How much do you lose with hirelings in the party?

[pagulhan]

I find most of the pre-made companions to be weaker than hirelings from the inns. That's why I want to skip them. The question is: how much of 'role-play' do you lose, leaving companions behind? I find their... em... comments to be flat and artificial, not-connected to each other, they also don't matter in terms of reaction of people you talk to (even if they say something offensive, no one cares). That's about vanilia. I want to start WM1 and don't know if things got changed here and it's actually worth it to have some pre-made companions or not. What do you think?

 

btw. Is there any way to change pre-made companions' attributes? Just to make them a little bit more worthy?

[copperleaves]

I mean honestly since you don't like the "banter" and you don't like their stats, I'd say...nothing? It's about the same in WM1 and 2 as in early game, so, I mean. *shrug*

 

You just get a group of silent mercs following you around everywhere you go. Your own personal kill squad.

 

ETA: No, you can't change the companions' stats atm. IE mod let you do it, but it doesn't work on 3.0+ and the dev is mia.

Edited February 25, 2016 by copperleaves

[Kaylon]

You can change their stats using the console...

[Naesaki]

Whenever I've tried changing the attributes of companions in the console it sticks until I save the game and load that save afterwards, think IE Mod stops that though, there are people trying to figure out how to get it working again but only time will tell.

 

I do hope when Obsidian makes PoE 2 they give a bit more freedom to modders and make it more open to modding.

[Koth]

There is a non-roleplaying impact as well. You'll steamroll even PotD with a complete custom party of adventurers min/maxed specifically to your requirements. Basically setting the game on easy mode really. If that's your thing, more power to you. Personally I find the challenge of taking the non-optimized companions to be a refreshing experience, and one that makes the gearing process even more fun as you attempt to shore up weaknesses in their builds with relevant gear.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Koth

[Boeroer]

In my experience it makes no difference if you use the official companions or hired ones - I mean in difficulty. Official companions are of the same level as you which makes a huge difference at the beginning until mid game. Hirelings may be a bit more optimized but I hardly notice. Just playing with official companions only and it's as easy as it was with hirelings. I would even say it's easier but that also depends what builds you are using and what party composition.

 

On the other hand: if you don't like the chitchat and have no need for the little extra XP their quests may give you then you lose absolutely nothing when you don't use them.

[Koth]

I agree with you Boeroer for the end game you won't notice the difference. But pre level 7-9+ (i.e. Acts 1-2) there is a HUGE difference in optimized characters vs premades and this is a significant portion of the game. Many would agree that the start of pillars is the hardest part of the game regardless.

[globalCooldown]

Many would agree that the start of pillars is the hardest part of the game regardless.

Well, for the early game, money can be tight, so most players are going to spend Act 1 with a good mix of banter-tastic official companions and minmaxxed tavern hirelings. Good way to survive until you get to Woodend Plains, at which point you have 5 official companions plus whatever hirelings you bought, and you have to decide which way you're going to lean.

 

I get what you're saying, though. Late-game, there's not really a noticeable difference, but mid-game without optimized companions can be rough if you don't have MAD PRO TACTICAL SKILLS and/or aren't playing on a lower difficulty.

That's when the players who care more about the story or characters will ditch hirelings in favor of official companions, and either turn down the difficulty or learn to pick their fights more effectively.

And the players who prefer to be minmaxxed meat grinding kill-parties will get rid of the official companions.

Neither playstyle is wrong. It's just down to personal preference.

[ottffsse]

Item / equipment / money matter more than stats.

 

Also the extra level is better than stats early because of endurance. Mid game a custom party is better. Endgame it flattens out. I personally like a mix of 3/3 or 4/2 story hirelings.

 

Eder, Cana, manhea, Zahua have good stats. Pallegina makes a good ranged dps and support pali.

 

Aloth, durance, durance, hiravias, Gm are a bit lackluster compared to a custom toon of their class.

[Crucis]

I prefer using the Companions over mercs because I enjoy the banter.  Oh, it may hardly be great banter in some peoples' opinions, but to me, it's better than none at all.  Also, the Companions give you some additional companion related quests to do, which is nice.

 

I will admit that some of the Companions don't do much for me as characters.

 

For example, Aloth seems very, very bland.  It's only his "split personality" which makes him less than totally boring.  I kinda wish that the Companion wizard had more abrasive personality or more exotic or something.  And I don't really like Grieving Mother.  I find her completely boring and her story utterly tedious.  I often have her in my parties, because I like having a Companion NPC to support the party.  But I do it while gritting my teeth, so to speak, because I really do dislike the character.

 

OTOH, I like Eder, Pallegina, and Kana as is.  Sagani is OK, though as I've said repeatedly in the past, I find her total lack of accent to make her vastly more boring than she could be, compared to Pallegina and her joyously wonderful exotic accent.  

