New Companions

sshogrin

When they announced the new companions on the live stream, it came off like it was going to be a part of the new chapter Gold Road. I was under the influence that it would be like all the other companions and there would be quests to get them in West Weald.
If the new companions are going to be behind a pay wall (Crown Store), then the new companions should be leveled up completely, the rapport should be maxed out also. Having to pay for them, then go through their story quests and max them out is kind of janky.
I understand they're "free" for Plus accounts, but they should be part of the West Weald chapter. The previous companions were part of the chapter they were released with, why not these latest 2?
We also need another quick wheel to account for the new companions. We need a Companion wheel and an Assistant wheel.

sunsrest

yeah agree it's a sketchy decision, also still no word on the crown price right? how much do you think they will be? 2000 each?

Syldras

sunsrest wrote: »

yeah agree it's a sketchy decision, also still no word on the crown price right? how much do you think they will be? 2000 each?

Are they even sold seperately? I think I saw someone online (can't remember whether here or at some other forum or reddit) mentioning it was a bundle? I can't check it, I don't have PTS installed right now.

sshogrin

Syldras wrote: »

sunsrest wrote: »

yeah agree it's a sketchy decision, also still no word on the crown price right? how much do you think they will be? 2000 each?

Are they even sold seperately? I think I saw someone online (can't remember whether here or at some other forum or reddit) mentioning it was a bundle? I can't check it, I don't have PTS installed right now.

On PTS they have them as bundle and as separate.
I don't mind leveling them up if they're totally free to Gold Road owners and you go find them like the other companions, but if I have to pay for it on a non-Plus account, they should come fully leveled out with full rapport on all characters.

Necrotech_Master

when i saw promotional stuff for gold road there was never any indication that the companions were included, or even related to gold road

reading about them on PTS, neither one is related to west weald at all, and neither even appears in the zone of west weald (i think the necromancer companion is in reapers march)

i dont know why people were assuming they were related to gold road since it was explicitly stated they would be coming in the Q4 major update (which since last year has not been related to the chapter release)

Syldras

sshogrin wrote: »

I don't mind leveling them up if they're totally free to Gold Road owners and you go find them like the other companions, but if I have to pay for it on a non-Plus account, they should come fully leveled out with full rapport on all characters.

I read that some people do enjoy the levelling game. I personally don't when it comes to levels, but am fine with rapport, because that's more of a roleplay/narration thing to me - my character wants to slowly develop a friendship with them after meeting them as a stranger. But for that, it's not important if they already have fighting skills - actually it's even a good question why they all start at level 1. They might have been fighting before, after all, so actually having them start with an individual, different level would actually make more sense story-wise.

In my opinion, everyone who owns Gold Road should get the companions for free, ESO+ or not. Just like before, as companions had always been part of the chapter.

Syldras

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i dont know why people were assuming they were related to gold road since it was explicitly stated they would be coming in the Q4 major update (which since last year has not been related to the chapter release)

I don't know the exact wording right now, but I think it said the companions were "delayed", which sounded that there was still some bug fixing or something like that to do, not that they plan to sell them as separate items.

BlueRaven

Their stories seem entirely divorced from Gold Road, I suspect this might be the way forward so players who get future zones via grandfathering into the base game, do not get the companions too.

(Still annoyed they gave us a second kahjiit before nord, orc, or bosmer.)

