Favourite Companion

Alphawolf01A

Ember

Ember.

Two words, "Fish Biscuits!"

Love it!

jtm1018

Mirri

I want Naryu and Mirri.
I already have Mirri.

RevJJ

I really don’t understand why so many people write Bastian with an o.

spartaxoxo

Bastion

Bastian is number one by a mile just because he's nice, I've had him longest, and he's good at tanking.

Isobel is second because she's nice and good at healing.

Mirri and Ember are tied. They are both fun and different and add a bit of DPS.

Isobel, Mirri, and Ember are all pretty close for me. Bastian is the only one that I can definitely say is my favorite.

Treselegant

Bastion

1. Bastian.
2. Mirri
3. Ember
4. Isobel.

I just find the High Isle pair to be very oddly written and weirdly obsequious. I suspect Ember's popularity will half if the new argonian companion is ok with thieving and murder. Mirri's snark is turned up to 11 and I can't cope with that for too long but I find her more personable than the rest of the ladies.

Lady_Galadhiel

His name is Bastian ._.
I like him and Ember, I can't decide.

BretonMage

Bastion

Bastian by far for me. He's calm, kind and a great tank/healer for my DPS. I switch between companions sometimes for variety, and always return to him with relief.

I also like Isobel, as she's very sweet, but she can get a bit much sometimes. She makes me think of someone I'd have as a BFF in high school, but with the enthusiasm turned up 1000X. As an aside, I know Laura Bailey has been a popular VA, but Isobel is really my favourite of her roles.

ghastley

I use them all, depending on the character’s needs. The mages prefer a tank or healer companion, and the tanks want a ranged DD. Healers need either tank or DD, depending on their own bias.

Both Bastian and Isobel work for tank or healer, and Ember and Mirri do ranged DD, once you’ve given them the right skills and equipment.

Personalities are a lesser effect. Mirri’s bug fetish is only an issue to a character that is likely to gather them, and sarcasm isn’t a negative for me, anyway. Most of Bastian’s annoying lines are situational, and some characters won’t hear them, because they don’t do whatever he comments on. Once you have enough runes, you won’t hear “magicky”. Isobel hasn’t got any that annoy me.

Holycannoli

Isobel

ghastley wrote: »

I use them all, depending on the character’s needs. The mages prefer a tank or healer companion, and the tanks want a ranged DD. Healers need either tank or DD, depending on their own bias.

Both Bastian and Isobel work for tank or healer, and Ember and Mirri do ranged DD, once you’ve given them the right skills and equipment.

Personalities are a lesser effect. Mirri’s bug fetish is only an issue to a character that is likely to gather them, and sarcasm isn’t a negative for me, anyway. Most of Bastian’s annoying lines are situational, and some characters won’t hear them, because they don’t do whatever he comments on. Once you have enough runes, you won’t hear “magicky”. Isobel hasn’t got any that annoy me.

Oh I have thousands of runes and she still bothers me with "magicky"

ghastley

Holycannoli wrote: »

Oh I have thousands of runes and she still bothers me with "magicky"

I should have added “and can stop collecting them”. Enough is when you don’t want more.

bruta

Mirri

Isobel is slightly less annoying than Bastian.
Ember is alrite but Mirri's where it's at, dark elves are awesome

Cendrillion21

Isobel

So much love for Ember! I'm going to have to try running with her again.

peacenote

Bastion

Bastian is my favorite. His voice is so calming and I like some of his lines like "every villain is the hero in their own story." I wish they would update him so that he is as powerful as the newer companions and I wish he didn't get upset when I accidentally kill ground animals.

I also like Ember a lot. I appreciate her enthusiasm for battle.

Araneae6537

Mirri

goddess2015 wrote: »

Ember is my absolute favorite because I can do anything, even crimes and she is enthusiastic about all of it. I can murder someone in cold blood, and she just wants to know what's in it's pockets!!

That doesn’t seem out-of-character? I mean, in her intro quest, she was concerned for the well-being of the chickens and sheep she’d transformed and even the person she didn’t like, she was amused to have done a practical joke but didn’t wish serious or permanent harm.

