With the announcement that NPCs won't be using normal gear sets and that they won't have normal versions of skills (to wit, many of the buffs and debuffs seem to have been truncated from their skills...), the utility of NPCs seems to have taken a rather large hit.

They seem to be designed basically for Overland content but any thoughts of using them for replacements in vDLC (or even harder nDLC...) dungeons or trials appears to be entirely out the window.

Sounds like you can use them for dlc normals. Can solo most of them so if you use a tank companion it makes it even easier.

I bet good dpsers will use them as tanks for nonDLC pledges too.

Companion npc will just cause server lag...make it worse even. Just give everybody base damage of 10k start with. That should help raise the floor.

If you can make them them have a damage build 9-10k dps is just lame. Please up that if true.

Grandchamp1989 wrote: »

So Companions will NOT be useless next patch.
In terms of mechs they.. well they don't understand them, so don't go into a DLC dungeon expecting miracles.

Direfrost fkin pressure pad. I dungeon I could solo without breaking a sweat for remaining stickerbook pieces in off-hours when there is nobody in que for it.

10k is quite nice for a solo players, although I think it would buff my dps more if my companion would apply buffs and debuffs. In Nefas his video he talked about companions skills that apply major breach and off-balance for example.

I do feel a bit sad that we can only equip companion gear, it would be nice to equip sets like Yoln, Galenwe, Olorime, Encratis or Tremorscale. But for balance sake I understand that design decision.

SirAndy wrote: »

So, back to my original point, nobody actually knows anything new or concrete, we're all just throwing mud at the wall and hope something sticks.

Got it ...

i dont think this is true? As i understand it, some content creators had access to the pre PTS server, where they could test things and then talk about them under certain restrictions. @Alcast made a video as well, talking about the things they have learned and published an article on eso-hub

https://eso-hub.com/en/news/everything-new-with-eso-blackwood-preview-impressions

so its new information

Septimus_Magna wrote: »

10k is quite nice for a solo players, although I think it would buff my dps more if my companion would apply buffs and debuffs. In Nefas his video he talked about companions skills that apply major breach and off-balance for example.

I do feel a bit sad that we can only equip companion gear, it would be nice to equip sets like Yoln, Galenwe, Olorime, Encratis or Tremorscale. But for balance sake I understand that design decision.

Companions can't use already existing gear so we have to grind more and more.

as long as I can use them as a meat shield for world bosses they will be useful.

Waffennacht wrote: »

You can solo DLC dungeons, esp on normal

I can solo most DLC dungeons on normal but [for me] is not efficient.

Some of them (for instance Frostvault) I find in fact extremely inefficient (the hoops and loops I need to go through to get past the - I am sure ZOS intended a pun here - literal gatekeeping Troll are just not worth it and doing the skeevatron phases on one's own brings everything to a screeching halt).

Drop chances being what they are the efficient way is to do them [in my case] with three other people so you can clear them fast and effectively and share loot at the end of the run.

Companions, unless they get separate loot too, are not going to change this for me.

Maybe they will help speed up obtaining antiquities leads that drop from obscure dungeon/world bosses that no one can be enticed to join in farming - effing Ebon Wolf Horngrip, looking at you - but these are very very few and far between.

As it stands now companions for me are a solution looking for a problem. A solution that if the information currently available is accurate I am going to have to develop separately twice for every single one of my 18 playable characters.