Necrotech_Master

Syldras wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i dont know why people were assuming they were related to gold road since it was explicitly stated they would be coming in the Q4 major update (which since last year has not been related to the chapter release)

I don't know the exact wording right now, but I think it said the companions were "delayed", which sounded that there was still some bug fixing or something like that to do, not that they plan to sell them as separate items.

i dont remember it saying that, even the original "content roadmaps" back from january were suggesting the companions were going to be Q4, there was no wording saying they were delayed or in any way related to gold road

i think theres been a lot of misreading or misinterpretation of what was presented

Syldras

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i dont remember it saying that, even the original "content roadmaps" back from january were suggesting the companions were going to be Q4, there was no wording saying they were delayed or in any way related to gold road
i think theres been a lot of misreading or misinterpretation of what was presented

I don't have much time to search right now, but I found this news article (although I don't know how reliable it is, and unfortunately it doesn't link to sources):
"Ever since their inclusion, each new chapter has added two to the roster. It's a bit different this time, however. ZeniMax wanted to focus on the main story first and foremost, so 2024's companions were delayed to Q4."
https://www.thegamer.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-gold-road-companions-late-2024/

And I just see this, which might even be more interesting:
"u/M1shaaa:Hi! I have a few companion-related questions. Firstly, why are the companions releasing in Q4 instead of with the chapter? Will players need to own Gold Road or some other DLC to unlock the companions, or will they be available with the base game?
Secondly, are there any plans to add more content to the older companions? Bastian and Mirri both only have two quests and don't have their letters as furnishings. They also don't have as much companion dialogue, which I think contributes majorly to many people's dislike of Bastian in particular (which as a Bastian stan I find simply unacceptable!). If he had some shorter lines mixed in with the long winded philosophizing about cities that'd be cool
u/ZOS_RichLambert:I touched on some of this in another question - basically it boils down to time and resources. For the companions being moved to U44, it just came down to available time. We decided to push the companions out to U44 so that they could get the level of polish they needed."
Source: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/General:Official_Gold_Road_&_Update_42_AUA

Necrotech_Master

Syldras wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i dont remember it saying that, even the original "content roadmaps" back from january were suggesting the companions were going to be Q4, there was no wording saying they were delayed or in any way related to gold road
i think theres been a lot of misreading or misinterpretation of what was presented

I don't have much time to search right now, but I found this news article (although I don't know how reliable it is, and unfortunately it doesn't link to sources):
"Ever since their inclusion, each new chapter has added two to the roster. It's a bit different this time, however. ZeniMax wanted to focus on the main story first and foremost, so 2024's companions were delayed to Q4."
https://www.thegamer.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-gold-road-companions-late-2024/

And I just see this, which might even be more interesting:
"u/M1shaaa:Hi! I have a few companion-related questions. Firstly, why are the companions releasing in Q4 instead of with the chapter? Will players need to own Gold Road or some other DLC to unlock the companions, or will they be available with the base game?
Secondly, are there any plans to add more content to the older companions? Bastian and Mirri both only have two quests and don't have their letters as furnishings. They also don't have as much companion dialogue, which I think contributes majorly to many people's dislike of Bastian in particular (which as a Bastian stan I find simply unacceptable!). If he had some shorter lines mixed in with the long winded philosophizing about cities that'd be cool
u/ZOS_RichLambert:I touched on some of this in another question - basically it boils down to time and resources. For the companions being moved to U44, it just came down to available time. We decided to push the companions out to U44 so that they could get the level of polish they needed."
Source: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/General:Official_Gold_Road_&_Update_42_AUA

i didnt really follow the AUA, but saying that it was delayed just means they chose to release it later, its unlikely the companions would have released any differently than they are now

just saying its delayed does not imply that it was part of the gold road content, its very likely they could have been implemented the same as now through the crown store (which i could see there being more of a stink about it if they were released alongside gold road in the same manner they are currently being released)

i dont know when this was last updated, but i know it still doesnt have any info for U43 and U44 outside of high level info (even though U43 has been out for about a month now, i cant find a post relating to this from this year cause the forum search is bleh) https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/roadmap

the other information i found was https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/650191/one-stop-shop-welcome-to-the-elder-scrolls-online-gold-road

this has the VOD for the ESO global reveal earlier this year for gold road, this was from january, and it went over most of the new stuff that was going to be in gold road, i believe this mentions the scions of ithelia dlc (U41), the west weald, scribing, but nothing about companions (would have to rewatch that VOD to remember everything that it talked about), but this was back from january

i would think that if companions were going to be a part of gold road, i think they would have at least talked about or mentioned them in that, but i dont think there was any mention of companions

AzuraFan

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

just saying its delayed does not imply that it was part of the gold road content...

