Floater (Fallout)

For a cross-game overview of floaters, see Floater.

Floaters are mutated creatures.

Characteristics

The floater is a large, soft-bodied invertebrate, named after the flotation sacs that allow it to hover in the air.^{[Non-game 1]} Parts of its body include a head, mouth, fore mouth, float sac, tail, ganglion, and ovipositor.^[1] Floaters are often found in groups with super mutants and centaurs.

Variants

Floater

Floaters move quickly due to their ability to hover.

Name (Proto ID)

Statistics

DT/DR

Abilities

Floater
00000045

? ? 275 HP: 50 H.Rate: 1 AC: 5 Sequence: 8 AP: 7 Melee Dam: 19 Crit. Chance:5%

Normal:

3/

10%

Laser:

2/

0%

Fire:

0/

0%

Plasma:

0/

0%

Elect.:

0/

50%

Explosion:

0/

0%

EMP:

20/

500%

Bloody floater

Slightly more health but other stats remain unchanged.

Name (Proto ID)

Statistics

DT/DR

Abilities

Bloody floater
00000167

? ? 350 HP: 75 H.Rate: 3 AC: 8 Sequence: 14 AP: 9 Melee Dam: 25 Crit. Chance:5%

Normal:

4/

30%

Laser:

4/

30%

Fire:

4/

10%

Plasma:

2/

10%

Elect.:

2/

50%

Explosion:

0/

0%

EMP:

0/

500%

Appearances

Floaters appear in Fallout.

Behind the scenes

Floaters are the creation of Jason D. Anderson. According to this wiki's founder, Paweł "Ausir" Dembowski, Ausir acquired a quote from Anderson in which he said that "We called it the "Sphincter Monster" after I used a porn image for its mouth." Although an archived copy of this quote has not ever been made available, internal files for the floater in Fallout and Fallout 2 use the name MASPHNxx.FRM, supporting the "sphincter monster" assertion.
The FEV experiment disk includes a note regarding flatworms being infected with FEV in May 2075. Although floaters do, in some respects, resemble flatworms, there is no explicit link between flatworms and floaters, as the latter are not mentioned by name in the FEV experiment disk.^[2] When developer Jesse Heinig was asked about this on a No Mutants Allowed IRC chat, Heinig stated that he was unsure of the history of floaters and referred users to Chris Taylor, though nothing has ever come of this.^{[Non-game 2]}
When asked if the floaters in Fallout 76 were the same as the ones in prior Fallout games, designer Ferret Baudoin said "Yes, they are the same Floaters from before. FEV research was being done both in Appalachia and the West Coast." This asserts that floaters were indeed the product of FEV experimentation, though flatworms being their origin remains unconfirmed.^{[Non-game 3]}

Gallery

References

Non-game

↑ Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets p.26-27: "Floaters hover by, manufacturing and storing noxious gases in their flotation bladders. They're stupid, but move fast and are very difficult to kill. Floaters will try to surround you, so keep your distance. The gases that allow them to float turn them into a wonderful "flambé" when you crisp them with fire or energy weapons."
↑ "[00:22] <Ausir> Jesse_Heinig: just wondering, although you probably won't remember. a FEV research holodisk mentions flatworms being experimented on with FEV. were these meant to be the ancestors of floaters? they look rather flatwormy to me"
"[00:23] <Jesse_Heinig> Couldn't tell ya. I am not really privy to the backstory of floaters. Chris Taylor might know. It's *possible* that centaurs and floaters had a specific backstory made up and written down somewhere, but it's also *possible* that they were just weird monsters that artists made up and which were then installed into the game. I don't know which."
(Fallout Developers Profile - Jesse Heinig)
↑ Baudoin, Ferret; Gardiner, Jeff (April 23, 2020). "Hey r/fo76! Jeff Gardiner and Ferret Baudoin are here today to answer your questions and chat about Wastelanders." Reddit. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
"Yes, they are the same Floaters from before. FEV research was being done both in Appalachia and the West Coast.
In the earlier Fallouts they added a great tactical dimension to Super Mutant encounters. And they do the same for us. :)"

Creatures

West Coast (Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout (TV series))		Alien · Bighorner (Bighorner bull, Bighorner calf) · Bird · Bloatfly (Legendary bloatfly) · Brahmin · Cazador (Young cazador, Legendary cazador) · Centaur (Evolved centaur) · Chicken · Coyote (Coyote alpha male, Coyote den mother, Coyote pup) · Deathclaw (Baby deathclaw, Young deathclaw, Blind deathclaw, Deathclaw alpha, Mother deathclaw, Intelligent deathclaw, Legendary deathclaw) · Deer · Dog (Cyberdog, Legion Mongrel, Vicious dog) · Fire ant (Fire ant worker, Fire ant soldier, Ant queen) · Floater · Fly · Gecko (Hunter gecko, Fire gecko, Golden gecko, Little gecko) · Ghost people (Ghost harvester, Ghost seeker, Ghost trapper) · Ghoul (Feral ghoul roamer, Feral ghoul reaver, Glowing one, Feral trooper ghoul) · Giant ant (Giant worker ant, Giant soldier ant, Giant ant queen) · Giant catfish · Giant rat (Mole rat, Pig rat) · Gulper · Hog · Human · Lobotomite) · Lakelurk · Leech · Mantis (Giant mantis, Giant mantis nymph, Giant mantis female) · Marked man · Night stalker (Young night stalker, Den mother, Legendary night stalker) · Radroach · Radscorpion (Bark scorpion, Bark scorpion hunter, Small radscorpion, Giant radscorpion, Radscorpion queen) · Raven · Rattlesnake (Twinjaw Rattler) · Slags · Spore carrier (Spore carrier savage, Spore carrier brute, Spore carrier runt) · Spore plant · Super mutant (Mariposa) (Super mutant master, Nightkin) · Wanamingo · Tunneler (Tunneler queen) · Wolf · Yao guai

