Is Mutt Worth Taking With You?

[Whitman1855]

Usually I don't like taking dogs in games, because yes...even though it's just a bunch of pixles on the screen I end up worrying about it every five minutes, and find it a choir that I have to do. Is there a mod by any chance that keeps the dog's obedience up?

[katareenah]

At the beginning, I found Mutt to be mostly a bit annoying and not a lot else. However, as Henry's houndmaster skills progress, Mutt is dead useful, in my opinion. Depending on what skill perks you choose, Mutt will growl if there are enemies near you, alerting you in advance so you know where to look or when to be more stealthy. He can also "seek" out things on maps (graves to dig up, nests, accidents and interesting sites, camps, unlocked chests) which can help you find a lot of treasure. He's great at helping you hunt, which helps improve your skill level and gives a source of income, especially early on. He can help you fight too, if you choose those perks. I've gone from thinking "why is this dog even here?" to loving him even when he gets in the way.

[Carlos]

With a few Houndmaster level ups and a few perks Mutt is amazing. He hunts for you, he finds treasure for you, he makes hard fights way easier and he even chase runners. The only drawback is he likes to get in your way a lot, even with the "Free!" command.

[Whitman1855]

Originally posted by Carlos77:

With a few Houndmaster level ups and a few perks Mutt is amazing. He hunts for you, he finds treasure for you, he makes hard fights way easier and he even chase runners. The only drawback is he likes to get in your way a lot, even with the "Free!" command.

Are there any negative consequences for just leaving him at the mill?

[Jaunitta 🌸]

The only way to leave him at the mill is using the stay.
Over time a lack of food and praise his obedience will zero out and he will nolonger respond to you.
You can opt out by sending him back to the Mill. Theresa will take him back, then the only way to get him back is to convince theresa you want him back.
The higher your hound skills and training him he is 100% obedient. If you get into fights you get X to attack for you.
If you are in a quest he just tags along . Very handy and a great companion in my opinion.

[Whitman1855]

Originally posted by Jaunitta 🌸:

The only way to leave him at the mill is using the stay.
Over time a lack of food and praise his obedience will zero out and he will nolonger respond to you.
You can opt out by sending him back to the Mill. Theresa will take him back, then the only way to get him back is to convince theresa you want him back.
The higher your hound skills and training him he is 100% obedient. If you get into fights you get X to attack for you.
If you are in a quest he just tags along . Very handy and a great companion in my opinion.

I mean if you never talk to Theresa, and take him in the first place. The game doesn't do a "you didn't take the dog and he died, you are awful." approach does it?

[Jaunitta 🌸]

I mean if you never talk to Theresa, and take him in the first place.

No you just continue on without him , every time you talk to Theresa that option will just stay there . Theresa looks after him. I didnt accept him for a long time. Just wasnt sure if I wanted to go that route as well. Looking after a dog hmmm.
But I am glad I did even though at times it becomes tedious feeding him. It does add another challenge with food .Keeping food in good condition , hunting for it or buying it.

[Whitman1855]

Originally posted by Jaunitta 🌸:

I mean if you never talk to Theresa, and take him in the first place.

No you just continue on without him , every time you talk to Theresa that option will just stay there . Theresa looks after him. I didnt accept him for a long time. Just wasnt sure if I wanted to go that route as well. Looking after a dog hmmm.
But I am glad I did even though at times it becomes tedious feeding him. It does add another challenge with food .Keeping food in good condition , hunting for it or buying it.

Thanks, I think I'll use him in my next play through.

[Count D'Cinamon]

he is a good hunting pal. can take down up to a small roe by himself. in combat, pretty useful if you are in outnumbered situation and need distraction. i personally is used to buy foods in the game anyway so caring for him doesnt bother me much so its worth it for me.

note, all the above that i said require you to unlock the skills.

and and also, whenever you are tired of him for a bit or dont want him to follow you for a reason, you can always tell him to go back home aka the mill. then you dont need to care for him until you got him back from theresa

[[BRO]Ingvar]

He's of great help in hardcore if you got some levels in houndmaster. He's saved my ass from a killing blow from a flanking bastard cuman on several occassions.

[d333]

As mentioned before, Mutt is very helpful: in fights, looking for treasure and hunting. Sometimes he can get a bit in the way for combat and I ask him to stay when fighting multiple enemies and when I am ready and decently positioned I use the Sic! command to send him on who I want.

For maintenance and quickly raising the Houndmaster skill, I buy salami or smoked sausages as they spoil very slowly (never feed Mutt with spoiled food, it will lower his disposition) and every time I wake up after sleeping, dismount my horse or finish a fight I tell him that he is a good dog and feed him.

[Jek Porkins]

If you don't mind spending 10 minutes, you can praise the ♥♥♥♥ out of him for quick level up and just skip the dialogue. That's what I did and he's damn near maxed out. I don't think there's any xp for feeding him and I barely do and haven't really seen a drawback unless it lowers his obedience but he honestly listens regardless unless it's a 0.

[Insomec]

The only nuisance I can think of is you can accidentally hit him during fights when he’s attacking enemies, if he runs off he always comes back soon after. Other than that I’ve grown very fond of having mutt around on my play throughs.
You can always tell him to wait if you don’t want him around for something.

[noxteryn]

While Mutt can be a nuisance many times, he will also save your life countless times, especially in the early game. For example, there is an ambush event early in the game with a dude who tries to poison you. Having Mutt makes this encounter a piece of cake.

[Origami]

He like most dogs in games makes noise like 90% of the time. Often sounding like hes panting,whining, barking, howling and breathing right in your ear... I've had dogs all my life and have never seen a dog as actively noisy as game devs seem to think dogs are...


That being said you pretty much have to take him with you to deal with enemy dogs that you don't get to snipe before an encounter.

[Hydra_360ci]

Really the only things I hate about that dog is that you can't walk thru him, u can't make him walk further away from you and all the noise. But mainly....Damn thing keeps running into my legs bumping me all over the place.