I simply love Zerith Var and how far they went with his voice acting!

Hygiliack · April 11

I love his deep voice, find it soothing
I love his Ta'agra lines
I love his funny comments "Heads, I call heads, I suppose that counts"(And actually, that is with a memento of all things! haha), "At last. The shores are free from this terror you call … mudcrab." ahaha I love him

And I just found even more to love about him, he has lines for quests that were made before, YEARS before he was released. I have had him comment on some missions in Rawl'kha, Northern Elsweyr and now I was doing Southern Elsweyr's "Wall of life" mission and he also has comments there about that mission, I JUST LOVE that they thought of adding those and hope they keep on doing that(I mean, we are missing a wood elf companion, and many of us wanted Eveli so I am hoping they give us a worthy stand in for her, then we are also missing a Nord(And who knows, they could add a senche raht, dagi, sea elf(We do see a girl that was in a relationship with a High Elf, so they are not all evil) etc.

I only hope they chose amazing voice actors like the ones for Zerith, Sharp or Azandar, and not annoying like Mirri or ugh-Tanlorin(Sorry tree, we need your flesh chunk!, argh, I grit my teeth every time that line comes out, and to think that companion is one of the best damage dealers -_-)

FlameDark · April 11

He has a lot of neat lines, especially with old content. One of my favorites is when you complete an Abyssal Geyser in Summerset and he reacts with "Sometimes I wish our adventures were less ... damp. Var, var, var." but he will also make comments when you defeat dolmens in base games zone. Or when you summon a feline pet with him and he says "I wonder if Ja'kh will play nicely with your pet there. But I think he may be as shy in death as he was in life." I was actually pleasantly surprised with the amount of voice lines they gave him. Even for random things like using the Coin of Illusory Riches Momento he will shout "Heads. I call heads! ... I suppose that counts?".

DragonRacer · April 11

Agreed. I didn't think anyone would supplant Sharps as my favorite companion, and that's even with my natural bias since it's Garrus's voice actor and I like the beast folk races, but Zerith-Var is right up there. My main Khajiit definitely has a big crush on the old cat.

AdriRaven · April 11

Darin DePaul is the GOAT. Nice to see him in a good, likeable role!

whitecrow · April 11

Agreed, he is one of the best things they put in the game in years.

AScarlato · April 11

I also really liked Zerith and he was great to be around. Sharp as well.

I am presently trying to level Tanlorin but they are so grating to me. I haven't used Azander yet so I may drop them for him and see how that goes.

DoofusMax · April 11

When it comes to performance, I am really torn between Zerith-var, Ember, and Azandar. All of them have memorable personalities that just shine through the written dialogue.

Elvenheart · April 11

Agreed with everything that’s been said about Zerith Var, and I want to include his full quest is one of my favorites as well.

LootAllTheStuff · April 11

AScarlato wrote: »

I also really liked Zerith and he was great to be around. Sharp as well.

I am presently trying to level Tanlorin but they are so grating to me. I haven't used Azander yet so I may drop them for him and see how that goes.

I find Azandar not as grating, and he makes a pretty good healer companion. I did change his outfit though - dude needs something more practical for adventuring than his default street clothes.

Malyore · April 11

Elvenheart wrote: »

Agreed with everything that’s been said about Zerith Var, and I want to include his full quest is one of my favorites as well.

Yes his quest was some of the most fun I had in the game in YEARS.

Syldras · April 11

It was an awesome questline. True to what TES storytelling used to be: An exploration of a fictional culture and their traditions, and not moralizing at that.

Kallykat · April 11

He's definitely one of my favorite companions.

Even though I know a lot of people are still waiting for a Bosmer, Nord, or Orc, I'm glad they added another Khajiit since Ember doesn't cut it for me. I can't stand her cutesy voice. The "magicky" line drives me crazy. I actually lowered the companion commentary on a character because of her.

Zerith, on the other hand, is a great Khajiit companion with interesting lore. I hope more great companions are coming soon.

tomofhyrule · April 11

Zerith was gloriously written. After the trajectory that ESO's writing has been on, it's nice to see that there are still some lines that they can knock it out of the park.

I actually have an entire character idea specifically because Zerith got me interested in that part of the lore.

Garrus Sharp is still my ride-or-die, and Basti is my bro back home, but it felt really good to bring Zerith along. I hope that the next set of Companions we get (pls new Classes!) will be much more along the Zerith side in terms of story as opposed to the Tanlorin side.

allochthons · April 11

Garrus Sharp is my fave by far, because of how well he is written, how misanthropic he is, and because *that* particular voice that Brandon Keener does is amazing. I do kinda miss the post-processing it has in Mass Effect.

But Zareth's mud-crab line crack me up every time I'm fighting the Queen of the Reef, Tide-spite, or other large mud-crab.

