Party Members levelled when you get them

[Frenetic Pony]

So here's a popular mod that generally comes out for RPGs, one where you get party members that start at level 1 so you can level them up how you want from the beginning, rather than starting at your level.

 

Of course this might tick some Roleplayers off, so that's why there's a poll. Of course maybe it could just be another in an ever growing list of options you can tick on or off before a game starts.

[Osvir]

They should be leveled up when I get them and when I get them in story. If I disregard getting Minsc and Dynaheir I could perhaps meet them, by chance (as they are following their own quest trees) in Baldur's Gate and employ them there. They should have different gear too, perhaps something you can't get unless you get them later in the game. Some companions could even die and be forever lost because you never employed them, some Companions might become super-villains that you have to fight (their story took them down a dark path since you last met them or something). Forton becoming a bum and a beggar on the street if you don't employ him maybe.

 

I'm unsure about companions just hanging out somewhere (I skip getting Minsc and Dynaheir, play til the final Chapter and then get them leveled up, that would feel immersion breaking and kind of cheap).

 

EDIT:

 

Leveled up at certain points in the game.

 

Getting them Early-Game = Maybe they are level 3 and I'm level 2-4.

Mid-Game = They are 6, I'm 5-7.

Late-Game = They are 8-10, I'm 7-11.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Osvir

[Labadal]

It depends. I don't want a character that joins me later in the game to be level 1. That companion would then be useless for quite some time. If I get a new companion, I'd like to be able to use him/her right away. It wouldn't be a big deal if he/she is a few levels lower, but if I'm level 10 and the companion joins me at level 1, what would he/she be able to do in combat other than dying? If I'm level 3 and I get a level 1 companion, then we are game. That would be a completely different situation. So for me, it depends how late that party member joins the group.

[Kore]

If a character is level 1 when I recruit them then they're useless to me. They should be leveled, but I'd like for me to be able to specialise them myself. If it's not an option for me to spec them myself then I'd either need them to be specced intelligently by designers. In BG the proficiency points of some characters are wasted if you recruit them at high levels. In addition to this I would need to be able to recruit them at the beginning of the game so that if I want to powergame with them then I can. I think Obsidian have promised that all will be available from relatively early anyway so I'm happy about that.

[Agelastos]

Depends on what you mean by "Should be level one when I first get them in my party".

Would they start with 0 XP or could I level them up to my own level as soon as I got control over them (thus getting almost complete control over their stats, etc.)?

[Osvir]

Depends on what you mean by "Should be level one when I first get them in my party".

Would they start with 0 XP or could I level them up to my own level as soon as I got control over them (thus getting almost complete control over their stats, etc.)?

They should be leveled up when I get them and when I get them in story. If I disregard getting Minsc and Dynaheir I could perhaps meet them, by chance (as they are following their own quest trees) in Baldur's Gate and employ them there. They should have different gear too, perhaps something you can't get unless you get them later in the game.

 

They should be leveled up by themselves in my opinion (nothing I can do about). When I employ them later, in Baldur's Gate. Have skills/abilities in a Jack-of-All Trades kind of way for their Class/Personality (Minsc would be good with a bow, two-handed and dual-wielding equally, having perhaps 2 perks/levels on each and Dynaheir would be more focused into her school). Reasonable upgrades. A Price to Pay for not employing them right away (level customization).

[AGX-17]

Why would they be joining you if they were amateurs? They'd just be sidekicks/hangers-on if they were level 1.

[Tychoxi]

I voted "levelled up", but I'm not sure what you mean. I want them to have more or less the same experience points as I have when I get them... but they should still be level 1 characters so that I get to level them all the way up *myself*, thus customizing them to my good taste. An Auto-level-up button should of course be there too.

Edited November 17, 2012 by Tychoxi

[teknoman2]

the best would be for him to be lv1 with enough xp to get to lv6 when i'm at lv7 and meet him, so i can build up his skills from scratch, without him being underleveled

[wanderon]

Yet another horribly constructed poll so I saw no point in choosing any of the possible options.

 

I will however express my opinion which I suspect may be in the minority anyway.

 

If the companions are to have any meaningful role to play regarding who they are and what they do at all then at the very least they should be leveled to a range close to my level when I meet them and/or pick them up and I should have no control over changing their current stats at all. Otherwise you may as well just create your own minions as you see fit in the Adventurers hall.

 

The reality is most likely going to be that at the very least once the companions have joined up the player will have direct control over choices from that point onwards (and possibly before as well with or without a toggle) altho frankly I would not be against having them level on their own throughout the game with no player control over it at all as the default option provided the devs put some personal touches on the choices to match their vision of the character.

 

That said I'm relatively certain thats not going to happen so I will be satisfied as long as their is an "auto-level" choice I can use to simulate their leveling as being outside my control.

 

(and hopefully the auto choices for the companions will have been individually selected by the devs as mentioned above and is not just some computer generated choice based on class and previous choices which is most likely what an auto-option will be for the PC.)

[Jarmo]

Actually.... I don't know.

 

KotOR 2 was pretty neat about it. Once the companion comes along, you get to level him/her up to the standard player -1 level (or hit the level up automatically button).

If the silly companions are your level when you get them -rule is in place, then this'd be pretty much the way I'd like it to be handled.

BG and BG2 were kind of worse, the characters still level up the moment you get them, but you have no influence on that, but do get to choose on the following levelups.

 

On the other hand, if you get Yummi-shimo the master swordsman into your party, it's pretty stupid if you level him up as a spearman instead.

But then, maybe you like him as a character and need a spearman, and the suggested default skillset would still be available.

 

I'd also be just fine with companions doing their own thing, taking no input from you as how to spend their skill points.

[FlintlockJazz]

I think alot of people have misunderstood the OP. He doesn't mean they are level 1 but that they haven't been autoleveled, requiring you to manually level them up from level 1 to whatever level they have already reached so that you get to choose their skills for them. In other words, level 1 but with the experience points for whatever level you are.

[Hassat Hunter]

Yeah, same impression.

It's what KOTOR2 did...

 

Personally I don't think PE should go that way and use the old IE system of them already being full-developed characters when joining.

For fresh newbies we already got the Adventurer's Hall now...

[Umberlin]

Whatever is fitting I guess. Perhaps they should be level one. Perhaps they should be your level. Perhaps they should be a level lower than your. Perhaps they should be a level higher than you. Perhaps the level at which you find them should just reflect whatever individual character you might point at, on a character to character, context to context, basis.

[Karkarov]

Good god, can no one make a decent poll? How about "Is leveled appropriately to reflect their character history and where they fit in the world."?

 

Some characters should join up at low level regardless of when I meet them, some characters should be high level regardless of when I meet them. Likewise a character like the aforementioned Yoshimo should come in already leveled up. If the character claims to be a master swordsman, then they should be a master swordsman. Not a blank level 1 dude I can turn into a staff fighter if I want to.

 

Do what makes sense for the character, not what makes the most sense for the game mechanics or the twink. The twinkies already have the adventurers hall after all.

Edited November 27, 2012 by Karkarov

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I think they should start out at a fixed level and either gain enough XP to level to current PC level(or PC level-1) or just stay at the current level. While I think that quite a few "auto-builds" are awful, I think that the companion should have an ability set that matches them. I don't want to recruit a necromancer who I can build to have no necromancy spells available or something.

[Jymm]

Somebody should definitely repost this poll so it makes sense. I confess I like to level the characters myself for customization. I would live with them being autoleveled to an appropriate set of abilities. It does make sense for immersion / story, and its not a dealbreaker unless they have a terrible spec build.