Improving On ESO S01E02) Companions And Companion Ideas Also A Voting Poll

Heromofo · May 2015

☆ Introduction

Companions have become a big part of the elder scrolls series as AI grows we find ourselfs attached to them.
It got to the point where you started to have families and family shops so we started to get even more attached to the games. Some of us found ourselves logging in just to vist our houses and family. Now how do we replicate that feeling into ESO well as in part 1 it starts with player housing and guild halls.

But it has to go further so whats next well it is companions and to do this you need a way to bring them in.

☆ Season 1

Spoiler

Season 1 starts here:
S01E01
Player Housing And Guild Hall Ideas
S01E02
Companion Ideas
S01E03
Small Scale PVP
S01E04
Subscription And The Crown store
S01E05
Auction House,Phone App And Account Wide Stats
S01E06 Bonus Round
A Video From A Fan

☆ Season 2

Spoiler

Season 2 starts here
S02E01
Gambling,Quick Swapping For Consoles And Mini Games
S02E02
Elder Scrolls Lore Friendly Holidays,Hit Feedback And Npc Idle chat/Motions
S02E03
A New Mobile Forum, Treasure Maps And Cross faction LFG
S02E04
Racial Passives,Flying mounts, First Person Riding And Mounted Combat
S02E05
Naval Combat,Underwater Diving And Treasure Hunting Concept

☆ Season 3

Spoiler

Season 3 starts here
S03E01
Parkour In ESO, Prisons In ESO, Pc-Console And Vice Versa And A Bloodier ESO
S03E02
Over-Encumbrance,Tweaks to the LFG And Small Life Changes
S03E03
Transmorgrifier, Summon A Vendor For ESO Subscribers And Children
S03E04
Underbelly Of ESO,Pet Accessories And A Need To Rest
S03E05
Repeatable Content,Daily Rewards And Solo Content

☆ Season 4

Spoiler

S04E01
Skeltons,Armor Damage And Unarmed Combat
S04E02
Loading Screen Makeover,Difficulty Slider And PVE Currency
S04E03
Custom Name Plates,Emblems,Show Titles And Names,Preview Armors And Weapons, Asia And Oceanic Mega Servers And Crafting - Experience
S04E04
Crafting Titles/Titles,Inspecting Players,Connecting Characters,Achivement Slots And World Bosses
S04E05
Festivals,Feminine Armor,Traps/Puzzles And Racial Walking

☆ Season 5

Spoiler

Season 5 starts here
S05E01
Class Specialization,Alchemy Improvements,Hide Armor,Party Assistance And Bigger Armor

☆ Gidorick's Repository Of brillant Ideas

Spoiler

Environmental Concepts:

UI Concepts:

Game Systems:

Player Options & Items and Systems:

Crown Store/ ESO+ Centric Concepts:

Silly odds and ends:

☆ Some Music While You Read

https://youtu.be/2-lGevvO2vw

☆ Heromofo's Version Of A Companion And How They Would Work

Spoiler

☆ Possible Companion If This Path Is Chosen.

Name: Deshaan Wildfire
Race: Brenton
Sex: Female
Class: mage
Personality: Has a pure hatered for all things evil but will use what ever she has at her disposal to fight it. Even if she must turn to evil to fight it.

Background: At a young age of 14 she watched her mother get taken in the night. It took her all night following her mother's screams to find her. Until she found her corpse surrounded by vampires. As they started to come for her she felt a surge of power running through her as she watched the vampires been lit on fire. Only to look down and see that the fire was comming from her. Ever since then she has sought evil and destroyed it by any means.

Players will hear of Deshaan through a town wanderer (main cities) who heard you may be looking for fighters and for 10 gold he may be able to put you on the right track.

After paying the 10 gold:

He will then tell you about a powerful mage that was last seen camping around (area ZOS chooses).

So you make your way there and after exploring the area. You will come across her camp.

Werewolf/vampire talking to her:

Deshaan: I can see the evil inside you but it does not control you.
Player: Yes i am in control of my power
Deshaan and i wish for you to join me.

Normal player:

Deshaan: Are you lost stranger?
Player: actually i have been looking for you Deshaan.
Deshaan: Really and why would you do something as silly as that?.
Player: Im looking for fighters like yourself to help me set the world right.

After Intro

Deshaan: Now why would you want that? How do you know i simply won't kill you right now?.
Player: Because of who and what i fight you would consider them evil.
Deshaan: well proof yourself to me first and i may consider such a thing.
Deshaan: down this path there lays a vampire nest I have been tracking. Show me your strength and willingness to do what is needed by killing all that lurks inside.

After the conversation the player makes their way to the cave and enters. A figure stands in front of you and wishes to speak.

