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companions need to be adjusted (challenge difficulty)
DrMedBorn
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on vestige (or in general) they do way too much damage and dont loose nearly as much as I do. Seems like my companion is way stronger than me
I understand they are supposed to help us but I dont think they should make more damage or have more health than the player and I know they cant really play smart or roll dodge well if at all but at least reduce the values somewhat.
Edited by DrMedBorn on April 17, 2026 4:54PM I understand they are supposed to help us but I dont think they should make more damage or have more health than the player and I know they cant really play smart or roll dodge well if at all but at least reduce the values somewhat.
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ESO_player123✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭on vestige (or in general) they do way too much damage and dont loose nearly as much as I do. Seems like my companion is way stronger than me
I understand they are supposed to help us but I dont think they should make more damage or have more health than the player and I know they cant really play smart or roll dodge well if at all but at least reduce the values somewhat.
I do not particularly like that "in general" part. I do not care what gets buffed/nerfed on Vestige since I'm not going to use that mode (so I won't comment on that), but let's not nerf companions on regular (current) mode.12 -
DrMedBorn✭✭✭ESO_player123 wrote: »on vestige (or in general) they do way too much damage and dont loose nearly as much as I do. Seems like my companion is way stronger than me
I understand they are supposed to help us but I dont think they should make more damage or have more health than the player and I know they cant really play smart or roll dodge well if at all but at least reduce the values somewhat.
I do not particularly like that "in general" part. I do not care what gets buffed/nerfed on Vestige since I'm not going to use that mode (so I won't comment on that), but let's not nerf companions on regular (current) mode.
with "in general" I meant any challenge difficulty mode3 -
Nemesis7884✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I like that companions are relatively more help / useful on higher diff modes...especially also looking towards the solo dungeons...
And you can always despawn themEdited by Nemesis7884 on April 18, 2026 11:25AM9 -
Attorneyatlawl✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭This sounds terrible. They shouldn't be better than the player on challenge modes.-First-Wave Closed Beta Tester of the Psijic Order, aka the 0.016 percent.
Exploits suck. Don't blame just the game, blame the players abusing them!
-Playing since July 2013, back when we had a killspam channel in Cyrodiil and the lands of Tamriel were roamed by dinosaurs.
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-In-game mains abound with "Nerf" in their name. As I am asked occasionally, I do not play on anything but the PC NA Megaserver at this time.3 -
RaptorRodeoGod✭✭✭✭✭Companions are terrible on live, you're telling me they're good in challenge mode and you want them nerfed?Add a Scribing skill that works like Arcanist beam.
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Veteran players have been alienated and disengaged from Overland since One Tamriel, due to the lack of difficulty, and pushed into dungeons and trials; the minority of content in the Elder Scrolls Online. We can't take the repetition anymore, fix Overland engagement for Vet players. I don't even care if it's not combat related anymore, just make Overland engaging again.
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Overland difficulty scaling is desperately needed. 10 years. 6 paid expansions. 25 DLCs. 41 game changing updates including One Tamriel, an overhaul of the game including a permanent CP160 gear cap and ridiculous power creep thereafter. I'm sick and tired of hearing about Cadwell Silver & Gold as a "you think you do but you don't" - tier deflection to any criticism regarding the lack of overland difficulty in the game. I'm bored of dungeons, I'm bored of trials; make a personal difficulty slider for overland. Make a self debuff mythic. Literally anything at this point.9 -
Attorneyatlawl✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭RaptorRodeoGod wrote: »Companions are terrible on live, you're telling me they're good in challenge mode and you want them nerfed?
Difficulty is kind of the point of challenge modes, so yes. Frankly, I think they're pretty silly in the first place, just like I did in swtor. They make every character a pet class.Edited by Attorneyatlawl on April 18, 2026 5:44AM-First-Wave Closed Beta Tester of the Psijic Order, aka the 0.016 percent.
Exploits suck. Don't blame just the game, blame the players abusing them!
-Playing since July 2013, back when we had a killspam channel in Cyrodiil and the lands of Tamriel were roamed by dinosaurs.
