Are you going to use the new Companions, Tanlorin and Zerith-Var?

Ingel_Riday · October 29

I am undecided

coop500 wrote: »

Tanlorin will dock you with -rapport points if you:
Read a Mage's Guild Book
Visit a Mage's Guild
Defend yourself against a Gryphon or Indrik
Harvest a nirnroot or crimson nirnroot
Visit Artaeum or Eyevea

I tried picking them up today regardless but I couldn't even get through their quest, they annoyed me too much.

I adore Zerith though, new favorite companion, sorry Bastian.

Oh, that is an extremely unfortunate list. Bleh.

Well, I'll get the elf to level 20, finish up the achievement stuff, and then will bench said elf forever with no qualms. Makes Azandar's mushroom phobia and Mirri's torchbug fervor seem tame by comparison.

Erickson9610 · October 29

I will use both

AzuraFan wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Not touching the other one though. Not for that reason, but because I can't stand companions that don't let me play the game, and picking up books/visiting the mage's guild and so on is part of that.

Wait, are you saying that Tanlorin doesn't like books?

I claimed them because I have ESO+, but given the activities I'm currently interested in doing, I don't want to run around with newbie companions. I'll do their quests (at some point), but I'm not sure I'll use either of them beyond that. Especially if one of them hates books. Yuck.

The more I've played through Tanlorin's storyline, the more I start to understand why they dislike the things they do, and why they like the things they do. I respect that Tanlorin will outright explain why they don't like books.

disky · October 29

I am undecided

If I manage to get them for free, sure. I'm not paying extra for companions, especially considering that I already have a number of them and they're all fairly similar in their build and class potential. The individual bonuses aren't all that special to me, and these particular companions aren't really my cup of tea lorewise.

Nharimlur_Finor · October 29

I will use Tanlorin only

There seems to be a large dose of 'any excuse not to use them' which really just reflects the outdated social norms relating to this issue. Apart from the Nirnroot, the other restrictions wouldn't ordinarily apply in my gameplay. You can easily dismiss the companion before going into a Mages guild.

Has anyone actually done some evaluation of Tanlorin's skills? How effective are they in combat?

Taril · October 29

LaintalAy wrote: »

Has anyone actually done some evaluation of Tanlorin's skills? How effective are they in combat?

They're decent for a Tank or Healer role given that they're a bunch of DK Tank/Healer skills.

Very similar to Bastian, just with more overall healing capabilities and AoE damage.

Nharimlur_Finor · October 29

I will use Tanlorin only

thnaks.

Pelanora · October 29

@LaintalAy

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8192475#Comment_8192475

pklemming · October 29

Hell, no. Tan, especially. How did they make such an amazingly annoying character? [snip] I am actually considering doing housing , just so I can put her in a death trap that runs forever.

The necro doesn't have an annoying personality, but will still just be taken to level 20, max rapport and put away. I rarely use companions anyway. The seem least worst as healers, so they get a resto staff and mostly damage reduction with one or two health. They will not die to the first puddle, or small rock then.

[edited for profanity bypass]

coop500 · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

LaintalAy wrote: »

There seems to be a large dose of 'any excuse not to use them' which really just reflects the outdated social norms relating to this issue. Apart from the Nirnroot, the other restrictions wouldn't ordinarily apply in my gameplay. You can easily dismiss the companion before going into a Mages guild.

Has anyone actually done some evaluation of Tanlorin's skills? How effective are they in combat?

I really don't care about their gender identity, I just don't like needy companions that come off as control freaks.
I don't want to have to put a companion away any time I want to pick up a mage's guild book/nirnroot. I WILL forget. The same for fighting indriks/gryphons which sometimes happens when I don't expect it to. Or I am focused on getting something done (scribing) and go to Eye-whatever.

I also didn't like how they kept flirting with my character. As an asexual IRL, this made me deeply uncomfortable, but I am guessing that doesn't matter to most people.

I don't like Mirri either, or Sharp, or Ember, or that old fellow who complains about mushrooms.
I like Bastian, I like Isobel, and now Zerith.

There are genuine reasons to dislike this character because, for some reason, the devs seem to go out of their way to make them rather annoying for some of us. I hope this isn't going to be reduced to accusations like this, when I know I would feel the same way regardless of their identity.

emilyhyoyeon · October 29

I will use Tanlorin only

I'm definitely not using Zerith-var until there's a way to disable companion perks. I never use the passives that make resources/chests glow; the glows are ugly and ruin the landscapes for me and mess with my immersion because of that. And I genuinely enjoy looking for stuff in the environments.

I really hope one day we can disable any companion perks. I've seen people say they want the same for Bastian, Isobel, etc because they don't care for the extra loot taking up inventory space, for example.

