What's the point of companions exactly? Please explain.

LordArconSeptim

With the question I mean literally besides cosmetic puppet which runs around and is more annoying than Adoring fan and Cicero combined.
What is their purpose? I can't use any gear I want on them to make them unique just some stapled heavy medium and light gear with common traits but no set bonus or stat customization or skill points and passives which are all pretty dull and not effective...
Also they don't have smart brains when to block or evade aoe damage etc.
Really what's the point? I can just use my banker or merchant NPC follower and a pet from sorc skill line and it's the same thing...

[snip]

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Paulytnz

There's a few points to them but I will just touch on 1 simple one that works for me. I wont touch on the others because they are either hit or miss for people depending on their play styles. But the 1 I am going to mention, I think could be apt for a lot of people. That being:

They help my DD's kill things a little faster in PVE.
They help my Tank kill things a LOT faster in PVE.

That alone makes them worthwhile for me.

PS - oh and since I don't have ANY female chars/alts (that's right I have 10 full blooded male chars because that is what I am!) it opens up uses for any dress clothing styles/costumes that come my way. This alone should entice other players like me to now think about purchasing said items from Crown Store in future - win win for all right?

Mythreindeer

They give us more fashion options which everyone knows is the point of this game.

Lugaldu

Well, as a solo player it simply makes a dungeon run a little faster if, in addition to my sorc pets, I have Basti as DD. I also find it entertaining to have someone around, even if the sayings are repeating at some point. But that's just like in real life, some people keep saying the same stuff over and over again....

Rhygam

They are completely useless and were just a cheap way of selling blackreach, which has otherwise apart from some antquities no redeeming features.

A majority of players has never seen a veteran trial or pvp. They run around questing and dieing to mobs. For them -and them only- is this a useful thing. (And for people, that dont have friends in a MMO and want someone to play with - For which they could just join one of the million guilds.)

But for any player, that has acquired decent gear and (even most tanks,) its completely and utterly useless and nothing more then a novelty. Also now towns have thousands of similiar looking and only different dressed clones.

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but from the view of an endgame player very disappointing.

Lugaldu

Rhygam wrote: »

They are completely useless and were just a cheap way of selling blackreach, which has otherwise apart from some antquities no redeeming features.

What do the companions have to do with Blackreach and antiquities?

Paulytnz

Lugaldu wrote: »

Rhygam wrote: »

They are completely useless and were just a cheap way of selling blackreach, which has otherwise apart from some antquities no redeeming features.

What do the companions have to do with Blackreach and antiquities?

"Blackreach" "Blackwood" I think I see the problem here.

zelaminator

I'll never understand how people can call them 100% useless

Paulytnz

zelaminator wrote: »

I'll never understand how people can call them 100% useless

I do.

Some people have limited game time and/or they just focus on one or 2/a few game feature/system. If companions can't help them in those game modes - they are useless to them.

Examples:

Player one may only have a few hours to play each day. So they focus on PvP or vet content such as Dungeons or Trials. Companions are not/wont ever be truly helpful in those modes if said person has a regular group they run with.

Player 2 has more time on their hands but they focus on only a few game systems so they don't spread themselves too thin so to speak. Or maybe said better, so they perfect themselves in those game modes. Again they probably fall in the same camp as player one - so the same outcome.

I am pretty much the opposite of these player types. I like to do a bit of everything and explore everything. Having said that I have not done Vet Dungeons or Trials yet. I fear if I do I will have to focus a LOT of my attention there since there are a LOT of Dungeons and Trials now. I only started playing almost 2 years ago so there's a lot for me to catch up on in that area. As such I am holding off, so companions being a new game system for me is not useless. They help out a tad in some of my other areas.

I do have good gear and I pretty much never die. All my DDs usually 2-3 hit trash mobs in overland and Public Dungeons. So I kill fast anyway. What the companion does is help to lower that in a lot of cases to 1-2 hitting mobs and groups. So yeah that saves a few seconds of time for my DD's. Also those odd times you get stunned/knocked down or back even when all my chars have "Slippery" slotted in my champ bars. My companion usually gets the last hit in and kill the noob before my char actually recovers (again from slippery which kills the stun etc effect) and does so. So again, shaves a second or 2 off lol. Might not sound like a lot, but it's something.

