Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Companions: how have your views on them changed from first impressions?

I didn't see a thread discussing this as specifically I wanted to post in without doing some forum necromancy, so here we go.

Needless to say, but this thread will of course cover MASSIVE spoilers and touch on delicate topics, so if you haven't beaten the game or cannot handle respectful discussion of delicate topics, this is not the thread for you.

Also, please remember no one has primacy of opinions. We can disagree without needing to force our opinions on each other.

Lae'zel: I was like 'ok, girl' , when she started berating me about everything and started ignoring her in my first playthrough (back in EA), but I love her now. SHe is one of the best companions writing wise.

SHadowheart: she was my favourite in EA and now I find her a bit overrated and sometimes too much. I like her, but all the hype drove me away a bit.

Karlach: I thought, I wouldn't like her, because I'm not a fan of barbarians, but she is my absolute favourite characterwise now and I don't even change her class.

Astarion: I like him well enough, but as with Shadowheart, I'm more pushed away from him by all the media hype. He is a good character, I don't just think he is better than the rest. So it is more the fact, he is shoved at you everywhere. And yeah, sometimes I want to punch him a bit for his lack of empathy. It gets better later on, but at the beginning I just want him to shut tf up tbh.

Gale: I didn't like him much in EA, but now he is another favourite of mine. He is such a great character. I like him being ambitious, but kind hearted at the same time. And he is very easily swayed from his god path with good arguments. I actually like that. He is intelligent, so instead of persuading him, you just point out the flaws and he is like 'Ok, you're right'. It's ok to have persuasion roles for companions that do think, it's their destiniy, like Shadow with becoming a DJ, but I find it refreshing, that it's different here.

Wyll: I like him more after his rewrite, I just think, he needs more content. He is another favourite of mine, being the genuine good character. I also love, that they made him a fiendlock and then have him be lawful good. It's much more impactful as if he would have been a paladin for example.

Jaheira: She was always perfection for me in all three games. She is awesome and I never really changed my opinion about her.

Minsc: Didn't like him at all in BG1 &2, but actually find him more bearable in BG3, still never will be my favourite. SO slight change between games.

Halsin: I was annoyed, when he was announced as companion, because I wanted Helia the halfling werewolf bard, not another elf and anotehr druid. I gave him a fair chance, but I find him creepy and bland and so he is mostly forgotten in camp. And stays there for the purpose of a certain quest. So it changes from being neutral towards him in EA - I liked him for what he was: a damsel in distress and a questgiver, but nothing more - , to being annoyed that he became a companion, to being outright bored by him.

Minthara: nothing much to say: she is evil, which was expected, and hilarious, which I didn't expect. I don't have a strong opinion towards her. SHe is ok, but I don't go out of the way to recruit her. So I would say, nothing has changed. I was not surprised, she became a companion, since the Minthara stans were pretty active during EA here, but I would have preferred one of the goblins (Sazza) or that half orc lady from Moonrise as a cultist companion

Astarion - My first impressions of him was that he was a colossal douche.

Gale - My first impressions of him was that he was a lovable, friendly guy who's easy to get along with.

Halsin - My first impressions of him was that he was boring and lame.

Jaheira - My first impressions of her was that she was overhyped.

Karlach - My first impressions of her was that she was kind of fun, but was hiding a troubled past.

Lae'zel - My first impressions of her was that she was a hard ass and very selfish.

Minsc - My first impressions of him was that he exists.

Minthara - My first impressions of her was that she makes a good corpse.

Shadowheart - My first impressions of her was that she was a bit curt and prickly, but showed signs of a softer center.

Wyll - My first impressions of him was that he was an annoying goody-two-shoes.

Astarion: My first impression was that he was really funny and interesting, mysterious. I never trusted him during my first playthrough.
- After he ascended he surprised me with sharing his power with my Tav and helping the whole group win the game. Earning my trust. Now my favorite character and romance path in any game I've played.

Gale: My first impression was that he was desperate and untrustworthy. Very pushy with his advances (he has been patched to be less so now), making me really dislike him.
- After he surprised me a couple of times with his support of some of my Tav's more questionable decisions and I got to know how open minded he was, I now like him.

Shadowheart: My first impression was that she seemed really cool, interesting. I really liked her sass.
- After getting to know her through her quest, I still really like her. I like both her paths, the light one for the saving those two important people, the dark one for seeing her in command and at a place of power.

