Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Who is your favorite companion in BG3?

I am still a bit undecided. In my choice fall Karlach and Lae`zel.
I will decide later who I like the most, let's see how it all develops in the game.

How does it look with you?
Have you already found a favorite who has grown on your adventure heart, or who you generally just find suitable for you and your group/playstyle?
It would also be nice if the creators would reveal their personal favorites hehe.

Currently Wyll because he is the most normal one.

I have included another voting poll

Vote for your companion single choice
	Astarion
	Gale
	Halsin
	Jaheira
	Karlach
	Lae’zel
	Minsc
	Minthara
	Shadowheart
	Wyll
Votes accepted starting: 07/08/23 11:13 AM
View Results

Astarion. They knocked it out of the park with him, IMHO. His personal quest near the end was perfection.

Halsin close second because I'm a simp.

Making pacts with and talking to demons is the most normal thing one can come to expect in the forgotten realms.

The one I wanna kiss and hold on to for dear life cause she got Abs to die for? Karlach!

The one that makes me laugh? Lazel!

The one that reminds me of old BG a bit? Shadow Heart

For the Dudes...I would say this about them!

Gal is the dude the hetero ladies should've gotten back in BG2 instead of Annoymen.

Wyll remind me of Valygar somehow...

Astrion....belong in Five flagon Inn.

I’m 30 hours in and still doing EA content. Having said that, I’m shocked how different Wyll comes across. I wish Karlach had more to say in banter beyond “I’m free! I’m home!” Because otherwise she can be fun. I wouldn’t say I REALLY like any of the companions yet, but I don’t hate any of them. I still wish conversations between companions are longer, but I’ll take what I can get.

Karlach is The Best.
She is the Minsc Of Our Time!

My opinion of Wyll improved versus EA.

Better...

Minsc was married to boo! Karlach will be married to us! LOL

No one could guess my favorite companion!

3 guesses!

1- a squirrel

2- Scratch

3- that Avatar? Hot!

I like Karlach. I have a thing for genuinely nice people and she seems to be. She's a ruffian with a heart of gold, gotta love it. Gale is interesting, I like intellectual types. Wyll is a little boring, he gives me Liam from Mass Effect Andromeda vibes. His backstory is interesting but conversations with him are dull. I like them all in different ways tbh, they're well written.

The best is Scratch though. Good boy for the win.

You’re a big Minthara fan, no?

Karlach is so endearing and fun!

Man, that scene with him pulled at my heart string. Last time that happen was in Assassin Creed Odyssey with the little Girl and the clay.

was so Happy when he showed up in the camp!!

Gale’s cat!

Huh?

Oooooooo Kitty!

So cute....now why can't Gale stay like that from the get go? lol

I've only just completed Act 1, so here's my opinion at the moment.

Shadowheart is very interesting and her story beats even improved since EA.

Karlach is just a cool person to hang around with, finding joy in just existing. She is the Varric of the group.

Lae'zel, I feel, has become a touch more personable since EA. She reacts well towards assertiveness, not just being a jerk. She is like Worf turned up to 11.

Wyll is kind of bland. He has his major story moment with Karlach, but otherwise doesn't intersect with the main story much and his personality feels kind of one-dimensional. I expect he might have a bit more to do in Act 2.

My stock in Gale has gone way down. I liked him in EA, but less now. He left me after I fumbled trying to find a magic item for him to eat. It seems like you can't access *his own* inventory to find items. Well, I was keeping the one I wanted to give him in his pocket.

Halsin seems cool, but I haven't had much time with him yet. I haven't been able to invite him to join my party even though he is hanging out in my camp.

Minthara will have to come by a different playthrough. I killed her and looted her clubbing attire from her corpse.

I haven't met Jahiera and Minsc yet.

One thing that really hurts my experience is how the companions so rarely have a conversation ala Mass Effect. You remember right? When the cutscene would show companions going back and forth about a topic/what we were going to do/etc. With BG3, it's almost always me talking to <insert_companion_here>, and no one else is around. Everyone just stands in their assigned areas in camp and never interacts with each other. They say a sentence when a new companion joins, but other than that, the only time they communicate with each other is out in the world with the little 2 - 3 liner quippy conversations.

idk, that's really affected my enjoyment of individual companions. I can't say I have a favorite, although Lae'zel and Astarion simply sit in camp unused. I finally went back and picked up Shadowheart just after leaving Act 1, so we'll see if she's any better.

