 | For an overview of the topic, see Dogmeat. |
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Dogmeat is a dog living in the Commonwealth and a possible companion to the Sole Survivor in Fallout 4.
Background
They will be named Dog until the Sole Survivor speaks to Mama Murphy about their true name during the quest When Freedom Calls, or until Nick Valentine reveals their name during Getting a Clue, when Dogmeat has to sniff out Kellogg. According to Mama Murphy, Dogmeat does not have an owner and "is his own man." The Sole Survivor can choose to adopt Dogmeat, who will accompany them on their travels throughout the Commonwealth.
Dogmeat is found at a Red Rocket truck stop southeast of Sanctuary Hills and can be recruited as a companion. An objective entitled "Greet the dog" will appear in the "Miscellaneous" section of the "Quests" tab in the player character's Pip-Boy. The objective is completed when the player character first initiates a 'conversation' with Dogmeat. If Dogmeat isn't already the Sole Survivor's companion, he will be called by Nick Valentine with a whistle during the quest Getting a Clue. Nick Valentine will also say beforehand that he "knows a guy that can help" and remark, "I've worked with him quite a few times before." while talking about Dogmeat.
Interactions overview
| Interactions | ||
|---|---|---|
| This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed. | ||
| This character is a permanent companion. | ||
| This character starts quests. |
Greet the Dog | |
| This character is involved in quests. | ||
Equipment
Dogmeat can be equipped with cosmetic items in four distinct slots. These slots are the eyes, headband, neck, and torso.
| Equipment | Dog equipment slot | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Welding Goggles | Eyes | Abundant |
| Dog helmet | Headband | Heavy armored dog at Hyde Park Armored Dog at Thicket Excavations |
| Spiked muzzle | Headband | Attack dogs |
| Dog collar | Neck | Attack dogs |
| Double dog collar | Neck | Attack dogs |
| Chain dog collar | Neck | Attack dogs |
| Spiked dog collar | Neck | Attack dogs |
| Reinforced dog collar | Neck | Attack dogs |
| Red bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Blue bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Gunner's camo bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Gunner's green bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Jangles bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Leopard print bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Skull bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Stars and Stripes bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Striped bandana | Neck | Abundant |
| Light dog armor | Torso | Attack dogs |
| Dog armor | Torso | Attack dogs |
| Heavy dog armor | Torso | Attack dogs |
Notes
- By reading the Astoundingly Awesome Tales issue "Have Dog, Will Travel!", the Sole Survivor can boost Dogmeat with a perk that reduces damage by 10%.
- During the quest Reunions, dismissing Dogmeat after finding Fort Hagen will make him stay there until the end of the quest, regardless of the location the player asks him to go.
- Dogmeat is the only companion whose perk Attack Dog must be unlocked via the perk chart.
- When the player character is rebuilding a settlement, they can place a dog house for him to stay in. If he is dismissed to a settlement before that he will go and live in or around one of the existing dog houses.
- Dogmeat can be healed during battle if a stimpak is used on him when he is down.
- Dogmeat is able to "fetch," detecting the surrounding for the choice of items, enemies, or containers. Upon finding something, Dogmeat will either stand in front of the item (if on the floor), bite the enemy (triggers enemy detection) or pull out the items from the container. If told to fetch an item near Custom House Tower, he will run to a rubble pile near some existing mannequins in the display windows and pull out random hats.
- When traveling with Dogmeat, he may occasionally detect enemies and containers on his own without being asked to do so by the Sole Survivor, which prompts the player character with messages such as 'Dogmeat found something,' when he finds a container or 'Dogmeat found an enemy,' when he detects enemy presence nearby.
- Upon detecting containers or enemies, no matter if told to or otherwise, Dogmeat will react accordingly: he growls if an enemy is detected and keeps doing so while he tracks them, or, when he finds a container, gives the player character a warning bark, runs towards it, and then happily stomps his front paws, while pointing his head to whatever he has found.
- If not able to reach a container he found, he will still point his head towards the direction of what he found, giving the player character a hint on chests, trunks, and other containers with valuable loot usually placed on the top of buildings.
