Huh, cool. And looking into things, apparently I can also play a Kitsune and there is summoning, so I probably will get the game eventually. Pardon ignorant questions but how many people can you have as a companion at a time? Cause there are multiple in the list I'd want following just on appearances alone. I am a simple man, and well written companions and good summoning do a lot to endear me to a game.
You can maintain parties of 6 at a time, not counting animal companions and special exceptions. The rest you leave in a hub area and they’ll do their own thing in the meantime (every companion has various reasons for joining the crusade and they have important tasks to attend to when they aren’t with you), which changes throughout the game.
So far in the beta content, the hub area has changed for every chapter (4 chapters, about 60 hours of playtime, with 2 more known chapters).
If you go Azata mythic path, the dragon Aivu counts as a seventh permanent party member.
Finnean the talking weapon may count as another exception, he gets to interject in conversations and all, but he’s something you can transform into any weapon type of your choice. On a scale of novelty and joke character, Finnean is not on that scale at all, his story is pretty tragic and one of the main plot threads is figuring out how he became the way he is.
The devs have been emphasizing replay value and it shows. The mythic paths alone are one thing. But some companions (Arueshalae especially) have multiple outcomes and you can influence their personality similar to hardening Alistair in DAO. Some of the mythic paths themselves have branching outcomes.
Originally Posted by Boblawblah
Without spoiling too much if you don't mind, could you tell me what her general demeanour is? do the companions have a variety of personality types that isn't just "fuck you main character"?
Like I said, she’s very different.
She’s a scholar and scientist through and through, and prides herself on her intellect. To the point where from the point of view of the other characters, she has no place on the battlefield. Many of the game’s villains don’t really know what to make of her too. But she can take care of herself just fine and you can humor her research. Another quirk of hers is that she has very selective memory and often forgets irrelevant details, including things about herself. The irony is not lost on the player character, you are fully capable of calling her out (and everyone else for that matter).
None of the companions in WotR are really in your face unless you do something to really piss them off. Like Regill will not really get along with a chaotic character because he’s lawful to the max for instance. They’re more likely to snip at each other than you, because it’s very obvious why you’re the leader of the group.
Nor do they want to jump on you immediately either, I don’t think the opportunity to start a romance even pops up until about the end of chapter 2 at the very earliest. Though you can start flirting with some companions earlier, they all have their own preferences.
One can interpret the limited amount of romances as the devs not considering them a priority, the devs not wanting to sacrifice each companion’s characterization for more of them, and/or they want to take the time to ensure whichever one you pursue is worth it. Only 6 companions are planned to have romances out of the 12 main companions currently known, and one NPC (Queen Galfrey). The rest of the companions are either still a teenager by the standards of their race (Woljif), mentally a child or acting like it (Ember), already married with a family (Greybor), or straight up not interested.