________________
-In-game mains abound with "Nerf" in their name. As I am asked occasionally, I do not play on anything but the PC NA Megaserver at this time.3 -
DoofusMax✭✭✭✭✭Ember was tanking for me on a 4.3M boss (new Dynamic Encounter) earlier today and was holding up reasonably well. I was set at Master difficulty and it was a slow-going fight in comparison to Adventurer difficulty, so I had to be actively buffing and healing her to keep her in the fight. She wasn't doing super amounts of damage, but it was pretty obvious that I was hitting like a pool noodle. No complaints from me on companion damage.I'm fresh out of outrage, but I could muster up some amused annoyance if required.2 -
Rkindaleft✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Not sure if it's an oversight or if it's intentional but it appears that companions don't seem to be affected by the modifier. They seem to take and dish out the same amount of damage regardless of the difficulty setting, so if the companion could tank a world boss on live for example it would be able to do the same thing on the highest difficulty.PlayStation NA https://youtube.com/@rkindaleftTick Tock Tormentor | Saintly Savior | Gryphon Heart | Godslayer | Kyne's Wrath | Planesbreaker | Swashbuckler Supreme | Mindmender | Unstoppable0 -
CalamityCat✭✭✭✭✭I think the solution to that (if it isn't an unintended bug) would be to swap out some companion damage skills eg for heals, or switch their gear for something less optimized instead. Or just not use them. I've heard a lot of players complain that companions are too weak to be useful, so a boost would be a good thing IMHO. It would be helpful for new players and even new characters if the companions were a bit stronger. Also for situations where it's more challenging to solo stuff, you might want that tougher companion.3 -
ADarklore✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Here's what's ironic with this whole thing... "I want a challenge"... "My companions are doing more damage than me". Um, if you want a challenge, WHY are you even using companions? Companions are really designed for people who want extra help with content, thus, I don't think they are designed to help players who 'want a challenge'.CP: 2130 ** ESO+ ** ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
~~Started Playing: May 2015 | Stopped Playing: July 2025 | Returned: March 2026~~13 -
colossalvoids✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Here's what's ironic with this whole thing... "I want a challenge"... "My companions are doing more damage than me". Um, if you want a challenge, WHY are you even using companions? Companions are really designed for people who want extra help with content, thus, I don't think they are designed to help players who 'want a challenge'.
Might have to do with them being someone's character companion, not just a pocket little helper.
Personally think they should take difficulty spikes well but at the same time companion debuffs can be an option for ones who want a tag-along and nothing more besides that. To each their own.0 -
duagloth✭✭✭✭✭Dont use them then. [snip]
[edited for profanity bypass]Edited by ZOS_Icy on April 20, 2026 10:26AM10 -
LootAllTheStuff✭✭✭✭✭Maybe Companions simply got overlooked when implementing the system?
I would tend to agree with the other posters pointing out that companions don't really jive with the concept of challenge, though, so maybe ZOS simply assumed players wanting greater difficulty wouldn't be using Companions in the first place.1 -
AlterBlika✭✭✭✭✭Um, if you want a challenge, WHY are you even using companions?
Companions are used to gain 33% dmg mitigation via Pearlescent. This helps a lot on the most hard-hitting encounters in the game.
Tbh I don't really understand your take - "If you want a challenge, then don't use this". It's a bad challenge if you must restrict yourself. Kinda what folks in the overland thread were suggesting all these years.
Companions on vestige now hardly die (depends on the boss) while naked. This same boss might take most of your hp while you're at resists cap + a bunch of mitigation sources with just a basic attack. If vestige is about difficulty, I see no reason why companions are even allowed to be this strong.5 -
Malprave✭✭✭✭✭Nerf companions? This has got to be another AI generated post. No actual player would call for a nerf to companions. So tired of the bots dominating these forums.11
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Contraptions✭✭✭✭✭The whole point of challenge mode is to go in yourself solo lol. Isn't this like how some people hate summons in dark souls cos it makes the game too easy? Just DON'T USE IT THEN.
First they want their own instance and now this. ridiculous.Patroller and Editor at UESP6 -
DrMedBorn✭✭✭Here's what's ironic with this whole thing... "I want a challenge"... "My companions are doing more damage than me". Um, if you want a challenge, WHY are you even using companions? Companions are really designed for people who want extra help with content, thus, I don't think they are designed to help players who 'want a challenge'.
Ever heard of roleplay?1 -
DrMedBorn✭✭✭
They have more benefits than doing combat did you know? Passives, immersion, roleplay. Isn't that crazy?Contraptions wrote: »The whole point of challenge mode is to go in yourself solo lol. Isn't this like how some people hate summons in dark souls cos it makes the game too easy? Just DON'T USE IT THEN.
First they want their own instance and now this. ridiculous.
