Please let Companions level faster

SilverBride

I have my Companions with me all the time so they get every bit of experience they can, even if I don't need their help at the time. I've taken them to Dragonstar Arena (and I hate arenas) when I have experience scrolls to powerlevel them. Yet my Ember is just level 16 and my Isobel is level 14. I haven't even started leveling their rapport yet.

Please allow our Companions to gain experience from our quests, too. I don't mind putting some effort into leveling them but this is like crawling at a snail's pace.

Necrotech_Master

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

if you always have 150% xp scrolls, outside of a double xp event, it takes about 6-7 full DSA runs to max level a companion (which is about 1 hour each run, so time consuming, and in the case for someone who doesnt like arenas, its an excruciating long time)

i agree only getting xp for kills (which means no dolmen xp, no quest xp), makes them level much too slow in the last 5 levels they need

SPR_of_HA_community

If we hope, that it will be more of them, it can be a good change.

SilverBride

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

if you always have 150% xp scrolls, outside of a double xp event, it takes about 6-7 full DSA runs to max level a companion (which is about 1 hour each run, so time consuming, and in the case for someone who doesnt like arenas, its an excruciating long time)

i agree only getting xp for kills (which means no dolmen xp, no quest xp), makes them level much too slow in the last 5 levels they need

I only take them to Dragonstar Arena when I have the 150% scrolls, which isn't that often. I've never been able to completely solo these but I can make it far enough to get me through the hour the scroll lasts. But that is an hour of mental torture for me and shouldn't be the only way to get decent experience for them.

Necrotech_Master

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

if you always have 150% xp scrolls, outside of a double xp event, it takes about 6-7 full DSA runs to max level a companion (which is about 1 hour each run, so time consuming, and in the case for someone who doesnt like arenas, its an excruciating long time)

i agree only getting xp for kills (which means no dolmen xp, no quest xp), makes them level much too slow in the last 5 levels they need

I only take them to Dragonstar Arena when I have the 150% scrolls, which isn't that often. I've never been able to completely solo these but I can make it far enough to get me through the hour the scroll lasts. But that is an hour of mental torture for me and shouldn't be the only way to get decent experience for them.

i usually would go in with 2 people and 2 companions, a 1 hour scroll will last effectively the whole arena and expire usually right around the last boss arena (when i usually offer to friends or guildies who want to get the master weapons since the companion doesnt get much of anything on the final boss round since its 1 single enemy effectively)

redspecter23

I'm really starting to wonder why companions don't gain xp from questing. That seems completely backwards. They get mob kill xp, but not quest xp. That might even be a bug that just never got noticed. If there was never a reason given why they don't get quest xp, that's a possibility. I might report it just to be sure.

SilverBride

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

if you always have 150% xp scrolls, outside of a double xp event, it takes about 6-7 full DSA runs to max level a companion (which is about 1 hour each run, so time consuming, and in the case for someone who doesnt like arenas, its an excruciating long time)

i agree only getting xp for kills (which means no dolmen xp, no quest xp), makes them level much too slow in the last 5 levels they need

I only take them to Dragonstar Arena when I have the 150% scrolls, which isn't that often. I've never been able to completely solo these but I can make it far enough to get me through the hour the scroll lasts. But that is an hour of mental torture for me and shouldn't be the only way to get decent experience for them.

i usually would go in with 2 people and 2 companions, a 1 hour scroll will last effectively the whole arena and expire usually right around the last boss arena (when i usually offer to friends or guildies who want to get the master weapons since the companion doesnt get much of anything on the final boss round since its 1 single enemy effectively)

I've done that a couple of times but usually go solo. I wonder if I would be better off running through some public dungeons, but then I run the risk of others getting to the mobs before I can.

jaws343

Honestly, I've found it best to level them in public dungeons or dolmens.

I've been leveling Ember while farming the Spire public dungeon for the fragments in High Isle.

Each pack of enemies in the public dungeon nets roughly 500-1000xp depending on the XP scroll you are running. At aroud 148K xp needed for each level past 15, that is at most to 300 packs of enemies to kill per level. There are at least 20 enemy packs in a loop of that public dungeon I've been farming, so around 15 loops of the dungeon per level.

Given how rare the fragment drops are, I expect to have Ember and Isobel both leveled by the time I have all 50 pieces from the two dungeons.

That's just Public Dungeons. Dolmes (and overland mobs) give more XP I've noticed. So you could hit a decent zone dolmen loop, like one that has good jewelry to sell, and do this a bit quicker. I'd recommend avoiding Alikr and Auridon though, since those are usually heavily farmed, you miss out on kills/XP.

MJ202

My take, from casual observation, rapport for Isobel and Ember seemed to level faster, while experience definitely seems to take much longer.

