Companion System yay or nay?

Nemesis7884

I really enjoyed the companions in Skyrim and i really enjoyed the companion system from Star Wars the old republic... would you enjoy a similar companion system in ESO or rather not?

What i mean is that
- you could find/acquire various companions
- they have their own back story and quests
- the basic companion/follower system is already in place since you get various temporary companions
- combat difficulty might have to be adapted slightly but overland combat is easy anyway
- You could of course not use your companions in group dungeons / areas
- Each companion has their own skill line that you have to unlock with spending time with them (they will use their skills on their own)
- finding companions and doing their quests, unlocking their skill line could also be tied to achivements of course

what do you think?

newtinmpls

Yay (sounds good)

I'd even include a possible version for pets and mounts...I mean think Fadeel...

Hippie4927

Nay (no thank you)

I say "no" only because we have enough clogging up busy cities with combat pets, vanity pets, mounts, bankers, and merchants. Otherwise, it sounds fun.

RPGplayer13579

Yay (sounds good)

As long as they don't blow my position to enemies when I am trying to be stealthy, then yes.

Turelus

Not sure. I enjoyed it in SWTOR but that was also built around it.

I feel if it was added to ESO it would feel like a very tacked on and clunky system, also the AI for followers in this (seen in quests) isn't the best.

Not against it if it was handled well though.

Nemesis7884

Yay (sounds good)

Turelus wrote: »

Not sure. I enjoyed it in SWTOR but that was also built around it.

I feel if it was added to ESO it would feel like a very tacked on and clunky system, also the AI for followers in this (seen in quests) isn't the best.

Not against it if it was handled well though.

not sure, i mean since we have temporary followers, the basics are already there, and i hugely enjoyed the system in SWTOR...we also have pets that aren't that different either

MjolnirVilkas

Yay (sounds good)

While I do like the idea of companions but in the end, this is an MMO. Other players are your companions basicly. The idea of companions works in single player games like Dragon Age or Skyrim, dunno how well it would translate into ESO. I'd definitely try it out, but I have a hard time imagining it working in anything other than solo-play. Imagine a trial where everyone brings their companions along and you suddenly have 24 people running around, not counting pets.

Narvuntien

Nay (no thank you)

Not really my thing.

Companions in bethseda games are little more than glorified pack horses.

I am not a huge fan of the pokemon training version of companions used in other games either because you just min/max your companions.

Fallout NV did it really well (obsidian not bethseda) though. Minor bonuses so no need to min max them. People you actually cared about . Would leave if you pissed them off.

I mean perhaps for a quest chain but i don't think i could take it constantly all the time.

MjolnirVilkas

Yay (sounds good)

Dunno about FO NV, but the best companion system I've seen so far was Dragon Age: Origins. It was awesome not only from a technical point of view, but also because they really made those companions engaging, you loved the or hated them but they made an impression on the player. Too bad none of the later DA games ever came close to Origins in any aspect.

maniac4maniac

Yay (sounds good)

Yes to any new content, coz game lucks it so hard esp between DLC time, that can days-week to complete

maniac4maniac

Yay (sounds good)

MjolnirVilkas wrote: »

Dunno about FO NV, but the best companion system I've seen so far was Dragon Age: Origins. It was awesome not only from a technical point of view, but also because they really made those companions engaging, you loved the or hated them but they made an impression on the player. Too bad none of the later DA games ever came close to Origins in any aspect.

Tyranny and ME 1-3 have awesome companion system. And incoming in 2018 Q1-2 Pillars of Eternity 2 will also have 1 of the best systems definitly, coz it's pure cRPG ,like they shall be.

Jim_Pipp

Yay (sounds good)

At time of posting there have been 28 votes, and it is 50/50...

ESO has a very weak version of a companion system. There are specific quests where you have a companion follow you for the duration, talking to you throughout. And there are zones and multi-zone story arcs where you keep meeting the same NPC who advances your journey and may sometimes accompany you. Arguably the original main quest is the best example [Spoilers ahead] you rescue Lyris by giving her gear that improves her combat and morale, she helps you rescue Abnar and Sai making both of them possible companions, and ultimately you will decide the fate of one.

There are many ways that ZOS could improve on this system to develop a reasonable and rewarding companion system, and I believe there is one thing above all that needs to change; player choices have to have an on-going impact on companions. If you make a choice they don't like it will affect their dialogue with you, or if they like it then it may open up other quests. Gear and their role in combat should be flexible rather than fixed.

