Treselegant wrote: »

I think a male companion character with this sort of attitude could be interesting and different. However, considering how sensitive some players are about having companions who don't validate their actions I can imagine such a character might have low interest. So I don't know.

OMG, calm down the passive aggressiveness aimed at those who don't like Bastian. No companion will be universally liked. Liking Bastian doesn't make you a better, more mature, or more enlightened person than those who don't.

I don't like Bastian, but it has nothing to do with validating my actions. It's about making it a PITA to do some in-game activities without having to dismiss him. I blame the designers for that. I've said before it makes no sense to penalize players for playing the darn game.

I find Isobel bland. So far, not much personality. I haven't played with Ember much so I don't have an opinion yet. I like Mirri because she's the eldest of the four and she snarks. Not everyone likes snark. Doesn't mean they're overly sensitive or anything.

OMG, calm down the passive aggressiveness aimed at those who don't like Bastian

The whole thread was about how everyone is feeling about the new companions. I don't really like them, they're overly perky and simpering. I would prefer if we had better options over all. We now have 3 female companions for those who like that sort of thing and I'm just a little tired of the constant 'well if that's what everyone wants' when it's obviously not true.

If you are feeling targetted by my comments in some way perhaps think on that because it says more about you than me. I'm just here like everyone else making my opinion known. It's been actually very nice being able to talk about these things for a change. If you hate a particular npc, good for you, but getting worked up is unneccessary.

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

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.

I feel Bastian is very disappointing because he is a Breton in all but race. Instead of being used for something like exploring Nibenese culture, which Blackwood severely lacked (there was some, but little). Imperials already suffer from lack of meaningful cultural exploration. Isobel is an upgrade over Bastian primarily because her backstory explores Bretonic knightly culture, and exploration of her race. Now we essentially have two Breton characters.

Treselegant wrote: »

OMG, calm down the passive aggressiveness aimed at those who don't like Bastian

The whole thread was about is how everyone is feeling about the new companions. I don't really like them, they're overly perky and simpering. I would prefer if we had better options overall. We now have 3 female companions for those who like that sort of thing and I'm just a little tired of the contant 'well if that's what everyone' wants when it's obviously not true.

Agreed. Respones from ZOS like Kevin's above just makes me worried they will try please some loud crowd and make companions that fits and pleases them. It's not only personality wise either. Every companion has gotten complaints about their looks in some way because they are not picture perfect attractive. I can imagine how some posts here would look if we got an altmer in the future who is old and not good looking. I want interesting characters with a variety of looks and personalities.

Aliyavana wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

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.

I feel Bastian is very disappointing because he is a Breton in all but race. Instead of being used for something like exploring Nibenese culture, which Blackwood severely lacked (there was some, but little). Imperials already suffer from lack of meaningful cultural exploration. Isobel is an upgrade over Bastian primarily because her backstory explores Bretonic knightly culture, and exploration of her race. Now we essentially have two Breton characters.

I don't think he is disappointing, but I can agree I am very frustrated with ZOS for making him an imperial when he is like a poster boy of bretoness. Think he even was described as a breton early on then they changed him to an imperial of some reason. Would've much prefered if his race was changed to breton, or he had a much more imperial background and personality. But if I start talk about that I will rant on for hours everything I'm disappointed with when it comes to Blackwood and ZOS treatment of imperials in general.

For a knight, Isobel is too.... soft. I wager it is her voice, soft, as if always in awe of everything around - but kind of like a teen grown up in fluff and utter ignorance, rather than a young warrior woman willing to explore. And this is regardless of her lines, which indeed are being rather bland when spoken in that manner. And no, it does not come across as wise and mature, it comes across as shallow.

Ember has the bonus of being a sorccerer. It is kind of a pity to see the khajiti pushed forth like that. Since Summerset is considered to be the birthplace of magic, and altmers among the most magical races, seeing a khajit spinning lightnings like that is kind of ... off-putting.

But then again, the obvious racism against altmers is no longer a secret. After all we never as much as got a house-guest of that race ( not even the psijic one - which would have been probably the most logical to be altmer) - so yes it is nice to have a magical companion. It is also nice for her to have thieving inclinations (nice contrast between magic and outlaw- should see more such constrasts in companions) and while she too feels too childish, her khajit origin sort of makes it right. You just can't expect more from a cat no?

For someone in no need of a companion other than for rp purposes, I have yet to find "the one" among the given options. Ember over Isobel - for this thread , but more immersion overall ( someone above mentioned various npcs reacting to the companions presence based on their story-line) - would be welcome.

