A few improvements to companions

MotherOfMoss · January 2025

I've been enjoying the two new companions, particularly Zerith, and I really like the "perks" they give to the player, as well as their achievement furnishings. (I also really like them as people, and their stories, again particularly Zerith's!)

This has got me thinking, however, about the older companions.

- Please give Bastian a better perk. Who even uses potions found in the world? He's my original darling, yet offers so very little perk-wise compared to other companions.
- Maybe the oldest companions could get an extra quest added at some point, to match the depth of story the newer ones get?
- Or perhaps we could have letters added for Bastian and Mirri, at least. Just to have something of theirs to place in a house, and to get a bit more story that way.
- And now that companion achievement furnishings are a thing, maybe each companion could unlock something special!

And that got me thinking about what could be done overall to improve companions...

- I really wish the keepsakes were furniture items! I'd love to have a better way to signal that "This is Bastian's room" or "This is Azandar's tea parlour" in housing.
- I think most everyone wishes you wouldn't have to repeat the companion acquisition quest with every character. This is particularly true for the newer companions, whose first quests are pretty long and involving. It would also better match how the companion's level, gear and skills are shared between characters.
-- It would seem like a simple solution to unlock companions account-wide, but lock you from progressing their personal quests until you've completed the first quest, for instance, but who knows if this is technically feasible.

With love from Bastian's adoptive mum, Mirri's girlfriend, Isobel's protegee, Ember's new tutor, Sharp's companion, Azandar's research associate and bandmate, Tanlorin's partner in crime and Zerith's tamiit.

peacenote · January 2025

Signed. Especially the last suggestion which I think is the best compromise. It would be great.

metheglyn · January 2025

Some very good suggestions.

I adore Bastian and would love to see him (and Mirri) brought up to the level of the other companions, story and quest wise. As far as his perk goes, what if it was changed so you could find tri-stat potions instead?

When it comes to account-wide unlock, I'm fairly neutral, because while I do unlock every companion on one of my characters, for the others I just pick and choose which companion suits them best. I understand, however, that many people like to have all the companions available to all their characters. I'm fine with the way it is now, but it wouldn't bother me if they changed it to be account-wide unlocks.

And I agree that it would be lovely to have, in addition to the letters, the keepsakes as a physical housing item. Every time I get the letter from the companion sending me their keepsake, I wish they were actually sending the item.

MotherOfMoss · January 2025

metheglyn wrote: »

I understand, however, that many people like to have all the companions available to all their characters.

I don't unlock all for everyone, I actually have a different character be the "friend" of each companion, just like I divide stories between several different characters.

But I do use for example Isobel, my main companion tank, with several characters when they need a tank. I'd imagine many players do something like this, and for that purpose it'd be nice to have access to all companions once they have been unlocked one time.

Soraka · January 2025

Good ideas

ghastley · January 2025

The unlock quest, personal quests tie into the rapport being character-based, not account-wide. It makes sense that the companion skills are their own, and are the same regardless of the player character.

The disconnect is really how elaborate the unlock quests are. If those were the first of the personal quest series, rather than qualifying the character to use the companion, most folk would be happier. What we need is a way for character #2 to get a recommendation from character #1, so the initial quest isn't needed again, but it can still be done for rapport. Maybe alts start with a lower initial rapport?

AcadianPaladin · January 2025

Here are some improvements I'd like to see:

Better AI when it comes to ranged weapons. Currently, companions dodgeroll and reset bosses entirely too often with every ranged weapon except ice staves.

Ability for each companion to carry a small amount (6-12 pieces perhaps) of extra companion gear to improve the ability to change their roles.

Once a companion's rapport is maxed, they should have learned to accept your faults as you have learned to accept theirs. That translates to disabling negative rapport as a perk at that point.

Revisit the decision to not allow hats/circlets/hairstyle changes on companions. Variety in that regard would ease the fact that there are many versions of your companion running around with other players.

MotherOfMoss · January 2025

ghastley wrote: »

What we need is a way for character #2 to get a recommendation from character #1, so the initial quest isn't needed again, but it can still be done for rapport. Maybe alts start with a lower initial rapport?

Exactly what I mean as well. I wouldn't expect rapport to be shared between characters, just want to be able to use a previously unlocked companion with another character, and do their quests again with a new character if I so choose.

Amottica · January 2025

MotherOfMoss wrote: »

Who even uses potions found in the world?

I do. I use dropped potions when casually playing and in dungeons where I do not need to use crafted or special potions. I only use good potions in trials and when doing more serious runs in challenging dungeons.

I am not arguing against the suggested change but pointing out that we all play the game differently and have different perspectives of what we like about it and how we play it.

MotherOfMoss · January 2025

Amottica wrote: »

we all play the game differently and have different perspectives of what we like about it and how we play it.

Yes a bit of an exaggeration on my part

I never use found potions because I have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of the crown triple potions. So yeah Bastian's perk feels rather underwhelming.

metheglyn · January 2025

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

Revisit the decision to not allow hats/circlets/hairstyle changes on companions. Variety in that regard would ease the fact that there are many versions of your companion running around with other players.