I think it does. Up to that point, companions had always been released as part of the chapters. Then they said, well, we're delaying the companions until Q4 to get them right. Delaying/pushing to/moved to/whatever implies that they were originally scheduled to be released as part of Gold Road, otherwise what are they being delayed from, or pushed from, or moved from? So really, it was reasonable to think that the companions would be free to Gold Road owners.

I don't have skin in this game because I have ESO+ so I'm getting them for free. If I wasn't, I'd be upset because I do have Gold Road.

Honestly, I think they were probably going to be free and then someone decided to charge for them. It think it's doubly insulting given that they charged AAA price for Gold Road, which had less content than previous chapters. The least they could have done was given Gold Road owners the companions for no charge.

Necrotech_Master

AzuraFan wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

just saying its delayed does not imply that it was part of the gold road content...

I think it does. Up to that point, companions had always been released as part of the chapters. Then they said, well, we're delaying the companions until Q4 to get them right. Delaying/pushing to/moved to/whatever implies that they were originally scheduled to be released as part of Gold Road, otherwise what are they being delayed from, or pushed from, or moved from? So really, it was reasonable to think that the companions would be free to Gold Road owners.

I don't have skin in this game because I have ESO+ so I'm getting them for free. If I wasn't, I'd be upset because I do have Gold Road.

Honestly, I think they were probably going to be free and then someone decided to charge for them. It think it's doubly insulting given that they charged AAA price for Gold Road, which had less content than previous chapters. The least they could have done was given Gold Road owners the companions for no charge.

i dont think it does, just because they have been part of a chapter before does not mean zos has to continue that

assuming everything continues the same results is almost a gamblers fallacy

in all the promotional and preview material for gold road, companions were never mentioned so in my point of view they were going to be their own thing anyway, regardless of when they released

as i noted, just them saying they were delaying them means they could have planned to release them in the crown store earlier, or alongside U43 (theres a whole lot of context missing from their statement in the AUA)

since the new companions stories have nothing to do with gold road, and they arent even located in west weald, i dont think they were ever planned to be part of gold road release (since otherwise their stories would be integral to gold road and located in west weald, a "slight delay to iron them out" wouldnt mean "rewrite their whole questlines to be non-gold road related")

Erickson9610

I think it's a good thing that new Companions don't have to be related to the zone of that year's Chapter. Finally, Companions can be found anywhere in Tamriel — except past DLC zones, presumably.

We might get a Nord Companion in Eastmarch or The Rift, if they're not included in some Chapter which takes place in Central Skyrim. It's unlikely that future Companions may be located in Western Skyrim or The Reach, however.

Syldras

AzuraFan wrote: »

Then they said, well, we're delaying the companions until Q4 to get them right. Delaying/pushing to/moved to/whatever implies that they were originally scheduled to be released as part of Gold Road, otherwise what are they being delayed from, or pushed from, or moved from?

Exactly, it's in the wording.

Also, another part of the AUA question was whether companions are part of Gold Road or will be released as a part of the base game or with a new little story dlc. It was completely ignored in the answer. I asked a quite similar question in the forum once (must have been last January or February), even got a mod reply, but that part was also not answered.

It would have been fair to tell us just to clarify and to avoid false expectations, if it indeed had always been the plan to sell the new companions through the store.

MrGarlic

This is the sort of thing that happens when you invite marketing to sit in on development planning meetings.

LikiLoki

Selling companions is a logical decision, I'm surprised they were slow to do it. But balance is important in everything.It was right to give the first comrade-in-arms for free, and sell the second assistant.

