Are the Companions Really THAT Bland?

[Cyrus_Blackfeather]

Hey guys,

 

So I've been hearing lots about how bland the companions are in this game compared to the first, and that even the companions that return might as well have just been people you met and picked up off the street. A lot of this has to do with the companion system being bugged, and companions being way too thirsty (I'll give Tekehu and Serafen a pass on this since it's sort of in their character, but Xoti seems way too eager to jump into your pants after just meeting you). This is post patch, by the way, so while I've definitely getting a lot more dialogue regarding choices I've made and how people feel about them, I also sort of feel like a lot of it has come on too fast, or lacks a bit of nuance. 

 

Are some of these concerns going to be addressed? Can some of these concerns be addressed? Are the companions fine as is later on, past these issues?

 

Something else that I've been interested in, but that sadly seems to be broken badly, is the interactions between companions. I really liked this aspect when I saw it was included - it seemed like it'd help the companions form more natural relationships outside of the party banter. Eder and an anti-Leaden Key Aloth would get along differently than Eder and a pro-Leaden Key Aloth. A faithful Eder would get along differently with Xoti than a Skeptic Eder. 

 

But then... When I recruited certain companions into my party, the whole system seemed to collapse in on itself. I put Pallegina into my party, and then IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS Xoti complained about her being a "godless heathen." This was IN THE THRONE ROOM, mind. The little bars showing companions' relationships with each other would fluctuate randomly. I get that one companion might feel differently about another compared to how that person felt about them. Xoti might really like Eder (Who wouldn't?) despite Eder not feeling any particular way about her. But then it seemed like the bars would just reset, and after the initial "I like this person/I don't like this person" dialogue, nothing would really come of it. 

 

Note: I do like that the decision you make at the end of the first game, post 1.02, actually has a genuine effect. If Eder becomes a skeptic, he stops saying "For Eothas!" upon entering combat. It's a nice touch. 

[Heijoushin]

I think the companions were all well written, but overall they didn't have quite the same level of impact as PoE1. I mean, it's hard to top first impressions like "you're itching for the kindling touch of your sister, ye coxfither!" or Durance ranting about fiery whores his goddess. Some of the stuff you mentioned will certainly get better with patches, but they can't rewrite everything at this point, so they are what they are. 

[Porcelyn]

I found the sidekicks to be more interesting.

 

Night Market Eder is exactly the same as Mayor Eder. He dislikes Xoti no matter what.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Porcelyn

[Katarack21]

I don't find the companions bland at *all*. They all have fully developed and nuanced personalities. That issue you mentioned with Xoti in the throne room, that's a *perfect* example of the bugged companion interactions.

[marimo]

I didn't find them bland but I don't know what "bland" means to others. I don't think every character needs to be a high concept wall o'text to be interesting, even though I did enjoy Durance and GM in the first game. 

[adreeasa]

What do you mean bland...Xoti talks like she's having an orgasm while smoking some good weed half the bloody time and then there are the times she really gets going ..... talk about over doing it.

Edited May 31, 2018 by adreeasa

[Ildun]

The interaction between companion is VERY GREAT

 

However some of their backstory and characteristic are not

 

1) Eden and Aloth is very plain, as if the dev assume they die in POE1

2) Pallegina suddenly become arsehole 

*I hate that what path they chosen in POE1 do not have impact at all, especially Pallegina, I thought after she will changed after refuse to follow order, bur her brain wash worsen.

 

3) Maia just an ordinary soldier, her story is short and uninteresting

4) Serafan, Xoti and Tekehu are good, their stories are longer and much more interesting. Their characteristic also much more appealing.

[flamesium]

Tekehu is a good character, and often feels more like the protagonist than The Watcher does.

 

I would argue playing as Tekehu (or at least his role, not necessarily him) would have made for a more interesting game. 