Grumpycrawler · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

coop500 wrote: »

LaintalAy wrote: »

There seems to be a large dose of 'any excuse not to use them' which really just reflects the outdated social norms relating to this issue. Apart from the Nirnroot, the other restrictions wouldn't ordinarily apply in my gameplay. You can easily dismiss the companion before going into a Mages guild.

Has anyone actually done some evaluation of Tanlorin's skills? How effective are they in combat?

I really don't care about their gender identity, I just don't like needy companions that come off as control freaks.
I don't want to have to put a companion away any time I want to pick up a mage's guild book/nirnroot. I WILL forget. The same for fighting indriks/gryphons which sometimes happens when I don't expect it to. Or I am focused on getting something done (scribing) and go to Eye-whatever.

I also didn't like how they kept flirting with my character. As an asexual IRL, this made me deeply uncomfortable, but I am guessing that doesn't matter to most people.

I don't like Mirri either, or Sharp, or Ember, or that old fellow who complains about mushrooms.
I like Bastian, I like Isobel, and now Zerith.

There are genuine reasons to dislike this character because, for some reason, the devs seem to go out of their way to make them rather annoying for some of us. I hope this isn't going to be reduced to accusations like this, when I know I would feel the same way regardless of their identity.

Same here. Tried them yesterday. I'm actually non-binary myself irl (all tho I don't care if people use gendered terms for revering to me),but Tanlorin is just not for me. I like their visual design. But for me it's the voice acting. I really can't with voices that come off as forced (so the forced tought dude voices), one of the reasons I couldn't play cyberpunk in english since the female voice was just too forced. Same as not being able to stand zelda in BOTW or TOTK, since her voice is too forced and it hurts my ears.
This is something I wouldn't blame the voice actor for (they probably also did diffrent things and they were selected for a reason), becuase other's probably don't have that sensitivity and their are probably people who can't stand my voice haha. I just can't play with a character that makes a sound that gives me the same feeling as nails going over an chalkboard,
The negative report points for all the mages things also don't help, sicne it is quite a list. All tho I can appriciate their story from what I have read about them.

On the note of voices I really really love Zerith's voice and its for sure the reason they are my new favorite companion. Besides that he also hit's the spots I would want from a necromancer companion, charaacter wise, skill wise and looks wise! Even tho I would also not use him if his voice irked me (even if I loved all his other aspects).

baguette_poolish · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

I don't usually use companions but I really like the cat on this update, so ive been using it with my arcanist

pklemming · October 29

LaintalAy wrote: »

There seems to be a large dose of 'any excuse not to use them' which really just reflects the outdated social norms relating to this issue. Apart from the Nirnroot, the other restrictions wouldn't ordinarily apply in my gameplay. You can easily dismiss the companion before going into a Mages guild.

Has anyone actually done some evaluation of Tanlorin's skills? How effective are they in combat?

Annoying, is annoying. Skills have nothing to do with it. [snip]

Anyway, that is by-the-bye. Tan is just super annoying. I thought Mirri and Bastion were bad, but this is a whole new level.

[edited for baiting]

AzuraFan · October 29

I am undecided

Erickson9610 wrote: »

The more I've played through Tanlorin's storyline, the more I start to understand why they dislike the things they do, and why they like the things they do. I respect that Tanlorin will outright explain why they don't like books.

So because of family, this person has forever rejected books, including fiction, poetry, and practical books that could make their life better? Sounds like an idiot to me. And grow a backbone, dear. You're an adult now.

(Hopefully not all their dialogue is that cringeworthy.)

spartaxoxo · October 29

I will use both

AzuraFan wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

The more I've played through Tanlorin's storyline, the more I start to understand why they dislike the things they do, and why they like the things they do. I respect that Tanlorin will outright explain why they don't like books.

So because of family, this person has forever rejected books, including fiction, poetry, and practical books that could make their life better? Sounds like an idiot to me. And grow a backbone, dear. You're an adult now.

(Hopefully not all their dialogue is that cringeworthy.)

It's just the Mage's Guild ones not all books that cause rapport loss, at least.

tomfant · October 29

I will not use either

Not interested in companions at all. Its IMHO a waste of precious dev time.

JemadarofCaerSalis · October 29

I am undecided

coop500 wrote: »

AzuraFan wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Not touching the other one though. Not for that reason, but because I can't stand companions that don't let me play the game, and picking up books/visiting the mage's guild and so on is part of that.

Wait, are you saying that Tanlorin doesn't like books?

I claimed them because I have ESO+, but given the activities I'm currently interested in doing, I don't want to run around with newbie companions. I'll do their quests (at some point), but I'm not sure I'll use either of them beyond that. Especially if one of them hates books. Yuck.

Tanlorin will dock you with -rapport points if you:
Read a Mage's Guild Book
Visit a Mage's Guild
Defend yourself against a Gryphon or Indrik
Harvest a nirnroot or crimson nirnroot
Visit Artaeum or Eyevea

I tried picking them up today regardless but I couldn't even get through their quest, they annoyed me too much.