So I can't have a challenge with a companion? And why do you even care? You are not gonna play in that mode. And [snip] I only said they need to be a little adjusted. [snip] is your problem
[edited for profanity bypass]Edited by ZOS_Icy on April 20, 2026 10:31AM4 -
ADarklore✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Here's what's ironic with this whole thing... "I want a challenge"... "My companions are doing more damage than me". Um, if you want a challenge, WHY are you even using companions? Companions are really designed for people who want extra help with content, thus, I don't think they are designed to help players who 'want a challenge'.
Ever heard of roleplay?
There is a solution, one that doesn't involve the devs spending hours to make changes when they could instead be working on other content. The solution is a simple one. If you want roleplay or access to their passives, then simply remove all their gear and all their skills, now you are assured that they won't do more damage. Or, slot them with basic weapons, basic gear, and skills that aren't very useful, there... another solution for you.CP: 2130 ** ESO+ ** ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
~~Started Playing: May 2015 | Stopped Playing: July 2025 | Returned: March 2026~~4 -
DrMedBorn✭✭✭
It's just a thing they missed.Here's what's ironic with this whole thing... "I want a challenge"... "My companions are doing more damage than me". Um, if you want a challenge, WHY are you even using companions? Companions are really designed for people who want extra help with content, thus, I don't think they are designed to help players who 'want a challenge'.
Ever heard of roleplay?
There is a solution, one that doesn't involve the devs spending hours to make changes when they could instead be working on other content. The solution is a simple one. If you want roleplay or access to their passives, then simply remove all their gear and all their skills, now you are assured that they won't do more damage. Or, slot them with basic weapons, basic gear, and skills that aren't very useful, there... another solution for you.
But I understand what you are saying. You don't care about this and you have to spread your opinion anyways. Thank you for your great comment. I didn't think about doing these things.
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DrMedBorn✭✭✭AlterBlika wrote: »
You don't understand. He doesn't want them to spend any time on things HE doesn't use.
Once again: they are just a little too strong. The companion should be more useful then before, yes. But not being stronger than the literal vestige.
I am out. I don't care to fight with users who don't even care at all about this. It's just dumb.Edited by DrMedBorn on April 19, 2026 1:34PM1 -
Orbital78✭✭✭✭✭
✭The whole companion system needs some attention, and fixed. Overall they feel very underpowered, and cannot even target the mobs.3 -
CalamityCat✭✭✭✭✭
Done it for decades.
Ever heard of roleplay?
How does it prevent you from swapping out some skills for buffs/heals or changing the gear on a companion so they aren't as powerful?
Or for that matter just having a RP explanation for un-summoning them.
The issue here seems more like you're restricting what you can do because of RP, when you could work your RP around the basic things your characters need to do. Like in the example above, where you might say you've given your companion some chores to run while you kill a boss. Or they're busy doing something else. It would be a little strange to have a companion who never ever leaves your side.2 -
Malyore✭✭✭✭✭
✭I kinda like the idea that companions are stronger on the higher difficulties. I'd prefer Zerith to feel more like an equal to my character, rather than like he's just along for the ride. Obviously the vestige is supposed to be better, and for gameplay reasons companions can't be too strong. But it sounds nice to not just be expecting the countdown before companions are downed for the fight.4 -
GloatingSwine✭✭✭✭✭RaptorRodeoGod wrote: »Companions are terrible on live, you're telling me they're good in challenge mode and you want them nerfed?
Sounds like they just don't get scaled at all, so they're the same as they are on live except the player is much much weaker so they "seem" better.
Given that best case companions can run to about 6k DPS to a single target (and that's if you do a lot of work to enable them with debuffs to enemies), knocking 80% off a sweaty build probably does bring them about in line with each other...3 -
ToddIngram✭✭✭✭on vestige (or in general) they do way too much damage and dont loose nearly as much as I do. Seems like my companion is way stronger than me
I understand they are supposed to help us but I dont think they should make more damage or have more health than the player and I know they cant really play smart or roll dodge well if at all but at least reduce the values somewhat.
Can always stow your companion. Nobody's obligate to run with a companion. Seems strange someone looking for harder content would choose to run a companion at the same time. Personally I've leveled all the companions, but I almost never run with them. I just leveled them for their perks.2 -
emilyhyoyeon✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭What is not clicking to people that some people use companions for roleplay reasons in an RPGIGN @ emilypumpkin
Tullanisse Starborne altmer spellsword battlemage & scholar of the ayleids
Qa'Rirra khajiit assassin & dancer
Seliwequen Narilata altmer necromancer & debaucher1 -
Orbital78✭✭✭✭✭
✭AlterBlika wrote: »
The companion system isn't a priority thought it seems. It has been over a year that bugs have been getting "looked into".0
