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Night stalker
Nightstalker
LocationMojave Wasteland
X-8 Research CenterOld World BluesGametitle-FNV OWB
Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation labOld World BluesGametitle-FNV OWB
VariantsNight stalker
Legendary night stalker
Young night stalker
Den mother
Shadis
 
Gametitle-FNVGametitle-FNV OWB
Gametitle-FNVGametitle-FNV OWB

Night stalkers (sometimes spelled nightstalkers)[1] are creatures living in the Mojave Wasteland and Big MT in 2281.

Background[]

Night stalkers are the creations of Dr. Borous at Big MT, being genetic hybrids of rattlesnake and coyote DNA. Dr. Borous created nightstalkers in order to preserve the DNA of rattlesnake, which was on the verge of extinction. However, his memory was unclear, and he also suggested that it may have been because of a dare with Dr. Calis at X-13.[2]

The creation of night stalkers proved to be a risky gamble. The shipping department of the X-8 research center suffered a large number of fatalities; all but one employee (Skippy) was killed by the night stalkers.[3] However, Dr. Adam Figgis thought the executives in charge of X-8 could salvage the mishap in shipping and decided to let the night stalkers loose into the X-8 testing area to study their behavior.[4]

Characteristics[]

Biology[]

Night stalkers growl, howl, and whimper like regular coyotes, but hiss and rattle like snakes. Their bodies are mostly dog-like, covered in a combination of fur and scales. Their head and tail are that of a rattlesnake, including fangs and a forked tongue. They even consume food like snakes by attempting to swallow their prey whole.[5] A night stalker's right eye is blue with a round pupil, while the left eye is yellow with an elliptical pupil, like a rattlesnake's. They lay eggs which can be used to prepare mushroom cloud and their blood is prized as an ingredient in antivenom and hydra.

Night stalkers create dens in caves across the Mojave Wasteland and can be found both inside the cave or in the nearby area, behaviors they share with coyotes. Packs of night stalkers can be frequently seen hunting at night east of Morning Star cavern near the nest with the radscorpion queen, south of the Broc Flower Cave, and northwest of the cap counterfeiting shack. Night stalkers' original breeding ground is the Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab, located in Big MT.

Gameplay attributes[]

When they detect the player they strike with a leaping attack and a venomous bite or snap at the player without leaping. While the venom is not as potent as their main competition (the cazador), it can be a problem if multiple bites are received and untreated. They can pose a particular threat in low visibility, at night (when they are active) or in caverns. They are especially dangerous inside their dens; packs are usually large in numbers, and twisting corridors make it difficult to detect exactly where they are.

All night stalkers, including named ones, are affected by the Animal Friend perk. With this perk, the player can pickpocket them, but they hold no items.

Night stalkers found in Charleston cave and the lower level of the X-13 testing facility have the ability to cloak, making them especially dangerous. The ones in Charleston cave gained this ability from chewing on a Stealth Boy (found on a dead nightkin at the end of the cave), while the ones in the X-13 testing facility naturally have this ability. As with any other cloaked enemy, these night stalkers can only be targeted in V.A.T.S. with the Enhanced Sensors companion perk provided by ED-E. Fighting without ED-E can be done by free-aiming at the light distortion around the cloaked night stalker, similar to the appearance of a cloaked nightkin.

Night stalker packs can be found in:

Variants[]

Night stalker[]

Nightstalker

Night stalkers are the size of coyotes with a canine body but the head and tail of a rattlesnake. Night stalkers nest and hunt in packs and are found in or near their cave nests.

Name (Base ID)StatisticsBehaviorAbilitiesItems
Night stalker
00156788
0012bd37
LevelIcon level
15
Experience pointsIcon XP
150
DetectionIcon eye
9
Health pointsIcon heart
110
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (70 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)
Night stalker (Jacobstown)
00144bc4
LevelIcon level
16
Experience pointsIcon XP
160
DetectionIcon eye
8
Health pointsIcon heart
120
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (70 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)
Night stalker
(Pit fighter)

00144bc4
LevelIcon level
15
Experience pointsIcon XP
150
DetectionIcon eye
9
Health pointsIcon heart
120
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Aggressive: Will attack enemies on sight.Icon requiredIcon optionalIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps nobody: Will not help anyone.Icon optionalIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (70 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
None
Nightstalker Old World BluesGametitle-FNV OWB
00000000
LevelIcon level
?
Experience pointsIcon XP
?
DetectionIcon eye
?
Health pointsIcon heart
?
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
?
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
?
FistIcon fist
Unaggressive: Will not initiate combat.Icon optionalIcon optionalIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Cowardly: Will always avoid combat/flee.Icon optionalIcon optionalIcon optionalIcon optional
GroupIcon group
Helps nobody: Will not help anyone.Icon optionalIcon optional

Legendary night stalker[]

LegendaryNightstalker

The legendary night stalker is a very large and strong night stalker found in Bloodborne cave, west of Bitter Springs. In appearance it is visually identical to standard night stalkers and differs only in size, being about the size of a bighorner. It is normally encountered in a pack with several regular night stalkers and can kill a low level character in seconds.

