Feral ghoul reaver

The  is a type of feral ghoul which was added in Fallout 3 in the Broken Steel add-on.

The Reaver wears what appears to be the remains of Metal armor and has significantly more HP than any other form of feral ghoul. It is also set apart from other feral ghouls by its unique ability to throw grenade-like explosive "radioactive gore", and a special effect that emits from its body similar to the Glowing One's radiation pulse.

Characteristics
Feral Ghoul Reavers are extremely tough enemies, more than twice as durable as Sentry Bots or Deathclaws. The Reavers are extremely quick, and their lunge attack can send the player sliding back some distance with every strike. Their blows, like a Deathclaw's, tend to pack quite a punch, and even high level players are prone to being quickly killed in short order if not careful. Their radioactive gore easily cripples limbs and is thrown almost always with deadly accuracy. The Ghoul Mask will be very helpful as they will not attack you if you are wearing it. Similar to Glowing Ones, they emit radiation in large quantities.

The Feral Ghoul Reaver seems to be a combination of a Feral Ghoul Roamer and a Glowing One, as they attack, and can heal themselves and other nearby Ferals.

Tactics
It shall be noted that the Dart Gun is essential when battling a Ghoul Reaver, especially since it is their melee attacks that hits the hardest. Their Radioactive Gore attack can be ceased by shooting the it when it is in their hand. An effective way to deal with them is using the Dart Gun to cripple their legs, followed by a Jingwei's Shocksword or Tesla cannon due to its damage over time effect. A Fat man would do fine too, if you dont't mind wasting precious Mini Nukes.

Most importantly, it can also easily kill most followers if you're not careful; so either leave them at a safe distance or constantly watch them. If you thought that was the worst, reavers can be encountered as low as level 13, which can be highly dangerous to an improperly equipped character.

Bugs

 * Feral Ghoul Reavers may 'have a fit', making them invincible for a short period of time. If this happens, shoot for the legs. Grenades are also effective. Another effective way to deal with them is with the Shishkebab [Confirmed on 360 and PC]. Fortunately, this bug seems to be limited to the Reavers in the Presidential Metro battle.


 * The ones in the Presidential Metro may become super elastic when shot with weapons that have a knock down effect, causing them to fall out of the cell and jump back in when they get up. This is especially noticeable in VATS. (Confirmed on PC and 360)


 * It is sometimes possible to get split-second appearing message that tells you that Radioactive Gore can be picked up, the message is the same one as for objects shot out of the Rock-It Launcher. (Confirmed on 360 and PC)


 * If a Feral Ghoul Reaver is killed while "having a fit," their limbs may be stuck in mid-air. Such as when a body clips with a wall, but instead there is nothing there. (Xbox 360)

Trivia

 * Feral ghoul reavers may be a reference to reavers in the television show, "Firefly", and the movie, "Serenity", because they look and act very similar. But in the series and movie, of course, they don't fire radioactive gore. It is more likely they are simply inspired by the historical reavers.


 * A possible influence in creating the Ghoul Reaver is Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse, a game from the Xbox, PC, and also downloadable to the Xbox 360. The main character in this game had similar gore grenades, where he would rip out an organ and chuck it to both damage enemies and turn others into zombies.


 * The concept of zombie gore grenades is a classic of zombie characteristics. One of the first appearances in a video game is in Quake I which had shambling zombies that threw gore grenades as a medium-long range attack.

Appearances
s appear in the Fallout 3 add-on Broken Steel.