Maya Wildfire: Please wait traveler before you harm my flock. I know you have spoken to my daughter.
Player: Deshaan is your daughter?
Maya Wildfire: Yes in another life time she was. When she was young she witnessed me been turned by vampires. When she found out i was not dead but turned. She started hunting me thinking that i am not her mother but an evil being in her mothers body.

vampire/werewolf: I can understand this but i need her skills so what happens now?

Normal: why are you telling me this Maya?

Maya Wildfire: well you have a choice. You can kill me and my flock and my daughter will be thankful you did what she could not. Or if you spare my flock and kill my daughter then i shall join you in return.

If they choose to partner with maya:

Player: Consider her dealt with but i expect loyalty from my fighters.
Maya Wildfire: Dont worry you will have my loyalty and my power at your disposal.

After going back to Deshaan
Deshaan: is it done?
Player: almost (attack deshaan)

Returns to Maya
Maya Wildfire: i heard the screams it would of been easier if she just joined me.
Player: well now you have a choice will you honor your deal?
Maya Wildfire:
Yes you have my loyalty, So then where shall we begin?

Maya joins the hero instead of Deshaan.

If the player chooses Deshaan

Player: I am sorry Maya but i plan to honor your daughters wish (attack Maya)

After killing her the player clears the tunnel of her flock and returns to Deshaan.

Deshaan: its done then?
Player: yes it is and i am sorry i know she was your mother.
Deshaan: No she was an empty shell filled with an evil. My mother died when i was a young girl but thank you for your concern.
Player: will you join me Deshaan?
Deshaan: yes you have proven yourself to me and i want to help you.

Deshaan joins the player over Maya.

☆ How will they work

The ai pathing and combat is already in the game with the sorc pets.

Q. But won't this upset the sorc players?
A. no because they can still have their pets out as well as their companion.
I personally think it will make sorcs even stronger but also companions wont be any sronger than the pets already in.

Q. So everyone can walk around with the same companion out?
A. Well no because there would be customization options.
1) taking your companion to a barbershop will let you change anything besides race and voice.
2) you will put gear on them exactly like you would for your own characters.

Q.How would levels and skills work with them?
A. Their level is based off yours and for the skills each companion will have a certain skill tree made up of different abilities in the game and passives depending on what ZOS wants for each one.

Q. So how many points will they get?
A. Well it would depend on what zos wants but they cannot be stronger than a sorcs pet already in the game so as long as that balances out.

Q. So what happens to my companion if i swap to another one?.
A. They will simply go back to your housing area and wait for you there.

Q. So where would we be able to use them?
A. That is up to ZOS but i would recommend only in single player content so no group content bar craglorn type content and pvp.

Q. What Reason would ZOS have for doing this?
A. Well simply put they could easily set up companions for sale in the crown store. Where you would buy their quest line or choose to use one of the starters if you choose.

☆ Gidorick's Version Of Companions And How They Should Work

Spoiler

Within ESO, there already exists the mechanic for an NPC to follow and fight alongside the player. There also exist quests where the player is able to choose the type of companion that follows them. Using these already established systems, ZOS should allow players to hire Mercenaries and have NPC characters tag along with them on their missions. Expanding the functionality to include different types of Mercenaries could offer a robust mechanic for groups and single players alike.

Who Will You Hire?

Player’s, starting at level 10, should be given the option to hire Companion Mercs to accompany them on their adventures. This accompaniment should extend to all areas of play. They should also fill group slots, fulfilling the grouping requirement for dungeons.

The better the Companion Merc a player would like to hire, the more expensive they will be. The Merc would ideally be leveled to the player, which would make the most sense within the mechanics of the game. Level 10 Mercs could start 50 gold per hour and increase per level to a level 50 Merc that costs around 1,000 gold per hour.

Being designed by ZOS, Companion Mercs could have interesting personalities and conversation trees to give them to continue their employment or to dismiss them. ZOS could also create a random Companion generator that created the Companion Merc on the fly as the player requested them. Both have benefits and I don’t think either is one necessarily better than the other.

Basic Interaction:

The player shouldn’t have the ability to outfit the Companion Merc. They also shouldn’t be able to access the Merc’s inventory. If the Merc is the type that gathers items for the player, the player should have the option to take the gathered items, but it should be a one way transaction. There shouldn’t be any circumstance in which the player needs to give the Companion Mercenary any items.

When a player speaks with a Companion Merc they should be given the option to dismiss the Companion, chat with the Companion, and take the items they’ve collected (if applicable).

Casually conversing with a Merc could allow the player to learn more about the character and could even possibly open a quest line that would be specific to that Mercenary.

