Companion with worst personality

NotaDaedraWorshipper · February 24

metheglyn wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

A lot of times I wonder if people has a different Bastian from mine the way they dislike him.

I've often wondered this, too, but in the end I figured a lot of people made snap judgments about him based on very minimal interaction in game or after reading negative reviews others gave him here on the forum. As an example, at first people were convinced he didn't like booze and called him names because of that, when that isn't even a trait he has.

But I'm biased in favor of Bastian, because I like him so much. I really wish he (and Mirri) could be updated to the story level of the other companions. I would so much love a heartfelt letter from Bastian that I could place in my home.

I like him too, he's my favourite along with Sharp, and have been discussion before how the Blackwood companions really need an update to bring them up to par with the other companions. We don't even get furniture versions of their letters, so when their mail vanish after 30 days it's gone in game forever.

Ilsabet · February 24

peacenote wrote: »

While Hack the Minotaur and ArzyeL don't agree on who is best, they agree on who is worst!

A few days ago I made the acquaintance of a new player who had read in a guide that Sharp was the best companion for a magicka DPS (he was a mag templar) and wanted to know how to get him. After some discussion we determined that a) he didn't have Necrom and b) a tank companion would probably be the best fit for him. I got him set up with Bastian and considered that a job well done.

Malyore · February 24

Azandar

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Malyore wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I picked Ember because she's the most evil of the bunch.

Evil?

She steals and she's not above hurting innocent people to take what she wants. She's not a murderer (although she does get more of a thrill out of killing than most of the others) but she will do things like start brawls so she can sneak off with things in the chaos.

Interesting, Ember is my favorite currently. While I don't indulge in her stealing on my main character since they're against thievery, I can understand that she stole to survive in her youth. Currently though she seems to kinda have a rebel mindset of "the rich don't deserve their excess". But despite this she is also fine with not stealing. I've never stolen with her around on my character, and by doing it that way I instead have this companion who cares for her friends and family, likes to laugh, and looks up to you (very fitting if you're also a sorc. It feels like she's an apprentice). She is also not afraid to eviscerate someone who has hurt someone she cares about, and I totally jive with that. I don't think she just wants to electrocute random civilians though.. I don't ever recall her mentioning she wants to hurt innocent people. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly though. As I recall, it's people who have specifically hurt her or made an obstacle of danger. Honestly it felt like a breath of fresh air to even acknowledge that it would be so much more satisfying to just interrogate/kill the story NPCs rather than having to do the usual ESO run around silly quest to get what you need.

I wish there was actually options in the companions questlines that shapes their personality based on your choices. Like if you went with darker options that it would make the companions reflect that in how they do things. That's way more satisfying that collecting stinky algae (Ember).

ADarklore · February 24

Ember

Ember... I can only take her in very small doses. Her voice is annoying, but it's the childish glee she shares after killing people. "That was fun!" Um, Ember, we just killed a bunch of people, we pretty much just murdered them, as they were very over-matched. "Is it over?" Yes Ember, once again we just murdered more people, glad to see you'll have no regrets.

My favorite... it's a tie... Sharp is awesome, his personality is similar to my own- snarky. Bastian, his somewhat naive outlook on the world is refreshing but also annoying as well. His thoughts on stealing are annoying, but given his background, he never had to survive on the streets so he has no clue... again, the naive outlook cuts both ways. I also hate it when he chastises me for accidentally killing a spider, yet has no problems with me harvesting butterflies. However, he's also the most attractive out of the male companions.

Mirri... I honestly don't mind her personality, it's her aversion to harvesting butterflies that grates on me. Sometimes when running along I like to harvest a butterfly or two, and I don't want to have to keep dismissing her for that. So I basically turned her into a healer, which I rarely need.

Isobel, I honestly REALLY wanted to like her more. I like having a Templar companion, and her personality isn't super annoying... but... if it's between her or Bastian (who has similar aversions), I'll take the eye candy.

Azandar... annoying personality... so he's relegated to TANK, which he does extremely well, especially when using Telvanni Efficienty set. I only bring him out when fighting world bosses or soloing group dungeons.

M1SHAAN · February 24

Isobel

peacenote wrote: »

What would be cool is if he was more comfortable on a specific type of mount but I suspect this is not the case.