All that said though, Wyll, Karlach, and Gale are enjoyable for the most part. Gale's 'issue' isn't nearly as obnoxious as I was expecting. I have a feeling Larian put a limit on that to avoid people getting really annoyed.

The dialogue happen on the road it seem....

So less Mass effect and more Dragon Age.

Yes, but the conversations are 2 short sentences per companion at most, and occur infrequently. Very lacking.

Yea, take the situation in Mass Effect with Wrex. You have 2 - 4 companions all part of the same scene. Wrex is angry, trying to talk to you, you're trying to talk to him while communicating what to do with Ashley/Kaiden at the same time, and then BLAM, Wrex could get taken out.

Another example, you come across Joker and EDI just chatting in the cockpit, you can be part of the conversation as well, it feels like a team. BG3 doesn't have that feeling at all so far, but I just started Act 2, so maybe it changes?

I had a scene with Shadow Heart (In camp) where Gal added something. Same with Wyll and Karlach. And Astrion....

I've had those same conversations, but they were all for very specific plot points in the companions story line. Astarion for 'coming out' if you will. Wyll and Karlach for obvious reasons. And those were all mostly 1 - 2 line reaction comments on what a specific companion just revealed to the party. Other than that though, none of it (that i've seen at least) feels organic. idk, maybe I'm just not getting the same conversations as other people.

I haven't had time to play much yet, since I was away and came back today, but I have a suspicion, that I will love Karlach. From EA, Shadowheart was my favorite

Shadowheart is bae

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I will say I liked her ever just so slightly more in the first early access builds where she was more quippy and gave you shit for trying to hump her leg like a lost puppy. She was hilarious

Contrary to popular opinion, Astarion.

Minthara I wont be getting for a long time as I still keep restarting, on my 3rd attempt now will try to not restar again. Minthara gets killed and her BDSM outfit goes on my character.

I didn't had a scene with multiple companions yet, but sort of a 3 person banter during exploration.

Haven't got far, but Gale and Shadowheart seem to agree with me the most, and I really love shadowhearts voice. Astarion is a murderhobo, but his voice actor should get a reward, saw a talk with him on YouTube seems like a very driven guy, gamer himself, and they based his game looks on the real guy, he said he'll cosplay astarion one day for lols

Shadowheart. My kindhearted main char wants to save her from the bad goddess. And of course sleep with her. Not sure what has priority ... (that's a lie)

It doesn't hurt that Shadowheart is of the strongest class, too. From the rest Gale is always in my party, I like him. Wyll was the third companion, but I was more fond of him when he was the dubious hero of the EA. Now that he is a real hero I lost some interest. I don't like nobles and horns too, so maybe he will be replaced as soon as I get another companion with a minion (Minsc? I'm not sure I like him, let's see). The rest of the companions I ignore.

I like Karlach and wyll, they also synergize well with my good gnomish evoker and agree with most of my decisions. I gave wyll the sleigh of hand skill.

Karlach is a great tank with the bear wildheart subclass, wyll starts slow but becomes good at level 5.

Shadowheart is also in my party but she might get replaced by a later companion(preferably someone that can also heal).

Act 2 character stories and events have been altering my appreciation for some characters. Lae'zel is so well-written and well-acted she jumps out of the screen, and with another character - won't spoil it here - there was a camp event that turned into an unexpected little flirt, and it was so gracefully done that it made me consider them for a romance in spite of never having thought about it before. These characters can draw you in.

In early access it was Lae'zel and Shadowheart.

But now... Karlach! Such a ray of pure sunshine. Radiates such joyful energy, love being around her

Am so happy with all three in my party, they're all amazing!

My first complete run is a Dark Urge pursuing Minthara with Shadowheart and Astarion, and the dialogues with Minthara... top tier stuff, my favourite at the moment.

