handsomenat

aksrasjel, Aloth tells Xoti in a conversation that what he admires her for is her guts to believe in her own thing despite being looked down by others from her order. So it's not arbitrary thing that resulted from the relationship system. And I too didn't like the system that much. I agree that it seems to reduce companions to just a couple of traits and it doesn't seem that sophisticated.

Aloth was my favorite in PoE (well, him and Hiravias) so I was quite happy to learn that he's returning in Deadfire. I wanted to see the way he changed and grew and I was really hoping that my Watcher can still be friends with him. I was kinda afraid that because of their different opinions their relationship might not work out. Well, on my first playthrough it was kinda rocky but I expected it would be because of varying opinions on animancy and not because my Watcher likes to flirt with people (and Aloth thinks it's prideful. what.). I also didn't sought out spoilers so I didn't know he's a romance option, not until after I was done with my first PT. I was kinda intrigued, I mean if it goes there, then sure? When right after leaving Port Maje Watcher tells Aloth that they thought that "there was something between us" and Aloth is taken aback and replies with "I'm really happy to see you, but it's been five years" I felt so embarrassed for Watcher. I feel like this reply by Aloth is like, really realistic given the context. It was also fun to see Aloth's potential past/missed opportunity love interests like Benessa and Ymir. I wasn't that happy with the way the romance is initiated. Jumping straight into kissing Aloth is such a... shortcut? Though I really liked the conversation that followed, how Aloth establishes his boundaries and talks about his needs relating to this relationship. I really liked the way it played out, that it was a low-key romance. I didn't like that it was just this one conversation :|. Two would be better.

I actually felt like Eder became a flanderized version of himself, so to speak. His worse qualities were amplified, like his racism and how mindlessly cruel he can be to others sometimes (like not recognizing that his jokes can be hurtful). He still pets every animal, so of course that's him right? Well. It feels like he lost much of his dark humor and he no longer feels like he's being laid-back and kinda detached. I also agree with OP that his relationship with the Watcher lost some its warmth. He doesn't express nearly as much concern and care as he used to. Maybe because the Watcher's mental health is pretty okay now. But personally, and I am aware that I will be in the minority here, I didn't want Eder to be romanceable. The idea of him being an object of sexual desire makes me uncomfortable and that's my personal feeling. But. The way it was handled in game wasn't satisfactory to me because the game reminds me all the goddamn time about his love life and whatnot. NPCs can ask if Watcher and Eder are an item, Watcher can tell Xoti to back off because Eder is theirs etc. Then of course Watcher can ask if Eder has any feelings for them - and to be honest, even though I wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, the way Eder was expressing his admiration for Watcher I thought he might actually love them - and gets turned down. It's quite nasty if you're playing an orlan. Anyway, I just wished that this whole thing would boil down to "Nah sorry I just never saw us that way" and not... that convoluted thing it was. (As a side note, while Eder and Watcher were quite cordial I didn't really think they could be in a romantic relationship. Like I didn't think Eder would want that. He retains a certain distance, at least that's how i see it). I also thought that his personal quest was rather disappointing and that it could instead be more about Eothas and faith. I mean, it kinda is but mostly it's about his fling that happened ages ago. After reading some of your points, especially made by marimo, I see some value to it. Like it's more about Eder regretting how the war affected his life and changed it significantly and destabilized it rather than just pining after one woman. More like what she represented vis-a-vis the moment in his life at the time.

Ah, okay then. Must've forgotten about that one.

And I though we'd see Maerwith, captain of the Red Dream (daughter of Lilith who was haunting the Lighthouse in Ondra's Gift).

For what it's worth OP, I was upset about it too. Seeing the state Pallegina was in when I first met her in Deadfire made me so regretful over the thing I picked. Like actually for the first time a game made me seriously regret my decision. You all pointed out that these are the consequences and we shouldn't be so surprised but could we really anticipate it from the ending slide in PoE? For me it was rather unexpected because she never mentioned Kind Wayfarers at all (and yes, I've seen the stream with Josh Sawyer). And I had thought that maybe Pallegina could forge a new self, an identity that wouldn't be based on her sacrificing everything for the Republics. I was actually looking forward to it. I guess ultimately I was wrong and had a different idea for her than her writer. Maybe post-Republics Pallegina wouldn't fit in the game where her role was to be the VTC cheerleader. Remember when she had doubts about the Republics politics? Pallegina in Deadfire used to make me seriously sad but now I'm just bitter.