I've learned from looking at Azandar's UESP page that there actually is! Kind of. Since it doesn't seem to be common knowledge I'll throw it behind a spoiler tag:

He has positive comments about riding multi-rider mounts where he doesn't have to "drive". Too bad those are all only available via the crown store to my knowledge.

shadyjane62 · February 24

Mirri

I put Mirri because she is the only one I have and she was so annoying, I wrote companions off for all time.

katanagirl1 · February 24

Ember

I have all my companions set to minimal so I probably haven’t heard all they have to say, especially the later ones. I’m basing my opinion mostly on their personal quests.

Ember seems to be tailored for much younger players than I, I can’t really say more than that without probably getting into trouble. I don’t really care that much about their personalities, I leave them stowed until I need one for fighting and then I bring out tank Bastian for the tough battles. He was the one who I thought had the best lines, until Sharp came along.

I still have to get Ember up to max level xp though so I will have to endure her a little longer.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · February 25

ADarklore wrote: »

My favorite... it's a tie... Sharp is awesome, his personality is similar to my own- snarky. Bastian, his somewhat naive outlook on the world is refreshing but also annoying as well. His thoughts on stealing are annoying, but given his background, he never had to survive on the streets so he has no clue... again, the naive outlook cuts both ways. I also hate it when he chastises me for accidentally killing a spider, yet has no problems with me harvesting butterflies. However, he's also the most attractive out of the male companions.

I wouldn't call Bastian naive at all, he's quite the opposite, and know a lot how the world actually work. His brother is a completely different matter.

He's more idealistic or have a dreamy look on things, which is different from naive.

Fischblut · February 25

Mirri

Mirri is my least favorite companion, but her bonus is one of the best for my playstyle - I love treasure chests

BretonMage · February 25

Ember

I don't really like Ember much; her cheerful attitude towards murder and theft, and her lines in general are quite grating.

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

My favorite... it's a tie... Sharp is awesome, his personality is similar to my own- snarky. Bastian, his somewhat naive outlook on the world is refreshing but also annoying as well. His thoughts on stealing are annoying, but given his background, he never had to survive on the streets so he has no clue... again, the naive outlook cuts both ways. I also hate it when he chastises me for accidentally killing a spider, yet has no problems with me harvesting butterflies. However, he's also the most attractive out of the male companions.

I wouldn't call Bastian naive at all, he's quite the opposite, and know a lot how the world actually work. His brother is a completely different matter.

He's more idealistic or have a dreamy look on things, which is different from naive.

When you look at his character and its story, what you say makes sense. He's probably had to endure much more than other people in his social class, and it's admirable his ideals remain untarnished after all that.

I think that people tend to overlook that, and a lot of the fault lies perhaps in the writing, him and Mirri being the earliest companions. I find a lot of their lines don't quite work in the situations they trigger in. Like, having someone say the same incredibly longwinded thing every single time you enter a town or harvest a psijic portal is not natural, and reinforces the feeling that they're a bit out of touch. I've been travelling with the Necrom companions recently and the writing for them is a lot more natural. Having said that, Bastian is still a firm favourite for me, along with Sharp now.

Moonsprite · February 25

If this was a favorite thread, I would say Sharp is my favorite for personality and Azandar is my favorite for research loots. I don’t have any problems with the rest of the companion personalities so far. I feel like all the companions are short though. I hope the next set are taller.

I have been trying to figure out a role for Bastian. He dies a lot as a dps so I might have to something different with him. I have him in blue medium armor.

Anyway companion armor is expensive for me so my companions probably perform less ideal than properly geared ones.

ADarklore · February 25

Ember

Moonsprite wrote: »

If this was a favorite thread, I would say Sharp is my favorite for personality and Azandar is my favorite for research loots. I don’t have any problems with the rest of the companion personalities so far. I feel like all the companions are short though. I hope the next set are taller.

I have been trying to figure out a role for Bastian. He dies a lot as a dps so I might have to something different with him. I have him in blue medium armor.

Anyway companion armor is expensive for me so my companions probably perform less ideal than properly geared ones.

What content are you running that he dies a lot? Also, do you have him slotted with self-heals? I typically don't run a DPS companion in difficult content because the amount of DPS they do isn't much... I will typically run a healer or tank companion in difficult content. In open world content, I have Bastian, Isobel, Sharp and Ember all as DPS and they never die. For world bosses and group dungeons, I use Azandar as tank... and in world events or against dragons, I use Mirri as healer. I also run Telvanni Efficiency when using Azandar or Mirri as well- so they can access their skills more frequently- it helps keep them alive. Open world, dolmens or public dungeons, I've never had a DPS companion die.