Malyore · April 11

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Zerith was gloriously written. After the trajectory that ESO's writing has been on, it's nice to see that there are still some lines that they can knock it out of the park.

I actually have an entire character idea specifically because Zerith got me interested in that part of the lore.

Garrus Sharp is still my ride-or-die, and Basti is my bro back home, but it felt really good to bring Zerith along. I hope that the next set of Companions we get (pls new Classes!) will be much more along the Zerith side in terms of story as opposed to the Tanlorin side.

I feel sad that I didn't try Bastian until just recently. I was saving him up because I wasn't sure if I wanted his passive or not due to inventory management.
I enjoy his character, but there is just so much quantity of interaction missing in comparison to Zerith. I would love to see more depth added to the others. And I hope they can continue to build on the current companions for things like dialogue with gifts, be able to spar or ToT against them, and have more quests added later on. And helmets.

Zerith is the only one I am leveling every skill line he has to its maximum. I use him as a tank, but he deserves to be filled with all that time and experience together.

metheglyn · April 11

Malyore wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Zerith was gloriously written. After the trajectory that ESO's writing has been on, it's nice to see that there are still some lines that they can knock it out of the park.

I actually have an entire character idea specifically because Zerith got me interested in that part of the lore.

Garrus Sharp is still my ride-or-die, and Basti is my bro back home, but it felt really good to bring Zerith along. I hope that the next set of Companions we get (pls new Classes!) will be much more along the Zerith side in terms of story as opposed to the Tanlorin side.

I feel sad that I didn't try Bastian until just recently. I was saving him up because I wasn't sure if I wanted his passive or not due to inventory management.
I enjoy his character, but there is just so much quantity of interaction missing in comparison to Zerith. I would love to see more depth added to the others. And I hope they can continue to build on the current companions for things like dialogue with gifts, be able to spar or ToT against them, and have more quests added later on. And helmets.

Zerith is the only one I am leveling every skill line he has to its maximum. I use him as a tank, but he deserves to be filled with all that time and experience together.

Bastian, Sharp, and Zerith are my favorites; I'd be hard-pressed to choose between them for number one favorite. I agree that the older companions deserve to be brought up to the level of the most recent ones--not only do Mirri and Bastian not have as many voice lines, they don't have as many personal quests, and their letters aren't furnishings.

I have no opinion on the helmet issue, but I do agree with your other points as to adding more to the companions over time. I think it's a system that can be greatly expanded upon and made even better than it already is.

ViggyBoi · 1:17AM

AScarlato wrote: »

I also really liked Zerith and he was great to be around. Sharp as well.

I am presently trying to level Tanlorin but they are so grating to me. I haven't used Azander yet so I may drop them for him and see how that goes.

It baffles me how Zerith-var and Tanlorin were released at the exact same time. There is such a massive gap in overall quality between the two. Zerith-var despite not being the best companion in any statistical sense absolutely has some of the best writing character story and lines of any ESO NPC. Tanlorin... man I tried but she is just so annoying .

Malyore · 1:28AM

It's wonderful that people still talk about him so frequently and make new threads just to express their appreciation.

You'd think ZOS would take notes.

spartaxoxo · 1:59AM

ViggyBoi wrote: »

AScarlato wrote: »

I also really liked Zerith and he was great to be around. Sharp as well.

I am presently trying to level Tanlorin but they are so grating to me. I haven't used Azander yet so I may drop them for him and see how that goes.

It baffles me how Zerith-var and Tanlorin were released at the exact same time. There is such a massive gap in overall quality between the two. Zerith-var despite not being the best companion in any statistical sense absolutely has some of the best writing character story and lines of any ESO NPC. Tanlorin... man I tried but she is just so annoying .

I actually think Zerith-var's story is one of the best side quests in the entire franchise and not just ESO.

JemadarofCaerSalis · 5:42PM

Syldras wrote: »

It was an awesome questline. True to what TES storytelling used to be: An exploration of a fictional culture and their traditions, and not moralizing at that.

I hope that any new high elf companion gets Zerith's writer, and not Tanlorin's. (or if it was the same writer, Zerith treatment and not Tanlorin treatment)

I still haven't leveled them.

Like someone else said, it can be hard to believe that the both of them were released at the same time. Zerith is like a product of his time brought to the Vestige's time, while Tanlorin is like a product of the real world dropped into an MMO.

Syldras · 6:13PM

JemadarofCaerSalis wrote: »

I hope that any new high elf companion gets Zerith's writer, and not Tanlorin's. (or if it was the same writer, Zerith treatment and not Tanlorin treatment)

Different writers. The writer for Zerith-var also wrote Sharp-as-Night, and the side quests in Corelanya Manor (West Solstice) and Tel Dreloth (Telvanni Peninsula), which were also the quests I found outstanding during the past few, well, generally not so exciting years. I know I've written this in another thread already, but honestly, this writer does great work and should get a raise (and hopefully be involved in more storywriting in the future)!

