For an overview of mirelurks that appear in the Fallout series of games, see mirelurk. |
Mirelurks are the catch-all terminology for all three large crustacean mutants that dwell in the mires of the Commonwealth.
Background
Mirelurks have the dubious distinction of being one of the first radioactive mutants to emerge into the world, as a result of widespread radioactive pollution of the environment by United States megacorporations, such as Poseidon Energy and General Atomics. Environmental organizations such as the Nahant Oceanological Society, dedicated to saving the oceans, attempted a variety of last-ditch efforts to raise awareness of this problem and encourage radical action to curtail environmental destruction at the hands of reckless corporations.[1] However, their efforts were in vain. Ignored by authorities, to the point where they refused to even take their phone calls (as was the case with the Boston Port Authority), they attempted to garner attention by reporting the situation to the Galaxy News Network. The media ignored their reports as well, except for running a story about the upcoming shellfish season and how great it was going to be. Of course, it neglected to mention that the average increase in mass on the order of 14% in crabs and 12% in lobsters meant that the available food supply would run out quickly, leading to colony collapse and localized extinction.[2]
Although the Great War ended corporate pollution, it was replaced by overwhelming amounts of nuclear fallout instead. In the ensuing melting pot of mutations, the modern mirelurks emerged. Attempts to classify the resulting creatures have proven difficult. The crab mirelurk, for example, contains multiple phylum markers from two distinct and unrelated species: The Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) and the Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). As such, it would be necessary to catalog it as simultaneously belonging to the Crustacea/Chelicerata subphylums, with the simultaneous classification of two distinct classes (Merostomata and Malacostraca). Both an Enclave researcher and the Lone Wanderer assigned it its own classification: Scylla serrata horrendus.[3][4] This groups mirelurks into the genus, Scylla (referring to a Greek sea monster), and the species, serrata (serrata being Latin for "forming a row of small sharp projections resembling the teeth of a saw"). The last part "horrendus," Latin for "dreadful" is the subspecies. The knowledge that mirelurks were much smaller before the bombs dropped and mutated them still persists among some wastelanders in the Commonwealth.[5] Mirelurks are also known to have a pronounced sensitivity towards white noise, as seen in Vault 92 and on Spectacle Island.
Although mirelurks tend to inhabit polluted rivers, coastal waters, and sewers, their meat is considered a delicacy among wastelanders, despite having the texture of vulcanized rubber.[6] Mirelurk hunters or herders can count on a steady demand for their meat and make a high profit selling it to wasteland traders.[7] However, the size of the meat market means competition is stiff and suppliers can be targeted by rivals attempting to knock them out of the market (sometimes literally).[8] They also grow remarkably fast, requiring just a few weeks for them to reach maturity. If corralled and domesticated, mirelurks can be a flexible supply of food. The Free States did, in fact, entertain such an option.[9]
Mirelurks can also be a blight on permanent settlements, as is the case with Rivet City. Mirelurks nesting below inhabited decks are a continued nuisance for denizens of the city, despite regular extermination operations by the city's security team.[10] Infestations are made even worse by the fact that mirelurks have adapted to lay their eggs in multiple small nests throughout shallow water (unlike pre-War crustaceans that adhered their eggs to their body); if disturbed, the larval mirelurks within exhibit incredibly predacious behavior and are ready to attack if need be.[11]
Characteristics
Biology
Most adult mirelurk variants have shells and pincers resembling those of horseshoe crabs, while their offspring resemble mole crabs. The queen, on the other hand, has a shell that resembles that of a giant isopod or spider crab. The hunter variant appears to be a lobster.[12] Finally, the mirelurk king is unique in that it bears no resemblance to any sort of crustacean, and may instead be a heavily mutated frog or fish.
All mirelurks (excluding mirelurk kings and softshell mirelurks) are protected by a thick shell that is difficult to penetrate, even with powerful ballistic weapons. The face is unarmored but a small target, and when charging a mirelurk will often lower its head to protect this area. However, the face will inevitably be exposed once the creature commences close combat. Extremities are also more vulnerable than the rest of the body, though not as much as the face.
