Companions - When is it enough?

Erickson9610

SilverBride wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

I'd rather just unlock the Companion directly from the Collections Menu, if they're not unlocked by default. That's the most appropriate place for a pop-up — and it wouldn't be in the Companion's voice, so no voice lines would need to be recorded.

Still, that would pose further problems — like how would ZOS prevent players who lack access to the zone the Companion is found in from skipping the DLC requirement by unlocking in the menu directly? If a Companion is found in High Isle, then the player needs to currently have access to High Isle (whether via ESO Plus or via DLC ownership) in order to be able to use the Companion.

But then, if a player unlocks a Companion normally while on ESO Plus, then loses ESO Plus, this change would result in the player losing access to their Companion (as the game now checks for DLC ownership before summoning the Companion, where it didn't before).

All of this is to say that even what would be a simple change to the UI to unlock Companions would result in difficult problems that somehow must be tackled.

Unlocking from the Collections menu is not ideal. The player needs to physically come face to face with the Companion to receive the pop-up and make their choice. This would be simple and intuitive to the player.

I don't see what ESO+ has to do with any of this. As far as I know players that have ESO+ and unlock a Companion don't lose them if they unsubscribe so why would this be any different?

If the unlock was face-to-face with the Companion, then there would have to be a dialogue option which requires no speaking. There would still be no justification for why the Companion is doing what they're doing, but at least it avoids the potential issue of unlocking Companions without having access to the zone they're in.

Why wouldn't it be intuitive to unlock the Companion via the Collections Menu? It's the same as using any other item in your Collections Menu — and if the Companion was unlocked by default, or made account-wide, then it'd be the same as calling the Companion from the menu after the intro quest was completed.

If anything, people would complain about needing to run to each Companion on all of their characters every time because it takes too long. Then it'd be the same issue as needing to actually complete their unlock quests, except now players don't want to go to the Companion's location to begin with.

BretonMage

Since the problem people seem to have with the introductory quests is that they are too tedious to have to do multiple times, I'm wondering if the issue is compounded by having to navigate the convoluted DLC delves which can be tiring, to put it mildly.

Instead of asking for quest content to be shortened or disrupted, perhaps we could just ask them to move the intro quests to a less tedious location? Or mix it up a little, and place a boss in an exterior location for some intro quests?

JemadarofCaerSalis

Erickson9610 wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

Why would those who do like to redo them care? I won’t lie awake at night thinking about Mirri’s family and how things got resolved. I don’t care.

I don't like doing the quests repeatedly, either. I've only repeated some Companion's quest one or two times on alternate characters. I can't be bothered to unlock them all on all of my characters.


In this thread, I've been arguing why it makes no sense to be able to skip the intro quest and I've been elaborating on what problems would arise if said quests could be skipped. If I could have all of my Companions unlocked on my alternate characters without needing to redo their quests, I might consider using them on my alts. I'd benefit from a Companion intro skip as much as anybody else would.

My biggest issue is that no proposed way to skip that sequence seems feasible from a lore perspective and from a gameplay perspective. I wouldn't want to prevent people from skipping the intro quest if they were given the option to (of course!) but I want to stress how unlikely it is that a skip could actually be implemented that takes all of those issues into account.


For what it's worth, this thread has been another fun debate about the feasibility of a Companion intro skip — and certainly not the last. We'll see if anything comes of the points debated in this thread in-game in the future.

Yeah I don’t think you get it…from a lore perspective many of us just don’t care.

We all accept things that don’t make sense gameplay wise for expedience and all of us feel differently about various things. The things I will accept will not make sense for you and vice versa.

I am glad to hear you are not opposed to the idea of unlocking companions. If there were some technical problems with skipping the second or third times the game could just default to whatever choices you made the first time. I think it has been mentioned that the one case where there were choices that it did not affect the outcome regardless of which you chose. So that just leaves the lore, so if that is important to you then you don’t skip it.

The lore reasons may not be important to the individual player, but it is very important to the writers and system designers at ZOS. That's why we can't bring Companions to meet themselves, nor can we put helmets on them and change their body markings/skin/polymorph.

Again, I don't have an issue with convenience changes that are questionable from a lore standpoint, but ZOS definitely does in this case. So, it's unlikely that a Companion unlock skip would be implemented — at least not in such a direct way.