 

I played a little bit of WM1 a couple days back (before I decided I wasn't high enough level for the battles and punted back to an earlier save of my PC).  And I found Maneha and Zahua to be fairly interesting at least while I had them.  Love Zahua's deep voice, but dislike Maneha's too sweet voice.  I think that she should have a deeper, alto voice to match her great size.  Her voice seems about as far from what I'd want to think a large barbarian woman's voice should sound like that it's rather grating to my ears.  I'm not sure if I'm use them again when I get back to the WM1 areas, not because of their characters, but because when I did have them in my party a couple days back, they died much too quickly.  (Maybe I just don't have the right tactics to make a barbarian or monk for in my parties.)

 

I have no comment on Hiravias, since I've rarely used him (cuz I just didn't know how to make use of a druid ... had the same problem back in the old IE games).  As for the Devil of Caroc, I haven't gotten to her yet, so I have no opinion of her, though I will be hard pressed to use her since my current party's PC is a rogue.

[KDubya]

I'll roll up a few henchmen to fill up the party along with Eder and Aloth. Then I'll drop henchmen as I get the story companions.

 

I really like Kana, Devil, Pellagrina and Zahua as both personalities and stat/abilities. I like Eder for the personality, not a Fighter fan since 2.0 and I discovered Monks, but he makes a fine Fighter.

 

Grieving Mother I dislike the personality and the story.

 

Aloth is pretty bland and boring.

 

Sagani's American accent does throw off the immersion, but Rangers are great. The banter about itumaak with Eder is always fun.

 

Durance tends to end up as a sacrifice

 

Hiravois tends to get replaced once someone starts to use Stormcaller. Just not a big Druid fan.

[Boeroer]

Hiravias is actually my favorite official companion. His dialogues are weird and inappropriate and funny. And he's an awesome light tank powerhouse. His combo of Aspirant's Mark, Returning & Relentless Storm decide encounter like Concelhaut and Adra Dragon alone.

 

I also like Kana because he sounds like Kermit the Frog.

[falchen]

Companions have quests, most can be done by just talking to them or taking them to a certain place so you could drop them after. Pallegina has a custom race and order though it's not necesarily better than what you can pick at char creation, and Grieving Mother can affect one or two quests (though a cipher PC can do the same thing). Other than the banter which you already said you don't like you won't loose anything though.

[stratigo]

Hiravias is actually my favorite official companion. His dialogues are weird and inappropriate and funny. And he's an awesome light tank powerhouse. His combo of Aspirant's Mark, Returning & Relentless Storm decide encounter like Concelhaut and Adra Dragon alone.

 

I also like Kana because he sounds like Kermit the Frog.

Could you stat that out cause I have Hiravias permenantly on the bench with Aloth because nothing I do seems to make him work

[Boeroer]

Sure, basically use this build: Batsh!t Crazy

It's all defensive talents and not much else - very simple.

It's a 2.03 build, but not much has changed for it in 3.0. As mastered spells I took Nature's Mark, Autmn's Decay and Returning Storm. 

 

p.s.: Funny side effect: with Blaidh Golan (hide armor) and Ilfan Byrngar's Solace (shield) you will have +100 to all defenses if you go prone. You are really, really tanky while you sit on your bum. I considered this to be overkill and now wear the Wayfarer's Hide plus Dunryd Demon. At least at the moment (lvl 14, beginning of ActIII, WM II not yet started).

Edited February 26, 2016 by Boeroer

[HawkSoft]

Sagani is OK, though as I've said repeatedly in the past, I find her total lack of accent 

?

As an Old Worlder I'd say she has a very definite accent (very different from Eder) that I'd associate with a big city somewhere in the US North East.

 

I'd prefer her to sound a little less refined and she should definitely speak more slowly.

[SimpleEnigma]

I love Eder. Decently built, pretty funny, and in my opinion has by far the best banter with the other companions (everyone else seems to kinda hate each other). I found his story arc to be the most cohesive and well done. I actually liked Sagani but that's probably because her banter with Eder actually made me laugh out loud. I also like Kana too not so much that his story is that interesting but he adds a lot of good lore flavor to a lot of situations. Devil is good fun. Aloth is just inconsistent and Grieving Mother just didn't work for me. I still need to have meaningful playthroughs with Hiravias, Pellagrina, and Zahua before I have an opinion on them. And buy WII for our new friend.

 

Durance is just in a category on his own.

[copperleaves]

I can't stand Durance, and I dump him as soon as I can reliably afford to build my own priest. He's misogynistic and gross, and the time I have to have him in my party is practically unbearable to me.

 

I love Eder and Hiravias. They're mainstays of my party. I miss Kana when he's not around just because he's so cheerful and funny. I also like Sagani a lot.

 

I have trouble keeping Zahua and Maneha alive, too. I've never played a barb before, but I've had 2 monk mains and never had such problems as I have with him.

 

Anyway, this playthrough my main is a cipher and I created a paly hireling that I like a lot better than Pallegina, skill-wise, but I love Pallegina's character.

