In a new video released today, Fallout 4 developer Bethesda has given fans a preview of the upcoming character system. With in-game footage, we are shown how the character system is accessed via the upgraded Pip-Boy. The video begins by demonstrating the game’s improved graphics as the player moves their arm around, showing the Pip-Boy at different angles. Upon accessing the Pip-Boy, we are given a brief tour of the 7 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats which comprise the character progression system. Next we are given a tour of the Perks system and how they are presented and organized, including a look at the animated Perk chart where players will track their progression.
The Perks are all organized under the 7 S.P.E.C.I.A.L.S., and by each rank in that stat from 1-10. If a player has enough points in one of the 7 stats, they will be able to select a Perk further down the chart right away. There are a total of 70 base Perks, all with different ranks which brings a total of 275 unique possible Perks for us to select from.
Also, today on the Bethesda Blog, the video’s contents were expanded upon in further detail. Here are some of the highlights:
- Each SPECIAL stat can go up to 10, and when the game starts you are given 28 points to assign, meaning it is possible to max out a stat from the start at the expense of others of course.
- Leveling will be XP based like in Fallout 3, however you will level up a faster rate more similar to Skyrim, giving you opportunities to select new Perks more quickly.
- There will be no level cap. In comparison, Fallout 3 had an initial level cap of 20.
- Every time you level up, you can select a Perk from the chart.
- Perk ranks become a mini-perk tree; ranks will also have level requirements.
- The skills from previous games have been incorporated into this new Perk/Rank system, in an effort to streamline the progression experience.
- Skill books such as Grognak the Barbarian have now been changed to grant either a new Perk or an increased Rank within a Perk.
Bethesda also shared the highly sought after high res image of the Perk Chart poster and announced that any physical pre-orders of the game would come with a physical version of the poster.
Can you feel the hype train as it slowly begins to leave the station? Fallout 4 releases November 10th on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
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9 responses to “Fallout 4 Character System Video and Perk Poster Released”
The beauty of a DM is that they can allow whatever they want, but that doesn’t change how the skills work in the books. Its possible I’m mixing something up because I haven’t played much as the rules disgusted me and I went back to 3.5 again.
This is a topic for another thread but I’ll quickly say that I’ve been in a weekly live DnD session for a bit now and we moved from 4e to 5e and it’s great. 4e was all stat based, whereas 5e is almost totally focused on roleplay elements. We have way more freedom in the things we can try because so much is left to DM discretion. Stats are now a base line guide for rolls but were by no means the be all end all that 4e was, it’s a lot more in common with 3.5. You could have the slight mod penalty to a Charisma check of course if your stat is low, but if you make a compelling roleplay the DM is easily able to grant a roll with advantage which is a complete extra roll rather than a static +2 to the single roll like in 4e, which often yields a very good result that defies a weak stat. It allows for extraordinary feats and miracles and has made for some of our most memorable sessions. So I think in the case of Fallout I’d like to know how is my performance going to be in an activity if I don’t have a perk unlocked? Will it allow for some unexpected success like in 5e? If so the revamp could work.
What I wouldn’t give for Interplay to spearhead fallout 4….
Roughly translated, they “streamlined” skills out for a playerbase incapable of or unwilling to actually create a build and created a skinner box by spacing out (fewer) rewards to keep people playing. They’re going to get away with it to, at least for now, because the mainstream will swarm it anyways and the group they’re upsetting is likely to mod many of their problems out.
The answers are: Speech for persuasion, Charisma for companion effectiveness
Because the term small arms refers to basically any weapon that isn’t typically mounted on a vehicle.
Anyone who put in any effort to understand the system knows that. I agree that the skill+ perks were a waste of time and needed to die, and they are focussing more on special, but that’s not necessarily good. D&D5 is focused more on stats and I ****ing hate that (just because I have 18 agility doesn’t mean I can sew and just because I have 5 charisma doesn’t mean I can’t work my *** off to get good at public speaking, but it does in 5th edition.) Wrapping light step and silent running into sneak aren’t making leveling more rewarding, you could get those anyways and the impact was *massive.* The same is true of every good perk, demolition expert is huge, shotgun surgeon is huge, super slam is huge, ect. It’s making them rewarding sooner with less dedicated effort to getting them quickly, then spacing that reward over multiple ranks instead of big 1 offs. That’s not more, that’s more often.
The vibrancy of the perk poster both in colors and animation is what really surprised me. It further reinforced my suspicion that the game world is going to be way different in atmosphere from what we’re used to.
As far as the perk overhaul, I hear you Forum, and I’m not sure if I agree with you or not just yet. It’s kind of become the epitome of wait and see for me. Reading their explanation for the overhaul on their blog makes sense when discussing matters of redundancy:
“If you’re a longtime Fallout fan, you’ll notice that the Skills seen in previous games have been folded into this system. The previous Skill system had some confusing parts and ended up spreading your choices too thin. Some of you had questions like: “What’s better, the Charisma SPECIAL, or the Speech Skill? Why are assault rifles in Small Guns?” Additionally many Perks simply raised associated Skills. The Gun Nut Perk in Fallout 3 increased two separate Skills. In Fallout 4, the ranks of Gun Nut act as gates for modifying and crafting weapons. Sneak was a skill in Fallout 3, and you simply increased its value. In Fallout 4 Sneak becomes a Perk that not only makes you harder to detect, but wraps in previous perks like Silent Running and Light Step into its ranks. By wrapping these systems together, it keeps the emphasis on your SPECIALs and the level-up choices more rewarding.”
My biggest question is what will progression feel like? If you have to wait until you unlock a perk to be good at something like lockpicking, what will that feel like? Is it better to progress gradually through trial and error or is it better to just accumlate XP and then pick what you want to be good at as you go?
Dear time… How slowly you pass.
I ought to wait for November. November, dear November.
– Steady hand McCazador
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Well considering there is no level cap and they explicitly stated that you’ll level faster and get a perk every level, comparing NV to 4 is probably going to be like comparing Morrowind to Skyrim. Except maybe the combat will improve.
As far as big picture perspective, you could always see every available perk and their requirements to plan it out and understand what they do and what you want to do. That’s a question of layout. I like that new layout.
I’m also going to point out a few thing. Ranks aren’t unique perks, we’ve seen no evidence that upgrades do anything other than increase the strength of the ability. Don’t be fooled by that 275 number, it’s 75 and upgrades. For comparison, the NV base game has 88 *unique* perks (not counting ranks of the same perk,) with the DLC it’s 117.
With the lack of skills, unless stats or perks directly and powerfully buff specific weapon classes and doing so is required to be effective with anything, the RPG element of combat is gone. Closer to borderlands than Fallout NV if I had to guess.
If you’ve seen me talk about the game at all you can probably already guess my opinion on the matter, but do with that information what you will.
I want that poster. Too bad Im poor.
FYI All of the delicious info from the video has been lovingly added to the wiki perks page: https://fallout4.wiki.fextralife.com/Perks
So far I’m liking the new approach to Perks from a big picture understanding perspective. What I’m wondering is how this will affect the depth of gameplay that the older skill system gave us.
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