This Is How Many Headshots It Takes To Kill Somebody In Fallout 3
by Keane Ng on November 1, 2008 at 12:28 pm

I haven’t played Fallout 3. But please, somebody who has, please tell me: do all the NPCs have bulletproof adamantium skulls? I understand every action in the game is determined by stats and behind-the-scenes dice rolls, and that the game isn’t an action game or a shooter, but this is pretty ridiculous, and if it’s not totally indicative of what actually goes down in the game, well, it’s at least funny.
32 headshots. Ouch. Hit the jump and see it for yourself.
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14 Comments » |








on November 1, 2008 12:48 pm
To be fair, that’s a high level enemy and literally the first “real” gun you find in the game, in really poor condition so it’s probably doing about half damage. If he survived two headshots from a combat shotgun though, I’d be really, really surprised.
on November 1, 2008 12:55 pm
I figured that.
Still hilarious though!
on November 1, 2008 1:21 pm
Yeah, this is all a matter of circumstance. I’m not too far in the game and even at my level I have sneaked behind a raider and killed him with one punch.
on November 2, 2008 4:46 am
That must be a really really really bad gun. Wait! Maybe it’s a ketchup pellet gun…
on November 2, 2008 10:18 am
OK, first off this NPC is not supposed to be killed easily as it is not an enemy and is associated with a key character. Secondly, the gun is in poor condition. It’s deliberate that it takes this much to kill this character since they actually don’t want you to kill him. This is not a good representation on how the game really plays. Generally 1 to 3 head-shots will take out an enemy at that range depending on your level and gun condition.
on November 2, 2008 11:42 am
omg, i´m happy i decided NOT to buy this game…thank god.
on November 2, 2008 1:08 pm
First: The 10 mm is the third weakest gun in the game. The 32. cal and the Chinese pistol have the honor of being much, much weaker.
Second: Obviously the bloke has just started playing the game. He still has the Vault 101 armor and the gun that Amata gives you while you are trying to break out.
Third: If he was a higher level, that fucker’s head would have flown off like a frisbee. Even at level five when your small arms abilities get better your enemies need less and less shots to die. At close range, at level 10 with the “Bloody Mess” perk and more than 40 points in small arms, that blokes head would have come apart like a watermellon dropped off the Empire State building.
on November 2, 2008 3:28 pm
this video just made me want to play it more.
on November 2, 2008 9:34 pm
Ya the guy who took this video probably set this up deliberately by not giving himself any points in small arms to start off.
I’m lvl 6 in that game with about 50 points in small arms and the bloody mess and gun nut perks, and I can usually 1 shot people with my combat shotgun or Hunting Rifle.
And to the person who said they’re glad they didn’t buy this game, you are missing out. This is definitely Bethesdas best RPG yet.
on November 2, 2008 10:23 pm
This is what happens when Halo dorks try to play an RPG. Lots of mouthing off when their finely tuned “move the crosshairs to this location” skills aren’t the only thing required to play the game.
on November 2, 2008 10:52 pm
Not even. Halo is all auto-aim.
That’s right, I said it.
on November 3, 2008 2:33 pm
1. This is an RPG, not a FPS
2. Different guns have different damage rates
3. These damage rates are based on the type, condition, etc. Not caliber or ammo
4. THIS IS AN RPG
Lets say this bad guy has about 200 hit points total and 32 hit points for the head. Then you have a 10mm pistol in piss poor shape that does 1 damage due to the condition and the NPCs stats. This would then take about 30 hits.
This is just an example. Nothing is run and gun about Fallout 3, FPS skills are not a big factor… Stats and gear are.
on November 5, 2008 3:11 pm
As Carl said. Its an RPG and this merc will probably be a high level npc. And i don´t think all hits were headshot exspeccially when he shoots without vacs. The pistol is very unaccurate so i think about 5 of the hits aren´t real head shots.
Try to kill in morrowind a guard with level 1 and a crapp sword. you will need more than 100 hits to kill him…
on January 3, 2009 4:44 am
Uhm, Hello?! You’re tryin’ to kill a high-levelled and heavily armored wasteland-veteran with a lousy level-2-out-of-the-vault-character and a 10mm pistol (which is broken also)? You’re not playing GTA there, dude. It’s an RPG.