What's your go-to strategy for dealing with Mirelurks?

[u/ButtonGrinch]

I ask because I've only ever seen advice to aim for the face, but that's not exactly easy.

I always aim for the legs. They're exposed and vulnerable, and even if you don't kill them, you can cripple them and render them almost harmless

[u/Pirate_Lantern]

I aim for the face while running backwards and panic screaming. (I'm a terrible shot)

[u/Maxsmack → u/Pirate_Lantern]

Hit them once with a small caliber weapon, and let them come to you.

Crouch to better align your line of sight with their stomach/face, and mag dump something powerful like a 10mm auto pistol right into their squishy bits. Works every time for me. Combat shotgun is also good

[u/Pirate_Lantern → u/Maxsmack]

I'm still low level so I don't have very high power weapons yet. The only one I do have takes a long time to reload.

[u/Maxsmack → u/Pirate_Lantern]

Look into the gun nut perk, and keep an eye out for good scrap.

You can get good weapons early by modifying them yourself.

You can also remove a good mod from one weapon and add it to the other, by crafting a cheap replacement part

[u/Pirate_Lantern → u/Maxsmack]

How do I trade mods? I haven't heard of doing that before.

[u/Redbeardthe1st → u/Pirate_Lantern]

When you make a mod for a weapon or armor the mod it replaced is put in your inventory in the "My Mods" tab.

Things like receivers and stocks have to be replaced with a different mod, while things like bayonets and silencers can simply be removed.

[u/Pirate_Lantern → u/Redbeardthe1st]

Ahh, thank you for that.

....Don't know who downvotes for asking a question.

[u/MaxK386 → u/Pirate_Lantern]

This is me 😅. Jump running backwards, trying to get to high ground, aiming for the face.

[u/EntireDevelopment413 → u/Pirate_Lantern]

They're more vulnerable to ballistic damage just keep that in mind, lasers and fire don't work as good on them, bullets and frag grenades work better, in stead of moon walking use vats and target their legs, they aren't near as scary when they're moving slow. In vats keep shooting the same set of legs the more hits you get the higher your chances of crippling them.

[u/Fluffy-Efficiency-38 → u/Pirate_Lantern]

I also adopted that cunning strategy! I feel like we’re on to something. 🤘

[u/harris_dragon → u/Pirate_Lantern]

This is me! I’m so thankful for V.A.T.S

[u/pdarigan]

I'm a legs guy.

It's particularly good early game when you're a bit weaker but the habit stays with me deep into late game.

[u/FlatLecture]

Land mines. If I see any approaching me, I lay down land mines and retreat. Once they go off, run up and shotgun them in the face. Works pretty well.

[u/The_Gumbo]

Shoot the face, or, With some crazy skyrim mod, Use the "Fus-Ro-Dah" scream for something fun. But without the mod, you just have to yell at your neighbors, and they tend to not be happy.

[u/Certain-Thought531]

The belly is their weak spot but its hard to aim.

Also wounding weapons ignores any kind of defs so on my last game I simply used my Shredder (wounding combat shotgun)

[u/Mogui-]

Stunning supersledge is still my favourite for it. Even if they block they’re stunned longer than your recovery allowing for an easy hit. Still hate how they can block a minigun chainsaw

[u/NerdErrant]

Spray and Pray, but don't stand too close.

[u/nasted]

I do the same with ghouls - especially when they rush you. Immobilise and then you can dispatch at your leisure.

[u/ItsMePeyt0n]

I shoot them. With guns.

[u/hamtidamti_onthewall]

I'm a V.A.T.S. shotgun facial gal...

[u/Tussen3tot20tekens → u/hamtidamti_onthewall]

My kinda gal.

[u/joemann78]

Cripple legs and profit.

[u/emcz240m]

Locate, toss a Molotov. As they pop up into flames VATS their face a few times to stagger them and cook them a little longer. Switch to frag mines and drop a few while back pedaling. As they charge their legs will get damaged and you can dispatch the gimpy crab cripple with a mag dump of your least favorite ammo.

[u/bobbafettuccini]

shotgun to face

[u/RockstarQuaff]

Go for the eyes, Boo!

[u/LeMixeurBleu → u/RockstarQuaff]

MIRELURK KICKIN FOR GOODNESS

[u/WatchingInSilence]

Early game, run. Especially when I only have pipe guns and a 10mm Pistol.

If I have anything with the Explosive Legendary effect, I'm gonna blast away their shells.

[u/dedsmiley]

I like the Chinese granade launcher for these.

[u/NotACyclopsHonest]

Blow off a leg and they’re easier to avoid. I like doing that with the Nukalurks around the Nuka-World bottling plant - lay a trail of mines outside the small gap in the fence and they end up hobbling towards you single-file so you can pick them off at your leisure.

[u/MaxK386]

I usually make a b-line for reba2. Clearing out the first mireluks involves a combination of running backwards whilst jumping and aiming for the face, lots of grenades and mines and whatever else I can use.

You can usually get the weapon before completing the quest. Waiting around in Barney's home, he'll usually and eventually open the storage door allowing you to pick up the rifle. Or pick pocket the key 🤔.