I don't think companions should have any significant role in combat, certainly adding less than 1kdps and having some associated weakness to stop certain companions being meta. Instead they should offer utility, a tank will taunt, a healer will offer a heal over time, a rogue will incapacitate a distant enemy. I hope some companions could be non-combat, offering no combat advantage but instead offering utility like 100% chance to lockpick, or pickpocket or that they will automatically harvest nearby resources.

srfrogg23

Nay (no thank you)

Just sounds like a good way to throw the game balance out the window. Either that, or the companions would just be useless and get in the way.

Jade1986

Nay (no thank you)

Jesus H Roosevelt Christ NO!

This game is already face roll easy and far too solo oriented. No. NO . -NO- HELLLL NOOO!

Robo_Hobo

Yay (sounds good)

I'd enjoy that a lot. The basics are all there, and they've shown they can make interesting characters, especially in the DLC's.

I wouldn't expect them to really do much in terms of damage or healing or anything, but thats not really why I would want them anyway.

Elsonso

Nay (no thank you)

Companions are generally used for two main reasons by players. They taunt enemies and soak damage so that the character does not die. They act as mobile warehouses to hold all the stuff the player does not want to drop. Aside from a few players, I think that the game currently has both of these well in hand. We don't need combat companions. They simply are not necessary. We don't need mobile warehouses, either.

We already have non-combat companions, both pets and retainers.

The only thing that I think companions could add is the RPG element. They could provide an AI "friend" that follows you around, asking for assistance in some side quest and making mundane comments about what is happening in the world. The problem with an AI friend is that they are time consuming to develop, which makes them expensive. They need to have quests and dialog written and recorded, not to mention all the mundane comments that they would say about us, about themselves, about our current quest, and about our current location.

This is where I beat on ZOS a little, but we know from watching them for the last four years (or more) that ZOS is nothing if not restrained in how they spend their money. An MMO is never done, and that would apply to companions, too. Since the RPG element is really where a companion in ESO would stand out, it would be terribly obvious if they didn't finish them. They would need to keep developing these NPCs with each DLC and Chapter to update dialog and situational awareness. ZOS is not going to do this.

I don't think that we need combat companions, or mobile warehouses, and what I really don't want to see is a "release it and forget it" Crown Store RPG Companion that becomes outdated because they never touch it again. They would have to commit to updating that companion to bring it up to current with every DLC and Chapter.

maniac4maniac

Yay (sounds good)

Jade1986 wrote: »

Jesus H Roosevelt Christ NO!

This game is already face roll easy and far too solo oriented. No. NO . -NO- HELLLL NOOO!

What is your problem with solo players lol? My favorite kind of ignorant people.

Jade1986

Nay (no thank you)

maniac4maniac wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

Jesus H Roosevelt Christ NO!

This game is already face roll easy and far too solo oriented. No. NO . -NO- HELLLL NOOO!

What is your problem with solo players lol? My favorite kind of ignorant people.

I dont have a problem with solo players, but this is first and foremost an mmo. And the solo crowd tend to be , generally, very self absorbed. They think if ANY content is made for grouping, or pvp, then they are being neglected and deserve to have a way around the grouping / pvp aspect.

The same goes with this companion system. If it were 100 % cosmetic, itd be fine, but make them combat companions, and the game would become-

1. Even more of a bot haven
2. Even EASIER ( if that is possible )
3. It would discourage ANY grouping for world bosses and dungeons

In short, combat companions would require the game to be increased in difficulty, and we all know the general solo population does not want that.

IMO all playerbases are important to an mmo, but bringing in combat companions would be a massive shift in favor of solo / story centric players.

Flameheart

Nay (no thank you)

Actually I am neutral to the topic (in LotRO I found it not that appealing though), but when I imagine the possible consequences for the already not that stable performance, I just have to say no.

TelvanniWizard

If they were more like pets...

Bbsample197

Nay (no thank you)

I already have three useless people on random dgn and the overland is too easy to begin with why would i need a companion?

wolf486

Nay (no thank you)

I like companions in skyrim, but wouldn't want them in eso. Maybe a pet similar to what you can get with the sorcerer (clannfear) for other builds.