IMHO, they should have saved approving of cold-blooded murder for someone completely mad or better, completely cold and cynical like Elam Drals.

colossalvoids

Mirri

Araneae6537 wrote: »

show previous quotes

goddess2015 wrote: »

Ember is my absolute favorite because I can do anything, even crimes and she is enthusiastic about all of it. I can murder someone in cold blood, and she just wants to know what's in it's pockets!!

Elam Drals.

This one would make me go from "really dislike" to "love" companion system. Too bad it's not gonna happen.

Araneae6537

Mirri

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

Mirri and Isobel are honestly tied for me, but since I had Mirri first, I chose her.

Mirri- I love Mirri's sharp witted snark, and enjoyed having her to pal around with the moment I started using her on the test server before the update went live. Many seem to find her passive aggressive, but I always interpret her personality as teasing and playfully gruff. She has a softer side that genuinely cares underneath it all, and I really love that about her. She's been the constant companion of my snarky little bosmer thief, and I enjoy imagining them trading playful jabs at one another.

Isobel- Again, loved her from the moment I started using her on the test server before High Isle went live. She's a sweetheart, with a tough and loyal spirit. She has much in common with my Templar, and I like to imagine her as a close friend he can trust.

Bastian- I'm surprised that I'm ranking him third, but here we are. My history with this companion is complicated. At first I really despised him, and found him very annoying and passive aggressive (I feel this is due to how badly timed companion comments can be, and how the companions are programmed to assume you intended to deliberately do whatever it is they hate, when 99% of the time it's an accident. ) but I decided to try him out a second time with my Templar. From a storytelling standpoint, the shift in perspective to a different character was helpful in enjoying Bastian more. I like that he genuinely seems to care about your wellbeing in combat, and that he has dialouge asking in various ways if your character is all right. I've been using him as an off-tank, and he's been quite helpful. There are still things that annoy me about Bastian, however I now find it interesting to imagine how my Templar would react to these moments. While my Templar and Bastian do hold similar ideals, my Templar is far more flexible in terms of his view of good and bad, and it has been an exercise in character development to think of how they'd solve a problem together in moments where they don't quite agree with one another. Bastian has gone from being my least liked companion to being an interesting storytelling device.

Ember- In all honesty, I cannot accurately rate her as I have not used her very much. A lot of this lies in the sound of her voice and the fact that I would have wanted a more traditional sounding Khajiit whose story delves more into Khajiiti lore. I'm hoping she'll grow on me however.

Well said and I agree on many of those points! Although I do wish that Mirri and Bastian would only say something, let alone disapprove, if you grabbed a butterfly or zapped a rabbit several times within a few minutes or something — some indication that it is a deliberate action. I really like both Mirri and Bastian for different of my mains and only wish ZOS would give them more dialogue options and adjust the triggers.

Totally agreed on Ember. I love Khajiit and was looking forward to having one as a companion, but she’s just so weirdly bubbly and doesn’t sound like any Khajiit I’ve met elsewhere in the game, and I don’t mean speech pattern, as Khajiit raised among non-Khajiit would naturally adopt their speech pattern. And then both Isobel and Ember are a bit much in enthusiasm and praise for everything from the start IMO. But while it seems too much from someone getting to know you as a friend, I imagine Ember as a new apprentice for my sorcerer main, eager to please and impress her new teacher, and that at least fits better in my mind.

ArchangelIsraphel

Mirri

Araneae6537 wrote: »

show previous quotes

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

Mirri and Isobel are honestly tied for me, but since I had Mirri first, I chose her.

Mirri- I love Mirri's sharp witted snark, and enjoyed having her to pal around with the moment I started using her on the test server before the update went live. Many seem to find her passive aggressive, but I always interpret her personality as teasing and playfully gruff. She has a softer side that genuinely cares underneath it all, and I really love that about her. She's been the constant companion of my snarky little bosmer thief, and I enjoy imagining them trading playful jabs at one another.

Isobel- Again, loved her from the moment I started using her on the test server before High Isle went live. She's a sweetheart, with a tough and loyal spirit. She has much in common with my Templar, and I like to imagine her as a close friend he can trust.