 

Honestly it's always a big dilemma for me because I really do like the companions' personalities (besides Durance) and banter. It's kinda boring with all hirelings imo, but like someone said, if you're just looking to grind through the game and don't like the pre-built companions, go nuts!!

[globalCooldown]

I also like Kana because he sounds like Kermit the Frog.

Why must you hurt me in this way.

[Crucis]

 

Sagani is OK, though as I've said repeatedly in the past, I find her total lack of accent 

?

As an Old Worlder I'd say she has a very definite accent (very different from Eder) that I'd associate with a big city somewhere in the US North East.

 

I'd prefer her to sound a little less refined and she should definitely speak more slowly.

 

 

Hawk, as a resident of the US Northeast, I can safely tell you from experience that she doesn't sound anything like a native New Yorker nor a native Bostonian.  She sounds more like a journalist whose native accent has been washed out in favor of the utterly neutral American Journalist (lack of) accent.

[Crucis]

I love Eder. Decently built, pretty funny, and in my opinion has by far the best banter with the other companions (everyone else seems to kinda hate each other). I found his story arc to be the most cohesive and well done. I actually liked Sagani but that's probably because her banter with Eder actually made me laugh out loud. I also like Kana too not so much that his story is that interesting but he adds a lot of good lore flavor to a lot of situations. Devil is good fun. Aloth is just inconsistent and Grieving Mother just didn't work for me. I still need to have meaningful playthroughs with Hiravias, Pellagrina, and Zahua before I have an opinion on them. And buy WII for our new friend.

 

Durance is just in a category on his own.

 

Simple, I agree about Eder.  I tend to think that he may be perhaps the best of the NPC's.  He's entirely capable of being a team's front liner muscle (or one of them).  And his accent is fine, given that he's a native Dyrwoodan farmer.  And he's not offensive or abrasive.  In short, it's hard not to like Eder, which to me seems like a good thing.

[Rosveen]

 

 

I love Eder. Decently built, pretty funny, and in my opinion has by far the best banter with the other companions (everyone else seems to kinda hate each other). I found his story arc to be the most cohesive and well done. I actually liked Sagani but that's probably because her banter with Eder actually made me laugh out loud. I also like Kana too not so much that his story is that interesting but he adds a lot of good lore flavor to a lot of situations. Devil is good fun. Aloth is just inconsistent and Grieving Mother just didn't work for me. I still need to have meaningful playthroughs with Hiravias, Pellagrina, and Zahua before I have an opinion on them. And buy WII for our new friend.

 

Durance is just in a category on his own.

Simple, I agree about Eder. I tend to think that he may be perhaps the best of the NPC's. He's entirely capable of being a team's front liner muscle (or one of them). And his accent is fine, given that he's a native Dyrwoodan farmer. And he's not offensive or abrasive. In short, it's hard not to like Eder, which to me seems like a good thing.

I like him so much I can't justify not taking him with me every time, even when I really need space for another party member I wanted to use.

[HawkSoft]

 

 

Sagani is OK, though as I've said repeatedly in the past, I find her total lack of accent 

?

As an Old Worlder I'd say she has a very definite accent (very different from Eder) that I'd associate with a big city somewhere in the US North East.

 

I'd prefer her to sound a little less refined and she should definitely speak more slowly.

 

 

Hawk, as a resident of the US Northeast, I can safely tell you from experience that she doesn't sound anything like a native New Yorker nor a native Bostonian.  She sounds more like a journalist whose native accent has been washed out in favor of the utterly neutral American Journalist (lack of) accent.

Thanks for the correction

So Sagani has an NBC accent in the way it used to be said that some British presenters had a BBC accent.

 

It's still an accent and it's still inappropriate

 

 

BTW I found the hodge-podge of accents and dialects in Divinity: Original Sin to be very off-putting and think PoE did a much better job in general.

[Ausir]

I don't see how British accents are any more appropriate than American ones in a *fantasy* settings. Also, remember that Dyrwood is an overseas Aedyran colony, it would make sense for Dyrwoodans to have American accents and people from the Aedyr Empire to have British ones, for example.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Ausir

[SimpleEnigma]

I don't see how British accents are any more appropriate than American ones in a *fantasy* settings. Also, remember that Dyrwood is an overseas Aedyran colony, it would make sense for Dyrwoodans to have American accents and people from the Aedyr Empire to have British ones, for example.

I think the British voice being standard for fantasy characters is a mix of Tolkien intentionally writing in a very old English style and writers following that style. Plus high fantasy normally loosely models a Medieval Europe so modern accents sound weird in that environment. Finally for a variety of reasons (for instance I read an article on how British stage actor training gives them skills to better sell/act out a fantastical role) British actors get cast more often for fantasy roles.

 

I enjoy seeing specifically video games address the accent issue though. For instance Dragon Age dwarves have American accents.