East Coast (Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout Tactics 2)		Abomination · Alien · Alien squid · Alien worm · Angler · Barnacle · Beaver · Bee swarm · Bird · Bloatfly · Bloodbug · Bloodworm · Blue Devil · Brahmin · Brahmiluff · House cat · Cave cricket · Centaur · Chicken · Crow · Deathclaw · Dog (Mongrel) · Dolphish · Fire ant · Firefly · Flatwoods monster · Fly · Fog crawler · Fox · Frog · Gatorclaw · Gazelle · Ghoul (Feral ghoul, Feral ghoul reaver, Feral ghoul roamer, Glowing one, Swamp ghoul) · Appalachian Floater · Ghoulrilla · Giant ant (Giant ant queen) · Giant catfish · Gorilla · Grafton monster · Gulper · Hermit crab · Honey beast · Human · Jersey Devil (Lesser Devil) · Mega sloth · Mirelurk (Mirelurk hunter, Mirelurk king, Nukalurk, Swamplurk, Swamplurk queen) · Mole rat · Mole miner · Mothman · Mutant crocodile · Mutant hound · Mutant wanamingo · Ogua · Opossum · Overgrown (Overgrown thorn, Overgrown elder, Overgrown pollinator) · Rad chicken · Radgull · Rad rabbit · Rad-rat · Radtoad · Radroach · Radscorpion (Albino radscorpion, Giant radscorpion) · Radstag · Scorched · Scorchbeast · Snallygaster · Squirrel · Stingwing · Tick · Super mutant (Vault 87) (Super mutant behemoth, Super mutant brute, Super mutant master, Super mutant overlord) · Super mutant (Institute) · Super mutant (Huntersville) · Swampfolk · Trog · Wendigo · Wolf · Yao guai

Midwest (Fallout Tactics, Van Buren)		Badger · Boom bug · House cat · Brahmin · Dog · Electro-beetle · Endless walker · Gehenna · Ghoul (Born ghoul, Feral ghoul, Glowing one) · Giant albino ant (Giant albino ant queen) · Giant leech · Giant rat · Giant wasp · Hairy deathclaw (Baby hairy deathclaw) · Human · Komodo dragon · Molech · Mountain lion · Mutant cannibal · Raccoon · Radroach · Radscorpion · Radtoad · Trog · Super mutant (Mariposa) · Wolf

Texas (Fallout: BoS, Fallout: BoS 2)		Brahmin · Coyote · Dog · Experimental deathclaw (Baby experimental deathclaw) · Ghoul (Glowing one) · Giant rat (Mole rat) · Human · Radbug · Radscorpion (glowing radscorpion, spitting radscorpion, large giant radscorpion) · Small rat · Giant rat · Super mutant (Mariposa)

Project V13		Ghoul · Human · Mutant mantis shrimp · Super mutant (Project V13)

Fallout Shelter		Bat · Deathclaw · Feral ghoul · Ghoul · Human · Mole rat · Cat · Dog · Parrot · Radroach · Radscorpion · Super mutant

[2] COMBAT.MSG

[3] FEV experiment disk

[FO2_guide-1] Fallout 2 Official Strategies & Secrets p.26-27: "Floaters hover by, manufacturing and storing noxious gases in their flotation bladders. They're stupid, but move fast and are very difficult to kill. Floaters will try to surround you, so keep your distance. The gases that allow them to float turn them into a wonderful "flambé" when you crisp them with fire or energy weapons."

[4] "[00:22] <Ausir> Jesse_Heinig: just wondering, although you probably won't remember. a FEV research holodisk mentions flatworms being experimented on with FEV. were these meant to be the ancestors of floaters? they look rather flatwormy to me"
"[00:23] <Jesse_Heinig> Couldn't tell ya. I am not really privy to the backstory of floaters. Chris Taylor might know. It's *possible* that centaurs and floaters had a specific backstory made up and written down somewhere, but it's also *possible* that they were just weird monsters that artists made up and which were then installed into the game. I don't know which."
(Fallout Developers Profile - Jesse Heinig)

[Reddit-5] Baudoin, Ferret; Gardiner, Jeff (April 23, 2020). "Hey r/fo76! Jeff Gardiner and Ferret Baudoin are here today to answer your questions and chat about Wastelanders." Reddit. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
"Yes, they are the same Floaters from before. FEV research was being done both in Appalachia and the West Coast.
In the earlier Fallouts they added a great tactical dimension to Super Mutant encounters. And they do the same for us. :)"

[Non-game 1]

[1]

[2]

[Non-game 2]

[Non-game 3]