Fallout 3/Enemies

Humans

Though the world is a nuclear wasteland, there are still a few shady characters out there.

Raiders

Raiders are people who kill for profit or fun. They enjoy torturing anybody they capture. They wear self-made armor, usually adorned with spikes. They use a variety of Melee weapons and Small Guns such as the .32 Pistol, Tire Iron, and some may carry Frag Grenades. They also carry Big Guns including the Flamer and Missile Launcher.

Talon Company Mercs

These guys will come after you if your character has Positive Karma, or sent after you by Mr. Burke if you disarm Megaton's bomb. They are known for taking jobs that other mercenaries won't take, and for being very brutal. They mainly use Assault Rifles or Laser Rifles, but some carry Combat Shotguns and Laser Pistols.

Regulators

These guys are the closest thing to cops you'll find in the Wastes. They wear cowboy-style clothes and are basically bounty hunters. Regulators will come after you if you have Negative Karma, however, with the Lawbringer perk, you can head to their headquarters to sell fingers of evil characters.

Enclave

These guys are probably the toughest humans you will encounter. They are equipped with energy weapons, and will sometimes have either normal firearm weapons, or alcoholic beverages.

Animals

The fallout from the nukes have caused many creatures to mutate, including animals and insects. Animals are guaranteed to have a piece of meat on them when killed.

Some animals can become friendly towards the player if he has the Animal Friend perk - even aiding him in battle if he has the second rank of the perk.

Radroach

Just a big cockroach. Their attacks don't do much damage, and can be easily killed.

Mole Rats

A mole rat is a large rat.

Dog

Dogs seem fairly unchanged considering the radiation of a nuclear war, although the mutation is small it is quite obvious: they are far more aggressive, early on they can pose a threat as they may attack in groups of 3 or so, and they can take quite a lot of damage.

Bloatfly

A large mutated fly, they are easy even early on but very annoying. At level 2-4 they can cause a problem if in large groups (3-5 of the damn things) as they will shoot quickly and if they surround you they will hit often. Also they are very very agile, they are incredibly hard to hit so vatsd is the only thing for it early on. (near the end game when you have thousands of ammo for everything i like to use a gatling laser if i meet one.)

Radscorpion

A large scorpion. They move pretty fast, and should be taken seriously. An annoying tactic solo Radscorpions like to use is running away from you in combat, only to join up with another Radscorpion. Larger versions also exist, with the same general look as a normal Radscorpion, but is much larger, with stronger attacks.

Yao Guai

Yao Guai are radiated black bears. They are very strong in close combat and will very quickly rush you. Usually, they are found alone but can be found in pairs. Shotguns are very effective but if spotted early they can be killed easily with an assault rifle or other long range weapon.

Yao Guai meat is valued, since it provides a 10% damage boost in addition to it's normal HP gain.

Deathclaw

Deathclaws are an enormously large, agile, and strong species of mutant reptiles created through genetic engineering. They are substantially larger than a human, and have large and dangerous claws. They are probably the most difficult monster in the game when not handled correctly. Taking down a Deathclaw requires heavy preparation. They have high health and high damage, and very deadly for several other reasons, including fast movement speed, larger than average pounce range, and sweeping claws that are difficult to avoid. However it is encouraged to use Melee or Unarmed weapons to take one down with a parry-hit-parry-hit tactic, even though an unarmed fighter with a level of 18 or higher can easily take one or two of them without taking a hit with the Paralyzing Palm Perk. At minimum you should use mid to high-powered Small Guns up to take one down, maybe coupled with some explosives for good measure.

Note: Deathclaws do not appear to be affected by the Animal Friend perk.

Mirelurk

The Mirelurks are a species of bipedal, mutant crabs. Most Mirelurks are surrounded by a thick armor/shell which is difficult to penetrate. However, their face is vulnerable and is the best area to attack. Melee Weapons are basically useless unless you use a very powerful weapon like the Sledgehammer or the Shishkebab. It is preferable to keep Mirelurks at a great distance, when possible. The Dart Gun will do decent damage over time, and can help prevent Mirelurks from lunging at you.

• Nukalurks: A little stronger than Mirelurks, but can be taken down using the same tactics. They are found in the Nuka-Cola Factory.
• Mirelurk Hunter: A much stronger, faster and larger version. While it is still vulnerable to face shots, it should not be taken lightly.
• Mirelurk King: A mirelurk with a softer shell and exposed head; unlike regular mirelurks, they have a ranged attack that inflicts moderate damage and can cripple the head.

Note: Mirelurks do not appear to be affected by the Animal Friend perk.