Too early to tell. I haven't finished the game. The cast so far is okay, not an amazing cast like Mass Effect 2 and I really wish there were more human females. Or little people. Why are there no halflings/hobbits, gnomes or even dwarves in the party? Did we really need a githyanki AND a tiefling? Lae'zel was enough. That's what I'd change in BG4, some more traditional fantasy fare.

So far I really do like the new Wyll, I like Gale, Lae'zel and Halsin. I am actually agonizing over who I will kick out when Jaheira and Minsc come along. And I am really looking forward to joining Minthara, her assault on the grove was an amazing fight. I hate how you can only get the coolest Drow Matron ever if you aid a bunch of racist goblins. It will be worth it.

I really hate Shadowheart's cringy voice and her faux goth personality. I hate everything about Karlach too, good thing you can kill her.

Oh no, don't call her a cat!

Karlach all day every day.

I'm not that far into the game - just did the Githyanki patrol - , but so far I really like Karlach. And still Sahdowheart, which was my favourite from EA.

And do we get to meet Gales tressym? Or do you have to romance him for that?

I met her, it wasn't anything special, just a side quest. I'm not sure if there is more content though, with how borked the romance flags for Gale are, who knows.

Minthara then La'zael, then Karlach then, surprising as I didn't like him in previous games, Minsc.

As of Early Act 2:

Favourite Personality: Karlach. Excellent idle animations, dialogue for dismissing and adding to party (many different lines), and is just a fun presence in the game. That’s it. She’s just so fun. Her quests are not though.

Favourite Character Arcs and storylines to follow: Laezel, Gale, and Shart. Loved the Red Wizard interaction.

Astarion and Wyll can be fun, but the former is such a little shit and the latter can be hit or miss.

Yeah, looking forward to meeting her. I wish we could have her in the party.

My opinion:
Shadowheart >
Lae'zel (very close between the top two) >
Gale = Jaheira >
Minsc >
Karlach = Wyll >
Astarion

I really apreciate Karlach because she remembered me to Amiri (from Pathfinder: Kingmaker), I really liked her.
Shadowheart is my dearest companion Lae'zel is my best faithful companion in spite many times we're not in acordance, I really apreciate her loyalty Gale is fine, funny and getting upper in my list.
I really don't like Astarion but I'm intrigued by his story.
About Will, really feel sorry for him and will kill his master...
Minhara... well I killed her before known she could be a companion... (now I have her sleep outfit in my rogue )
Rasca is the faithful pet and owlbear cub the cutest pet.

In EA I didn't liket any companion at all, I was waiting for Halsin, but in release i grow up on Gale, and almost all time Halsin is in camp waiting.

Right now the only answer I can give is Shadowheart...but Minthara seems to be missing dialogue and the second half of her romance in act 3 seems to be missing but Larian has said they will be fixed so I am really hoping that once Minthara has all of her content implemented she can be as glorious throughout the entire game as she is in Act 1...if that happens then Minthara will easily be the best.

Minthara, voice acting and dialogue out of the park
then Laz, her story arc is brilliant and well handled

Shadowheart by far. But all of them are likeable in their own way.

Gale and Wyll seem the least over the top, and Shadowheart becomes much more normie once you snap her out of her Shar phase. Halsin is fine when he's not on his refugee or poly soapbox. Lazael and Karlach are too exaggerated, and Astarion is a selfish, sociopathic ass who just rationalizes his treatment of others with "but what about me and muh trauma".

I'm just now reaching beginning of act 2 so I haven't really had time to interact with the new companions and some how messed up on Halsin being a companion. He straight up disappeared after the party and swapping over to act 2.

Anyway, I still think Lae'zel is the best so far, Gale is still annoying as ever, Wyll is the same but with additional flavor, and Astarion is just alright (i did like his line at the party though, funny). Karlach and Shadowheart, its pretty hard not to like them, so I would say they would be the runners up.

