Does anyone like Companions?

irstarkey57 · June 2021

No, seriously. I, for one, donnnnnn’t. Can’t help but to think what could have been fixed, improved, added, developed with all the time it took them to bring us good ol Mirri and Bastion. I have yet to see them be any use in the game. All I’ve seen is a grind. The one positive is new life in the guild stores. Other than that, total meh for me. I’m sure people have different opinions though. Let’s hear it!

phaneub17_ESO · June 2021

I've already posted my Mirri build multiple times and have said how she has made clearing large trash packs with ease. By large I mean groups of 20+ mobs in both public dungeons and solo normal instance dungeons much faster than by myself. I haven't tried vet dungeons, I think I would need purple gear on her before doing that.

Lugaldu · June 2021

That seems to me to be more of a rhetorical question, as it is clear that opinions about the companions are divided. I think they are great, even if there are some points how they could be improved in the future.

irstarkey57 · June 2021

Lugaldu wrote: »

That seems to me to be more of a rhetorical question, as it is clear that opinions about the companions are divided. I think they are great, even if there are some points how they could be improved in the future.

Wasn’t clear to me. That’s why I made the post.

markulrich1966 · June 2021

I have done more than 3000 summerset dailies, and 1000 in elsweyr.

For a farmer like me, my DD Mirri is a nice distraction.
Strong enough to kill the boring enemies in delves, so I can ignore more of them than before.

Based on former temporary companions in quests (and pets), I never expected they would be really strong.
I am even astonished, that with some penetration gear she hits better than I expected.
But no, she will not replace a real player in a dungeon, this is a completely different calibre.

What annoys me, is that in worldboss fights she needs to be resurrected. I would prefer if she would revive after 15 seconds, or with a buttonpress. Her value is too low to manually resurrect her, risking to get killed myself.

Nice to have, not more.

NinjaApacHe · June 2021

I do. I am used to them because i spent so many years playing SWTOR.

jedtb16_ESO · June 2021

yes, i like the companions.

Wolfster · June 2021

Yep I think they're fun.

colossalvoids · June 2021

Every new game feature turns into thoughts what could be done instead catering to my personal tastes, not really productive let me say.

Tessitura · June 2021

I don't like them either, honestly I feel like I am in the minority for that too. Of all the things they could have added they decided to add the one thing that tends to only get added to dying games. It's a grind that doesn't really pay off and man the gear is expensive if you dont want to grind.

Also, I don't need them for anything. Nothing at all. This game is probably one of the worst games you could add this to honestly. It's already a balance nightmare and it has the most self sufficient characters of any mmo with many people not even needing healers. So they can only work in one of two ways. Either they break the game by being useful and making it so people can solo even more group content, or they are useless and serve no purpose.

Maybe they will prove me wrong at some point but I doubt it. Chances are they did this just because they knew it was a new thing they could add to the cash shop like SWTOR. They got companions you can buy. Things like alien creatures and droids. Imagine them adding things like wolves, death hounds, ( For the vampires out there. ) Skeleton's, zombies, daedra, and so on to the cash shop for like $50-$60. People would buy those useful or not because they look cool and fit a character fantasy. More ways to milk us rather then add a skill system they can only sell once with a chapter.

irstarkey57 · June 2021

colossalvoids wrote: »

Every new game feature turns into thoughts what could be done instead catering to my personal tastes, not really productive let me say.

I mean the game in general probably isn’t productive and these are forums for “thoughts.”

CoronHR · June 2021

i like them okay. bastion will point out a heavy sack, which i love. i don't play mirri often. she dies a lot. players seem to really like her, but i can't get into her. maybe she just needs better gear or a better skill setup.

bastion seems to be a pretty good healer, and he doesn't die. (maybe because i've slotted lots of heals.)

i've taken a casual approach to levelling them up. once you get up to level 7 or so, it gets really grindy. i've got bastion up to 14, but passively. i do the mages daily every day for bastion's rapport, but that goes up slowly too. i get that zos doesn't want a situation where companions are fully levelled up in 2 days, so i respect that. but if i were actively levelling them up fast, my head would probably have exploded.

i can see zos developing some really cool new companions, for example, daedric ones that love stealing and killing.

i can't help but think, though, that i would have preferred extra character slots. i have a feeling that it's going to be a very long time before we ever get an increase in character slots. i love levelling a new character far more than levelling a companion

irstarkey57 · June 2021

Tessitura wrote: »

I don't like them either, honestly I feel like I am in the minority for that too. Of all the things they could have added they decided to add the one thing that tends to only get added to dying games. It's a grind that doesn't really pay off and man the gear is expensive if you dont want to grind.

