Feral ghouls are creatures found in the Capital Wasteland in 2277. They are similar in appearance to ghouls, but they have lost their ability to reason and have become aggressive to anyone who isn't a ghoul. (They also tend to be hunched over rather than walking or standing upright.) This has contributed to the discrimination of ghouls by human wastelanders, even those that have retained their mental faculties.
The degeneration into a feral state (referred to as ferocious post-necrotic dystrophy) is not fully understood. It is known that it is a result of a degeneration of the brain (which is not affected by the regenerative mutation of the spinal cord) and emerges following the atrophy of higher brain functions, accompanied by an increased level of aggression and appetite. When the loss of capacity for thought is complete, a ghoul is considered feral.[1][2] The factors that may cause a ghoul to enter this state are unclear, but anti-social or isolated ghouls are more susceptible to it.[3] Exposure to intense radiation may also be a factor; feral ghouls have no body heat and emit lethal levels of radiation, indicating that feral ghouls are for all intents and purposes dead, their functions sustained only by their high irradiation. This allows them to survive for centuries, relying only on the energy provided by radiation, at the expense of a horrifying, emaciated appearance. The process is irreversible.[4][5]
Gameplay attributes
Feral ghouls often give a loud low-pitched screech or growl before attacking enemies. This can be useful in dark areas or areas with objects blocking the player's view, especially in the metros of the wasteland and the Dunwich Building. As with normal ghouls, ferals are extremely resistant to radiation; this makes a glowing one especially dangerous when encountered with regular ghouls, as they constantly emit radiation which will heal their fellows.
Feral ghouls attack in no particular hierarchy; they rush foes in one massive onslaught. At first, they attack with a running over-the-head strike. If close to an enemy, they will swipe at it horizontally.
Variants
Feral ghoul
The basic feral ghoul variant in Fallout 3 wears only a pair of tattered shorts and is noticeably weaker than standard human opponents. They are easily dispatched with one or two headshots or a solid hit in close quarters combat. Despite their noisy shrieks and remarkable speed, they are not much of a threat unless they outnumber the player, or when their character is at a low level.
Some feral ghouls come in different colors as well as different types. Some are a "healthy" pink color, while others are a grimy grey color and also some of them have grey tattered clothes. Their skin colors are different depending on what the humans' race was before they turned into a ghoul.
Notably, Feral Ghouls can drop the rare Pass Card in blue and red colors, and they have the highest chance in the game for a creature to drop them, 1.5%.
Wearing the remains of pre-Warcombat armor commonly used by the National Guard and US Army, roamers are likely ghoulified troops who were deployed in the DC area when the bombs fell. The majority of them are in the abandoned Metro tunnels and in abandoned buildings where many who couldn't gain entrance to vaults sought refuge.
Although what remains of their armor gives them some protection (more than regular feral ghouls), they can still be brought down quickly with most weapons. However, they do have a tendency to appear in small groups and can be dangerous to a low-level player.
Glowing ones are feral ghouls that have absorbed massive amounts of nuclear radiation. As a result, their skin is a pale translucent green that continually produces a soft glow. Their legs are draped in similar rags that the standard version of a feral ghoul would wear. They are reportedly looked down upon by other ghouls.
In battle, they sometimes release a massive burst of radiation, severely injuring and irradiating enemies and healing other ghouls. When killed, standing close to their corpses will cause the player to become irradiated (usually +1 rad per second).
Feral ghoul reavers are introduced by the Fallout 3add-onsBroken Steel and Point Lookout. Clothed in what appears to be the remains of metal armor, reavers' skin may, upon close inspection, appear to bubble and burn, emitting radiation and dark green smoke. If such a reaver is killed by a critical hit from an energy weapon, the smoke will continue to emanate from the remains.
Tougher than other ghouls and more than twice as durable as a sentry bot or deathclaw, they are one of the most formidable enemies in the game. The reavers are extremely quick, and their lunge attack can knock the player back some distance with every strike. They hit hard and may quickly cripple or kill even high-level players if they're not careful.
Reavers have a unique attack, whereby they throw (with deadly accuracy) pieces of their body at a target. These chunks explode like a grenade and can easily cripple limbs.
Reavers (unlike deathclaws) seem to be highly perceptive and can detect player characters in Sneak mode, even while wearing a Stealth Boy or Chinese stealth armor.
Swamp ghouls are feral ghouls which inhabit the swamps of Point Lookout. Swamp ghouls wear a tattered pair of shorts commonly worn by tribals, hinting that they were once tribals who didn't eat their punga fruit. They still exhibit the same characteristics of their Capital Wasteland counterparts, but are paler in color and considerably weaker, most likely due to Point Lookout's cloudy and dark environment.
They can be found in various locations in Point Lookout with high concentrations at Turtledove Detention Camp and Ark & Dove Resting Grounds along with the other types of feral ghouls, including feral ghoul reavers and glowing ones.
When the player passes through a certain doorway, early in the Forsaken Dunwich Ruins section of the Dunwich Building, they will have an hallucination to pre-War times and see a man in front of themselves. He will then come back to reality and see the man is the glowing one. Interestingly, this glowing one is one of the few that are encountered regardless of level.
All variants of feral ghouls will not be hostile if you are wearing the ghoul mask.
If the player remains undetected by feral ghouls (or simply use the ghoul mask), after a while, they will begin to fidget and/or convulse inexplicably.
PC Feral ghoul reavers may become invincible for a short period of time. While they can be successfully targeted in V.A.T.S, all shots fired will miss. If this happens, shoot for the legs, or make use of grenades. To detect when the ghouls are invincible they will begin shaking vigorously. Be careful they are nearly impossible to outrun and inflict much damage even on low difficulties.
Playstation 3 Sometimes when the feral ghoul reavers throw radioactive gore, it won't explode, and will keep throwing it.
Xbox 360 Occasionally, if the player knocks down a reaver with the Victory rifle, they might have a physical glitch, and fly across the map.
Playstation 3 If a feral ghoul reaver is killed using A3-21's plasma rifle (or any plasma rifle), and the reaver disintegrates into a goo pile, then sometimes they have the same green aura that they had around them before they died.
Xbox 360 All ghouls will be non-hostile when not wearing the ghoul mask and will not attack unless provoked.
↑Fallout 4 loading screens: "While they can easily be mistaken for zombies, Feral Ghouls are actually horribly irradiated humans whose brains have rotted away, causing madness."
↑The Lone Wanderer: "I need more details... What's the breach all about?" M.A.R.Go.T.: "Internal visual sensing equipment is detecting numerous unidentified persons in the southeast tunnels area. The individuals have damaged metro equipment and refused dialogue with our security units. In accordance with U.S. Security Statute A567/B, the use of deadly force has been authorized." The Lone Wanderer: "Can you tell me more about these unidentified persons?" M.A.R.Go.T.: "My apologies. My sensing equipment in that area must be damaged. My equipment indicates the persons possess no internal body heat and are emitting lethal levels of radiation." (M.A.R.Go.T.'s dialogue)
Feral ghoul reavers may become invincible for a short period of time. While they can be successfully targeted in V.A.T.S, all shots fired will miss. If this happens, shoot for the legs, or make use of grenades. To detect when the ghouls are invincible they will begin shaking vigorously. Be careful they are nearly impossible to outrun and inflict much damage even on low difficulties.