[Jelei]

My opinion is both yes and no. Eder and Aloth I like. I got some callbacks, some additional info on them, what they did after Thaos. I would say I got too little of that and in a way the problem with them is that I got to learn practically nothing new about them and particularly Aloth (who I admittedly used very little) was kind of dealt with in 2 conversations. I kind of understand this however. It is a problem with recurring characters.

 

Serafen: no real opinion. He was nice, but short. Didn't really feel like I got to know him.

 

Xoti: Xoti I liked and her story-arc I liked. And I mean I liked her writing. Her, as a character, I didn't like. But I like not liking characters. She was no Durance, which of course is "bad". Because Durance I loved, but comparing them, just because they are priests isn't perhaps the most fair thing to do.

 

Tekehu: Again, another one I liked. He was invested in the story. His personal story was meh to say the least, but discussing what he should do, now that was interesting and his character arc worked. His story was kind of more spread out, but still very short.

 

Maia: Maia is where it gets hard. I liked her arc and story. But her writing was otherwise... uninspired. She just wasn't engaging. But finishing her personal quest felt like a punch to the face, which is a great thing. Too bad it came from such a bland place and the resolution and possibilities were, uninspired.

 

Pallegina: Oh, Pallegina, Pallegina. This is where it gets hard. Her personal quest? Really uninspired. Ending-retcon (Which I approve of. Retcon if you must, I would've loved to see a kind wayfarers Pallegina, but if it makes for a better story, retcon away.) that wasn't really used. Her general interactions I liked but some of her fire seemed to be gone. I wished for more exploration of the mores of Vailian Republics through her and we got nothing. She was nice in general, but lacked the passion.

 

And the retcon. I can't not speak of it. As I said, I approve of it, in principle. BUT and this is a big but. It was not used in any way. I can understand the devs wanting a Valian Republics loyalist in the party. That however is not incompatible with Pallegina being cast out of the republics. There was this huge potential for a very, very tragic storyline with Pallegina. Being disgraced yet still a loyalist. A patriot at heart having done what she thought was right. But it plays no fact at all. And this is what irks me with Pallegina. She isn't bland, really. Or badly written. It's just that there was huge potential for her storyline, that was not used.

 

In general I guess my feeling about the companions could be summed in that. Most of them had potential that was used or not used to varying degree and at least seemingly, favouring the latter.

[Unknown_Wilder]

The interaction between companion is VERY GREAT

 

However some of their backstory and characteristic are not

 

1) Eden and Aloth is very plain, as if the dev assume they die in POE1

2) Pallegina suddenly become arsehole 

*I hate that what path they chosen in POE1 do not have impact at all, especially Pallegina, I thought after she will changed after refuse to follow order, bur her brain wash worsen.

 

3) Maia just an ordinary soldier, her story is short and uninteresting

4) Serafan, Xoti and Tekehu are good, their stories are longer and much more interesting. Their characteristic also much more appealing.

 

When Tekehu dies Pallegina will say something like: "Tekehu died! Well...I won't pretend to care". Really? I too despise the glitter fish but there's no need to be such a *****

 

To me all the companions are a huge let down. I thought with the smaller roster we'd get much more quality interactions, but that is not the case, dragon age:origins companions seem to have much more depth than what we have in deadfire.

[Slotharingia]

I wouldn't call them bland, but I do feel the POE1 characters could have been done better and would have made more sense with a new protagonist.

• Eder seems kind of watered down to pro animal squee (but still likes steak). Making him non-romanceable is an odd choice since he's the Alistair of Eora. I'm willing to bet a ton of DA fangirls would have bought Deadfire just for that hehe. However, at least he's easy enough to get approval with so you don't feel like you never knew him before so much, and he's not suddenly weirdly obnoxious. He's still an ass to Aloth, but that's not new, and I've always found his outright cruelty to Aloth to be oddly out of character.
• Aloth is very judgy. You have to play in a specific way to get him to like you and can be hardcore benevolent but stuck at 0 approval with him (or even get negative approval) simply for not picking the most boring / sensible convo options all the time. He judges companions on a similarly superficial level, and I expect a senstive and intelligent character like Aloth to be more discerning.
• Pallegina has also developed an extreme personality that's focussed on anti godlike and anti religion while being totally and unquestioningly devoted to the Republics. She wasn't like that in 1, and it feels like she's anti-matured.