Minthara: My first impression was this NPC is cool, well, time to kill her so my group can take over the camp.
- After learning she could be recruited I was intrigued to do a second playthrough. She turned out to be one of my favorite characters in the game. A much need counterweight to all the good companions.

Karlach: My first impression was that she seems cool. I liked that her fire and anger was connected.
- After getting to know her more I found her very irritating with how she likes to judge everything and everyone except herself. The revenge scene was cool.

Wyll: My first impression was that he was really cool. Loved the moster hunter story.
- After playing throught the game I find him a bit frustrating. I still like him, but I also wish he could go darker. That he could be more interesting.

Lae'zel: My first impression was that she seems strong and capable. A good asset. Liked her brutal honesty when talking to her.
- After she start trusting Tav I find her more likeable and I started trusting her in turn. Really like her quest, it's a good story.

Minc: My first impression was that he was really funny. I loved his dynamic with Boo.
- After finishing the game with him I still like him. I like how he is simple and deep at the same time. I sill laugh at some of his dialouges.

Halsin: My first impression was that I liked his values. I could understand his love for nature.
- After discovering how pushy he was with his romance, I like him a lot less. Also felt like he kind of dissapear in the last Act in terms of personality.

Jaheira: My first impression was that I really like her. Reminds me of someone in real life.
- After finishing the game with her, I still like her. She is a good, wise and funny character. She judges others bad actions, but she also judges her own.

Astarion: In EA I thought he was a despicable creature who has no place in a party that doesn't have a death wish. After seeing his story all the way through I got more information why he is so horribly, but it didn't make him any less horrible.

Emperor: A narrative contrivance. I struggle to see him as a character.

Karlach: I have little opinion of her as a character. I think it comes down with lack of interactions you have with companions - and by that I mean talking to people in BG3 doesn't feel like talking to people. That is a problem for a companion who otherwise has very little presence and most of her story is told, rather than shown or interacted with. I find it compelling how doomed she is, but I didn't think it was pulled off well in the game - that is her story is not developing throughout the game until the very end.

Lae'zel: She is easily the one I like the most. While she is aggressive from the get go, her hostility feels justified. Her story ties rather well with the main plot, so her involvement feels natural, and has plenty of opportunities for growth. In a more traditional Bioware game she would be fantastic "out-there" companion. Alas in this band of caricatures she felt like the only relatable character. She is only the one which to me feel authentic, like she belongs in the world. Most of the others feel like amateur cosplayers - which is maybe what they were going for, but it's not something that made me care for them.

Minsc and Jaheira: Eh, they are fine. Didn't spend enough time with them to judge. Minsc because I got him near the end of the game, and Jaheira because shapeshifting requires hotbar rearrengement after every use. They seem like good takes on classic characters.

Minthara: She wasn't available on good path when I played the game, so don't know anything about her.

Shadowheart: I like her less after seeing the story through. I thought Shar's involvement in the story was rather artificial, and for all the grandeur and time her story was given it was really shallow and predictable. It doesn't help that one of the classic BG1&2 characters was a victim of her storyline. It would be fine, if her story was as brief as BG2 stories were. She runs into what I would call a "Dragon Age" problem - a shallow, generic and predictable story stretched over too many conversations and too much of a content.

Wyll: Eh, Wyll. He has potential to be just as good as Lae'zel, with a set up which I think is compelling (a pretender hero), and story beats which tie with main narrative rather well. However, while the 1.0 release greatly improved him in act1, I didn't think his story developed well. I don't think his narrative direction is bad, it just not pulled off particularly well - though that's a common problem with act3.

Gale: He is.... meh? He is always amusing to talk to - a well spoken individual, often hiding his true intentions behind jokes and wit. Not necessarily evil, but also can't be 100% sure of his intentions. Oddly enough, I think that would be enough. His special, world consuming orb somehow made him more boring to me than he should be. An absurd McGuffin which was more distracting than helpful. I think his story was fairly basic and human, and could be done without gods and world endings. As such he ends up being more disposable than he could have been if the stakes were more appropriate to his more personal character growth.

Halsin: Never cared for him in EA, being being romancable I felt he had very little to offer.


So in the nutshell: Laez surprised me in a positive way. The rest is either where I was with them during EA, or disappointed.

In order of appearance:

Lae'zel
My powergamer instincts made me instantly like Lae'zel, because she carries the team so much. As a character she had a clear motivation and goal from the beginning, and though it could clash and cause rifts with the group, I always liked that she had her own agenda. My impression later only improved because there was character development as she begins to question what she has been taught to believe. MVP and top tier character to me.

