The dog does seem to have been upgraded beyond the Fallout 3 version which of course growled when enemies where close and would search for loot if ordered to....from the demos the new dogmeat is trained to retrieve specific items, it also now seems to employ the tactic of attacking the legs of humans (and ghouls) and then goes for the throat of the enemy once it has them on their back.

I'm hoping that there is a stay command to prevent dogmeat making solo attack runs, hopefully we will be able to choose when dogmeat attacks rather than the dog trying to solo a deathclaw and giving away our position.

Okay, this is just to clarify the whole 275 thing, which I think has confused a lot of people.

The total number quoted, if my hunch is correct, also includes the 7 icons at the top of the chart. These would be used to increase our stats, and being that we would likely be able to increase these as many times as we like up to the maximum, this would count as 1 each. And so if we take 7 from the 275, we get 268. Next, there are 4 perks that would only make sense if they had a single rank. These are Black Widow/Lady Killer (depending on our choice of protagonist), Mister Sandman, Bloody Mess, and Mysterious Stranger. If we take these out of the equation, we are left with 264 ranks shared between 66 perks, which works out at exactly 4 each.

The whole way he has been presented so far gives him the appearance of a police dog, or a dog trained for detecting explosives (which I think will be an in-game upgrade). And so I'm sure that we will be seeing lots of options, including a stay command.

I wonder if there will also be challenge type/learned perks, kind of like they had in new vegas.. "You ate 20 cans o' beans.. Your digestive system is now accustomed to beans, you will find that you toot less after eating some."

Damn! There goes my world exclusive reveal

It may work out that way, but think about this: what do you think the likelihood is that every other perk will have exactly 4 ranks? Granted, it's all guesswork and speculation, but I'd say it's far more likely that some of those other perks won't have 4 ranks, just 2 or 3.

Giving every skill or perk the same number of ranks (with the exception of the 4 unique options mentioned above) would make the levelling process much easier to follow. It would also make it far easier to plan our character build, as we won't have to constantly check each perk to see how many ranks there are.

This just in:

No ending after main quest and no level cap has just been confirmed on the official Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/Fallout.eu/photos/a.385048521692775.1073741829.304494376414857/399684860229141/?type=1&theater

EDIT: also posted by stretchbl a short while ago http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1530094-no-end-and-no-level-cap-confirmed, but highly relevant to the contents of this thread

I agree about the build planning, but not on making leveling easier. I don't think the amount of ranks each perk has makes the leveling process harder or easier. I do think that your latter assessment is possibly true, but I still think it's far more likely we'll see perks with varying levels of max ranks and SPECIAL trees with the same amount of total ranks in each one.

In the end, we'll just have to wait and see and agree to disagree for now.

The reason that the 4 rank system would be necessary is that, rather than the original consensus of skills having disappeared, almost every single perk now operates as a skill. Looking at the new Strength perks I have suggested in the OP, let's take the example of Heavy Hitter, which would allow us to throw a very powerful punch at our opponent with a high chance of rendering them unconscious. Note that this particular attack would be restricted to non V.A.T.S. combat.

If we had no ranks, we would have an effective score of 0/100. This means that we would be limited to executing a regular punch. By taking the first rank, we would then have an effective score of 25/100, which would unleash the first level of the power attack. The second and third ranks (50/100 and 75/100) would further increase the damage caused and would also increase the chance of a knockout. Finally the fourth rank, equivalent to 100/100, would unleash the most powerful attack with a chance to kill the opponent in one blow, rather than just knocking them unconscious.

It would seem that out of the entire line up of perks, 63 of them function in the exact way I have described above. This includes all 13 skills as outlined in the OP, each with it's own bobblehead and 5 http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1530098-collectible-skill-books, and then a further 50 regular perks, that have the exact same functionality as skills minus the bobblehead and books. This gives us an incredible number of ways that we can build our character, as each one of these 63 choices is designed to work alongside any other, and so the total number of different combinations is almost unlimited. Note that out of the remaining 7 perks, 4 of these are the 'special cases' mentioned above with 1 rank each, and the final 3 are made up of 4 unique but related abilities that are listed under a single heading.

