Deathclaw (Fallout: New Vegas)

Deathclaws are creatures found in the Mojave Wasteland and the Divide in 2281.

Gameplay attributes
Deathclaws really live up to their name in Fallout: New Vegas. The game introduces several new variations of the creature, and they are found in much larger numbers. However, unlike in Fallout 3, deathclaws are never encountered randomly, and always appear in specific locations. Most deathclaw variants are armored, making them more resilient against attacks. Their DT is 15, equal to that of a suit of combat armor. Additionally, deathclaws have vicious claws that negate damage threshold, allowing them to cut down even high level players in just a few hits.

The largest group is found at deathclaw promontory, an unmarked area on the east side of the Colorado River between The Fort and Hoover Dam, and near the Cliffside prospector camp, where they guard the Remnants power armor and a non-faction T-51b power armor. The largest group on a marked area of the map is found in Quarry Junction, northwest of Sloan. Here there are two larger deathclaws called the "deathclaw alpha male" and the "deathclaw mother", as well as a number of smaller baby deathclaws and three to four deathclaw eggs.

There is also a deathclaw-filled cave called Dead Wind Cavern. Here you can find a Mother deathclaw with some babies, along with average deathclaws and the unique legendary deathclaw, the 3rd most powerful creature in the Mojave Wasteland. There is a unique grenade machinegun named Mercy in the room with the legendary deathclaw, on a dead Brotherhood of Steel Paladin. Another location to find deathclaws is the Gypsum Train Yard, where the vast majority of the deathclaws are blind. Depending on your level they will either be regular, young, or blind.

Deathclaw
A standard deathclaw with most of the attributes mentioned above. The deathclaws found in Quarry Junction and Gypsum train yard are stronger than the others, with double the health and a more powerful attack (as of patch 1.4.0.525 on the PC, all deathclaws are as powerful as the ones in the Quarry Junction).

Although many of them can be found around Quarry Junction, Vault 19, Gypsum Train Yard, and many surrounding locations, they are not nearly as fearsome as those within.

Deathclaw alpha male
The deathclaw alpha male is similar to that of a legendary deathclaw in appearance but with darker skin. Although not as fierce as the legendary deathclaw, they can be quite dangerous in some situations, especially if accompanied by other deathclaws. They can be found at Quarry Junction and the Deathclaw Promontory. Alpha male deathclaws are usually followed by 1-5 other deathclaws, making them even harder to kill. They are also much faster than normal deathclaws.

Deathclaw baby
Deathclaw babies are the youngest and smallest of the deathclaw species. They can be found throughout the Mojave Wasteland. They are commonly found at Quarry Junction, Gypsum Trainyard, and the Deathclaw Promontory. They'll follow their mother closely, and if killed while the mother is still alive, will cause her to go into a frenzy.

Deathclaw mother
Matriarchs of the deathclaw broods, deathclaw mothers are bigger, stronger, and more easily angered than the standard deathclaw (second only to the legendary deathclaw and tied with the deathclaw alpha male). They are very thick-set and heavily built deathclaws. They also have a very dark blue-colored skin, giving them an intimidating look. Deathclaw mothers are notably the only breed of deathclaw with spiked tails and horns that jut backwards. They usually reside in dark areas near their young or their eggs, and are more than eager to tear apart anything that the Wasteland throws at their babies. They are even faster than a deathclaw alpha-male. They can be found at Quarry Junction, Deathclaw Promontory, and Dead Wind Cavern.

Blind deathclaw
Don't be fooled by the fact that they are blind. With their blindness comes a heightened sense of their surroundings, meaning a higher Perception. However, they do not attack with as much power as their sighted brethren, arguably making them a decreased (albeit harder to avoid) threat. Even though they cannot see, their alertness to your presence will in fact alert all other deathclaws nearby of your position despite the one that found you being blind.

This type of deathclaw can be encountered at the Gypsum Train Yard as well as Primm Pass and Bonnie Springs.

Legendary deathclaw
The third most dangerous creature in the Mojave Wasteland, the legendary deathclaw is found in Dead Wind Cavern and has distinctively long horns and a light olive coloration and striped tails. It is also one of the largest enemies in the game (along with the X-42 giant robo-scorpion and the giant ant queen), towering over other deathclaws (themselves roughly 10 feet) with its massive 15–17 foot stature. The legendary deathclaw also deals enormous damage (twice as much as ordinary deathclaws) and can bring down even the hardiest player character with only two or even one attack(s), all while having the fourth largest amount of hit points in the game, only being beaten by the X-42 giant robo-scorpion, Gojira, and the legendary bloatfly. Despite his size, the legendary deathclaw can move faster than his normal counterparts, and has been known to make successful leaping attacks from a huge distance.

Young deathclaw
These immature deathclaws are about the size of a human. Their horns are not fully grown and their skin is much lighter than grown deathclaws. This makes them easy to pick out among regular deathclaws. Although normally easy to kill for higher level players, they tend to cluster near the adults.

Deathclaw (The Divide)
Deathclaws found in the Divide level with the player, increasing in power at player levels 30, 40, and 50. At higher levels they are noticeably more powerful than deathclaws from the Mojave Wasteland, with higher health and a much more damaging melee attack.

Irradiated deathclaw
Irradiated deathclaws are found only in the Courier's Mile and among the ruins of Hopeville in the Divide. Their statistics are varied according to the level of the player character, making them very formidable if the player is near level cap. Appropriately so, irradiated deathclaws also deal radiation damage. Unlike other variants, irradiated deathclaws have no damage threshold/resistance. These deathclaws will also regenerate health rapidly when in irradiated zones, making them even tougher.

Related quests

 * Bleed Me Dry
 * Claws Out
 * You Gotta Break Out a Few Eggs

Bugs

 * Mutilating a mother deathclaw's head seems to remove part of her neck instead of the head in addition to the neck area being classified as the "head" of the mother deathclaw. This may not be a glitch, but an actual part of the game, like the super mutant behemoth's head
 * In V.A.T.S mode, the head of a deathclaw mother seems to be its neck instead of its actual head.
 * Deathclaws do not attack players when they are mounted on the taller rocks or machinery, even when they are in reach. (See Fallout: New Vegas exploits for more detail).
 * Sometimes deathclaws may take several more shots to kill when their health is depleted. This appears to mostly affect young deathclaws.
 * The deathclaw alpha male located at Quarry Junction may freeze in place, being unable to move, fight, or take damage. The only way around this is to save the game, then load the saved file. This will cause the deathclaw to become hostile again.