When a Companion’s time is up, that Merc stops where they are and should not move any further, should not take part in any combat, and should ignored by enemies. Perhaps they cycle through some passive emote such as /juggleflame, /read, or /eatbread. The player will have to speak with the Merc to re-hire them for another hour or so. When hiring Companion Mercs from the Merchants or extending the hiring period in the field, players should have the option of hiring them in 1 hour increments for up to 5 hours at a time. If a player leaves an expired Merc behind, the Merc disappears and the player must visit the appropriate Merchant to hire another.

Archetype Companions:

Initially these hirable Companions Mercs would include the three archetypes.
TANK: NPC that run toward the fray and will pull the aggression of the mobs
HEALER: NPC that will cast protection and restoration spells on the player
DPS: NPC that will deal quick, consistent damage on the target
These Archetype Companions could be hirable from the two main Guilds that exist within ESO, the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild. Once the player selects the specific Merc type they wish to hire they could be given a random Merc from a small pool of ZOS designed faction appropriate Archetype Companions. In this way a Redguard would never end up with an Argonian Companion.

This would be a great place to either start or stop the concept. Let’s go a bit further into some expanded ideas…

Narrative Companions:

Certain NPCs that aren’t killed off in the story could be available as Narrative Companions. It would have been awesome to have Lyris Titanborn continue to run around with me for a time as I went on quests throughout Tamriel. These Narrative Companions could function much in the same way as the Archetype Companions, with their usefulness being specific to combat.

The pricing structure could be the same as Archetype Companions or it could vary by the Character. Perhaps some Narrative Characters will join you for free but only for a limited amount of time. Perhaps some are only available an hour at a time and ask for a larger amount of gold for each subsequent hour. The Hiring circumstances could be as varied as their personalities.

Skilled Companions:

In addition to the Archetype Companions and Narrative Companions, ZOS could offer a myriad of other types of Skilled Companions:

Skilled Companions could cost less and be with the player for longer durations than the Archetype and Narrative Companions. They could still help out in combat, but they shouldn’t be nearly as effective as a similarly leveled Archetype Companion.

Types of Skilled Companions:
HERBALIST: Will gather reagents if within a radius depending on their level
TILLER: Will gather clothier raw materials within a radius depending on their level
PROSPECTOR: Will gather ore within a radius depending on their level
DIVINER: Will gather runes within a radius depending on their level
CULINARIAN: Will gather provisions within a radius depending on their level
LOGGER: Will gather wood within a radius depending on their level
SCHOLAR: NPCs that gathers books within a radius depending on their level
SQUIRE: Will gather items from dead mobs
BARD: Will play a selection of songs while you adventure
LOCKSMITH: A master lockpick that will open chests for you
These Skilled Companions should be leveled to the character for combat purposes and their respective skill in their profession should be comparable to their overall level. All Skilled Companions that gather items would have an additional option when they are spoken to which would allow the player to accept the items the Skilled Companion has gathered.

To gather the material, the Skilled Companion need not actually go through the animation to gather the material. Having this requirement would pretty much defeat the purpose of these Companions. As the player runs around the world the Skilled Companion’s inventory would simply fill up with the items as they are passed. Material taken by a Skilled Companion should have ½ the yield of normal material farming. Additionally, using a Skilled Companion shouldn’t cause the item to become unavailable for other players, unlike player farming.

Hiring these Skilled Companions could be accomplished through various means throughout Tamriel. From the Companion being an NPC around the city to finding them in the bar to hiring them through Merchants. Unlike the Archetype Companions, there shouldn’t be a specific go-to location to pick them up and should be an exception rather than a rule.

Alternate Companions:

The Alternate characters that a player has created and leveled could also be able to be brought over into a player’s story to assist them in their questing.

I’d imagine this could be accomplished by having a Mercenary Merchant in each city. When approached, the Mercenary Merchant would give the player a list of their Alternate Characters and the player could import that character into their story. If a player has no Alternates, the Mercenary Merchant will have no one available.

The prices of the Alternates should be a bit more expensive than hiring a generic Archetype, but not by much. The Alternate’s should have the equipment and skills that they have at the time of rental and not be leveled to the player. Just as all other Companion types, the player should not have access to the Alternate’s inventory. Additionally, the Alternates should gain no XP or use any items from their actual inventory while questing. For all intents and purposes the hiring would pretty much be “cosmetic”.

Additional Notes:

As stated before, these hirable NPC Companion Mercenaries should occupy group slots and if multiple are hired (up to 3) a player would be able to run 4 player dungeons by themselves. Using these NPC Companion Mercs, a pair of players could group up and the leader could hire a Companion Merc or two to flesh out their group. When in a group, only the leader should be able to speak with,hire,dismiss and accept items from the Companion Mercs.

