Ember X Isobel

Scaletho · June 2022

It seems to me that a very decent number of players prefer Ember over Isobel. I mean, I'm used to see much more Ember's "clones" than Isobel ones while I run High Isle and even other regions.

I'm trying to figure out why. So I ask you about your impressions about these two new companions.

Thanks any opinion.

kojou · June 2022

Ember doesn't care if you steal stuff, and she does more damage would be my guess. That or there is a large fury population that plays ESO. Could go either way.

phaneub17_ESO · June 2022

Isobel is a female Bastian, less preachy than him while more religious dialog, has the Lawful Good personality so you steal, open thieves troves, or kill neutral NPCs she will reprimand you and lose rapport. Ember is more open to what you do if you're successful; you can both gain or lose rapport if you're lousy at pickpocketing or looting safeboxes.

I like Isobel more because she can be a Healer, DPS, and Tank all in the same build; she can do it all without losing too much compared to going a pure build.

TinyDragon · June 2022

I'm not into the whole Dark Brotherhood/Thieves guild thing; but I'm choosing Ember at the minute because

I'm well equipped to be her new mentor. She choose to leave Tor Draioch to pursue her learning, and I'm also a sorceror, a breton, and I'll take her across Tamriel, hopefully guiding her away from mischief!

Timorelle · June 2022

Agree with the "Isobel is female Bastian" line of reasoning. I mean, while her actual personality is different than his, the two have way, way too similar lists of likes and dislikes when it comes to rapport gains/losses.

Ember makes a great companion for all my alts that like to commit crimes. For all my alts that wanna be on the straight and narrow... I mean, I already spent a ton of time getting Bastian leveled and a ton of gold on good gear for him; why spend that time and gold again for what would essentially just be a copy? *shrug*

MasterSpatula · June 2022

I actually prefer both new companions to the old. Ember is exuberant and curious and more than a little ADHD-ish. It's a joy to vicariously experience her joy. And, on top of that, her negative-rapport activates aren't ones that it's almost impossible to avoid due to design flaws in the game.

Isobel is more good and a bit more judgy if you're into the less upright activities, but that's good. It seems right to have good companions. Most people actually do think of stealing and murdering as less than savory. But she comes off a lot more naive and innocent than Bastian, who's both judgmentally moral yet also jaded.

Plus both the new companions recruitment quests are worlds better than Mirr's and Bastian's. And neither of them has Bastian's slouch.

NeKryXe · June 2022

It will be hard to create a companion as annoying as Bastion, the dude is pain, the worst kind companion one can get.

For now I still don't think that Isobel is as bad as Bastion, but... It's a lot more relaxing to play with Ember as companion. I just miss an helmet and a mute option.

Grizzbeorn · June 2022

Isobel is NOT a female Bastion. That is such a shallow, ill-perceived interpretation.

proprio.meb16_ESO · June 2022

Just out of curiosity, but i've seen it mentioned so much that i wonder a lot why people call him constantly Bastion? His name is Bastian Hallix... maybe he's named differently in other languages?

As for the matter itself, i just love Ember... its one of the best npc personalities they've ever made, and the fact she's a companion adds a lot.
For once i've someone with me i'm not annoyed by... Bastian's "What do you think you'll make with that?" line can drive me mad, and the line "They made their choices. So be it." when he address lizards, spiders, zombies or other creatures unable to think is simply ridiculous. Mirri is a little better but she gets annoying as well, and her attitude towards insects at times makes me wish to exterminate all torchbugs from Tamriel.

Also this one wants to marry Ember... but this is a private affair.

Jaimeh · June 2022

I've only done the intro quests for both, so I don't have experience running around with them, and hear what kind of dialogues they have. As for the quests themselves they were both fun, but Isobel's was too long, and I don't think I'll be doing it on subsequent characters, at least for the time being. This could be a factor on companion numbers, since players might have Ember on more alt toons than Isobel, because Ember takes less time to unlock. Also another reason is probably the fact that players have being asking for a companion that they can do justice activities with without losing rapport since last year, so there's that. Finally, Khajiit characters are always very popular (because, well, Khajiit

) so that's another reason.

GrizzlyTank · June 2022

Catgirl wins by default.