Kiralyn2000

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

As someone who doesn't "grind mobs", even the early/mid levels aren't terribly fast. I got Mirri to max rapport and she was still only like level 10-11. I still haven't gotten any companion to lv20. I quest & explore & do dailies, I don't mass-kill enemies. No arenas, no dungeons, no dolmen grinding... /meh

jaws343 wrote: »

At aroud 148K xp needed for each level past 15, that is at most to 300 packs of enemies to kill per level. There are at least 20 enemy packs in a loop of that public dungeon I've been farming, so around 15 loops of the dungeon per level.

Gotta say, that sounds completely nuts to me. Let alone talking about it like it's just something quick & easy to do.

Kingsindarkness

Yeah..it definitely feels as if you are being punished for using one.

And having to grind a public dungeon to level one faster is a bit silly..they should just open up the leveling a bit.

There is so much they could do with Companions to make them truly useful and fun...

• Allow them to level crafting and when they reach max they can craft specialized gear and items.
• Let them be a TOT opponent with the chance of winning a different cards.
• Beef up their story quest make them more dynamic...and have them come up randomly from time to time.
• Banter between companions would be fun as long as it wouldn't be monotonous and could be silenced by those that wished it

.

I just feel that Companions in general was huge missed opportunity.

MaraxusTheOrc

Allowing companions to gain even a fraction of experience from questing would be a remarkable QoL change and at least for me would inspire me to quest again in old zones on Alts.

SilverBride

I keep them with me when questing but a lot of quests don't require any type of combat. So even though my companion was with me while I gathered this object or found these missing NPCs they get absolutely no experience for it.

Necrotech_Master

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

if you always have 150% xp scrolls, outside of a double xp event, it takes about 6-7 full DSA runs to max level a companion (which is about 1 hour each run, so time consuming, and in the case for someone who doesnt like arenas, its an excruciating long time)

i agree only getting xp for kills (which means no dolmen xp, no quest xp), makes them level much too slow in the last 5 levels they need

I only take them to Dragonstar Arena when I have the 150% scrolls, which isn't that often. I've never been able to completely solo these but I can make it far enough to get me through the hour the scroll lasts. But that is an hour of mental torture for me and shouldn't be the only way to get decent experience for them.

i usually would go in with 2 people and 2 companions, a 1 hour scroll will last effectively the whole arena and expire usually right around the last boss arena (when i usually offer to friends or guildies who want to get the master weapons since the companion doesnt get much of anything on the final boss round since its 1 single enemy effectively)

I've done that a couple of times but usually go solo. I wonder if I would be better off running through some public dungeons, but then I run the risk of others getting to the mobs before I can.

solo definitely takes a lot more time to run through the arena, at least 2 people with 2 companions will take about as long as 4 actual people because of the limited spawn rates in there

if you wanted an easier route then the public dungeons would be better, you could go to a less populated one in a DLC zone to farm drops (scaly cloth scraps for example lol)

or if you wanted to solo you could probably still do non-dlc group dungeons if you still needed gear to collect from those, as most of those can easily be done on normal with a companion

Treselegant

Kingsindarkness wrote: »

I just feel that Companions in general was huge missed opportunity.

They need more work. They need more content and general attention. Blackwood companions need updating with new dialogue to bring them up to level of the High Isle ones. Anything to make them more part of the world and more rounded at this point. They're not quite there.

I was lucky with levelling my main companion as I got him to max level before there was a reduction in xp from dolmans (from what I understand anyway). I've tried to level Mirri up but she won't get any higher than level 16 so I've more or less given up.

SilverBride

These are some great ideas but I still think companions should get more experience per mob. I also think they should get experience for quests.

redlink1979

SilverBride wrote: »

(...) my Ember is just level 16 and my Isobel is level 14. I haven't even started leveling their rapport yet. (...)

I think the public dungeons might be better atm to level companions up due to how faster the mobs respawn than DSA. That's where I will go, again. Always pop a 100/150% xp scroll. Spellscar seem to be another good option.

Regarding rapport, you will level them faster and easier than the other ones. Got rapport on both rather quick. Been playing normally, Ember is at level 10 and her rapport is already maxed out. Isobel is 10 and really close to max rapport.

Grizzbeorn

Wait...
The XP scrolls we use for ourselves work for Companions, too?

And I'm still only level 10-11 with Izzy and Ember.

Mirri leveled much faster I seem to recall.

jaws343

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

Wait...
The XP scrolls we use for ourselves work for Companions, too?

And I'm still only level 10-11 with Izzy and Ember.

Mirri leveled much faster I seem to recall.

When Mirri launched, the final XP rewarded for completing a Dolmen counted towards companion leveling. They changed that in the following patch. So during the Blackwood patch, companions leveled much more quickly.

