Are the companion reputations rigged?

[Epixia]

When I first started the game, I was under the impression that there could be a variety of combinations when it came to the companion's reputations with each other. Like one playthrough could have Aloth /Eder as friends and another as enemies. Or I suppose, to use a more extreme example, having Xoti/Pallegina as friends and another playthrough as enemies. 

 

However, as time goes on, it seems to be that their relationships with each other are mostly set in stone. There will always be a Xoti/Pallegina rivalry, Aloth will always dislike Tekehu and Serafen, etc.

 

The only ones that seem to have a good potential of going either way so far are Eder/Aloth and Eder/Xoti. I'm curious at the amount of variations others have seen in their playthroughs with this system.

 

So, is the game rigged?  

Edited July 23, 2018 by Epixia

[Normandy]

Mostly. Aloth&Eder releationship changes a bit depending on Aloth's endings in PoE and the Watcher can influence Eder&Xoti and Xoti&Maia.

[InsaneCommander]

I imagine the only way you can change them is if you know a lot about the game and remove specific party members whenever they are gonna have a reaction to another one. So you'd skip all negative or positive moments and make sure the opposite happened.

 

But even doing that, I don't know what ending slides were made, so it might be inevitable anyway.

[the_dog_days]

Pretty sure Pallagina is never going to like Xoti no matter what, but otherwise it largely depends on what conversations both companions are in the same party for. There are ways to game it, but I haven't actively tried. I just know that in one playthrough Xoti really disliked Serafen and in another she loved the furry little guy.

Edited July 23, 2018 by the_dog_days

[misterjimmy]

The reason she hate god is mommy bird abandoned her.

[hermamora]

The reason she hate god is mommy bird abandoned her.

Not entirely. She wanted to be a normal child with normal childhood but fake goddess made her a sterile monster and, as we understand now, hoarded her like squirrel would do with an especially delicious nut.

[handsomenat]

Before the game launch someone asked Josh Sawyer at tumblr about the different sort of relationships companions may have and he replied that companions' relationships will always be the same. The point of relationship system was to make sense of ways they respond to each other, e.g. unless Pallegina starts talking about how she hates gods Xoti won't start yelling at her and calling her a blasphemous heretic. When I first read about the relationship system, the vague way it was worded, I too was thinking that it may mean different approaches each playthrough. But I guess it just meant that the player may have different sort of relationships with companions.

[Epixia]

That’s what I suspected. Though it seems like a waste to apply the reputation system to the companions if they’re relationships are mostly predetermined.

[Tick]

It makes it more dynamic and natural, which is what I think they were going for, as someone mentioned. In last game characters pretty much just decided to like or dislike someone without any other context. It felt natural, but maybe that's just because games have done that forever. The current system has them directly responding to what other characters have said around them.

 

The down side with this system is it's very black and white, at its base. I don't know if Obsidian made it better than its base or not? Because I always got along with my companions, so I don't know if there's a "mixed" reputation you can have with them or if they act differently based on certain aspects about you.

 

At its base, the system is very black and white. Characters like you and each other if they happen to agree on a few points or temperaments and dislike you /others for the inverse. While that behavior is true of people to an extent, that's not really how people work. E.g. I like some people who I think have abhorrent political views, and I like people who have attitudes that sometimes hit really personal buttons for me. Those issues *hurt * the relationship sometimes, but it doesn't make me hate them by default. Similarly, I really *don't* like some people despite the fact they agree on certain things or have a temperament I generally gravitate to.

 

So while Aloth might not like that someone is cavalier about everything, I could see him still liking the person despite it - especially if the person cares about issues and just *acts* like they don't to cope or something. I think that's actually a conversation path the -1 rep dialogue with him can go.

 

Also, things like the Pallegina and Tekehu relationship is an example of something that I don't think fits the base system. Pallegina has issues with Tekehu but can get past them and appreciate him, and I feel like the -/+ reps don't really show that kind of relationship.

Edited July 23, 2018 by Tick

[Mislas]

This relations system is just another way to open the whole character of your teammates in front of you. Of course all of them are are complex enough to have some positions that you can't change at all. But it's so sweet to see how they communicate with each other! Jokes or scandals - all are masterpiece part of roleplay!

[handsomenat]

Because I always got along with my companions, so I don't know if there's a "mixed" reputation you can have with them or if they act differently based on certain aspects about you.

 

There's no mixed reputation afaik. Unlike rep with factions. So if Eder gets mad at you and you have -1 with him but then you tell five jokes and pet some dogs you'll get back to 0. Depending on your reputations with them companions will have different barks/say different things when you click on them or when you start a conversation. I know that Aloth brings up your dispositions in some dialogues; if you're rational/diplomatic/stoic he'll say "we have so much in common", if you're aggressive he'll compare you to Iselmyr. If you get negative rep with him he will criticize you and if you're still a diplomatic person he will say sth like "you've always chose your words carefully so I don't know why you're behaving like this now". I think that if you repair your rep with him afterwards he will have another conversation with you where he remarks on your change. At least I think I heard that one in DanaDuchy's videos at yt, others I experienced in my own pts. I don't know about other companions though, they may have less reactivity.

[Wormerine]

Yeah. Reputations aren’t mechanic driven, but rather when certain beats of predetermined outcome play out are mechanic driven.

 

Oddly, even though the main goal of the system was to make things more natural (aka. Pal and Xoti argue, and you heard them annoy each other for a while now) I felt the effect was the opposite, making relationships feel less dynamic or sensible. However, those are my impressions from my 1st playthrough, and I have been enjoying my 2nd one much more, after couple patches.

[daven]

All I get out of this 'system' is that Aloth rolls his eyes a lot.

[Incendax]

It is mostly set in stone. But I have noticed some minor variation. For example, my dialog choices meant that Pallegina and Xoti disliked each other but never got into a major fight. But I also never had Tekehu and Pallegina reconcile their differences, which some posters have mentioned happening.

[handsomenat]

They didn't reconcile in my first pt either, I just think it might be based on time that passed since their conversations.