EDIT: this setup effectively gives us 63 skills to choose from, as well as a further 16 unique abilities split between the 7 remaining perks.

Right.

Instead of having 13 skills, we have some thing like 65 skills in the form of the ranked perks our of the 70 total perks.

So basically five times as many skills as in Fallout 3.

Since 1 skill perk is worth about 25 points of a skill (25/50/75/100) and we get one perk per level, that will work out to about the same progression rate as Fallout New Vegas.

Every two levels we go up about 25 skill points (say by getting the next rank in Lockpicking) and have one perk to spend on non skill perks like Extensive Training.

Also with the perk ranks, they can add more variety if they add more benefits to perks than say a straight 5% increase in damage per rank.

For example the Power Loader perk might add plus one Strength per rank to the Sole Survivor when in power armor and if the Sole Survivor has all 4 ranks, it could also remove the Agility penalty for wearing power armor.

Or Light Step might greatly reduced the chance of setting off a mine or trap.

Rank 2 of Light Step reduces it more.

Rank 3 of Light Step reduces it to zero.

Rank 4 of Light Step keeps your companions from setting off a mine or trap.

Exactly this. And those are also some very good suggestions!

For example, I already had the Light Step perk listed as being progressive with less chance to set traps off, and the final rank ignoring them altogether, but your suggestion of the 4th rank actually being for companions or friendlies actually sounds more likely.

I think I found a perfect place for this one as well. The first two ranks of Ninja Master, as seen on my previous thread, actually cover what is essentially the same thing, whereas they should both be completely independent of each other. This is because of how a number of the other perks function. And so looking at your suggestion, this would be a perfect replacement for the first rank. This would make the amended version of Ninja Master as follows:

Rank 1 removes encumbrance and movement penalty from all equipped armor. Rank 2 removes all noise from running or walking. Rank 3 creates a sonar pulse from the Pip-Boy which can be projected at a distance to confuse or distract enemies. Rank 4 enables a guaranteed silent takedown, which would follow a successful sneak attack headstrike using either Unarmed or Melee Weapons. This takedown will render the victim unconscious but will not alert others in the area. Note this technique can also be used when pistol whipping or using the butt of a rifle, both of which count as melee attacks.

Edited for clarity.

Thank you once again for another excellent suggestion

Okay, that's pretty sweet. So, essentially ranks are taking the place of skills. Good stuff

It would certainly seem that this is the case. Note that the definition you have quoted above has been slightly amended so that the meaning is a bit clearer.

There also seem to be a few other examples that fit very well with a combination of a progressive increase alongside an added ability. One of these is the new V.A.N.S. perk that is used for underwater exploration (requires 5 Endurance). In order for this perk to function realistically and to fit in with everything else in the game, it must NOT be the only way we can explore underwater areas. Without this perk, based on all available evidence, there are 2 options. The first is to simply dive in as we have done in previous games. This would give us a specific duration, based on our Endurance level, that we can explore underwater areas before our health starts to deplete. If we stay under beyond this point, we will drown. The second way is to use a submersible, such as the one seen in http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1524192-more-clues-in-the-concept-art. This would allow us to venture into very deep water, such as the area in and around Boston Harbor, the same area I refer to as being the http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1526246-the-glowing-sea. The downside to this method is that we would be inside a vehicle, and so the experience will be somewhat less 'up close and personal' than simply diving in.

The third, and by far the coolest method, would be to use V.A.N.S., which stands for Vault-Tec Assisted Nautical System. This would give us a completely unique HUD, replacing the map with a three-dimensional sonar scanner, and the compass with a gyroscope. The perk would also substantially increase the time we can survive without oxygen by allowing the Pip-Boy to manipulate our heart rate and other functions, in the same way that V.A.T.S. utilises our central nervous system to increase our awareness. As we increase in rank, the time we can spend underwater increases substantially. Note that this perk would also give us an underwater targeting system which would be unavailable through any other means. This would be very useful when used in conjunction with the range of underwater weapons that I'm quite sure will make an appearance. This ties in with the high likelihood of there being a whole host of underwater enemies, such as the giant squid seen in concept art, also accessible via the above link.

Hmm.. interesting. So, would this VANS work with scuba gear or something? How would we get a special underwater HUD?