Companions should NEVER be allowed in Cyrodiil. If there needs to be lore reasons for this it could be as simple as the Mercs don’t take sides in the faction war… or something to that effect.

Companions SHOULD be allowed in 12 person trials but it should be blatantly obvious that a group has NPC Companion Mercs in it. Even to the point of coloring their life-bar a different color in their group. There should also be an option to disallow NPC Companion Mercs when setting up the groups. The option to have the NPC Companions would give a group of three players the option to try to run a trial with 9 NPC Companion Mercs (at the rate of 9K or more an hour). Their survivability might be low, but I think the option should be there for these players to give it a go if they so desire. Running through with a group of NPCs could be used as a way to have trial runs. Although it’s unlikely a group with a bunch of AI controlled NPCS would ever do well enough to be posted on the leaderboards, groups that have NPC Companions should be ineligible for leaderboard ranking. No matter how well they do.

And again, it should be crystal clear when an NPC Companion Merc is in a group and organizers need the option to automatically ignore groups with NPC Companions.

The main reason I am suggesting this is because finding a group, especially when lower than level 50, in ESO is an absolute chore. Players are on different quest lines, leveled dungeons makes it frustrating to try to find players ‘around your level’ who need to run through this dungeon or fight that area Boss.

Players that choose to use NPC Companion Mercenaries will be at a disadvantage when compared to those that group with other players or are playing solo. They will be spending a considerable amount of gold to hire these NPC and will level more slowly than if they go at it alone.

In the end, hiring NPC Companions will accomplish 2 things in ESO
1: It will provide some relief from the broken LFG system and empower players to PLAY the game instead of spending their time trying to find other players that just happen to be at the exact same point of progression and story.
2: It would be another gold-sink mechanic for ESO, something all MMO’s need.
Although I know this idea isn’t popular with many of those on this forum. I really think it is a tool that is needed in ESO. I have just outright skipped content because I can’t find anyone in the vicinity that needs to run a dungeon or would like to take down an anchor. I figure I’ll come back to it when I hit VR ranks but I sure would have liked the option to throw down 500 gold and hire an NPC Companion Merc to heal me for an hour.

Crown Shop:

The game could give us a small selection of metcenaries we can hire but ALSO offer the ability to buy "contracts" in the crown shop to have the capability to hire specific NPC Mercs in game. Have the contacts be a one time use item that will ALLOW us to hire that specific NPC using the mechanics as described.

Example: 750C for the ability to hire an Draugr warrior. When we go to the NPC hiring board, the Draugr would be a hirable option from then onward.

☆ Muzumush Great Pet Companion Idea

Spoiler

I would like to see companions but not necessarily as humanoid. I would like for 2 Pet skill trees where our pets can get different skills through use. This would cost skill points from the Player of course and the skill line can follow a general passive approach to buffing your Pets/companions. Your dog (and if they ever provide a wolf) or wolf would fight like the enemy wolf does. Your tiger will fight like the Tigers, Cogbucket like the Dwemer spiders in the game etc.

Combat Pets would have a life bar (which can be healed by appropriate spells, or have an added damage shield from spells that apply) and once the bar becomes 0 they will go into a stunned/immobilized animation and it will take cool down of 1 minute until they can return to action.

Skill line buffs for combat pets can be:
-increased damage %
-increased damage resist %
-decreased cool down times by %
-% chance to knock down enemy (where applies)
-% chance to cause bleeding damage
-% chance to stun/reduce enemy movement speed by %
-% to taunt enemy and draw his attention away from player

Overall it would just be a buddy that fight along with you but except chip damage and the occasional stun, taunt etc. they are there just for immersion and having your own trained combat pet.

Of course there will be non-combat pets, like the Pony Gaurs, house Cat etc. unlike combat pets these don't have a health bar and their passives always work. They can have passives like:

-increase carrying capacity
-reduce sprinting cost
-improve sneak cost %
-make sneak detection area better
-improve out of combat Magicka, Health and Stamina regen.
-increase resource yields mining, provisioning, runes etc.
-improve elemental resistances by %
-find more gold in enemies/general loot.
-increase chance to find rare Blue + motifs, recipes etc.
-decrease research time as long as no-combat pet is active by %

These would insure both combat and non-combat have their uses and would just add to the already in place pets we have in game right now to make them feel part of the world and not just 'there'.

PLEASE READ FIRST BEFORE VOTING

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

I ask that if you choose to vote please explain your reason here.

UrQuan · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Companions worked well in single player TES games for sure, but I see no reason to have them in a multi-player game. If you want someone else to come with you and help you fight, quest, whatever, there are plenty of other players around, so why not be social and group up with one of them?

