Yao Guai (Fallout 3)

The Yao Guai are a species of mutant bears and are some of the strongest, fastest, deadliest creatures you can expect to come across in Fallout 3, with the exception of Deathclaws.

In Chinese, Yao Guai (妖怪) simply means "monster". In mythology, they are physical incarnations of the spirits of mistreated animals, or fallen divine animals. During gameplay, there is evidence that there were Chinese soldiers who made it to the American mainland during the Great War (for example, the different Chinese weapons available in the game, the numerous copies of the book Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual, the Chinese spies at Broadcast Tower KT8, Chinese Radio Beacon and most tellingly, the Chinese Remnant in Mama Dolce's), so it is possible that its Chinese name comes from this influence.

Behaviour
Although generally found alone, Yao Guai -- when found in pairs -- seem to exhibit a gentle, familial bond toward one another, provided they do not feel threatened by the observer's presence.

Yao Guai do not like any other Wasteland animals or people, as they attack nearly any other animals or people they encounter, including Deathclaws. A single Yao Guai can easily kill Dogmeat, and has an excellent chance of wiping out a party of Raiders.

Three Dog's advice on Yao Guai is simply: "Don't feed the Yao Guai". This is a reference to the adage "Please don't feed the bears," a saying commonly found on signs in parks in areas populated by bears.

Strategy
A Yao Guai encounter is very dangerous, they are very strong and very fast, and are probably outclassed by only the infamous Deathclaw. Although not even close to the same threat, Yao Guai attack similarly to Deathclaws, via running pounces and slashes, so Yao Guai tend to be a good form of practice before Deathclaws begin to appear. They have really high Perception, so don't be surprised if they sense you from far away, even if you aren't in their line of sight. They are also surprisingly sneaky, so you might be walking the Capital Wasteland and suddenly get jumped from behind by one. They attack by slashing and biting you, and they can also do pounce attacks. Using a dart gun can slow them to walking speed and make them easy to kill with a ranged weapon, however this sometimes does not appear to disable or slow their leaping attack.

Using V.A.T.S., aim for their legs with a long range weapon that is fairly accurate, such as a Sniper Rifle from afar, as this will severely hamper their mobility and ability to pounce. You should use strong long-range weapons to take down Yao Guai (the Dart Gun is effective in this manner, as it cripples both legs on a successful hit). If you manage to secure a Sniper Rifle, it's a very good idea to snipe them from a crouching position from afar, so that you can get a Sneak Attack Critical bonus. A sniper rifle in decent condition and a good Small Guns skill can kill a Yao Guai with one shot. You will often find 2 or even 3 in an area sneaking up on you so in some cases they can be more dangerous than the Deathclaws. Like Deathclaws, Yao Guai are very dependent on their mobility to be a danger; a single Dart Gun shot will leave them vulnerable to any type of incoming fire, even a N99 10mm Pistol. However, even with crippled legs, a Yao Guai can still run at the same speed as the player character; this occurs because, unlike the bipedal Deathclaws, Yao Guai are quadrapeds and can still run with their front legs even with their two back legs crippled.

If they get to medium range, and you are using a single shot weapon, e.g hunting rifle, switch to a close combat weapon, such as a shotgun (any sort) or a ripper.

If you are ambushed by a Yao Guai and must fight it in close combat, aim for the creature's head with a Combat Shotgun in V.A.T.S.

After obtaining the Animal Friend perk, they will no longer attack you or your party unless provoked. They can even fight for you after you get the second rank, which can be very helpful due to their strength. Even without obtaining the second rank of the perk, the Yao Guai are hostile towards a number of other troublesome enemies.

Like the Deathclaw, the Yao Guai have an underground den housing: Yao Guai Tunnels (not to be confused with the Yao Guai Cave which is East of Tenpenny Tower and West of Andale, inside Cliffside Cavern).

Another easy way to kill a Yao Guai is with a Bottlecap Mine.

Another strategy is to stay stealthy and remain hidden, then once you're in range use a long range weapon such as the Sniper Rifle or the Scoped Gauss Rifle to take it out only in a few head shots.

Loot
Yao Guai corpses contain Yao Guai Meat, which not only carries a respectable health benefit but also grants the player a damage bonus for a short period of time, making its use as a hybrid of a healing item and the drug Psycho.

Bugs

 * Probably due to an extremely stiff ragdoll, Yao Guais have been confirmed occasionally to fly several dozens of feet vertically into the air when killed. The Combat Shotgun and Lincoln's Repeater are exceptionally good at sending them flying upon frontal decapitation. This phenomenon has been confirmed on all three platforms. An example on the PC version can be found by clicking on the following link: http://da.xfire.com/video/4739f/
 * Similarly, killing a Yao Guai in V.A.T.S. while it is pouncing will result in the creature flying off into the distance at high speed.
 * If you lure a Yao Guai into the river and it comes back out of the river, it will sometimes still be moving using the swimming animation.

Appearances

 * Yao Guai appear only in Fallout 3.