I don't have any screenshots of my first Watcher, Zenya but I painted them sorta recently: They're basically my first Watcher. Zenya is a forested orlan from Ixamitl Plains. Drifter. Cipher. Their dispositions were mostly passionate, clever and benevolent. Cheeky, quick-witted with strong opinions and feelings about EVERYTHING. Makes fast friends. My next Watcher was Skaði, a pale elf from White that Wends. I picked Mystic for her background but I think i could change it to something else. She's stoic and seems really unaffected by whatever life throws at her. Frankly I didn't enjoy playing as her that much until I picked her to wield Abydon's hammer and potentially sacrifice herself in White March p. 2. That what works as a character development in games sometimes. Here's how she looks in Deadfire: I guess she lost her eye sometime between PoE and Deadfire. I chose to multiclass her as a wizard/fighter to honor her surprising development in White March. I think she likes putting herself in danger. My latest Watcher is a death godlike from Old Vailia. She's an artist, a singer to be specific. Her main class is Chanter but I multiclassed her as a Chanter (Skald)/Rogue (Assassin). I'm pretty sure she introduced doom metal to Eastern Reach. She's drawn to macabre. Embraces her own uniqueness and rather horrifying looks. She kinda cynically thinks that being a death godlike granted her a unique perspective into kith's nature in seeing how they react to her and what they do to her. She doesn't really feel any sympathy for others - it has to be earned. Her only warm feelings are reserved for other godlikes, especially death godlikes. She's self-serving and doesn't really feel she owes anyone anything. I see her as that really original person with a strong personality who likes to draw attention. She herself is an artist but she could also be someone's muse. Main dispositions are shady and clever with a touch of cruel. She's a work in progress though. I also have an idea for another Watcher, a Huana guy who became a priest of Eothas. He'd be a Roparu (but not sure if the game would actually support that). Mostly because I want to see if there's any reactivity in the game.

I was torn between Fassina, Konstanten and Ydwin. I really like Rekke but I think he works just fine as a sidekick - he is not really involved in any of the Eastern Reach/Deadfire drama like most of companions. I think it could be more difficult to integrate him into the relationship system etc. I personally don't care for Mirke, to me she could have been a crew member, not a sidekick. I like orlans and a female orlan in you team would be great but my bias has its limits . Now, Konstanten also works fine as a sidekick - you don't know that much about him and his motivations are simple. But I think he could be expanded in interesting ways. Fassina's involvement kinda feels like it ends abruptly after you do the quest for her? She doesn't even say anything to you. Again, I think she could do fine as a companion. Ultimately I voted for Ydwin because she actually doesn't feel that great as just a sidekick. She has her whole soul thing going on and she would fit well into the plot. Now she's just stuck with unresolved issues.

She refers to her age in one of her dialogue lines. I saw it in a video uploaded by DanaDuchy @yt, but can't really remember which one. Maybe Eder & Xoti relationship. Link. Really surprising... she comes of as immature as hell.

It happened to me as well, on my first playthrough. One guy (the dwarf cook from the island with the crew that turned into cannibals) never recovered from a wound, while other crew members who were wounded in the same battle i think, did. He wasn't healed when visiting a city either.

It bothered me as well. There isn't even any indication that the Watcher is willfully withholding this information from the Circle, it's just as if they didn't know.

I got the first missive from Aeldys which starts the Goods and Services quest but never talked to her like she requested. I did some quests for Furrante instead. He then asked me to bring Aeldys to justice; I killed Furrante on the spot. Then I went to Aeldys and met her again at Dunnage like she asked. Then I killed her. The quests she gave me failed except for the very first one - Goods and Services. It still says to talk to her even though she's dead.

When Tekehu is in the party the Huana in Neketaka react to him by saying to Watcher: "You walk in the long shadow of Ngait's chosen". Should say Ngati.