I'd be fine if headgear were enabled for companions, but I think their hairstyle should remain fixed, as I think it contributes in part to their overall character.

Seeing other people with the same companion doesn't bother me the way I've seen other people say it bothers them. For me, it's one of those "gameplay over story" things I just have to accept.

Sometimes, though, I'll see another player's companion out in the world and, instead of it saying Player Name's companion above their head, it'll say the companion's name. Just today I was out with fishing with Sharp, and in the distance I saw Bastian standing about with his own name above his head, and I thought to myself, "Huh, what's Bastian doing out here by the seashore? I left him in Rimmen!" It's kind of a fun glitch that makes me think my other companions are running around on their own when they're not with me.

Amottica · January 2025

MotherOfMoss wrote: »

Amottica wrote: »

we all play the game differently and have different perspectives of what we like about it and how we play it.

Yes a bit of an exaggeration on my part I never use found potions because I have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of the crown triple potions. So yeah Bastian's perk feels rather underwhelming.

Yes, though my point was that each of us plays differently, and what might not make sense to me is what another desires, even if it is far from optimal.

Of course, it is good to bring up suggestions because Zenimax might see an idea they had not thought of and think it is worth pondering.

VoxAdActa · January 2025

I agree that the acquisition should be account-wide, without needing that first quest for subsequent characters. Especially since the level of difficulty is so wildly variable.

For example, I only have Tanlorin on one character, because while their quest starts in a newbie zone, it involves going all over the continent and fighting through a public dungeon. Can't do that very effectively on a lvl 9 alt with no unlocked wayshrines in Greenshade and no notable gear to speak of.

Meanwhile, Isobel and Ember only require running around a small area in High Isle for about 20 minutes or so, which can be done straight out of the tutorial.

Taril · January 2025

VoxAdActa wrote: »

For example, I only have Tanlorin on one character, because while their quest starts in a newbie zone, it involves going all over the continent and fighting through a public dungeon. Can't do that very effectively on a lvl 9 alt with no unlocked wayshrines in Greenshade and no notable gear to speak of.

You can do it effectively on a level 9 alt. Since the whole game scales and sort of terribly, making lower level characters often STRONGER than higher level ones (A character is at their weakest at level 50 before getting CP160 Purple+ gear)

As far as Companion intro quests go, the only one that has any sort of noteworthy increase in difficulty is Sharp's because Gorne has some nasty packs of enemies on the path towards where his quest takes place (And sometimes that one boss can bug out and start lasering random people outside his arena for a bajillion damage)

Both of Tanlorin's PD's are easy peasy base game ones. She also provides a boat that takes you directly from Skywatch to Woodhearth which makes the whole trek pretty short (It's far worse doing Azandar's trek to Cipher Midden, then to the Altar of the One Who Knows and then to Fathom's Drift - Which is why I always wait until level 10 so I can get Continuous Attacks from the Cyro intro quests for a faster mount)

I've done every Companion's quests straight from the tutorial at level 3 and none of them have been remotely "Difficult". The most notable aspect of them is how time consuming they are, especially Azandar (Though Isobel and Tanlorin can be fairly time consuming. Isobel's requires a lot of running around, Tan's requires running through 2 PD's which can take some time if you also do the actual PD quest and stop off to take out the Group Events for the free skill point)

Malprave · January 2025

Companion AI and strength in general could be buffed quite a bit without threatening the supremacy of the player.
A few more lines of dialogue would be nice as long as I’m filling out a wish list here.

Sarannah · January 2025

To add:
-Companion houseguests should be able to wear the outfits/costumes we gave them.
-Companions should never get aggro, unless they have a taunt skill equipped.

PS: And I unlock all the companions on all my characters right after they are released. Takes a few days, but it really pays off, as playing any character will advance their level and will get them companion gear drops.

katanagirl1 · January 2025

If the early companions don’t get a better perk - namely Bastian - at least let us be able to turn that off. I don’t have inventory space to pick up trash potions. I don’t think I would want heavy sacks to glow but I don’t have that unlocked yet.

I also would love to unlock companions from my main character to all the others. There is too much to do in this game to spend time to unlock on every character. That is why it takes me so long to level them up. I have everyone before Sharp up to level 20 but he is only level 15 right now.

metheglyn · January 2025

katanagirl1 wrote: »

If the early companions don’t get a better perk - namely Bastian - at least let us be able to turn that off. I don’t have inventory space to pick up trash potions. I don’t think I would want heavy sacks to glow but I don’t have that unlocked yet.

I also would love to unlock companions from my main character to all the others. There is too much to do in this game to spend time to unlock on every character. That is why it takes me so long to level them up. I have everyone before Sharp up to level 20 but he is only level 15 right now.

I find the heavy sack highlight very useful. I've realized there are far more of them in game than I ever knew, and I used to think I was pretty good at finding them. Of course, if you don't find heavy sacks worth your time, then having them glow won't really add much to your adventures.

Edit to add: plus, when you have Zerith's perk, the sacks don't just glow, there are adorable kitty prints circling them, because story-wise it's his kitty-cat's spirit who is helping you find them.