Typical specimens, in particular, resemble mirelurk hunters from the Capital Wasteland but also differ in several aspects, such as is seen with their legs. This specimen also walks in a mixed crab/spider-like motion, which is atypical of mirelurk variants documented so far; in general, they have more realistic qualities correlating to appearance.
Gameplay attributes
Mirelurks will bury themselves in dirt or mud, with the only visual indication that they are present being the rounded backs of their shells, which resemble large, smooth rocks from a distance. They can also submerge themselves underwater when needed. V.A.T.S. will be able to detect them from a distance when used. It is not uncommon to see mirelurks with netting and seaweed caught on their carapaces or have barnacles latched on to them. Typical mirelurks and their variants can occasionally be found feeding on sea creatures.
Mirelurks are mostly found in groups and thus often utilize strength in numbers. Glowing mirelurks also deal radiation damage when in close quarters. Combine this with their generally high resilience and they can easily prove a challenge for low-level player characters.
Because of their thick shells, they can be quite hard to defeat in a melee fight, as they tend to hide their weak points when the player character is about to strike, or when they charge before revealing their body parts in order to attack. Because of their unique fighting style, melee weapons with the legendary modifiers "penetrating" (attacks ignore 30% of enemy's damage resistance) and "exterminator's" (specific bonus damage to mirelurks) are very useful against them.
As some companions mention, mirelurks have no way to protect themselves against mines, or any attack from below. Even being on a lower platform that can be shot through gives the player character an advantage.
All mirelurk variants have a chance to be pacified through the Wasteland Whisperer perk.
Variants
Mirelurk hatchling
When nearing a mirelurk nest, typically about half of its eggs will shake briefly and then hatch, revealing these small, aggressive crab-like creatures. The mirelurk queen can spawn several hatchlings to attack the player character. Their overall combat strength is practically identical to radroaches.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk hatchling 0016962D |
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Mirelurk spawn
Mirelurk spawn are identical in statistics to mirelurk hatchlings but this variant is bigger. A few can be found at the bottom floor of the Massachusetts State House.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk spawn 00176DCA |
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Nukalurk spawn
A Nuka-Cola imbued mirelurk hatchling, which can emerge from eggs littering the World of Refreshment attraction, or can be born from the Nukalurk queen. It shares the same looks as the mirelurk spawn, with the exception of its blue glow.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Nukalurk spawn xx01234A |
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Softshell mirelurk
Weak, green mirelurks encountered at low levels and can be seen mixed in with stronger mirelurks at higher levels. Their meat provides more health when cooked than normal mirelurk meat.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Softshell mirelurk 0019E967 |
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Mirelurk
The standard variant of mirelurk. Darker in appearance than softshell mirelurks, it is also more resilient and deals more damage per hit. It's stronger than the first variant, and probably older.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk 00024002 (standard) 000361C1 (burrowed) 0017E6D3 (legendary) 00033F49 (template) |
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Mirelurk razorclaw
A more powerful variant of the mirelurk that may be encountered commonly as the player character levels up. It has double the health of a softshell mirelurk and deals significantly more damage per hit, making them potentially challenging opponents for those that are poorly-equipped.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk razorclaw 0014237F (standard) 0017E6D0 (legendary) |
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Mirelurk killclaw
A powerful type of mirelurk that can be encountered in any mirelurk-infested area, such as Salem, if the player character's level is high enough. It is much more resilient than the razorclaw, and is more powerful in combat.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk killclaw 00142380 (standard) 0017E6D1 (legendary) |
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Glowing mirelurk
An irradiated variant of the mirelurk which is increasingly encountered as the player character levels up. Due to steady absorption of large quantities of radiation these mirelurks glow with its superabundance; their undersides are positively luminescent and a notable buildup of radiation in its eyestalks gives them a distinct feature even among "glowing" creatures.