Shadowheart, game feels like she should be the protagonist and I really enjoy her story arc and character development

Scratch, he is just a good boy

Withers, old dusty bones is useful, doesn't complain all day and doesn't want to dick me all the time, the rest of the crew could learn a lot from him

Karlach, I like her attitude, she is fun to have around, can deal some damage and tank

Wyll, cool dude, probably the only genuinely good person in camp, but too naive and horny all the time

Jaheira, I like her "I'm too old for this shit but let's kick some butt anyway" attitude, as druid and harper she can be useful from time to time

Gale, only wizard and sometimes I need a nuker, I don't like his story at all, or personality, or him constantly trying to hit on me

Lae'zel, if a fighter wouldn't be incredibly useful, I would kill her on sight, evil space na... with a superiority complex beyond belief, obnoxious and no real character development, stays as dumb as she is

Astarion, if I wouldn't kill a bigger part of the story with him, he wouldn't survive our first meeting, plain evil, always complains

Halsin, why is he even in the game? For the better part of the game he is useless because he doesn't join me, when he joins I have a better druid option, and we better not start on his thoughts about a good date

My favorite companion in EA was Lae'zel.
My favorite companion in the finished game is still Lae'zel because she has always be awesome >:D

Big disappointment for me was Gale. I was lukewarm towards him at the beginning of EA but after some time he had grown on me quite a bit only to have his backstory changed and now he's really one note and his story is soooo deus-ex-machina-y. What a downgrade.

After playing for a while ( act 3 now) Lae'zel did grow on me. And I love Jaheira, they captured her character so well.
I even warmed up to Astarion, I like that you can have a discussion with him, how you two didn't like each other in the beginning.

The only characters , I have zero connection to is Halsin and Minthara. Halsin is just boring and should have stayed an NPC, he has nothing to do in act 3 and Minthara, I don't use, since I don't kill the tieflings. I like her armor though, looks good on me .

I think most companions are great.

I like Astarion. In the beginning his straight forward evilness is an issue, as all he eve approves are the evil acts, bu as his story developes so does his attitude if you play your cards right. To the point where Astarion starts to approve you feeding orphans and some other outrageously good choices. He is an abuse victim who became an abuser himself, but you can either make him realise this or let him become as evil as they go. The guy has some hidden depths and really funny one liners and some shockingly sweet romance scenes if you are willing to get through his hard shell.

I really liked Gale, oth as a decent guy and as an overly ambitious wizard.

I quite like Shadowheart, she was complex, and I liked that even when she was at her worst Shaar fanatic stage she was basically a decent person with a good heart. Her story worked and so did her character.

Karlach is fun. She is a nice and believable person. She is passionate and friendly, someone who cares for her companions and friends. She is a person I would love to meet and know.

Jaheira surprisingly grew on me. I didn’t like her in Last Light, after she made some really dumb comments such as “Oh, now we know that the enemy wants to attack us” or something along the line right after the enemy did attack us. Like, no kidding captain obvious! But later in the game I found that she was quite a funny companion and she did remind me of the original Jaheira.

I didn’t dislike Wyll, I think his rewrite did a world of good to him and I prefer his story over his EA one. That being said he is still just a bit too heroic for me.


The only character I really do dislike is Lae’zel. My issue is not even simply with her personality, because I actually like that and it is in line with what she is. My issue is with her plot and how The only reasonshe is in my team is because I need a tank, ut from now on if I ever play a tank-dps character, she is gointo stay in her cage. Or die a horrble death at the creche. Or by Shadowhart’s hands. I am not picky.

First, the obligatory warning to remember your spoiler tags when mentioning specific plot points, folks.

Second, still too early to tell who my favourite companion is. My three faves in EA were Gale, Astarion and Shadowheart, but of these I've only had Shadowheart in my party regularly in my playthrough. Even mainly staying at camp when I'm not progressing their own quests, Gale and especially Astarion have impressed me and I'm looking forward to actually having them in my inner circle. It might just have been the choices I made, Shadowheart wasn't quite as spiky and slyly funny as I'd expected from EA so is probably going to slip down the ranks.

Wyll was my least favourite in EA, mainly because of what I saw as his really unfocussed background, overcomplicated characterisation and janky animations. Certainly these have been sorted out, but now I just think he's kinda humourless and and a bit boringly heroic. Not sure if this was partly due to Larian trying to have more straightforwardly good characters in response to player feedback, but I could have done with a bit more grey and some more funny lines. I've had him in my party for the full game and my character is romancing him, so I feel like I've given him a fair chance, and he's definitely out of the running for my favourite.

Karlach is fab, and i've enjoyed having her in my gang for most of the game.