Again, bearing in mind this is still currently a theory: the HUD would replace the usual screen overlay of the compass and other details, in a similar way to what we see when wearing power armor. Only this time it would be fed directly into our field of visual awareness, in the same way that the targeting system works in V.A.T.S. If scuba gear is available in-game, which is a definite possibility, then this would allow us a much longer time to explore, just as it would if we simply dived in without the perk. But V.A.N.S. would give us a massive advantage in terms of navigation, as well as engaging any enemies we come across.

One other point to support this interpretation of V.A.N.S. In my theory threads, I have suggested that Vault 111, which I believe was designed specifically for non-serving US Marines or Naval officers, was built with an escape route. This would be built directly underneath the vault, accessible via a sealed hatch, and would essentially consist of a submerged tunnel or passageway through which any escapees would swim out to safety into a nearby lake. The only problem with this idea is that, without proper diving gear, they would not survive the quarter mile or so that they would need to travel underwater. And so, instead of relying on additional equipment, the V.A.N.S. system was designed, and was incorporated directly into the Pip-Boy. Note that the Pip-Boy is most certainly a military edition, which can be confirmed by http://blogs-images.forbes.com/davidthier/files/2015/06/screen-shot-2015-06-19-at-11.11.03-am.jpg image showing not only a clear military influence in the design, but also has the words "NOT FOR CIVILIAN USE" written on the stand. The full explanation of the escape route (which I believe is how the Institute accessed the vault), can be found http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1523172-is-vault-111-built-like-a-submarine.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9O-jHDetoE/VXKmUAD85nI/AAAAAAAAHAc/3sOU3qmodl8/s1600/EzaTAU9.jpg

The closest body of water is either a river down south, or a lake north east. Even then, why would they build a tunnel and fill it with water, thereby forcing people to swim to safety. An emergency exit is supposed to be fast and easy. What you're implying is more of a secret entrance/exit and less of an escape route.

As far as VANS goes, are we sure that it isn't just a perception related perk abbreviated as Vault Tec Assisted Navigation System. Did scientists at Vault Tec even design pip boys with deep sea diving in mind? The kind of equipment you need to do that in the first place would come standard with tech needed for navigating the depths.

**

Also, the whole glowing sea stuff sounds more figurative than literal. I feel like we saw glimpses of the glowing sea from the gameplay footage - the land that's shrouded with a yellow tinge, i.e. where the bombs fell.

The exact location of Vault 111 would be a little Northwest of https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/394+Monument+St,+Concord,+MA+01742,+USA/@42.47163,-71.3496119,1199m/data=http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1529938-skill-perk-line-up-speculation/!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e39a25b5066e99:0x7b4c7a3fe91aad35!6m1!1e1 marker, most likely where we see the huge circular driveway. The bridge next to the marker is the one we see raiders crossing in the footage, and the Minute Man Monument has been relocated to the other side of the river, immediately South of the marked building. The lake in question is the one seen to the East. Note that if you zoom the map out a little, you can see Concord to the Southeast, exactly as we see it in the footage.

Also, the escape route would not have been designed as a conventional emergency exit. It would have been deemed as classified due to the sensitive nature of the tech inside the vault, as well as the nature of the experiment itself. Once the experiment was completed, should the main exit have become blocked or damaged, for example by a 747 or equivalent dropping out of the sky following an EMP blast, then the vault scientist/s would activate the emergency exit protocol and would then allow access to the tunnel. And the reason that the tunnel would be filled with water and connected to the nearby lake would be to prevent anyone from attempting unauthorised access into the vault, and to keep it's location a secret.

This would also be aided by the fact that, when the cryo tech inside is fully active, the internal pressure of the vault would instantly kill anyone not inside one of the pods. The inclusion of the tunnel would also perfectly explain how the Institute were able to gain access to the vault, by sending in a recovery team consisting of modified amphibious synths, designed to swim up and into the compression chamber under the vault, who would then be unaffected by the crushing pressure inside. Once in the vault itself, they would remove the pod containing the protagonist's spouse and child and place it into a portable containment system to maintain the pressure inside in order to keep it's inhabitants alive. If the pressure were to be removed, any water inside the pod, including 70% of the body mass of both Shaun and his parent, would instantly expand, killing them both.

