Are the new companions in Deadfire "shallow"?

[Ryz009]

 

 

 

I like the new characters. Overall, I'm very impressed with how much they interject in conversations, and the relationship system is a great little thing that I hope to God will be improved and see more use in upcoming games. Furthermore, I'm glad that companions aren't without "teeth" so to speak, I made a choice and was forced to kill Maia for example. I love stuff like that, that they just don't do along with whatever stuff you do. More of that please!

 

From what I've seen, I think Xoti is my least favorite. Not because of her character in itself (I find the young, naive but fanatically pious priestess angle interesting) but because her arc unfolded in a weird way in my game. It just... got going really fast and just moved along really fast as well. Kinda like the Devil in PoE1 (well, not as abruptly as that). Just felt her character could've used more time to "breathe" throughout the entire game.

 

Tekehu is probably my favorite of the new ones. Pampered and initially annoying, he feels like he's going on a journey in the game. Also naive but willing to take it all in. He's cool.

 

I'm loving the old guard. Edér is always great. I think his main arc was still in PoE, but he's a great presence in this game as well and it's great to see where the events of the Deadfire take him. As for Aloth and Pallegina, I love that they're the "grumpy" ones. I mean, they're not very pleasant, quite bitter and are a great counterpoint to the new and naive companions (well, Tekehu and Xoti).

 

I do think the game is in need of a companion that is more of a foil, like Durance for example. I mean, Chaotic Evil is often one-sided but... just more morally twisted characters is nice to have along and shakes the party up a bit. Even Serafen, who is a salty old pirate, is a pirate more in the cutesy way. 

 

I'm going to have a hard time using Tekehu, because I never really use druids.  I just can't get comfortable with any druid character.  And while I don't have any problem with Chanters, they always feel like a luxury to any party rather than a critical, must-have class.  And with only 5 character parties (4 if you discount the PC), it just doesn't feel like there's room for a "luxury character" which is a shame because I would otherwise be quite willing to give him a shot.  I might just have to wait for a second run-through to try him out.  But right now, I'm more comfortable using characters of classes that feel more reliable to my play style.

 

 

I'm only playing on Vet but I used him as a pure druid in a party with Pallegina, Aloth, Eder and my wizard PC. He's usually decent as an emergency healer. Once he gets his summons though things get a little silly easy.

 

 

Ryz, I never played pure Druids even back in the BG or IWD games.  Oh, I'd play Jahiera who was a Fighter/Druid, but to me, she was more fighter than druid, almost a pseudo-ranger.  I've just never gotten into the entire (pure) druid concept.  It just doesn't click with me.  Plus I tend to trend more towards a more physical, less magical play style.  Different strokes, and all that.

 

 

Ah fair enough. I main wizards so druid wasn't that different for me.

[yoyolll]

I like the companions but I wish their quests were better. I wish they would have just taken some of the sidequests and repurposed them for companion quests. They were short and shallow in POE1 as well and I was hoping it would improve in Deadfire.

 

The other issue, as others have mentioned, is the total lack of evil characters. Serafen and Maia are the closest and they're more like good people that act like a jerk sometimes rather than actually evil. What is the problem with making, for example, 2 good, 3 neutral, and 2 evil companions? Especially with the pirate theme, the evil party options are very lacking. I'm getting tired of my cronies giving me passive aggressive BS every time I do something bad.

[BrokenMask]

Thing is though, evil companion work better on Baldur's Gate era of crpgs were there were so many companions that you were never supposed to use them all, you just picked who you liked and sticked with them <_< Modern crpg format involves quests for each companion and assumes players want them to stick around until ending.

 

Second thing being that mustache swirling villains aren't really interesting characters for most parts if you want character to be literally "evil". Amoral might be better word?

Edited May 14, 2018 by BrokenMask

[yoyolll]

Thing is though, evil companion work better on Baldur's Gate era of crpgs were there were so many companions that you were never supposed to use them all, you just picked who you liked and sticked with them <_< Modern crpg format involves quests for each companion and assumes players want them to stick around until ending.

 

Second thing being that mustache swirling villains aren't really interesting characters for most parts if you want character to be literally "evil". Amoral might be better word?

Yes, amoral, selfish, cruel, aggressive would be better ways to describe it. But pretty much every companion is empathetic and has a strong sense of responsibility and kinship. It makes it very difficult to roleplay a mercenary or pirate who's after money and power. Many times also the dialogue choices don't let you be selfish without acting like a psychopath. In order to accept some quests you often have to choose a benevolent or diplomatic option without any mention of payment for your work.