I hate hate hate auto-leveled companions

[Crucis]

 

 

If you don't remember how much talk there's been over the years about the odd choice for Minsc's class then you haven't been paying attention. 

Now how about dropping the condecending tone and instead present valid, constructive arguments against any change to how companions currently work (When it comes to what we're discussing). If all else fails then simply agree to disagree. Or is that too much to ask?

 

Chip, I was paying attention ... closely.  And I don't recall many people making that big a deal over Minsc's class, odd as it was.  They just rolled with it. 

 

As for "is that too much to ask", yes, it is.  That's just a tactic to try to get people that disagree with YOU to shut up.  I think that the fact that you want me to shut up means that I hit the mark dead on with my comments.

 

 

Yet changing him into a barbarian/berserker was in much demand, a demand that modders eventually met. Quite a reasonable change considering that he is from Rashemen and described as a berserker. 

 

Really? Shut up? Where on earth did I even remotely entertain that notion? Do try and read what I wrote instead of going round the bend like that. I wrote about you instead presenting arguments for your case, as opposed to what you just did in your reply. 

Agreeing to disagree has to do with maintining a civil tone and not resorting to personal attacks when there really isn't much else to discuss after having presented all ones arguments. 

Is an option too much to ask? How so? Does it harm your gameplay? Is it harmful to the gameplay overall? Is it too much to ask that, instead of having players forgo early questing in order to gather their companions as early as possible, it be possible to level them up yourself? If there's enough demand for it from the playerbase then why force people to use somewhat buggy console commands? You could of course argue that at some point mods will come along and allow for such an option. 

 

Edit: I would propose adding in a slider with three settings. First: Have companions level up automatically Second: Have it as it is now Third: Have them be level one when you meet them

 

 

 

 

Yes, really.  Chip, I see saying "agree to disagree" as a polite person's way of telling you that they want you to shut up.  That's how I see it.  Think on it.  Whenever someone says "let's agree to disagree", they really, really are trying to say that they don't want to discuss or debate the topic any further and they really just want you to shut up. 

 

 

As for the option, what it comes down to me is this.  If you don't like the game the way it is, you can play it as is, you can mod it (if it's modable, of course), or you can choose to walk away.    What I would prefer is rather than handing over pre-made NPC building over to the players is for the designers to not make such "weak" decisions when it comes to the various factors of the NPC's such as stats, skill/talent/ability choices.  I'm not looking for anything close to uber-min/maxed perfect.  Just solid choices when it comes to skills/abilities, etc. that won't leave people tearing their hair out.  Like with Pallegine, instead of having Field Triage as a pre-picked ability, pick a decent paladin special ability or a solid combat skill.  Something in keeping with the character and yet isn't such a weak choice that it feels like an utterly wasted pick.  For example, with any character that's going to engage in physical combat regularly, selecting a "weapon set" skill doesn't seem like a waste to me.  Or with classes that have special class abilities, selecting any of those may not be a waste either.

 

As for Minsc, it's been a LONG time, but I don't recall berzerker existing in BG1, and the designers probably felt compelled to not change Minsc's class when they were designing BG2.

 

 

 

[ChipMHazard]

 

 

 

If you don't remember how much talk there's been over the years about the odd choice for Minsc's class then you haven't been paying attention. 

Now how about dropping the condecending tone and instead present valid, constructive arguments against any change to how companions currently work (When it comes to what we're discussing). If all else fails then simply agree to disagree. Or is that too much to ask?

 

Chip, I was paying attention ... closely.  And I don't recall many people making that big a deal over Minsc's class, odd as it was.  They just rolled with it. 

 

As for "is that too much to ask", yes, it is.  That's just a tactic to try to get people that disagree with YOU to shut up.  I think that the fact that you want me to shut up means that I hit the mark dead on with my comments.

 

 

Yet changing him into a barbarian/berserker was in much demand, a demand that modders eventually met. Quite a reasonable change considering that he is from Rashemen and described as a berserker. 

 

Really? Shut up? Where on earth did I even remotely entertain that notion? Do try and read what I wrote instead of going round the bend like that. I wrote about you instead presenting arguments for your case, as opposed to what you just did in your reply. 

Agreeing to disagree has to do with maintining a civil tone and not resorting to personal attacks when there really isn't much else to discuss after having presented all ones arguments. 

Is an option too much to ask? How so? Does it harm your gameplay? Is it harmful to the gameplay overall? Is it too much to ask that, instead of having players forgo early questing in order to gather their companions as early as possible, it be possible to level them up yourself? If there's enough demand for it from the playerbase then why force people to use somewhat buggy console commands? You could of course argue that at some point mods will come along and allow for such an option. 

 

Edit: I would propose adding in a slider with three settings. First: Have companions level up automatically Second: Have it as it is now Third: Have them be level one when you meet them

 

 

 

 

Yes, really.  Chip, I see saying "agree to disagree" as a polite person's way of telling you that they want you to shut up.  That's how I see it.  Think on it.  Whenever someone says "let's agree to disagree", they really, really are trying to say that they don't want to discuss or debate the topic any further and they really just want you to shut up. 

 

 

As for the option, what it comes down to me is this.  If you don't like the game the way it is, you can play it as is, you can mod it (if it's modable, of course), or you can choose to walk away.    What I would prefer is rather than handing over pre-made NPC building over to the players is for the designers to not make such "weak" decisions when it comes to the various factors of the NPC's such as stats, skill/talent/ability choices.  I'm not looking for anything close to uber-min/maxed perfect.  Just solid choices when it comes to skills/abilities, etc. that won't leave people tearing their hair out.  Like with Pallegine, instead of having Field Triage as a pre-picked ability, pick a decent paladin special ability or a solid combat skill.  Something in keeping with the character and yet isn't such a weak choice that it feels like an utterly wasted pick.  For example, with any character that's going to engage in physical combat regularly, selecting a "weapon set" skill doesn't seem like a waste to me.  Or with classes that have special class abilities, selecting any of those may not be a waste either.

 

As for Minsc, it's been a LONG time, but I don't recall berzerker existing in BG1, and the designers probably felt compelled to not change Minsc's class when they were designing BG2.

 

 

Well that's up to you if you want to think of it that way. 

 

So instead of offering critiscm you should just stop playing? What an absolutely absurd notion. How on earth is anything supposed to ever improve if no one offers critism? Sorry, but I have never agreed with the notion that one shouldn't offer critical feedback. 

Obviously it would help a great deal if they had actually made the companions pick more useful abilities. Tweaking what companions pick would also make their choices more consistent. Most often I don't get why they have the abilities that they have. Like Pallegina, why does she have lay on hands? She seems rather more aggressive/ill-tempered for that.

When it comes to weapon focus: I am fine with Eder being a ruffian. It's definently not optimal for a tank, but makes him a bit more interesting to play with.  

It would alleviate the issues that people are having and it's possible that it would help enough for people to care less about the issue. Of course it wouldn't fix the issue that people have with it. I would still rather see that be part of the solution that I mentioned in my previous post. I do think it would improve the game if they introduced a companion leveling slider. Again: One for those that would rather go with Obsidians' pick, one for how it is now and lastly one for being able to pick yourself to better fit the character you created. 

 

There wasn't a barbarian class nor class kits in BG1, no. That was apparently the reasoning behind leaving him as a ranger throughout the series, even when they added in the actually class and class kit. So, yes. 

Modders eventually "fixed" the issue though. And wanting to relegate such a change to modders is a fair point, but we don't know when that will be. People would obviously rather have Obsidian offer up an option than have to wait for a possible mod that gives the option. 

Edited April 7, 2015 by ChipMHazard