Adding companions would also create game balance issues - particularly for PVP and group dungeons. You could always have them disabled for those types of content, but ZOS that's just another thing for ZOS to consider with all new content: is this something where companions should or shouldn't be allowed?

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

UrQuan wrote: »

Companions worked well in single player TES games for sure, but I see no reason to have them in a multi-player game. If you want someone else to come with you and help you fight, quest, whatever, there are plenty of other players around, so why not be social and group up with one of them?

Adding companions would also create game balance issues - particularly for PVP and group dungeons. You could always have them disabled for those types of content, but ZOS that's just another thing for ZOS to consider with all new content: is this something where companions should or shouldn't be allowed?

Indeed bud even if they are only used for single player content where it does not affect others. I could see them cash in big time on this by selling companions in the form of crown quest lines.

sk8ingeckoub17_ESO · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Sorry but no. For one we get enough of the "companions" game play via the main story line. But more importantly this game already has a full set of companions that we utilize all the time. Its other players. managing your store is the guild store, having people adventure and quest with you is the players, etc.

Housing im down with, guild housing too, but we don't need companions that follow us around...

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

sk8ingeckoub17_ESO wrote: »

Sorry but no. For one we get enough of the "companions" game play via the main story line. But more importantly this game already has a full set of companions that we utilize all the time. Its other players. managing your store is the guild store, having people adventure and quest with you is the players, etc.

Housing im down with, guild housing too, but we don't need companions that follow us around...

Well you would only be able to use them in single player content or places like craglorn but not in pvp or grouping. So players are still needed but this just gives us the elder scrolls companions we are used to and gives ZOS another money sink.

Kalifas · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

I would like to see companions but I would like them built the same way as the current ones in the main story. They already have the framework with Abnur Tharn, Lyris Titanborn, etc. Prebuilt companions with their own hopes,desires, and dreams with story content that gives you better insight into the characters. They will ask you to quest things with them they desire, things such as special weapons or gear sets. The best comparisons to show what I am thinking of are the Dragon Age series or Suikoden series.

VictoriaRachel · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

I have never been a fan of companions in games, never used them in previous ESO games and I would not use them here. The reason I do not just them is because I find that they are more often in my way then they are helpful. When they are helpful that takes away from my own sense of achievement. It really is loose/loose for me.

I would feel even more frustrated if the game was then balanced about having one of these. I see it is a fundamental change to the gameplay, personally something I do not want to see in a game post launch. Improvements, tweaks, extensions of gameplays sure but a fundamental change like this? No thank you. I choose the game based on the gameplay it has and I do not want to be driven away from a game after enjoying it for so long.

Drazhar14 · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

At first I was going to say no (because other players are your companions in a MMO)... but it got me thinking, I really want players houses to be added, and who doesn't want a housecarl? *cough*Lydia*cough*

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

I have never been a fan of companions in games, never used them in previous ESO games and I would not use them here. The reason I do not just them is because I find that they are more often in my way then they are helpful. When they are helpful that takes away from my own sense of achievement. It really is loose/loose for me.

I would feel even more frustrated if the game was then balanced about having one of these. I see it is a fundamental change to the gameplay, personally something I do not want to see in a game post launch. Improvements, tweaks, extensions of gameplays sure but a fundamental change like this? No thank you. I choose the game based on the gameplay it has and I do not want to be driven away from a game after enjoying it for so long.

I see your point but hang on
You could only use them in single player areas or craglorn.
Dungeons and pvp are off limits

No one would have to use them if they did not want to.

VictoriaRachel · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Drazhar14 wrote: »

At first I was going to say no (because other players are your companions in a MMO)... but it got me thinking, I really want players houses to be added, and who doesn't want a housecarl? *cough*Lydia*cough*

A housecarl in my house I could get on bored with *cough*Lydia is mine get your hands off*cough* but not out in the world.

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

Drazhar14 wrote: »

At first I was going to say no (because other players are your companions in a MMO)... but it got me thinking, I really want players houses to be added, and who doesn't want a housecarl? *cough*Lydia*cough*

Thanks bud i feel people just dont read the threads and just vote lol.
I have to keep saying they are not for pvp or dungeons and only quest with you in single player content or places like craglorn.

VictoriaRachel · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Heromofo wrote: »

I see your point but hang on
You could only use them in single player areas or craglorn.
Dungeons and pvp are off limits

No one would have to use them if they did not want to.

