Pets return to the PTS

Pets are back on the Fallout 76 Public Test Server, which means Bethesda's appropriately nicknamed “Pspsps-TS” has returned. This new round of testing greatly expands the companion system, adding two major features designed to give players more reasons to adventure alongside their favorite creature: Pet Leveling and Pet Passives.

Pets become true Appalachia companions

The system takes C.A.M.P. Pets and turns them into companions that can accompany players through almost any adventure. Using the Pets tab in the Pip-Boy, players can summon a Dog, Cat, Radhog or Deathclaw and give them commands either directly or through the command wheel.

Available commands include:

• Attack
• Stay
• Follow
• Protect

Pets will also fight enemies alongside their owner.

A new Pet Leveling system

One of the biggest additions to the latest test is a complete progression system for pets. The new Pet Leveling menu can be accessed from the Pets tab of the Pip-Boy by pressing R3 on controller or X on keyboard.

Whenever the player earns XP while their pet is summoned, the companion can earn XP as well, with approximately a one-minute cooldown between XP gains. Pets can reach a maximum level of 200, and freshly rested pets receive increased XP during the first few hours of each day.

Progressing through those levels can unlock a variety of bonuses and rewards, including:

• Increased pet health and damage.
• Additional player carry capacity.
• Improvements to Pet Passives.
• Atoms.
• Caps.
• Player Titles.
• Additional progression rewards.

Progress is shared across each species

Players will not need to level every individual pet variant separately. Progression works on a per-species basis: leveling a German Shepherd, for example, will also increase the level of every other Dog owned by that player. This means players can freely switch between cosmetic variants without having to start their progression again.

Pet Passives

Every pet species has two passive abilities. One allows the pet to periodically find useful items, while the other provides extra rewards related to a particular type of activity.

Passives are unlocked at levels 5 and 20, with additional upgrades becoming available at levels 40, 60, 85 and 120. Active passive effects can be viewed under the Effects tab of the Pip-Boy.

Dogs

Stimpak Fetcher. Dogs can find Stimpaks for their owner, and the quality of the Stimpaks improves as the passive is upgraded.

Bounty Sniffer. Completing a Grunt Hunt can reward the owner with an additional Legendary Item. The reward begins at 1★ and can eventually increase to 3★.

Cats

Baits Finder. Cats can find Improved Bait, with the amount increasing as the passive is upgraded.

Mega Bits. After the player catches a fish, Cats can provide additional Fish Bits. The amount increases at higher passive levels.

Radhogs

Goo-Getter. Radhogs can find Toxic Goo, with larger amounts becoming available as the passive improves.

Rad-Dration. While spending time inside a Nuke Zone, Radhogs can find High-Radiation Fluids. Higher passive levels increase the amount obtained.

Deathclaws

Dark Titan. Deathclaws can find Black Titanium, with the amount increasing as the passive is upgraded.

Fun-Festation. Completing Infestations can reward players with additional Legendary Items. Rewards begin at 1★ and can eventually reach 3★.

Fewer pets in the way during combat

Bethesda is also testing several quality-of-life improvements intended to make pets less disruptive during combat.

Pets no longer block V.A.T.S.: shots pass straight through them without damaging the pet or affecting the player's chance to hit. Players can also use the Ping System to tell their active pet which enemy to attack.

Pets no longer collide with players either, meaning they should no longer get in the way when moving through doors or narrow areas.

How to join the Pspsps-TS

Anyone who owns Fallout 76 on Steam can participate in the Public Test Server. Players simply need to open their Steam library and install “Fallout 76 Public Test Server.”

Bethesda is also continuing to gather data from its console PTS testing. The studio plans to bring Pets to the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 PTS in the coming weeks. For now, the team is focused on gathering feedback and preparing the native console update scheduled to launch alongside The Slasher Update on September 15.

As always, features appearing on the PTS are not guaranteed to make it into the final live update.

Known issues

The current test build still has several known problems:

• The button icons for renaming a Pet and opening Pet Progression are incorrect. R3 currently opens Pet Progression, while L3 allows players to rename their pet.
• Pet Progression is currently behaving as account-wide rather than character-specific.
• Switching pets while viewing an unlocked progression reward can temporarily make the same reward appear unlocked for another pet.
• Pets may remain invisible for several seconds after fast traveling.
• Pet Passives are currently triggering more frequently than intended.
• Pets can occasionally fall through the game world.

Much more than C.A.M.P. decorations

With this new progression system, Bethesda appears to be turning pets into a much more meaningful part of Fallout 76. A combination of 200 progression levels, unlockable rewards, passive bonuses and combat utility could make choosing the right companion an important part of exploring Appalachia.

For now, however, the entire system remains in testing, meaning its mechanics and balance may still change before reaching the live game.