ADarklore · June 2022

I MUCH prefer Isobel... Ember seems like a 'child' IMO... a child that seems to delight in killing. Then when you talk to her, she says in that whining voice, "Am I in trouble?" Sorry kid, I want to travel with someone who is more of an adult. Although on the young side, Isobel has a great attitude and as for her being 'preachy', what do you expect from someone who was raised being instilled with the honor and values of being a knight? Further, as far as I know, she's never been outside of High Isle to see the 'real world', so everything for her revolves around 'knightly' behavior.

While I do agree that she is not a Companion to use for 'dishonorable' behavior... she is great otherwise. I already have her leveled to 20 and am now working on leveling Ember, who will be a better Companion for shady Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood quest lines. But other than that, Isobel wins by a mile IMO.

Tommy_The_Gun · June 2022

Because she is a "funny cat person". Don't act as if that is a huge surprise

JellySunset · June 2022

Ember is more fun than Isobel, her quest was much more enjoyable and shorter too. Both are okay but between them I do prefer Ember. Though I'm still really annoyed we never got a new male companion

Treselegant · June 2022

I find them both exceedingly annoying. I was considering using Ember with my more sneeky character but her childish personality and high pitched voice is far too irritating. I did both their quests and couldn't wait for the experience to be over. I feel a lot of the 'features' in this chapter are aimed at a particular demographic and I'm not part of it.

Snamyap · June 2022

I find the lighthearted attitude of Ember a bit jarring with her being fine that I murder everyone and everything in sight. Gimme Arox as a companion!

RaddlemanNumber7 · June 2022

Ember's dialogue reveals criminal intent and a predator's serious lack of empathy. That is way too Evil to be a good fit with any of my RP characters. A nasty surprise. Her abilities seem less useful than Mirri the archer's. I can't see much use for Ember at moment.

I'm trying to like Isobel, but as her name suggests, she's a bit of a flat drone. If only I could convince myself that "sweets" were a euphemism. I was surprised by her familiarity with "pawn" shops though, and buying something cheap and used for her step sister sent a message I was not expecting. Her tankiness is useful. I can see Isobel as a less grating replacement for Bastian in the role of depersonalised tank once she's levelled.

Mirri is still my favourite companion out of the four, and I think Bastion will forever remain my favourite for adverse narrative.

Khenarthi · June 2022

Ember is a kitten, enthusiastic and destructive, and I do not have to tell her to go elsewhere for a bit if I spot a Thieves Trove or want to quickly loot some owned containers.

I'll focus on levelling Isobel at the moment because she's great to have around with World Bosses, but Ember is more flexible for overland shenanigans.

francesinhalover · June 2022

Scaletho wrote: »

It seems to me that a very decent number of players prefer Ember over Isobel. I mean, I'm used to see much more Ember's "clones" than Isobel ones while I run High Isle and even other regions.

I'm trying to figure out why. So I ask you about your impressions about these two new companions.

Thanks any opinion.

1 ember is a cat, cats are fun.
2 ember has that khajit way of talking, also fun.
3 ember is black she blends well with any armor
4 isobel has a resting isobel face.
5 isobel is kinda tank focused?, ppl preffer companions for dmg from what i see.

Holycannoli · June 2022

Treselegant wrote: »

I find them both exceedingly annoying. I was considering using Ember with my more sneeky character but her childish personality and high pitched voice is far too irritating. I did both their quests and couldn't wait for the experience to be over. I feel a lot of the 'features' in this chapter are aimed at a particular demographic and I'm not part of it.

Yeah she's like an ADHD child that likes getting in trouble. She gets annoying. But all four companions get annoying for different reasons lol.

I find Isobel more enjoyable companion but I often forget to dismiss her before I go thieving.

Bonus for Isobel: She loves when I bring out one of my dog pets. I wonder if Ember loves bringing out cat pets?

Mascen · June 2022

Short answer: Because a good chunk of the community hustles their gold and furnishing motifs by stealing and murderhobo-ing the NPCs in the hub towns.

Treselegant · June 2022

But all four companions get annoying for different reasons lol.

True enough. I'm actually very fond of Bastian and have him kitted out and levelled to a point that I really don't need any other companion (thankfully!). Still, like a few female commenters have mentioned in the past, Im still a little aggrieved about the lack of male companion options.