Ilsabet · February 25

Moonsprite wrote: »

I have been trying to figure out a role for Bastian. He dies a lot as a dps so I might have to something different with him. I have him in blue medium armor.

I run Bastian as a healer. He's mostly using non-class skills, but he does a good job and usually stays alive unless things are getting really hectic. As an example, a friend and I duoed vet Banished Cells 2 on DPS characters (and even ended up getting HM and no-death achievements). My friend's tank Isobel died on pretty much every boss, but Bastian didn't die at all.

Side note, turns out that companion deaths don't count against no-death achievements.

M1SHAAN · February 25

Isobel

Moonsprite wrote: »

I have been trying to figure out a role for Bastian. He dies a lot as a dps so I might have to something different with him. I have him in blue medium armor.

I run him as a tank. Telvanni Efficiency, blue or purple vigorous or bolstered gear (not sure which trait is better). Skill bar drake's blood, kindle, provoke, ritual of salvation, on guard. He's helped me solo the harrowstorms in Blackreach that nobody is ever doing. Now I finally have the achievement for doing all of them

He has a lot of survivability from all the damage reduction (especially against daedra/undead with ritual of salvation active with high uptime), but bad AOEs can still take him out pretty quickly. In dungeon contexts he does better with a healer to help him heal through stuff he's standing in, and for some AOE mechanics I have to manually call him back to me to keep him from dying. I took him to Sanity's Edge to see if we could get through the first boss but we only got past the first add pull. The fiery AOES from the totems in the second add pull killed him almost immediately.

In theory with provoke and Telvanni Efficiency he should be able to taunt two enemies, but in practice I'm pretty sure he'll only attempt to taunt the enemy he's focused on, so you'd need to manually change his focus to get that to happen. I haven't bothered with trying that yet.

I hope that's helpful.

TheMajority · February 25

Bastian

Bastian.

Really passive aggressive and mean-spirited. He seems to savor belittling people. Don't find him "good" at all. Nagging others and controlling their actions isn't what I call good. (No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.)

I play what you might call "lawful good" characters, and I still can't stand his black-and-white thinking.

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

He has the bare bones of what could have been a good character but his shallow dialogue and bad attitude really kills what could have been complex and interesting.

fizzylu · February 25

There's none I dislike personality wise, just some of them have rapport things that annoy me a bit. Like Bastian not liking if you make something with cheese, Mirri getting upset if you loot a torchbug, then Azandar has some of the worst ones since you can lose rapport from going to two whole areas of the game and harvesting mushrooms. They're just little things that make running around with them a little tedious since you have to avoid doing basic things you normally would or constantly dismiss and summon them.

I definitely use Ember and Isobel the most though, and for some reason I feel like Sharp has better AI than the other ones. From my experience, he's the best at calling out heavy sacks and at taking aggro from an enemy that's about to hit me when I'm gathering ore or something.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · February 25

TheMajority wrote: »

Bastian.

Really passive aggressive and mean-spirited. He seems to savor belittling people. Don't find him "good" at all. Nagging others and controlling their actions isn't what I call good. (No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.)

I play what you might call "lawful good" characters, and I still can't stand his black-and-white thinking.

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

He has the bare bones of what could have been a good character but his shallow dialogue and bad attitude really kills what could have been complex and interesting.

How can someone interpret his personality as this. How is he passive aggressive, mean-spirited and likes to belittle people. He's like the opposite.

CoronHR · February 25

Ember

the problem with ember is her voice. she sounds like a child and not a khajiit. the khajiit always sound so wise, and she sounds like a disney character

Vonnegut2506 · February 25

Bastian

Bastian is the only one I truly cannot stand.

Rufusstan · February 25

Azandar

Azandar is the only one so far I haven't been able to get along with (with the proviso that I've yet to level Sharp). The others all have their quirks, but are humanised through their quests. Even afterwards he is too self-centred and arrogant. Admittedly better than he was when the player first encounters him, but still too much for me. Of all the companions he feels himself to be the master; not a follower. So I'll finish levelling him up to get his passive, then leave him in a house somewhere.

spartaxoxo · February 25

Ember

TheMajority wrote: »

No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.

