Ok FNVers, what's the deal with the Deathclaws in NV? In Fallout 3 they were hard to kill, but in Fallout New Vegas they've the ridiculous stage. I'm giving them head shots, with a stealth boy and hidden and still I can get only 2 shots in and then I'm dead. I'm using the Anti Matter Rifle, the Gobi Desert sniper, Hunting Revolver....nothing seem to be work. Anyone, have a successful way to kill them?

PS: forgive me if I get the gun names wrong. I didn't feel like looking them up...........

What are your level and gun skill? Are your weapons in good condition? I usually avoid deathclaws at low level, but once I get the anti-material rifle I can usually start taking them out.

Well, they have DT, in Fallout 3 they had DR. (100 in health, 20 DT/DR, your damage is 40 = with DT 20 of your damage is removed, with DR 20% of your damage is removed, which means that with DR you'd still have 32 in damage.)
They ignore your DT with their attacks, it pierces through your armor.
They also have a lot of health and speed.
And finally, they hunt in packs compared to Fallout 3 where they are a lot more spread out.

Level: 18
Gun Skill: 97

So now what? jk

Sneak crit headshots are your best friend for taking them out.

Keep as much distance as you can from them. They have super high perception and can spot you even with a stealth boy(i've heard, but not tested) if you're too close.

Having ED-E to spot them helps

Once I get the YK Gauss I go on a Deathclaw safari.

Going 1 on 1 or 1 on 2 in Unarmed is a lot fun too. Pushy FTW !

Usually I thin out the herd with Gauss then go HtH with the rest.

use mines and companions along with snipers for sneak plus explosives like fatman or grenade machinegun for higher chance to survive.

This is what I'm doing already. Maybe I need a higher damage gun.

@Gabriell77Dan = so If we'd had that damage system in FO3, I would have had to launch about 3 mini nukes from a Fat Man to take one down. IMO they are rediculously overpowered.

Not really, in Fallout 3 they were really weak, in fact they are still kind of weak compared to Deathclaws in Fallout 1 and 2.

Your AMR should be doing a number on them, especially if you're getting sneak criticals and with your gun skill so high. Maybe try amor peircing rounds

u need tactics. BTW what difficulty u playing on brahhhhhhhhhhhhh

This definitely. I lost about three companions going after the Deathclaw Mother in Fallout 1.

The Anti-Materiel Rifle can occassionally glitch similar to the Gauss Rifle and deal far less damage than it should. HOWEVER, this glitch is more typical for VATS usage and while it can happen once in a blue moon while aiming on your own, I've NEVER had it happen on a headshot. Rule of thumb: headshot with an AMR = instant kill.

Having said that, I dunno what you could be doing wrong. You're supposed to go for sneak attack critical headshots....

Yeah. When I first ried the originals then went back to 3 all I could think about was how much easier it was. Then I imagined what would happen if the Chosen One (because of more weapons) and the Lone Wanderer traded places.
Conclusion: The Chosen One is infuriated about the lack of different ammo and slaughters everyone in his path. Lone Wanderer screams shouting "AHHHH!!! WHY. WONT. YOU. DIE?"

Fallout 3 they're just annoying. You can just spam stimpacks to avoid dying, but they don't pose a REAL threat, so all they do is waste resources.
New Vegas it's like....snipe well, plan well or die.

Normal Difficulty

Method 1:

Stealth Mode:: [HIDDEN]
Anti-Material Rifle loaded with AP rounds
Headshot Sneak Critical

I kill Deathclaws in 1 shot with this method on Normal.

Method 2:

Stealth Mode:: [HIDDEN]
Any Rifle
Left/Right Leg Sneak Critical

Cripple the legs, fire at it, back up as it limps closer, fire again, repeat till dead.

Method 3:

Lay out Frag/Plasma mines and lure the Deathclaw into the trap. Just be sure to not be in the mines blast radius as they go off.

Method 4:

Grenade Machinegun works wonders, expecially if you aim it at their feet as you're running from it.

Method 5:

When all else fails; nuke it.



Hope this helps,

RR

Jump on a rock and snipe. That's the easy way out. And it's what most people do to deal with NV deathjaws. Use AP ammo to pierce their DT. And if you can get a sneak headshot crit.

The reason you should jump on a rock is because DCs can only jump to attack. They can only run on slopes and flat surfaces. Thus they cannot reach you if you are slightly above ground. Doesn't always work, as some rocks can be walked to without climbing. Use this cheap tactic to kill any deathjaws that annoy you. At least until you get better armour, or use med-x and slasher to survive their attacks.

Hope this helps Garden. Glad you are back to playing nvde Vegas.

[Survival 60] I'm not so sure you should be taking this person's advice...

I wouldn't insult me if I were you.

I once killed this Brotherhood of Steel guy by shooting him through the eye slit of his helmet.

with an 11mm submachine gun?

Of course! They don't call me "Dead Eye" for nothing.

Another way to go about it is to go shotgun on them - incapacitate them with bean bag rounds, quickly switch to normal rounds to dispatch them. You should probably only do if you have the Shotgun Surgeon perk though. the And Stay Back! perk wouldn't hurt either.

Or maybe a combination - keep a shotgun with bean bags loaded, then snipe at them, switch to the shotgun when they get too close.

Or you can get a silenced sniper rifle (like the normal SR with the silencer mod, or Christine's COS rifle from OWB), use a Stealth Boy and pop away.

A (somewhat exploit-y) method I've read about is to get on one of those construction vehicles, the deathclaws will not be able to climb to meet you and you can take them out at your leisure. Never used this method though so can't personally vouch for how well it works.

Look out, we have a tough guy over here.

Absolutely. I'm amazed that this works, but it does. Rocks, cars, dumpsters. It's like you're invisible.