What does it take to kill a death claw?

[ThetaNova]

100 in guns, antimateriel rifle, sneakattack critical hit headshot, run like hell and repeat.

 

[newwiseman]

Sneak Crit for %150 and a sniper rifle works well.

 

[Warforger]

I was mere lad of level 2. walked into sloan just skipped the conversation with the guy ( didn't want to hear it) walked down to the mine turned around some massive werewolf like bat creature is running up to me. I fired my only grenade at it, then took my laser rifle a 4-5 shots on V.A.T.S then when it got into range i used my cowboy repeater but it was less use then the laser rifle. It reached me and took one swipe knocking out 4 fifths of m health, then took another knocking my head off.

And that was my first encounter with a Death Claw. havent gone back to sloan since.... I want to go back to explore it Escapist. How do i go about it?

I've only played Fallout 3 but what I did was stack up on mines like crazy, any mines aside from Pulse Mines (they're only deactivate robots and do little damage otherwise) bottle cap mines are great and amazing, especially if you have little else, but basiclly keep running backwards and dropping mines, this cripples their legs leaving you to kill them with your gun.

 

[Uszi]

And that was my first encounter with a Death Claw. havent gone back to sloan since.... I want to go back to explore it Escapist. How do i go about it?

An anti-material rifle also helps.

Anti Material rifle.

Stand very, very far away. Crouch to enter sneak mode, fire the rifle at the Deathclaws head and take it down with the sneak attack critical.

 

[kommando367]

Hunting shotty, Riot Shotty(need shotgun surgeon perk), Multiplas rifle, Tribeam laser rifle, sneak attack w/ throwing spear, Mercy, Annabelle, Chainsaw, and the Ballistic fist (Saturnite fist super-heated if you have OWB DLC), are all excellent weapons to kill DCs with if you meet the skill/strength requirements to use the weapon at it's full power.

 

[Monsieur E]

For "Guns" users use the Anti-Materiel Rifle.

For "Energy weapons" players, The YCS/180 is a GOD.

At level 15-20, a single shot from either of these will kill a regular Deathclaw. You can't get the YCS if you get wild wasteland but the Alien Blaster is better than the other two!

EDIT: The sneak- attack is CRITICAL. After the OWB update, shit got harder. I realized this when I got attacked by legion assassins at level 8. There 2 centurions( or whatever the ones with the piece of power armor are called.) THEY HAD SUPER SLEDGES. At level fucking eight.

 

[James Crook]

It takes balls.
[sub]And probably a plasma rifle, just to be sure.[/sub]

 

[Hijax]

"The answer is: Use a gun. And if that doesn't work? Use more gun"

 

[theriddlen]

There's only one way.

 

[Kais86]

Shoot them in the leg, it will slow them down, and their armor is thinnest there. Then shoot them in the chest, their heads have the heaviest armor. Do this with an appropriately powerful gun, or you are just wasting your time. Specifically one you are very familiar with, capable of using in extremely difficult circumstances, with a monster clawing at your gullies, and make sure it is actually powerful enough to do the job. No, assault rifles are not the answer.

 

[slightly evil]

get a lot of bullets and find something to jump on. At level 30 the only way to clear out that goddamn quarry was to climb out of their reach.

 

[MasterOfWorlds]

Yeah, you need to be a MUCH higher level.

An anti-material rifle also helps.

While this might be ideal, I cleared the Quarry when I was lvl 4-5 with nothing but a scoped hunting rifle and 120 rounds of ammo. I walked out of there with less that 20 rounds left, but I did it without taking a single hit.

The trick is to find a place that's high up out of their reach and take pot shots at them from a good distance, preferably while sneaking for the bonus sneak attack crit damage.

If you go around the side of the place, where the crane and the one deathclaw is, simply backtrack a bit, and climb the rocks to the thing's left (if you were looking at the crane and entrance from outside the quarry). Up there is a nice little platform that's well out of reach, and they can't follow you up.

Sometimes, it's all about fighting smarter, not harder. Also, it's worth noting that Death Claws don't seem to take much damage from energy weapons. I played a guy with energy weapons spec, and tried to pull the same stunt (higher level) with a scoped laser rifle, and I swear I could hear them laughing at me. I even came back with whatever that giant one shot laser cannon thing was called and they still shrugged the damn thing off. >.>

 

[Yegargeburble]

I remember going there with a trail carbine, some grenades, and various low level guns. By sheer chance, I found a crane I could stand on without the deathclaws being able to get to me and just took potshots at them until they died.

Failing that, Holorifle / Gobi Desert Campaign Rifle / Anti-materiel Rifle always works.

 

[intheweeds]

Obviously you need a DeathofDeathClawClaw.

 

[natster43]

I was mere lad of level 2. walked into sloan just skipped the conversation with the guy ( didn't want to hear it) walked down to the mine turned around some massive werewolf like bat creature is running up to me. I fired my only grenade at it, then took my laser rifle a 4-5 shots on V.A.T.S then when it got into range i used my cowboy repeater but it was less use then the laser rifle. It reached me and took one swipe knocking out 4 fifths of m health, then took another knocking my head off.

And that was my first encounter with a Death Claw. havent gone back to sloan since.... I want to go back to explore it Escapist. How do i go about it?

Come back later, you can't fight them yet. Bring the Anti Materiel Rifle if you are guns character or another weapon for whatever you are proficient with. Also having Boone and EDE will help. Deathclawsare high level enemies that should be avoided at low levels. Also DO NOT go to Dead Wind Cavern. If you still want to try and take one on, get the varmint rifle with a scope, get on all your chems, especially steady and snipe at it from a distance normally, you will have more accuracy than using vats. And pray to god that the Sneak Attack Critical does a lot. Even with this I doubt you can beat it just yet.

 

[easternflame]

Plasma rifle, Minimum level required: 10-15, from 15-20 it gets a bit easier and from 20-30, they die pretty easy.

 

[Laser Priest]

They're a beef gate. They exist solely because you're not supposed to go that way.

My suggestion, follow the path the game bloody tells you to until you reach the strip. Then do whatever you want.

And I say get a good sniper and some sneak before you go to Quarry Junction.

 

[not-sid]

Having the alien blaster sure helps, if you can find it, but other than that you have to circle strafe it. They are incredibly fast, but don't turn very well so do this and you'll win the fight. word of warning though that area is full of deathclaws and this tactic only works on one at a time.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Another one of the things that made me not like New Vegas as much:
Rather than just making the map larger, the children who designed it make you walk around the southern end of the map by putting up monsters and invisible barriers in an attempt to herd you around the way they want you to explore.

Just play along. Eventually, you will make it full circle and have all the tools you need.
There's nothing there that's of much use at early levels anyway.

 

[Rossmallo]

Take the biggest, beefiest weapons you can find and go all out. Here are some suggestions. Also, while you're levelling up, invest in high Energy Weapons, Guns and Repair skills, and getting the Hand Loader perk is a must.

Fully Modded Cowboy Repeater with SWC bullets.
.44 Magnum or Mysterious Magnum with JFP Bullets
Antimaterial Rifle with AP Bullets
Holorifle with Max Charge (Need Dead Money)
Sneak attack with Sonic Emmitter (Redemption), then wail on them while they're paralysed (Need Old World Blues)