 

[E.RedMark]

 

 

• Pallegina has also developed an extreme personality that's focussed on anti godlike and anti religion while being totally and unquestioningly devoted to the Republics. She wasn't like that in 1, and it feels like she's anti-matured.

we meet her outside of her land . Maybe that's the difference . The deadfire are her lands after all . And I guess..how you solve her quest may also be a factor...

 

But if she wasn't like this before...(don't recall her being soo...bitchy to be honest)...then yeah , make you wonder . 

 

--

Personally , I think often the tone of a game set the Mood . Like for exemple : Koto 1 and Kotor 2 . Kotor 1 was more light where Kotor 2 was very dark and that set the companions being more....angtsy . They won't crack jokes as often and such . 

[Yria]

To people who say that Pallegina's personality has changed a lot, what was she like to you in the first game? I'm genuinely curious because to me her personality there was almost non-existent. She was the only character I never really figured out.

And yes, she was sort of bitchy, at least in companion banter. A lot of her conversations with others opened with "Companion_name! Why do you do this or that?! How is it that you something something?!" in a very demanding tone of voice. I winced every time I heard it.

[Slotharingia]

 

• Pallegina has also developed an extreme personality that's focussed on anti godlike and anti religion while being totally and unquestioningly devoted to the Republics. She wasn't like that in 1, and it feels like she's anti-matured.

we meet her outside of her land . Maybe that's the difference . The deadfire are her lands after all . And I guess..how you solve her quest may also be a factor...

 

But if she wasn't like this before...(don't recall her being soo...bitchy to be honest)...then yeah , make you wonder . 

 

--

Personally , I think often the tone of a game set the Mood . Like for exemple : Koto 1 and Kotor 2 . Kotor 1 was more light where Kotor 2 was very dark and that set the companions being more....angtsy . They won't crack jokes as often and such .

 

Oh? I thought she was from Vailia? Also idk about her quest. I solved it as she wanted although my own character was godlike and I did not agree lol. Didn't even get any approval from her xD

[Slotharingia]

To people who say that Pallegina's personality has changed a lot, what was she like to you in the first game? I'm genuinely curious because to me her personality there was almost non-existent. She was the only character I never really figured out.

And yes, she was sort of bitchy, at least in companion banter. A lot of her conversations with others opened with "Companion_name! Why do you do this or that?! How is it that you something something?!" in a very demanding tone of voice. I winced every time I heard it.

In POE she questions her orders, and I don't remember her being an anti god/godlike obsessive, but ofc the lack of approval system in 1 can change how one views characters as you possibly ignore a lot of comments. In 1 my impression of her was somewhat boring but sensible and capable of questioning authority, in 2 she just comes across as yet another type of inflexible, judgy, weird zealot, even if I am more on her side than says Xoti's when it comes to the gods if I play my favourite type of character.

[E.RedMark]

 

 

• Pallegina has also developed an extreme personality that's focussed on anti godlike and anti religion while being totally and unquestioningly devoted to the Republics. She wasn't like that in 1, and it feels like she's anti-matured.

we meet her outside of her land . Maybe that's the difference . The deadfire are her lands after all . And I guess..how you solve her quest may also be a factor...

 

But if she wasn't like this before...(don't recall her being soo...bitchy to be honest)...then yeah , make you wonder . 

 

--

Personally , I think often the tone of a game set the Mood . Like for exemple : Koto 1 and Kotor 2 . Kotor 1 was more light where Kotor 2 was very dark and that set the companions being more....angtsy . They won't crack jokes as often and such .