PS and besides all that they make good cheerleaders, who could ever dislike having a cheerleader around (besides the Adoring Fan of course.....)?

Alurria

Here's a solution don't use them if you are so unhappy with them. Simple

Red_Feather

I managed to solo a group delve in craglorn yesterday with Mirri. I have never been able to do a group delve before so that must have been nerfed or the companion really helped. Although Mirri died on every boss and I never revived her. She was my healer, but I didn't even need them to finish off the boss, so I wonder...

AcadianPaladin

The game has loads of features that are of no interest to me. Fortunately, the game also has loads of features that I like very much. It is very easy to ignore features you don't care for and focus on the ones you enjoy. I like companions quite a bit and am glad that ZoS added them.

zelaminator

Paulytnz wrote: »

zelaminator wrote: »

I'll never understand how people can call them 100% useless

I do.

Some people have limited game time and/or they just focus on one or 2/a few game feature/system. If companions can't help them in those game modes - they are useless to them.

Examples:

Player one may only have a few hours to play each day. So they focus on PvP or vet content such as Dungeons or Trials. Companions are not/wont ever be truly helpful in those modes if said person has a regular group they run with.

Player 2 has more time on their hands but they focus on only a few game systems so they don't spread themselves too thin so to speak. Or maybe said better, so they perfect themselves in those game modes. Again they probably fall in the same camp as player one - so the same outcome.

I am pretty much the opposite of these player types. I like to do a bit of everything and explore everything. Having said that I have not done Vet Dungeons or Trials yet. I fear if I do I will have to focus a LOT of my attention there since there are a LOT of Dungeons and Trials now. I only started playing almost 2 years ago so there's a lot for me to catch up on in that area. As such I am holding off, so companions being a new game system for me is not useless. They help out a tad in some of my other areas.

I do have good gear and I pretty much never die. All my DDs usually 2-3 hit trash mobs in overland and Public Dungeons. So I kill fast anyway. What the companion does is help to lower that in a lot of cases to 1-2 hitting mobs and groups. So yeah that saves a few seconds of time for my DD's. Also those odd times you get stunned/knocked down or back even when all my chars have "Slippery" slotted in my champ bars. My companion usually gets the last hit in and kill the noob before my char actually recovers (again from slippery which kills the stun etc effect) and does so. So again, shaves a second or 2 off lol. Might not sound like a lot, but it's something.

PS and besides all that they make good cheerleaders, who could ever dislike having a cheerleader around (besides the Adoring Fan of course.....)?

So everything PvP based is useless, because I'm a PvE player

whitecrow

To alleviate the crushing loneliness of modern life.

SammyKhajit

To add entertainment during gameplay, and to trigger Bastian with cheesy fries?

Paulytnz

zelaminator wrote: »

Paulytnz wrote: »

zelaminator wrote: »

I'll never understand how people can call them 100% useless

I do.

Some people have limited game time and/or they just focus on one or 2/a few game feature/system. If companions can't help them in those game modes - they are useless to them.

Examples:

Player one may only have a few hours to play each day. So they focus on PvP or vet content such as Dungeons or Trials. Companions are not/wont ever be truly helpful in those modes if said person has a regular group they run with.

Player 2 has more time on their hands but they focus on only a few game systems so they don't spread themselves too thin so to speak. Or maybe said better, so they perfect themselves in those game modes. Again they probably fall in the same camp as player one - so the same outcome.

I am pretty much the opposite of these player types. I like to do a bit of everything and explore everything. Having said that I have not done Vet Dungeons or Trials yet. I fear if I do I will have to focus a LOT of my attention there since there are a LOT of Dungeons and Trials now. I only started playing almost 2 years ago so there's a lot for me to catch up on in that area. As such I am holding off, so companions being a new game system for me is not useless. They help out a tad in some of my other areas.

I do have good gear and I pretty much never die. All my DDs usually 2-3 hit trash mobs in overland and Public Dungeons. So I kill fast anyway. What the companion does is help to lower that in a lot of cases to 1-2 hitting mobs and groups. So yeah that saves a few seconds of time for my DD's. Also those odd times you get stunned/knocked down or back even when all my chars have "Slippery" slotted in my champ bars. My companion usually gets the last hit in and kill the noob before my char actually recovers (again from slippery which kills the stun etc effect) and does so. So again, shaves a second or 2 off lol. Might not sound like a lot, but it's something.

