Yesterday I suddently encounterd a Deathclaw charging at me from behind a corner and only a few feet away. I was at level 45, wearing basic combat armour, armed with a fully upgraded 44. revolver and from my expiriences in previous Fallout games I knew that the only possible outcome to this situation was my certain death. I still went into VATS tageted the belly and pumped the entire magazine into it......... and the Deathclaw died.

And I was absolutly distraught about this situation. To me Deathclaws were an integral part of the game series, here to deliver a message to you: "Nope your not good enought". Encountering a Deathclaw in previous Fallout games meant that you were forced into retreat and then had to wait until you were at least level 40. Then you would get a gatling laser with at least 3000 rounds, the best power armour of the game, a minimum of 10 bottlecap mines and the games best sniper rifle. Only then did I feel prepared to take on deathclaws.

Deathclaws represented absolute fear in the game, whenever I saw one in the distance I would emidiatly crouch and slowly retread back from where I came from. But that image I had of the Deathclaw was destroyed last night when I took one down with a little revolver.

I say, the Deathclaw is too weak.

Deathclaws for me represent fear for me, the fear of them not dropping a single aluminium can to repair the damaged for my power armor.

they should really be buffed or their AI should be massively improved (so they stalk you and strike when you least expect it), maybe a bit of both

I'd disagree.

For me its a big improvement on F3/NV - in those game it was easy for me to cripple a leg and pick off from a distance - in F4 I still regularly look to use cars, try to have them fight something else to weaken them or use chems to better my chances.

I actually fear deathclaws more in fallout 4. They seem quicker and more agile than before. I am playing a stealth agent. I know if a deathclaw get's near me,I'm dead.

Although death claws feel weaker to me in general, depending on the situation actually, I do have to say that compared to FO3 the way they move makes them seem smarter. They aren't of course, but the way they dash side to side and zig zag as they charge at me makes me miss shots more than when they used to run straight at you in FO3.

Death claws and behemoths are the two enemies I feel should be bullet sponges, and they just don't seem that way too me. They really should have named death claws "Death Claw Younglings" because the lower level ones are easier to kill then some low level raiders that have good cover.

They are in a good place imo. They do tons of damage, but they have the drawback of being a large, hard to hide lizard, that have to run up to you in order to do damage. It makes perfect sense to me that you should have a big advantage with a gun/rifle at range, but that the [censored] you up if you let them get in melee range.

Maybe it is because you were Lvl 45 with presumably some perks and used VATS and so on that you feel them too weak? On what difficulty do you play? I'm lvl 28 and never use VATS and I fear Deathclaws because they are fast and kill me in seconds in power armor. I only killed one Deathclaw (beside the first) and that was only possible because it was in a house and I could hide, jump out, shoot and hide again. At a certain level the Deathclaw should not be a huge problem for a guy with access to advanced weaponry.

They move too much, spend much less time actually attacking now.

I appreciate the idea, but they simply aren't much of a threat.

They also need to be able to enter doorways.

Would you think they would be better if they attacked in packs of 3-4?

I was able to fight 4 death claws, not all at once, in my trip to the glowing sea at level 15. it used up most of my ammo at the time, and they certainly posed the threat of killing me. However I found that as long as I have Jet hot keyed I can pretty much kill any melee enemy that has to run up to me before they reach me.

Yeah, it seems much more than previously that larger enemies more greatly disadvantaged by their inability to get around debris while providing a huge target for me to shoot at. The only large enemy I can think of that is still difficult while using doors or debris as cover is the mirelurk queen, mostly because she has a powerful ranged attack.

Agree, I no longer fear them. Easy to keep them at range and even in enclosed spaces I can kill them before they get to me without VATS or using any chems. I also rarely use power armour. I have an assault rifle with about 108 damage and 80 round mag, I used to in FO3/NV take around mines to try and cripple their legs to allow me to keep away but I don't need to now.

Big shame is they should be the big scarey enemy and they really do look it now and they move like a big predator but just die so easy.

Deathclaws are weak when you can use your surroundings as an exploit.

However no exploit advantage/big gun = death.

yesterday ive encountered a Legendary Alpha DeathClaw and a normal at the same time ive used McCready as meatshield and my suroundings too keep it at distance and i was very glad because i pooped my pants .

I cant complain about too easy or whatever i think beth did great .

Maybe damage done by enemy,s should be tweaked on higher difficulty,s like the PC Mod

I don't know what game you guys are playing, but I play on Normal and the last time I went up against a Deathclaw it was no quick death for him. I had a minigun, granted I don't have any heavy gun perk for it, but it still took that and a couple of missles to take him down.

Two Deathclaws attacked Hangman Ally from both entrances. Brought down half my health and all the settlers. Good thing I left Strong there.

I don't think Deathclaws need a buff.

When you use minigun and automatic guns, that's when you do something wrong.

Agreed,not too long ago I fought (with a Deathclaw cripling gaunlet lol) two savage deathclaws at once,at Lynn Woods,one of them was legendary,no challenge at all. My current level is 73 and I was roaming The Glowing Sea in search of the "Chameleon Deathclaw" that one of the loding screens keeps mentioning. No luck so far. Albino,glowing,savage even alpha,but not the one I seek. Also I have heard of a deathclaw matriarch. Has anyone seen them?

Deathclaws were never scary except in NV kinda

And level 45, yeah deathclaws should be a piece of cake for you.

Only takes about twenty or thirty rounds from deliverer to finish one. So its easy to finish one off in VATS before it reaches you. Don't want them any tougher or I might have died on a couple of occasions.

Ok I was level late twenties agility in the high teens and lots of VAT time reducing gear. Still can only get sixteen shots off at once, but don't have to wait for VAT counter to regenerate.

Also they don't seem that good at noticing people in stealth emptying guns into them.

I agree with a lot of the other posters here that the weakness of Deathclaws is their dependence on pathfinding that doesn't always work well. I'm also guilty of climbing up onto catwalks with gaps in them and leaping from one side to the other repeatedly while shooting the Deathclaw as it frantically tries to figure out how to get to me.

Of course, those situations where i'm forced into combat with one in close range on level ground are nervewracking, because I know if I fail to dodge just one lunge in my 1 END 10 AGL character i'm going to get sliced up.

Hmm, playing a sniper, they are downed quite easily. Dunno how I would fare in close combat tho, and not that keen to find out I've noticed however, that their awareness level is not as high as in FO:NV. I can sneak around them quite easily, without them noticing (staying hidden) In FO:NV even a stealth boy wasn't a guarantee that you would be able to sneak past them.

Also, staying at height, makes them pull back and try go for cover. Perhaps, it is time, they got a proper leap attack!

They do seem a bit weak, granted I'm playing on very hard at this point.

If I were bethesda, I'd probably make it so that the death claw grapple at close ranges is less avoidable (it is a little easy to side step it). I'd also make it so that the lower the HP a deathclaw has, the more bonus to speed and damge it gets, just to keep things interesting. Also, you should never be able to sneak up on deathclaws. They should have a keen sense extending out to a range of at least 300. Upon stepping into this range you should automatically be raised to danger. Sneak attack bonuses, in my experience, end fights in two seconds, so the deathclaw should be near immune to it.

I'm at around level 40 doing Survival, don't use VATS, no drugs and no Power Armour. Just basic Combat Armour and a shotgun and the Legendary Matriarchal Deathclaw goes down in a few seconds without any damage taken.

The difficulty in this game leaves something else to be desired entirely.