While major kudos for the effort & time you put to your perk theorys even tho I haven't read them incase you are right so spoilers but it seems alot of your speculation is based on a really blurry photo.

As Dark Master K stated above, the artwork is most certainly different, which is highly significant due to the fact that many other icons that seem to reference existing perks are identical to those seen in previous games. This difference was first noted by BOX MAAAN some time ago, including the fact that in the icon for Nuclear Anomaly, VB is basking in the explosion and is even smiling, whereas in the icon seen on the perk chart, he is walking away from it, and looks to be severely effected by it. What this therefore suggests is that the function of the perk is not the same as that seen in Nuclear Anomaly.

Fair. But I don't think nuclear anomaly is the only perk with different artwork. We'll see.

Nuclear Anomaly activates when you're severly injured, which could explain Vault Boy's messed-up appearance. Also, because this perk is adjacent to Solar Powered, which shows Vault Boy in that same smiling, basking pose as we see in Nuclear Anomaly, the artist may have decided to change Nuclear Anomaly's picture to something more distinctive.

I doubt Bethesda would have two separate perks for resisting nuclear radiation. It would be too unstreamlined and unnecessary.

Getting a level-9 perk and all of its ranks takes a great deal of player effort. Some players are saying that they want to play ghouls. They believe it will be fun, and because they believe it will be fun, we can expect they might enjoy working for that opportunity. Players who don't want to play ghouls don't want to be bothered. These players will not appreciate being forced to put an effort into avoiding ghoulification, will hate being forced to work against their preferred character-concept by raising an attribute that shouldn't be raised, and will detest repeatedly buying a perk they would rather not have to buy, all because others wish to play ghouls.

If there is a perk related to ghoulification, then it will be a perk giving the player a chance to become a ghoul. I don't believe that ghoulification is in, but if it is, I think that a perk for getting it would be more satisyfing than a perk for resisting it.

Let me say again that at first I did not like the idea becoming a ghoul (definitely not a feral ghoul!) but the idea has grown on me since. Maybe some has already pointed out the following:

If becoming a ghoul is confirmed, I am thinking it may be a way to open up new story elements, since Bethesda claims this installment will be more story-driven. It may open up new pathways to choices and decisions. I have always been interested to see a story from different angles and this would be a way to facilitate that, if they have decided to include it, and see where the story, adventure, and choices take me.

I was going to point this out myself after noticing the difference, and it seems to be the most likely outcome in my humble opinion.

Again though, I'm just going to stress how silly the idea of being a ghoul as a gameplay mechanic is, as there is nothing to gain out of it besides an obvious indefinite radiation resistance, something of which is no doubt likely to be achieved by many other alternatives already, including an already existing perk in the chart. From a design perspective, for there to be another perk that in reality is just "durr more rad resistance" sounds absurd, and a complete waste.

....along with an overly healthy dose of fan boi shaded imagination...

Again, nothing wrong with this except too much of the conversation is voiced as if the speculation is somehow already Fallout canon and confusing many casual gamers into thinking as much.

And yet the icon for Solar Powered has also been updated, which suggests that the function of this perk has also changed, which I have outlined in my thread.

As for an idea being 'silly' as a gameplay mechanic, you do realise you are suggesting that the perk on the chart is actually the one previously called Nuclear Anomaly, which allowed the player to erupt into a devastating nuclear explosion similar to that of a car or a mini nuke? And the trigger for this miraculous occurrence? It happens whenever your health is reduced to 20 or less. I would love to hear how you explain this as a sensible gameplay mechanic.

The point is, both options are more than viable in the Fallout universe, and so both have an equal chance of being considered. And as for having two perks on the chart that reduce the effects of radiation (albeit in very different ways, and bearing in mind the far more deadly nature of radiation this time round), it is interesting that not one person on this forum has challenged my suggestion of the Tank perk as somehow being irrelevant due to the existence of Toughness.

The fact that I have taken the time to research every single suggestion, by anolysing available information including the footage, the perk chart, as well as videos and articles, by taking apart the various gameplay mechanics of previous titles in this and the Elder Scrolls series, and by looking at other influences already deemed relevant by the developers themselves, all suggest a very scientific approach. This is not the workings of a 'fan boi'. And before you suggest that this statement is in some way egotistical, I have had to stand up against some very heavy opposition from many who somehow believe that I should stop speculating just because.

Also, although I have clearly marked my various threads as speculation, I am very confident as to the validity of the details I have posted. And as such, I do not see why I should speak of these ideas in a way that sounds apologetic, or that assumes that I am simply wasting my time. Once the game is released, I will either be proved right, or I will be proved wrong. But either way, I will have spent time doing something that I enjoy and actively contributing to the community.

And as for casual gamers, I think you are underestimating the number of people who understand perfectly that the ideas I have put forward are speculation, and will remain so until the game releases in November.

I'm thinking we might turn into a fire gecko if we get hit with a flame thrower. A lot of scientific research went into my findings. It's gonna happen.

FIRE.GECKO.

At least your sarcasm is creative

Just trying to keep up

Well, you managed to break the tension a bit lol

And I believe minor changes done to the icon of the perk don't necessarily suggest an actual change in its function, so long as the context for which that icon represents is still fairly obvious. For Solar Powered, I think that context is still fairly clear with the sun pointing down on a pleased VB. As is for the changed icon for what I believe is Nuclear Anomaly, an injured VB with an explosion behind him, both of which that perk is based on.