Nobody is perfect - not even the "good characters" over the "not so good ones" (the actual contrast between these two companions, similar with the other 2 in the past). Give them some lines enabling some level of contrast . I saw the interview with Isobel's actress, and I really loved her.... real voice. The whole thing pulled on Isobel sounds like I said. But at one time in the interview she goes very decided about her work (and looks straight into the camera) - now THAT would of been an awesome tone to be used on Isobel herself. Never heard it.

From a roleplaying perspective, I wasn't quite delighted when I just picked off Ember and she said something along the lines "I love to steal and murder!" with notable enthusiasm, while in the middle of town. Why would you tell a person you barely know, in public even? That's far from discreet and would, logically, only bring trouble to a thief or assassin.

Then I gave Isobel a try, and one of the first things she said when asking her about her likes and dislikes was that she knew that I was a member of the Dark Brotherhood and that I should please refrain from murdering anyone while she's with me (same goes for thievery). So she seems to be okay with it as long as she's not involved? That doesn't fit her character. Why does she even have to bring that topic up at all (one could assume that the ordinary citizen dislikes murder and wouldn't explicitly tell you that)? Why does she have to mention the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood without us telling her about it beforehand? There should have been a dialogue option whether to tell her or not (I would, of course, not inform someone whom I just met an hour ago about these kind of things).

Of course it's nice and convenient to list likes and dislikes through that dialogue option, but does it have to include every single detail? Is it really too complicated for players to find out things by themselves? Or to assume that a honourful knight type of character won't approve if you randomly murder innocent people?

That said, I find Isobel quite likeable (maybe it depends on the localization, I don't find her lines childlike and her voice seems totally okay to me), even if I have to send her away from time to time.

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

He also doesn't dislike killing spiders, so they are also wrong about that. Something that is common with the people who whine about him. He dislikes killing animals like chickens, hares, squirrels etc. Not spiders and centipedes.

He makes a comment if you kill them, though ("You are going to eat that, are you?" - No, Bastian, I won't eat that centipede, and I won't eat spiders either!), although without losing rapport, I think. Maybe that is confusing people. And yes, I'm 100% sure that he does, because I remember I found the suggestion to eat a centipede quite... curious (although I know that there are real life cultures who use them as food).

Treselegant wrote: »

I feel a lot of the 'features' in this chapter are aimed at a particular demographic and I'm not part of it.

I'm not sure if it's about the same thing, but I've also got the impression that this chapter has a certain "style" that's not really to my liking. The excessive "flirting" and innuendo, and many characters seem so over the top stereotypical... Of course I know that tropes are extremely common in fiction, but if it's too exaggerated, it's becoming cheesy. Every older mage on High Isle seems to be somehow weird and quirky and speaks with a high, squeaky voice, and the two druid elders in one village also seemed more like from a comedy or satirical cartoon. And don't get me started about Jakarn who was depicted as a charming well-spoken trickster before, who is so awkward now that no one would ever fall for him, quite the opposite. And then, there's that awful screaming bard... I really hope that's only this chapters "style" (as all chapters so far had a different mood) and that it won't continue like that, especially if next year we'll really travel to Telvanni Peninsula. Imagining a Dunmeri chapter filled with cheap exaggerated stereotypes, questionable innuendo and childish comic relief characters is outright creepy. I've got nothing against a bit of humour every now and then, but turning everything into a big joke would be an awful waste.

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

I don't think he is disappointing, but I can agree I am very frustrated with ZOS for making him an imperial when he is like a poster boy of bretoness. Think he even was described as a breton early on then they changed him to an imperial of some reason. Would've much prefered if his race was changed to breton, or he had a much more imperial background and personality. But if I start talk about that I will rant on for hours everything I'm disappointed with when it comes to Blackwood and ZOS treatment of imperials in general.

Well, you do realize that Bastian was RAISED in Daggerfall, raised by Bretons... so of course he would be more 'Breton-like' than Imperial, since he was never raised in Imperial culture or around Imperials at all really. Then you look at Ember, who is a Khajit, who was never raised in a traditional Khajit family nor had any real ties to the Khajiti people. I'm not sure why ZOS seems to go this route with two Companions... making them a specific race and then completely negating their racial culture.

ADarklore wrote: »

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

I don't think he is disappointing, but I can agree I am very frustrated with ZOS for making him an imperial when he is like a poster boy of bretoness. Think he even was described as a breton early on then they changed him to an imperial of some reason. Would've much prefered if his race was changed to breton, or he had a much more imperial background and personality. But if I start talk about that I will rant on for hours everything I'm disappointed with when it comes to Blackwood and ZOS treatment of imperials in general.

