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The Mirelurks are a species of bipedal, mutant crabs from the Capital Wasteland area. Most Mirelurks are surrounded by a thick armor/shell which is difficult to penetrate. Their face is vulnerable and is the best area to attack, even though it typically shows a smaller chance of hitting with in V.A.T.S.; however, when a Mirelurk starts toward you, he will bend forward to hide his face. Wait until he straightens up to target his face.
Melee Weapons are basically useless unless you use a very powerful weapon like the Sledgehammer, Ripper, the Shishkebab, or the Deathclaw Gauntlet. Most all Mirelurks attack by barreling toward the player at full-speed, which can make quick work of unprepared adventurers. It is preferable to keep Mirelurks at a great distance, when possible.
The Dart Gun will do decent damage over time, and can help prevent Mirelurks from lunging at you, though the Alien Blaster can take out a Mirelurk with one shot, which makes it ideal for dealing with multiple Mirelurks.
Mirelurk meat is highly nutritious and grants some of the highest HP replenishments of all the food in the game. Softshell mirelurk meat is even more so. However, both still are slightly radioactive, but no more than typical food.
Appearances
Mirelurks appear only in Fallout 3
Types of Mirelurks
Mirelurks: The Most Common type of Mirelurk. They have a whitish-grey shell, are about a head shorter than a typical human, and walk slightly slower than a human. Mirelurks fight on a melee basis meaning they do not fight ranged. In close quarters they take a small charge head-butt, making any attempt of shooting for the face impossible. Other than that they will club and crunch with their large claws.
However Mirelurks pose more of a threat when in groups, Mirelurk packs are usually found around eggs or chasing and harssing other creatures and usually come in numbers of 1-3 or sometimes 4-5. One should use frag grenades on Mirelurk packs to not only hurt the target Mirelurk but also those around him, though again, the Alien Blaster can make short work of even a pack.
Mirelurks can be found in most low-level outdoor and indoor water sources. Be cautious of Mirelurk nests that are in or around water sources; walking too close to them will cause all the Mirelurks in the area to pursue and attack you. The head of a Mirelurk is usually too small to be aimed at when not using VATS, so weapons with a high-rate often work well. When using VATS, single-shot weapons like the Scoped .44 Magnum, Hunting Rifle, and Sniper Rifle work well. In addition, a chinese or regular Assualt rifle delivered to the face at close range in V.A.T.S also kills Mirelurks and indeed NukaLurks quite nicely. Drops standard Mirelurk Meat.
Mirelurk Hunters: A much larger, redish-brown colored version of the Mirelurk. In additional to their two main arms, Hunters also have 2 pairs of small, vestigial crab limbs growing out of their chest. Mirelurk Hunters inhabit the Northern Wastes and several sewers and caves near the Metropolitan area of the Capital. Hunters are very violent and are more difficult to kill due to their increased strength and health.
Mirelurk Kings: Mirelurk Kings are different than other Mirelurk variants, mainly because they do not resemble their crab-like cousins, but appear more like mermen. They are fully humanoid, and do not have a heavily armored carapace, making them easy to distinguish from standard Mirelurks. Mirelurk Kings lack the Mirelurks' armored shell, but to compensate they have extremely high health (slightly higher than that of a Super Mutant Master). They also have a sonic projectile attack that disregards Damage Resistance (and causes alot of Limb damage to your head). Kings are found few and far between in the Capital Wasteland, outside, but more so in caves and sewers, and do not present any other special loot or items over Mirelurk Hunters, except for Soft Shell Mirelurk Meat, which is one of the best foods in the game. Of note, they infest the Reactor area of Vault 92. They only appear when the player is at very high levels.
NukaLurks: A glowing blue Mirelurk that is only found in the Nuka-Cola Factory, almost certainly due to the isotope used for Nuka-Cola Quantum. They seem to be bigger and faster than the normal Mirelurks, similar in size to the Mirelurk Hunters. Their meat is notable for a small boost in AP as well as Radiation and Health; 4 Rads, +10 AP, and +20 HP.
