All hail Dame Isobel! (An appreciation thread)

Tesman85

I saw a thread extolling Ember and it sparked in me the idea to do the same for Isobel. Because she is awesome! This far I've used Mirri and Isobel as companions, and the latter is by far my favourite. ZOS writers did a very good job with her. Already her introductory quest was interesting and amusing, and highlighted the knightly Breton theme of the chapter. The later quests were very entertaining, too. I had quite a few chuckles at the dialogue and the supporting characters were interesting enough to care about.

Speaking of dialogue, that's Isobel's strong point. It conveys a very lovable personality: Young and idealistic, but not to an annoying degree. Her sense of honour, loyalty and upbeat attitude is uplifting in this world where many writers seem to think that the more cynical and foul the characters are, the better. She has an air of a 19th century adventure novel character, a style which I adore. Isobel's voice actor perfects the whole: She delivers the lines excellently, so that her dialogue is a pleasure to listen. The necessary emotion and ring are there to make the character feel alive. Superbly done.

Also, Isobel is a nice help in the dungeons already, even though I haven't leveled her even to level 10. She can heal herself and the player character to some degree and so doesn't need constant babysitting. Also, her templar-like and one-handed weapon skill sets make her a nice tank. Originally I didn't think I'd use companions much but Isobel is now the constant companion of my Breton magsorc lady. I'll look forward to when Isobel is fully leveled and geared to see how useful she could become, when the start is so promising.

Lastly, even her appearance is well done. She looks feminine enough, but also tough enough to sell her as a real knight. Some armour styles like the Imperial make her look very good. I also like Isobel's walking and idle styles which suit a knight very well.

All hail Dame Isobel!

ghastley

I agree.

With a melee weapon, so she doesn’t retreat, she heals herself and the player quite well enough to survive in most situations where you would expect to use a companion. Mine uses two-handed sword, but that is just a matter of taste. Most skills are class ones in companion builds.

I still use the other three, depending on the character’s own style, but Isobel as healer works with both tank and DD builds. Two DD players, with Isobel and almost any other companion, can make a balanced team of four.

BlueRaven

Agreed. Fitted as a tank she is my favorite companion, I have her out nearly constantly.

Kingsindarkness

I greatly dislike her.

She is irritating, her stance looks silly, and she comes across as over ingratiating and insincere. I stick with Mirri, she has become a decent healer once I maxed her out, and I don't want to push her off a cliff.

TairenSoul

I'm right with you OP! All my companions are maxed out and Isobel is the best. She does the most damage, in my experience. I also have her set up to heal also which is nice!

Cendrillion21

"I am your shield!"

Love Isobel

DarcyMardin

She’s terrific. And she hardly ever dies. I use her far more than I use any of the other companions. Love the voice actor for her, too.

ArchangelIsraphel

I adore Isobel even though I have not done her quest yet. I found her endearing on the test server and knew from just seeing a little bit of her dialogue that she will make the perfect best friend for my second main, my high elf Templar, Israphel, who shares many of her ideals. His personal background lends him the ability to aide her in her goals, and although he has difficulty accepting help from others, he would find himself enjoying her company and eventually trusting her enough to let her into his life. I'm already excited about how I will play them off of each other in my future stories, and developing their friendship. They have much they will identify with once they learn more about each other.

(And once he learns about her plight in her quest, he'll come in swinging to help her and her lady friend instantly- for personal reasons of his own, he'll not allow them to be parted and will defend them with his life, if necessary.)

I felt the same way about Mirri when I "met" her on the test server- I didn't do her quest there but seeing small snippets of her personality, she was an instant hit with me and really goes well with my Thief/NB main. They became swift friends, and I adore Mirri to this day- so I know I'll love Isobel!

Holycannoli

She's my favorite even with that irritating tough guy walk she has, which noone should ever have.

StarOfElyon

Bastian clears everyone. 😤

kind_hero

She became my favourite. Doesn't annoy me so much like the others which after a while have some repeating line that bothers me a little.

I think she is well designed, I find her useful as a tank. However, she does look more like an Imperial than Breton.