Bastian- I'm surprised that I'm ranking him third, but here we are. My history with this companion is complicated. At first I really despised him, and found him very annoying and passive aggressive (I feel this is due to how badly timed companion comments can be, and how the companions are programmed to assume you intended to deliberately do whatever it is they hate, when 99% of the time it's an accident. ) but I decided to try him out a second time with my Templar. From a storytelling standpoint, the shift in perspective to a different character was helpful in enjoying Bastian more. I like that he genuinely seems to care about your wellbeing in combat, and that he has dialouge asking in various ways if your character is all right. I've been using him as an off-tank, and he's been quite helpful. There are still things that annoy me about Bastian, however I now find it interesting to imagine how my Templar would react to these moments. While my Templar and Bastian do hold similar ideals, my Templar is far more flexible in terms of his view of good and bad, and it has been an exercise in character development to think of how they'd solve a problem together in moments where they don't quite agree with one another. Bastian has gone from being my least liked companion to being an interesting storytelling device.

Ember- In all honesty, I cannot accurately rate her as I have not used her very much. A lot of this lies in the sound of her voice and the fact that I would have wanted a more traditional sounding Khajiit whose story delves more into Khajiiti lore. I'm hoping she'll grow on me however.

Well said and I agree on many of those points! Although I do wish that Mirri and Bastian would only say something, let alone disapprove, if you grabbed a butterfly or zapped a rabbit several times within a few minutes or something — some indication that it is a deliberate action. I really like both Mirri and Bastian for different of my mains and only wish ZOS would give them more dialogue options and adjust the triggers.

Totally agreed on Ember. I love Khajiit and was looking forward to having one as a companion, but she’s just so weirdly bubbly and doesn’t sound like any Khajiit I’ve met elsewhere in the game, and I don’t mean speech pattern, as Khajiit raised among non-Khajiit would naturally adopt their speech pattern. And then both Isobel and Ember are a bit much in enthusiasm and praise for everything from the start IMO. But while it seems too much from someone getting to know you as a friend, I imagine Ember as a new apprentice for my sorcerer main, eager to please and impress her new teacher, and that at least fits better in my mind.

@Araneae6537 Great solution! This idea would solve so many of the problems with Mirri and Bastian, and I think they might become more popular among players. If, say, the "scolding" dialogue was only trigger after you hit 3 or 4 torchbugs/animals in a row within a period of a certain amount of seconds. Then it would be clear that the act was purposeful. As they are right now, their reaction is overkill to what amounts to a simple accident, and your solution seems like a really easy fix. It also adds a little more "life" to them, making it seem as though they are capable of distinguishing between an accident and something done on purpose.

It would be great if they added an advanced form of this to Bastian in relation to the justice system. Say you accidentally "steal" an object off of a desk while turning in a quest. Instead of having Bastian immediately shout at the player and treat them as though they intend to steal from the moment they touch the object, maybe record more dialogue where he says something like "...I don't think the guards around here like it when you get to curious. Maybe we should put that back." Have him assume you were picking it up to look at it. Then, if the player follows that dialogue by deliberately stealing again, have Bastian get upset.

Completely agree with you on everything you said about Ember. But I like how you're making it a part of your characters story so that they mesh with their personalities. I'm finding the companions are making me think up new ideas I hadn't had before. Having a good headcannon of your own for the companions and what their interactions will be with your character makes all the difference sometimes, and really improves the experience of playing with them.

LanteanPegasus

Bastion

Bastian (with two "a"s and no "o") is my favourite by so far that I actually miss him whenever I'm somewhere without a companion, or trying to level another one.

I just love his personality, and he's a great fit and friend for my character, because they share the same ideas about right, wrong, and what to do about it. It's also wonderful to travel the world and share the same sentiments about exploration, wondrous sights, and (slightly) philosophical points.
I mean, his only lines I don't outright love to hear are the ones about harvesting (not bad but very unspecific) and riding (not bad per se, but "Let's hit the trail!" and "Right behind you, partner!" just sound too cowboy-y by far, both for him and my tastes).
So, yeah, for some unfathomable reason the ZOS guys wrote the perfect companion for me. He's even from my favourite "race" (Imperials), although they didn't really do anything with that background.

