I would like to know how much it goes down compared to how much it can go up. And when are they just talking and when is it really changing (even a single point)?

Does harvesting help since she mostly complements it? That is completely unclear.

And no, I can't find butterfly wings for alchemy except on butterflies, even though she claims otherwise!

drkfrontiers wrote: »

I don't think that having a negative rapport associated with collecting resources is a very good game design choice.(...)

Disable the companion and perform the activity that might decrease its rapport. Problem solved.

Sarannah wrote: »

Honestly, ZOS should remove rapportdecreases entirely. (...)

That makes no sense.

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

(...) Does harvesting help since she mostly complements it? That is completely unclear.(...)

You get a notification on screen when an activity increases or decreases the rapport. Be aware that rapport increasing (at least) has a cooldown timer associated to it.

Mirri the staunch environmentalist. Go figure.

Sarannah wrote: »

redlink1979 wrote: »

Sarannah wrote: »

Honestly, ZOS should remove rapportdecreases entirely. (...)

That makes no sense.

Yes it does... it is a game, negatively impacting some parts of the game seems unwise. Besides, the grind to gain rapport seems to take so long, it would be better to only have it receive rapportincreases. So players only have to worry about how slow rapport moves up, and not have us worry about what makes rapport go down.

It makes no sense when it is such a slow grindy part of the game. It could have value if implemented better, but it doesn't now. It is just her griping. I have not seen ANY onscreen notifications for any rapport change. They may have been there, but I have not seen them.

Is there a benefit of having companions' dispositions all the way into the red? Do they do more damage like a Sith Lord or something? My bug collection is growing and the Dunmer lady is fuming. I just think she's jealous.

I've noticed that when you do something that your companion really approves you got that little notification about rapport increase.
My Mirri constantly comment on me gathering stuff but I never seen that actually increase her rapport. She does like to travel though, I had her rapport increase a few times when we were travelling around Clockwork City.

I am not understanding the fascination with rapport.

The only reason to pay any attention to rapport is to get the special quest and dialogs from high rapport, and to avoid being ghosted due to low rapport.

Once you do the first, and get the quest, and manage to stay away from the second, does it really matter if it goes down a little every few times you pluck the wings off an insect?

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

I would like to know how much it goes down compared to how much it can go up. And when are they just talking and when is it really changing (even a single point)?

Does harvesting help since she mostly complements it? That is completely unclear.

And no, I can't find butterfly wings for alchemy except on butterflies, even though she claims otherwise!

Rapport - What Increases it and Decreases it - List here

We've been working on figuring this all out since Blackwood hit the PTS

Hope that helps.

josiahva wrote: »

Rudal wrote: »

redlink1979 wrote: »

Disable the companion and perform the activity that might decrease its rapport. Problem solved.

What's the point of having a companion if you have to dismiss him/her everytime time you want to do something?

I can understand when companion disapproves theft or murder but gathering resources (killing/"harvesting" bugs is a resource gathering) should be excluded from the rapport changes.

Whats the point of having a companion at all aside from RP purposes? The only content they would make a difference for me is arenas....and I can't take them there. Overland is so easy they simply aren't needed. The only conceivable use I can see for them is for those starting out soloing 4-man dungeons....or as a stand in for a tank that decides to leave a (non-DLC)dungeon halfway through.

They are mainly for players lower on the ladder, which is why I think a lot of people in here don't like them. By the time you are routinely doing veteran content, the only thing they really provide is RP and Doll roles. It is fairly clear that the veteran combat people will find them useless. The people who would use them as dolls are not happy with the extent to which they can customize them, and rightfully so as they are definitely limited in this respect. I don't think I have heard any RP people weigh in on the subject.

However, if the player is someone that does not find overland to be "easy", then they will find these more beneficial. A companion will also allow players to solo content that they cannot solo without them, but are pretty close to being able to solo without them. A companion is not going to carry someone through Skyreach, but will allow them to eventually kill some world bosses or solo the lower tier of dungeons before they are ready to do it alone.

Yes, I expect that if a player sticks around for long enough, they will outgrow Companions 1.0. At that point, they will be forgotten, or just some "friend" that tags along. We will see what ZOS comes up with in the future and if they address companion obsolescence.

(Edit: as an experienced player, I have just enough customization on my account to create Outfits for them, so they can fill the "Doll" role for me, and I have some lower level characters and characters that solo dungeons that will benefit from the slight advantage that they give me.)

Mirri seems to be selective about what bothers her. I can pluck those little netches out of the air and she doesn't seem to care or comment.

Just unsummon Mirri before you go frolicking through Rivenspire harvesting torchbugs and butterflies. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

Harvesting non-living nodes like wood, flowers, ore etc doesn't affect them one way or the other. They don't care about fishing. They don't care about attacking hostile enemies. They do care about killing innocents.

If you're a murderhobo just do your murdering in private. If you had a goody two shoes friend who was easily offended you wouldn't crack crude jokes in front of them all the time and expect them not to be appalled - your companions have moral positions that you don't need to agree with, but if you want them to keep adventuring with you you need to show them your good side when they're with you.

