Some of the more difficult fights are described in detail here. Major fights, like the Hubologists, are extremely easy, so there's no need to go and describe them in detail.
The Rat God[edit]
Enemies: various rats
Where: Klamath Mall in Trapper Town
Hit points: 40 (?)
Armor: Fur
Weapon: Claws
Number: Lots
Difficulty: Easy
This fight is not that hard if you have Sulik with you. Use melee weapons to take out the regular rats and use the pipe rifle to kill the Rat-God.
Best: Just aim at the head. The entire rat family has a skull related weakness. One shotting the rat god is common with this strategy.
Gecko Fights[edit]
Enemies: Geckos and Golden Geckos
Where: Toxic Caves
Hit points: 25 - 65
Armor: Thick skin
Weapon: Claws and teeth
Number: About 8 or 9
Difficulty: Depends if you have the Power Armor
Generally, a good tactic for these guys is to use the 10mm Pistol and aim for the legs to cripple them (you have been pumping up small guns, haven't you?) and let Sulik do the up-close and personal melee attacks. You'll need several stimpacks for this battle to go well. Having armor isn't a bad idea (if you can afford it).
If you have Power Armor, you can just go in and poke them with your spear, or better yet, the Super Sledgehammer. The bad thing about the Power Armor is that the geckos will run away from you when they see you wearing it.
Best: Nearly all early content can be traversed in the following manner. Use a small AP attack (punch is good) then run away. Many monsters can only move 5 or 6 spaces early in the game. Geckos and Deathclaws specifically. You can fight either of these without taking any damage. With both monster types you must attack their weak points for greatest effect. Geckos are weak in the skull and deathclaws, the eyes.
Metzger the Slaver[edit]
Where: The Den
Hit points: 35-50 (I'm not sure...)
Armor: Leather Armor
Weapon: Shotgun
Allies: Several slavers clad in leather armor and armed with 10mm Pistols; about 30-40 hit points
Difficulty: Depends on when you fight him...can range to extremely difficult to extremely easy
You should kill Metzger after you've completed the Vault City/Gecko block or have gotten the Power Armor. It's entirely possible to kill him when you're in the Den. It's extremely difficult if you choose the last option.
If you have chosen the last option, make sure that you have stolen Metzger's shotgun and his allies' stimpacks, ammo, etc. Let Sulik strike with the sledgehammer and let Vic have the pipe rifle or 10mm Pistol. Arm yourself with the .44 Magnum (if you have it) as well as Metzger's Shotgun. Keep on aiming at the eyes or at the hands or even the legs.
If you have completed Vault City / Gecko and still haven't gotten the Power Armor, this fight will be quite easy. Give Sulik the sledgehammer and give Vic and Cassidy Combat Shotguns. Arm yourself with that arm as well. Make sure that every member of your team has some type of armor on (make sure that you have combat armor; let the others have metal armor or leather armor mk 2).
If you have the Power Armor, you can just go in the compound early on with guns blazing. You might suffer minor damage due to critical hits, but that's about it.
Frog Morton[edit]
Where: Redding
Hit Points: 70-100 (I think)
Armor: Leather Jacket
Weapon: H&K G11 (!)
Allies: Several cronies that are a bit tougher than him; have Leather Armor MKII and shotguns; same amount of hit points
Difficulty: Medium
You don't need Power Armor for this fight, but it sure helps. The shotguns have enough penetration to deal a few hit points of damage against you (with Power Armor and implants), and so does Frog's G11 sub-machine gun. Use targeted shots to the hands to eliminate their weapon handling skills, and then use targeted shots to their head or eyes.
When you enter Frog's compound, be sure to kill him first. If he bursts "up close and personal," you can suffer a good deal of damage.
"Mother" Wanamingo (the white one)[edit]
Where: Redding
Hit points: 220
Armor: Unknown; equivalent to Combat Armor MKII
Weapon: Tentacles and teeth
Allies: Several "normal" Wanamingos; attack is same; armor is slightly weaker; 120 or 160 hit points
Difficulty: Medium
Make sure that you have Power Armor when you're here; also, make sure that you've got the .44 Magnum and Super Sledgehammer when you're here. Use the .44 Magnum at the eyes on the white Wanamingo. After she has been killed, use the Super Sledgehammer to knock out the other Wanamingos, and then go for targeted shots to the eyes. A Combat Shotgun will deal more damage to the Wanamingos if you aren't able to score that many criticals; however, the .44 Magnum's criticals are a bit stronger. This fight is a lot like the deathclaw fight in Fallout 1, but a bit easier.
Best: Again as with prior best suggestions, aiming is key. These monsters are weak in the eyes. They run after being hit there a couple of times. If you have no party members it is actually an easier encounter as you can strike and flee. Fleeing is best when you have a high number of AP/move perk.