I had actually forgotten that Mirri would need to be voice acted, but... I don't really see that as an issue. I am sure ZOS already has ways to deal with things like this in place. After all, there are many characters that come back in various DLCs, that all have to be voice acted. So, I would at least hope that ZOS has a plan should one of those voice actors ever not be available.

As for the lore implications, two things.

1. IF ZOS really cared about lore that much, then we wouldn't have a LOT of things we do have. Again, there are many game play aspects that don't make sense lorewise, but players want them. I mean, how on earth do I manage to carry around 40+ different pieces of armor and weaponry, plus a craft bag that can hold pretty much everything (I know it has a technical limit) related to crafting, along with everything else I haul around when I clean out a delve or dungeon. Why can I murder someone and go pay someone to 'forget' that I murdered someone. Why does the person I murdered stand over their body (respawn mechanics). Why is that boss in the delve immortal? It keeps coming back no matter how many times it is killed.
2. As for the companions meeting themselves, we don't have that problem now with them (well we do, but they are attached to other players). All it would need to do is have the standard check of 'introductory quest = done' and the companion wouldn't show up at the place they normally would, because the game would see that we have already done their quests and unlocked them as companions. Just like it does now when that quest is done normally. As others have pointed out, ZOS was talking about regular NPCs, who are potentially used in multiple quests and might come back in future DLCs, being made into companions. That is where the whole 'Darien meeting Darien' comes in. Mirri will never meet herself, because she isn't used in any further DLCs (as an NPC) and there has to be a flag on her introductory quest that says 'player has already done this, disable NPC_Mirri'.

Elsonso

Erickson9610 wrote: »

We are allowed to express our thoughts and give insights into matters. Why should I offer a half-baked idea to ZOS that realistically wouldn't work out? The least I could do is think through how a change might be orchestrated.

It's not our jobs to tell ZOS how to do their jobs, but I believe we should put a little thought into how our suggestions could be worked into the game as a whole. It provides a little more confidence that a change could happen, rather than blindly begging ZOS to make/revert a change for years.

They have literally told players that they want our pain points (do not want to have to run companion unlock quests for each character) and do not want our solutions. Solutions are what they do.

I find solutioning fun to do. Great problem solving exercise. In no way saying not to, but I don’t assume they are using that material, and may not even be considering it.

As for Mirri meeting Mirri, that won’t happen because when ZOS implements this, they will do it so that it does not happen. Simply put, when you bypass the unlock quest and grab Mirri as a companion, you won’t be doing the part of the quest where you meet her before she is a companion. I give ZOS credit for thinking of that before I did.

Regarding the quote saying they won’t, I don’t see the request to bypass the unlock and pick up the quest where the unlock leaves off as an impossibility that they cannot implement. They probably won’t, simply because it is old content and they don’t typically update old quest content other than to fix bugs.

Kesstryl

Erickson9610 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

They did it for Tales of Tribute.

There's a difference between "Yeah I already know how to play this card game" and "Yeah, I totally saved your brother/found your family/helped you become a knight etc."

But I do already know that. The same way every single character I have knows what level they are and they would start at that level whenever any new character unlocks them.

The Companions don't know your other characters. Each player character exists in a separate copy of Tamriel — explaining why you are able to change the world at all multiple times across characters — so the only explanation for Companions sharing builds across characters is that they've always had it. Or, maybe that part is meant to be ambiguous, for the sake of making the system more manageable for players and the servers.

The point is, on each player character, the Companions need help. It would make no sense to essentially say "follow me and maybe I'll help you later if I feel like it". However, it does make sense to say "I already know how to play Tales of Tribute" or "I already know how to use siege weapons", because that knowledge is easily accessible in the world.

This is also why we can't skip the Scribing tutorial — "I already know how to Scribe" doesn't make sense because it was, up to that point, a long-lost art. But, for things like crafting certifications, it makes sense to be able to skip those with sufficient rank in the respective skill lines.

Not all of us play this way though. All my characters exist simultaneously in the same copy, or instance, of the multiverse. I agree that it could be easy to implement a system where one could say that one character who does the companion quest then introduces himself to alts as a friend of your unlocking alt as a branch in a dialogue tree where you could accept the quest to unlock him on the alt or skip with the 'friend of...' option.

However, I ultimately have to agree with the crowd that is calling for no skip, not because I would not prefer it, but because lost faith in how ZOS implements features with the way AWA was implemented.

DinoZavr

Erickson9610 wrote: »

One of the issues regarding the gameplay mechanics of skipping an introductory quest for a quest chain is that choices made during the skipped quest have no default value. If we skipped Mirri's quest, is Liam saved or not? How would ZOS decide which outcome to grant players? Would players select that option manually?

