Are companions actually relevant for story and flavour?

[Parsalian]

Now that more people played for dozen of hours, I would like to ask how are the interactions with companions. Do they really intervene in the story? Contribute? Theres quest lines exclusive for them?

 

As posted before in the forum, companions stats and skills are not that good, alsoI like to play more with characters I created and with a party composition of my choice. So, if companions are only for small flavour stuff, I will dismiss them. 

[Augustus]

I just finished playing through the game, doing most of the quests available to me. Yes, the companions are relevant for a lot of story and flavor, they also have their own unique quests and their dialogue adds a lot to the game's lore and background. I was also thinking about using my own custom characters but decided against it for my fist time through, and I think it was much more enjoyable as a result.

 

However, companions don't really intervene as directly as you would expect, mostly just adding dialogue before you make certain decisions. The vast majority of quests don't require their presence and the game is certainly playable without them if you choose to do so.

[Gallenger]

The companions were *great* I liked it. 

 

You *could* get most of their stories by just recruiting them and talking to them periodically a la a few bioware series once you get your stronghold, but you'd miss out on some pretty good bits - I'd suggest taking along at least one. 

 

I wouldn't let their "unoptimized" stats really bother you so much - it's not like we're playing against each other - and there aren't any garricks. 

Edited March 30, 2015 by Gallenger