Companions - When is it enough?

SilverBride · July 16

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

isobel, azander, and sharp usually take about 10 min if you stealth and have high move speed, but on avg take about 15-25 min depending on how slow your move speed and how low your dmg is

All my characters have good builds and do good damage and it still took a lot longer than that for Azandar and Sharp. There is a lot of go here and do this, now go there and do that, then Gorne alone took a very long time just trying to find the right path. I hated every minute of their quests and am afraid of what the next ones will be like.

Necrotech_Master · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

isobel, azander, and sharp usually take about 10 min if you stealth and have high move speed, but on avg take about 15-25 min depending on how slow your move speed and how low your dmg is

All my characters have good builds and do good damage and it still took a lot longer than that for Azandar and Sharp. There is a lot of go here and do this, now go there and do that, then Gorne alone took a very long time just trying to find the right path. I hated every minute of their quests and am afraid of what the next ones will be like.

azanders was a lot of "waiting for dialogs" for sure, even if you were fast and there was less fighting for his (his quest actually makes you go through a delve and public dungeon)

sharps isnt that bad once you get the layout of gorne, but i agree the first time through gorne it was very confusing because the map in ESO does not do a great job explaining "3d space" especially when theres multiple floors and criss crossing pathways

i cant really imagine it getting worse than that, but at this point i basically am not even using the new companions, i only bothered to unlock azander and sharp on 3 characters (my main for story, one of my dps for powerleveling them, and a 3rd character when i realized this was not going to be a fun process and just stopped)

EdjeSwift · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

All my characters have good builds and do good damage and it still took a lot longer than that for Azandar and Sharp. There is a lot of go here and do this, now go there and do that, then Gorne alone took a very long time just trying to find the right path. I hated every minute of their quests and am afraid of what the next ones will be like.

Build and damage are largely irrelevant to companion recruitment when going for maximum efficiency, it's all a matter of knowing how/where to go in order to complete them in the timeliest manner. Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

No one does the FIRST recruitment in record time, but each subsequent one gets faster. You can skip dialogue more because you've seen the story already. Isobel's became a breeze for me once I found my groove of Lute into Hilt into Staff because of limited backtracking/going in and out of the castle.

SilverBride · July 16

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

I still didn't know who Garrus is. Are you referring to Sharp?

Elsonso · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

I still didn't know who Garrus is. Are you referring to Sharp?

Garrus is a character in Mass Effect that is voiced by the same actor.

SilverBride · July 16

Elsonso wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

I still didn't know who Garrus is. Are you referring to Sharp?

Garrus is a character in Mass Effect that is voiced by the same actor.

So it is not a Companion in this game. Thanks for clarifying.

Erickson9610 · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

I still didn't know who Garrus is. Are you referring to Sharp?

Garrus is a character in Mass Effect that is voiced by the same actor.

So it is not a Companion in this game. Thanks for clarifying.

Who knows — the name "Garrus" could eventually be given to a future companion? Either way, I thought it was a humorous joke.

SilverBride · July 16

Erickson9610 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

I still didn't know who Garrus is. Are you referring to Sharp?

Garrus is a character in Mass Effect that is voiced by the same actor.

So it is not a Companion in this game. Thanks for clarifying.

Who knows — the name "Garrus" could eventually be given to a future companion? Either way, I thought it was a humorous joke.

I know nothing about Mass Effect so I didn't get it.

EdjeSwift · July 16

Erickson9610 wrote: »

Who knows — the name "Garrus" could eventually be given to a future companion? Either way, I thought it was a humorous joke.

Personality wise they're pretty much the same character; cocky, self-assured and arrogant to most but good to their people. Plus, even though Turians are supposedly avian based they definitely do look more reptilian.

JemadarofCaerSalis · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Garrus' recruitment has limited required combat and once you know that going left in Gorne is essentially a straight shot to the required location you get much faster.

I still didn't know who Garrus is. Are you referring to Sharp?

Garrus is a character in Mass Effect that is voiced by the same actor.

So it is not a Companion in this game. Thanks for clarifying.

Who knows — the name "Garrus" could eventually be given to a future companion? Either way, I thought it was a humorous joke.

I know nothing about Mass Effect so I didn't get it.

Same here.

I don't mind longer unlock quests, since I only do them on one character. I can definitely see how longer quests are detrimental when you want to unlock the companions on multiple characters.

SilverBride · July 16

EdjeSwift wrote: »

Turians are supposedly avian based they definitely do look more reptilian.

I always heard that birds and reptiles are related. When I googled it though I found ambiguous answers.

Thee_Cheshire_Cat · July 16

Have an optional unlockable romance option. This is an M rated game. Step it up.

Erickson9610 · July 16

Thee_Cheshire_Cat wrote: »

Have an optional unlockable romance option. This is an M rated game. Step it up.

ZOS briefly mentioned having future plans for Companion romance, but I personally doubt it'll be much more than what TES V: Skyrim does with its Marriage system. Just because ESO is rated M doesn't mean ZOS particularly wants to lean so heavily into the mature rating.