Another issue is with the rapport system. Additional Companion quests are unlocked with high positive rapport, and we can only do the next quest in the chain even if we managed to get maximum positive rapport before completing it. If the introduction quest was put to the wayside, rather than skipped, then players could complete the Companion's other quests before circling around and completing their introduction quest. This could be fixed if the Companion always offered their introduction quest at all times until formally unlocked — but who wants to see that quest marker above their head 24/7?

Strange, the arguing is still ongoing.
Erickson, if OTHER players obtain the ability to skip the "unlock" quest on subsequent characters, how this affects YOU?
You can do the quests with all of your characters for the story as you want this. Players who want to skip - just skip.
No drama at all. Or am i missing anything?

As for Schrödinger's Liam: no @ZOS does not need a quantum computer. Instead it is possible to move from binary to ternary
- Liam saved - dialogue option one
- Liam not saved - dialogue option two
- Quest skipped - no line about Liam, but Mirry can, for example, praise the bees or something, or remain silent (tm)

As for mounting rapport and subsequent quest markers above Companion's heads:
https://www.esoui.com/downloads/info190-PinKiller.html (though it works for PC only)

TL/DR; i am for the option to skip, as i play 17 well developed characters, and Isobel's or Azandar's quests consume half an hour each. My life is not that long

edit: fixed typos

Elsonso

DinoZavr wrote: »

As for Schrödinger's Liam: no @ZOS does not need a quantum computer. Instead it is possible to move from binary to ternary
- Liam saved - dialogue option one
- Liam not saved - dialogue option two
- Quest skipped - no line about Liam, but Mirry can, for example, praise the bees or something, or remain silent (tm)

The fate of Liam is irrelevant. ZOS can decide he is alive or dead at any time they need to. Think Lyris… Sai. Death is temporary, when decided by the players.

JemadarofCaerSalis

Elsonso wrote: »

DinoZavr wrote: »

As for Schrödinger's Liam: no @ZOS does not need a quantum computer. Instead it is possible to move from binary to ternary
- Liam saved - dialogue option one
- Liam not saved - dialogue option two
- Quest skipped - no line about Liam, but Mirry can, for example, praise the bees or something, or remain silent (tm)

The fate of Liam is irrelevant. ZOS can decide he is alive or dead at any time they need to. Think Lyris… Sai. Death is temporary, when decided by the players.

Also, since I would assume that ESO is at least somewhat like the rest of the TES series, each choice a player can make has a flag. Liam Dying sets a flag. Liam being saved, sets a flag.

It is as simple as writing into the script to skip the quest 'Liam Alive = 1' to set that flag so that the dialogue in other instances will see 'Liam is alive, Mirri references it'.

Just as quests being done have flags. Picking up skyshards have flags.

So, to skip the introductory quest, it would most likely be along the lines of setting the flags 'MirriHello = 1' and 'Liam Alive = 1'. Introductory quest is done, so no more mirri showing up at the place you originally meet her, or any of the other places along that quest, Liam is alive, so she still references him in later dialogue as being alive.

Same could be for other companions. Any flag that is needed to be set could be done through the skip code, and thus any dialogue down the line that might reference the introductory quest will do so.

ArchangelIsraphel

Erickson9610 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

I don't have an issue with convenience changes that are questionable from a lore standpoint, but ZOS definitely does in this case.

Where did ZoS say they have a problem with this?

I'm glad you asked! Here:

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Q: why are companions account wide unlocks (collection menu) but still required to be unlocked per character?
Why are the unlock quests getting significantly longer if we are required to unlock it per character? or can we get some way to bypass them if we have already unlocked them?

PD: This ties back into potential issues of bringing Mirri to unlock Mirri, but also, we know many players establish different relationship dynamics with their companions on a per character basis and the introductory quest is a key part of that, so at this time there are no plans to change that.
On the story side, there hasn't been any mandate or push to make these quests longer. The stories we want to tell are the determining factor. This is great feedback though and something we will make sure to take into account going forward.

The "bringing Mirri to unlock Mirri" part is referencing this previous question:

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Q: I know early on when the Companion system was announced that one of the devs claimed they'd be fully new characters instead of old characters from sidequests. Are there any thoughts on diverting from this?Secondly, has a non-humanoid companion ever been thought of? Perhaps a non-humanoid Daedra, or a wild animal (dual wielding Warden bears anyone?) or even just a doggo! It'd be interesting to see ESO writers come up with interesting stories for taming an animal, or binding/"befriending" a Daedra!

