Companion Polymorphs

Berdusk

The idea is pretty much in the tin:

Please let us use our Polymorphs on our Companions in much the same way we can use our Costumes with them.
Unlocking Hats would be nice, too, please.

Any thoughts on this idea?

GenjiraX

It’s a good idea. Polymorphs cost enough. It’d be good to get more use out of them and maybe reduce the number of clones knocking about.

TelvanniWizard

And while we are at that, I think it is time for a nereid polymorph.

thegreatme

Agreed.

It'd also be nice to be able to change Companion's hairstyles. You don't notice it til you have 5 Mirri's standing next to each other but once you do it gets WEIRD.

Like Children of the Corn weird.

Parasaurolophus

Not. How can you not understand? Companions are the same NPCs as quest characters with their own history and their appearance. Full customization would destroy their image. Even changing the outfit is too much to damage the companion.
Yes, it's strange that companions look the same for everyone, and not like quest NPCs are replaced by all sorts of warriors / mercenaries.

Lugaldu

I don't own Bastian, he's an independent person, how can I decide that he should suddenly be a Spriggan? I also don't go to a friend and say that he should get this or that tattoo.

Berdusk

BrownChicken wrote: »

Not. How can you not understand? Companions are the same NPCs as quest characters with their own history and their appearance. Full customization would destroy their image. Even changing the outfit is too much to damage the companion.
Yes, it's strange that companions look the same for everyone, and not like quest NPCs are replaced by all sorts of warriors / mercenaries.

From a first-person storytelling point of view, they are absolutely their own person with their own backstory, personality, and history. However, when you look at another player's companion, all you see is "Player's Companion" with none of that information. Seeing them in quadruplicate is immersion-breaking.

Allowing us to customize them will not change any of those things that make the character their own person from the first-person perspective. It will, however, allow us to stop seeing cloned versions of them all over Tamriel.

ADarklore

Berdusk wrote: »

BrownChicken wrote: »

Not. How can you not understand? Companions are the same NPCs as quest characters with their own history and their appearance. Full customization would destroy their image. Even changing the outfit is too much to damage the companion.
Yes, it's strange that companions look the same for everyone, and not like quest NPCs are replaced by all sorts of warriors / mercenaries.

From a first-person storytelling point of view, they are absolutely their own person with their own backstory, personality, and history. However, when you look at another player's companion, all you see is "Player's Companion" with none of that information. Seeing them in quadruplicate is immersion-breaking.

Allowing us to customize them will not change any of those things that make the character their own person from the first-person perspective. It will, however, allow us to stop seeing cloned versions of them all over Tamriel.

I'm sorry, but there are already SO MANY things in ESO that are 'immersion breaking' that I've learned to ignore them all. We have tons of glowing mounts, various odd pets, strange costumes, polymorphs, etc... that pretty much is immersion breaking IMO. So Companions are just another thing people will have to learn to ignore or start playing a single-player game.

Ragged_Claw

I love the idea. I do understand that our companions are supposed to be people in their own right, but people change hair-styles and get tattoos and wear jewellery all the time, so why can't Basti and Mirri? Friends will often ask each other for fashion advice. There could be certain things they won't wear to make it more immersive and fun, for example maybe Mirri won't wear earrings or Bastian doesn't like long hair. This way they'd keep their 'individualism' but we'd be able to just personalise them enough to pick them out of a sea of Mirris and Bastis. I don't see this as any more immersion breaking than seeing dozens of them running around in the Nord Bather's Towel...

I like the polymorph idea too, it could be a curse that your companion has been subjected to or just a spell or something.

Konstant_Tel_Necris

Lugaldu wrote: »

I don't own Bastian, he's an independent person, how can I decide that he should suddenly be a Spriggan? I also don't go to a friend and say that he should get this or that tattoo.

It's just an NPC with companion AI and yes, he is your property because you paid for Blackwood and companions was one of the selling points of the chapter, so the ability to fully customize their appearance is expected.

If you cannot polymorph Bastian into skeleton by some fluffy reasons, then why not at least allow put damn helmet on their heads in combat so his pretty face will not get smashed by an ogre?

omnidoh

ADarklore wrote: »

Berdusk wrote: »

BrownChicken wrote: »

Not. How can you not understand? Companions are the same NPCs as quest characters with their own history and their appearance. Full customization would destroy their image. Even changing the outfit is too much to damage the companion.
Yes, it's strange that companions look the same for everyone, and not like quest NPCs are replaced by all sorts of warriors / mercenaries.

From a first-person storytelling point of view, they are absolutely their own person with their own backstory, personality, and history. However, when you look at another player's companion, all you see is "Player's Companion" with none of that information. Seeing them in quadruplicate is immersion-breaking.

Allowing us to customize them will not change any of those things that make the character their own person from the first-person perspective. It will, however, allow us to stop seeing cloned versions of them all over Tamriel.

I'm sorry, but there are already SO MANY things in ESO that are 'immersion breaking' that I've learned to ignore them all. We have tons of glowing mounts, various odd pets, strange costumes, polymorphs, etc... that pretty much is immersion breaking IMO. So Companions are just another thing people will have to learn to ignore or start playing a single-player game.

