So do you prefer creating you own team or do you recruit companions you find?

[My Name Is Bob]

This is the only annoying thing with this game. I really love creating my own team but then i feel sad abou the stories i lose because i dont recruit existant companions. What do you prefer?

[Wbino]

If you want a story, people to interact with you HAVE to recruit the pre made characters.

I intially made one NPC but when I realized she would be a silent partener, I dropped her for a pre made.

Even the main character could have had a back story and a name if done right, with some player choices.

Mass Effect has a named character with some input by the player and that doesn't make it any less of an RPG.

[Venatio]

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

[Crucis]

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

 

I feel the same way towards having a rogue in my party.  Frankly, it's annoying that there's no Rogue companion in the game (outside of the tutorial).  Perhaps even more than the other two missing companion classes, I feel that the lack of a rogue for locks and traps duty is a glaring hole.

[Venatio]

 

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

 

I feel the same way towards having a rogue in my party.  Frankly, it's annoying that there's no Rogue companion in the game (outside of the tutorial).  Perhaps even more than the other two missing companion classes, I feel that the lack of a rogue for locks and traps duty is a glaring hole.

 

 

I'm so glad someone agrees. Starting out with a +2 to mechanics is pretty big, especially since we are running into level 8 locks (near as I can tell) in the temple of Eothas that is smack dab in the middle of Gilded Vale. 

[abaris]

My player Cypher fills in for the rogue. There's no other talent to max out than mechanics and Cyphers start with a bonus to that skill. Add merchant as profession and there's another point added from the beginning.

 

There's practically no need for a full fletched rogue in this game.

 

But to answer the OP, building henchmen takes a lot from the story. I always build one or two to have someone for special assignments, but I usually go with the premade party members.

[Crucis]

 

 

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

 

I feel the same way towards having a rogue in my party.  Frankly, it's annoying that there's no Rogue companion in the game (outside of the tutorial).  Perhaps even more than the other two missing companion classes, I feel that the lack of a rogue for locks and traps duty is a glaring hole.

 

 

I'm so glad someone agrees. Starting out with a +2 to mechanics is pretty big, especially since we are running into level 8 locks (near as I can tell) in the temple of Eothas that is smack dab in the middle of Gilded Vale. 

 

 

+3 if you take a background that gives you a +1 in Mechanics.  (Almost can't imagine not doing this for a traps and locks specialist rogue.)

 

[Crucis]

My player Cypher fills in for the rogue. There's no other talent to max out than mechanics and Cyphers start with a bonus to that skill. Add merchant as profession and there's another point added from the beginning.

 

There's practically no need for a full fletched rogue in this game.

 

But to answer the OP, building henchmen takes a lot from the story. I always build one or two to have someone for special assignments, but I usually go with the premade party members.

 

Fair point regarding Ciphers.  You can get a Mechanics bonus from Chanters as well.

 

Personally, I still like having a real rogue around, but that's personal preference.

[Guest]

 

 

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

 

I feel the same way towards having a rogue in my party.  Frankly, it's annoying that there's no Rogue companion in the game (outside of the tutorial).  Perhaps even more than the other two missing companion classes, I feel that the lack of a rogue for locks and traps duty is a glaring hole.

 

 

I'm so glad someone agrees. Starting out with a +2 to mechanics is pretty big, especially since we are running into level 8 locks (near as I can tell) in the temple of Eothas that is smack dab in the middle of Gilded Vale. 

 

There are no Level 8 traps in the Temple. There is one Level 1 check, three Level 2 checks, one Level 3 check, two Level 4 checks, and a Level 5 check that can also be passed by finding a key. The first Level 8 traps is found in Heritage Hill in Act II (unless you count the Level 8 door in Raedric's Keep, which also has a key).

 

The only place you're going to find Mechanics checks that Aloth or Durance can't pass is in Od Nua. Therefore it's a stretch to refer to the lack of a rogue as a "glaring hole".