PD: We are very interested in exploring and expanding the types of companions we introduce over time but there are a number of thematic and technical challenges associated with certain directions. Making companions of existing characters runs into situations where you can have an active companion on a quest involving another version of themselves. This gets even trickier as we often have characters reappearing in new content (and sometimes meeting a final end), all of which complicates companion use further. Having companions be newly introduced characters gives an opportunity for both us and the players to form a new relationship without preconceptions or past experiences coloring or limiting the dynamic.
Non-humanoid companions are an interesting avenue to explore, but in many cases would radically limit the amount of customization and combat options available, so it’s something that will take more investigation and potentially even expansion of the system to fully realize.

ZOS has expressed that they do not want players to bring multiple copies of the same character to meet one another. If a Companion unlock skip would lead to Mirri meeting Mirri, then ZOS does not want to implement it.

Since my Mirri meets Mirri at least 100 times on a daily basis whenever I port into an area and see clones of her following players, I honestly don't see why they bother preserving the illusion in this case.

They should just let players who want to skip the quests unlock them via the collections menu with a simple prompt. It's really the easiest way. Then those of us who like doing the quests can continue to do so without anything compromising our experience.

It's kind of like CP points, honestly. Those can be applied to a brand new character account wide with no lore explanation as to why. Having them account wide is just a backend system that has nothing to with the story of the game. Really, unlocking companions subsequent times on alts should be the same.

SilverBride

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

They should just let players who want to skip the quests unlock them via the collections menu with a simple prompt. It's really the easiest way. Then those of us who like doing the quests can continue to do so without anything compromising our experience.

I believe we should have to do the quest once per account before this option would become available. I don't want to invalidate their stories and feel they are important. I just don't feel that we need to go through it multiple times.

katanagirl1

You are arguing about automatic companion unlock on subsequent characters, saying that would be a problem, when you could play the dlcs in complete reverse order and then the base game and ZOS is fine with that. (Excluding the Necrom/Gold Road continuation problem for the epilogue.). I read here that someone said that Lyranth back in whatever Shadowfen delve has lines if you did whatever dlc zone quest with her first. If that is the case they don’t care about storyline continuity.

It’s a non-issue.

spartaxoxo

Literally you could skip the old tutorial quests and it didn't cause an issue. They don't even respect who you kill in the main quest.

All they need is a second confirmation box that let's people know that the game will treat them that companion will respond as if they had completed it, just to satisfy those who for some reason think that skipping a quest means it's not completed for you.

"Are you sure? Mirri will respond to you as though you completed -Intro Quest Name Here-. Would you still like to proceed?"

Done.

Necrotech_Master

Erickson9610 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

I don't have an issue with convenience changes that are questionable from a lore standpoint, but ZOS definitely does in this case.

Where did ZoS say they have a problem with this?

I'm glad you asked! Here:

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Q: why are companions account wide unlocks (collection menu) but still required to be unlocked per character?
Why are the unlock quests getting significantly longer if we are required to unlock it per character? or can we get some way to bypass them if we have already unlocked them?

PD: This ties back into potential issues of bringing Mirri to unlock Mirri, but also, we know many players establish different relationship dynamics with their companions on a per character basis and the introductory quest is a key part of that, so at this time there are no plans to change that.
On the story side, there hasn't been any mandate or push to make these quests longer. The stories we want to tell are the determining factor. This is great feedback though and something we will make sure to take into account going forward.

ZOS has expressed that they do not want players to bring multiple copies of the same character to meet one another. If a Companion unlock skip would lead to Mirri meeting Mirri, then ZOS does not want to implement it.

i actually was the one that asked that question, about why companions are account wide unlocks but still required per character and referenced the increasingly long questlines needed to unlock them

they answered it halfway, the first part about they dont want a companion running into themselves (which i personally found an extremely unacceptable answer when we already have a sea of clone companions running into themselves)

they totally did not respond or answer the follow up part of allowing us to skip, so i dont think that part is off the table yet because they gave a pretty vague response that didnt address this

to me they still need to do something, or the companions will end up unused and discarded because people arent going to want to bother with their quests anymore if they are forced to constantly repeat the intro ones

im already way past that point, i wont be getting much use out of new companions as ill only be unlocking them on 2 characters going forward then they will sit collecting dust

SilverBride

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

...to me they still need to do something, or the companions will end up unused and discarded because people arent going to want to bother with their quests anymore if they are forced to constantly repeat the intro ones

I am very quickly approaching that point. Instead of looking forward to seeing who the new Companions are I find myself dreading it. Depending on how long the quests are I may actually skip unlocking them for the first time.