It has the least amount of health out of all of the legendary creatures, but can kill a player under level 20 with about two to three bites. It is also the only legendary creature in the game that can be friendly towards the player, if the player has acquired the Animal Friend perk.

Name (Base ID)StatisticsBehaviorAbilitiesItems
Legendary night stalker
00167efe
LevelIcon level
15
Experience pointsIcon XP
150
DetectionIcon eye
10
Health pointsIcon heart
250
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (100 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)

Young night stalker[]

Nightstalker

In appearance, young night stalkers are visually identical to fully grown night stalkers but are smaller in size and have weaker attacks. Although relatively weak, they are a nuisance when fought in groups of other young night stalkers and their fully grown brethren.

Name (Base ID)StatisticsBehaviorAbilitiesItems
Young night stalker
0014f476
0015678b
00164a6c
00164ef7
001616ec
00166dfd
LevelIcon level
9
Experience pointsIcon XP
90
DetectionIcon eye
8
Health pointsIcon heart
70
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Brave: Will avoid/flee from threats only if severely outmatched.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (45 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)
Young night stalker
001689d8
LevelIcon level
9
Experience pointsIcon XP
90
DetectionIcon eye
8
Health pointsIcon heart
70
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (45 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)

Den mother[]

Nightstalker

In some night stalker nests, such as Morning Star cavern, the pack will be led by a den mother, a slightly larger female night stalker with a stronger attack who looks after the young.

Name (Base ID)StatisticsBehaviorAbilitiesItems
Den mother
001532ff
LevelIcon level
18
Experience pointsIcon XP
180
DetectionIcon eye
9
Health pointsIcon heart
170
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (85 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)

Shadis[]

LegendaryNightstalker
Main article: Shadis

Shadis is a unique and very strong night stalker living in Big MT's Z-9 Crotalus DNA preservation lab in 2281. Shadis guards the Auto-Doc Upgrade: Implant Y-3 item.

Name (Base ID)StatisticsBehaviorAbilitiesItems
Shadis
xx014459
LevelIcon level
?
Experience pointsIcon XP
?
DetectionIcon eye
?
Health pointsIcon heart
675
Damage thresholdIcon shield gold
0
Damage resistanceIcon shield silver
0%
FistIcon fist
Very aggressive: Will attack enemies and neutrals on sight.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon optional
ConfidenceIcon confidence
Foolhardy: Will never flee or avoid anyone.Icon requiredIcon requiredIcon requiredIcon required
GroupIcon group
Helps allies: Will help allies.Icon requiredIcon optional
AttackIcon attack
Melee (80 DamageIcon damage)
AttackIcon attack
Night stalker poison (5 PoisonIcon poison/sec, -2 END for 60 seconds)

Related quests[]

Notes[]

  • Similar to other canine enemies, night stalkers have a stationary bite attack. During this animation, night stalkers will not move, allowing the player to easily backpedal and avoid the attack.
  • Night stalkers lay eggs, even though coyotes and rattlesnakes bear live young.
  • If night stalkers are close enough to bite you, attempting to shoot them in V.A.T.S. mode may be completely ineffective, causing all your shots to miss.

Appearances[]

Night stalker appear only in Fallout: New Vegas and its add-on Old World Blues.

Bugs[]

  • PCIcon pc PlayStation 3Icon ps3 Xbox 360Icon xbox360 Walking through the Mojave Wasteland, it is possible that the player may see a night stalker with several heads and legs. This is actually a bug in the respawn. It happens when several spawn in the same place, resulting in a number of night stalker models within each other and bound in place. Because they cannot walk they can easily be killed.
  • PCIcon pc PlayStation 3Icon ps3 Xbox 360Icon xbox360 Attempting to aim at the night stalker's head (in realtime or V.A.T.S.) often results in your shots missing. Possibly there is something off with the night stalker's collision/hit detection around its head, similar to what happens with evolved centaurs. For best results (and to avoid all of your shots missing in V.A.T.S.), target the body instead.
  • Xbox 360Icon xbox360 The legendary night stalker may become stuck in the floor of the cave near the egg pile, this makes it very easy to kill as it can not attack.

Gallery[]

Trailer[]

References

  1. File:FNVOWB X-13 NS Entry.png
  2. The Courier: "So Nightstalkers were created for what purpose, then?"
    Borous: "-To preserve coyote... no, no, wait. The snake DNA was important because... the snakes with the rattles were dying out, and...- -Or maybe it was a bet from Calis in X-8? He had some mountain lion... eagle... condor... idea. "Bet you can't breed this," he said. Showed HIM.- -Then it... spliced itself into a coyote...-y, snake thing. Which was eventually successful. Kept that DNA where it belonged - spliced.-"
    (Borous' dialogue)
  3. X-8 research center terminals; X-8 Observatory Terminal, Shipping Department in Lockdown
  4. X-8 research center terminals; X-8 Observatory Terminal, Regarding Shipping Department Lockdown
  5. X-8 research center terminals; X-8 Observatory Terminal, Shipping Department: Please Advise
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