PTS Update 38 - Feedback Thread for New Companions

Necrotech_Master · May 2023

ADarklore wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

isobels ultimate is useful? first time i heard that lol

from my experience with it, it was so bad i even took the ultimate off her bar so she couldnt cast it because of that ridiculous 3.8 sec cast time, and it felt very non-impactful if it did connect with the enemy

many cases the enemy either 1) died before it fired, 2) interrupted her before she finished casting it, or 3) straight up killed her before she finished casting it

from the 4 existing companions the only ones ive found with decent ults are ember and mirri (mirri has a 3 sec cast time but applies a unique 20% dmg taken debuff to the target while the cast is going) (ember has virtually no cast time, aoe dot ult, that even has execute scaling)

Ok, you got me. It sounds good on paper but I never really paid attention to it until I went onto PTS and threw a few pieces of Prolific and Parallel on her to see how well she did. You are absolutely right about the long cast time and being interrupted, saw that several times, but also the fact that it seems to hardly do ANY damage, I was shocked. Considering it is themed on 'Dawnbreaker' I expected more out of it. I think you have a point about just removing it, with how badly it performs.

i took it off of the bar entirely, because i have her set up as a tank

now you see where a 3.8 sec cast time skill becomes a real major issue lol, she was failing to block things or keep her shields up trying to cast this ult

the ult has half of its dmg divided into the 2nd condition, which is you the player dealing dmg to the target after they were hit by it

so considering the fact that it either failed to cast, or cast too late, that bonus dmg almost never really applied, and it is only applied once per cast, not all of your dmg for like 2 or 3 seconds

bastians ult is almost as bad, he has a 2 sec cast time, and generally also has to be within melee range for at least 1-2 full seconds before he casts it, so its effectively a near 4 sec delay (if you have a more ranged focused bastion, i have bastion slotted as a healer right now)

ADarklore · May 2023

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i took it off of the bar entirely, because i have her set up as a tank

now you see where a 3.8 sec cast time skill becomes a real major issue lol, she was failing to block things or keep her shields up trying to cast this ult

the ult has half of its dmg divided into the 2nd condition, which is you the player dealing dmg to the target after they were hit by it

so considering the fact that it either failed to cast, or cast too late, that bonus dmg almost never really applied, and it is only applied once per cast, not all of your dmg for like 2 or 3 seconds

bastians ult is almost as bad, he has a 2 sec cast time, and generally also has to be within melee range for at least 1-2 full seconds before he casts it, so its effectively a near 4 sec delay (if you have a more ranged focused bastion, i have bastion slotted as a healer right now)

I have Bastian set as my main tank, he does excellent at it, and will be even better when I can craft TE on Live. However, you make another good point about tanks and ultimates, something I never considered. So thanks for that.

Necrotech_Master · May 2023

ADarklore wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

i took it off of the bar entirely, because i have her set up as a tank

now you see where a 3.8 sec cast time skill becomes a real major issue lol, she was failing to block things or keep her shields up trying to cast this ult

the ult has half of its dmg divided into the 2nd condition, which is you the player dealing dmg to the target after they were hit by it

so considering the fact that it either failed to cast, or cast too late, that bonus dmg almost never really applied, and it is only applied once per cast, not all of your dmg for like 2 or 3 seconds

bastians ult is almost as bad, he has a 2 sec cast time, and generally also has to be within melee range for at least 1-2 full seconds before he casts it, so its effectively a near 4 sec delay (if you have a more ranged focused bastion, i have bastion slotted as a healer right now)

I have Bastian set as my main tank, he does excellent at it, and will be even better when I can craft TE on Live. However, you make another good point about tanks and ultimates, something I never considered. So thanks for that.

currently i have mirri and ember set up as dps, though i tend to use ember more right now

i have bastian set up as a healer, and isobel set up as a tank

i havent yet decided what roles the 2 new companions should have

i definitely put the companions through their rigors, i use them to help support an aspect my character is lacking (tank or heals for my dps, tank or dps for my healer, or dps for my tank)

they really do help make soloing group dungeons a lot easier, as well as figuring out what their pain points or AI quirks are (i solo'd unhallowed grave with isobel as a companion, it was interesting trying to get isobel to move the kiln boss to the right pad to stop the fire)

tomofhyrule · May 2023

Isobel's ultimate still has one major advantage over Bastian's: she can cast it. If Basti's in a ranged setup, he'll always be out of range for his ult so he never ends up firing it.

I would like it if they would go back and make sure each companion's skills were effective, particularly the ultimates (which should feel, well... ultimate). Ember's is just so much better than the others' it's not even funny.

phaneub17_ESO · May 2023

Sharp-as-Night solves two of my biggest pet peeves about companion healers. The first is them blowing through all their spells at once and then are left auto-attacking until the next time everything comes off cooldown; this reduces the chance of having a heal up when you need it. The usual solution is give them Quickened so they cast more frequently and hopefully use it when you need it, but lowers the output of the heals. The second is most companion heals don't target themselves, its a situation where they can heal themselves or use it on another target increasing their own chance of dying.