Syldras

LikiLoki wrote: »

Selling companions is a logical decision, I'm surprised they were slow to do it. But balance is important in everything.It was right to give the first comrade-in-arms for free, and sell the second assistant.

I see they want to make money after they noticed that there are a lot of people who really enjoy this type of content, but how is that "logical" and "right" and what does it have to do with "balance"? With that reasoning, every part of the game could be put into the store and sold separately (new card decks, new Archive levels, why not even access to delves, they've already presented delves to the playerbase in earlier chapters, after all).

Jim_Pipp

Update 43 was the housing update, and update 44 the pvp and companions update.

If update 43 had ONLY been more houses for sale it would have been offensively misleading (instead of just disappointing).

I understand the pvp update of 44 is also controversial, but the companions bit is ONLY two more for sale.

I'm waiting till they release to theorise about why Zos have changed their release pattern to monetize companions, but I am offended that they are making money without investing in the system. Any companion improvements in the patch notes would take the sting out of this change.

There are frequent requests for companion improvements, important stuff like AI and combat position, or balancing some abilities and gear (augmented is near useless, but if it increased companions xp gains it would have some value). Easy stuff like a mythic that enhances companions (will only be used in overland, so automatically balanced), or of course companions having more cosmetic options. I would love a mythic that lets me have two companions, one wearing the minotaur polymorph, the other the werewolf lord.

FlopsyPrince

All previous companions were part of the release. Thus any change is a change and unexpected until it happens.

I find it very reasonable to think someone in ZOS marketing thought this was a way to sneak the change through, known many would argue on these forums that it is to be expected even though it was not. You don't expect a pattern with no previous deviations to change without some indication of that change. They clearly just made it fuzzy, not clear, but some replying here act like it was completely to be expected.

ZOS can do what it wants, but selling Gold Road for full price is dubious given what it gave.

Syldras

Actually players should reward such a behaviour with not claiming the companions at all. I know, won't happen. And even if it did, I'm not sure whether the message would be understood.

MidniteOwl1913

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

All previous companions were part of the release. Thus any change is a change and unexpected until it happens.

I find it very reasonable to think someone in ZOS marketing thought this was a way to sneak the change through, known many would argue on these forums that it is to be expected even though it was not. You don't expect a pattern with no previous deviations to change without some indication of that change. They clearly just made it fuzzy, not clear, but some replying here act like it was completely to be expected.

ZOS can do what it wants, but selling Gold Road for full price is dubious given what it gave.

Yes, paid for companions is one of the many reasons Gold Road feels like the bargain basement version of a zone.

ADarklore

They already have the ability to have tokens that increase your skill line leveling- Fighters, Mages, Undaunted... so why not sell a token in Crown Store that offers Companion leveling and offer additional tokens for completely leveling their skill lines. It'd be a win/win for ZOS. Although, I'm sure players would be unhappy with having to PAY for 'convenience' but I don't know of any other MMO that doesn't force players to pay for said convenience. MMOs need a constant revenue stream, and ZOS said years ago that subscriptions doesn't even cover their overhead... and we have a company wanting profits and investors expecting a return on their investment.

BetweenMidgets

We get it @Necrotech_Master , in EVERY thread that has come out mentioning the confusion with companions, you are here tooting the "Why would you think that? I certainly didn't think that" horn.

I would say the VAST majority of the player base believed they were to be included with the chapter because of MANY reasons MANY people have outlined. Surely you can think, "Yeah, I can see how they were misled, that is unfortunate."

I wish we all were as wise as you to see through the ZoS obfuscation, but we were not. (This is legitimately not a dig, I truly wish we had all been as wise. However, we are definitely learning)

I hadn't kept up with the AUA either, so Rich's response is VERY interesting indeed.

Necrotech_Master

BetweenMidgets wrote: »

We get it @Necrotech_Master , in EVERY thread that has come out mentioning the confusion with companions, you are here tooting the "Why would you think that? I certainly didn't think that" horn.