Glowing mirelurks inflict radiation damage on top of the ballistic damage. This variant has a considerable amount of health (half of that of a super mutant behemoth), and deals considerable amount of damage in combat, making them challenging opponents for low-level player characters.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Glowing mirelurk 00142383 (standard) 0017E6D6 (legendary) |
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Nukalurk
Nukalurks make a return in add-on Nuka-World, they apparently mutated from regular mirelurks living in the river of Nuka-Cola Quantum that is part of the World of Refreshment attraction.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
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Nukalurk xx01234C |
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Bloodrage mirelurk
The most powerful type of the base mirelurk genus in terms of both resistances and damage potential, Bloodrage mirelurks were added to the game with the Far Harbor add-on. They have very dark carapaces, glowing red eyes and also emit a baleful reddish glow from their underside.
Despite their power and threat potential, killing a Bloodrage mirelurk awards significantly less experience than most of its lower-ranking variants.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Bloodrage mirelurk xx023AC1 |
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Mirelurk queen
The mirelurk queen is a rarely seen mirelurk variant, considerably larger and more dangerous than her offspring, and inflicts significantly more physical and radiation damage on the player character. Her arrival is announced with a great roar. Her acidic spittle rapidly damages anyone caught in it, but crippling her spouts will prevent her from using it. Once combat is initiated, the queen will occasionally eject a barrage of eggs that spawn a wave of hatchlings, an ability that is considered a grenade attack and therefore comes with the respective warning icons on the screen. She benefits from the same resistance as the regular mirelurks: an incredibly thick shell but a very soft skin.
Subsequent respawns may have her either already emerged and idling in her area, or else submerged if her first spawning-in is triggered by killing nearby mirelurks. Players can note her presence (as well as that of hidden Kings and Hunters) by sneaking to triangulate her location, and then trigger her appearance with an AOE attack, such as an explosive or a ground slam from power armor.
One occupies the Castle and is fought when the Minutemen retake it. Destroying its eggs prior to acquiring Taking Independence also causes her to become enraged and fight.
Another occupies the Murkwater construction site. Other spawn locations are Nahant Chapel, southeast of coastal cottage, Spectacle Island, Massachusetts State House, Recon bunker Theta, west of Salem, the beach southeast of the Revere Beach station, and at a beached fishing boat southeast of Poseidon Energy.
The Island is home to several mirelurk queens as well. One has its nest at the bottom of Northwood Ridge Quarry, another one plays a role in the Rite of Passage quest.
A mirelurk queen may also occupy the east dig site of Vault 88 when finding the Vault-Tec water pump in the Vault-Tec Workshop add-on. One can also be found at Nuka-World 's Northpoint reservoir (killing all the mirelurks here will spawn a mirelurk queen) and southeast of Grandchester Mystery Mansion.
Mirelurk queens are considered giant creatures in-game, therefore, killing them counts towards the achievement ...The Harder They Fall.
While the mirelurk queens may seem similar to the common "horseshoe crab" variant of mirelurk at first glance, the mirelurk queen has a full crustacean telson, unlike that which the horseshoe crab has.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk queen 000E12AB (standard) 0016CDBB (template) |
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Nukalurk queen
Nukalurk queens can only be found in the Nuka-Cola bottling plant. She is a unique version of the mirelurk queen and has a blue glow due to the strontium isotope from Nuka-Cola Quantum. She has a large health pool, but when the player character finally kills her she drops queen Nukalurk meat.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Nukalurk queen xx01234B |
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Hunters
Mirelurk hunter
This type of mirelurk has mutated from the local lobster population.[12] They are significantly more resilient than regular mirelurks and gain the ability to spit acid at its enemies, as well as more powerful attacks. While the common mirelurk is vulnerable to headshots, the head of the mirelurk hunter is much stronger.[citation needed] A few can be found at Spectacle Island, and others may spawn in the tunnels during The Big Dig.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk hunter 00142380 (standard) 0017E6D6 (legendary) |
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Glowing mirelurk hunter
An extremely irradiated variation of the mirelurk hunter that glows. Glowing mirelurk hunters deal additional radiation damage when attacking the player character.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Glowing mirelurk hunter 00142381 (standard) 0017E6D6 (legendary) |