You don't have to spawn and despawn her every few meters. If you want to adventure with her and you want her rapport to be high, you can adjust your playstyle by not looting insects opportunistically and instead choosing a dedicated time period in which you dismiss her and actively farm for them. Or you can opt not to bother with her, because she gets moody about bugs and that's absurd in a world where torchbug thoraxes are ingredients. Companions are optional. If she cramps your style, don't use her.

I have the same situation and choice with thieving and Bastian. Either my days of casually pocketing everything I see when people turn their back are gone, or I don't travel with Bastian because he doesn't like it when I swipe everything that isn't nailed down. I chose to stop stealing except on dedicated thieving runs, because I enjoy his company, but your mileage may vary.

Elsonso wrote: »

josiahva wrote: »

Rudal wrote: »

redlink1979 wrote: »

Disable the companion and perform the activity that might decrease its rapport. Problem solved.

What's the point of having a companion if you have to dismiss him/her everytime time you want to do something?

I can understand when companion disapproves theft or murder but gathering resources (killing/"harvesting" bugs is a resource gathering) should be excluded from the rapport changes.

Whats the point of having a companion at all aside from RP purposes? The only content they would make a difference for me is arenas....and I can't take them there. Overland is so easy they simply aren't needed. The only conceivable use I can see for them is for those starting out soloing 4-man dungeons....or as a stand in for a tank that decides to leave a (non-DLC)dungeon halfway through.

They are mainly for players lower on the ladder, which is why I think a lot of people in here don't like them. By the time you are routinely doing veteran content, the only thing they really provide is RP and Doll roles. It is fairly clear that the veteran combat people will find them useless. The people who would use them as dolls are not happy with the extent to which they can customize them, and rightfully so as they are definitely limited in this respect. I don't think I have heard any RP people weigh in on the subject.

However, if the player is someone that does not find overland to be "easy", then they will find these more beneficial. A companion will also allow players to solo content that they cannot solo without them, but are pretty close to being able to solo without them. A companion is not going to carry someone through Skyreach, but will allow them to eventually kill some world bosses or solo the lower tier of dungeons before they are ready to do it alone.

Yes, I expect that if a player sticks around for long enough, they will outgrow Companions 1.0. At that point, they will be forgotten, or just some "friend" that tags along. We will see what ZOS comes up with in the future and if they address companion obsolescence.

(Edit: as an experienced player, I have just enough customization on my account to create Outfits for them, so they can fill the "Doll" role for me, and I have some lower level characters and characters that solo dungeons that will benefit from the slight advantage that they give me.)

I'm largely interested in Companions for the roleplay. There's a couple issues I have with it from that perspective.

Their quests seem rather well done, but outside of that, they are just along for the ride. The rapport system doesn't make up for for the dearth of meaningful dialogue outside of the quests. I'm writing my way through Blackwood's quests, and while I came up with what I think are some good roleplay interactions for Varanis and Mirri, in terms of actual gameplay Mirri just trotted along and her commentary last night was banal stuff like "I was tired of walking" when we mounted up.

The roleplaying is all one-sided outside of the few quests. ZOS chose to limit the customization of Companions to preserve their identity, but the result is that we end up conforming our behavior to their likes and dislikes, or else we have to take the rapport hit. Or we play the thoroughly unimmersive micromanagement minigame where we dismiss our Companions before doing something they dislike. Sure, we can change how our Companion fights, but there's no way to change how they act outside of combat. There's no give-and-take in the relationship, if that makes sense.

It's really a system where you have to use your imagination to roleplay with Companions outside of their few quests. If you take the time to stop questing and think through what's happening, how your character and your companion might react to events and each other, then it can be really fun. If we flip the perspective and ask "What does Mirri/Bastian think of this weird player they've signed up with?", that makes for some interesting interactions...but all in your inagination.


I really didn't expect all that much more from ZOS, to be honest. This isn't Serana, where we've got a whole DLC worth of quests tailored around their characters. Nor did I really expect ZOS to add Companion commentary for after old quests and a variety of content. They seem to have envisioned Companions more as customizable combat pets with just a few quests to make them relatable.

I grabbed a torch bug and found this out so I immediately crafted an “alcoholic” beverage and it went back positive..she also likes when u kill random snakes in the ground,goblins,and scrying.

Odovacar wrote: »

After hearing about how weak they were during PC's PTS i vowed to not use them as they would serve no purpose to my game play, etc. Well I unlocked them anyhow for the sole purpose for a tag along while I'm out and about by myself.

It's kind of of fun to have a little companion while lets say running through the desert alone at night chatting once in a while. They're not perfect and have their quirks but in a sense I don't hate their presence either they're just not useful in vet content that's all.

As a veteran player I would disagree they are totally useless in all vet content. I personally do not use mine for anything other than just the dailies to increase their rapport, but I did watch a live stream of a player who took Bastian to tank vDSA as a test of whether the companion could even do it or not, and he did just fine which I did not expect. Granted vDSA is not challenging anymore and he was getting regular heals from the group, but aside from some positioning issues now and then they completed the whole run with him - so they can be helpful for some people.