Mirelurk (Fallout 3)

The Mirelurks are a species of bipedal, mutant crabs from the Capital Wasteland area. Most Mirelurks are surrounded by a thick armor/shell which is difficult to penetrate. However, their face is vulnerable and is the best area to attack. Melee Weapons are basically useless unless you use a very powerful weapon like the Sledgehammer or the Shishkebab. Most all Mirelurks attack by barreling toward the player at full-speed, which can make quick work of unprepared adventurers. It is preferable to keep Mirelurks at a great distance, when possible. The Dart Gun will do decent damage over time, and can help prevent Mirelurks from lunging at you.

Mirelurk meat is highly nutritious and grants some of the highest HP replenishments of all the food in the game. Softshell mirelurk meat is even more so. However, both still are slightly radioactive, but no more than typical food.

Appearances
Mirelurks appear only in Fallout 3

Types of Mirelurks
Mirelurks: The Most Common type of Mirelurk. Found in most low-level outdoor and indoor water sources. If you happen to be traveling near Arefu you will most likely be attacked by several who will run out of the river. Most of the time a Mirelurks head is too small to be aimed at when not using VATS so machine-gun rounds in the general area of the head will most likely hit it since the more bullets you fire, the higher the chance of a bullet hitting the head. Drop standard Mirelurk Meat.

Mirelurk Hunters: A larger, red-colored version of the Mirelurk. They have 2 extra pair of smaller arms beneath their main ones. Mirelurk Hunters inhabit the Northern Wastes and several sewers and caves near the Metropolitan area of the Capital.

Mirelurk Kings: A Mirelurk sized relative to the Mirelurk Hunter, but with a resemblance to the creature from the black lagoon. They are full humanoid, and do not have a heavily armored carapace, unlike the other variations. Mirelurk Kings are easy to spot, and easier to kill (due to their lack of armor) than Mirelurk Hunters. However, they also have a sonic projectile attack that disregards Damage Resistance. Kings are found few and far between in the Capital Wasteland, outside, but moreso in caves and sewers, and do not present any other special loot or items over Mirelurk Hunters, except for Soft Shell Mirelurk Meat, which is one of the best foods in the game. Of note, they infest the Reactor area of Vault 92.

NukaLurks: A glowing blue Mirelurk that is only found in the Nuka-Cola Factory, almost certainly due to the isotope used for Nuka-Cola Quantum. They seem to be bigger and faster than the normal Mirelurks, similar in size to the Mirelurk Hunters. Their meat is notable for a small boost in AP as well as Radiation and Health, to be exact the meat gives off 4 Rads, +1 AP, and +20 HP.

Strategy for Mirelurks
Mirelurks are strong, tough and mean, but thankfully they only have average speed. Mirelurks have VERY tough carapaces, which makes them pretty tough to dispatch once they get close enough. From afar, the best strategy is to use a powerful, precise weapon to target their face(which is their most vulnerable spot). Up close, the Combat Shotgun is practically necessary to dispatch them, as it does enough damage spread in a wide area to penetrate their armor. It is NOT recommended to get close to them, as they're very fierce attackers.

Mirelurks, unfortunately, are almost always found in groups, sometimes BIG groups. No creature in the game will ever be found in such huge numbers in one spot as Mirelurks. Many areas in the game(Vault 92 and the broken front half of Rivet City, for example) are nests of Mirelurks, so they're some of the most dangerous places in the game. This is compounded by the fact they prefer closed, dark places as their nesting grounds, so they can easily overwhelm you in narrow corridors and dead-ends.

Mirelurk Kings are MUCH less dangerous than regular Mirelurks, and can be easily dispatched, it's their "lesser" siblings who you should watch out for.