Oh, and he's a great help for my rather tanky character in speeding up fights a bit, and his healing abilities make fighting world bosses and such so much more relaxed. But I guess that could be said about any companion, so it isn't the reason he's my favourite.

Edit: I just realized how many people complain about Bastian's comments when killing harmless critters, and how annoying they were. Now I wonder, is it my class (Dragonknight)/weapon (1H+Shield) combo, or my playstyle... But I have him with me every since Blackwood released, and I can't remember hearing that comment more than a dozen times in all that time, at most. And I usually play one to several hours on most days. (And yes, my companion comment frequency setting is set to maximum, so he's quite talkative.)

AvalonRanger

Ember

I chose Ember. But I need more talking option for this NPC character.

Me: "Hey Ember. I don't want this going loudly. Can you make it with silence?"
Ember: "Don't worry. I'm professional. What kind of object should I fetch?"
Me: "Door Key please."
Ember:" Piece of cake . Oh I'll leave here little bit, but don't sob if you feel lonely, all right?"
Me:" What? just go..."

Few minutes later..

Ember: "Aha...you miss me?"

Zodiarkslayer

Isobel

Dovershark wrote: »

Following on from an earlier post, who's your favourite companion?

His Name is Bastian.

B
A
S
T
I
A! AAAAAAAAAAAA
N
!

Bastion with an O is a perk in the red CP tree. 🤦‍♂️

Treeshka

Future male Khajiit companion.

Snamyap

Mirri

As a character I prefer Mirri but I use all four as they are set up for different roles.

SatanicSister

Bastion

"Big brother" Bastian ofc.

Diebesgut

Ember

... Ember of course, for my Khajiit their sister is very welcome in the group, now they are waiting for a male variant 😻

BastiAn -> dumb
Mirri -> insect obsession
Isobel -> narrow minded
🙃

CapsuleCorpZ

Mirri

Mirri straight up

SkaiFaith

Isobel

Isobel is the only one out of the six companions I would romance if there was the option.
I noticed the devs changed a bit the furnishing letter she gives you and I've appreciated the change but if she'd have wrote "Always in your service" instead of simply "In your service" at the end... I would have taken her to the first shrine of Mara and got married.
There are more beautiful Breton women out there if I have to point out something, but she is fine and everything else about her is just right. Top companion, in my humble opinion.

Nightowl_74

Ember

I like Mirri a lot but Ember is my favorite. She's easy to have around and doesn't complain about anything, and I really enjoy characters that are a overly upbeat about anything morbid. If they'd spun her more toward unhinged and a bit away from childlike, shed be my perfect companion. If they ever release one that's basically Cicero, but with a nice mellow voice, for me that would be perfect. Assuming no random dislikes were thrown in, to make he/she a nuisance to have around.

SaffronCitrusflower

Where is the poll option for no companion? I prefer to play without a companion and it annoys me to see mobs of players at bosses when only half of them are actual players and the rest are companions. This is an MMO. People should be grouping with other real life players if they need help.

LalMirchi

I have gotten used to all four companions and each one runs with a particular alt.

Eg. Mirri as healer paired with my tank. Bastian as a 2-H dps with my sorceress. Isobel as a tank with my templar healer and Ember's with my main (forager, DW & Bow NightBlade).

I ilke Ember best but they all get playtime.

Araneae6537

Mirri

SaffronCitrusflower wrote: »

Where is the poll option for no companion? I prefer to play without a companion and it annoys me to see mobs of players at bosses when only half of them are actual players and the rest are companions. This is an MMO. People should be grouping with other real life players if they need help.

It’s fine to prefer playing without one, but why be annoyed by people playing with them? People can still group to do things and there is plenty in the game that people have to group for. Options are good. Plus, companions may enable smaller groups of players to do content they wouldn’t otherwise which is also a good thing. The first MMO I ever played (SWTOR) I did most everything with one friend and it was a fun challenge to get through the dungeon equivalents just us and two companions. And depending on what a player is doing and at what time, it may not be possible to get help from other players. Finally, companions add to the fun and experience of an RPG for many.