Also, I don't need them for anything. Nothing at all. This game is probably one of the worst games you could add this too honestly. It's already a balance nightmare and it has the most self sufficient characters of any mmo with many people not even needing healers. So they can only work in one of two ways. Either they break the game by being useful and making it so people can solo even more group content, or they are useless and serve no purpose.

Maybe they will prove me wrong at some point but I doubt it. Chances are they did this just because they knew it was a new thing they could add to the cash shop like SWTOR. They got companions you can buy. Things like alien creatures and droids. Imagine them adding things like wolves, death hounds, ( For the vampires out there. ) Skeleton's, zombies, daedra, and so on to the cash shop for like $50-$60. People would buy those useful or not because they look cool and fit a character fantasy. More ways to milk us rather then add a skill system they can only sell once with a chapter.

Agreed. And since then, shal we look at maintenance times? I mean hell, dungeon finder didn’t work for 5 years. Now everyone in the game has an NPC with combat coding.

SammyKhajit · June 2021

They are more pupils to look after and train than companions, which suggests that they are equal to the player in terms of gears, game play and skills. But otherwise, Sammy enjoys Mirri’s cheerful disposition and even Bastion being the cheese hater.

Aleris · June 2021

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

I've already posted my Mirri build multiple times and have said how she has made clearing large trash packs with ease. By large I mean groups of 20+ mobs in both public dungeons and solo normal instance dungeons much faster than by myself. I haven't tried vet dungeons, I think I would need purple gear on her before doing that.

hey could you post your build please? can't find it

Anastasiel · June 2021

In such a big game, there will always be bugs, breakdowns and glitches. It's unavoidable.

I like companions. I only lvled up Bastion at the moment. But it's really more pleasant to run with him. I'm a solo player. And he brightens up my loneliness. And I know for sure that he will not throw me, dumping just like that from party. And also heal or cover. I use Alkast builds, and I am very happy with the fact that there are companions.

Digibrax · June 2021

I am not really fond of them at the moment. My Mirri is still low level and dies fom everything. So for me, at least for the time being, they are more the annoyance than something usefull... I look at them as pets that you can customize, but nothing to get too excited for... Also, I am not sure how my Mirri lvl5 can take agro from the bos from my lvl 40 DD, and she doesnt even have taunt. She is bow dd... *insert favorite swear word*...

Sidonius · June 2021

I like them too, I've been "soloing" group content in Craglorn.

Khenarthi · June 2021

I like Mirri, her commentary is funny once rapport is in the green. I even adjusted the settings so that she comments more. Once she's maxed out and her perk unlocked I will adventure with Bastian, he seems even nicer (my Khajiit are usually "good" characters, and they will can easily unsummon Bastian if they feels like stealing anything).

ErMurazor · June 2021

Total waste of time, i will never unlock/lvl any companion. Im in a MMO to play with other ppl. And what i heard they are mostly useless. Too bad ZoS wasted time and money on this that could have been better spent elsewhere.

biminirwb17_ESO · June 2021

The first thing I did is swap armor, put light on Bastion and medium on Mirri.
Levelled Bastion as a healer got resto staff to 20, then swapped to destro staff now have healer or DD on tap.
Just unlocked Bastions Ult at lv20 before maintenance, will see how that works soon I hope.

As mainly a solo player they make things faster to clear especially for tanky builds. So far I like them.

Master_Shorty · June 2021

imo they are best for lower lvl individuals, at best for higher cp lvl's Mirri's passive for more loot in chests is nice, but aside from that they are cosmetic perks only. as for Vet content, they just get in the way since they die so frequent due to not moving themselves out of stupid. Tank builds for companions is a joke (the die to easily) and the heals lol, what heals. at best the DPS is nice but again only for lower cp lvl's, high cp'rs dont need the extra dmg, so again, they just get in the way.