He specifically has 4 heals that include himself in the target space which increases his own survivability. 3 of these heals are condition based so he isn't burning through them all at once. His self-heal, Snow Squall, is decent and has a heal over time component built in. Petals of the Hunter also solves for when all his abilities are on cooldown or condition hasn't been met to heal periodically as he auto attacks while not doing anything else, reducing the need to cast heal. I don't have to do a full Quickened build to make sure heals are always ready, I can actually put full Soothing on him and make it count.

Dual-Wield, Light, all Soothing. Perennial Bloom, Fungal Forage, Snow Squall, [Choice], and Petals of the Hunter. Two-Handed heals for more, Dual-Wield attacks twice which is more healing overall and can catch more periodic damage. This keeps him in melee range so his Perennial Bloom is more likely to heal himself along with you, Fungal Forage burst for 50% more healing as well.

Choice
- Reverse Entropy to make him a full healer and his only other cast as it comes up spell.
- Infest so he has some damaging attack and provides Minor Vulnerability.
- Cold Snap since he's in melee range he can do some additional AOE.
- Ritual of Salvation providing damage reduction on top of healing as he attacks.
- Razor Cape, same as above two but combined with a lower cooldown.

Elsonso · May 2023

Kelinmiriel wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

UPDATE: So just completed Sharp's first quest, and yeah, totally didn't expect that awful public dungeon!! However, at level 25 with whatever gear PTS gives us, I was able to get through it fine... although, I did venture to Blackwood and collect Mirri, as she's my healer companion. Not sure how I would have fared otherwise. WHY did they think this was a good idea?!?

UPDATE 2: Just completed Azandar's first quest and UGH... a public dungeon AND a delve?!? This is so NOT going to be fun doing this quest on all my alts!! If people thought Isobel's quest was bad, at least it took place roughly in the same area. I could knock her quest out in less than 15/mins but Azandar's quest, there really is no way to do it faster because of the dungeons.

Yes, now you know what I was talking about. Plus both quests require you to travel all over the map - so if it's a new character that doesn't have a fast mount yet, better hope you can get someone to port to who has the shrines. Or it's just going to miserably long.

As I recall, with Sharp, it was run across the map to get a pin so you can run across the map and talk to someone who gives you a pin so you can meet up with someone and get a pin to head into the dungeon. I stopped there in frustration. It was dull and boring. On the plus side, Sharp's intro quest is really good for getting the "Explorer" achievement for the zone.

Isobel was annoying with the running around, and made more annoying by the very specific direction one had to approach one of the objectives, but at least something happened at each point of interest.

Didn't try Azandar, but if that is half as bad as Sharp, it would still be too boring and dull.

ADarklore · May 2023

Elsonso wrote: »

Kelinmiriel wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

UPDATE: So just completed Sharp's first quest, and yeah, totally didn't expect that awful public dungeon!! However, at level 25 with whatever gear PTS gives us, I was able to get through it fine... although, I did venture to Blackwood and collect Mirri, as she's my healer companion. Not sure how I would have fared otherwise. WHY did they think this was a good idea?!?

UPDATE 2: Just completed Azandar's first quest and UGH... a public dungeon AND a delve?!? This is so NOT going to be fun doing this quest on all my alts!! If people thought Isobel's quest was bad, at least it took place roughly in the same area. I could knock her quest out in less than 15/mins but Azandar's quest, there really is no way to do it faster because of the dungeons.

Yes, now you know what I was talking about. Plus both quests require you to travel all over the map - so if it's a new character that doesn't have a fast mount yet, better hope you can get someone to port to who has the shrines. Or it's just going to miserably long.

As I recall, with Sharp, it was run across the map to get a pin so you can run across the map and talk to someone who gives you a pin so you can meet up with someone and get a pin to head into the dungeon. I stopped there in frustration. It was dull and boring. On the plus side, Sharp's intro quest is really good for getting the "Explorer" achievement for the zone.

Isobel was annoying with the running around, and made more annoying by the very specific direction one had to approach one of the objectives, but at least something happened at each point of interest.

Didn't try Azandar, but if that is half as bad as Sharp, it would still be too boring and dull.

Azandar's quest is worse, and LONGER. Now Sharp's was relatively local, but Azandar's has you going even further for your quest pins, so it's best to have ALL the wayshrines unlocked before doing them... or have mount speed maxed, which I did on PTS. Besides that, you have to get through a lengthy public dungeon AND then a delve, and THEN return across the map (thankfully you can just pay the wayshrine charge to teleport back) to finish the quest.