PS and besides all that they make good cheerleaders, who could ever dislike having a cheerleader around (besides the Adoring Fan of course.....)?

So everything PvP based is useless, because I'm a PvE player

Only if you decide to stay that way and never touch PvP yes. If the next update brought in a whole bunch of PvP stuff and you decide not to do it then yes, it's useless to YOU.

I consider myself mainly PvE but that does not mean I ignore PvP totally. So again, if the next game update brought in new PvP stuff (game modes/rewards) then no, it would not be useless to ME.

I think that's part of the problem when people say things like "so and so is Useless". They seem to forget that the game is not made just for them, funny that considering we live in the "Me Me Me age and I want it yesterday!" Go figure......

trackdemon5512

1) They serve as a psychological stop-gap between solo play and group play. For many solo and non-hardcore players getting into the social aspects of an mmorpg is difficult. Companions allow players to see extremely basic synergies between play styles.

2) They compensate for basic build deficiencies. They can tank/heal/dps for players who aren’t endgame. I have a lot of guild members who now aren’t as afraid to engage in certain overland content because of them. Soloing world bosses becomes a lot easier, esp in DLC zones.

3) Theyre cosmetic dress up dolls which is its own fun for some just like housing decorating.

4) They provide small benefits through unique abilities.

5) They encourage players, like endeavors, to engage in neglected content. The amount of players completing fighters/Mages guild and undaunted dailies has increased significantly since release. As a result you see more players in those areas resulting in a fuller game world.

Fennwitty

When you max out Mirri you get a permanent buff for extra loot. And you never have to summon her again.

ADarklore

I think Companions are great... especially in ESO which is NOT a 'traditional MMO' but an "Online RPG with MMO elements" per ESO devs... so from that perspective it's easy to see why Companions are popular with a large portion of ESO.

First off, people that complain about Companions 9 times out of 10 don't know how to use them properly, hence their complaints about them dying or being ineffective. I have both Companions fully leveled and unless I completely ignore them in a World Boss battle, they never die. I have Bastian as a healer in full blue gear with heavy armor... and when I take on WB's I switch to tank role and let him heal me. My health never drops below 90% through most boss battles... and as long as I maintain aggro... he's fine. Even the times he's pulled aggro away from me, I've been able to get it back, and he's able to heal himself too so that also helps. The ONLY time I've had a Companion die is when I had Bastian as a tank and took on a 'triple' World Boss and left him alone to take on one while I took on the other two... and suddenly I was fighting all three and found Bastian on the ground. That was "MY" fault, I should have worked WITH him... not expected him to go it alone with a WB.

Mirri is my 2H assassin Companion that I have out most of the time because she doesn't get mad when I loot Thieves Troves and is quite effective at helping me finish off enemies faster. Considering ESO has tons of quests and I just started another new character, a Magblade this time, I have a LOT of questing to do... and she helps it go just a bit faster... and adds a bit of appreciated commentary along the way (even if it's often repeated).

So the POINT of Companions is many things to people... for me, it's a virtual 'friend' who can keep me company while I complete quests and I don't have to actually TALK to them. One thing I always hated in 'traditional MMOs' was you couldn't just DO stuff without having to TALK to people... constant chatter... I play to relax and get away from talking and the drama that usually follows. When I was in a league in DCUO, you always had people on mic who would never shut up... you couldn't focus on the game at all. OR, you have to deal with the drama of pugs, 'fake roles', etc... no thanks.

Companions also help a player solo harder content... such as many World Bosses and most normal Group dungeons. So those are MY two biggest reasons why I appreciate Companions.

DinoZavr

Free resurrectable healer

zelaminator

Paulytnz wrote: »

I think that's part of the problem when people say things like "so and so is Useless". They seem to forget that the game is not made just for them, funny that considering we live in the "Me Me Me age and I want it yesterday!" Go figure......

My point exactly

Saieden

My main crafter, which is also my survey runner, has no more than about 15 skill points in actual combat abilities, as well as sets like Jailbreaker and Wild Hunt. Having Mirri around halves the time it takes to clear out survey sites when monsters get pulled in. While soloing, she's also great at finishing off ranged enemies that run out of aoe's so I don't have to chase them down.

ivelbob

Bastian is much better at spotting heavy sacks than I am. WORTH IT

ApoAlaia

Thanks to Bastian I can now get past that trolling/gatekeeping Troll - I mean this must have been a jest from the developers - in Frostvault solo without having to run a build that is specifically designed to be able to get past it solo and not all that useful once I have cleared that particular obstacle.

