Mole rats are mutated rodents that are much larger than their pre-War cousins. They have survived as a species by burrowing underground where the soil protected them from direct nuclear explosions. However, they still were greatly mutated by the subsequent fallout, increasing their size as well as their viciousness. A few people in the wastes have even been known to train them and keep them as pets.
Characteristics
Biology
Mole rats range in size depending on the type being fought. They range in size from a house cat up to a large dog and possibly bigger. They have a bald pink appearance, with large front teeth and small eyes. They are highly territorial and will attack anything entering their territory. They are surprisingly fast and will attack with a jumping lunge.
Gameplay attributes
Mole rats in the Commonwealth possess a unique ability which is not found in specimens from the Capital and Mojave wastelands. They will tunnel to avoid their enemy or close in to attack unseen, they will also retreat to a tunnel if the player character moves to an area inaccessible to them, such as on top of a car. This makes them highly difficult to keep track of in groups. However, a faint outline of their tunnel can be seen as they move. This ability is shared with radscorpions. If the player uses a weapon dealing damage over time on a radscorpion or mole rat just as they burrow they can die underground and the corpse will be irretrievable.
Mole rats are common pests in the wasteland, as they can be encountered as soon as the Red Rocket truck stop and as far as the Glowing Sea. Compared to many other enemies mole rats are generally weak. However, if allowed to swarm they may become a problem since they have the ability to easily hide from the player characters sight and attack from behind.
Mole rats can be pacified through the Animal Friend perk.
Variants
Mole rat
The standard variation of the mole rat. With a mere 15 Hit Points, this enemy can be one-hit killed with most weapons in-game, making them usually not dangerous. The player character will most likely encounter these first at the Red Rocket truck stop, and they can be seen in various other parts of the Commonwealth.
As part of a random encounter, it is possible to encounter mole rats with explosives strapped on their back. These will detonate on impact, dealing damage to anything at proximity.
These particular mole rats have absorbed massive amounts of radiation and consequently glow. The glowing mole rat produces radiation in a short perimeter around and benefits from radiation sources in the form of health regeneration.
A powerful type of mole rat that can be encountered at high levels. The mole rat brood mother is significantly more resistant than her children, but her attacks still only do minor damage to a well-armored player character. One can be found in the secret part of Vault 81 during Hole in the Wall; this variant will give the Mole rat disease if it hits the player character.
Cleanup (Issue: this version is leveled, stats vary, there is 000db0b5 too)
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Found within the Vault 81 testing area during Hole in the Wall, the Vault 81 lab mole rats will transmit the mole rat disease when hitting the player character, which reduces max HP by 10 points until the Vault 81 cure is used on the player character. There are several variations of Vault 81 mole rats, ranging from the standard variant to glowing variants.
PC If the second perk of Sniper, is obtained, and a mole rat is about to enter their tunnels, there is a chance that they will stutter, and teleport constantly between the entrance and the end point of the tunnel. [verified]
If the second perk of Sniper, is obtained, and a mole rat is about to enter their tunnels, there is a chance that they will stutter, and teleport constantly between the entrance and the end point of the tunnel. [verified]
