Judging from what Blizzard has revealed about the game, and from what players have seen in the betas and server slam, Diablo 4 is going to be a much more brutal game than its predecessor. But that isn't to say that there isn't any good left in the world of Sanctuary – little things here and there bring some levity to its otherwise overwhelmingly dark atmosphere.
In most major towns and settlements, players can find dogs wandering around the streets. They don't do much but walk from spot to spot, and walking up to one it isn't immediately obvious that there's anything players can do with them. As it turns out, there is actually a secret animation that lets Diablo 4 players pet dogs they come across – but only if they follow a few specific steps.
How To Pet Dogs in Diablo 4
The first step to pet a dog in Diablo 4 is to find one. In just about every settlement that disables combat abilities, players can find at least one dog skulking about, usually near NPCs. When players walk up to one, though, they won't react at all, and no prompt comes up like in other games that allow players to pet the dog.
Instead, wait for the dog to stop moving, when it will stand still for a few seconds before walking somewhere else. Make sure your character is basically touching the dog and facing it, it doesn't actually matter which direction the dog is facing, though.
Finally, bring up the emote wheel – by either pressing E on the mouse and keyboard or up on the D-Pad with a controller – and select the "Hello" emote. Confirm the emote, then exit the wheel. If the player is facing the dog, their character will offer greetings to the pup while they bend down to give them a good scritch.
This doesn't confer any bonuses to the player or anything like that, but it's always nice to interact with man's best friend in games – especially in a game as dark as Diablo 4. As a unique animation that can't be triggered any other way, it's worth checking out during these last few days of beta testing or when the full game launches on June 6, 2023 (available a few days earlier for those who preordered).
Diablo 4 is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.