 

Oh? I thought she was from Vailia? Also idk about her quest. I solved it as she wanted although my own character was godlike and I did not agree lol. Didn't even get any approval from her xD

 

I don't know where she is from 

 

But the Val are in deadfire no ? So..

 

Honestly , don't know . 

 

the real question is : Is she patriotic toward her country or 'patriote' toward the Val ? 

[Slotharingia]

I don't know where she is from 

 

But the Val are in deadfire no ? So..

 

Honestly , don't know . 

 

the real question is : Is she patriotic toward her country or 'patriote' toward the Val ?

AFAIK she's from the Vailian Republics and in 1 she questions the motives of her superiors if she thinks their decisions will be bad in the long run. In Deadfire all she seems to care about is bitching about godlikes/gods and has lost all ability to question the Republics. Maybe this is supposed to reflect her becoming embittered or maybe it's just because she could have different endings in 1 and it was too complicated to create one character with different personalities depending upon the POE ending. Aloth also seems to be designed to fit one POE outcome. Her dispositions of anti pro godlike and anti racist also seem a tad conflicting to me.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Slotharingia

[E.RedMark]

 

I don't know where she is from 

 

But the Val are in deadfire no ? So..

 

Honestly , don't know . 

 

the real question is : Is she patriotic toward her country or 'patriote' toward the Val ?

AFAIK she's from the Vailian Republics and in 1 she questions the motives of her superiors if she thinks their decisions will be bad in the long run. In Deadfire all she seems to care about is bitching about godlikes/gods and has lost all ability to question the Republics. Maybe this is supposed to reflect her becoming embittered or maybe it's just because she could have different endings in 1 and it was too complicated to create one character with different personalities depending upon the POE ending. Aloth also seems to be designed to fit one POE outcome. Her dispositions of anti pro godlike and anti racist also seems a tad conflicting to me.

 

she is the weirdest Paladin I ever met . It's like being a paladin doesn't even matter , she is a soldier above everything else . And the way they treat her..like a Pawn...

 

*Shake head*....her loyalty...piss me off to be honest . 

[wRAR]

 

 

Oh? I thought she was from Vailia? Also idk about her quest. I solved it as she wanted although my own character was godlike and I did not agree lol. Didn't even get any approval from her xD

 

I don't know where she is from 

 

But the Val are in deadfire no ? So..

 

Honestly , don't know . 

 

the real question is : Is she patriotic toward her country or 'patriote' toward the Val ? 

 

Ugh.

She was born in Vailian Republics. She is a paladin in service of Vailian Repulblics' rulers. Vailian Republics are definitely not in Deadfire.

She is patriotic towards Vailian Republics, Vailian Republics' ducs bels and by extension towards the Vailian Trading Company.

[gkathellar]

 

 

I don't know where she is from 

 

But the Val are in deadfire no ? So..

 

Honestly , don't know . 

 

the real question is : Is she patriotic toward her country or 'patriote' toward the Val ?

AFAIK she's from the Vailian Republics and in 1 she questions the motives of her superiors if she thinks their decisions will be bad in the long run. In Deadfire all she seems to care about is bitching about godlikes/gods and has lost all ability to question the Republics. Maybe this is supposed to reflect her becoming embittered or maybe it's just because she could have different endings in 1 and it was too complicated to create one character with different personalities depending upon the POE ending. Aloth also seems to be designed to fit one POE outcome. Her dispositions of anti pro godlike and anti racist also seems a tad conflicting to me.

 

she is the weirdest Paladin I ever met . It's like being a paladin doesn't even matter , she is a soldier above everything else . And the way they treat her..like a Pawn...

 

*Shake head*....her loyalty...piss me off to be honest .

 

PoE's paladins are supernaturally devoted knightly orders, not conventional Lawful Good D&D paladins.

