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Companions: Helpful carriers of loot or get in the way lemmings?

    • 6 posts
    November 17, 2011 4:36 PM EST
    Having spent my first 50 hours of Skyrim with Lydia I have found her dying more than I. She has been great to have around, humping all the loot but pretty frustrating either dying getting in the way of a shout,an arrow or some magic. Alternatively, she goes into a crouch after just one hit despite the plate armour she was wearing!

    Today I had enough...no going back to an earlier save to resurrect her. Took all the gear... Nice yellow bikini! But it's not just about how hot your companion looks without their kit on (albeit she was dead!)

    So a little disappointed I no longer have my donkey and I know I won't be getting another one soon.

    So what do you think? Pain in the backside or good to have around? Which is the best, how do you get the most out of them and what tactics stop you having to save before every moderately difficult close quarters fight?
    • 4 posts
    November 17, 2011 5:51 PM EST

    I find companions to be complete annoyances in video games except on rare occasions (New Vegas coming to mind). The way I play in Skyrim is to sneak around and go for the stealth kills which the companions make much harder to do. Not to mention that I can't stand seeing my companions die means that I rarely use them.

    That is pretty much the reason why I avoid the conjuration tree, because I do not like being reliant on others to help me in game. The only companion I actually enjoy using is Lucien Lachance, and even then I only use him for very hard fights.

    Plus as far as I know, the companions in this game don't give you temporary perks like in F:NV, which is a turn off for me. About the only thing I regret about not using companions is the lack of extra storage. Other then that though, I find my gaming experience to be much better without companions. Just my 2 cents.

    • 6 posts
    November 17, 2011 6:29 PM EST
    Definitely going to go down this line myself and see how I cope without the extra storage. Still, more opportunity to re-visit dungeons etc and see if there have been any changes and milk this huge game for even more enjoyment than it has brought to date!
    • 1 posts
    November 17, 2011 6:38 PM EST

    may just be me but, i love my mage companion i got from the college of winterhold she is soooooo usefull and i give her all my hand-me-downs and she is an amazing fighter!!! her spells are strong and i have "Healing Hands" wich lets me heal her, so she hasnt died yet!!!

    • 12 posts
    November 18, 2011 6:47 PM EST
    They get in the way of raising my stats to improve myself. I In fallout, you got experience for kills, so it didn't matter. I have to send them home before bosses since they die easilly. Useful for loading them up and sending them home
    • 8 posts
    November 19, 2011 7:42 AM EST

    Well... It is most certainly a love hate relationship!

     

    Dealing with the 3 main types of companions.... Warrior, Rogue, and Mage.

     

    Warrior~ Helpful for carrying lots of loot, not much else though.   I usually end up hitting them more than my foes, unless I am sniping. Verdict.... Get in the way lemming.

    Rogue~ Great if the person is an archer! Not too good for melee however. They do tend to stay out of my way though, and they are fairly good at sneaking as well (which helps since I am a sneak)  But with the fact they go down quick, and there are alot of close quarter fights, I tend to kill them.... alot.

    Mages~ They are great when fighting many weak enemies... (Chain lightning anyone)  And they can dish out damage to the tough ones... and slap some uber heavy armour on them and they can survive a bit. (but they cant carry much though) All around if you need help fighting mages are the way to go...almost.

    You know how fireballs and lightning tend to send things flying right? Normally it is funny...  but not when your on top of a tower...on a cliff and your mage just sent the boss over the edge... then you find out your reward was on the boss's body. *sigh*

     

    So for the most part if you don't kill them the ups far outweigh the downs. I will almost always have someone around to carry my stuff.... :P

     

    • 739 posts
    November 19, 2011 7:53 AM EST

    Are you playing on hard difficulty, Lydia hasnt let me down once, she takes an absolute kicking! She even fell off the massive bridge north-east of Whiterun when fighting the bandit chief and came scuttling back up the stairs happy as larry! Are you sure your not letting them do to much? They arent there to complete the game for you!

    The elf that you can recruit in riverwood is a bit of a loser though, he hangs back far to much and tends to appear when the battles finished! Got rid of him swiftish!

    • 17 posts
    November 19, 2011 9:59 AM EST

    I second the Lydia-as-helpful-companion. She is especially helpful at carrying junk, but she's not bad in a fight either. As far as taking my fights from me, I usually charge in with greatsword wailing away and make most of the kills before she gets there. Sometimes if I'm attacked from all sides, she'll provide just enough distraction to make the difference.

    • 6 posts
    November 19, 2011 4:38 PM EST
    I tend to sneak and snipe with a bow as much as poss and unfortunately lydia had a habit of running in my line of fire. I understand that companions rarely die unless you kill them.

    But when you are chaining fire or trying to take out a boss from a distance before they unleash their augmented melee attacks, I found myself wasting Lydia far too often.

    I've also done a dungeon today, Yokun I think, and there was a narrow passage with a trap. I kept losing my companion and then thinking I must have killed him. Turns out he couldn't get passed the trap...every time he tried he got hit with poison darts until he died.

    So persevering at the moment...I can can see if you are a melee/warrior type you may do far better with companions than if you are a mage or rogue type yourself.