- While Dogmeat is technically a companion, the benefits of Lone Wanderer still apply if the Sole Survivor adventures with Dogmeat.
- If sent to wait at the Red Rocket Truck Stop where he is first met, one of Dogmeat's idle animations is putting his front legs on certain objects, like the hole in the pillars. Other dogs encountered, such as the one sold by Gene will also do this.
- If Dogmeat is sent back to a settlement (by dismissal) and is then asked to trade, the Sole Survivor will refer to him by his real name, regardless of whether they know it yet.
- Dogmeat does not count as a settler when in a settlement and will not respond to the "Settler Rally" bell. He will stay wherever he is at the time, likely near the closest doghouse.
- If entering the "Command" menu while crouched, the Sole Survivor will whisper to Dogmeat. If entering after telling Dogmeat to stay and being a fair distance from him, they will shout and whistle.
- When not in combat, Dogmeat will occasionally pull out a teddy bear and will chew on it and throw it into the air, playing with it. The teddy bear will not be "consumed" and remain in his inventory for storage. This happens regardless of whether Dogmeat has a teddy bear in his inventory or not.
- If an ally of any faction is killed, Dogmeat will give a "mournful howl," as called by subtitles.
- During Arthur Maxson's first speech, Dogmeat will walk to the center of the room and will be unable to be interacted with for its duration. Once Maxson finishes it with his "Ad Victoriam" salute, Dogmeat will perform his "bunny trick."
- Dogmeat appears in Fallout Shelter as a legendary German Shepherd.
- When engaged in combat against humanoid enemies, Dogmeat can trigger a variety of melee moves during the fight, such as a limb bite move, which he uses to hold an enemy in place by biting their limbs, which works with humans, synths, super mutants, and feral ghouls, and a neck bite finishing move, which can eventually trigger when he engages a human enemy with health low enough to be instantly killed by his attacks, on which he jumps and knocks them down to finally kill them with a deadly neck bite.
- Dogmeat has the highest stealth compared to other companions.
Appearances
Dogmeat appears in Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter.
Behind the scenes
- Dogmeat is modeled after River, a female German Shepherd, and the pet of Joel and Michelle Burgess.[2]
- After River passed away in June 2021, Joel Burgess wrote a Twitter thread talking about River's role in development. Dogmeat was designed as a companion first and a combat ally second, which is why Bethesda chose a more personable dog than a professionally-trained one. Much of Dogmeat's in-game behavior was inspired by River, who would attend meetings and hang out with the team during development, in addition to providing modeling references and audio. Dogmeat's brown eyes are replications of River's own eyes. Her walking behavior, and emphasis on stalling enemies rather than direct damage were all inspired by River.[3]
- Dogmeat's item-fetching and seeking functionality, developed by Jon Paul Duvall and Jay Woodward, among others, was inspired by River's tendency to retrieve large objects as a show of affection.[3]
- Dogmeat's ability to wear dog armor, bandanas, and other clothing items was developed by Mark Teare and Ryan Sears.[4]
- Joel Burgess explained that Dogmeat does not belong in 2287, just like the Sole Survivor. Dogmeat's origin is intentionally left vague, with differing clues in-game, so players can develop their own theories about her.[3]
- Dogmeat has an article on Wikipedia, found here.
Bugs
In Survival mode, when Dogmeat is downed there is no quest marker to heal him as there is with other companions.- In Survival mode, Dogmeat's carry weight is set as 25 by default, and will be increased to 150 when Dogmeat has a piece of equipment on (i.e. any bandana, armor, or dog collar). Welding Goggles do not count.
Gallery
Dogmeat in the Fallout 4 trailer
A Brotherhood paladin, the Sole Survivor, Dogmeat and Preston Garvey
Portrait
Dogmeat with equipped items
"Bunny" trick
Dogmeat with all four equipment apparel slots in use: Welding Goggles, dog helmet, chain dog collar and heavy dog armor
Dogmeat in a doghouse
Dogmeat sitting on the loading screen
Dogmeat in an endings slide
Wasteland Warfare figurine
Dogmeat with goggles figurine
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare character card
Dogmeat's hero card in Fallout Shelter Online
Dogmeat's maxed hero card in Fallout Shelter Online
References
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