As for what I define "silly", I believe you took my post out of context. What I am calling "silly" or "absurd" or what would be a foolish design choice, is the implementation of ghoulification that you have speculated and having a perk specific to resisting certain radiation from conditions like supposed nuclear explosions and lightning strikes that cause it. In no way am I defending the absurdity of Nuclear Anomaly as a game mechanic; I've already criticized it well enough in the past for being nothing more but a gimmick, and an utterly useless one at that, like the Mysterious Stranger. Both being poorly designed perks that I still question why they still exist. And yet, Mysterious Stranger is clearly in Fallout 4. If that perk is surely in Fallout 4, I don't doubt a perk like Nuclear Anomaly could be as well, as much as I am against both of them.

Now, back to your point in having two different perks made to resist radiation, again, I find it silly from a design perspective. Neither of them seem very distinctive in any way in which they go about resisting radiation, only that one perk resist just radiation, while the other resist it from a specific source (that you speculate causes ghoulification apparently). I find that to be an utter waste of perks when they both grant just about the same benefit of resisting radiation. The resistance of radiation from a nuclear explosion or lightning strike could be more appropriately just a bonus from Rad Resistance. While the Rad-X and RadAway bonus can come from, hell, the Medicine perk, considering both are considered medicines in Fallout 3 and their effectiveness is directly based on one's Medicine skill in that game. Or it doesn't have to be a bonus for Medicine at all and just becomes more effective like any other medicine the higher your rank is in the Medicine perk. If that was the way it was done, Rad Resistance would be the go to perk for all radiation resistance, while there is now room for a whole new perk, that unfortunately looks like Nuclear Anomaly to me based on the icon.

Now as for the Endurance perks, what I was criticizing wasn't necessarily your speculation in that area but the way Bethesda has placed them, as its clear where their placement is for the likes of Toughness and Life Giver. As for the Tank perk, it's an entirely new perk to the series and much harder to determine what it does compared to perks with icons we're familiar with. I honestly don't know how you've come to your conclusions with that perk, especially with the shock resistance based on just the icon alone unless you know something I don't. One reason why I never bothered arguing that point, but argued the placement of perks like Toughness and Life Giver. We know what those perks are, and we can clearly see where they're placed.

There is my two cents and a bit of my own speculation based off of your speculation in a different way some perks can be done.

And I'm of the mind that E9 isn't Nuclear Anomaly or a ghoulification perk. If the perk chart considers it less powerful than Solar Powered, it would have to be a seriously nerfed Nuclear Anomaly; and I'm still not sold on ghoulification in-game. It would radically change a ton of interactions, and being healed by radiation instead of damaged by it would break so much radiation-oriented gameplay.

I can't predict what the name is, but my guess is that it adds some kind of buff based on how irradiated we are.

And when has every desire and want by a few people been implemented? Or needed? The only good ghoul is a dead one anyway 馃榿

But, I don't wanna be a ghoul!

For anyone who still doubts my theory on ghoulification, I thought you may want to have a look at https://content.gamesas.com/bsw_cms_asset/51262_2_1.png image taken from fallout4.com.

Also, I have changed the name of the associated perk from Nuclear Strike to Blast Radius. Full details on my perk thread

My first reaction to that picture, is that it looks like the art work from the earlier Fallout games......althrough I cannot say specifically that it is, I'll have to load up the earlier games to look through the manuals.

Edit: I've looked through the earlier game manuals and I realised it was more like the Fallout 3 cartoons about life outside the vault.

Interesting, interesting. Good find there gkk7z. Possible good find.

That picture doesn't prove anything, though. It's essentially promotion material and fluff.

I have to echo what legion64 brought up, and that its just out of place to have seemingly two perks that stave off radiation, with one of them specifically preventing ghoulification. Why the redundancy?

It's really in-line with the sort of informational Vault-Tec material that was shown more in the older games. I feel like it's more for flavor than any actual indication of game mechanics.

I don't see how that images holds any weight to your theory. That image has existed for years now and is similar to other Vault-Tec info graphic artwork created for Fallout 3. A lot of which found in FO3's game manual. You can find tons of it by simply googling "Fallout 3 manual" images. Although the ghoulification artwork isn't found in the manual itself, it was created during the same time as the rest of the artwork for Fallout 3. For it to appear along side another artwork of its kind on the Fallout 4 home page suggest nothing about the implementation of ghoulification in gameplay.

I've just checked the manuals for Fallout 1, 2, 3, and tactics and the image is not in any of these. Even if it was created some time ago (which has not been confirmed at this stage), its inclusion on the official site is highly significant. Also, the fact that I put together my proposed idea as having three distinct stages before seeing this image, as well as the appearance of the ghoul pirate/redcoat matching stage two (some facial features still intact) adds even further weight. Let's hope that I might actually be on to something

Do you have any links to other similar artwork that may not have been featured in the manual? Because I've looked, and I can't find any, and any links would be useful to help clarify this. It may actually be new artwork. Either way, it does seem to match my other evidence.

This is one point that I do actually agree with, which is why I looked at other possibilities, and have since updated the proposed function of the perk. It now reduces blast damage from all explosions, including non-nuclear, as well as protecting from the radiation output from nuclear blasts and the effects of radioactive lightning. This seems like a far more sensible and more useful function. Note that the name of the perk has also been changed to Blast Radius to match this, which is also the name of a very big possible clue that was shown way back in the official trailer.

When viewed alongside the icon for the perk, which shows VB in some kind of altered state rather than smiling (as he is doing in every other Endurance perk, as well as most other perks on the chart), this image does seem to have some importance. As I have also previously stated, the ghoul pirate/redcoat is notably different from other ghouls, and even matches the central image as seen in this artwork.

Okay I found it, apparently.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/f18f78e9223ddff34975aacbede4d076/tumblr_mr0nefe4eA1qm2rj1o1_1280.jpg

Its from the Vault Dweller's Survival Guide: Pocket Reference Edition.

http://fallout.gamepedia.com/Vault_Dweller%27s_Survival_Guide:_Pocket_Reference_Edition