Strategy for Mirelurks
Mirelurks are strong, tough and mean, but thankfully they only have average speed. Mirelurks have VERY tough carapaces, which makes them pretty tough to dispatch once they get close enough. From afar, the best strategy is to use a powerful, precise weapon to target their vulnerable faces. If you can't get the angle to hit the face targeting the legs can be effective especially in conjunction with the Dart Gun or Frag Grenade. Entering Sneak mode, which lowers the player's height, can improve the chances of hitting the Mirelurk's downturned face both in VATS and when firing manually. The Concentrated Fire perk can also make hitting the face very easy at the end of a series of VATS shots, especially with a weapon that uses few action points such as the Laser Pistol or Laser Rifle. Up close, the Combat Shotgun is recommended to dispatch them. Even non VATS-assisted shots to the face can be devastating, and can occasionally bring one down in a single hit. The Railway Rifle and the Flamer also work well against them. It is NOT recommended to get close to them, as they are very fierce attackers. They do not pause between close range attacks, such as with Deathclaws. This means if one corners you, it is VERY difficult to escape.
Players specializing in Unarmed attacks will find the Deathclaw Gauntlet of great value against Mirelurks, as it disregards the otherwise high damage resistance. Melee specialists should opt for the Ripper, which is effective no matter where it hits.
Mirelurks can be observed swimming in water. Energy weapons do not harm them under water but conventional bullets do the job. When they are under water VATS will still be able to track and target them.
A useful strategy when a Mirelurk has gotten close in an open area is to strafe in circles around it while your VATS recharges since the Mirelurk will circle around at you from a standing position with its shoulder turned toward you. Be careful not to get within claw-snapping distance or so far that it can fully turn around and charge you. You can then let it turn fully and take some well-placed VATS shots at the face before it charges.
Mirelurks are often found in groups. Many areas in the game (Vault 92 and the broken front half of Rivet City, for example) are Mirelurk nests, so they are some of the most dangerous places in the game. This is compounded by the fact they prefer closed, dark places as their nesting grounds, so they can easily overwhelm you in narrow corridors and dead-ends. Beware, Mirelurks can open doors (though they seem to be unable to figure out those that are activated by wall switches). It is also difficult to hear them until they are within range of you, which makes them very effective at ambushing.
Mirelurk Kings lack the damage-resisting armored carapace of regular Mirelurks, but have very high health to compensate. They can still be brought down with sufficient fire from decent weapons. Headshots are very useful against them.
Notes
- Interestingly enough, two or more instances occur in which the player can learn the full scientific classification of the Mirelurks. It is officially Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropodia Subphylum: Crustacea/Chelicerata Class: Merostomata/Malacostraca, while Order, Family, and Genus are left undetermined due to their mutation. The Subphylum and Class are disputed in an Enclave Officer's Field Research terminal, as he believes Horseshoe Crabs and Blue Crabs both evolved into Mirelurks, due to their DNA/RNA samples having markers from two different Subphyla and Classes. Furthermore, he and the player both fill in the missing Order, Family and Genus with the same answers (on the terminal, and in a Science Dialogue Check after completing the Mirelurk portion of The Wasteland Survival Guide quest): Scylla serrata horrendus.
- Mirelurks seem to ignore any and every weapon's "stopping power". That is to say, even a missile or Gauss Rifle shot to the face will not phase them while they charge towards you. Powerfists and Deathclaw Gauntlets appear to repel them to some extent, but it's more likely this is tied to their attack animation which tends to "push" things away.
- Mirelurks have VERY high Perception and it is difficult to sneak around them. This is possibly linked to the fact that they use some kind of sonar or echo-location. Any time you are near a Mirelurk, you can hear the "clicks" of their echo-location.
- Mirelurks killed in water will often flip over on their fronts and twitch in a funny "death-dance". This is purely a graphical glitch related to their wireframe, but it's amusing none-the-less.
- In real-world modern taxonomy, Scylla serrata is the proper scientific name for a crab found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. The popular name for this crab is the "mud crab." As the mud crab is not native to the American eastern seaboard (and, indeed, has never been found in North America), and given the visual similarity to the common horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), the taxonomic name suggested by the player in the Moira Brown dialogue is likely a veiled nod to the mudcrabs found in Bethesda Softworks' other franchise games, Morrowind and Oblivion. However, unlike the small and easily-killed nuisances of the Elder Scrolls worlds, the Fallout mudcrabs are significantly more dangerous.
- They may also be a reference to the "crab people" from South Park.There's also a theory that Mirelurks and especially NukaLurks are a reference to Craymen and Craybeasts from Thief: The Dark Project game.
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