What dialogue do you consider annoying outside of stealing or killing? He doesn't really scold the player for anything else. Since I don't kill or steal when using him, I hardly ever hear negative dialogue from him.

The only other negative rapport he gets is from making cheese. And he tells you it it's because it makes him physically ill, not that you're doing something immoral by making it.

M1SHAAN · February 26

Isobel

spartaxoxo wrote: »

What dialogue do you consider annoying outside of stealing or killing? He doesn't really scold the player for anything else. Since I don't kill or steal when using him, I hardly ever hear negative dialogue from him.

I'm not the person you asked, but scrolling through his dialogue on UESP there are two main non-stealing-or-murdering-or-cheese scenarios where he has negative comments:

1. When you kill passive animals, he can say one of the following:

"Stop it! That's cruel and wasteful!"
"Do you place such little value on life?"
"You're going to eat that, right?"

These lines currently can fire in combat when you hit an animal on accident, which is certainly annoying. I think that's more an issue of bad programming and not a deliberate character choice though. Clearly the intention was to show that he cares about the wellbeing of animals and doesn't like it when people kill them just for funsies. Rather than nagging, I see it as analogous to irl getting upset when people are shooting pellet guns at stray cats and that sort of thing.

2. When you cast your ultimate. He can't decide whether he likes it or not:

"Now you're just showing off!"
"Do you think that might have been excessive?"
"That's it, partner! Give them everything you've got!"

This one does truly baffle me, and I have no idea what they were going for character-trait-wise, positive or negative. I could see saying the former two lines when you nuke a scamp with a meteor and the latter one during a boss battle, but it isn't programmed that way. This is particularly grating when you're casting a healing ultimate to save him from dying, because I can't think of a single reason why anyone would say the former lines in that case. Did the writer intend the lines to be lighthearted/teasing but the VA took them seriously? Were they trying to portray him as emasculated/threatened by how cool and awesome the Vestige is? If so, why didn't that show up in any of his other dialogue? He doesn't strike me as particularly insecure. Or maybe they intended to do the negative with small mobs / positive with bosses split like I suggested? If so, why didn't they actually do that? I just don't know.

Anyway. These two situations, while aggravating, don't take away from my personal appreciation for the character. I also still don't see anything I'd interpret as him acting holier-than-thou or not taking into consideration a person's circumstances. Actually, for the latter I'd say there's evidence of the opposite in how he found a solution with Tenarei Vels in his recruitment quest after he learned about her debt to the crime lord, rather than just screwing her over. Relatedly, I hate how often ESO quests railroad me into choosing option A or option B when there is probably a better solution in the middle. When I first did Bastian's recruitment quest I was sure they were going to have me siding with him or Tenarei, similar to how you could choose to save Mirri's brother or let him die. I was so happy when he and Tenarei worked something out and I didn't have make an artificial binary choice.

Okay, that's enough white knighting for Bastian for now. I should probably go outside and touch some grass.

Treselegant · February 26

Isobel

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Mirri... I honestly don't mind her personality, it's her aversion to harvesting butterflies that grates on me. Sometimes when running along I like to harvest a butterfly or two, and I don't want to have to keep dismissing her for that. So I basically turned her into a healer, which I rarely need.

TheMajority wrote: »

Bastian.

Really passive aggressive and mean-spirited. He seems to savor belittling people. Don't find him "good" at all. Nagging others and controlling their actions isn't what I call good. (No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.)

I play what you might call "lawful good" characters, and I still can't stand his black-and-white thinking.

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

He has the bare bones of what could have been a good character but his shallow dialogue and bad attitude really kills what could have been complex and interesting.

How can someone interpret his personality as this. How is he passive aggressive, mean-spirited and likes to belittle people. He's like the opposite.

I think there's finding some companion traits irritating and then there's complete character misinterpretation. I'm going to be honest and say the whole comment gave me pause. I don't think what was said resembles the character at all.

TheMajority wrote: »

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

Companions don't exist to make the player feel inferior and if that is the feeling someone is getting from them then I don't know what to say really. There isn't anything in Bastian's dialogue to support this sort of reaction.

spartaxoxo · February 26

Ember

M1SHAAN wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

What dialogue do you consider annoying outside of stealing or killing? He doesn't really scold the player for anything else. Since I don't kill or steal when using him, I hardly ever hear negative dialogue from him.