I adore Zerith though, new favorite companion, sorry Bastian.

That is going to suck...

I did Zerith's quest yesterday, and picked up Tanlorin's but already they are annoying me no end, not just with the flirting, but with all the allusions to their past trysts.

They are pretty much tailor made to get on my last nerve in that they are pretty much everything I *don't* want in a companion.

I will do their quests and get the passive, but they will most likely end up being one companion I will never bring out again once I am finished. All the other companions I don't mind if I bring them out (haven't done sharp's quests yet, so haven't traveled with him a lot yet) and will just run with them if I accidentally bring them out (I have an addon that allowed me to give custom keybinds, and my cats love changing my current companion)

coop500 · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

AzuraFan wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

The more I've played through Tanlorin's storyline, the more I start to understand why they dislike the things they do, and why they like the things they do. I respect that Tanlorin will outright explain why they don't like books.

So because of family, this person has forever rejected books, including fiction, poetry, and practical books that could make their life better? Sounds like an idiot to me. And grow a backbone, dear. You're an adult now.

(Hopefully not all their dialogue is that cringeworthy.)

We are also not forcing them to read. Again, this circle backs to control freak behavior. We're picking up a book for ourselves, nothing to do with them.

Lugaldu · October 29

I will use both

There are so many things and design decisions to wonder about sometimes, but oh well.
However - why is Zerith-Var on Tales of Tribute? I thought that was a brand new card game?

coop500 · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

Lugaldu wrote: »

There are so many things and design decisions to wonder about sometimes, but oh well.
However - why is Zerith-Var on Tales of Tribute? I thought that was a brand new card game?

Maybe because it's inspired by history? I dunno lol, I need to do a game and see what he says.
It may also be just him enjoying some friendly competition, he does have an edge of bravado.

OtarTheMad · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

I’ll have to change my answer to this to: I will not use either, after finding out the rapport positives and negatives

Erickson9610 · October 29

I will use both

AzuraFan wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

The more I've played through Tanlorin's storyline, the more I start to understand why they dislike the things they do, and why they like the things they do. I respect that Tanlorin will outright explain why they don't like books.

So because of family, this person has forever rejected books, including fiction, poetry, and practical books that could make their life better? Sounds like an idiot to me. And grow a backbone, dear. You're an adult now.

(Hopefully not all their dialogue is that cringeworthy.)

There are all sorts of people in all walks of life. Not every person in the real world will be the "ideal person". Not everyone has the same personality and outlook on life.

Tanlorin (and other Companion characters) are designed to be as diverse from one another as possible. Some Companions have already "grown a backbone". Some of them can be relatable to some player out there.

It's okay that we have characters that we hate. I personally can't stand Ember, yet others love her. I imagine some people out there adore Tanlorin, while others hate them. It's okay because we have variety from the Companions system, and each character can be relatable to someone in the real world on some walk of life.

Necrotech_Master · October 29

I will use both

AzuraFan wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Tanlorin will dock you with -rapport points if you:
Read a Mage's Guild Book
Visit a Mage's Guild
Defend yourself against a Gryphon or Indrik
Harvest a nirnroot or crimson nirnroot
Visit Artaeum or Eyevea

Rapport in this game makes no sense when you're penalized for doing normal in-game activities. I think they were going for the type of rapport you see in BioWare games, but in those games, you're never penalized for just playing the game. Rapport is all about how you interact with the companions in conversations. Of course, the companion conversations are so shallow in ESO that they couldn't do it that way, so they went with the "we'll punish our players for playing the game naturally" route. They should have left it out altogether.

95% of the rapport in this game is meaningless in the near negligible values that it increases or decreases

you just do 1 alchemy daily writ with tanlorin and thats +125 rapport, so any negative rapport that you got is wiped clean and still likely gained more rapport than you lost

tanlorins rapport doesnt make a lot of sense from other perspectives, i think you can gain rapport for picking a lock, but lose rapport from stealing (if you lockpicked a safebox, and then looted it)

AlienSlof · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

I like Zerith-Var now I've done his intro quest - and he's the tomcat I was hoping for.
Jury's still out on Tanlorin - I've only just started the intro quest, but the VA is quite irritating, like the actor is trying too too hard to be quirky. The flirting is putting me off too. For a non binary person, Tan is awfully feminine looking and sounding.

coop500 · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

AlienSlof wrote: »

I like Zerith-Var now I've done his intro quest - and he's the tomcat I was hoping for.
Jury's still out on Tanlorin - I've only just started the intro quest, but the VA is quite irritating, like the actor is trying too too hard to be quirky. The flirting is putting me off too. For a non binary person, Tan is awfully feminine looking and sounding.

Hey Slof, love the TES mod work~!