If the quests were as short as Bastian's and Mirri's it would still feel like a chore, but at least it would be quick. But Azandar's and Sharp's were so long, through confusing Public Dungeons and back and forth all over the place, that I wasn't paying any attention to the story at all.

SeaUnicorn

I don't cheat on Mirri

SilverBride

SeaUnicorn wrote: »

I don't cheat on Mirri

I fired her a couple of years ago.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/598117/i-fired-mirri/p1

kind_hero

I got used with playing with a companion most of the time. Especially when I am gathering resources or digging antiquities, they take care of any mobs that might attack me.

What I would like regarding companions is to have more ways to customise them, like helmets and maybe postures (could be unlocking some of their own lore friendly postures, for example).

I would also like to see their dialogues and reactions to places increased, maybe even add a new companion quest for each.

However, the most important is the usefulness, where I believe we need some more gear or abilities for companions. Notice that I am not really asking for new companions. Right now we have plenty. But having more abilities, buffs, gear options for them would be ideal.
For example, most companions die during a world boss fight. I would like to have some food/potion buff for them that would make them more tough for at least 30 seconds.

Also, it would be great to have some set or mythic that would boost some aspect of the companion you have.

DinoZavr

kind_hero wrote: »

Also, it would be great to have some set or mythic that would boost some aspect of the companion you have.

https://eso-sets.com/set/telvanni-efficiency
works quite well for already quickened healer Companion

Pelanora

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

...to me they still need to do something, or the companions will end up unused and discarded because people arent going to want to bother with their quests anymore if they are forced to constantly repeat the intro ones

I am very quickly approaching that point. Instead of looking forward to seeing who the new Companions are I find myself dreading it. Depending on how long the quests are I may actually skip unlocking them for the first time.

If the quests were as short as Bastian's and Mirri's it would still feel like a chore, but at least it would be quick. But Azandar's and Sharp's were so long, through confusing Public Dungeons and back and forth all over the place, that I wasn't paying any attention to the story at all.

If you don't like them, don't use them.

Northwold

I'd be very curious to see figures for the whole population of the game on how many people routinely run multiple characters.

Clearly a lot of people do on this forum, but it feels, well, niche, and a lot of the things people complain about here seem more predicated on the notion of not having to do something 18 times than on problems with the features themselves.

I don't know, maybe seeing those figures would help explain why sometimes people here feel their concerns aren't listened to.

TaSheen

Northwold wrote: »

I'd be very curious to see figures for the whole population of the game on how many people routinely run multiple characters.

Clearly a lot of people do on this forum, but it feels, well, niche, and a lot of the things people complain about here seem more predicated on the notion of not having to do something 18 times than on problems with the features themselves.

I don't know, maybe seeing those figures would help explain why sometimes people here feel their concerns aren't listened to.

I tend to think that my love of many many alts is not the norm at all. I'm a relic from an older gaming world; I think that younger people are exactly what ZOS was planning for when they did AWA - the much younger people I know who play games are all "one note songs" - as in they have one "toon" (they seem to prefer that word to "character") and they don't identify with the character at all, seeing it as simply an avatar to get through the game. That goes for MMOs too - in fact, it was quite prevalent in WoW and RIFT - I and my family who played those games were not at all "normal" when it came to having so many alts.

With single player games, I still run many alts - I save characters and play-throughs in progress for instance in Oblivion and Skyrim, because there's ALWAYS another character who comes into my mind wanting to be "birthed" into the game.... There's a couple of ways of doing that - there's "profile managers", and then there's what I prefer to do: when I want to pause one girl and start another, I copy the entire game folder, addons, and the save folders to one of my drives, and copy the "fresh" game folder and all addons I want to use to the drive I use for games. For Skyrim, I have half a dozen different setups from totally vanilla to hundreds of addons.... However, I really have to go back to redo my installs - I've got the GOG version now, and that means redoing everything.... Maybe this winter.