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Albino mirelurk hunter
Mirelurk hunters that have been born afflicted with albinism, giving them a distinguishable pinkish-white skin color signature to albino creatures. While their attacks are indifferent from that of a regular mirelurk hunter, they are protected by higher resistances. They, as with most albino creatures, are very rare and appear only by chance.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Albino mirelurk hunter 00142384 (standard) 0017E6D8 (legendary) |
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Nukalurk hunter
A mirelurk hunter that has absorbed great amounts of Nuka-Cola Quantum, making their shells glow blue. They behave identically to a normal mirelurk hunter.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Nukalurk hunter xx01234D |
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Kings
Mirelurk king
Mirelurk kings do not resemble the crab-like mirelurks, instead appearing to be heavily mutated frogs based on sounds they make and the webbing between their fingers and toes. They are very fast and can easily kill a low level player character in seconds. Unlike the other mirelurks, they have a ranged sonic projectile attack that is particularly effective at crippling the target's head. Mirelurk kings have less health than glowing mirelurks, mirelurk hunters or mirelurk queens, although they are much more agile and efficient at range. One can be found in a room alongside power armor, a few tunnels into the The Big Dig. Another one can be located behind Rook family house on the shore. Up to four can be found at Cutler Bend, and a few may be encountered at Spectacle Island. Another can be found inside a crypt to the north of Electrical Hobbyist's Club underneath the skybridge. He will appear and attack after taking the lone mirelurk egg.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk king 000B7F95 (standard) 0017E6DC (legendary) |
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Mirelurk deep king
A stronger variant of the mirelurk king with blue and yellow scales. It has more health and overall defense than the average king, but with identical attack patterns.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Mirelurk deep king 00142382 (standard) 0017E6DD (legendary) |
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Glowing mirelurk king
A variant of the mirelurk king glowing with the excesses of inordinate radiation absorption. It inflicts radiation damage when executing a melee attack.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Glowing mirelurk king 00142385 (standard) 0017E6DE (legendary) |
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Nukalurk king
A mirelurk king imbued with high amounts of Nuka-Cola Quantum, causing it to glow blue. It has greater health than other mirelurk kings as a result of this, and has stronger attacks as well.
Name (Form ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | |||||
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Nukalurk king xx01234E |
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Appearances
Mirelurks appear in Fallout 4 and its add-ons Far Harbor and Nuka-World.
Behind the scenes
- The mirelurk model was created by Jonah Lobe.[13]
- They bear close similarities to the Garthim from the movie The Dark Crystal.
- The mirelurk king model, in comparison, seems to be inspired by the Deep Ones of H. P. Lovecraft's famous story, The Shadow over Innsmouth, with its blending of humanoid, frog and fish. As H.P. Lovecraft set this work in the New England region, it's likely to be an homage to him.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Nahant Oceanological Society terminal entries; research terminal, Goals
- ↑ Nahant Oceanological Society terminal entries; research terminal, Lobster Growth
- ↑ Enclave field research terminal entries, Enclave field research terminal, Field Entry: "Mirelurk"
- ↑ The Lone Wanderer: "They descended from local crabs. I'd call them 'Scylla Serrata Horrendus.'"
Moira Brown: "That's very scientific of you! Personally, I wasn't sure if they were crabs or if they came from some sort of brine shrimp, perhaps. Some of these observations about their armor and camouflage gave me an idea for reinforced, neutral-colored headgear. Here, consider it thanks for not interfering with them. Oh, speaking of which, take these. So you can continue to avoid them in the future."
(Moira Brown's dialogue) - ↑ John Hancock: "I'd heard Mirelurks were tiny before the bombs. Wonder what else might be plying those waters."
(John Hancock's dialogue) Note: This line is spoken if Hancock is asked for his thoughts while on any large boat, such as the ones at Libertalia. - ↑ Settler: "Fighting Mirelurks reminds me of fishing for salmon. Shame that their flesh has the texture of vulcanized rubber. Well, food is food."
(Settlers' dialogue) - ↑ Note for Ted
- ↑ Merc's orders
- ↑ Mirelurk research
- ↑ Rivet City terminal entries; Bannon's terminal, Council Meeting Minutes
- ↑ Behavior in Fallout 4.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Art of Fallout 4, page 194
- ↑ Twitter Jonah Lobe