Slick_007

Nay (no thank you)

skyrim. single player - need companions
ESO - multiplayer. phone a friend. or make one

Morridune

Yay (sounds good)

I've said yes but it would really depend on the way they a re implemented as in a lot of mmo's companions can get very annoying within cities and trading or quest hubs

How I think they could be implemented and would be nice is in the Assistants section of you're collectable and are used in the same way i.e you call them out they replace you're vanity pet and you can speak to them to send away again, be also cool if in you're houses u could have them like with mounts

as for how'd they work i'd go with a simple trinity set up:
tanky 1s with lil to no dps but can hold aggro and be healed
healer bot that casts intermittent aoe heal or single target with priority on lowest hp% in party
dps choice of 1 that AoE's or hits ur target with single focuse damage maybe 1 with debuffs

The important part would be 1 per player and when called they take up a party slot so in a 4 man instance 3 players could have 1 companion any others that they tried to call have to sit outside

edit: forgot to say that I wouldn't want a companion to count as a pet or in pvp zones

Liofa

Yay (sounds good)

I want Hirelings to be real NPCs that we can put in our house . Instead of logging in every other character every single day , I rather place them in my house , upgrade/level/gear them and send to missions . Current Hireling system is just boring .

Tasear

Nay (no thank you)

Just don't have confidence it could be done right.

maniac4maniac

Yay (sounds good)

Jade1986 wrote: »

maniac4maniac wrote: »

Jade1986 wrote: »

Jesus H Roosevelt Christ NO!

This game is already face roll easy and far too solo oriented. No. NO . -NO- HELLLL NOOO!

What is your problem with solo players lol? My favorite kind of ignorant people.

I dont have a problem with solo players, but this is first and foremost an mmo. And the solo crowd tend to be , generally, very self absorbed. They think if ANY content is made for grouping, or pvp, then they are being neglected and deserve to have a way around the grouping / pvp aspect.

The same goes with this companion system. If it were 100 % cosmetic, itd be fine, but make them combat companions, and the game would become-

1. Even more of a bot haven
2. Even EASIER ( if that is possible )
3. It would discourage ANY grouping for world bosses and dungeons

In short, combat companions would require the game to be increased in difficulty, and we all know the general solo population does not want that.

IMO all playerbases are important to an mmo, but bringing in combat companions would be a massive shift in favor of solo / story centric players.

AS author wrote: "you can't take companions to dungeons / trials of course".

Then - you can make all World Bosses solo with most classes. If you can't - companions will change nothing. And if you want to group - companions also will change nothing, go group. And bots don't care about having or not having companions.

The problem with "game is easy" is scaling. I enjoyed it more when there were no scaling, but 90% what companions will bring - immersion. They won't affect scaling, that's totally different thing u'r talking about. There are plenty topics about scaling. Companion though won't even be like companions from Diablo 3 with such suggestion, as mentioned, they will be for people who joined ESO coz of TES, and believe me, 2/3 people play it coz it's TES, not coz it's MMO and it would never be created in other way. Still companions won't affect vet Trials, vet Dungeons and any other end-game content.

Liofa wrote: »

I want Hirelings to be real NPCs that we can put in our house . Instead of logging in every other character every single day , I rather place them in my house , upgrade/level/gear them and send to missions . Current Hireling system is just boring .

This would be very good, if you will be able to choose a type of mission and type of rewards you'r aiming for

VizigothAlaric

Liofa wrote: »

I want Hirelings to be real NPCs that we can put in our house . Instead of logging in every other character every single day , I rather place them in my house , upgrade/level/gear them and send to missions . Current Hireling system is just boring .

This !

Dawnblade

Nay (no thank you)

No - ESO has the worst 'combat pet' controls and frames of any game Ive ever played.

I already dislike the fact that many of the better sorc builds use pets, why would I want them to re-balance the game with the expectation every class and build is expected to use a combat pet (which yes, they would have to re-balance the game - they can't just add combat power to everyone and not re-balance unless they want to make a total mockery out of the game).

jssriot

Yay (sounds good)

We have to put up with sorc pets getting in the way of interacting with things in non-combat settings all the time so why not add to that mess.

dodgehopper_ESO

Apart from the issues of lag there is the issue of ZoS having to properly voice act these new companions and give them a purpose for existing. Many of the followers in Skyrim were pretty pathetic in terms of what they offer you in the story. If they are going to have interesting followers like Mjoll or Aela that is one thing. If they feel more like Random Guard #5 though I'll pass.

In terms of game systems the game is already a bit easy to accomplish in a solitary fashion which is fine for 'story mode'. What concerns me is how much easier the game would be if your companion were combative. I'd personally be happy with a Bard following behind me regaling of my awesomeness and mocking when we bravely flee. The Banker and Merchant follow in this vein as well. Why can't the Banker and Merchant say interesting things to us as we travel around the world?