SilverBride · July 16

Erickson9610 wrote: »

Just because ESO is rated M doesn't mean ZOS particularly wants to lean so heavily into the mature rating.

It doesn't get much more mature than The Lusty Argonian Maid.

BretonMage · July 16

Garrus/Sharp

Can't wait for a Sharp romance.

EdjeSwift · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

It doesn't get much more mature than The Lusty Argonian Maid.

If this is your "get much more mature" level then oh boy is there a whole lot more out there you haven't seen/been exposed to.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:The_Lusty_Argonian_Maid

SilverBride · July 16

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

It doesn't get much more mature than The Lusty Argonian Maid.

If this is your "get much more mature" level then oh boy is there a whole lot more out there you haven't seen/been exposed to.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:The_Lusty_Argonian_Maid

As far as gaming, not real life.

Araneae6537 · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

...you shouldn’t feel you have to unlock future companions on all characters.

There is no should or shouldn't when it comes to how we feel. For many of us completing objectives is very important and we do feel that unlocking all the Companions on all of our Characters is something we should do.

But that isn't the topic being discussed. The question presented in this thread is when is it enough? When we have 8, or 20, or will they just keep coming indefinitely?

Arguing against an element being added to the game because one would feel compelled to do it is a very poor argument indeed. Nothing is locked behind companions that punishes people for not unlocking them at all, much less on every character. I wish the same could be said of ToT, but unfortunately antiquity furnishing leads were placed behind it.

Anyway, games like ESO should include elements that a variety of people will enjoy. And being able to do these activities again on another character is part of the reason some of us create additional characters. That should not be taken away just because some people may feel compelled to do any and everything they can do.

SilverBride · July 16

Araneae6537 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Araneae6537 wrote: »

...you shouldn’t feel you have to unlock future companions on all characters.

There is no should or shouldn't when it comes to how we feel. For many of us completing objectives is very important and we do feel that unlocking all the Companions on all of our Characters is something we should do.

But that isn't the topic being discussed. The question presented in this thread is when is it enough? When we have 8, or 20, or will they just keep coming indefinitely?

Arguing against an element being added to the game because one would feel compelled to do it is a very poor argument indeed. Nothing is locked behind companions that punishes people for not unlocking them at all, much less on every character.

I'm not arguing against anything. I am merely giving my own personal view that I am happy with what we have now.

It doesn't matter if anything is locked behind the Companions, or if we don't have to unlock them all, or even any for that matter. That isn't the question I presented in this thread.

Necrotech_Master · July 16

realistically, in comparison to other systems we have (antiquities, tribute for example) are still receiving new additions almost every update

antiquities gets many new leads added per year for furnishings and mythics

tribute gets new decks with most big updates (i think we are up to like 12 decks total now)

i assume we will get more stuff for scribing in the future (new grimoires/scripts)

so i dont think they will likely stop adding new companions, though i agree with your qualms about the long story quest unlocks that also have to be done per character, and right now i likely dont plan on unlocking any new companions on more than 2 characters (my main for the story and rapport, and a dps alt for powerleveling)

SilverBride · July 16

I wouldn't mind if they all unlocked as quickly as Bastian and Mirri did. It's the long tedious unlocking that I am dreading.

Sepultura_13 · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

It doesn't get much more mature than The Lusty Argonian Maid.

If this is your "get much more mature" level then oh boy is there a whole lot more out there you haven't seen/been exposed to.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:The_Lusty_Argonian_Maid

As far as gaming, not real life.

I don't understand the desire for "romance" with companions...I just don't. Then again, I don't have a strange fixation or fetish for pixels, plastic, and other fake things.

Back on-topic, I would definitely like to see a way to unlock companions without having to do their intro quest again and again. I like the suggestion of, say, having the companion houseguest being able to interact with your non-mains on the account. Then, if you want to do the rapport with a specific toon, you can do the specific companion's introduction quest to unlock that and go on your merry way. Companion leveling is account-wide, which is nice - rapport is specific, which is perfectly acceptable for whichever toon you choose to have a specific companion with.

Necrotech_Master · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

I wouldn't mind if they all unlocked as quickly as Bastian and Mirri did. It's the long tedious unlocking that I am dreading.

yup, which is why i stopped bothering unlocking them on more than 2 characters

only need 1 character to max rapport and do the quests, and then just a matter of getting them to lvl 20 for the keepsake

then your other characters still get the bonus regardless if they have access to them

i wish i could use them on more characters, but to me its not worth the effort to go through the questline on every character

SilverBride · July 16

Sepultura_13 wrote: »

I don't understand the desire for "romance" with companions...I just don't. Then again, I don't have a strange fixation or fetish for pixels, plastic, and other fake things.

I treat my characters as individuals when I am playing. Each one has their own house decorated in a way that I think they would like. I think it is natural that they would want a life partner.