With regards to my definition of V.A.N.S., the Pip-Boy already has a built in targeting and navigation system. My suggestion of it being a nautical system would mean that both of these are replaced with an equivalent that will function perfectly when underwater. Add to this the fact that, should a nuclear war actually occur (which it did), you would need individuals capable of recovering any useful resources to ensure ongoing survival, and one huge potential source of recoverable resources that would remain relatively untouched would be the rivers and lakes in the surrounding area, as well as the sea itself. This is one of the many reasons why I believe that every single person intended for entry into vault 111, including our protagonist and their spouse, would have been either in the US Navy or the Marine Corps. Because by definition, they would have recieved specialist training in underwater survival skills.

Finally, with regards to the http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1526246-the-glowing-sea, I think that Todd has pulled another "200 years" on us by showing the 'yellow haze' in the area with the deathclaw. These look to be nothing more than the beginnings of sandstorms, as seen http://allpics4u.com/www/slike/place/sydney_storm/sydney_storm6.jpg. When you consider how much moisture would be required to whip up a storm capable of unleashing radioactive lightning strikes, as Todd has told us, the only location in the area of the Commonwealth that would be capable of generating such storms would be Boston Harbor, exactly as I have explained in my theory.

EDIT: the above details regarding V.A.N.S. would also suggest that there would be a huge number of underwater collectibles to discover and then salvage, just as there are in GTA V. This could involve sunken ships, boats, submarines, and even aircraft, as well as a ton of other possibilities. Note that if the concept art is anything to go by, we will be seeing some massive underwater enemies, including the giant squid that has already been shown, and of course the submarine mines that kicked the Great War off in the first place...

Well, Todd did say the Glowing Sea was an area where the bomb falls. I would guess this is where our http://i.imgur.com/ni9mTaC.png might be able to sail through.

I wonder if this ship would still actually be amphibious with the rockets attached.

EDIT 1: in my Glowing Sea thread I have presented evidence of there being three detonations, including one in the harbor itself.

EDIT 2: the Constitution may have even shot down the airship we see at the end of the footage.

So do you think it would be possible to craft scuba/diving equipment with the science and or repair skills? Or will it be a type of gear we can find with the right perks?

In much the same way as we can find scuba diving gear in GTA V, I think this will be an easter egg that anyone will be able to find and use. This way, even those who do not want to or don't have enough points to take the V.A.N.S. perk can still explore the depths.

One huge piece of evidence to back this up is my discovery that the perk chart consists of what is essentially 63 skills and 16 unique abilities. The 13 main skills are the ones that come with their own bobblehead as well as a unique set of 5 skill books, and the other 50 perks, even though they don't have these bonuses, operate in exactly the same way, and could therefore also be classed as skills. Not only that, but they all seemed to have been designed to work in any combination, and so are all completely independent of each other. Also, the 16 unique abilities would appear to have the same level of independence. 4 of these are single rank perks, namely Black Widow/Lady Killer, Mister Sandman, Bloody Mess, and Mysterious Stranger. And the final 12 are actually grouped into sets of 4 related but still independent abilities that are presented to us as the final 4 perks.

The reason this is so important when considering the scuba gear, is that nothing in this game appears to be 'tied down' or closed off, with the exception of the progressive ranks in each individual perk and the requirement of a specific level in the respective stat. And so underwater exploration would equally be made as open and as flexible as possible. Just one final point as to why I may have come across as more than a little enthusiastic about the new changes. If this assertion is correct, and we can actually combine any number of these 63 'skills' and 16 abilities, then there are technically more possible character builds than there are people on the planet.

Note that, due to this recent discovery, the definitions as seen in the Strength line up will soon be amended so that none of the other perks would require the Martial Artist perk in order to target individual zones when in V.A.T.S.

The main vault entrance is located underground. The vault hatch to the surface is designed to impart, not open outwards. So, unless the wreckage above is massive and pancaked directly on the door, then the inhabitants can still shift their way out. Plus, we know for a fact there's no wreckage above, so anyone wanting to enter the vault could do so the easy way. This whole tunnel theory still isn't solid. The engineers, instead of building a secure door lock for their emergency exit, flooded it with water to stop people from entering and essentially made it far more difficult for the occupants to use the very same tunnel. It defeats the purpose of being an emergency exit entirely. There are families inside the vault, too. Not all of them are allegedly mariners or navy personnel trained in scuba equipment.