I'm not the person you asked, but scrolling through his dialogue on UESP there are two main non-stealing-or-murdering-or-cheese scenarios where he has negative comments:

1. When you kill passive animals, he can say one of the following:
"Stop it! That's cruel and wasteful!"

"Do you place such little value on life?"

"You're going to eat that, right?"

These lines currently can fire in combat when you hit an animal on accident, which is certainly annoying. I think that's more an issue of bad programming and not a deliberate character choice though. Clearly the intention was to show that he cares about the wellbeing of animals and doesn't like it when people kill them just for funsies. Rather than nagging, I see it as analogous to irl getting upset when people are shooting pellet guns at stray cats and that sort of thing.

2. When you cast your ultimate. He can't decide whether he likes it or not:
"Now you're just showing off!"

"Do you think that might have been excessive?"

"That's it, partner! Give them everything you've got!"

This one does truly baffle me, and I have no idea what they were going for character-trait-wise, positive or negative. I could see saying the former two lines when you nuke a scamp with a meteor and the latter one during a boss battle, but it isn't programmed that way. This is particularly grating when you're casting a healing ultimate to save him from dying, because I can't think of a single reason why anyone would say the former lines in that case. Did the writer intend the lines to be lighthearted/teasing but the VA took them seriously? Were they trying to portray him as emasculated/threatened by how cool and awesome the Vestige is? If so, why didn't that show up in any of his other dialogue? He doesn't strike me as particularly insecure. Or maybe they intended to do the negative with small mobs / positive with bosses split like I suggested? If so, why didn't they actually do that? I just don't know.

Anyway. These two situations, while aggravating, don't take away from my personal appreciation for the character. I also still don't see anything I'd interpret as him acting holier-than-thou or not taking into consideration a person's circumstances. Actually, for the latter I'd say there's evidence of the opposite in how he found a solution with Tenarei Vels in his recruitment quest after he learned about her debt to the crime lord, rather than just screwing her over. Relatedly, I hate how often ESO quests railroad me into choosing option A or option B when there is probably a better solution in the middle. When I first did Bastian's recruitment quest I was sure they were going to have me siding with him or Tenarei, similar to how you could choose to save Mirri's brother or let him die. I was so happy when he and Tenarei worked something out and I didn't have make an artificial binary choice.

Okay, that's enough white knighting for Bastian for now. I should probably go outside and touch some grass.

For number 1, I think that falls under disliking killing since many people have no problem with hunting or eating meat, but if you just randomly started killing an animal for no discernable reason they'd react negatively. But I guess I hadn't really considered how sometimes the line is triggered accidentally. I have been annoyed by that in the past but I haven't heard the line in a while, so I forgot how easy it used to be to trigger accidentally. And then it's like I'm not even killing anyone who hasn't attacked me first Bastian, freaking chill. LOL

But number 2 is interesting as I had never considered those lines negative before. But now that I see it said, it seems so obvious. Thanks for the detailed explanation! It makes so much more sense now lol.

TheMajority · February 26

Bastian

Treselegant wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Mirri... I honestly don't mind her personality, it's her aversion to harvesting butterflies that grates on me. Sometimes when running along I like to harvest a butterfly or two, and I don't want to have to keep dismissing her for that. So I basically turned her into a healer, which I rarely need.

TheMajority wrote: »

Bastian.

Really passive aggressive and mean-spirited. He seems to savor belittling people. Don't find him "good" at all. Nagging others and controlling their actions isn't what I call good. (No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.)

I play what you might call "lawful good" characters, and I still can't stand his black-and-white thinking.

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

He has the bare bones of what could have been a good character but his shallow dialogue and bad attitude really kills what could have been complex and interesting.

How can someone interpret his personality as this. How is he passive aggressive, mean-spirited and likes to belittle people. He's like the opposite.

I think there's finding some companion traits irritating and then there's complete character misinterpretation. I'm going to be honest and say the whole comment gave me pause. I don't think what was said resembles the character at all.

TheMajority wrote: »

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

Companions don't exist to make the player feel inferior and if that is the feeling someone is getting from them then I don't know what to say really. There isn't anything in Bastian's dialogue to support this sort of reaction.

I didn't say I felt inferior. He acts superior to every other living thing he encounters. Every tiny mudcrab, every single person he kills, he shouts "they made their choices", as if any of these creatures could make a choice about anything. He has to feel morally superior over everything he encounters.