 

That said, the orders do map pretty well to the various ideas and spinoffs of paladins: if you want the LG Paladin-classic, you're looking mostly at the Shieldbearers and Kind Wayfarers. Bleak Walkers are the old school antipaladin with an actual attempt to justify being the worst. Goldpact Knights are for that one player who cares a lot more about the Lawful thing than the Good thing. Darcozzi are paladins in the old-school chivalric sense, all sweeping passions and courtly romance and tearing trees out of the ground in a rage. The Brotherhood of the Five Suns is the "paladins of a nation" version.

[Katarack21]

 

 

 

Oh? I thought she was from Vailia? Also idk about her quest. I solved it as she wanted although my own character was godlike and I did not agree lol. Didn't even get any approval from her xD

 

I don't know where she is from 

 

But the Val are in deadfire no ? So..

 

Honestly , don't know . 

 

the real question is : Is she patriotic toward her country or 'patriote' toward the Val ? 

 

Ugh.

She was born in Vailian Republics. She is a paladin in service of Vailian Repulblics' rulers. Vailian Republics are definitely not in Deadfire.

She is patriotic towards Vailian Republics, Vailian Republics' ducs bels and by extension towards the Vailian Trading Company.

 

There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of distinction between the Vailian Republics and the Vailian Trading Company; like with the East India Trading Company, the VTC is effectively an arm of the State.

[Crucis]

What do you mean bland...Xoti talks like she's having an orgasm while smoking some good weed half the bloody time and then there are the times she really gets going ..... talk about over doing it.

 

Good grief.  Xoti is a bubbly, talkative person.  That's her personality.  Can that be as annoying in game as it can be in real life?  Sure.  Some people are bubbly, overly talkative in real life.  And some other people often find bubbly, overly talkative people really annoying.   That's life.  Not everyone is the same.  Honestly, I'd probably find Xoti's outgoing, overly talkative nature really wearing on me and eventually very annoying if I had to be in her presence as often as it'd be when you're in an adventuring party. 

 

One of the things that I do find kind of strange with Xoti is that she's so positive and friendly and outgoing, etc. while at the same time being a priestess of Gaun, which I suppose you could say is the death aspect of Eothas.  Maybe it's a bad stereotype, but it seems to me like Gaun worshipers would be more grim, while Eothas worshipers would be the positive, upbeat ones.

[Verde]

I think before the recent patch there were bugs with dialogue triggers.

 

For example, on my first playthrough they were way too quiet. Then I restarted after the patch and the very first quest (Oathbinder Sanctum) they all had something to say.

[Shadowstrider]

Maybe it's intentional, maybe it's a bug, but all the companions who carried over to PoE 2 seem like caricatures of their PoE 1 personalities.

 

Eder used to be a deeply flawed and conflicted soldier who fought against his own god contrasted against his confident and self-assured brother who fought against his own people for the god, occasionally there would be a throw-away line about wanting to pet an animal. In PoE 2 Eder's defining characteristic is that he's an animal lover. Everything else was salt and peppered in to taste.

 

Pallegina was torn between doing the right thing and doing the right thing for the republics in PoE 1. Regardless of the choice you made in PoE 1, that conflict is no longer present; I cannot recall a single instance of internal conflict in Pallegina regarding a VTC decision. If any of you can, please pass it along, because I am genuinely curious.

 

I don't know if this is due to the disposition/reputation bugs, but regardless of whether it's a bug, Obsidian released the game in this state so that's the state I'm evaluating.

[Ildun]

 

Pallegina was torn between doing the right thing and doing the right thing for the republics in PoE 1. Regardless of the choice you made in PoE 1, that conflict is no longer present; I cannot recall a single instance of internal conflict in Pallegina regarding a VTC decision. If any of you can, please pass it along, because I am genuinely curious.

 

Nope, she probably has more memory problem than the watcher.

She used to question her order even she choose to follow it. She knew it is not right, not ethical and even not profitable in long run. But now she just knew to bark Perfecto! Perfecto! Perfecto! like a good bitch.