[Venatio]

My player Cypher fills in for the rogue. There's no other talent to max out than mechanics and Cyphers start with a bonus to that skill. Add merchant as profession and there's another point added from the beginning.

 

There's practically no need for a full fletched rogue in this game.

 

But to answer the OP, building henchmen takes a lot from the story. I always build one or two to have someone for special assignments, but I usually go with the premade party members.

 

Making the main character the party's mechanic monkey doesn't really strike my fancy. I love having a high lore for casting scrolls, and a high athletics helps with exploration and combat. That and a few points in survival caps off what I want from my main character irregardless. 

 

So a rogue with a +3 mechanics at the start is awesome, as the worst traps (Sunlance) have a whopping mechanics challenge of 12. And of course, he or she will have points left over to put elsewhere. 

Edited May 10, 2015 by Venatio

[Guest]

So a rogue with a +3 mechanics at the start is awesome, as the worst traps (Sunlance) have a whopping mechanics challenge of 12. 

I'm not entirely sure that's true. The second mausoleum trap in Heritage Hill is a sunlance trap and it's only Mechanics 8. There are a few that are level 12, but there are also a few that are level 10 or 11. I think the devs specify the check required when placing the traps, rather than have a hard value determined by the trap itself. 

[Dadalama]

Both, there's always situations where a second cleric, a barbarian or a rogue would be appropriate but you don't always want to play one. I usually keep my party mostly companions but I'll at least have a barbarian and a rogue on back order.

[Nakia]

Both, there's always situations where a second cleric, a barbarian or a rogue would be appropriate but you don't always want to play one. I usually keep my party mostly companions but I'll at least have a barbarian and a rogue on back order.

I do the same thing.  They are also handy if you are doing the stronghold so you don't tie up your companions.  Seems to me the best of two worlds.

[qualiyah]

I hate missing out on the stories of the recruitable companion so much that I would prefer to have a weaker party or a gap in the party skills than to make my own companions from scratch. I figure, if sticking with recruitable companions effectively increases the difficulty of the game a little bit, that's probably a good thing rather than a bad thing. (That said, I understand some people like to make their own companions so they can play around with different classes and strategies.)

 

Having come from playing BG, I thought the lack of a rogue was weird at first, but you really don't need one. I just pick one person in the party who doesn't need lore and have them max out mechanics. That works fine. For those extra-difficult locks, you can get a bonus from certain inn rooms, and there's a scroll that grants +3 to mechanics for when everything else fails.

 

I just wish there were more companions to choose from! 8 is too few. If there were more companions, you could have the best of both worlds: companions with real stories and interactions, and flexibility in party make-up. I'm eagerly awaiting more companions in expansions and mods.

[Kriber22]

I typically run with my main character and one other that I make myself, typically one of the classes that isn't represented by the pre-gen NPCs (barbarian, rogue or monk). The remaining four slots are pre-gens. I swap them out every now and then when it becomes time to advance one of their personal quests.

[Silent Winter]

Generally I prefer premade characters for my team - just took those on my 1st playthrough - I like the banters, interactions and quests.

For my next, I plan to take mostly premade characters, but add in one or 2 AH companions.

It's great to have both options.

Hopefully an expansion could add in one or two more premade companions.

[Jimmysdabestcop]

 

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

 

I feel the same way towards having a rogue in my party.  Frankly, it's annoying that there's no Rogue companion in the game (outside of the tutorial).  Perhaps even more than the other two missing companion classes, I feel that the lack of a rogue for locks and traps duty is a glaring hole.

 

 

You actually want your Priest to be the lead Mechanic. As it boosts his trap/seal spells. They are low level and powerful. If you are setting physical traps then the Priest is the only character who really needs Mechanics for his class.

 

Of course you ight want other classes to have mechanics because of role play reasons.

[TrumpetWinsock]

On my last game (as a priestess) I hired a Death Godlike barbarian scientist from The Living Lands with 3 INT the moment I hit Gilded Vale and he never once left my party. He was naked the entire time, was the only one in my party with any mechanics skill (I think he got it up to 10?) and though he never spoke, I became very attatched to him as a character (probably through the power of imagination or some other such nonsense). In a world where every person who joins your cause also needs you to council and guide them on their own personal journeys, having one or two characters who are just fine with things is its own kind of character developement.