    I do agree that for all her annoyance Lydia was by and large a good companion, just frustrating with her frequently dying and also I found her repeated moan about carrying equipment tiring after 50 or so hours. If I wanted sarky moans I would ask my wife!
    • 1 posts
    November 19, 2011 5:18 PM EST

    I wish the adoring fan was back in this game he was a great companion well actually he was terrible but I enjoyed giving him weapons and armour that i specialy made so that when he hit someone he took damage or instead of protecting him his armour hurt him more but I ges he can't come back now since i locked him in a oblivion gate

    • 14 posts
    November 22, 2011 2:51 PM EST

    Hmm my housecarl Lydia was with me a along time, I was giving her better weaponry and armor, we where fighting giants and dragons together. 

     

    But one time we where just finished with a nordic ruin and was stepping out in the tundra.. And we where attacked by 3 merceneries and SHE DIED. She had fought dragons with me FFS!!!! I was so maaaad that I didn't even wanted to load the game to "resurrect" her, studip housecarl. After I did a quick loot of them merceneries I found a contract on me that was ordered by no one else than Gerda, obviously I earlier on had stolen something of her.. Can't even remember who she is. 

    SO, my biggest wish is now ofcourse to get my revenge. Anyone who know where I can find her?

    Oh, by the way, I have a new companion now, a Kajiit gypsy-caravan guy. He's really more badass than Lydia.

    • 22 posts
    November 22, 2011 4:40 PM EST
    I took Lydia with me once, and she died almost immediately when we ran into something stronger then your average draugr. 
    Been done with companions ever since :P
    • 3 posts
    November 22, 2011 4:43 PM EST

    I think they are just the same level as you whenever you pick them up, so if you went and got another one it'd probably be good for a fair few levels.

    Personally playing as a Thief I just got annoyed after getting the same old "I don't think you should be in here" from my own companion, so I dumped him almost straight away.

    Oh also just to point out I just use my invincible horse Shadowmere to tank dragons and the like so y'know that's always useful. To me the companions in Fallout:NV was much better, bit more of a storyline etc I found. 

    Though I do use the temporary companions, like conjurations (mainly the old assassin) when in need.

    • 1 posts
    November 22, 2011 8:46 PM EST

    I was playing on adept and Lydia died as soon as I took her out to a regular troll. So annoying! I preferred my warrior companion who always distracted the enemy from me so I could get the sneak damage bonus from sniping in the shadows.

    • 2 posts
    November 29, 2011 7:01 PM EST

    She is good apart from saying "I am sworn to carry your burdens" all the bloody time. I got rid of her but then the replacement has just gone and disappeared. Result - they are more trouble than they are worth.

    • 577 posts
    November 29, 2011 7:12 PM EST

    If it's Gerda, don't know. Gerdur.....Riverwood, my friend. May Sithis be with you.

    • 132 posts
    November 29, 2011 7:13 PM EST

    I bring one for every character except my sneak. I almost never hit them in a fight, plus it's cool when they execute stuff. With my pure mage I use Lydia as a tank, and her dying isn't a problem since I can heal her. The only time she died was when a certain dragon who's name starts with OH landed on her in the MQ. I was pissed, let me tell you. Other than that, Uthgerd died during that quest where you fight the 10 dual wielding redguards. That one was nasty. In conclusion, I find them to be a fun addition. For the people complaining that they have no story, Todd Howard was saying they wouldn't from the first interview, so you shouldn't be surprised.

    • 708 posts
    November 29, 2011 7:46 PM EST

    I think only ranged companions would be useful, seeing as they'll both stay out of your way (most of the time) and won't die often.

    • 132 posts
    November 29, 2011 8:00 PM EST

    That would be true...if they could actually hit anything. At least 2/3 of Lydia's bow shots miss entirely or hit some object. If the target moves at all, which they do, companions miss. It's the same for you, but at least its possible for you to lead your target, which companions aren't smart enough to do. They are useful for distractions, damage soaks, and pack mules.

    • 3 posts
    November 29, 2011 8:47 PM EST

    Actually my Lydia is a monster. I was fighting bandits and thought I was in the clear but i was on my last bit of health. A bandit came out of no where and just got right behind me an then Lydia SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD...I was fairly impressed and she hasn't left my side yet.

  • November 29, 2011 9:23 PM EST

    the ones from the dark brotherhood are pretty awesome, the are really sneaky and have ebony daggers

     

    • 12 posts
    November 29, 2011 9:32 PM EST
    That's a really easy fix just give them your stuff and use the wait here option out side of the dungeon. Clear the dungeon and your companion will be waiting patiently out side.
    • 1 posts
    November 29, 2011 9:36 PM EST

    I think Gerda was a worker at Dragonsreach in Whiterun.  Haha they would've known each other...

    • 12 posts
    November 29, 2011 9:37 PM EST
    Haha I killed shadowmeron accident :/
    • 132 posts
    November 29, 2011 9:49 PM EST

    One companion I wish you could get is that Anka chick from High Gate ruins... she tears through Draugr Scourges like paper.