Differences between side kick and companion?

[claudius]

Without giving spoilers as to the plot of the story and so forth what is the difference?  I am guessing there is more dialogue and story to the companions.  If that's the case then what is purpose of companion (edit what is purpose of side kick)?

Edited February 24, 2020 by claudius

[omgFIREBALLS]

Companions are more fleshed out than sidekicks. Sidekicks are something between a companion and a random hireling. They don't have as much interaction, but they still have some. Random inn hirelings have no personality, beyond default stance and voice theme, other than what you ascribe them in your head.

[thelee]

important to note that whatever interactions sidekicks have are mostly self-contained to the DLCs (in fact, each DLC has a recommended sidekick). just calling this out because if you're expecting some interactivity, you'll get basically zero in the base game, but then all of a sudden one or two of your sidekicks will be real chatty in a DLC. (even mirke gets some reactivity)

[xzar_monty]

Where does Mirke get reactivity?

[thelee]

30 minutes ago, xzar_monty said:

Where does Mirke get reactivity?

she gets a very small amount in SSS, and possibly FS if i remember correctly (it's been a while).

[Madscientist]

On 2/24/2020 at 6:32 PM, xzar_monty said:

Where does Mirke get reactivity?

She also gets some lines in BoW, in the beer brewing quest.

I guess she drinks everything as long as there is alcohol inside.

[daven]

She's a right piss head. 

I don't really like the term 'sidekick'. Does it really describe what they are properly? Considering the amount of people asking what they are. How about 'Acquaintance'?

[xzar_monty]

Frankly they do seem a waste of time and effort, except for Konstanten in SSS and Ydwin in BoW. Does Rekke get reactivity anywhere?

One properly fleshed-out companion would have been nicer than all of the sidekicks put together, in my view.

[Boeroer]

Vatnir is a sidekick and he's pretty great in BoW. Fassina is nice in FS, too. Fassina and Konstanten can even have a romance. 

Sidekicks are like companions in PoE without quest (so it's mostly about banter). I don't get the hate. They are totally fine for what they cost and they are certainly more entertaining than hirelings.

Edited February 26, 2020 by Boeroer

[Crucis]

6 hours ago, xzar_monty said:

Frankly they do seem a waste of time and effort, except for Konstanten in SSS and Ydwin in BoW. Does Rekke get reactivity anywhere?

One properly fleshed-out companion would have been nicer than all of the sidekicks put together, in my view.

I have to disagree with this.  Sidekicks give the player some party building options, particularly if there's a companion or two that you don't like, or perhaps for whatever reason, you lose a companion.  I actually wish that there'd been more side kicks.   Side kicks can be seen as either prebuilt mercenaries who have some background and a small amount of conversation.  Or they can be seen as Companions Lite, as in lite on any personal questions or semi-regular deep conversations or whatever.

I wish that the DLCs had added something like a couple of Side kicks per DLC, and not in places within the DLC, but just placed around the game like the initial sidekicks.  

[Mannock]

7 hours ago, Boeroer said:

 Fassina is nice in FS, too. Fassina and Konstanten can even have a romance. 

 

Oh, that was news to me! To get that spark going, is it enough to just bring both along for FS, or are there more prerquisites to get the romance going?

[Boeroer]

I think it even starts before FS. They just started flirting (weirdly but cute) once they were together in the party for some time.

[Ascaloth]

The earliest I know it starts is during SSS. Not sure if it can start even earlier than that, though.

[Mannock]

Just finished SSS the other week. Hm, I have Konstanten in my party so I guess I'll try throwing Fassina in there before moving on to FS and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up about this!

[xzar_monty]

@Boeroer: Not being impressed with the sidekicks does not equal hating them. If you were referring to other people making nasty comments about them, that's fine. My feelings towards them are lukewarm, there's certainly no hatred. (I wrote this comment partly because this hate and hater talk has become so common and so cheap, and it only brings the level of discussion down. Criticism does not imply hatred, and not liking something doesn't, either. The words inside these parentheses aren't particularly directed at you, they're just a clarifying cmment.)

[Boeroer]

Sorry, I meant the general feedback on sidekicks, not your single comment. And of course "hate" was hyperbolic. I don't actually think anybody really hates some virtual and optional buddies in a computer game. Well... I hope so at least...

[thelee]

19 hours ago, xzar_monty said:

Frankly they do seem a waste of time and effort, except for Konstanten in SSS and Ydwin in BoW. Does Rekke get reactivity anywhere?

Rekke gets minor but lore-wise surprisingly impactful reactivity in FS and a little bit elsewhere. (Stuff to do with Yehuza's involvement with the gods.)

You can also talk to him.

I think the coolest part of Rekke is that he starts off being utterly unable to communicate with you and he picks up more common (?) over the course of the game, even in base-game. I actually thought he was the most reactive/interesting companion before DLC.

Edited February 27, 2020 by thelee

[thelee]

13 hours ago, Crucis said:

I have to disagree with this.  Sidekicks give the player some party building options, particularly if there's a companion or two that you don't like, or perhaps for whatever reason, you lose a companion.  I actually wish that there'd been more side kicks.   Side kicks can be seen as either prebuilt mercenaries who have some background and a small amount of conversation.  Or they can be seen as Companions Lite, as in lite on any personal questions or semi-regular deep conversations or whatever.

I wish that the DLCs had added something like a couple of Side kicks per DLC, and not in places within the DLC, but just placed around the game like the initial sidekicks.  

yeah, I actually like sidekicks quite a bit. A party of hirelings is really dull - walking quietly around the map constantly. Even the minor extra reactivity and flavor a sidekick adds over a hireling livens things up.

[xzar_monty]

Oh, there's no question that sidekicks are vastly superior to hirelings. I completely agree on that. I would never use hirelings myself, but I understand it's a viable approach, given certain preferences.