It's so true.
I wander any city, faction, or zone as a Stage-4 Vampire dressed in Dark Brotherhood attire with a ghostly-cat following me around. Immersion? Pffft. ZOS threw that idea away when they decided to make it an MMO and didn't design their justice system or NPC's to dynamically react to these things.
The closest we have are uncooperative NPC's who recognize Vampires on sight, in addition to the Global-Psychic Justice system, where everyone in all of Tamriel knows what you did last summer.

Berdusk

omnidoh wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Berdusk wrote: »

BrownChicken wrote: »

Not. How can you not understand? Companions are the same NPCs as quest characters with their own history and their appearance. Full customization would destroy their image. Even changing the outfit is too much to damage the companion.
Yes, it's strange that companions look the same for everyone, and not like quest NPCs are replaced by all sorts of warriors / mercenaries.

From a first-person storytelling point of view, they are absolutely their own person with their own backstory, personality, and history. However, when you look at another player's companion, all you see is "Player's Companion" with none of that information. Seeing them in quadruplicate is immersion-breaking.

Allowing us to customize them will not change any of those things that make the character their own person from the first-person perspective. It will, however, allow us to stop seeing cloned versions of them all over Tamriel.

I'm sorry, but there are already SO MANY things in ESO that are 'immersion breaking' that I've learned to ignore them all. We have tons of glowing mounts, various odd pets, strange costumes, polymorphs, etc... that pretty much is immersion breaking IMO. So Companions are just another thing people will have to learn to ignore or start playing a single-player game.

It's so true.
I wander any city, faction, or zone as a Stage-4 Vampire dressed in Dark Brotherhood attire with a ghostly-cat following me around. Immersion? Pffft. ZOS threw that idea away when they decided to make it an MMO and didn't design their justice system or NPC's to dynamically react to these things.
The closest we have are uncooperative NPC's who recognize Vampires on sight, in addition to the Global-Psychic Justice system, where everyone in all of Tamriel knows what you did last summer.

What's great about this is that I mentioned immersion once, as part of a larger post to counter an argument against customization about how companions are people and not property, which, really, would be RP ... IMMERSION... and I've gotten two replies about how non-immersive the game is (which is rather off-topic).

So the only argument against companion customization is, basically, that it wouldn't be immersive if we were able to customize companions with polymorphs & head stuff. Yet you're also saying that we shouldn't be able to customize them because the game isn't immersive and never could be as an MMO?

You can't have it both ways. Which is it?

starkerealm

thegreatme wrote: »

Agreed.

It'd also be nice to be able to change Companion's hairstyles. You don't notice it til you have 5 Mirri's standing next to each other but once you do it gets WEIRD.

Like Children of the Corn weird.

The collective term is, "A psychotic break of Mirrii."

Yeah, seconded on the hairstyle (including facial hair), though being able to apply the other cosmetic items (like accessories, skins, and markings) would be.another improvement. A little creepy if you think about it too much, but it would help reduce the clone wars we're seeing right now.

If the team wanted to restrict their appearance this much, we really needed more than 2 companions to get the ball rolling.

megasurge93

I actually thought the polymorphs were going to be allowed from the start. It surprises me that they aren't. In fact, I actually bought a polymorph specifically to use on one of my companions but then found I couldn't, which needless to say does not make me happy. So, yes, please add polymorphs to the allowed use on companions.

zelaminator

megasurge93 wrote: »

I actually thought the polymorphs were going to be allowed from the start. It surprises me that they aren't. In fact, I actually bought a polymorph specifically to use on one of my companions but then found I couldn't, which needless to say does not make me happy. So, yes, please add polymorphs to the allowed use on companions.

Then maybe you should have checked it beforehand

Kendaric

Polymorphs and skins on companions would be something I absolutely hate to see.

Hair styles, facial hair and major adornments should be available to companions though.

BlackTearsOfHope

IMO polymorphs no.
Skins would be nice, hair styles, facial hair, tattoos, minor and major adornments would be nice, jewelry and hair style wouldn't change a thing about the character itself, other than visual.
Polymorphs would just be weird, spriggan Bastian or fabricant Mirri? Idk about that.

Hapexamendios

I want to turn Bastion into a mute. The Dread Anka-Ra would work. All it does is grunt.

fall0athboy

I'd love this, and I'd honestly consider actually buying polymorphs if I could use them on companions and houseguests.

SimonThesis

We paid for these companions they still keep their voices and like/dislikes but we should be able to polymorph them.

DP99

I don't really care one way or another, they are who they are. But, I'm not against having more options, more options are always good.

When I first got them I put the Dark Seducer costume on Mirri, and the Imperial Armor costume on Bastian and called it a day. They looked the best on each from what I have collected. But, then I saw someone else with the exact same costumes on their companions, so I went to the outfit station and worked on making unique outfits for each, because even with the limitations, at lest you can sort of put a personal mark on each that way, and you get an achievement for it.

What really got me more so than the countless clones running around, different outfits/costumes or not, is when you finish the Blackwood story and you get the obligatory big celebration at the end like in every chapter where they're congratulating your character and all of the NPCs that you've helped along the way are invited. It's really strange to have Bastian or Mirri with you while you are talking to everyone at the party and there is another Bastian and Mirri also there to talk to as well. LOL!