Regarding the internal pressure of the vault...why? Why would they pressurize the inside of a vault and how is there any relation to the vault using cryo technology and needing to be pressurized to begin with? It seems counter-productive to have a vault entirely pressurized instead of individual rooms. You'd basically need to have a pressurization chamber at every entrance/exit of the vault. Plus, Vault 112, another vault with cryo technology, didn't use any pressurization at all (as far as we know).

The whole mariner/naval conclusion is also shaky. There's this giant disconnect between the theory that's asserted and how the character himself responds to the vault-tec representative. A guy trained with forehand knowledge that the bombs would fall, trained specifically for deep sea resource acquisition, is somehow completely oblivious of Vault-tec, a military branch of the government he serves. Additionally, there's nothing that implies he is an active service member, let alone that he was in the navy or marines. Nothing implies or suggests it at all. We do know that he was giving a speech at a veteran's hall. We've seen a few images that relate to the sea, a squid, an obscured picture of what looks like a deep sea diving HUD, a chinese submarine, and a naval mine. To conclude that these images imply a massive amount of underwater content is out of this world. It's even farther out in the left field to build a theory saying that the vault is designed to house naval officers and mariners designated for post-nuclear apocalypse, deep sea lobster diving - all because there's 4 images of underwater elements.

Now, the whole Glowing Sea ordeal is still suspect. The wiki itself is pointing to the glowing sea as being a point where the bomb hit directly, and that's compounded on by Godd Howard's word's:

"...We actually have a part of the world we call the Glowing Sea, which is where the bomb falls. So we wanted to vary as opposed as opposed to just being one note."

Does the Boston Harbor look like it was hit directly by a nuke? No. Was it [censored] up by the nukes dropping around it? Definitely. You don't need a massive body of water to have extremely violent radiation storms swell up.

I always appreciate your comments on my threads, and I understand your hesitation with many parts of my theory. And even though I know we will forever disagree on many aspects of gameplay, I still enjoy reading your views, and I will always welcome them. Also, as a great many of the ideas I propose are based on very strong hunches as well as readily available information, I am aware that these ideas may seem to many as being a little absurd. I guess it comes with the territory.

But behind all of these ideas, one of the first things I noticed about the area in which the Commonwealth is located is the sheer amount of water. Boston Harbor represents what I believe will be a relatively large portion of the overall map, certainly much larger than we have been led to believe. In fact, I believe it will be the biggest explorable underwater area seen in any game in this, or even the Elder Scrolls series, by a clear mile. And so, the theme of water would therefore be highly important, even influencing the game's release date, which is the 240th Anniversary of the US Marine Corps.

Just as one final addition to my theory, and one which I have not as yet mentioned on the forum, I believe that water actually plays a very big part in what goes on inside the vault. I have already suggested the the design of Vault 111 is based on that of a submarine, although instead of keeping the crushing pressure of the sea outside, it is necessary for this pressure to be recreated inside. The final irony would be in the design of the pods themselves, something which has always held my fascination. You see, in order for my http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1523172-is-vault-111-built-like-a-submarine to work fully, there would need to be a slight amendment to the inside of the pods. With a layer of super-coolant in the outer shell, and a high pressure environment outside that would stop the inhabitant's cells from expanding, you would need a very efficient conductor of heat, or in this case cold, inside the pod. And so, in a cruel twist of fate considering their origin in the Marines and the Navy, in order for our protagonist and their family to survive their time spent in stasis, they will first have to drown.

Note: now I know you're going to say that this idea also has no basis in what we've been shown. But consider the fact that our protagonist leaves the vault alone and just happens to be wearing a Vault 111 jumpsuit. I believe that, after the freezing water drains from the pod, he or she must quickly remove their soaked clothing and put on one of the provided jumpsuits, which would be found in the main vault area, in order to prevent their body from going into hypothermia. This particular setup would even explain why we see the male protagonist catching his breath as he exits the vault.