I'm seeing a lot more Embers than Isobels about most likely because of her love of criminality but as with Mirri before them I'm seeing both new companions dragged about in their underwear or bikini armour.

ectoplasmicninja · June 2022

I actually really like Bastian, but I've been running around with Ember since High Isle dropped because she's a lot of fun. I don't murder but I do steal opportunistically, and it's nice to not have to remember to put away my companion before I grab a Thieves Trove or dig through some cabinets. Her attitude and dialogue are also fun. As everyone said, she's a kitten - sweet, adorable, excitable, destructive, and violent all at once - and that makes sense for my main who typically tries to make moral choices when there are choices to make but is also a member of the Dark Brotherhood because of reasons.

I will also level Isobel, but I do my companions one by one so Ember is where I'm at right now. I still like Bastian but I think she might be my new favourite going forward. It's also obvious that more effort was put into the new companions. I'm curious whether when they introduce romance (because I'm assuming that's in the works eventually) they'll let us romance older companions or just new ones...I have a magDK who will be so sad if she can't romance Bastian.

phairdon · June 2022

Use Ember, Bastian & Mirri with my Templar characters. Five Templar's, five different races.

Use Isobel, Bastian & Mirri with all my non Templar characters.

YstradClud · June 2022

Scaletho wrote: »

It seems to me that a very decent number of players prefer Ember over Isobel.

Not me. I find Isobel the best of all the companions so far but that's probably just my odd taste.

Freelancer_ESO · June 2022

Isobel's quest line is long which turns people off from using her as they'd need to do it on multiple characters to use her on multiple characters.

Isobel is a Knight which will turn off more crime oriented characters.

Isobel is a somewhat non-traditional Knight which can be a turn off for people that like Knights. Her competition and her superior are questionable enough that she looks worse by association.

Isobel is arguably less attractive than some of the other companions and as some people use companions as eye candy that will likely also be a factor.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Templar ability visuals so for me that is also a factor.

Isobel's rapport quest line is my least favorite companion quest line thus far which is also a factor.

ADarklore · June 2022

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

Ember's dialogue reveals criminal intent and a predator's serious lack of empathy. That is way too Evil to be a good fit with any of my RP characters. A nasty surprise. Her abilities seem less useful than Mirri the archer's. I can't see much use for Ember at moment.

I'm trying to like Isobel, but as her name suggests, she's a bit of a flat drone. If only I could convince myself that "sweets" were a euphemism. I was surprised by her familiarity with "pawn" shops though, and buying something cheap and used for her step sister sent a message I was not expecting. Her tankiness is useful. I can see Isobel as a less grating replacement for Bastian in the role of depersonalised tank once she's levelled.

Mirri is still my favourite companion out of the four, and I think Bastion will forever remain my favourite for adverse narrative.

You do realize there was an 'implied' relationship between the Isobel and Aurelia, as indicated by Mortens if you speak to him after the trophy presentation, which was NOT 'sisterly' at all in nature. They also speak to each other in much more 'intimate' dialogue than one would expect from any two people that were 'just friends'.
I did find it odd, however, how Isobel was so quick to walk away from Aurelia after the quest.

NotaDaedraWorshipper · June 2022

I will never understand Bastian hate and why people deem it so necessary to proclaim theirs. Of what I've seen so far I don't hate them but I'm not particularly fond of them either. Definitely not a fan of Ember's eyes, but compared to others I actually like that hairstyle on khajiit.

I'd probably only have them out to level them up and get raport so I can use them as houseguests and see their quests.

SilverBride · June 2022

I am very much not into the "furry" thing but I prefer Ember because she doesn't care if I steal like Bastian does, or care if I pick up bugs and insult me constantly like Mirri does.

Isobel just looks angry all the time. They really should fix her eyebrows which was pointed out in another thread.

Treselegant · June 2022

I will never understand Bastian hate and why people deem it so necessary to proclaim theirs

Absolutely, it's really unnecessary. Having to mention how much you hate an npc every time someone mentions them is a bit much. Ok, so they might not suit you personally but thats the nature of things isn't it? Everyone has different tastes and prefer different things. I only talk about my feelings regarding certain companions when that's the topic and even then I don't have strong feelings. Some of what I have seen in comments about Bastian says more about the commenter than the character.

DarcyMardin · June 2022

I like both Isobel and Ember. So far I’ve been using Isobel a bit more. Ember seems awfully young to me, but I do like her.
When I’m stealing or using BoW, I usually drop any of the companions I have active at the time.