I would say the VAST majority of the player base believed they were to be included with the chapter because of MANY reasons MANY people have outlined. Surely you can think, "Yeah, I can see how they were misled, that is unfortunate."

I wish we all were as wise as you to see through the ZoS obfuscation, but we were not. (This is legitimately not a dig, I truly wish we had all been as wise. However, we are definitely learning)

I hadn't kept up with the AUA either, so Rich's response is VERY interesting indeed.

i usually try to go more off of the promotional material, if that doesnt say we are getting something, i dont expect to get it (the promotional material HAS to be accurate because of legal reasons)

end of the day its still what zos decided to happen, always going to be, which is why i just take things as they happen and make the best of it

i get why people would be frustrated, since this is the first time they would be offering companions in the store, but to be honest i dont see how they are at all different from assistants aside from them having like 3-4 of their own quests (unlock + rapport quests), its barely even a storyline, but they do start to skirt the line of pay2win items

Nharimlur_Finor

sunsrest wrote: »

yeah agree it's a sketchy decision, also still no word on the crown price right? how much do you think they will be? 2000 each?

At least 5000 would seem logical.

After all, the range of assistants (bankers etc) with a lesser range of utility are currently priced at 5000.
Otherwise they might need to reduce the prices of the assistant range.

TaSheen

Syldras wrote: »

Actually players should reward such a behaviour with not claiming the companions at all. I know, won't happen. And even if it did, I'm not sure whether the message would be understood.

Well.... I won't touch them. I hate sidekicks, I don't care that they're "free" (more or less....)

SilverBride

I'm not claiming them even though I am ESO plus, but not because they are not part of the chapter. I actually prefer it that way. I just do not like anything about them.

Nerouyn

LaintalAy wrote: »

sunsrest wrote: »

yeah agree it's a sketchy decision, also still no word on the crown price right? how much do you think they will be? 2000 each?

At least 5000 would seem logical.

After all, the range of assistants (bankers etc) with a lesser range of utility are currently priced at 5000.
Otherwise they might need to reduce the prices of the assistant range.

The equivalent of $50 per companion? I can imagine all of the appalling live service games headlines now.

I still haven't finished the grind for existing companions and while they're useful in combat, their incessant nagging made me mute all voice dialog. Only way to shut them up.

I don't think there's much chance of me paying $50 each for more.

Nharimlur_Finor

Nerouyn wrote: »

LaintalAy wrote: »

sunsrest wrote: »

yeah agree it's a sketchy decision, also still no word on the crown price right? how much do you think they will be? 2000 each?

At least 5000 would seem logical.

After all, the range of assistants (bankers etc) with a lesser range of utility are currently priced at 5000.
Otherwise they might need to reduce the prices of the assistant range.

The equivalent of $50 per companion? I can imagine all of the appalling live service games headlines now.

I still haven't finished the grind for existing companions and while they're useful in combat, their incessant nagging made me mute all voice dialog. Only way to shut them up.

I don't think there's much chance of me paying $50 each for more.

The point I'm making is that the 'assistants' are 5000 now.
They are less value than companion (as I see it).

Therefore, a semi-autonomous companion should be more expensive than a follower-with-a-function.
If companions are crown-stored at 5000 or less, then the assitants are due for a huge cut to reflect the difference in use.

That needs to be balanced against the fact that a lot of current players will have paid 5000 for their assistants already...

Syldras

LaintalAy wrote: »

The point I'm making is that the 'assistants' are 5000 now.
They are less value than companion (as I see it).
Therefore, a semi-autonomous companion should be more expensive than a follower-with-a-function.
If companions are crown-stored at 5000 or less, then the assitants are due for a huge cut to reflect the difference in use.

I don't think it's about functionality but more about what people are willing to pay. Look at the prices for unfurnished houses. It's just a place, and if you don't add furniture, there's no real functionality at all. Still they are the most expensive items in the store.