As for your post as a whole: I fully agree. Actually I wanted to level all my companions to maximum, but in case on Tanlorin, I just can't. The comments get on my nerves so much. So that companion is discarded for me, for good.

And knowing what kind of Altmer companion you wish for, I want to add: I'd really love to see a male Altmer or Dunmer scholar companion written by Zerith's writer. Or any morally ambiguous companion, really.

JemadarofCaerSalis · 7:53PM

Syldras wrote: »

JemadarofCaerSalis wrote: »

I hope that any new high elf companion gets Zerith's writer, and not Tanlorin's. (or if it was the same writer, Zerith treatment and not Tanlorin treatment)

Different writers. The writer for Zerith-var also wrote Sharp-as-Night, and the side quests in Corelanya Manor (West Solstice) and Tel Dreloth (Telvanni Peninsula), which were also the quests I found outstanding during the past few, well, generally not so exciting years. I know I've written this in another thread already, but honestly, this writer does great work and should get a raise (and hopefully be involved in more storywriting in the future)!

As for your post as a whole: I fully agree. Actually I wanted to level all my companions to maximum, but in case on Tanlorin, I just can't. The comments get on my nerves so much. So that companion is discarded for me, for good.

And knowing what kind of Altmer companion you wish for, I want to add: I'd really love to see a male Altmer or Dunmer scholar companion written by Zerith's writer. Or any morally ambiguous companion, really.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if they were the same writer, or not. I thought they were, just from the difference in quality, but you never know.

Same for me, I am still leveling companions, but Tanlorin is the lowest one I have, and likely will be. I may get around to leveling them, but it won't be for quite some time.

I also completely agree, I would love to have Zerith's writer get a raise and be more involved.

I just started the Solstice stuff, and... yeah, it isn't that great. Like, can we at least get some writing that treats the vestige as if they have SOME brains? Give hints for the people that want them, but some times I get tired of being led around by the nose 'oh, this said fishie, they must mean we need a fish!' Yeah, I sort of got that.

I enjoyed Zerith's questlines, and honestly, to me, they are some of the more memorable of the companions.

tomofhyrule · 8:01PM

I feel like another thing to point out is that a lot of the best Companions that are universally well-received by the players are those which lean into their race like Zerith and Sharp. Meanwhile, the Companions that generally do not fit with their race at all like Bastian and Tanlorin are generally disliked.

I definitely get the idea of wanting to make a story about someone who doesn't fit in. Heck, my main's backstory is very heavily predicated on him being an Orc but feeling more like a Nord at heart and not really feeling that he fits into Orcish culture and even being ashamed of his looks or berserker rage at times... but his story really involves coming around to feel comfortable in his skin, even if it is green.

Tanlorin really feels like someone made a list of every single trait that Altmer exemplify and said "let's make a character around the polar opposite of every one of these." I really feel like Tanlorin would have been (slightly) better received if they had been a Bosmer instead - granted the quirky attitude would still be extremely cringey, but at least the personality does seem a bit more Bosmer. Likewise, Basti being a Breton instead of an Imperial may have made more sense considering his entire story is him being Breton in all but name.

I do hope that future Companions will be a lot more respectful of their race and give us more lore along those lines like Zerith did. I'd absolutely hate to get a Bosmer who's obnoxiously vegan or a scrawny Orc who wants nothing more to put flowers in his hair and be a pwetty pwetty pwincess, especially in the absence of a more traditional member of that race.
(and new Classes. I need those in the worst way)

AScarlato · 8:22PM

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Meanwhile, the Companions that generally do not fit with their race at all like Bastian and Tanlorin are generally disliked.

I'm not sure people dislike Bastian because he's not a great Imperial rep. Most of the complaints find him boring or annoying. Or his rapport system interferes with their gameplay like if you want to loot theive's guild boxes. Having a companion try to block players off from free loot is rarely popular.

In fact, most people seem to often confuse him for a Breton so their dislike I don't think comes from that.

whitecrow · 9:19PM

AScarlato wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Meanwhile, the Companions that generally do not fit with their race at all like Bastian and Tanlorin are generally disliked.

I'm not sure people dislike Bastian because he's not a great Imperial rep. Most of the complaints find him boring or annoying. Or his rapport system interferes with their gameplay like if you want to loot theive's guild boxes. Having a companion try to block players off from free loot is rarely popular.

In fact, most people seem to often confuse him for a Breton so their dislike I don't think comes from that.

Yes, I think he's because he's a goody-goody. I don't mind him though. Sometimes I need his positivity.