Reavers Suspisciously Tough

[GothFur]

I've been having an issue where Feral Ghoul Reavers in DC (possibly Super Mutant Overlords too, but nowhere near as bad as Reavers) seem like they are WAY tougher than they should be, legitimately unbeatable without god mode and still a chore (although not actually hard obviously) with it.

don't get me wrong, I'm well aware that they are one of the 3 toughest enemies in the game (with a possible exception of a few named enemies), but im pretty sure it shouldnt take 25 point blank range headshots with a fully upgraded hunting shotgun and the shotgun surgeon perk to down one (and thats with god mode on, without it they usually one shot me). sneak attacks dont work either, with the bullpup sniper rifle (from WMX mod) fully upgraded, a sneak attack head shot takes their health down by one or two notches. my guns skill is 95 and ive got the jury rigging perk so all my gear is fully repaired at all times. my melee attacks (fire axe) are doing about as much damage as the hunting shotgun, maybe more, but obviously i get hit more that way.

I should mention in my last couple playthroughs ive been playing on very hard with hardcore mod on (not that hardcore mod even makes the game much more difficult) rather than normal, but i would think i should still be able to have a chance of beating one, just one, by itself. im wondering if this is normal for TTW (differences between FO3 and NV make balancing hard or something) or if maybe theres something specific to my setup thats causing this, i dont have any mods that should be altering NPC stats except one that keeps the DC traveling merchants alive and one that makes children non essential if they have no quests.

sometimes I can sneak around them, and when i cant, i can usually just avoid the area. problem is in certain quest areas there are Reavers that I have to fight (in Presidential Metro for example).

[RoyBatty]

Playing in very hard halves player damage and doubles NPC damage, this is normal for both games. Reavers, Overlords and Albino Radscorpions have very high health (most creatures have more health in Fallout 3). NV does increase weapon damage on the average of 2.2X but then the Super Mutants and Radscorpions also have DT (15 and 8) to offset that. Additional NV mechanics are intended to be used also, AP rounds and HP rounds. AP rounds for things with DT (Scorps, and Muties) and HP rounds for those which don't (Reavers).

Shotguns in New Vegas are relatively weak, try a Riot shotgun or Combat Shotgun instead.

[paragonskeep]

Also with the shotguns use the magnum rounds or slugs
I use the hunting shotgun or double barrel until I get the Riot usually can get through the Reavers on very hard, but I have my guns maxed by the time they show up
You may have a mod interfering with the toughness level based on what you said. But you didn't include a load order

[GothFur]

yea usually I use the Riot Shotgun, was hoping to find one for sale but I havent yet, normally by this point I have. There is an assault shotgun for sale, but the fire rate is way too high and i end up wasting all my ammo. I'll have to go to the police HQ and grab that riot shotgun i geuss. for my shotgun ive been using 12g 4BM, for my sniper .308JSP.

EDIT: I just noticed Roy said to use HP rounds for reavers because they have no armor. I'd assumed because its so hard to kill them they have high armor, how would a Marksman Carbine with 5.56 Match rounds or a Tactical Machine Pistol with 10mmJHP do? i used to carry both, dont currently have a TMP but its for sale, never tried the carbine, i mainly just use it for sniping weak stuff like raiders, dogs, Tenpenny Tower/Church Of Atom residents, base level Super Mutants and feral ghouls below Glowing One level

load order is:
-(to save typing, ive got all FO3/NV games/dlc and the ttw.esm in correct order)
-WMVM.esm
-The Mod Configuration Menu.esp
-TTWVaultSuitHotfix.esp
-TTWOptions.esp
-TTWStartupMenu.esp
-TTWSpeechChecks.esp
-TTWReputation.esp
-TTWStashPackOptions.esp
-TTW FO3&NV&DLC Killable Children.esp
-S420 Essential Companions.esp
-S420 Essential Caravans TTW.esp
-KillingKarmaFix.esp
-TTW WMVM Fix.esp
-CapitalCaravan.esp
-CapitalCaravan DC Vendor.esp
-RSCR Enhanced.esp
-CommonCaravanDeck SierraMadre.esp
-NVDLC04 Allegiance w Duster.esp
-SneakSightDisabler.esp
-USSHoodwink.esp
-AoT 5 YearsInTheMaking.esp
-Slof's Male Stuff.esp
-CourierOutfit.esp
-Glove be gone.esp
-Gloves Galore.esp
-GlovesGalore Deadmoney.esp
-TTW PowerArmorGloves[MERGED].esp
-DragonskinTacticalOutfit.esp
-DragonSkinTacticalOutfitNCRPersonelWearingOutfits.esp
-DragonskinTacticalBonusPack.esp
-WeaponModsExpanded.esp (the TTW compatible patch, not the original mod)

[RoyBatty]

Either of those weapon choices would be better than using something with AP rounds against them, personally I prefer Eugene with 5mm HP rounds :D

[Decker]

I do occasionally take the nuclear option and sneak attack Feral Ghoul Reavers with a Fat Man or lure them to run over a well placed nuclear landmine (just take care not to blow yourself up) - This usually does the trick (depending on skills and perk choices), or at least softens the reavers up enough so that they can be killed with more conventional weapons. With conventionals, choose rapid fire weapons which do a lot of damage total over time and bring lots of ammo (HP ammo is best, as was already mentioned). Chinese Assault Rifle is not the best possible choice here - Instead a Light Machinegun with expanded ammo drum is better, or a minigun (Eugene) mentioned by RoyBatty above. The idea is to keep up a constant withering stream of high damage bullets on target for several seconds before the Feral Reaver can do too much damage - Not having to stop and reload after every couple dozen rounds helps a lot.

Feral Ghoul Reavers are clearly amongst the top tier hostiles in Fallout 3 and TTW, it is most wise not to underestimate them.

[Mystical Panda]

With Reavers I usually lay either a bottlecap or 3 frag mines in a cluster, then kite them from a distance with a long range weapon; crippling their legs. From there, it's fairly easy if you watch out for those 'Stubb's The Zombie' radiation styled gut bombs. Oddly enough, stalking ghouls and Reavers in the sewers was one of my most favorite things to do.