After taming animals to fight alongside you, you can command them to either attack an enemy outpost ahead of you - thereby flushing enemies out - or to join you for side-by-side kills through the wilderness. Different animals give you different abilities or bonus attacks, like a better awareness of enemy positions and easier stealth kills. Many players have sent bears forth to stomp and maul entire enemy camps so you're able to (tactically) stay at a distance, picking them off one at a time, before strolling in during the aftermath to mop up stragglers and free any imprisoned tribespeople. In earlier games it could always be a pleasant surprise to have a bear or leopard join you in an assault, but this was often random and you could see the business end of a set of claws at a moment's notice. Now you've got the choice to have a fierce companion, easily making for some amazing battles - just don't forget to pet your chosen beast after a successful raid to keep the bond strong!