Meanwhile characters like Isobel actually hope the creatures she encounters find peace. She's not vengeful or spiteful in the same way he is, always taking out his issues on other people and creatures. He's the kind of person who pretends he's good, but inside, he's just not, and is bitter or taking his anger out on other people.

It's really sad that he can do this.

Well, at least I'm happy that I see this, and don't ever summon him so that he can't influence my gameplay. After all this thread is about who you personally think is the worst, not to convince someone else of your opinion. I don't care if others like him, it is okay with me, because it is your responsibility to not be influenced by his ways and behaviors.

I do not have to believe the same way you do. We can all be happy having our own views : ) After all, it's only our opinion, and that's what the poll asked. I don't get angry for other people having their own ways or try to control it like Bastian does when he yells at people for small things!

I am glad that I put him away for good because I do not want to become a person who tries to control others ways!

Treselegant · February 26

Isobel

TheMajority wrote: »

Treselegant wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Mirri... I honestly don't mind her personality, it's her aversion to harvesting butterflies that grates on me. Sometimes when running along I like to harvest a butterfly or two, and I don't want to have to keep dismissing her for that. So I basically turned her into a healer, which I rarely need.

TheMajority wrote: »

Bastian.

Really passive aggressive and mean-spirited. He seems to savor belittling people. Don't find him "good" at all. Nagging others and controlling their actions isn't what I call good. (No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.)

I play what you might call "lawful good" characters, and I still can't stand his black-and-white thinking.

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

He has the bare bones of what could have been a good character but his shallow dialogue and bad attitude really kills what could have been complex and interesting.

How can someone interpret his personality as this. How is he passive aggressive, mean-spirited and likes to belittle people. He's like the opposite.

I think there's finding some companion traits irritating and then there's complete character misinterpretation. I'm going to be honest and say the whole comment gave me pause. I don't think what was said resembles the character at all.

TheMajority wrote: »

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

Companions don't exist to make the player feel inferior and if that is the feeling someone is getting from them then I don't know what to say really. There isn't anything in Bastian's dialogue to support this sort of reaction.

I didn't say I felt inferior. He acts superior to every other living thing he encounters. Every tiny mudcrab, every single person he kills, he shouts "they made their choices", as if any of these creatures could make a choice about anything. He has to feel morally superior over everything he encounters.

He's the kind of person who pretends he's good, but inside, he's just not, and is bitter or taking his anger out on other people.

It's really sad that he can do this.

When you get the "they made their choices - so be it" dialogue that is in relation to finishing a fight with a hostile. It means 'they' (the hostile: man, mer or beast) made the choice to fight you and not run away so if they die during the fight that it is a choice that they made. It's not anything to do with morally judging them.

As for the rest...I'm just not grasping what you're getting at sorry. I've read your post more than once now and I still have no idea what you're on about.

Hate away I guess but I imagine quite a few of us reading, who use this particular companion all the time, are left scratching our heads at your criticisms. Which is why you've had a few responses.

spartaxoxo · February 26

Ember

I actually do agree that Bastian comes across as someone who's angry. I think he has a right to be given his story quest. He has been getting mistreated since he very little. But, I can see how someone can see that latent anger in Bastian and think he comes across callous with his "They made their choices, so be it" line.

I see it more along the lines of "They chose to attack me, so this is the outcome. That wasn't my choice it was theirs" type of sentiment. But I can see how it would be more viewed as a "They deserve to die," type line instead. Bastian definitely has no sympathy for bandits, cultists, etc.

amig186 · February 26

Bastian

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I actually do agree that Bastian comes across as someone who's angry. I think he has a right to be given his story quest. He has been getting mistreated since he very little. But, I can see how someone can see that latent anger in Bastian and think he comes across callous with his "They made their choices, so be it" line.

I see it more along the lines of "They chose to attack me, so this is the outcome. That wasn't my choice it was theirs" type of sentiment. But I can see how it would be more viewed as a "They deserve to die," type line instead. Bastian definitely has no sympathy for bandits, cultists, etc.

He also yells 'No Remorse!' during combat, but it's hard to tell if it's a clue to his pitiless nature or a Motörhead reference.

M1SHAAN · February 26

Isobel

I have returned. The grass was nice, but it didn't have much to say when I asked it how it felt about the ESO companions, so now I'm back here.

amig186 wrote: »

He also yells 'No Remorse!' during combat, but it's hard to tell if it's a clue to his pitiless nature or a Motörhead reference.