I've not had Jaheira, Minsc, Halsin or Lae'zel in my party much either, and though they've been in camp neither Lae'zel nor Halsin have made a big impression. That'll need to wait until I have them in my party more in a future run. But even though I only really brought her along for the hunt for Minsc, It's pretty clear Jaheira has been done justice by Larian and I think she's great. And I've enjoyed getting Minsc's impressions on our party and perspective back at camp, so looking positive there too.

Minthara I have no idea about. I only went along with her once in EA so don't really feel like I know her - or particularly want to - but I'll see what I think on a future playthrough once I've actually recruited her.

This is a very hard question for me to answer! I truly like all of them for different things. I suppose it would be easier to name my least favorite companion, which would be Gale, but even he has his moments and I'm even starting another playthrough to romance him and see if I can connect more with him.

I guess a companion that I wish I liked more than I do is Wyll. I do like him, and he was my first pick for a romance, but he can be very hit or miss.

Go for the eyes, Boo, go for the eyes!

Oh it's Karlach by a landslide. Admittedly I finished the game yesterday and that ending, oof. Really tore at my heartstrings. I think a lot of the credit for me being so smitten by Karlach is the absolutely tremendous voice actor. She really knocks it out of the park. My first playthough was with Shadowheart as my LI, and I really really liked her story development too.

Gale I didn't like at first, but he seriosly grew on me in the latter half. Wyll I can take or leave, he could easily have been replaced with another character. Like a gruff dwarf! Gah... no shorties makes me sad. Lae'zel has the best story IMO. Love what they did with the githyanki.

Lae'zel.

Love her blunt honesty, sharp as an arrow thinking and straight to the point attitude. She's exquisite

Astarion, Lae'zel,Shadowheart, in that order.
Shadowheart IMO has the longest, most complete and best written story.
Astarion best written character and funniest.
Lae'zel, second best written character.

Halsin and Karlach i don't understand the love for them, but a percentage of ppl love them, all I hope is for Karlach to bring us a DLC to Avernus!

I need an Astarion sequel. Astarion is hands down my favorite companion. I was a vampire lover growing up, and having an opportunity to play a role in his story has been a dream come true. The voice actor, Neil Newbon, does a phenomenal job bringing him to life. This character story satisfies so many itches I’ve needed bitten, teased and tickled since I was a teenage girl reading Anne Rice and wishing Vampire the Masquerade was a little spicier. He is wonderfully terrible, and at times heart-wrenchingly relatable. I think a lot of players immediately compartmentalize him as a lecher, but there are so many layers to carefully peel back from him as the story progresses.

I think I speak for a lot of folks when I say I would be happy over the moon if Larian put out a second story featuring my new favorite vampire. Lestat, move over, there’s a new brat prince in town. I need more adventures with him! Honestly, I’d relish the opportunity to experience more content of the character. There’s a huge community of bad boy lovers that I just know are screaming about how excited they are that someone finally put out a game where we can pursue our twisted fantasies.

I hated Astarion in EA. Now that I’ve played most of the game with him in my party, he’s really grown on me, and I find myself bothered by how relatable he is at times. I mentioned elsewhere that the performance is excellent, but it really is a testament how this game takes video game acting to another level. The VAs really help make this game.

I loved everyone in the EA and that hasn’t changed since completing the game. I’m happy with Jaheira and Minsc, and Karlach has puppy energy that is hard not to find endearing.

I can’t help but wonder if knowing Halsin was added in as a full conpanion later effected my experience with him.

I honestly felt very little attachment to any of them. Maybe shadowheart just because her personal quest is cool.

I really enjoyed Shadowheart a lot and she was my favorite, I loved her story I think it was the best storyline in the whole game and one of my favorite companion stories in any RPG.
I liked Astarion more than I thought, and his questline was pretty okay I liked the climax at least.

Wyll and Gale were meant to be my '' magic buddies '' since I played a Warlock, but I felt like the game was reaaaally trying to push me into romantic moments with them and that I had to break their feelings ( I was romancing Shadowheart ).
My favorite thing about Wyll ended up being Mizora.