Well, you do realize that Bastian was RAISED in Daggerfall, raised by Bretons... so of course he would be more 'Breton-like' than Imperial, since he was never raised in Imperial culture or around Imperials at all really. Then you look at Ember, who is a Khajit, who was never raised in a traditional Khajit family nor had any real ties to the Khajiti people. I'm not sure why ZOS seems to go this route with two Companions... making them a specific race and then completely negating their racial culture.

Yes, I know? Did you miss the part with me being frustrated that he was described as a breton first then they did some late changes and made him imperial?

All races can be found across all of Tamriel. There are bosmer being born and raised in Skyrim far away from any knowledge of what the Green Pact is. There are khajiit being raised by orcs etc etc. The thing is, when we only get two companions a year it would be nice if the first ones we get are one of each race and they fit the culture of their race for the most part. It's a good way to show some of their culture and lore, and could also be a way to give some insight to that chapter's location either from an outsider or a native's view. If the companions had more dialogue regarding other characters, places and quests that is.
After that they can start experiment with mixing things up.

Right now, we have two companions that are "breton".

@SammyKhajit Are you on PC NA? I have many bananas I can donate to a Khajiit in need so that Isobel gets her fill of banana desserts and gains fondness for said Khajiit as a result.

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

Syldras wrote: »

she knew that I was a member of the Dark Brotherhood and that I should please refrain from murdering anyone while she's with me (same goes for thievery).waste.

Uurrgh..... And so the horrible, immersion breaking, and not very roleplaying writing continues.

With only 2 companions releasing a year, and considering the overland content difficulty, I expected the companion system to be a way to get more lore, more story, more rp, etc. I expected them to tell me things about places we go to, about people we meet. At least about the VERY MAJOR ones. You know... Like Bastian and Emeric... Did no one on the dev team think about that?

Instead we get really generic lines that I could do without. Like (and those are actual quotes) "I like campfires..." when coming across a random campfire. Or ""I love cities... " I mean, wow, Bastian... You like cities and campfires? Really? Literally ALL the cities? Or is it maybe this specific city we are in right now? You know, the one whose name wasn't programmed into your dialogue system.

Obiously making a proper companion like the ones in Skyrim would be a ton of work. But at the very least you could take some notes on which locations and NPCs are related to which character, and write some lines for those. Forgetting that Bastian has history with Emeric is sloppy and extremely immersion breaking. And Emeric is in the base game as well, so it's not even a problem with the voice actor not being there for a new chapter or whatever.

Abelon wrote: »

With only 2 companions releasing a year, and considering the overland content difficulty, I expected the companion system to be a way to get more lore, more story, more rp, etc. I expected them to tell me things about places we go to, about people we meet. At least about the VERY MAJOR ones.

That was exactly what I expected: Comments about specific towns or people to deepen the lore. The first thing that I imagined after they revealed that there will be companions (without more details) was how brilliant it was to get, for example, a companion who is a Ayleid scholar and who will tell you more about the history if you enter specific Ayleid ruins ("This town was formerly called x, it was the residence of King y and well-known for z"). I thought that was possible if there are only 2 companions each year, so, yes, realizing that there are mostly short, generic comments was disappointing. Technically, it must be possible, as Mirri reacts positively if you take her to CWC and Isobel's rapport rises if you take her to meet Lyris.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Hi All, just wanted to pop in and thank everyone for your comments regarding our new companions, Isobel and Ember. We've passed this thread along to the dev team to check out your thoughts.

@ZOS_Kevin

Will you please direct them to this thread, too? There is a real desire for more male companion choices and this thread shows the looks and qualities many of us are looking for. Many of us want strong and good looking (Bastian isn't) and flirty male companions.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/606614/male-companions/p1

Many of us want strong and good looking (Bastian isn't)

You need to add "to me personally" here because as I mentioned earlier on in the discussion this isn't true for everyone because obviously everyone has different tastes and you can't please them all.

But yes, other than that, I agree there is a real issue of lack of male companions and lack of options for those who prefer them. Ideally, we should have at least one 'morally flexible' and 'moral' companion of each sex. At the very least.

This one cares not for the gender part or the race part. It really boils down to the script, character development and voice acting. This one likes Isobel despite her Stendaar worshipping, virtuous behaviours because the character is likeable due to the excellent voice acting and pretty decent dialogues. That, and also because she is very good at battles (ie not dying the instant the boss looks at her).

Having said so, it’d be nice to have more variety in genders, race, moral compass etc for players to choose from, or even ways to “corrupt” the companion or influence them to be this way or that through quests and dialogue options. That’d make the interactions less formulaic.

Iselin wrote: »

Redguards don't get enough respect. I want a Sai Sahan lookalike, 2-HD melee beast for our next companion

At least for now. I think next year's focus will be Hammerfell and the Redguards.