More than three — I want lots of companion options so I can choose the best fit for each character and if dialogue options will remain limited and rather generic, that way I will be less likely to grow tired of any of them.

Companion progression, i.e. ranking up their skills, is account wide because it'd be a punishing per- character grind.

It's not unfair, and no, I have zero interest in leveling them up separately to level 20 for each character.

Only the initial Quest to unlock them and Rapport gain is per-character, and that's for roleplaying reasons.


Now, I'm not sure why ZOS decided that the equipped gear and skill bars needed to be account wide, since they only released two companions. There seems to be an obvious hole in one role of the PVE trinity. On the other hand, it does mean you don't have to farm multiple sets of the same gear for multiple tank Bastians on several characters like you would if Bastian had unique builds for each character.

And similarly, I'm not sure why they decided to make outfits account wide.

I wonder if we'll eventually see a "Companion Armory" where we can save and quickly swap between builds for them.

No. Oh... Look... Companions are a purely casual option. It is not necessary to expect any complex systems from this. Especially since they are rather weak, why complicate them?

Parasaurolophus wrote: »

Especially since they are rather weak

My Mirri heals more than most player healers I get in RNDs. I think they are honestly weak as DPS but I do think they can perform the tank and healer roles (to a point obviously, a good player healer/tank will be better but they can do the roles effectively).

I still want the companions I do have to stay within twenty meters of me instead of running half way across the zone every time something larger than a skeever attacks.

One thing that may influence your feeling is there is a good chance ZOS will add a new companion or two with the upcoming Chapter. They have previously stated that they want to expand on the system and if they are going to do that I would expect them to add additional companions. This would then provide you with more options, potentially allowing for a companion of each role.

I'd like at least 4 companions: tank, healer, ranged damage, melee damage. 6 would be ideal, one for each weapon type.
Was really expecting Deadlands to come with a 3rd one.

The outfit thing is the only one bothering me. And that their ugly faces cant be hidden.

Otherwise I dont care. I certainly would not grind them up for every alt. I still havent even bothered to max them up as they are.

I do think the mix if account vs character settings is a little weird although I understand why it was done. Basically, each companion is like one of our characters. If we log out on character x, play character y, and then go back to x, it is exactly how we left it.

I would hate it if I had 12 different Bastions or Mirris based on the character I was on. I would never be able to keep track; that honestly sounds awful.

Instead I would like to see them have a simplified version of the Armory and their own inventory, so we could have one or two builds per companion. And a couple of outfit slots per companion.

Honestly the separate unlocks and rapport levels drive me crazy. I understand that it is for role play but the game does make certain allowances for acknowledging that whatever toon you're on, it is the same person behind it. Things like account-wide collectibles and account bound gear. Personally I would like the companions to have a relationship with the account, not each character, because to ME it's always the same Bastian or Mirri. I do get that other people pretend more strongly that each toon has a different identity but I would like to see an account/character rapport toggle.

A while back I tried to get a conversation going about companion builds and it fell flat: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/592276/fun-or-creative-updated-companion-builds#latest. This makes me think most people would not care for a different build for character. There apparently isn't enough to them to even get a lively conversation about difficult build on the forums. 🤣

I would like to see more companions be released, especially more "evil" ones. They have been a little more interesting to experiment with than I originally thought. I look forward to more companions based on the other classes with different combat options and commentary and opinions as with just two personalities it does get repetitive. This seems way more fun than a deeper dive into per character relationships and romances. I have zero interest in building nuanced fake relationships between my characters and their companions when they are kind of just glorified pets to me. I chuckle at funny-timed comments by my companions just like I smile when my pet does a cute animation.

A unique outfit but that's it. It's far better to have them only need their combat skills leveled the once.

I do wish they had their own inventories so it was more reasonable to switch their builds. I also would like to be able to lock their weapons.

Apart from that though, companions are already good for what they are.

VaranisArano wrote: »

Companion progression, i.e. ranking up their skills, is account wide because it'd be a punishing per- character grind.

It's not unfair, and no, I have zero interest in leveling them up separately to level 20 for each character.

Only the initial Quest to unlock them and Rapport gain is per-character, and that's for roleplaying reasons.


Now, I'm not sure why ZOS decided that the equipped gear and skill bars needed to be account wide, since they only released two companions. There seems to be an obvious hole in one role of the PVE trinity. On the other hand, it does mean you don't have to farm multiple sets of the same gear for multiple tank Bastians on several characters like you would if Bastian had unique builds for each character.

And similarly, I'm not sure why they decided to make outfits account wide.

I wonder if we'll eventually see a "Companion Armory" where we can save and quickly swap between builds for them.

I did not respond to the poll as the answers are to complicated for a simple yes or no question.

I do agree with Varanis here. Especially that it is a good thing that the progression of the companion is account wide. I could not imagine leveling up the companion for each character.

Mesite wrote: »

Companions are only an issue for people with Blackwood or ESO+. Hopefully the next chapter will add a companion to the base game for casual players.

What does being casual have to do with owning an expansion or not?