As the final lesson from Vault-Tec on SPECIAL stats, Luck is that strange, intangible stat, that otherworldly force guiding Vault Dwellers toward their fate. But in Fallout 4, luck isn't so nebulous. Luck will provide a higher chance for critical hits as before, though it won't provide skill points (since there are no skills in Fallout 4 this time around).
The perks governed by Luck will allow you to amass more caps and ammo whenever you scrounge for loot. As described later in the video, the Bloody Mess perk will give you a 5% damage increase while Mysterious Stranger will have that familiar trenchcoated figure come out at times to help you out and kill a few enemies on your behalf. Whether the stranger will appear during VATS like before is not clear, but we'll likely hear that same mysterious chime whenever he appears (just as you might hear in the newest update for Fallout Shelter).
We'll also fairly sure that Grim Reaper's Sprint will make a return, awarding more action points per kill, and that there will be perks for better criticals and limb damage. What we don't know is what the Luck 5 perk is supposed to be (comedic dialogue?) and what the Luck 9 perk is, which has the Vault Boy dressed as an Irishman performing fisticuffs. The video says that this is the "magic of the unexpected" which suggests that this perk will have luck impact combat in some way. The final Luck 10 perk will also likely make dodging enemy fire easy, likely boosted by your Agility as well.
We're also not sure if there will be something like Caravan or casino games from Fallout: New Vegas, but if there is some kind of mini-game in Fallout 4, having a high Luck will always help your earnings.
Agility measures your hand dexterity and overall evasion, governing your total number of AP points in VATS and for sprinting. And if the footage of the jetpacked Power Armor is correct, it will also determine how long you can remain in the air as jetpacks require AP to use.
With a higher AP reserve, as the video shows at the beginning, you can target more enemies while in VATS. Having higher Agility in general will allow you to avoid mines and tripwires while avoiding bullet fire of all kinds and having snappier reloads.
The same goes for stealth, which if the video is right, will be affected by lighting as well, which will have huge consequences since it would now be important to get rid of light sources while attempting a stealth. Not only that, but other creatures like mole rats will attempt to sneak up on you in the dark, so it's important to be aware of your surroundings and perhaps be ready with the headlight mod that can be mounted on top of a Power Armor helmet.
The end of the video details some of the perks, most of which we already know, like Sandman which allows you to kill enemies while in their sleep. The most impressive is Gun Fu (Agility 10 perk), which allows you to target up to three enemies and increase damage for every target you hit.
Since Fallout 4 does not have skill points, you won't need to pump points into Intelligence to get higher skills anymore, but that doesn't mean Intelligence isn't worth it.
We're not sure what the hacking mini-game looks like this time around, but Intelligence will determine your efficiency at hacking terminals to open safes and doors, modify turrets and robots to target someone else, and learn secret information. Also, the cartoon might be making a joke, but it seems that an unsuccessful hack could result in alarms being raised.
Reinforcing what we learned from the game's perk system, Intelligence will also control your access to higher weapon and armor modifications. The smarter you are, the closer you'll become to being Tony Stark working on Power Armor. The video shows off the familiar Nerd Rage! perk as well, which has your character's strength boosted when in danger. I'm hoping that this perk has been upgraded to befit its Int 10 requirement, because prior iterations of the perk have been lackluster.
The collage near the end of the video confirms more information about how Intelligence will raise your knowledge of medicine, allow you to combine chemicals (for chems and/or explosives?), and more interestingly, increase the ability to "move with technological ease" with the Vault Boy seemingly in a vehicle of some kind. Cars confirmed? Oh, please be true.
[Update – 9/30/2015] As you might suspect, charisma covers the bartering system as well as speech. Higher charisma will give you better trade values for your loot and better negotiating tactics so that you can talk your way out of a fight or even convince people to give you want you want without lifting a finger.
The video also suggests that charisma will help in not becoming addicted to, ahem, liquid courage. It will let you work with Dogmeat, companions, and other NPCs more sufficiently. More specifically, as revealed by the recent character system video, charisma powers several notable perks that allow Dogmeat to hold enemies down (Attack Dog), establish supply lines (Local Leader), and negating friendly fire (Inspirational). You'll even be able to pacify any Wasteland creature lower than your level (Wasteland Whisperer) and, at Charisma 10, this can extend to those darn humans as well (Intimidation).
[Update – 9/23/2015] This week, the rebuilding of our great nation falls upon your understanding of Endurance, which in my book is one of the most important stats out of the entire S.P.E.C.I.A.L. acronym.
While the video above doesn't explicitly say it, Endurance should be the foundation for your character's total hit points, and it will at least determine how long you can sprint from danger (your inventory weight might also affect this). Endurance also prevents infection of various diseases, limb loss (the video hints that the Adamantium Skeleton perk might make a comeback), and radiation, while allowing you to hold your breath longer while underwater.
It's unclear whether you'll need food and water to maintain your endurance as the default option or whether there is a Hardcore mode similar to Fallout: New Vegas where hunger and thirst must be managed. Or perhaps food and water, once consumed, will merely boost your available hit points. It also seems that having a stronger body will give you more options as to what you can digest, including the flesh of your fellow man (you heartless cannibal) which will likely force most other NPCs to attack you on sight just on principle.
[Update – 9/16/2015] This week, Vault-Tec has moved on from Strength to focus on the second letter of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. acronym, providing a handy video tutorial on Perception.
As before in prior Fallout titles, Perception determines the detection of enemies in your area. It seems that the higher the stat, the further you can spot enemies. The V.A.T.S. system also returns once more with Perception leading to higher percentage rates for targeting weakpoints.
Perception also contributes to stealing and pilfering, though it's not clear how apart from pickpocketing targets and putting grenades in their pockets. You would think that Agility would contribute to sneaking away quietly and effectively as well. Perhaps Perception will give you some kind of ability to detect places in a room that may have valuable items and such too.
Finally, Perception contributes to the detection of unfriendly locals and terrain, handling sensitive explosives, and long-distance aiming for some well-placed sniping. I hope there are more instances in dialogue conversations where you have special option that only appears if you have a high Perception like a keen detective on the hunt.
[Original] Fallout 4 is arriving in just two months. Wait, what? That fast?!
Well, body-readiness or not, the fine folks at Bethesda have a tutorial video series on each of Fallout's signature S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats and how they will impact your character in Fallout 4. And today's lesson is on the first letter in the acronym: 'S' for Strength.
As you might suspect, Strength will increase your character's carrying capacity a small bit and being overcumbered will slow your character down to a crawl. Strength will also increase your swinging power for most melee weapons, with soft confirmations for the bladed Ripper, the barbwired Bat, the Nailboard, and the Power Fist (my personal favorite).
Strength will also let you swing a bat harder for baseball games (wait, is there going to baseball in Fallout 4?), allow you to wear power armor and wield certain heavy weapons.
Bethesda plans on having these fantastically retro-themed videos for each of the other stats: Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. Fallout 4 arrives on November 10, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
