Currently level 27, about 410 hitpoints, full suit of power armor adding up to about 41 DT, and active med-x, and I'm constantly being 1 shot by the alpha deathclaw. Even the regular deathclaws seem to whittle me down in a few hits. It doesn't seem right after checking their damage stats.
Is there a reason this could be happening? I know the DT rating sometimes tends to gray itself out, or disappear entirely, but I've made sure it's normal, and yet this happens.
I'm not expecting to tank 50 hits from these enemies, but at almost the level cap and fully repaired best armor in the game + med-x to be [censored] in seconds or 1 shot by the alpha... wtf!

Deathclaws bypass DT/DR. Kill them before they get to you.

Quoted for God's honest truth.

You could attack a Deathclaw from a tank and they'd still do massive damage. Shoot for the head if you are confident of death or have range, if not the legs.

I don't think any deathclaws except the legendary bypass DT (DR yes, but you only get that with Med-X).

They do.

And the rebreather... its 3 DR.

Ok that can account for why regular deathclaw can really put on the hurt, but I don't understand how my 400+ hp is getting 1 shot by the alpha. Fallout vault says they do 200 damage a shot.
Can they crit as well?

Super Crits.

I think they always do a power attack...that means double damage.

So, bypass DT, do double damage. The numbers add up then, thanks. Looks like this alpha is going to stepping on some c4 soon, hell with melee.

I cleared out the four major infestations (that I know about at least) levels 24-27 with the occasional break for a quest and what not. I have a melee/unarmed build and it required an expert use of my knockdown options: the Super Slam perk, Ranger Andy's Ranger Takedown, and the mauler VATS attack of larger melee weapons. The last one is admittedly a bit over-powered but if multiple deathclaws mob you'll still have your hands full.

Even with a relatively high endurance and mark II combat armor I could only take a few hits before I was dead so it really boiled down to getting to them before they got to me. Having Raul (even with Full Maintenance instead of Old Vaquero) helped. If two mobbed us I'd try to get one to target Raul and I'd knock the other one down - Raul had enough health to take a hit or two while I ran up behind his deathclaw and helped take it out. (Often enough he didn't assistance, go Raul!) We were then free to take care of the first one.

Brush gun (regular ammo) + 100 Guns + running backwards + 4 Luck + 9 Agility + Veronica w/Pushy = Quarry cleared without reload on Normal.

Sniper Rifle + AP ammo + Stealth Boy + same stats as above + Veronica unconscious + Buffout + Psycho + Jet + V.A.T.S. = Deadwind cavern cleared with 3 deaths(reloads) on Normal.

Dclaws require planning. And headshots...

I used 6 packs of C4 and a bottlecap mine on a standard death claw and it crippled it's legs but it still had half health :/

My explosives skill is only around 50 though. Bit disappointed. Especially when another one came out of no where and ripped me up before I could finish the job

edit:on hard core, very hard so everything is a bullet sponge

Gauss rifle: Apply directly to the forehead.

If I take care to aim at the head and ensure a sneak-shot, I can one-shot Deathclaws right back.

This is on Normal, though... VHard may not have that kind of results.

Ouch. I'm playing on hard, and 4 packs of c4 is enough to send any deathclaw 10 stories into the air, and if it lives when it comes back down, it's easy to finish off with my maul.

So you are a melee char, are you using the NV Official Melee Assistant, aka Boone?

As long as he doesn't decide to zerg them with his damn machete he's a great help.

I figured he'd be best, but I decided to go with an all melee party with Veronica and Rex. I know I know, I've brought my troubles on myself.
I'll get through this just fine, I was just baffled as to why I was getting 1 shot at 400+ hp.

You gotta shoot 'em in the head!!

Oh wait, that was for those zombies shuffling around the wasteland... But I guess it would work for Deathclaws the same way. So load up your trusty Sniper Rifle (or Anti-Materiel) and have some fun on your very own Wasteland Safari! :disguise:

:P

Greetz,

Milt

It's more satisfying to do it the way you want anyway.

The Sniper Rifle is your best friend just sneak near them and headshot them.

Actually i have found that just shooting a DC in the head is not enough sometimes, a trick that seemed to help alot i learned in FO3 usning a .44 magnum to hunt DCs there. I brought the tactic to FONV and it still seems to hold true at least as much as i was able to test. This tactic is fro guns which does make it easier to kill a DC and as i have NO melee characters yet, still just can not seem to want a DC or any enemy for that matter close enough to me so that i can punch it in the face.

My tactic anyway.

I have shot DCs from front on right between the eyes knocked about 50% of its health off and really made it mad. What i found that is almost a guarantee to net at least 75% of thier health is to aim at the side of the head. I do not shoot at the head persay but at where the back of the jaw meets the neck. Place a round there and if it does not kill the DC instantly it will get you at least 75% of the health allowing for a paniced body shot to finish it off. I have to spend some time to watch thier paths, making sure to position myself in a spot where i get a full side sillouette, then aim for the sweet spot and let it rip. You can use this tactic for range kills or it also works if you can sneak up on them as in Dead wind cavern. I have killed DCs with a .357, .44 magnum, 5.56mm, 5mm, .308 JSP my personal favorite, or one can just brute force them with a .50 AMR.

Dealing with DCs is one of my most favorite things to do in the game, i can not tell you how many restarts i have because i missed, (i did not miss but the game decided i needed a statistic miss even with 100 guns). I just love it, it is as close to hunting as i remember it minus the peeing in a bottle freezing my ass off in a tree stand. Alot of times i will see just how close a 100 sneak character can get, i have been able to twist thier tails a few times which is pretty impressive and time consuming to sneak around undetected twisting DC's tail. i have found 6 places for DCs, vault 19, Sloan Quarry, the road north from Sloan, Dead wind cavern, and the quarry a bit north east of camp mccarren. If anyone knows of ay other places i have not listed please shout as i run out of DCs to hunt to quickly.

Living dangerously
Aasi

That's Sniper Rifle+Silencer. (Or whatever it's called.) Until I added the silencer even the blind ones sought me out at great distance.

Since, it almost feels to easy. (Maybe because it is? )

Go find Melissa. Take along a sniper rifle and a good supply of AP ammo. Gobi is just fine.

Cripple their legs and see how big and bad they are. If only Rex and Cass actually moved out of the way though...

1) Distance. Attack from a long distance and it'll give you time to get more shots in.
2) Escape route. Always have room for a retreat, preferably one you can do while backpedaling.
3) The right weapon. For me, it's the silenced sniper rifle with either AP or HP bullets (I forget which), followed by the Gobi (if needed).
4) Stealth. By this I mean silenced weapons or actual stealth boys. Not alerting tons of DCs to your location is always a good thing.
5) Planning. Observe your foe. Don't run headlong into a battle with a deathclaw, kill it and THEN realize that there are 10 more right on top of you. I try to isolate one or two and take them out first.

Now, these tips are most useful for the wastes, where there is more space and you can hit them without worrying about getting trapped by a bunch of them into a corner. In Dead Wind Cavern, it's less about distance (though you always want as much space between you and the DCs as possible), and more about stealth.

With the right tools, proper planning and good strategy, I can say that I have never been killed by a Deathclaw, and it's been quite some time since one even laid an oversized, overpowered hand on me. Have only been killed by DCs twice. Both times, I went in blind and without the right tools for the job.

EDIT: For full disclosure, my first playthrough (where I compiled this strategy) was on Normal, non-hardcoe with Boone and ED-E as my companions.