This essentially means you have to kill a legendary twice! There’s almost always a chance for a legendary to spawn, be it a mongrel or a deathclaw. While terrifying to encounter, at least you’ll be rewarded with the unique items legendaries drop.
Fallout 4’s wasteland can be a scary place filled with horrifying monsters and unforgiving enemies. What sort of enemies and situations have filled you with terror? Leave your horror stories and adrenaline-pumping encounters in the comments below.
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