SilverBride

Pelanora wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

...to me they still need to do something, or the companions will end up unused and discarded because people arent going to want to bother with their quests anymore if they are forced to constantly repeat the intro ones

I am very quickly approaching that point. Instead of looking forward to seeing who the new Companions are I find myself dreading it. Depending on how long the quests are I may actually skip unlocking them for the first time.

If the quests were as short as Bastian's and Mirri's it would still feel like a chore, but at least it would be quick. But Azandar's and Sharp's were so long, through confusing Public Dungeons and back and forth all over the place, that I wasn't paying any attention to the story at all.

If you don't like them, don't use them.

I have never once said I don't like the Companions. (Other than Mirri who I find completely unpleasant to have around.) I even said this in my opening post: "I have found the Companions useful and feel the newer ones have gotten much more likable than the previous."

I do use them which is why I keep unlocking them. But it is reaching the point that it's just not worth going through these long quests multiple times to unlock any more of them.

joseayalac

You don't have to unlock them in every character if you don't want to...

It has nothing to do with new companions coming out.

Elsonso

.

SeaUnicorn wrote: »

I don't cheat on Mirri

Mirri rapport drops when I grab a torchbug, and ZOS has a torchbug hovering over so many things that I need to interact with. It seems we are destined to go our separate ways…

SilverBride

joseayalac wrote: »

You don't have to unlock them in every character if you don't want to...

It has nothing to do with new companions coming out.

If we want to use them on all our characters then yes we do have to unlock them on every character. That is why we want to be able to skip the unlocking quest on our alts.

onyxorb

I'm fine with them continuing to add more companions. The rapport systems means that some combinations don't work well with some playstyles. Plus we are missing a lot of gender/race/class combos, so we definitely need more options. Not to mention more free houseguests is always a positive.

I'm fine with redoing the quest for the ones I want to unlock, but definitely wouldn't mind those quest being 'shorter'.
Maybe even moving parts of those into the parts of the questline that you gain rapport for.

All of my companions are spec'd for different roles, so I don't need 'every' companion on every toon. Just one that match the toon's playstyle.

Mostly that means getting one of the tanky companions to use with a DPS toon, or a DPS companion with a healer, etc.

ZOS seems to have at least 'tried' to make them unique entities. You meet them like any other NPC and so their levels and skills are unique to how you (your account) encounters them. Their relationships however are like any other quest giver, so their status and rapport are unique to each character. I kind of like this system, and am fine with it staying that way.

Also, that combination of rapport and companion likes/dislikes, means you have to pick companions that match your character's playstyle , just like you would your skills, outfits, and styles.

So 'for me', I don't have to worry about getting 'each' companion on each of my toons. Just the ones I need.

Afterall, my Isobel healer just isn't going to mesh well with my DB/thief thieving murdering farming toon.

PS ZOS... I'm still waiting for my WW companion. I know you can make this happen. I believe in you!

spartaxoxo

Personally, I don't unlock them all on every alt. I'd like a skip so that I could. But, in the meantime, I don't unlock them on every alt. I don't want to burn out on companions, and doing the same quest over and over again, would take something interesting and make it unfun. I want to continue having fun and enjoy the companion system, so I don't do that to myself. Instead all of my characters have either Bastian or Isobel (except my real tank) because those two are my tank companions. All of the rest of them only have a companion if I think that companion would click very well with that character. So, for example, I did give my Khajiit thief Ember as a companion.

SilverBride

I do unlock them on every alt because I like all my characters to have equal assets. It also help the Companions to level faster if I am using them on all my alts because leveling them is account wide. I only actively level their rapport on one character so I can get the houseguest.

Shagreth

More companions is a good thing. However -- I wouldn't mind them taking a break to implement stuff they've promised for years, like the romance system.

spartaxoxo

I level my companions in Dragonstar Arena or Infinite Archive, or sometimes by going for some drop I want in a public dungeon. Not only do the companions level faster this way, but it also means I don't need to care about using alts to level them.

All of my alts do have equal assets, in the sense that they each have one companion that enhances their gameplay. For most of them, that is a tank, because most of them are DPS.I also find a tank better for a healer character because then I have something to heal that actually feels useful to heal. My real tank has Mirri for a companion, since Mirri is my DPS companion that's the best at dealing damage.

I personally consider anything beyond those gameplay functions to be cosmetic or roleplay oriented only, and therefore unnecessary to have each character.

I understand players who want them on all characters. I would too if it there was a skip. So, I am all in favor of a skip. It's just that, in the meantime, this is what I do to keep the system enjoyable for myself, personally.