Mirelurk (Fallout 3)

Mirelurks are giant mutated creatures living in the Capital Wasteland in 2277.

Characteristics
All mirelurks, except for kings, are protected by a thick shell that is difficult to penetrate, even with powerful ballistic weapons such as the Gauss rifle. Mirelurk meat, especially the soft shell variety, grants HP replenishment.

Grandma Sparkle tells the player character that mirelurk meat is "the best meat you can get out here." A mirelurk cakes recipe is found in a fridge in the Anchorage War Memorial, but it cannot be made by the player character.

Mirelurk



 * ‡ Due to their hard shells, shots on the torso only do half of the normal damage.

Mirelurk hunter



 * ‡ Due to their hard shells, shots on the torso only do half of the normal damage.

Mirelurk king



 * † Torso shots only do 2/3 of the normal damage.
 * ‡ Instantly cripples target's head. Cannot be used if their head is crippled.

Nukalurk



 * ‡ Due to their hard shells, shots on the torso only do half of the normal damage.

Swamplurk



 * ‡ Due to their hard shells, shots on the torso only do half of the normal damage.

Swamplurk queen



 * † Torso shots only do 2/3 of the normal damage.
 * ‡ Cannot be used if their head is crippled.

Related quests

 * The Wasteland Survival Guide
 * Oasis
 * Agatha's Song
 * The Nuka-Cola Challenge

Appearances
Mirelurks appear in Fallout 3 and its add-on, Point Lookout.

Behind the scenes

 * The mirelurks were created and modeled by Jonah Lobe, who was inspired by old rubber-costumed monsters from 1950s pulp films.
 * A humanoid, mutated catfish known as a "catfish mirelurk" appears in The Art of Fallout 3, the art book available with the collector's edition of Fallout 3.

Bugs

 * Mirelurks killed in water will often flip over on their fronts and twitch. This is purely a graphical glitch related to their wireframe. Sometimes they will twitch so much they fall right through the floor, or become trapped in walls and doors while constantly playing a collision noise that can alert other enemies.
 * Sometimes when mirelurks are killed on land, body parts will sink into the textures on the floor, as much as half their body, and the remaining parts will flail and bounce.

Sounds

 * Idle mirelurk
 * Mirelurk king sonic attack