But yeah, every once in awhile the voice dips to a more masculine sound, but for me it was the flirting. I abandoned the quest once my character randomly got called 'attractive' and there was no option to tell them to knock it off. Felt like I was being creeped on by some horny internet person and my fight or flight instincts started kicking in.

Ingel_Riday · October 29

I am undecided

LaintalAy wrote: »

Has anyone actually done some evaluation of Tanlorin's skills? How effective are they in combat?

Personal opinion: they're not bad skills. I think Isobella is still the better tank and Tanlorin's healing skills don't particularly thrill me.. but they'd get the job done. I decided to just make the character a dps, since I already have 4 healers and a tank. The elf is doing alright on that front... and it's interesting to see a character with a grab-bag of skills rather than a strict class-based suite.

Otherwise... oi vei. The VA is actually good. It's more the actual dialogue and personality that drag things down. The character comes across as Jakarn with purple, partially buzzed hair and tattoos. Same roguish temperament. Literally wears the same outfit that he wore in High Isle. Incessantly flirts with me, to my chagrin. Openly boasts about sexual conquests, so much so that my eyes start rolling. Honestly, I don't care how you choose to live your life, Tanlorin. I'm a racist dunmer who worships living gods, works for the Dark Brotherhood, and became a werewofl because I thought it'd be funny to turn into one every now and then for giggles. Sometimes I shapeshift into Molag Bal and dance like a redguard on tables before playing a trumpet in the most grating way imaginable. I have ZERO room to talk and absolutely no moral high ground... but I don't care about your love life any more than you care about the Tribunal. Stow it.

Having zero fun with this character. I can see why some people might like this Altmer, but I'm not feeling it. Doesn't help that I'm kind of looking at the dialogue with my head tilted in confusion, wondering how I'm supposed to relate to any of it.

What are your favorite hobbies? "Heists, princesses, and social politics." Oh, this is actual dialogue. This was a choice. :-/

Gingerly paraphrased: "I work for an organization trying to change Summerset society for the better! We're small in number, but loud in voice. We force people to do what we want by digging up their pasts. Illicit love affairs, poorly chosen utterances, and so on. Then we use it against them. If they don't give into our demands, we cancel them!"

Oh my God. I assume that the writing is going to show these tactics only being used against comically bad people who deserve it, because of course.

"You've earned my first class ability." Cool... what is it, my counter-cultural chum who I'm forced to adventure with for a useful thieving passive? "Internal Conflict." Really? Nobody thought that through, huh? Well... okay.

Edit addition: felt like the only thing missing was a reference to Investigator Vale... and then one of Tanlorin's buddies mentioned that he's a big fan those novels and reads them over tea. So, great. Every beat hit. This is not a character for me, which is again... fine. There is an audience for this. Most of us aren't it. I wish I had an alternative path to this passive.

SkaraMinoc · October 29

I will use both

I'll try both. Currently Bastian is the highest single target dps and Sharp has the best heals. If either of the new companions can replace them in those categories, then I'll use them. I don't care about the gender or sexual preference of the companions. I care about stats, abilities, and the combat results.

What does annoy me is virtue signaling in reveal streams. Here's our new non-binary... or gay.... or straight companion!

Don't do that. Let us discover each companion organically by playing the game. (e.g. Isobel)

Elvenheart · October 29

I will use both

It’s really been so interesting reading all the different comments and differences of opinions in this thread! No one is right or wrong since it all boils down to individual likes and dislikes and the clashing or meshing of different personalities.

I have 11 characters that I play in such a way that they definitely like some companions more than others, but my long term goal is to have one main companion for each of my characters. I have to say that although Tanlorin and Zerith-var may not be for everyone, they are the companions that two of my characters have been waiting for since the companion system first started! 🥰

Regarding the rapport/likes and dislikes question, that’s really a non-issue for me because I mostly ignore that. I will work the rapport up to maximum on one character and completely ignore it on any of my other characters when those characters are working with that companion. And if I lose a point for picking a mushroom, killing a bug, stealing something accidentally, making cheese, reading a mages guild book, it’s all good. I really don’t care in the least. And I did notice while working on Tanlorin’s guild skills that I didnt seem to lose a rapport point when I summoned them inside the mages guild, just when I had entered it earlier that day. I don’t know if just enough time had not passed between getting the quest and turning it in, or if you don’t actually lose a point as long as you don’t enter the guild hall with them.

shadyjane62 · October 29

I will not use either

No. Never. I never use any companions from the first day I got Mirri.

Still want the time I wasted back.

Renato90085 · October 29

I will use Zerith-Var only

Lugaldu wrote: »

There are so many things and design decisions to wonder about sometimes, but oh well.
However - why is Zerith-Var on Tales of Tribute? I thought that was a brand new card game?

His old team often had to pull him out of the crowds watching card games
I think he love card game