Lae'zel I didn't like on a personal level, but I thought her writing was very immersive so I kept her around, I also appreciate that she wasn't stupid and could see reason in spite of her devotion to her people.
Which is also why I reaaally didn't like Karlach at all because I felt like her writing came across like a Tumblr DnD OC, she had way too modern writing that was trying too hard to be '' badass '' imo no actual real person behaves and talks like that and it's not an in-setting thing.
If anything I think with her background her personality makes less sense.

Ngl the new ending for her just further cemented that for me, it just felt like fanservice rather than good writing.
Just my opinion ofc I know it's heresy to some not to like her...
But she's the only character I actively disliked, maybe I am old and grumpy but adults talking and acting like teenagers isn't endearing to me it's just weird.

No idea about Minthara because I just recently started my evil playthrough to get her after she was finally fixed.
I love her voice acting tho she sounds more '' mature '' than usual.
I don't mean like a grandma xD, but I dunno what other word to describe it she has a very unique voice and way of talking I really love.
I can't think of another character that has a voice like that there's just something about it I find really appealing.

Minthara had the most interesting backstory and the most tie in to the absolute, plus her voice acting was superb and I feel she has the most interesting moral compass as far as what she approves/disapproves of

Favourite Lae’zel (no idea why, just set and forget) and least liked are easily Karlach and Astarion.

1-Scratch
2-My baby owl bear
3-Gale cat
4-Gale
5-Halsin if he felt complete and not rushed, as the next on the list does not: astarion

What's the sayin? "To each his own" or something? I've lived long enough that I'm fully aware but it still can be surprising sometimes
Anyway, I HATED Karlach. Never taking her in my party ever again. Don't have time to take care of a teenager, however effective she can be in combat.
I liked Jaheira, Shadowheart too.
I voted Lae'zel though because she's the one that surprised me the most. Didn't enjoy her much during EA but she really grew on me after you get to visit her creche.

I am luke warm toward most of them. I probably enjoyed Laez story the most so far. It's seems to be the one that gels best with the main story.

Tied between Shadowheart and Astarion. At least for this playthrough. They just get along so well with my chaotic neutral drow warlock, and don't seem to mind his brain tadpole addiction or his constant [Deception] when talking to NPCs

I have now decided on Lae'zel.

She was actually my favorite right from the start and it hasn't changed.

On my good playthrough it's tied between Karlach and Astarion.

Jaheira! I can't believe that she has 0 votes!

I can't vote, maybe because I already voted for someone else! Probably Halsin. He was cool in act II, but he is so boring and almost has nothing to say in act III. SO: at the end of the game I have to go with Jaheira.

Playing as a "good" Durge, I freakin LOVE Jaheira. She gives Durge hope even though she has every right to be suspicious or even hostile. Love her!

Poor Jaheira..

I like them all but Lae'zel stands out. During my first playthrough, she went from my least favorite to my favorite companion, and now I can hardly play the game without having her in my party. And her story is one of the best companion stories I have seen in a CRPG. I tend to play characters who disagree with her on some important issues but we still manage to get along really well, because my characters tend to respect her in spite of their disagreements. She comes across to me the same way, eventually. And her romance, that's certainly an odd one but in the end you feel you have someone at your side who will never let you down unless you betray her first.

Astarion, no question about it. I like traumatized characters and he was an excellent romance option for the Dark Urge who was trying to redeem himself.

Honourable mentions: Shadowheart and Lae'zel. SH was a very strong romance option. In addition, I let SH choose what to do with a certain aasimar and after her decision, I could no longer consider my Urge to be evil. Lae'zel was the big surprise as I could not stand her in EA but she really liked my character's actions and her loyalty to the group did grow on me. I did not expect that.

It's difficult. Minthara seems to be the only one I can have a meaningful conversation with. On the other hand, Shadowheart indeed has the sweetest voice, and I like the way she can wrinkle her nose. But it is Shadowhearts camp outfit that really seals the deal for me.

The only person I can actually rank as my #1 is Karlach hands down. Everyone else is just like put into categories for me.

I do like Shadowheart more than Lae'zal I have to admit. During the ship prologue I didn't like either, but I thought Shadowheart was decent after the crash. I really loved her after her big quest in Act 2, but obviously not more than Karlach. Lae'zal, I started liking her after the Creche. I'm not the biggest fan but I do generally like her character.