ErMurazor · June 2021

What is the chest loot ppl talk about? Might be a reason to lvl one for my crafter/gatherer

RupzSkooma · June 2021

I somewhat like them

Jaimeh · June 2021

From what I've seen, I think some people are already dotting on them, while others are mostly meh. Personally, I didn't expect them to be anything more than RP features, and even there, they fail with their limited customization options, and non-participation in the stories of what the Vestige is doing. They will get more dialogue as rapport increases (and that's a big grind in itself), but I would like to see more unique dialogues and reactions to events. For combat, they can be kinda useful only if properly geared, but given how the drops/traits work right now, it's a mess. I think ZOS failed in that big time: if they made gearing easier, people would use them and get excited about them so much more. At least the system has room for improvement, but currently it's kinda disappointing.

Everstorm · June 2021

I like soloing dungeons and stuff. Trying to figure out how to get the most out of Mirri is fun in itself. Her area 4 second fear is really useful for big groups.
I put her in blue heavy armor with mostly quickening trait, and dual wield. She doesn't die all that often. Using Vigor to keep her alive.
On the whole more interested in the utility the companions can being than raw dsp.

phaneub17_ESO · June 2021

Aleris wrote: »

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

I've already posted my Mirri build multiple times and have said how she has made clearing large trash packs with ease. By large I mean groups of 20+ mobs in both public dungeons and solo normal instance dungeons much faster than by myself. I haven't tried vet dungeons, I think I would need purple gear on her before doing that.

hey could you post your build please? can't find it

Mirri for Mobs, Bastian for Bosses.

Mirri - 7 Medium, Dual Wield, Quickened and Shattering.
Warp Strike, Masque of Torment, Razor Cape, Life Siphon, Spinning Steel
The trick is to hold her back until you need to quick jump in, she'll teleport into the group, hit the AOE fear which lasts 4 seconds then combine your AOE + her 3 AOE can cause a lot of damage while they are CCd by the fear. Being in melee range she is going to draw most of the aggro leaving you to do whatever you need to finish them off. She is expendable, don't worry about keeping her alive, let her output as many attacks as possible before she croaks. If she dies too quickly before getting a second attack spree going, you can change out Quickened for Aggressive or use your own AOE CC between her fear.

Bastian - 5 Light, 2 Heavy, any melee weapon - Quickened and Augmented.
Crimson Font, Basalt Barrier, Ritual of Salvation, Searing Weapons, Skeletal Aegis
This is basically a BARD in ESO, purely focus on supporting you. With enough Quickened and Augmented, you can almost keep his buffs rolling on you with brief downtime because of cast time. It also gives you 3 Synergy uses every 30 second period so you can activate Undaunted Command solo for extra healing and resource recovery. Equip him with a melee weapon to keep him nearby, two-handed or 1h+shield works, he doesn't need to do any damage just keep casting as they come up.

Mythreindeer · June 2021

ErMurazor wrote: »

Total waste of time, i will never unlock/lvl any companion. Im in a MMO to play with other ppl. And what i heard they are mostly useless. Too bad ZoS wasted time and money on this that could have been better spent elsewhere.

I think you heard what you wanted to hear. They are quite useful, if you want them to be and don't die constantly when use appropriately.

lol at the hate. I was fine without companions, and I wont assign one to each of my characters, but they are fun.

NoxiousBlight · June 2021

Yes, I like them.

I am hoping they receive some improvements in the future as there are still quite a few annoyances I have with the system. But overall as a feature I am glad it is in the game.

Abigail · June 2021

I am leveling up a tank. My Bastian is maxed out and he's making it a lot easier.

Generally, I do a lot of gathering and launching a companion at a mob while I pick a node is cool. Unlike sorc pets, my companions actually kill the mobs in a few seconds. Makes gathering a lot less tedious.

Companions need to be tweaked, however. For one, having the Ultimate and Pet Attack on the same key was a thoughtless design feature. I tried switching Pet Attack to another key, but the Ultimate changed to that key, too. Another irritant is that sometimes when you have line-of-sight with a target and press Pet Attack, they will path behind something. Finallly, give us helmets or hairdos so we've a sense of some uniqueness.

AcadianPaladin · June 2021

I like them a lot and am very glad they were added to the game. Mostly for roleplay purposes but they are fun to adventure with. And, with a bit of thought, making them survivable and even helpful in fights is quite doable.

As a soloist, it is fun to adventure with a companion who requires absolutely no scheduling consideration or coordination to play together. And who stays in character 100% of the time. And who doesn't mind if I go afk to make a sandwich.