It also makes running certain dungeons solo more palatable. I have done quite a few VoM and SC2 runs lately for the leads and although I could run them solo before with Bastian as tank and tweaking the build(s) to account for this things move faster and smoother.

Taking Mirri as healer and again tweaking the builds to account for the extra healing has also enabled me to clear other content more efficiently.

They were never intended to replace a human player so they will never be able to do so but in circumstances where you can't get anyone else on board they do fill a role. There is room for improvement but after a couple of weeks running with them I wouldn't call them useless.

robpr

I sometimes play in really ungodly hours and companions help me go through the content that I can get gear/stickerbook part I normally couldnt before. Speccing them as pure healers is not perfect and they sometimes draw aggro for no reason but it makes me focus on damage and not worry about being alive. Even if Ring of Pale Order is much more efficient, Bastian's 15% LA damage buff or Mirri's ult helps more. I dont use them at all in "normal" circumstances. Also Bastian points at Heavy Sacks I could miss sometimes.

Jackey

I rarely do group dungeons with random players anymore (never if it's a brand new dungeon). Mostly play them duo with a friend.
We're currently levelling a companion healer and a companion tank.

They will be a great addition for our dungeon runs.

theyancey

I am enjoying them. I look forward to the continued development of these two and the introduction of others. If they are not something that fits in your play style then you simply do not have to use them at all. Simple as that. Otherwise it resembles the behavior sometimes seen in children when one bully takes a toy from others, not because he wants it but just to prevent other kids from having fun. It is like the current PvP event. I do not join that. I also do not come on here and start threads wanting it shut down. Just enjoy playing ESO as it fits for you or play a different game that does meet your needs.

BTW, one benefit I have found is that both Bastion and Mirri gain the healing crimson fountain skill from running a couple of Undaunted quests. This can be done with the one solo Undaunted quest for those who do not group. I have enjoyed having m companion being able to do that.

coop500

I didn't read any of the other replies yet, but as someone who loves the companions now when at first I was very critical of them, I'll explain why I use them and their purpose (for me).

I'm mostly a solo player though I don't mind grouping up with guildies and strangers to do certain things. But there's a lot of the time I am totally alone. I mostly use Bastian cause I enjoy his personality and mannerisms better, but I use Mirri some too.
For me it breathes a little bit more life into my adventures, I don't really find them annoying really, aside from Mirri's bug issue, I like having them along. They help my weaker alts defeat overland mobs (yes I struggle with that sometimes, don't judge lol) and I like hearing their comments and lines as we explore.

I adore customizing their outfit, their combat style and skills.
I don't grind with them, I don't grind their XP or Rapport, as I feel this would make me hate them or see them as a 'mechanic' and not a friend. I have ruined too much of this game with grinding stuff out mindlessly and reducing my thoughts of XYZ thing as a mechanic, so I won't do that with companions.

I love FINALLY getting a new shiny piece of gear for them, especially Bastian and equipping him with it. It just kinda gives me 'proud mama' vibes haha. Same thing with them leveling up or unlocking a new skill.

I play with my IRL mother sometimes and it's nice to have Bastian with us to help her, she's only been playing a month though she is a bit of a gamer mom, so she's learning quickly. We've done a few dungeons together as I didn't want to put mom through the stress of PUGs, so we walked in and we cleared a few base game dungeons on normal with our level 30 characters + Bastian and he provides good support without the whole 'charging off without you if you have to go the bathroom' and judging our builds for a normal dungeon lol.

I could go on, I am admittedly a bit of a Bastian fangirl now haha, but I think this post is probably long enough.

Starlight_Whisper

They are Battle pets

Inaya

The point? Same as every other thing ever introduced in the game. Fun, enjoyment, something different..... Like them then use them. Don't like them then don't use them.

There are parts of the game some players never touch and other enjoy very much. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

DreamyLu

Am a PvE casual solo player and I appreciate using Bastian when I go for a delve for example, or even for quests around in explorable. He definitely help the killing and also fixing foes away from me. Ally NPCs never do that. Foes ignore them completely and always aim at me. It's different with the companions.