Think what you will of Fallout 76, the bottom line is that through the cavalcade of bugs and quirky design decisions, they certainly played to their strengths concerning the bestiary of irradiated horrors that haunt t𒆙he Appalachian countryside.
The most interesting and widely praised decision in this department is far and away the decision to include cryptids, creatures based primarily on the real world myths, folklore and urban legends of West Virginia. They folded into the Fallout universe pretty nicely, rounding out and beefing up the already considerable enemy roster of Fallout 76.
While some of them might prove underwhelming to a veteran survivor of the post-nuclear wasteland, just asไ many of them are hard as nails and twice as sharp. And I mean, they have to be, considering they need to pose a challenge to entire groups of Vault Dwellers foaming at the mouth for their shiny piles of loot and valuable wealth of experience.
But have you ever wondered which ones are the toughest? We certainly did. So we decided to round up a lisꦅt of twenty-five of the stro💟ngest critters, creatures and mutants that we’ve had to face down in Appalachia, and rank them from almost easy to near impossible. We’re pretty surprised at where some of them wound up! What do you think? Did your favorite beast not get paid the proper respect? Let us know down in the comments.
25 𒊎 🍨 Mole Miners
Kicking off our list at🃏 the bottom are the mole miners. Reclusive, stocky, and less than enthused to take visitors, their powerful physiques can take aꦡ beating but they’re generally easy to outrun and outsmart.
Mole Miners, as you might guess, generally haunt the mining areas around Ash Heap.
However, their bullet sponge endurance tends to pay off in dividends towards higher levels, as ๊they’ll start to lug around high end equipment like rocket launchers to dole out as much pu▨nishment as they can take. Which is a lot, for the record. Combine that with their tendency to hang out in numbers and you’ve got a recipe for one hairy situation.
24 Bloated Glowing On💫e
While you'll definitely encounter a few of these unsightly ghouls throughout the course of your wasteland adventures, venturing into a♛ nuclear blast zone will quickly show you just why they've made the list here.
This is particularly evident in Whitespring, where an incautious step might bring actual dozens of these irradiated baddies tirelessly chasing after you. Though they're a bit beefy and have a tendency to fill up your radiation meter faster than you should be comfortable with, they don't tend to be much of a 🍬sweat on their own. But the sheer weight of numbers involved here makes them more than a problem.
23 Robobrain
If you've ever wanted to take on a miniature tank powered by a human brain, well, Fallout's got yo𓆉u covered. They aren'🦩t exactly new to the series, but they're definitely a memorable encounter.
Just get a load of that freaky brain aquarium. Are you going to forget that anytime soon?
They definitely put their🔜 brainpower to good use, utilizing a smoke screen every few moments to mask their movements while continuously unleashing red hot bolts of laser fire in your direction.
22 ꦅ 𒁃 Cave Crickets
They might seem like unlikely candidates at first glance, being little more than oversized crickets in appearance. But anyone that's had to deal with a group of these annoyingly wel♍l-armored baddies will know exactly why the⛄y've earned their position here.
They're quick, difficult to hit, and take entirely too much of a beating for what they are. Seriously, cave crickets boast an insane pool of hi✃tpoints and damage resistance, easily making them one of the ♔most frequently underestimated enemies in the entirety of the game. My advice? Cripple the legs! They're way less difficult when slowed down.
21 Radscorpion ꦏ 🙈
A true Fallout classic, these carapace-armored monstrosities pack a poisonous stinger and a permanently bad case of the Mondays. They're generally best dealt wi☂th at a distance due to said stinger, and they're really good at making you rethink the validity of your melee build.
In what is perhaps their most frustrati♎ng behavior, they have the ability to burrow underground to avoid your marginally effective hail of bullets and pop back up once the gap is closed, treating you to the nicest surprise poison party you never actually wanted. Face it, you had too many Stimpaks anyway.
20 S𒀰nallygaster
The Snallygaster is probably the most commonly encountered cryptid featured in Fallout 76, though it's more based🍷 in than West Virginia. Nonetheless, these creepy creatures are easil🍸y found in small packs around Toxic Valley and the Savage Divide.
Unfortunately, they're just as dangerous at range as they are up close. The only difference is whether they're mauling or spitting globs of acidic goop at 💎the player. They aren't very smart though, so utilizing tight enclosures and doorways to your advantage can make experiencing an enco♛unter way less costly.
19 Gulper
Sal꧅amanders are cute, cool, and all around awesome amphibians. But all you have to do is introduce a little nuclear radiation into their diet and they b💦ecome the precise opposite of all three of these things.
One thing thesꦚe overgrown lizards have got going for them is speed, so running is usually a futile effort. If you just absolutely need to find a pack of them, one sure bet is to go exploring the Mire once you're sufficiently leveled for the area. Just mind their ferocious melee attacks and try to establish a kiting pattern to take them on.
18 Angler
Yeah, because angler fish weren't complete𒈔ly and utterly spooky to begin with. Just imagine t✨hem growing massive, muscular arms and legs so they can stalk man-sized prey on land. Thanks for the nightmare fuel, Bethesda.
On the bright side, they're wonderful sources of adhesive if you've got mods to make or guns to fix.
That pretty much sums it up for the positives, though. If you're having trouble with these guys, they're like most melee attackers in the sense that they're easy to cheese if you use the enviro🌱nment or terrain that is difficult to navigate against them.
17 🙈 Honey Beast
Making up one of the more unique, fresh monsters that Fallout 76 is bringing to the table on its own is this horrendously massive, m⭕utated bee that doubles as a weird sort of aircraft carrier. Except, you know, for bees, on account of the massive bee hive it lugs around on its back.
They're tough, but a bit on the slow side. It's been suggested that they have a 🧜particular weakness to fire and cryogenic weapons, finally providing you with a good reason to dig that flamer out of your stash.
16 Wendigo
Spea😼king of nightmare fuel, these guys exist. The Wendigo is a cryജptid that looks like something straight out of a horror movie, an unnervingly agile, pale and disfigured humanoid with long, spindly limbs that enjoys feasting on people.
If you want one more reason to not sleep tonight, check out the surrounding🎃 this one.
And when you inevitably encounter one, you're in for it. They're tough, difficult to hit, and close the gap quickly to strike with their lengthy, sharp claws. The🉐y can also release ear-piercing shrieks during combat that are known to attract nearby ghouls to the location.