The world of Fallout: New Vegas is dangerous and unforgiving. There are many enemies that wish to eviscerate, melt, beat, and overall kill players. From chem-addicted raiders wielding chainsaws, golf clubs, and flamethrowers to coyote-rattlesnake hybrids that have the ability to turn invisible, the variety of foes that players will face is widespread.

Unless players are cautious, they could end up on the business end of a claw or gun barrel. Some opponents may not pose that much of a threat when they eventually cross paths with the player. However, other enemies in Fallout: New Vegas will definitely put up a fight, especially if one engages with them unprepared or at a lower level.

Updated October 7, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: Many people consider Fallout: New Vegas to be one of the greatest Fallout games of all time, and it's easy to see why this is the case. The game combines the best of both new and old Fallout to make for a truly encapsulating experience that doesn't have many equals. The writing is sublime and shows Obsidian Entertainment at its very best, while the world of New Vegas is incredible to explore. However, players should be wary of the many dangers that await them in the desert who can take them out in no time flat. Some of these enemies are especially terrifying and intimidating to behold.

18 Giant Cazador

• Level: 27
• HP: 350

Some gamers who have played New Vegas may have decided to take the shortest route possible to head to the titular city in the distance. These players would be the victim of a rude awakening when they get attacked by a horde of Cazadors that will absolutely decimate them. It's a subtle way for the game to tell the player that they aren't meant to head in this direction, and should take the longer route to acquaint themselves with the world before entering this legendary city.

Regular cazadors are already a huge pain as is, but the giant variant is even tougher to deal with. These mutated mosquitoes are truly disgusting and can drain a player's HP in no time flat if they aren't prepared. The Courier should maintain their distance from these foes and pick them off with powerful weapons if they don't want to be destroyed.

17 Moe

• Level: 7
• HP: 150

Centaurs are pretty daunting enemies to take on in New Vegas, and players should think twice before taking on these nightmarish creatures. Not only do they look horrifying, but centaurs can mob the player and whittle away at their health if they're not prepared. Ranged attacks are paramount to defeating these enemies, but players should be wary of the irradiated saliva projectile that can hit for serious damage.

If the regular centaurs weren't daunting enough as is, players can encounter an even tougher named version of this enemy called Moe in an unassuming crater on the way to Black Mountain. He and his group are responsible for killing numerous Brotherhood of Steel paladins, whom players have to track down during the quest Still in the Dark.

16 Giant Yao Guai

• Level: 32
• HP: 475

Honest Hearts is one of the many great DLCs released for New Vegas, which helped established this game as one of the best Fallout games ever made. There are many tough and unique enemies that players will encounter in this DLC. Among them, the yao guai is a particularly threatening mutated bear that can be quite scary to encounter in battle.

If this bear itself is daunting, then the giant yao guai will cause a player's heart to leap into their mouth. This ferocious enemy takes no prisoners and can be intimidating to face off against if players don't maintain their distance. Players should always have a long-range weapon that is accurate and hits for serious damage.

15 Specimen 73

• Level: 50
• HP: 675

Old World Blues is considered by many to be one of the greatest DLCs in video gaming history. The area of Big MT is full to the brim with major threats, with the area serving as the testing ground for the dreaded Cazadores present in the Mojave Wasteland.

Players can fight one of the strongest Cazadores in the game here, called Specimen 73. This quick monster hits like a truck and players should be armed to the teeth and have really good armor before even thinking about taking this enemy down.

14 Radscorpion Queen

• Level: 9
• HP: 200

Radscorpions are some of the toughest monsters that have appeared across the Fallout games, and New Vegas is no exception here. These monsters can completely obliterate low-level players who don't know what they're getting into.

The toughest variant of this monster that players can encounter in the game is the Radscorpion Queen. This monster is the largest version of a Radscorpion in New Vegas and will absolutely decimate players who might not be ready to tackle this abomination.

13 Super Mutant Master

• Level: 12
• HP: 360

Super Mutants are one of the most iconic races in Fallout, generally appearing as enemies with a few friendly ones present in Fallout: New Vegas. The most powerful version of a Super Mutant in the game is the Super Mutant Master.

These imposing enemies use heavy weapons like the sledgehammer, minigun, and LMGs in combat to great effect. The Courier needs to be very careful while going against this foe since a lapse in judgment will lead to their health bars being eaten away in a flash.

12 Giant Evolved Centaur

• Level: 18
• HP: 220

For players who encountered Moe, just wait for this enemy. The centaurs are some of the most horrifying enemies in the Fallout series. Seeing these mutated monstrosities never ceases to be unnerving, and they look even more imposing with the graphical overhaul brought about by Fallout: New Vegas.

As a result, it's easy to see why the Giant Evolved Centaur can be so imposing to fight in the game. This hulking monstrosity is only present in one area in the game... which is one area too many in the opinion of many Fallout fans.

11 Ghost Of She

• Level: 35
• HP: 550

In Honest Hearts, roaming around Zion Canyon and negotiating with different tribes was a blast. However, enemies like the yao guai made many players question their decision to even embark on this adventure, to begin with.

One of the most unique yao guai encounters occurs during the quest Rite of Passage. Players encounter a unique yao guai called Ghost of She during a drug-fuelled trip, with this enemy being coated in flames and being able to duplicate itself in a fight where the Courier clearly hallucinates way more than they need to!