P.S. I get it that some people like shady/dark/evil companions, it's fine, however this chapter is about knights, and having a knight companion fits perfectly with the theme and with the RPG. Bastian feels more Breton than Isobel, but he is more fascinated by magic and too idealistic for his background story. Isobel is right on the spot.

Mik195

She's definitely one of my favorite companions. I'd like ZOS to consider adding a mechanic that lets you eliminate one of a companion's dislikes when you are max level and max rapport. So Isobel could decide that thieves troves are fine since you are stealing from theives. Then she'd be excellent.

Carcamongus

At first I found her rather dull when following me, though she had an interesting personality in the quests. However, I took my time to max her level and, as she tagged along, I started to like her more. Mirri remains my favorite, but at least Isobel's enthusiastic about the constant violence involved in traveling with me.

Tesman85

Nice to see others appreciate Isobel, too! Great pics here, also. Always interesting to see how others outfit their companions.

As for her functionality, it's precisely her survivability and versatility which makes me like her as a combat companion. A near-prefect complement to a more fragile dd or a solo build when soloing dungeons.

Kingsindarkness wrote: »

I greatly dislike her.

She is irritating, her stance looks silly, and she comes across as over ingratiating and insincere. I stick with Mirri, she has become a decent healer once I maxed her out, and I don't want to push her off a cliff.

I beg to differ. For me it is Mirri who appears more insincere. Her dialogue and how it is delivered comes sometimes across like she was hostile and disdaining towards the player character in a barely veiled way. The sarcasm and irony of her character are somewhat overtuned.

As for Isobel sometimes getting a bit flowery, it actually fits the knightly theme well. Real-life knights tended to express even heartfelt sentiments in incredibly artificial ways, if the medieval literature is anything to go by. An extreme example is a 13th-century knight Ulrich von Lichtenstein, who dressed as Venus and made a journey through south German lands during which he challenged every nobleman he met either to swear to fight for love, or duel him (source: Scherr, Deutsche Kultur- und Sittengeschichte, pp. 98-102). He did it to win the heart of his chosen lady love, and got beaten severely up for his trouble. Compared to that the affectations of the High Isle knights, including Isobel, are quite tame. But ultimately it is a matter of taste whether to like Isobel or Mirri more.

Ye_Olde_Crowe

DOGS!
She loves dogs, so she instantly became my new favorite companion.

SkaiFaith

I prefer Mirri's Brassy Assassin personality and aesthetic but daaaaamn Isobel is so adorable as Voice Actress, voice lines and as a character!
Also I really appreciate the Furnishing Letters and emails that the High Isle companions sends to you; I'm just sad the emails get lost since they expire...

Anyway, Isobel is my favourite companion right now.
I've Max leveled everyone: Mirri as Healer, Bastian as AoE DD, Ember as single target DD, and Isobel as Tank.
I always keep Isobel out with me and she never dies.

Thanks OP, I was thinking about making this thread myself ^^

(Not the best at screenshots, I know...)

Karminathevamp

Isobel takes forever to level up and she walks like a brute. I still like her though, even when she dies or I die during world boss fights in High Isles or in the Deadlands.

Tesman85

SkaiFaith wrote: »

I prefer Mirri's Brassy Assassin personality and aesthetic but daaaaamn Isobel is so adorable as Voice Actress, voice lines and as a character!

Adorable is just the word! There is a winning girlishness in both her dialogue and voice acting, in a perfect dose so that it does not grate but gives flair to the character. I started to like her almost instantly after meeting her.

Karminathevamp wrote: »

Isobel takes forever to level up and she walks like a brute. I still like her though, even when she dies or I die during world boss fights in High Isles or in the Deadlands.

Yes, leveling companions is a rather slow process, which I dislike also. The walk is kind of understandable, however. I know from my army stint something about carrying 20 plus kilograms of gear on my body, as a knight like Isobel does in the form of armor. No one walks gracefully like a ballerina with that kind of load, but rather spreads their legs to distribute the weight better. Granted, Isobel's walk is a bit exaggerated, but basically it's actually more believable than all the NPCs who sprint about like squirrels with a full metal armor.