Definitely!

Yeah padded suit for training dogs, and dog is biting his arm for sure, prolly easier to assume it gives you better combat ability for your companions than one dog companion only being buffed. Man alot of typing and work into that, if even halfis right starting to look pretty cool. But yeah riding shotgun on a verti-bird just for my dog perk? might be drinking too much of the koolaid there dude.

My gut feeling is that it's still a flying jacket, and I noticed something that would actually explain why.

We know that the perk is called 'Attack Dog', and if we assume I'm right about the jacket, then it looks as though the two of them are getting ready to go out and kick some. If you look at the dog in http://i.imgur.com/GvJH23e.jpg image, you can see that he has his head tilted upwards and is not actually biting the Vault Boy's arm. You can also see that VB is wearing a hat, goggles and a scarf, the very same kind that we see http://www.blue17.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/WW1-pilot-wearing-a-silk-scarf.jpg. And so this still ties in with the https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z2R0gjwPeXvf-THCQh4z7nW2pq4=/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3791422/Fallout4_Concept_VbirdwDog_1434323502.0.jpg mentioned earlier.

If we now look at http://www.giga.de/wp-content/gallery/fallout-4-dogmeat/dogmeat_artwork10.jpg image, we can see something that didn't make sense until the QuakeCon demo. Standing alongside our protagonist and the mystery BoS individual are Preston Garvey and Dogmeat. Preston Garvey, as we now know, is a possible companion. If we now go look again at the previous image with the vertibird, I am quite certain that if we were somehow able to pan the view around, we would see Mr Garvey sitting on board. The point here is that we are travelling with two companions!

And so what I believe this perk really does, is it allows us to keep Dogmeat with us the whole time alongside a second companion. This would explain the emphasis on kennels as shown by Todd during the demo, as we would likely need one at every settlement. It would also result in a highly desirable gameplay feature, due to the unique characteristics of Dogmeat as a follower.

*Slow Clap*

Nah, because way too many noobs would over look that perk and end up going the whole game with the equivalent of a 0 out of 100 weapon skill. My guess is that you start off with the equivalent of 50 out of 100 weapon skill (compared to Fallout 3) and maybe all the relevant perks bring you up to 75 out of 100 and then you add the weapon mods or elite unique weapons from high level traders to get you to 100 out of 100 in weapon damage. If you noob out completely and don't invest into any of that and just take whatever weapons you gain from playing the game you still have essentially a 50-60 out of 100 weapon damage.

Yeah, I never noticed Dogmeat in that picture until you mentioned it. You have a good point that the perk might allow us to take Dogmeat along with -another- companion. That would certainly be nice, granted I would still like to see some perks that develop Dogmeat's combat capabilities, just so he doesn't taper off in later levels.

Note that this particular point is currently under review due to widely varying opinions. But I do agree that we would start out at a much higher base damage with each weapon, giving the game a lot more of an edge right from the start.

Also under review. I think that the additional ranks in this perk will open up new abilities, including the brutal finishing move we saw at E3.

Somehow I really doubt there's a perk just for Dogmeat. I can see having a few perks for companions, but not *just one* companion.

I'm hoping that the cyborg perk is really fleshed out so that you actually feel like a cyborg instead of just a little stat boost.

Dogmeat is something of a special case. Not only is he an iconic part of the franchise, but he would be capable of certain feats unavailable to other companions. For example, he may be able to climb to or enter areas that would be inaccessible for a human. Think of some of the partially destroyed buildings we've seen in concept art. I would imagine that many of them would be packed with useful items that were just that little bit out of reach.

Also there are the finishing moves. Even though he cannot speak or carry a rifle, the fact that he can rip out an enemy's throat in a matter of seconds makes Dogmeat a very useful ally. He also has different senses compared to human followers, and so he may even be able to pick up a trail for somebody we're following. This feature is one of the advanced ranks that I think will be unlocked as we progress through the game.

And so no matter which other follower we choose to bring along, Dogmeat will always have a unique edge, making it more than worthwhile for him to have his very own perk.

EDIT: note that Dogmeat would also have far more advanced situational awareness compared to a human follower, and so would be able to warn us of danger by barking, or even by growling.

They've said that most of the perks have multiple ranks but not all of them will. I would assume perks like Sandman and Grim Reaper Sprint don't have more than 1 rank. But the perks replacing skills (like gun nut for customizing weapons) have 3-4.

I agree.

It makes sense, but I hope that's not the case. I'd rather they fleshed out most if not all of the perks in the game. I would hope that both the Grim Reaper and Sandman perks are much stronger versions than the ones that were in Fallout 3 and New Vegas.