Firslty, you will note I never mentioned multiplayer, you will note I specifically said I did not use them in a singleplayer game. If you do want to force that point then in my opinion anything but the "solo dungeons", including normal questing, is in a multiplayer environment and therefore would be impacted. Limiting companions to those few dungeons seems like it would not be cost effective. Extend them beyond that and you do effect the MMO nature of the game.

The issue with "no one would have to use them" is how do they balance that? Do they make it so having one is so easy that it becomes boring? Or do you make it a challenge with the companion so very hard to play as a normal player with out one? It just does not work and does not become optional at all.

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

show previous quotes

Heromofo wrote: »

I see your point but hang on
You could only use them in single player areas or craglorn.
Dungeons and pvp are off limits

No one would have to use them if they did not want to.

Firslty, you will note I never mentioned multiplayer, you will note I specifically said I did not use them in a singleplayer game. If you do want to force that point then in my opinion anything but the "solo dungeons", including normal questing, is in a multiplayer environment and therefore would be impacted. Limiting companions to those few dungeons seems like it would not be cost effective. Extend them beyond that and you do effect the MMO nature of the game.

The issue with "no one would have to use them" is how do they balance that? Do they make it so having one is so easy that it becomes boring? Or do you make it a challenge with the companion so very hard to play as a normal player with out one? It just does not work and does not become optional at all.

Much like a scalable dungeon a simple check to see if your using a companion could be implemented.
I am sorry i think i came across abit hard but as a console user i would be expecting this. Now that eso
Has no monthly fee it will draw alot of the crowd that is used to single player elder scrolls on the console version.
I dont know if you have played warframe on the console they tend to lean towards single player with an open world with players. Same thing will happen to eso we will use the lfg to do dungeons and just pvp as we want. So having companions playing with us will work well for us console users.

UrQuan · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Heromofo wrote: »

show previous quotes

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

I have never been a fan of companions in games, never used them in previous ESO games and I would not use them here. The reason I do not just them is because I find that they are more often in my way then they are helpful. When they are helpful that takes away from my own sense of achievement. It really is loose/loose for me.

I would feel even more frustrated if the game was then balanced about having one of these. I see it is a fundamental change to the gameplay, personally something I do not want to see in a game post launch. Improvements, tweaks, extensions of gameplays sure but a fundamental change like this? No thank you. I choose the game based on the gameplay it has and I do not want to be driven away from a game after enjoying it for so long.

I see your point but hang on
You could only use them in single player areas or craglorn.
Dungeons and pvp are off limits

No one would have to use them if they did not want to.

You're kind of missing the point though. Sure, nobody would have to use them if they didn't want to, but by their very existence they would have a negative effect on the social aspect of the game.

Today what do you do if you need help taking down a world boss or a dolmen? You ask in /zone or in a guild, get another player to come help you, and maybe make a new friend.

If everyone can have companions, then they are that much less likely to ever play those parts of the game as anything other than a single player game. That means fewer people looking for help, fewer social interactions, fewer friendships made.

That's bad for everyone: even the people who choose not to use companions.

Drazhar14 · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

Heromofo wrote: »

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Drazhar14 wrote: »

At first I was going to say no (because other players are your companions in a MMO)... but it got me thinking, I really want players houses to be added, and who doesn't want a housecarl? *cough*Lydia*cough*

Thanks bud i feel people just dont read the threads and just vote lol.
I have to keep saying they are not for pvp or dungeons and only quest with you in single player content or places like craglorn.

Yeah, they would be really useful for the players who struggle with the solo quests, and for people who can't find a group in Craglorn for those story quests requiring multiple people.

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

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Drazhar14 wrote: »

At first I was going to say no (because other players are your companions in a MMO)... but it got me thinking, I really want players houses to be added, and who doesn't want a housecarl? *cough*Lydia*cough*

A housecarl in my house I could get on bored with *cough*Lydia is mine get your hands off*cough* but not out in the world.

So you are just going to keep your housecarl locked up like a slave? *cough*who hasn't Lydia been with*cough*

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

UrQuan wrote: »

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Heromofo wrote: »

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

I have never been a fan of companions in games, never used them in previous ESO games and I would not use them here. The reason I do not just them is because I find that they are more often in my way then they are helpful. When they are helpful that takes away from my own sense of achievement. It really is loose/loose for me.

I would feel even more frustrated if the game was then balanced about having one of these. I see it is a fundamental change to the gameplay, personally something I do not want to see in a game post launch. Improvements, tweaks, extensions of gameplays sure but a fundamental change like this? No thank you. I choose the game based on the gameplay it has and I do not want to be driven away from a game after enjoying it for so long.

I see your point but hang on
You could only use them in single player areas or craglorn.
Dungeons and pvp are off limits

No one would have to use them if they did not want to.