I got to the point I could do Isobel's quest in about 10/m, Ember's I thought was even more annoying just because of the stupid tasks... at least Isobel's you had somewhat of a 'quest' to do for each segment, whereas Ember's was just 'busy work'. I much preferred Mirri and Bastian's straightforward quests... which also took about 10/m each but none of the 'running all over the map' to complete. ZOS seems to think that 'quests' must involve a lot of "fetching" in order to be considered a 'quest', whereas I think, in regards to companions, their initial quest should be able to be completed quickly- and their subsequent quests are where you can introduce the 'fetching' involving dungeons and delves.

phaneub17_ESO · May 2023

For Azandar go through both portals first which gives you wayshrine access in the far east and far west of Apocrypha, before starting his quest.

Elvenheart · May 2023

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

For Azandar go through both portals first which gives you wayshrine access in the far east and far west of Apocrypha, before starting his quest.

I remember finding one portal in Necrom. Where is the other portal for the other side of Apocrypha?

ADarklore · May 2023

Elvenheart wrote: »

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

For Azandar go through both portals first which gives you wayshrine access in the far east and far west of Apocrypha, before starting his quest.

I remember finding one portal in Necrom. Where is the other portal for the other side of Apocrypha?

There are two portals right next to each other in Necrom.

Elsonso · May 2023

ADarklore wrote: »

Azandar's quest is worse, and LONGER. Now Sharp's was relatively local, but Azandar's has you going even further for your quest pins, so it's best to have ALL the wayshrines unlocked before doing them... or have mount speed maxed, which I did on PTS. Besides that, you have to get through a lengthy public dungeon AND then a delve, and THEN return across the map (thankfully you can just pay the wayshrine charge to teleport back) to finish the quest.

Sigh. I hope they don't keep this up. These are just companions and they don't need a full three act quest just to unlock/recruit them.

ADarklore · May 2023

Elsonso wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Azandar's quest is worse, and LONGER. Now Sharp's was relatively local, but Azandar's has you going even further for your quest pins, so it's best to have ALL the wayshrines unlocked before doing them... or have mount speed maxed, which I did on PTS. Besides that, you have to get through a lengthy public dungeon AND then a delve, and THEN return across the map (thankfully you can just pay the wayshrine charge to teleport back) to finish the quest.

Sigh. I hope they don't keep this up. These are just companions and they don't need a full three act quest just to unlock/recruit them.

I personally wouldn't care if their rapport-related continuation quests were long, but their initial acquisition quest should be kept short. They are making it increasingly painful for players with a lot of alts to acquire them. Sure they made their rapport gain better, but they also made their acquisition quests worst.

stormwin · July 2023

Azandar stays too close. On foot or mounted.

He interferes more with looting and object interaction.

While mounted he stays extremely close and almost always clips with my character or mount.

itsfatbass · September 2023

I have found no other feedback or bug reports about this yet.

Azandar's skill "Fate Omen's Inspiration" is to provide Minor Berserk to himself and allies.

From what I can tell according to CMX logs, this Minor Berserk buff is not actually applying to allies. I have ensured I am proper positioning and can see him using the ability, but no logs indicate I'm actually getting hit with the Minor Berserk buff. Anyone have any input on this?

Araneae6537 · September 2023

ADarklore wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Azandar's quest is worse, and LONGER. Now Sharp's was relatively local, but Azandar's has you going even further for your quest pins, so it's best to have ALL the wayshrines unlocked before doing them... or have mount speed maxed, which I did on PTS. Besides that, you have to get through a lengthy public dungeon AND then a delve, and THEN return across the map (thankfully you can just pay the wayshrine charge to teleport back) to finish the quest.

Sigh. I hope they don't keep this up. These are just companions and they don't need a full three act quest just to unlock/recruit them.

I personally wouldn't care if their rapport-related continuation quests were long, but their initial acquisition quest should be kept short. They are making it increasingly painful for players with a lot of alts to acquire them. Sure they made their rapport gain better, but they also made their acquisition quests worst.

I’ve enjoyed Sharp’s unlock quest the most of any of the companions so far. I don’t unlock any companion on all my characters, certainly not all at once, as that would make any quest unenjoyable IMO.

Actually, Sharp is my favorite character so far — I like his story, his lines, his design, his abilities, and I can relax while adventuring with him that I’m not going to accidentally do something to lose rapport (if I could disable targeting squirrels and harvesting butterflies, I would).

Araneae6537 · September 2023

I enjoyed Azander’s acquisition quest too — the Apocrypha public dungeon has it’s own fun story that seems to tie in with Azander’s. (I am slow in getting to everything and the early comparison of him to Willy Wonka turned me off a bit, but so far, he makes me think more of The Doctor.

)

I like these type of character acquisition quests — my own characters and current companion, if I have one, earn XP along the way too, along with loot, etc. I wouldn’t mind a longer purely RP quest like Isobel’s if I got some choice in how to respond, otherwise it’s tedious and painful if the script does not fit your character.

As for the difficulty, you don’t have to face any of the bosses to do the companion quests. I unlocked Sharp on my low level Arcanist and even with some CP assigned, had difficulty with several of the Gorne bosses without assistance, but it was clear I did not have to fight them if I just wanted to do Sharp’s quest.