Blinx

I haven't started on the new ones yet, I only did the quest to obtain them on my main, and called it a day.
Not really interested in going thru that grind again any time soon tbh, I'll still be using Mr. Hallix's Tank Services for the foreseeable future.

^edited for Spelling

rexagamemnon

Yes, leveling them is a pain

Necrotech_Master

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

Wait...
The XP scrolls we use for ourselves work for Companions, too?

And I'm still only level 10-11 with Izzy and Ember.

Mirri leveled much faster I seem to recall.

companions gain a % of kill xp we earn

using a scroll = more xp for ourselves, which means the companion gets a higher amount as well

i leveled mirri a bit more slowly as i was also running the blackwood content and figuring out a good farm spot but once i found how efficient the DSA was, i just did that, the per enemy kill xp in there is higher than other places like public dungeons

while public dungeons may be about the same xp per hour efficiency as DSA, the problem i have with them is they are not instanced and you could be trying to share mobs, more people = less mobs, or if your both killing the mob its less xp for everyone

Memory_In_Motion

been playing since july 31st. have 9 toons, 2 cp level, 1 with all the shards in the game, and mirri reached level 20 the other day and got her power shot ultimate. it aint so bad. i'm not doing that quest for companions on every toon. Be GLAD you dont have to level her on every toon also. Could you imagine leveling each one on 9 toons? BLECH! now that would be awful

Oreyn_Bearclaw

I think I got Miri to like 19.5, she might have hit 20 without me realizing. I agree they level too slowly, and the way you level fighters/mages guild lines coupled with the recent monetization (event tickets) to do it faster is obnoxious.

I find companions to be mostly useless, so not super high on my priority list. Only reason Miri is even that high is because I solo farmed DSA for the DDF lead a while back.

Billium813

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i would agree those last 5 levels take far too long, where the early levels are so fast

i think it literally takes 10 xp to get from lvl 1 to 2, and 300 xp to get from lvl 2 to 3

where as the quantity of xp needed from lvl 15-20 is like 3 full DSAs with 150% xp scrolls

if you always have 150% xp scrolls, outside of a double xp event, it takes about 6-7 full DSA runs to max level a companion (which is about 1 hour each run, so time consuming, and in the case for someone who doesnt like arenas, its an excruciating long time)

I mean, to be honest, if it really takes 6-7 DSA runs to fully level a Companion, that seems perfectly reasonable to me. People want to be able to do things in 2-3 hours one night. It's ok if a game makes it take some time.

I understand that doesn't help people that want to play 9 different toons, each with as much stuff completed as their main... but I'd rather them have content that takes some time to complete than something you can fully experience in one night. You should complete content with Companions because you want to do the content, not cause you just want to level your companion. That's gonna make it FEEL painful, but the mechanic isn't meant for that. If you are at the point where you don't need anything from Arenas and are only doing it for the Companion levels... I would ask Why are you leveling the Companion mechanic in the first place?

Billium813

What I would ask is: If a player starts a new toon in Blackwood and starts questing. They pickup a Companion as soon as possible and start leveling them.
How many quests / zones do they need to complete before the Companion maxes?
When the character level reaches to 50, what will be the Companion level? When the character reaches CP 150/160?

IMO, Companions are really a beginner mechanic for solo play. It's gonna be painful when you are CP 1500 and you are trying to power level a Companion for some reason. The Companion is supposed to be leveling ALONGSIDE you, while you quest and do dungeons.

Grizzbeorn

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

using a scroll = more xp for ourselves, which means the companion gets a higher amount as well

Yes, we get a boost for using them, but
I thought I had read a description somewhere which stated that XP scrolls had no effect on Companion leveling.

I'm not arguing; I'd be happy if I'm not remembering properly.

SilverBride

I just want to reach max level on them to get their ultimate ability, and also so I can get the house guest. I do find companion tanks to be very helpful when soloing world bosses or dungeons, too.

sPark101

I use bonus experience potions and run dolmens over and over again (deeshan is nice) to level them.

Taggund

I got Ember from 14-20 in DSA with 150% scrolls using my oakensoul templar before it was nerfed. I could only solo it up to stage 7 or 8, but got a level for ember each time. I'm waiting to level Bastian and Isobel in the same manner whenever the next bonus experience event is.

Edit: I will add it was through a prior thread on this forum that i even came across using DSA to do this. This is the only time I've even done the arena as I don't enjoy them in general.

katanagirl1

There really needs to be some way in addition to grinding mobs endlessly to level them up. I can’t take them with me to Cyrodiil or in trials, and after doing those activities my poor hands need a break. If I want to spend an hour or two grinding in public dungeons then I have to skip my other activities.

I have got Bastion to level 20 but Mirri is still 17 or 18. I would really like to level Isobel up as a Bastion tank replacement since I think she might be better at surviving world bosses solo, but I want to finish the achievements for Mirri first.