You're kind of missing the point though. Sure, nobody would have to use them if they didn't want to, but by their very existence they would have a negative effect on the social aspect of the game.

Today what do you do if you need help taking down a world boss or a dolmen? You ask in /zone or in a guild, get another player to come help you, and maybe make a new friend.

If everyone can have companions, then they are that much less likely to ever play those parts of the game as anything other than a single player game. That means fewer people looking for help, fewer social interactions, fewer friendships made.

That's bad for everyone: even the people who choose not to use companions.

Yeah i see your point but the difference between console and pc is going to step in here.
As you may know we have to use voice chat now i know alot my clannies including my self will avoid it all together.
As we are in our late 20s but you may ask why dont you guys group up. Well because we work different weeks and hours personally i work one week on and one week off also night work. So i dont get up to normally 7pm and im not on till 11pm so it would work well for people like me.

VictoriaRachel · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Heromofo wrote: »

Much like a scalable dungeon a simple check to see if your using a companion could be implemented.
I am sorry i think i came across abit hard but as a console user i would be expecting this. Now that eso
Has no monthly fee it will draw alot of the crowd that is used to single player elder scrolls on the console version.
I dont know if you have played warframe on the console they tend to lean towards single player with an open world with players. Same thing will happen to eso we will use the lfg to do dungeons and just pvp as we want. So having companions playing with us will work well for us console users.

A check if I am using a companion? In an open world? With other people? It just doesn't work well. The parts of the game you keep referring to as singleplayer are no longer just for single players. They are in a multiplayer environment, you are not the only person seeing those mobs, or fighting those mobs. I can not see how that scaling will work for multiple people in an area. It is not a singleplayer game outside of solo dungeons. Those are the only place this would work.

Take for example someone running over to help with a World Boss. Currently that makes the fight manageable and it is a great bit of interaction. With companions and random scaling how does that work? If I started the fight and did not have a companion is it on the easier scaling? Even if a second person joins? What if that second person has a companion does it suddenly becomes cake walk, does it change scaling half way through?

Heromofo wrote: »

Yeah i see your point but the difference between console and pc is going to step in here.
As you may know we have to use voice chat now i know alot my clannies including my self will avoid it all together.
As we are in our late 20s but you may ask why dont you guys group up. Well because we work different weeks and hours personally i work one week on and one week off also night work. So i dont get up to normally 7pm and im not on till 11pm so it would work well for people like me.

You do not have to be in an actual group with someone to interact with them in the world though. So often in this game you are playing alongside others, working towards the same goals out of co-incidence rather than planning. It is not formal groups or singleplayer, there is a whole world of alongside that this idea just does not address.

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

show previous quotes

Heromofo wrote: »

Much like a scalable dungeon a simple check to see if your using a companion could be implemented.
I am sorry i think i came across abit hard but as a console user i would be expecting this. Now that eso
Has no monthly fee it will draw alot of the crowd that is used to single player elder scrolls on the console version.
I dont know if you have played warframe on the console they tend to lean towards single player with an open world with players. Same thing will happen to eso we will use the lfg to do dungeons and just pvp as we want. So having companions playing with us will work well for us console users.

A check if I am using a companion? In an open world? With other people? It just doesn't work well. The parts of the game you keep referring to as singleplayer are no longer just for single players. They are in a multiplayer environment, you are not the only person seeing those mobs, or fighting those mobs. I can not see how that scaling will work for multiple people in an area. It is not a singleplayer game outside of solo dungeons. Those are the only place this would work.

Take for example someone running over to help with a World Boss. Currently that makes the fight manageable and it is a great bit of interaction. With companions and random scaling how does that work? If I started the fight and did not have a companion is it on the easier scaling? Even if a second person joins? What if that second person has a companion does it suddenly becomes cake walk, does it change scaling half way through?

Yeah i see your point but im sure they can put something in place or if it just makes things a little easier then i would be ok with that. Eso is trying to cater to both groups of people im sure they can find a way. But until elder scrolls six console players will have ESO and things like player housing and companions will go a long way to keeping us.

VictoriaRachel · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Heromofo wrote: »

Yeah i see your point but im sure they can put something in place or if it just makes things a little easier then i would be ok with that. Eso is trying to cater to both groups of people im sure they can find a way. But until elder scrolls six console players will have ESO and things like player housing and companions will go a long way to keeping us.

Housing I can see as a great addition to the game, for all players. However, companions just seem to be clinging to the familiar rather than what works best for the game you are currently playing.

