Split the party up!

[neonfire]

I think it could lead to a lot of great storytelling and game play options if you forced the party to split up at some time. I feel like the party is stuck together all the time. Of course you can move people individually, but there's usually no reason to split into two or more groups. Could add more depth to dungeons, especially for PotD playthroughs.

 

 

 

edit: would to could

Edited February 15, 2017 by neonfire

[injurai]

It was a neat narrative and gameplay trick the first time I saw an rpg do this. Certainly memorable. Whether it added much to either gameplay or story though is debatable.

 

I'll say doing it probably won't hurt all that much. But I can't imagine it contributing much without hindsight.

[Lamppost in Winter]

I loved doing this in Divinity: Original Sin. Distract someone with a companion to talk to them while another sneaks and searches the place.

[injurai]

I loved doing this in Divinity: Original Sin. Distract someone with a companion to talk to them while another sneaks and searches the place.

 

Yeah, that's neat. PoE would probably handle that with a text-adventure and some sort of stealth check on one character, resolve check on another.

[Heijoushin]

Do you mean like a story event that forces the party apart? Hmmm... I don't know. Surely you design your party to work together? What if the squishy characters are split off from the tanks? That kind of thing needs to be super-well balanced, and probably won't work in a game where you (can) design your members.

[ThatUndeadLegacy]

I would like to send companions on more in depth missions. Like Dragon Age. 

[Fardragon]

I assume the OP is talking about something like Final Fantasy VII. At one point you pick your party, but the action follows the companions you didn't pick!

 

In KotOR there is a sequence where you select one companion to rescue the rest of the party from a cell.

 

I'm all in favour of this, so long as it is not overdone (KotOR2 overedoes is a bit) but it seems less manageable in games with larger parties.

[MaxQuest]

I think it could lead to a lot of great storytelling and game play options if you forced the party to split up at some time. I feel like the party is stuck together all the time. Of course you can move people individually, but there's usually no reason to split into two or more groups. Could add more depth to dungeons, especially for PotD playthroughs.

Could be interesting.

 

But it depends how exactly split is done.

I remember in DA:O there was a split at Battle for Denerim. I didn't care much for companions that I didn't travel with. 

So I had my party of MC + Alistair + Leliana + Wynne in BiS gear and with fine-tuned tactics going for Archdemon; while the rest, half-naked were fighting the hordes at the gate.

It was fun,.. but I'd prefer if there was a temporary split of current party. For example due to a collapse in some dungeon. At the same time Heijoushin made a good point about potential imbalance of such a split.

[Blarghagh]

I'm all in favour of this, so long as it is not overdone (KotOR2 overedoes is a bit) but it seems less manageable in games with larger parties.

I loved it in KotOR2... on subsequent playthroughs. First playthrough and it being a sequel to the original made me expect that all companions are useless anyway so I didn't bother gearing anyone I wasn't using. Boy did I pay for that.

[teenparty]

 

I'm all in favour of this, so long as it is not overdone (KotOR2 overedoes is a bit) but it seems less manageable in games with larger parties.

I loved it in KotOR2... on subsequent playthroughs. First playthrough and it being a sequel to the original made me expect that all companions are useless anyway so I didn't bother gearing anyone I wasn't using. Boy did I pay for that.

 

They could have given us some warning that their might be surprise boss fights for companions. I loved it though. It gave it that A-Team vibe.

 

Bah! No fun!

[Blarghagh]

Yes, exactly. I think one of the reasons those moments were so disliked at the time is because for the entire first game and the start of the second game, any companion you don't bring with you is a waste of resources to gear up and customize and there wasn't really anything indicating that this was going to change. So most people on their first playthrough were punished pretty hard for for that. If you've put any effort into your companions at all, suddenly it's just awesome that your team is getting **** done to help you out.

 

If they're going to split the party up in places, they should establish this early on.

[Heijoushin]

I assume the OP is talking about something like Final Fantasy VII. At one point you pick your party, but the action follows the companions you didn't pick!

 

In KotOR there is a sequence where you select one companion to rescue the rest of the party from a cell.

 

I'm all in favour of this, so long as it is not overdone (KotOR2 overedoes is a bit) but it seems less manageable in games with larger parties.

 

That happens frequently in FF, not just VII, but as I mentioned above, this can lead to problems when under-leveled companions are grouped together. And in FF, the gear magically teleports between the parties as neccessary. I think this would all be a headache in PoE.

 

It might work if you warn the player in advance, but in general, I just don't think splitting up the party suits this kind of game.

[Leeuwenhart]

Casually drops his link here*

 

hahaha... no seriously... its got overlapping interests

 

 

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/91720-all-companion-end-fight/?do=findComment&comment=1887672