But having all player-made characters is totally too sad and for whatever reason, makes me feel disconnected from the world. Any attempts to go this route have always ended rather quickly.

[Luckmann]

 

 

 

For me I always need a rogue with a high mechanics so I have to make one at the Inn. Thankfully for my next game that will be the only party member I need custom made. 

 

I feel the same way towards having a rogue in my party.  Frankly, it's annoying that there's no Rogue companion in the game (outside of the tutorial).  Perhaps even more than the other two missing companion classes, I feel that the lack of a rogue for locks and traps duty is a glaring hole.

 

 

I'm so glad someone agrees. Starting out with a +2 to mechanics is pretty big, especially since we are running into level 8 locks (near as I can tell) in the temple of Eothas that is smack dab in the middle of Gilded Vale. 

 

There are no Level 8 traps in the Temple. There is one Level 1 check, three Level 2 checks, one Level 3 check, two Level 4 checks, and a Level 5 check that can also be passed by finding a key. The first Level 8 traps is found in Heritage Hill in Act II (unless you count the Level 8 door in Raedric's Keep, which also has a key).

 

The only place you're going to find Mechanics checks that Aloth or Durance can't pass is in Od Nua. Therefore it's a stretch to refer to the lack of a rogue as a "glaring hole".

 

 

He said locks, however, not traps. And there is most definitely high-level locks in the Temple of Eothas.

[Faerunner]

I love the pre-made companions so much I can't even think of creating my own.

[abaris]

I love the pre-made companions so much I can't even think of creating my own.

 

Yeah, me too. But I do create one or two for the above mentioned reasons. If for no other reason then to have them at the stronghold for bouncer duty.

[Frond]

I've only used the pre-made team once, and I didn't even finish the game that playthrough. Not to put down Obsidian's characters,(I really liked Eder and Grieving Mother) but I just love making a squad of my own and head-cannon the backstories.

[luzarius]

This is the only annoying thing with this game. I really love creating my own team but then i feel sad abou the stories i lose because i dont recruit existant companions. What do you prefer?

 

Think of it this way, the foundation has been laid out for POE 2. POE 2 will most likely feature modding by letting players add custom voice acting to custom companions. Players will be able to release companion mods like Skyrim has.  If they prefer, no voice acting and just text/dialogue.

 

POE is a strong foundation that should technically make POE 2 an even better game.

 

As long as they don't pull a Bioware and switch to a completely foreign engine that they don't know how to use and end up with DA2 & DAI with a bucket load of excuses. 

[Jimmysdabestcop]

Who knows they may even update to Unity 5 like inXile is doing spring/summer with Wasteland 2. Unity 5 will make mods flurish. As it is basically impossible to release good tools under Unity 4.x.x

 

I think what would be really cool is to drop the PreMade "Soul" into a created character. I mean they could make the story elements dynamic so if any text mention s class or race or background it could change.

 

If not it be cool to be able to change ability scores. Not to min/max just fit better in with the party. Maybe only allow a total of 5 points to be rearranged.

At least with IeMod you can change class and relevel the companions up.

[luzarius]

Who knows they may even update to Unity 5 like inXile is doing spring/summer with Wasteland 2. Unity 5 will make mods flurish. As it is basically impossible to release good tools under Unity 4.x.x

 

I think what would be really cool is to drop the PreMade "Soul" into a created character. I mean they could make the story elements dynamic so if any text mention s class or race or background it could change.

 

If not it be cool to be able to change ability scores. Not to min/max just fit better in with the party. Maybe only allow a total of 5 points to be rearranged.

At least with IeMod you can change class and relevel the companions up.

 

You know, another thing I would've liked to do is take the existing character models and get them into 3D Studio Max, change them around, up their poly count, then have the game let us zoom in even more during dialogue conversations.  Just thinking out loud here.