10 Glowing One

• Level: 26
• HP: 400

There are many kinds of ghouls that players will fight through and encounter as they play through Fallout: New Vegas. Ghouls are the results of the nuclear bombs that were dropped during the Great War. Some ghouls retained their sanity, while others have become feral. One type of feral ghoul that poses a large threat to players is the glowing one.

Glowing ones are feral ghouls that possess powers from radiation. They can be distinguished from their lesser counterparts by their green glow. At level 26, they have 400 hit points and deal 60 melee damage. Glowing ones also have an aura explosion attack that deals radiation damage.

9 Overseer

• Level: 12
• HP: 900

Vault 34 is a place in Fallout: New Vegas that is packed with all kinds of feral ghouls who were once Vault dwellers. The overseer, unfortunately, succumbed to the same fate as that of the dwellers of which it was in charge.

Another unfortunate circumstance is that the overseer is significantly stronger than other ghouls. The overseer is very resilient with 900 hit points and deals 100 melee damage. It also has an aura explosion that deals radiation damage like glowing ones.

8 Legendary Fire Gecko

• Level: 25
• HP: 385

Geckos are one of the most common enemies that players will encounter throughout their playthrough of Fallout: New Vegas. In fact, the first mission of the game has the player fight off geckos from the water supply of the town of Goodsprings.

There are a few variants of geckos: fire geckos, golden geckos, and green geckos from the Honest Hearts DLC. The legendary fire gecko found in Fire Root Cavern is very deadly. With a hit point total of 385, a melee attack that deals 115 damage each hit, as well as fire breath, the legendary fire gecko may catch unsuspecting players off guard when they encounter it.

7 Legendary Cazador

• Level: 25
• HP: 400

Fallout: New Vegas fans will lament at the very mention of Cazadores. Cazadores, which are mutations resulting from experiments done on tarantula hawk wasps, are difficult enemies to deal with on their own. The initial attack damage paired with the deadly venom that can quickly deteriorate one's health is sure to make players think twice before attacking them.

The Legendary Cazador is even stronger than the regular Cazadores. The Legendary Cazador holds strong at 400 hit points and deals 120 melee damage with its poison dealing 8 damage a second for 30 seconds.

6 Legendary Night Stalker

• Level: 15
• HP: 250

The Night Stalker is a creature that can strike fear into the hearts of players when they least expect it. What makes night stalkers so unsettling is that they are an experimental hybrid with the body of a coyote and the head and tail of a rattlesnake.

Their combination of a bark and a hiss is another disturbing characteristic. Following the trend of legendary creatures, there is a legendary variant of night stalkers. The terrifying legendary night stalker is bolstered with 250 hit points and has a 100-damage melee attack.

5 Legendary Deathclaw

• Level: 30
• HP: 1000

Deathclaws are extremely dangerous creatures that have made an appearance in every Fallout game to date. Deathclaws are one of the most iconic creatures of the franchise. Even though they are well-known, it does not make them any less frightening.

Just like the Cazador, the fire gecko, and the night stalker, the Deathclaw also has a legendary variant. The legendary Deathclaw has a colossal 1,000 hit points and deals 250 melee damage per hit. Should players be so bold as to hunt this monster, it can be found at Dead Wind Cavern.

4 Deathclaw Alpha Male

• Level: 25
• HP: 750

While the legendary Deathclaw is very dangerous, it is not the only superpredator Deathclaw that stalks the sands of the Mojave Wasteland. Players should avoid the Deathclaw alpha male unless they are absolutely sure they have the means to defeat it.

The Deathclaw alpha male is very quick, running twice as fast as a regular Deathclaw. The Deathclaw alpha male looks very similar to the legendary Deathclaw with the difference being a slight change in the skin tone. While the alpha male doesn't have as much health as the legendary Deathclaw, it deals 50 more damage with its attack.

3 Deathclaw Mother

• Level: 30
• HP: 700

The Deathclaw mother is a force to be reckoned with when players cross her path. Deathclaw mothers have a chilling appearance of greenish-blue skin and backward-sweeping horns that will most likely make any player think twice before approaching them.

The Deathclaw mother may have slightly less health and deal slightly less damage than the Deathclaw alpha male, but she runs faster than her male counterpart. The mother is almost always accompanied by her babies, and if any one of her offspring is killed, she will go into a blind rage, attacking anything in her sight that isn't a Deathclaw.

2 Hardened Sentrybot

• Level: 16
• HP: 500

Robots come in many different forms through the Fallout series as both friend and foe. In Fallout: New Vegas, there are many robots that wish players harm. The Hardened Sentrybot is one such robot.

The Sentryboy is one of the strongest robots in Fallout: New Vegas, armed with missiles, lasers, and miniguns. While having no damage threshold like the regular Sentrybot, the Hardened variant has almost double the health and greater resistance to pulse grenades. The Hardened Sentrybot is located at the crashed vertibird to the south.

1 Legate Lanius

• Level: 15-30
• HP: 845-920

Legate Lanius is one of the most ruthless and cold-blooded humans in the Mojave Wasteland. The military commander of Caesar's Legion is the final boss of the game for three out of the four main factions with which players can side in their playthroughs. Siding with Caesar's Legion makes Lanius an ally, but for the most part, he is considered an enemy.

If players are unable to pass the high Speech checks and convince him not to fight, they will have to face the Legate in a head-to-head match. This won't be an easy feat to accomplish since Lanius has many tricks up his sleeves like having 800-900 hit points, regenerating health, the Blade of the East, and the ability to run almost twice as fast as a normal human.

Fallout: New Vegas is available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

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