Avoriaa · January 2025

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

...Ability for each companion to carry a small amount (6-12 pieces perhaps) of extra companion gear to improve the ability to change their roles...

I'd like to see a universal companion gear storage, it's a pain sorting gear and going through different companions AND characters AND the bank to find specific gear I misplaced.

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

...Revisit the decision to not allow hats/circlets/hairstyle changes on companions. Variety in that regard would ease the fact that there are many versions of your companion running around with other players....

I think a curated set of hats/circlets/hairstyles could work, I definitely think letting you use ANYTHING changes the characters too much, however people change their hair all the time so it'd be cool to have a few select-able that the design team thinks fit the characters.

katanagirl1 · January 2025

metheglyn wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

If the early companions don’t get a better perk - namely Bastian - at least let us be able to turn that off. I don’t have inventory space to pick up trash potions. I don’t think I would want heavy sacks to glow but I don’t have that unlocked yet.

I also would love to unlock companions from my main character to all the others. There is too much to do in this game to spend time to unlock on every character. That is why it takes me so long to level them up. I have everyone before Sharp up to level 20 but he is only level 15 right now.

I find the heavy sack highlight very useful. I've realized there are far more of them in game than I ever knew, and I used to think I was pretty good at finding them. Of course, if you don't find heavy sacks worth your time, then having them glow won't really add much to your adventures.

Edit to add: plus, when you have Zerith's perk, the sacks don't just glow, there are adorable kitty prints circling them, because story-wise it's his kitty-cat's spirit who is helping you find them.

Aw, that does sound cute. No I like heavy sacks, sometimes you get good stuff. It’s just I don’t like a lot of visual clutter. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t use keen eye on my main character even though she does surveys and general harvesting, and I debated before doing the Psijic line to see portals. I’m pretty good at spotting heavy sacks, and if in a group someone usually calls them out anyway. If I’m doing something solo with Bastian out he will mention them.

metheglyn · January 2025

katanagirl1 wrote: »

metheglyn wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

If the early companions don’t get a better perk - namely Bastian - at least let us be able to turn that off. I don’t have inventory space to pick up trash potions. I don’t think I would want heavy sacks to glow but I don’t have that unlocked yet.

I also would love to unlock companions from my main character to all the others. There is too much to do in this game to spend time to unlock on every character. That is why it takes me so long to level them up. I have everyone before Sharp up to level 20 but he is only level 15 right now.

I find the heavy sack highlight very useful. I've realized there are far more of them in game than I ever knew, and I used to think I was pretty good at finding them. Of course, if you don't find heavy sacks worth your time, then having them glow won't really add much to your adventures.

Edit to add: plus, when you have Zerith's perk, the sacks don't just glow, there are adorable kitty prints circling them, because story-wise it's his kitty-cat's spirit who is helping you find them.

Aw, that does sound cute. No I like heavy sacks, sometimes you get good stuff. It’s just I don’t like a lot of visual clutter. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t use keen eye on my main character even though she does surveys and general harvesting, and I debated before doing the Psijic line to see portals. I’m pretty good at spotting heavy sacks, and if in a group someone usually calls them out anyway. If I’m doing something solo with Bastian out he will mention them.

Ah, I see. Well, if you don't like the keen eye effects, you probably won't like the heavy sack effect. It's brighter, blue, and the light flutters upwards (maybe not the best way to describe it, but I mostly mean it's not a static effect).

kargen27 · January 2025

I want a toggle that I can use so I can decide my companion during fights can't get more than 11 meters away from me. Maybe 17 meters. Should be a toggle though so players that don't care if their companions do tumbling runs half way across the zone can still allow them to roam free.

Hapexamendios · January 2025

Companions as target dummies.

Avoriaa · January 2025

Hapexamendios wrote: »

Companions as target dummies.

MotherOfMoss · January 2025

Hapexamendios wrote: »

Companions as target dummies.

Companions are never going to be very good fighters, they can be fixed and improved but fundamentally they're still silly little bots with their few tricks that we can hope they mostly do well. It's better not to expect too much from game-AI companions combat-wise

(Unless you've a system like Bioware where you actually command all of the NPC fighters, I guess.)

I think ESO companions are actually fairly useful, especially companion tanks in the Infinite Archive where they just shrug off a lot of incoming damage. They can also give a nice little extra damage injection for younger, weaker alts, for instance. I've had issues with ranged companions pulling enemies where I don't want them, and tank companions sometimes seeming to take a little break from taunting (:D ?) just when a Marauder wants to punch me, etc. These are fixable/improvable points; beyond things like that, I've not found too much to complain about.

anadandy · January 2025

Avoriaa wrote: »

I'd like to see a universal companion gear storage, it's a pain sorting gear and going through different companions AND characters AND the bank to find specific gear I misplaced.

+1

I use companions in different roles, depending on which character I'm playing. For example, a tank for one girl, healer for another and it is frustrating to remember to do the Companion gear shuffle between play sessions.

whitecrow · January 2025

I wish they would stop thinking the battle is over after every "wave."