Fallout: New Vegas Hints

Hunting the Legendary Deathclaw

• 1 of 18: The mightiest of all deathclaws, called the "legendary deathclaw," is holed up in the Dead Wind Cavern (location 27 on the Zone 3 Map), which is basically Fallout NV's equivalent of Fallout 3's Deathclaw Sanctuary. Needless to say, it's one mighty dangerous area.
• 2 of 18: Before you even consider going there, get your Guns and Sneak skills up pretty high, and get a silenced sniper rifle, a bunch of mines, and the CZ57 Avenger. Get lots of armor-piercing rounds for both the sniper rifle and the Avenger, and get two followers to join you. It would also really help if you had the Silent Running perk and a couple of stealth boys, though you might could do without those.
  • What if Energy Weapons is my primary gun-using skill?
• 3 of 18: A good way to get to the Dead Wind Cavern is to start at Ranger Station Charlie (location 21 on the Zone 4 Map) and head SW along the train tracks until you reach a Viper Gang camp. After finishing them off, go NW from their campfire and hop your way up onto the higher ground.
• 4 of 18: You can then go SW to the cavern, but it's best to first go NW to Harper's Shack. Once you discover it, you can fast-travel away and then straight back when you're ready to take on the deathclaws.
• 5 of 18: There are two regular deathclaws and one or two young deathclaws just outside the cavern. Sneak up to where you can start sniping at them with your sniper rifle, then hang back and keep shooting them while your followers go after them. Be ready to shred them with the Avenger if your followers are overwhelmed (though that shouldn't happen).
• 6 of 18: Have your followers wait for you in a spot near the cavern entrance, then crouch down and get out the Avenger before going in. There's likely to be a deathclaw or two near the entrance that'll detect you, and you'll want to be ready for them. If they're too much for you, run back outside and hope they follow you so your followers will help you kill them. (Or bring your followers in with you in the first place, but be sure to give them lots of supporting fire.)
• 7 of 18: When the area near the entrance is clear, get your followers to follow you inside, then turn right and go over to where the ground slopes downward. Have your followers wait there, then sneak down to the entrance to the next big cave area and set a few mines.
• 8 of 18: There are several deathclaws ahead, so use your sniper rifle to snipe at them until they start coming after you. Quickly stand and back up so you won't get caught in your mines' explosion, then use the Avenger on the deathclaws while retreating toward your followers, who can help you finish them off if necessary.
• 9 of 18: Get your followers to follow you again, then enter the large cave and turn left. Have your followers wait at the start of the left passageway, then go down to where it turns right. Set another mine cluster, then look for some deathclaws ahead to snipe at. As before, retreat to your followers while using the Avenger on the deathclaws after they see you.
• 10 of 18: Partway down that passage is a left-side passage that leads to a side cave with a deathclaw mother and two or three young deathclaws in it. You don't need to go there, but it's best to clear it out now anyway. If you wait at the start of the passage, the deathclaw mother should come into view before long, so be ready to hit her in the head with a sniper bullet. After that, you can easily finish off her and the young deathclaws with the Avenger.
• 11 of 18: Go down the passage to where it turns right again, and make sure there are no deathclaws down that way. Go down to where there's a duffel bag next to a skeleton, then go back to where you left your followers. Get them to follow you to the start of the side passage that goes NE, then have them wait a bit NW of it (so they can't be seen by any deathclaws that wander into the passage).
• 12 of 18: After quicksaving, get out your sniper rifle and sneak over to where you can see into the legendary deathclaw's area. You do *not* want to get his attention yet! Instead, wait until you've got a good shot at the head of a regular deathclaw. If you miss, you'll probably want to quickrestore and try again. If you can't kill the deathclaw in one shot (even with armor-piercing ammo), quickly back up so that when he comes after you, you can use V.A.T.S. to finish him off.
  • Mercy Weapon Tip
• 13 of 18: After killing a deathclaw, quickly crouch-walk back out of the passage and around a corner, especially if your stealth indicator goes to "[CAUTION]." Wait until it reads "[HIDDEN]" again, then go back and pick your next target. If you've already killed both of the regular deathclaws, the only remaining target will be the legendary one.
• 14 of 18: When that's the case, it's likely that sneak-walking a short way into the passage will cause your stealth indicator to go to "[CAUTION]." If so, you'll have to be very cautious while setting a large mine cluster about halfway down the passage. You don't want the legendary 'claw to see you and attack. If that's too difficult, try exiting the cavern and waiting an hour, then going back in to see if that makes him a bit less sensitive to your presence.
• 15 of 18: Once the mines are laid, sneak over to where you can hit the legendary deathclaw in the head with a sniper bullet, then stand up and run back the way you came, putting the rifle away as you go to let you move a bit faster. As soon as you exit the passageway, turn left and scrunch into the small nook area, then crouch down again.
• 16 of 18: Hopefully, the legendary 'claw will get badly damaged by your mines, and will then be attacked by your followers. If so, peek out and shred him with the Avenger when you can get a good shot at him. Note that if you wait for him to knock your followers out and appear at the entrance to your nook, he may be able to slash you before you can kill him.
• 17 of 18: If you got into the nook and crouched down fast enough, the legendary 'claw may not follow you far enough to trip your mines or be seen by your followers. If that's the case, wait a bit, then sneak in to repeat the snipe-and-run process. The more damaged that monster is by the time he attacks your followers, the better.
• 18 of 18: An alternative is to lead and/or push your followers into a spot about halfway down the passageway and have them wait there. Sneak over to where you can shoot a deathclaw (or just shoot a wall to get your stealth indicator to go to "[CAUTION]"), then quickly crouch-run out of the passage and into the nook. Hopefully, some deathclaws will come out and attack your followers. After they're both knocked unconscious, your stealth indicator should go back to "[HIDDEN]," which will allow them to regain consciouness and continue the fight. If they don't, you may need to lure the deathclaws back out. (Note that this way is much more lengthy and tedious, but it's also a bit safer, and it saves you some mines.)

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