Tandor · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

I think companions are best reserved for single-player games and MMOs that have been around for a long time and in which it is increasingly difficult to find groups because populations have fallen and players are all concentrated at the endgame. Mercenaries were added to EQ2, for example, because of that, and they work well. In a comparatively new game, however, companions would deter people from seeking a partner or group for the more difficult content. Scaling open-world content according to whether you have a companion or not is something I could never see ZOS taking on. The presence of numerous companions everywhere would very likely also have an adverse effect on performance.

I like the OP's posts and he's obviously put a lot of thought into the ideas he's putting forward, but despite the fact that I'm very much a solo player who likes co-operative play rather than formal grouping - and the kind of player therefore to make use of companions in games that offer them - I don't think this particular idea would work in ESO.

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

show previous quotes

Heromofo wrote: »

Yeah i see your point but im sure they can put something in place or if it just makes things a little easier then i would be ok with that. Eso is trying to cater to both groups of people im sure they can find a way. But until elder scrolls six console players will have ESO and things like player housing and companions will go a long way to keeping us.

Housing I can see as a great addition to the game, for all players. However, companions just seem to be clinging to the familiar rather than what works best for the game you are currently playing.

Thank you victoria you have given me much to think about and now i have mixed feelings mmm i will try to figure a way to keep both sides happy.

VictoriaRachel · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Heromofo wrote: »

Thank you victoria you have given me much to think about and now i have mixed feelings mmm i will try to figure a way to keep both sides happy.

Many hugs to you sir. You thread is well written, your ideas clear, and your heart is true!

UrQuan · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

VictoriaRachel wrote: »

show previous quotes

Heromofo wrote: »

Thank you victoria you have given me much to think about and now i have mixed feelings mmm i will try to figure a way to keep both sides happy.

Many hugs to you sir. You thread is well written, your ideas clear, and your heart is true!

Agreed on this. I may not think that having companions in ESO is a good idea, but there's nothing wrong with proposing an idea that you think would help the game, and then discussing it.

Gyudan · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

You cannot buy my vote with Malukah's voice.

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

Gyudan wrote: »

You cannot buy my vote with Malukah's voice.

You should hear her song on the part 1 thread mmm god i love that girl.

bosmern_ESO · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Companions have never been a big part of Elder Scrolls games, They really only started up in Skyrim. In every other Elder Scrolls game you would always be alone other than some you could summon or others (The Adoring Fan).

If there were to be companions in ESO they'd have to be pretty minor, somewhat utility/quality of life. If they would fight, they'd have to do minor damage, they shouldn't be able to carry a player.

I'd say they could carry objects, heal the player a small amount over time, grant them small shields/buffs, etc. nothing that will imbalance a fight.

Dre4dwolfb14_ESO · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Companions are stupid, last thing I need is some useless *** following me.

Heromofo · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

Dre4dwolfb14_ESO wrote: »

Companions are stupid, last thing I need is some useless *** following me.

It really upsets me when people don't read but if it helps.
You do not need to ever use it hell they can just stay at your house or even better dont buy the quests.

bertenburnyb16_ESO · May 2015

Yes i would like to see companions in the game (Explain Below)

bertenburnyb16_ESO wrote: »

how about you could take your alt(s) with you as so called Heroe-npc, say he would only be able to use his first skill bar, would love to have my healer temp ^^

another game that did npc partymembers real good was Dragons dogma, as player you had your own pawn-follower, which you could also make as one of the classes, fully customze with gear and skills, and then you could hire 2 additional pawns of other players to suplement your party, so you could compose your party of 4 (like example I was rogue, had a 2H melee warrior pawn, hired another melee S&B and a sorc, you could even see what skills they had equiped, stats and such while looking for pawns to rent), had some real cool features as synergys-type things for example the S&B npc would call out to you, bracking under his shield and you could launch from the shield jumping enemys, or grapling an enemy so you could finish it,... also the pawns if they had experience with said sort monsters would give extra info, tips about how to fight em, if your pawn was hired it would also get a sort of xp (which you could then use to hire pawns), and the player that hired him could give points on how well your pawn preforemed, and could even send something with your pawn back as sort of present if you wanted. I found it was excelently executed, and to be honest, those pawn were more usefull as your regular pug group ;p

they could make it something like that that players could set characters of them as rentable-pawns for example

AlnilamE · May 2015

No i would not like to see companions in the game ( Explain Below)

Personally, the only reason I ever brought a companion with me in Skyrim was for the extra carrying capacity. Other than that, I felt they got in the way more than they helped.

Also, I noticed you refer to "Craglorn" as if it weren't a group setting. Do you mean to only have them available above ground? Because all the dungeons are 4-man instances.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Improving On ESO S01E02) Companions And Companion Ideas Also A Voting Poll

Improving On ESO S01E02) Companions And Companion Ideas Also A Voting Poll 99 votes