Robots

Robots are mechanical units that are programmed for the company or organization they work for. Sometimes they are friendly, but they can also be hostile.

If you have the robotics expert perk and can sneak up on a robot, you can instantly disable it. If that fails you, you can throw a pulse grenade to disable robots as well.

Protectron

A protectron is a robot with a laser weapon. They will cause little trouble anywhere past level 5 or 6. Early on they can be tricky as their steel body is quite resistand to standard bullets, explosives and energy really hurt them. So if you want them dead try to find a laser pistol.

Robobrain

A robot with a laser weapon. It is identified by its tracked propulsion, and it's head that resembles a human brain. It is normally used for more complex service tasks, as with Vault 112. At later levels they are still annoying as they can shoot a mind-ray that can severely hurt your head and often criples it. Fortunately their laser is weak and inaccurate.

Turret

A turret is a fixed emplacement that fires machine gun bullets at hostile targets. Usually, there is a computer terminal that allows changing their targeting system, to either disable it or attack everything.

Mister Gutsy

A military version of the hovering bot that is a variation of the household butlers or utility bots. It is equipped with a plasma weapon of some kind (pistol or rifle i don't know) and for close range a flamer. These tough foes should only be fought at high levels (10 or so.)

Creatures

Some enemies were once humans that mutated, or were created by the government. Some of them are big and dangerous.

Feral Ghoul

Ghouls that have "gone zombie". They often attack in groups, and sprint towards you at high speeds. They can be easily killed with a close-range weapon, such as the Combat Shotgun. There are special highly-irradiated Ghouls called Glowing Ones, which glow green, and use a special attack to release radiation that damages you, and heals all nearby Feral Ghouls.

• Feral Ghoul: these creatures are weak and will provide small reward, even in large groups they pose no threat. Early on though (level 2-5) they could be a small problem in large groups but that is often because there is a roamer in the group.
• Roamers: The roamers are not that much tougher but can be tricky early on, if multiple are seen (very rare) then break out your shotguns.
• Glowing Ones: Now these are challenging, they are quite tough on thier own with thier ability to irradiate you, but in a group of other ghouls they are a real chalenge, they will be healing all of the other ghouls around them. This could cause problems if there are more than 2 or 3 of them in a group, as you will injure one and the rest will heal it up again, proceed with caution (level 8-14 and they are slightly less chalenging and any higher and they're not even hard.)

Super Mutant

Super mutants are mutated humans. They are much taller and bulkier than humans, have (mostly) green, gray, or yellowish skin, are immune to disease and radiation, and are gifted with superhuman strength and endurance. Most Super Mutants either have a Melee weapon, an Assault Rifle, or a Hunting Rifle. If you have a Hunting Rifle, wait until they get to within 20 yards and then enter VATS. Successfully hit their head three times and they will drop, skull intact or not. Since a large majority of Super Mutants have Hunting Rifles and carry six bullets, this tactic is a great way to make money and collect useful ammo. Super Mutants are divided into different classes, each more powerful than the previous. These classifications, in order of weakest to strongest, are Super Mutant, Super Mutant Brute, and Super Mutant Master.

• Super mutants: these are the most basic and weak of super mutants, they often attack with a nail board or a hunting rifle. If they are using the latter weapon and you are a low level then you could be in for a fight, but otherwise they aren't too tough.
• Brutes: The brutes tend to carry more heavy weapons like a sledgehammer, an assault rifle or even a minigun. Ones with sledgehammers are quite easy when you are outside; you just keep running and firing a mid-level weapon. If a sledge wielding one meets you inside then it could present a problem, but a shotgun will end the problem. The assault rifle users will be tricky early on, the best tactic being break out some strong weapons and keep behind cover as much as possible. If you do find one with a minigun then find cover and bring the explosives out! they will shower bullets at you, keep jumping out and taking pot-shots at them and when they have to reload kill them.
• Master: Masters can wield very powerful weapons such as super sledges. If they do have a super sledge then use the run back technique but if they have ranged weapons try to stay for back and use strong ranges weapons.

Super Mutant Behemoth

A Super Mutant Behemoth is a giant Super Mutant. There are five in total, and they do not respawn after you kill them. Behemoths are roughly 15 feet tall. They have short, stubby necks and extremely large build. Some Behemoths carry fire hydrants which can easily damage, and swiftly kill any living being in their radius. Never stay still as Behemoths are highly effective close combatants and will do significant damage from Melee range. Moving backwards while firing is particularly effective. Never let yourself get cornered or stuck on terrain unless you want to be turned into a pile of mush. The Fat Man and 2-3 mini nukes (Depending on your big guns skill) can take down one of these very quickly and is very effective.