Problems with companions and suggestions

[LadyAthena]

Note: I am playing on the hardest difficulty.

Note 2: I may be missing options or choices, if so please let me know.

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Playing around with the companions on the hardest difficulty is.. well.. nearly impossible not to get them killed.

I'm going to use the first area you start in in the game for various reasons, mostly to avoid spoilers, and I'll try to explain things in ways that won't give too much away.

Basically though you start with those ape creatures EVERYWHERE.. This is a perfect mob to explain the problems with the companions in general. There are is a TON of micro managing required to make them function in harder difficulty modes. So I'll use these as an example in my list of problems. Human enemies aren't a problem, but monsters definitely are, and sometimes larger groups of humans too.

1) They won't stay near you:

Even when I choose for her to "Stay close" These options seem to only matter outside of battle, because once we get into battle it doesn't take long for her to rush head first into battle, getting herself ultimately swarmed and 3 shot by the mobs.. This is with her set to ranged only as well. There is no reason for her to be moving so close.

2) Can't heal themselves:

The AI won't heal themselves, and your perk even if you're focusing on medical only gives them 33% which is nothing if they keep getting swarmed, and that means you have to start spam wasting meds on yourself at full health to keep them alive.

 

3) Only 1 way to build them:

You HAVE to slam as much heavy armor as possible on them or they will straight up die, no questions asked. This severely limits the players choice and play style.

4) No way to revive them if they're down. Once they go low on health they're dead. Period. No hope of survival.

5) They don't try to take cover like enemy AI. (Enemy AI do this, I don't know why your companions don't). They just stand there and let themselves get smashed.

 

This all results in the player having to micro manage their every move, which means either you or they are dead anyway, especially on the hardest difficulty, because if you're not putting as much lead down range, or swinging hardcore in battle melee you're dead, or they are..

 

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Suggestions:

 

1) Make the companions respect the distance setting more in battle. Close should mean they stay exactly that, very close, medium they'll wander, a bit but that's it. If they have no enemy in range, they'll stay near you, not go yoloing 900 yards away.

 

2) Let me be able to give them meds, or let me be able to heal them directly, and or better yet all of the above.

 

3) They need to understand how they're supposed to fight. Cautiously because wearing light armor? Or can they go head first in, because you gave them heavy armor and told them to go yolo with melee weapons only. They need to know.

 

4) Needs a way or a chance to revive them. This could come with medical perks or skills, higher your medical skill higher chance you get an option to revive your companion, rather than them outright dieing. It's not a 100% chance (unless super super high medical). This will still cause situations in the harder, and most difficult hard setting where the companion will at least early game often die, but you still get chances of them not.

 

5) They need at least the basic fundemental idea of cover like the enemy AI does, or even the knowledge of "Gee I really need to run away to safety right now".

[mothra]

Most of the time I order them to hide behind a rock before I open combat and when enemies inevitably rush you they rush past them and then I just spam their abilities.....later on you can almost chain those moves and cc enemies permanently. But they are still pretty useless when not constantly babysitted and spam-healed. Instead of using TTD to fire off some cool shots I save it for mid-battle so I can reposition those morons. Also, don't take flaws on supernova :), the perks are not impactful enough to suffer those attribute debuffs.

[LadyAthena]

2 hours ago, mothra said:

Most of the time I order them to hide behind a rock before I open combat and when enemies inevitably rush you they rush past them and then I just spam their abilities.....later on you can almost chain those moves and cc enemies permanently. But they are still pretty useless when not constantly babysitted and spam-healed. Instead of using TTD to fire off some cool shots I save it for mid-battle so I can reposition those morons. Also, don't take flaws on supernova :), the perks are not impactful enough to suffer those attribute debuffs.

 

Yea I didn't take any flaws. The needing to babysit the companions is a huge problem though. It is sucking alot of the fun out of the game on supernova.