Astarion will not be recruited (never say never, we'll see). I initially liked him, but I've gotten so tired/bored of his edgy 13-year-old personality, I've just been giving him a wide berth lately. I was disappointed but not surprised that it turns out he indeed was a piece of trash even before being made a spawn. It did sour my overall appreciation of him, though.
I gave Wyll a fair chance, but I really can't stand him. Don't like his personality or story at all; the only thing he has going for him is his good looks. I've been actively avoiding him since my first full playthrough of EA, but I heard that Larian went and gave him a cutscene intro for the initial goblin fight at the grove entrance? Thanks for making it harder to ignore his existence, Larian; I hate it.
Jaheira is overrated, and hopefully just a temporary companion I can ignore after the relevant quest or whatever.
Can't stand Karlach (early datamined appearance was cool, though), so will likely avoid her, too.
I'm okay with Lae'zel, but I also don't care, so I guess we'll ultimately see if she's a keeper, depending on how long it takes for modders to expand the party size limit.
Shadowheart and Gale have been my pals for a while (but, of course, I have some gripes), and I'm genuinely looking forward to Halsin, even though I used to be resistant for the longest time, lol.
I'm tentative about Minsc, given the vastly different VA, but maybe it won't be too distractingly different (it almost certainly will be). I do like him as a character, especially since we're woefully lacking in decidedly good-guy characters. (Relevant venting: I miss you, Canach's-VA-from-GW2. Dear nonspecific-game-devs: If you must replace someone, at least TRY to find someone who sounds remotely similar to the original VAs, sheesh. For example, the guy who voiced Regill Derenge in WotR would have been a perfect replacement for Canach's VA! How hard would it have actually been to find someone with a similar vocal register to Jim Cummings, in the case of Minsc?)
Sorry for resurrecting the thread, but since we can't edit old posts, and I don't want my original assumptions to be left unamended, I'm just quoting myself and amending it this way. It was bothering me that I couldn't change my original thoughts after I played enough of the full release.
Astarion: I'm pleased with the believable depth given to him. Love his romanced spawn ending along with the fact that we can reassure him about looking for a cure. My only general complaint is very minor: the inability to talk back when he makes snippy comments if you happen to disagree with him on occasion. Don't even need to record new lines or anything, just have him make a face in response, like an "Aw shucks, I just got scolded" pouty face or some such and have that be the end of the conversation. I'd like to pretend he can learn that it's okay to having differing opinions and that being immature in response is a good way to push your allies away.
Minthara: Still kill her every time. Not interested in metagaming to arbitrarily keep her as an ally, anyway. Evil drow matriarch, no thanks.
Halsin: Very pleased with him overall, but still clearly unfinished. His issues have been expanded upon at length, and I do largely agree with what people have been saying, so I'll not repeat any details. Partially fixed, but still needs work. Pretty annoyed that the bulk of his original content was cut, especially since his VA already put so much work and heart into him. For me, the changes weren't worth it, as it feels like there is less depth and fewer ties and connections to the overall stories with so much content cut (not just Halsin's, but the cut content in general). Devs' priorities could have been better, IMO.
Shadowheart: I kill her on the beach. I thought she would no longer be the writers' pet, but she is. The last straw was the way she treats Lae'zel. I'd leave her alive (as I do with the others I don't recruit) if there was a way to get the artifact without killing or recruiting her, but there isn't. I just headcanon that she dies in the crash, rather than by my hand, lol.
Lae'zel: She's my bro, hell yeah. Just wish she wouldn't insist that my dudes will wonder how it might've been to be with her when they reject her advances. Girl, they don't swing that way. (Can you imagine the backlash if it was a male character who said all this? If it's not okay for men to behave this way, how is it any better coming from a woman? Just have her take rejection gracefully instead of rubbing what we're missing out on in our faces. Gross.)
Gale: Liked the changes made to him overall, but his arrogance vexes me so much that it overshadows his few good qualities (though I do enjoy those good qualities). I'm at a point where I usually just leave him stuck in the rock. Again, I do really like his good qualities, but not enough to go through his story which I didn't like in EA and still do not like now. (As an aside: why do some of the writers' OCs get to become gods or godlike, but ours can't? Not that I would want to, but it is a little unfair, lol.)
Karlach: Ignore or kill for the "paladins." Her writing really takes me out of the setting, and nothing about her character appeals to me, same as in EA.
Wyll: Ignore. Don't like Mizora anyway.
Jaheira: Surprisingly likable, though it's going to be a long time before I return to a point where I can recruit her. I keep restarting my game...
Minsc: I've yet to meet him; sure wish they didn't cut his content so much that we only get him for the final hours of the game. Heard good things about him, however, so I'm looking forward to meeting and recruiting him eventually.
I'd be curious to know if anyone else's opinions have been changed regarding the characters after release. I'm sure there's a thread somewhere specifically for discussing how people feel about the companions before and after release, but heck if I'm gonna dig around for it.
Tangentially related,
I'm disappointed that it feels like the companions exist in a void. On the rare occasion they comment on things, what they say, no matter how suspicious, absurd, etc. gets entirely ignored by the people we're talking to, along with the PC not being able to acknowledge it. I think I was spoiled by The Outer Worlds because the companions in that game feel like they're really there and part of the world. When they comment in a conversation, the person you're talking to will respond to them and everything. It's amazing. Feels like a step taken back as far as companion quips in BG3 go. Of course, I'd rather they talk into the void than not contribute at all, but it's not much better compared to full interaction.