It's hard to get stronger than a one-shot-kill of any sleeping enemy if you have the patience to wait until the camp goes to sleep and the sneak not to wake them up when you go in. Also Grim Reaper Sprint in 3 was so OP it was stupid not to take it as soon as it was available. ALL of your AP back if you killed an enemy in VATS. I can't think of a way to make that stronger. Especially since you could one-shot most raiders and low to mid level enemies once you got some of the later game weapons.

They did nerf GRS in FONV so who knows what the FO4 version will be like.

I was thinking of the Mysterious Stranger instead of Mr. Sandman for some reason.

Even Grim Reaper seems a little weak compared to some of the other high level perks that we know about. Plus, you have to invest in all those VATS perks to even make it worthwhile. If I have to choose between Grim Reaper and Science, Cyborg, Sniper, and other higher level perks then it's really a no brainer.

Yeah, it didn't make an impression on me for some reason. I felt like I hate wasted a perk.

Since Grim Reaper's Sprint is under Luck now, maybe it just refills your critical bar if you kill an enemy with a critical strike. So you could theoretically chain criticals if you're just killing weak enemies, but it wouldn't help against an enemy that isn't dropped with one crit. Still crazy powerful, though.

That right there makes it seem like it is a lot different. If it assisted in Action Points it seems like it would be under agility.

This is what I posit in my thread (which is linked in the OP).

Is it possible that one of the Attack Dog Perks allows us to (briefly) control/play as Dogmeat? (considering there may be areas only he can enter, and suggested by his exploration in the trailer)

This could just mean that you can detect enemies further out into the distance.

[quote name="youngsmeagol" post="24209288" timestamp="1438232532"]


Even Grim Reaper seems a little weak compared to some of the other high level perks that we know about. Plus, you have to invest in all those VATS perks to even make it worthwhile. If I have to choose between Grim Reaper and Science, Cyborg, Sniper, and other higher level perks then it's really a no brainer.

I recently finished a play through of FO3 with GRS and I could usually clear a talon company ambush with it. Just pop VATS, hit target 1 three times in the head with my Lincoln repeater. He dies. Repeat for target 2 and so on until out of enemies or something takes more shots to kill. Worked for super mutants too unless they were the endgame overlords.

I like this idea, seems less overpowered. You also have to account for the ne perk system taking level requirements out. So if you start with 10 luck you can have GRS at level 2. All your other specials would be low as a sacrifice though.

This is actually why I linked the thread. Even though I don't agree with all of the perk placements you have suggested, the descriptions you offer for many of the perks give us a lot of food for thought. This and the fact that you already connected a large number of icons to the same perks that I have here, and so I thought it would be a useful additional reference to back up many of the suggestions made above. For those who haven't seen it yet, the thread can be found http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1526182-what-are-those-perks-and-what-do-they-do.

As a side note, the list of points you made about inconsistencies will be fully addressed, along with a number of other comments made on the thread, as soon as I get a chance. I have already offered a very viable alternative above for the 'Attack Boy' perk, which I now believe is spot on. I shall update this and several other details in the OP when time permits, including what I think is really going on with the baseball reference you mentioned above. One thing that you will definitely be pleased to hear is that I think you were 100% right about the incorrect placement of Melee and Unarmed in my OP, and so I shall be swapping them round to correct this. Closer inspection of the icons (if that's even possible lol!) suggests that this new configuration matches both icons perfectly, including the baseball bat being held up by Vault Boy in the icon for Melee Weapons.

This is an excellent suggestion, which I will list as a possible rank under Attack Dog when I update the OP. It definitely seems like a strong contender, and would also mirror our occasional transitions where we take control of Chop in GTA V, which we already know is one of Todd's favorite games.

Even though this perk only requires 3 Charisma, I think that the devs wanted to make this one available to everyone due to the special connection many of us have with the dogs in previous games. Having such a powerful perk available early on would also be a huge boost for many, and would allow us to have the perfect balance of one human companion who we can converse with and even romance, and our trusty killer Attack Dog who will keep us informed of danger and help us out of tight scraqes when the need arises.

With regards to both Unarmed and Melee (which should actually be listed as 1 and 2 respectively), it would make sense for them to be made available as soon as possible, as they both represent skills that date back to prehistoric times. Therefore we should be able to use them even with low Strength, much the same way that we would all be able to raise our fists or pick up a melee weapon to defend ourselves in the real world.

Also, this suggestion regarding the Far Sighted perk is an interesting one, and so I shall add this to the description.

It's powerful in Fallout 3, but when it has such a high SPECIAL requirement with less SPECIAL points to go around it would seem trivial if it was exactly the same as it was in Fallout 3 (or even the luck equivalent) when science at level 9 INT opens up so much more to the player. Not just modding your own weapons, they showed a WMD in the trailer. A satellite weapon that I'm sure you need some science perks to create.

Okay, the satellite laser I'm almost positive is quest related. Even the rangefinder we get in New Vegas is one of a kind (and a little underwhelming).