Wyll is nice. I don't have any reason to dislike him. Same with Jaheira and Minsc.

Astarion, he grew on me in the end, I really didn't like him at first. Act 2 I was starting to like him a bit, and once I got to Act 3 I fully appreciated him.

Gale, he reminded me a mix of Anders in DA:O Awakening and Alistair in DA:O. At least that was my first impression, which I happen to love those characters, but then as soon as he kept needing to consume to items, I didn't like him. If I couldn't spare one at the moment he'd be really upset and saying how your character doesn't seem understand the urgency etc. I just got annoyed which I know this isn't a big deal. Also what just rubbed me the wrong way he says that he wasn't satisfied even if he was sleeping with Mystra and it just, felt weird. Until the very end (literally last cutscene with your camp/party members) I thought he's alright. I don't necessarily have a positive opinion of him in general though.

Halsin, I'm bias because I had my eye on him to romance, but there are a lot of problems I stumbled into that I don't need to dive in. If I ignore how he is in Act 3 romanced or not, then yes he's there with Karlach, for me.

So it'd be Karlach/Halsin>Shadowheart>Lae'zal>Astarion>Wyll>Jaheira>Minsc>Gale

Party wise I always had Shadowheart with me, never swapped her for nobody. My main party besides her consisted of Karlach and Lae'zal. Sometimes I'd switch Lae'zal for Astarion or Wyll (but mostly for Astarion).

I played as a sorcerer so not sure if that helps in explaining my main party decisions.

Astarion is easily my favorite. Not even a question. Well written. Well voice acted. Complex and unique. Love love love.

Honorable mentions: Minthara, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart.

Gotta give Gale more of a chance though. I have a feeling I haven't experienced enough of him.

Karlach, then Shadowheart, then Lae’zel

I'm romancing Astarion and he's amazing, but Karlach is best girl and I just can't play without her.

I love most other companions though and really wish I could always bring them along.

From everything Ive seen, Minthara is the most perspicacious companion out of the lot, and it does a bunch to endear me to her. It really does feel like she's trying to earn her place as your most valuable asset when she dissects the world, the things in it, and relates it to you and your quest in a way that feels much more intimate, much more desperate, than other companions. At least for me.

Astarion enriched the game for me several times.
Not just with his sometimes questionable but wonderfully cynical comments. The hidden little child inside him makes him so lovable again.
He grows over the story, but so many left him behind cause he is so evil in the beginning, but there are reasons for that.

I was particularly touched by his romance from the end of the second act. I cried ... Not many can do that.
I love broken characters and Astarion nails it perfectly.
(And no, i was not a twilight Fan) he is my first Vampire

I voted Astarion ages ago but realised I hadn't actually added a comment.
He's still my favourite even after several playthroughs, deep well written story (well up the the last few minutes anyway), heartbreaking in places and really the only character that I deeply care about and always romance.
That's not to denigrate Shadowhearts story or Lae'zels, both of whom have deep story and quest lines and the trio make up my dream team in every playthrough.
But Astarions character and quest arc and his progression from an 'evil vampire' trope into something much much more, just works for me better than the others.

Many people here have pointed out how fun and bright Karlach is, but that's just one side of her.

Her character explores how a good person deals with a truly bad hand. If you pay attention to her, you'll notice some contradictions.

She'd rather die than go back to hell, but she also desperately wants to live. She always cheers us on, but she's also envious that we'll get to go on without her. She doesn't wish to drag anyone down with her, but she's also glad that she's not alone in Avernus.

Her desires and vulnerabilities are easy to miss behind her hells-yes demeanor.

That Larian and Sam managed to craft such a deep character in the last minute is a testament to their ability.

As for how Karlach talks, she's not any more or less "modern" than the rest of the cast. She's simply more direct, and less prone to flowery language. This stems from her upbringing.

She's a kid from the streets who never really had a chance at a normal life. If you listen to how the tiefling kids talk, it's not very far off. They don't talk like Dickensian street urchins, that's for sure.

Lae'zel's voice is similar to Karlach's, but her speech is laced with githyanki expressions and a foreigner's turn of phrase that makes her sound more exotic.