I am not looking to play out romantic scenarios etc.. Just someone for them to come home to.

Fata1moose · July 16

Remathilis wrote: »

Fata1moose wrote: »

When every race, class is represented and when Naryu, Razum-Dar and Darien are companions. I’d like to see them expand on existing companions too. Expand their story arcs and relationships.

Don't do that. Don't give me hope.

Don’t let the dream die. Keep asking!

Erickson9610 · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

Sepultura_13 wrote: »

I don't understand the desire for "romance" with companions...I just don't. Then again, I don't have a strange fixation or fetish for pixels, plastic, and other fake things.

I treat my characters as individuals when I am playing. Each one has their own house decorated in a way that I think they would like. I think it is natural that they would want a life partner.

I am not looking to play out romantic scenarios etc.. Just someone for them to come home to.

Edit: I misread your post in my initial response. While I don't think that every Companion would be interested in romance or every aspect of the player character, it's reasonable to assume that some players want to get in character with their Companions.

Looking at what TES V: Skyrim did with its Marriage system, how would you suppose this would carry over into ESO's Companions as Houseguests? Would they have unique dialogue if your character is in a relationship with them? Would they offer passive income, like what Followers in TES V: Skyrim do?

SilverBride · July 16

Erickson9610 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Sepultura_13 wrote: »

I don't understand the desire for "romance" with companions...I just don't. Then again, I don't have a strange fixation or fetish for pixels, plastic, and other fake things.

I treat my characters as individuals when I am playing. Each one has their own house decorated in a way that I think they would like. I think it is natural that they would want a life partner.

I am not looking to play out romantic scenarios etc.. Just someone for them to come home to.

Not every Companion would necessarily want a life partner nor someone to come home to. That's not for the player to decide.

In other words, ZOS decides which Companions are romanceable, and by what kinds of player characters.

That is not how romance works and I seriously don't see ZoS making these kind of choices for the player. Azandar has his own workshop and small living area for when he is deep in research, but the rest of the time he is living with my Arcanist because he is not only her mentor, but someone special to her. That is my choice on how to play my character and use my Companion.

Erickson9610 wrote: »

Looking at what TES V: Skyrim did with its Marriage system, how would you suppose this would carry over into ESO's Companions as Houseguests? Would they have unique dialogue if your character is in a relationship with them? Would they offer passive income, like what Followers in TES V: Skyrim do?

I was wondering the same thing. I would like my houseguest version to have some loving dialogue but nothing that would seem over the top if they weren't in a relationship. A lot of kind things that could be said to a life partner could also be said to a friend.

Sepultura_13 · July 16

SilverBride wrote: »

Sepultura_13 wrote: »

I don't understand the desire for "romance" with companions...I just don't. Then again, I don't have a strange fixation or fetish for pixels, plastic, and other fake things.

I treat my characters as individuals when I am playing. Each one has their own house decorated in a way that I think they would like. I think it is natural that they would want a life partner.

I am not looking to play out romantic scenarios etc.. Just someone for them to come home to.

I agree. No need for romantic scenarios or "hey let's jump in the sack" sort of creepy RP stuff, which is what a lot of the "Lusty Argonian Maid" types seem to be angling for. More like "vanilla" Skyrim, where you could get coin, food, or something because your "store" sold things and you get your "cut" of the profits. Definitely nice to have someone to come home to, but I don't need someone's "modded" version.

My characters are individuals, as well, and none of them are interested in some creepy version of a popular OnlyFans carbon-copy.

SilverBride · July 16

Sepultura_13 wrote: »

No need for romantic scenarios or "hey let's jump in the sack" sort of creepy RP stuff, which is what a lot of the "Lusty Argonian Maid" types seem to be angling for. More like "vanilla" Skyrim, where you could get coin, food, or something because your "store" sold things and you get your "cut" of the profits. Definitely nice to have someone to come home to, but I don't need someone's "modded" version.

I'd like some loving vocalizations on occasion. "Nice to see you back home safely." Stuff like that.

Erickson9610 · July 16

Sepultura_13 wrote: »

I agree. No need for romantic scenarios or "hey let's jump in the sack" sort of creepy RP stuff, which is what a lot of the "Lusty Argonian Maid" types seem to be angling for. More like "vanilla" Skyrim, where you could get coin, food, or something because your "store" sold things and you get your "cut" of the profits. Definitely nice to have someone to come home to, but I don't need someone's "modded" version.

I don't think ESO needs more sources of passive income. It makes sense for a singleplayer game, but in a game with a multiplayer economy, I believe that getting even 100 Gold every day from your Companions on every one of your characters is a little too much.

I could see ESO's Companion romance feature being strictly new dialogue, and maybe a single quest for any Companion to get married (as it was in TES V: Skyrim). We can already move the Companions into our houses as Houseguests, and we already get different dialogue depending on our rapport with them — so a "relationship status" could simply be another rapport level, or an extension of the existing rapport levels.