New Reno Crime Fights[edit]
Enemies: Crime Family guards
Where: New Reno
Hit points: 70-100
Armor: Leather-based or Metal Armor
Weapon: Sub-machine guns (all), burst-mode shotguns (Bishop's private guards), Laser Pistols (Salvatores)
Number: 100's
Difficulty: Easy (Power Armor), Hard (without armor)
You should be wearing Power Armor and be equipped with a Combat Shotgun. You should also have about 300-400 shells with you if you plan on using that weapon alone.
Just go up to the crime boss after you've finished his quests and then attack him. His guards will attack you; finish the guards off, and then attack the crime boss. After you've wiped out the guards, you can end combat mode and get SMG's and ammo from the Guards' corpses. You can use the SMG's in burst mode (up close and personal) when you encounter the next wave of guards. Don't use the laser pistols against Salvatore's guards metal armors - the armor will absorb almost all laser damage.
Military Base[edit]
Enemies: Radiated rats, Super Mutants, and Melchoir
Where: Military Base
Hit points: 20-30 (rats), 110-130 (Super Mutants)
Armor: Fur (rats), thick skin (green Super Mutants), armor that's equal to Metal Armor MKII (normal attacks) (black Super Mutants)
Weapon: Teeth and claws (rats), Miniguns, Flamethrowers, Laser Rifles, Plasma Rifles, and Power Fists (Super Mutants)
Number: Lots of them, about 25-30
Difficulty: Medium to Hard
Again, you will absolutely need the Power Armor for this fight.
The first level is pretty easy; you can clear everything using only the Super Sledgehammer. Ditto for the second level.
The third level is where you will meet Super Duper Mutants, but they aren't much harder than their brethren. You can knock them out using the Super Sledgehammer and a gun in conjunction.
The fourth level can be easy to hard, depending on when you kill Melchoir. He's a Super Mutant with 130 hit points and a laser rifle; the case behind him holds a PPK12 Gauss Pistol. He also has special grenades that can evolve into Deathclaws, Fire Geckos, Floaters, and Mutated Mole Rats. If you let him throw all of his grenades, you will be awarded with a grand total of more than 10,000 xp for just that fight alone. If you kill him early, you might face two deathclaws in addition to Melchoir. Use the Super Sledgehammer and targeted shots for maximum damage.
The Tanker (underground)[edit]
Enemies: An alliance consisting of Floaters, Centaurs, and Aliens
Where: The bottommost level of the Oil Tanker in San Francisco
Hit points: 120 (Aliens) to 200 (Nasty Floaters and Tough Centaurs)
Armor: Varies; Centaurs have the weakest, Aliens are in the middle, Floaters have the strongest
Weapon: Tentacles (Aliens), Teeth (Centaurs), and some appendage (Floaters)
Number: I think 20
Difficulty: Easy
By this time, you should be strong enough to take them on. Just use targeted shots with strong weapons or the Super Sledgehammer. Like the other fights, you should be wearing (rather, you will be) Power Armor. Watch out when they corner you and start knocking you down.
Frank Horrigan[edit]
Where; Enclave
Hit points: 999
Armor: Modified Advanced Power Armor; designed to fit a Super Mutant and substantially stronger
Weapon: Burst-mode plasma gun (subpar) or a special blade (pretty good)
Allies: Can include: 7 Turrets, 3 Enclave troopers and 7 Turrets, or just 3 Enclave troopers
Your Allies: 4 Enclave troopers, 7 Turrets, or both
Difficulty: Easy to Hard
- Ally description
-
- Turrets
- 75 hit points
- Metal Plating
- Heavy Minigun (.223 ammo, quite powerful)
- Enclave Troopers
- 200 hit points
- Advanced Power Armor
- Gatling Laser, Turbo Plasma Rifle, PPK12 Gauss Pistol, and YK42B
- Pulse Rifle
- Turrets
Before you go to fight Horrigan, make sure that you have the Presidential Pass Key and the M72 Gauss Rifle. Destroy the reactor. After you've done that, leave the Enclave and go back to where you started. You'll see some guards in Power Armor waiting for you. Talk to the leader of the squardon and convince him to join you. He'll accept. After you've done that, run towards the south and use the computer terminal on the south east corner. Activate the counter-insurgency protocol using the Presidential Pass Key. Watch Horrigan die afterwards... (actually, talk to him to watch his head pop off)
The fight will be slightly more difficult if you didn't enlist the troopers' help (all but the squadron leader will attack you) and a lot more difficult without the Presidential Pass Key (the turrets will attack you as well, and the penetration afforded by their ammo is excellent). I've seen the turrets do about 300+ hp with criticals.