I interpret that quote differently (though idk if it's a reference or not). Bastian abhors murder, but combat in ESO is kill or be killed. I think Bastian saying "No remorse!" at the start of combat is him reassuring himself that the violence he is committing is necessary. The time for diplomacy and compromise is over; if he hesitates or falters due to remorse for the pain and death he is inflicting, he'll end up dead. He no longer has the choice to avoid violence, so he cannot despair at the ugliness of his actions.

It is worth noting that Bastian does struggle with his more fiery nature. He can get caught up in the thrill of fighting (for example his starting combat line "A fight? Good!"), and he has a lot of difficulty articulating himself when he's upset. There's an interesting conflict between the moral, kind person he wants to be and the rage that overwhelms him sometimes. Incidentally, this sort of internal conflict has been explored in other media (see e.g. Taming the Dragon by Brad Mehldau, I don't think I can link it because it contains expletives).
In any case, is his difficulty controlling his temper a character flaw? Sure, but he isn't pitiless.

TheMajority · February 26

Bastian

Treselegant wrote: »

TheMajority wrote: »

Treselegant wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Mirri... I honestly don't mind her personality, it's her aversion to harvesting butterflies that grates on me. Sometimes when running along I like to harvest a butterfly or two, and I don't want to have to keep dismissing her for that. So I basically turned her into a healer, which I rarely need.

TheMajority wrote: »

Bastian.

Really passive aggressive and mean-spirited. He seems to savor belittling people. Don't find him "good" at all. Nagging others and controlling their actions isn't what I call good. (No, I'm not talking about murder or theft. In general, this companion is annoying even when you avoid those activities, which I do.)

I play what you might call "lawful good" characters, and I still can't stand his black-and-white thinking.

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

He has the bare bones of what could have been a good character but his shallow dialogue and bad attitude really kills what could have been complex and interesting.

How can someone interpret his personality as this. How is he passive aggressive, mean-spirited and likes to belittle people. He's like the opposite.

I think there's finding some companion traits irritating and then there's complete character misinterpretation. I'm going to be honest and say the whole comment gave me pause. I don't think what was said resembles the character at all.

TheMajority wrote: »

He seems to have a "I'm GOOD so I'm soooo much better than YOU." attitude that doesn't take into account the circumstances of others or what they have been through.

Companions don't exist to make the player feel inferior and if that is the feeling someone is getting from them then I don't know what to say really. There isn't anything in Bastian's dialogue to support this sort of reaction.

I didn't say I felt inferior. He acts superior to every other living thing he encounters. Every tiny mudcrab, every single person he kills, he shouts "they made their choices", as if any of these creatures could make a choice about anything. He has to feel morally superior over everything he encounters.

He's the kind of person who pretends he's good, but inside, he's just not, and is bitter or taking his anger out on other people.

It's really sad that he can do this.

When you get the "they made their choices - so be it" dialogue that is in relation to finishing a fight with a hostile. It means 'they' (the hostile: man, mer or beast) made the choice to fight you and not run away so if they die during the fight that it is a choice that they made. It's not anything to do with morally judging them.

As for the rest...I'm just not grasping what you're getting at sorry. I've read your post more than once now and I still have no idea what you're on about.

Hate away I guess but I imagine quite a few of us reading, who use this particular companion all the time, are left scratching our heads at your criticisms. Which is why you've had a few responses.

It's moral judgments from my perspective because actually most times you are attacking somebody else first in truth rarely does a creature or mob aggro first always it is you and your companion who is making the choice to attack. So I see this line as him judging the choice they made in life as "bad and they deserve to die for choosing a different moral path". Which shows to me his lack of sympathetic thought towards other living beings and their circumstance.

I don't hate him a different opinion and interpretation is not hatred, this is a strong word that I don't think is correct for my feelings. I think he is the worst companion but I don't feel hatred for him, just feel sorry for him that he can't be a better person and get over his anger at everyone. Even with a bad past, you should not project your anger to others because then you become the thing you wanted to avoid. And I don't keep him around because he is a negative person.

Not liking him does not mean hate. People can have a different feeling about something without hatred : ) It is only discussion. I like to read different Analisys based on my thoughts. I do not know why difference in thought is always considered 'hate' when no such emotion is involved.

Very subject to interpretation.

Also cultural background because in my country his behaviors are very very rude behaviors and he would be considered a very crass person who needs to learn humbleness and not demand things of others.