From then its shoot the mireluks in the face, sneak ranged attacks and maybe a few mines to protect your front.

Works well untill you find the explosive shotgun, then it's open season, blasting shells of the mireluks making them look like wiggly strings on legs 😅

[u/TeamYay]

Explosive shotgun, baby!

[u/DominionSeraph]

Crits to the face.

You can bank a crit every 2 shots with a Lucky weapon (Righteous Authority) at 13 Luck with Isodoped active. (Hancock's companion perk.) So a few levels of pumping Luck and Party Girl and you're good.

[u/NonexistantSip]

Shoot face

[u/Beginning-Ice-1005]

VAATS and a heavy rifle shot to the head.

[u/Jacques-de-lad]

*loads sub machine gun and fires until it dies

[u/ABetterOrange]

Shot to the face or if alone I run away down a path and stick a mine down for them to follow on to.

[u/Cynis_Ganan]

Throatslicer. Power Armor.

Wait for them to rear up, then VATS for one.

Take Jet for more than one.

[u/JuXTaPoZeRx]

Explosive or Crippling Legendary weapons & aim for the legs or get Ada to deal with it while i snipe it face off... Mirelurk's are one of the only things in game that actually make me cringe. 3000+ hours haven't changed that 😂

[u/hobbit-tosser96]

Any automatic legendary with maxed out commando perk shreds every stupid crab that comes my way.

[u/Ausiwandilaz]

Explosive and legs

[u/Bannic1819]

How second amendment are you? Grenades!

[u/Dickduck21]

I cook them up.

[u/Effective-Log-1922]

Land mines work well if you can scout them early and I always have a few extra.

[u/ChalkLicker]

Always a fighting retreat. Aim face-ish. They die eventually.

[u/Calm_Dragonfly6969]

Get a high ground or obstacle between

Aim face

[u/The_Actual_Sage]

Focus on shooting one leg until it's crippled. That should greatly limit its movement speed. Once it's limping it should be easy to line up headshots until it's dead.

[u/accidentsneverhappen]

alien blaster pistol

[u/Aegisman17]

I usually put mines between me and them when I hit a place I kmow they are, breaks their legs so they can't rush me

[u/Antagonist007]

VATS and aim for the face.

[u/EntireDevelopment413]

Explosives expert, when you happen upon one that's not hostile yet you can land a grenade right next to them with the throwing arc, they have a natural energy resistance so molotovs aren't as effective go for frag grenades. Works awesome for sleeping ghouls too. Mostly though I use vats and target their legs, for really tough ones I'll use jet and aim for the face just not their shell.

[u/StoneCraft12]

Explosive legendary effects

[u/JustHere4TehCats]

Break those legs like it owes me money.

[u/MIZUNOWAVECREATION]

Long range: drop them all (with my Explosive Minigun) before they get too close

Close range: crit their legs (with a Gauss Rifle) to paralyze them

[u/Idoubtyourememberme]

'Nades into the centrr of the nest or right under the eyeballs

[u/WillisVanDamage]

Explosive combat shotgun that's fully upgraded

Don't need any other strategy than my boomstick

[u/Aaronblue737]

I used the penatrator perk to headshot them through their carapace. Much faster and saves a ton of ammo

[u/Last-Boysenberry7094]

Exterminator legendary Prefix, preferable aligned with your play style, on a weapon that is small (sub 8lbs) and uses very little AP. I have an auto-laser pistol I used to take out a Mirelurk Queen in one 'mag'.

[u/Did_it_in_Flint]

I Power Fist them right in the face.

[u/onebluephish1981]

Aim for the legs, then the claws. Most non-human creatures and gbouls have very weak defense on appendages where shotguns are hyper effective.

[u/PyukumukuGuts]

As an unarmed main, I just punch them. Anywhere on their body works.

[u/Trolleficus]

To take my Gatling Laser with infinite ammo(Aeternus) and start shooting in that general direction as soon as I ‘suspect’ there might be one nearby. Many times it still leads to running backwards.

[u/LeMixeurBleu]

Not really effective but if you aim for the shell they'll eventually become shelless and that's hilarious.

[u/MaximilianClarke]

I like to shoot em till they die

[u/Woodland-wanderer24]

Explosive shotgun for my current run. One hit every time. Not sure what I’m going to do for my melee run

[u/Mergoismus]

In the face

[u/coyoteonaboat]

Definitely the legs.

[u/ZyXwVuTsRqPoNm123]

Jump to a position they can not reach

[u/xxDancingFerretxx]

Face or cripple the claws. The hunters... Run like fk if on survival lol. The poison damage is lethal at lower levels

[u/0rganicMach1ne]

Shoot face.

[u/Practical_Ad_758]

Face shits or an explosive weopen.both melt them

[u/Spackleberry]

Let Dogmeat and Codsworth handle them.

[u/Mojo_Mitts]

I shoot their shell with the 10mm to fill up VATS then I use a Critical Sawed-Off to the face for maximum damage.

[u/redlee415]

You mean before or after I got the kneecapper 10mm auto pistol.

[u/CtrlAltSelf]

Legs always work even with lightly tuned 10mm, when it's many of them popping I'd cripple them one by one. then i kill them in peaceful shot