The rest of the cast also talk "modern" but with an expanded enough vocabulary that it sounds more period than it really is. If Larian actually went medieval, it would've been insufferable, so props to them for not doing that.

Edit: Even Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy doesn't go full medieval, and that one goes way, way harder than BG3. The way Gimli and Aragorn talk is a night and day difference. If Larian gave Karlach a thick Welsh accent, she would've pretty much been Gimli.

Astarion!

Noone is even close.
Laezel would be a distant 2nd, don't care for the others. With Halsin being my most hated companion, by a mile.

Halsin is my favorite by leaps and bounds <333

Gale and the Tressym

They are all really well made but I'd say definitely Minthara followed by Shadowheart.

Let's see:

1. Lae'zel is probably the best, imo.
2. Shadowheart remains high on my list.
3. Probably Astarion next. He's fascinating, and his history is deeply sad.

--after these top three, I start having more problems with the companions--

4. I'm going Gale next, although I really dislike his grandiose history.
5. Minthara, who I can't place higher because there's not enough about her in the game.
6. Karlach, I suppose is next. I can't reconcile her history with her personality. There's not enough scars, emotionally.
7. Wyll. There's something there, but the writing didn't manage to capture it, imo.

Haven't done a Minthara playthrough but I'm not doing that until people claim she's really fixed which might take a while so here goes. Enjoy the ramblings for those bored enough to read it.

1. Shadowheart

2. Gale

3. Lae'zel

4. Astarion

5. Wyll

6. Karlach

Rest's unranked since they're not origin (though to be fair it'd still be more or less accurately ranked).

Halsin

Jaheira

Minsc

I love them all but my least favorite is Wyll and Halsin.
They are just so bland in my opinion, they are not funny or interesting at all. I always know what Wyll is going to do or say and his only interesting bit is Mizora. Without her I would not have even recruited him.

My understanding is that all the issues with her dialogue not triggering have been fixed, the rest is actually lack of content and not bugs.

Fair enough, thanks! Will probably get to it then when patch 4 hits, so I can give my ramblings about her character too.

I actually really love all the companions, so kudos to Larian and the VAs for bringing them to life <3
If I had to put them in a ranking, it would be:

1. Minthara
2. Astarion
3. Karlach

I find it funny that Minthara is ranking so highly on my list despite having the least amount of content, but I think her character is just that good. Her and Astarion are both very complex characters with interesting backstories and their VAs also left the biggest impression on me, just very memorable voices overall. Also Karlach is just mwah, chef's kiss. Her response to trauma is something I can deeply relate with. She deserves all the love she's been getting and I hope they decide to expand on her down the line. For 4, I can't decide between Gale or Shadowheart. I love their designs, their respective character arcs, and both have the most beautiful romance scenes in the game:

Shadowheart, and it's not even close. I got emotionally invested into that character in a way that no other video game has matched.


So, her story moved me and got me off my lazy ass to play guitar again. That has set a high bar.

I like both Lae'zel and Gale. Lae'zel has a strong-willed, no-nonsense practical attitude that you just must admire. While gale has some of the most articulate dialogue in the game, which I quite enjoy listening to.

Karlach and Wyll are fine. Although I must suspend my disbelief with Karlach significantly. I have a hard time understanding how someone with her backstory could act so cheery and naïve. As for Wyll, I would care for his story a lot more if he wasn't so damn arrogant.

That leaves only Astarion, which is the only origin character I cannot stand. I never gave him a chance to be fair, because I can't look past his cringe, edgy boy attitude. Whenever he speaks, I want to ram a stake through his ribs.

I'm not going to comment on the non-origin companions since I haven't explored them enough for my liking.

Astarion, because (1) he makes me laugh, and (2) he literally has more content than the other companions (except maybe Shadowheart?) so he feels more "alive." That being said, the other companions should have had an equal amount of content (thinking of poor Karlach and Wyll especially).

In terms of who I'd actually get along with IRL, Wyll definitely wins. That being said I like Lae'zel, Gale, and Minthara a lot. Shadowheart and I agree on basically everything but I don't find her that interesting (and they trashed to prop SH up so I'm bitter).