Blotflys and skeevers and radroachs...who cares?

[Athol]

I've been splitting my gaming time between Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout:NV (though less and less NV...just can't 'get into it'), and a question has come to mind. Do the aformentioned enemies (as well as skeletons, mud crabs, mantis' and such) really serve any purpose? After level 1 they're not a threat, and I have yet to meet anyone who uses the stuff you can loot. All they seem to be is really friggin' annoying (and in the case of the Fallout ones; a waste of ammo). Hopefully someone out there can shine a light on this...

 

[Berenzen]

They're filler enemies to give the idea of wildlife in the area. Besides that no, they don't serve anymore purpose, just like those giant rats/skeletons/kobolds represent in the beginning of a D&D campaign don't really matter.

 

[wintercoat]

They're atmosphere. Those games go for realism and aesthetic in environment. The nuisance enemies are there to have minor, aggressive wildlife that can be used as filler.

 

[Janus Vesta]

They're mostly to show that not the entire world is out to place pointy things where they don't belong. Like in New Vegas and Skyrim most random critters wont attack you unless you get quite close.

 

[evilneko]

Well aside from the radroaches they're not really all that common so they don't bother me. Ammo doesn't bother me either, I've got plenty.

Skeever Tail is a useful alchemy ingredient in Skyrim.

 

[Doclector]

They're atmosphere. Those games go for realism and aesthetic in environment. The nuisance enemies are there to have minor, aggressive wildlife that can be used as filler.

This, and few things are more satisfying than smashing my axe into a skeleton and seeing it's bones scatter everywhere.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

It puts the other enemies in perspective. If every single guy was a dragon or one of those OP drauger dudes, they would stop being special and start being more tedious then they already are.

 

[GoaThief]

Aside from providing some living things for the world, I believe they also act as good progression markers - by one shotting them into oblivion you can see just how far your character has come.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

I'd say they're there for ambiance. Wouldn't really make much sense for those creatures to disappear once you hit a high level. Would really defeat the purpose of creating what's supposedly a living world if creatures just started disappearing. Sure, I can take out Deathclaws now, but if I walk into an abandoned gas station, I don't expect to see them there. I expect to see a bunch of Mantises or Rad Roaches.

Also, what do you have against New Vegas? The game is great. The setting, characters, the way the world responds to you are LEAGUES above anything you'd find in Skyrim.

 

[z121231211]

If they were trying to go for "realism" they missed the mark. I have a 95% chance of hitting a fire ant from 100-150 meters away but a significantly lower chance of hitting a Super Mutant with power armor from the same distance.

Considering those hit scores probably take in "hitting the armor in a way that does not damage the body" like DnD's Armor Class stat that'd probably be true, but like most DMs it interprets it as either hitting the target or missing completely.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

If they were trying to go for "realism" they missed the mark. I have a 95% chance of hitting a fire ant from 100-150 meters away but a significantly lower chance of hitting a Super Mutant with power armor from the same distance.

Considering those hit scores probably take in "hitting the armor in a way that does not damage the body" like DnD's Armor Class stat that'd probably be true, but like most DMs it interprets it as either hitting the target or missing completely.

My guess is kind of what you said, a hidden "Armor Class" stat that enemies have. Since VATS works on a percentile system, which essentially is a dice roll based on your stats versus their "AC stat", it would make sense that a tough enemy like a Super Mutant would be tougher to Damage than something like a Bloat Fly or Fire Ant. At least that's how I interpret it. I've been playing D&D for a while now, and a missed dice roll is more than just "you missed the monster" if you have a good DM. It could be "your weapon glanced off their armor" or "the creature's tough hide absorbed the blow". But since they didn't want to show your bullet connecting and not doing damage, they just showed the shot missing.

 

[PinkiePyro]

they are there for fillers now im not a big fan of fallout so i dont have an opion on those two but I cant help but feel skeevers and wolfs should become passive after a certain level I mean you dont see animals taking on stuff they cant beat so it would make more sense if they started avoiding you once you can 1- hit ko them

 

[Pegghead]

Beyond level one , I think they at least serve two purposes:

*Giving the environment a distinct sense of wildlife

*Making you feel like a badass when you can take on the little bastards who were once difficult without any problems

 

[NightHawk21]

Well you need something to fight at the start right. Its either this or completely scaling enemies and your killing super mutants from levels 1-50. In skyrim once I level up a little I just usually ignore them or just shoot them outta my way quick, since they're just a nusaince, but I won't go out of my way to kill them. In fallout it was the same thing. I'd ignore them, but if I had to fight I would pack like a powerfist to just oneshot them and not waste ammo.

they are there for fillers now im not a big fan of fallout so i dont have an opion on those two but I cant help but feel skeevers and wolfs should become passive after a certain level I mean you dont see animals taking on stuff they cant beat so it would make more sense if they started avoiding you once you can 1- hit ko them

I could get behind that or at least greatly lower their argo radius.

 

[Indecipherable]

I like having consistency in the game world. It's silly when you level up and suddenly find all those lower level gangs that used to trouble you are either a) gone or b) superpowered with no logical in-game reason.

 

[dagens24]

They make you feel like a badass. I love smashing skeletons to bits with a warhammer.

 

[minarri]

It's like flavor text; they're only there to give more depth to the world of the game.

 

[Jodah]

Just to show the environment. Radroaches in Fallout show that the nuclear fallout didn't kill cockroaches, it supercharged them. They can eat you now instead of hiding from the light but they are still relatively easy to kill.

The ones that freak me out are giant spiders. Not sure why either, I'm not really arachnophobic. I freak out if I suddenly find one crawling on me but that is mostly the surprise of there being ANYTHING on me. I've no problem when I see one on a wall or outside.

they are there for fillers now im not a big fan of fallout so i dont have an opion on those two but I cant help but feel skeevers and wolfs should become passive after a certain level I mean you dont see animals taking on stuff they cant beat so it would make more sense if they started avoiding you once you can 1- hit ko them

I think the idea is they can't really tell you are stronger than them. Take real life, for example, you have the same chance of being attacked by a bear if you are armed to the teeth or you have a toothpick. The bear doesn't really know who is more dangerous, they just see a human that they want to maul.

Now different levels of humans I could support them avoiding you vs trying to stab you. In Skyrim if a generic bandit sees a Nord running towards them with a sword the size of a small car and the skin of a thousand dragons they are first going to shit their pants then run for their lives.

 

[Easton Dark]

they are there for fillers now im not a big fan of fallout so i dont have an opion on those two but I cant help but feel skeevers and wolfs should become passive after a certain level I mean you dont see animals taking on stuff they cant beat so it would make more sense if they started avoiding you once you can 1- hit ko them

You go from being a humanoid in light-to-no armor to a humanoid in shinier armor. I don't think animals can tell the difference.

 

[him over there]

they are there for fillers now im not a big fan of fallout so i dont have an opion on those two but I cant help but feel skeevers and wolfs should become passive after a certain level I mean you dont see animals taking on stuff they cant beat so it would make more sense if they started avoiding you once you can 1- hit ko them

You go from being a humanoid in light-to-no armor to a humanoid in shinier armor. I don't think animals can tell the difference.

Considering some (radroaches, bloatflies) are like the very first ever level one kind of enemies something like holding a weapon or heavier armour meaning you appear larger could be a deterent, but other than that it sort of adds an unwanted pseudo consciousness to them.