For my favorite companion I voted Tekehu. It surprised me how much I ended up liking him. Before playing the game I was afraid I won't like him and when I first met him in game I sure didn't. I found him really conceited and just... he was such a show-off, full of himself, whining about how his special status burdens him sooo much, boo hoo. But then I saw his anxiety. He might be full of himself but he is still quite vulnerable. And he doesn't even know if he would be anything if not for him being a godlike. His personal arc was compelling to me; his worries about his identity and what should he do with his life. And also just seeing him cry made me like him even more. I also liked how involved he is in the Huana questline. In the end he really grew on me and now he is my fave. For my least favorite I voted Eder, perhaps unfairly but... I quite liked him in the first game, i really did. He always had a place in my party. But in this game he felt... different. He comes of as a mindlessly cruel to Aloth (and so does Iselmyr), he's more explicitly racist to Orlans. And I really didn't wanted to learn about his love life. And I suppose he doesn't do what endeared me to him so much in the first game which was how he cared for Watcher? He had such a laid-back personality and absolutely dark humor. This time he feels more like just a... dumb guy. I'm sorry. Putting that aside, all of which is just a personal feeling, his involvement in the plot isn't really... strong? It's not even explained how he got on the ship in the first place. On the other hand, he is an Eothasian so he does fits in thematically. I don't know, I suppose I'm just rather disappointed in how he turned out. Pallegina felt... more extreme than she did in the first game. I liked her personal quest and learning about Giaccolo, it humanized her. I also like that in the end she reconciled with Tekehu (he meant well but was ignorant of her painful personal issues and she's quick to snap). I only wished there was more content that would show Pallegina a little more like a person than just a staunch Republics-lover. There were little things in the first game that showed more of her, like her singing a song to Kana and asking if he recognizes it, or her relationship with Maneha (also shot down in that game). Thinking about her makes me kinda sad. Xoti... on one hand I liked her personal views on Gaun/Eothas dichotomy, how she viewed death and life. On the other hand she was seriously immature and closed-minded. An interesting character and I can't say that I didn't like her but she was sure... something. Serafen. Oh man I was so hyped for him. I like orlans. I don't think he lived up to the hype though. He seems less and less involved the further the plot goes. Maia. I was... afraid that I won't like her too because Rauatai and their imperialism sounded troubling. I think her arc and her wrestling with the idea of morality of killing civilians vs killing on the battlefield was interesting. She's rather callous when dealing with people and sometimes it did kinda annoyed me, especially when I liked the characters she was mean to, hah. Aloth. Well, he changed somewhat. He was more assertive, I liked that. Lots of times he comes of as petty and I still don't know why he gets angry when my Watcher flirts with people. His involvement was so tangential. He was my favorite in the first game so I was happy to see him in Deadfire but... i don't know. Maybe there should have been a conversation when the Watcher has an opportunity to react to the ways Aloth changed? As for the sidekicks, to keep it really short: Ydwin and Rekke have nice concepts which I personally found interesting, Konstanten was fun and Fassina was sort of... boring. I hadn't played with Mirke much... I don't think I like funny alcoholic trope that much but eh. Because this game feels so short when you look at the main questline alone it doesn't give enough room for companions and relationships to develop. So in the end I can't say I cared for anyone except for Tekehu really.

I didn't really try to save him and yet in the end he stayed. During the trial I didn't mention that I restored the Adra pillar in Poko Kahara, I also exposed his dealings with the slavers. I think I said something in his defense once and then asked Pallegina to defend him in the end.

I was really surprised to learn that Rekke has any dialogue. His concept intrigued me; a sidekick from foreign lands who doesn't speak any known laguages. I really like that he has some content in the game. I like Ydwin too. After learning her story she just sounded so interesting. Her story also ties thematically into whole Eothas drama too so I think she would have made a good companion. Out of all sidekicks I was kinda disappointed in Fassina. He portrait was cool, she was a wizard, that's all I knew about her. And then we learn that she has a lousy boyfriend who steals from her boss. Meh. Also finding Konstanten working as a masseuse who is bored with his work and wants to go adventuring with you was pretty cool and fun. I liked that. But all in all I really can't pick a favorite; it's gotta be either Rekke or Ydwin.

Was a little disappointed by it honestly, since my first Watcher is a Wild Orlan and doesn't look quite how I envisioned them. I hope that maybe the eye color customization will be added later in game (Josh Sawyer mentioned twice that they were discussing it).