Shadowheart
She clicked well with my first character in my first playthrough and I really got into the story and romance. Subsequent playthroughs I started to feel she suffered a bit from main character syndrome. I like to take the companions along when the story relates to them and act 2 has so much that relates to Shadowheart, so she's like always there and it gets a bit repetitive. So great first impression, but a bit too one note down the line.

Astarion
Annoyed me during the first act, because even though we can be on the same page about looking out for ourselves first, my characters usually want to be smart about it and having Astarion disapprove every time I don't outright insult or threaten somebody feels like he missed the part of the plan where we are actually in a bit of pickle and cannot afford to make enemies with everyone. Like Lae'zel I like that he has his own agenda and I am always down for his smartass comments. He has a good character arc and his responses and reactions improve a lot over the game so I will say my impression improved.

Gale
Gale didn't immediately appeal to me. But in my first playthrough I needed a spellcaster and his portent ability for my crit-hunter main character. And he really grew on me as a team mate and friend (it was early Gale so he also had that weird crush going for a long time, but we got our relationship sorted out eventually). No matter which part Gale plays in my playthrough I always think he plays it really well. He is great as a romanced companion, works really well as best friend and also works as an advisor and mentor if I want him to play a less active role. If I ever fail the roll to pull him out of the portal in honor mode I would probably restart.

Wyll
Wyll had everything I like in a character. A backstory that sets up a great conflict for his character arc and motivations along with a distinct trademark personality (lots of people find his blade of frontiers shtick ridiculous, but I really like it because it immediately establishes who he is as a character). But his content is lacking so we never get as much story and character out of him as we could have had. We get so much that we could unravel about him in act 1, and then a lot of it never leads anywhere other than Mizora is bad and mean to poor Wyll. If I had a top pick for a character I would want to see in a spinoff or sequel, it's Wyll, because we have so much more we could explore around him as a character.

Karlach
Karlach was iontroduced as a big and strong potty-mouth with limited impulse control, what was there not to like? I instantly liked Karlach and despite the fact that her story isn't that comprehensive (fix engine, hate Gortash), I still think it delivers when it's there. When she gets serious, it really tugs at the emotional strings. Like Wyll, the impression is that there are a few things left hanging in act 3 where Karlach could have had more history with the city to explore.

Minthara
Minthara was initially just a boss fight, since recruiting her required you to go murderhobo which is a playstyle I hate. I've recrutied her on subsequent playthroughs, but I dislike the non-murderhobo recruitment path as well because it feels odd and gamey. But as a character, I quite like her. She plays the part of villainous drow very well and her insight and comments are fun and different. Sadly, she is still in a bit of a mess with things that are broken and not working properly so it's hard to judge her fairly. If Larian finally fixes all the broken stuff, she could be great.

Jaheira
Great introduction as a returning legacy character and I think they really gave her proper care for how she was going to be portrayed in this story. I missed quite a few places where she had specific story involvement in my first playthrough, and I enjoyed finding those on subsequent runs. Good dynamics with Minsc that I feel lives up to what I expected.

Halsin
Initially I found him a bit boring and superflous, I don't really like druids and it was just the standard tirade about nature that I come to expect whenever a druid character is introduced, but ok as a character who was wise and calm and not as over the top as the others. Then in act 3 he transformed into the type of person who ticks every one of my icks. Just a big turn-off for me personally and that just made me park him in camp for good. Since he also doesn't have any story involvement in that act, there is no incentive to bring him along for a specific location or quest.

Minsc
Another legacy character that is introduced well. But once you've done the space hamster and Minsc is nice but kind of a knucklehead, the character is sort of done. Also, I find it so hard to spec him, because I have to figure out what role he is going to play and find equipment for him that someone else isn't already using, so he ends up getting a lot of hand-me-downs from stuff that the others don't need anymore and is not as optimized as the rest. So he gets to tag along for specific Minsc stuff, but I don't really use him much outside of that.

Would you mind elaborating on that hype? I feel like there's some context or something I'm missing that's keeping me from understanding exactly what you mean.


I keep seeing mentions of her and feeling like I really missed out XD


What makes her seem judgmental to you?

The long and short of it is "Karlach disapproves". For context my Tav's alignment are True Neutral so they take decisions based on what is best for the group or the realm, not what is considered Good or Evil. I would maybe have had some specific dialouge examples, but it's been over a year (time flies, huh?) since she was active in my party. Now I don't pick her up or leave her in camp.
I can imagine she is a perfect fit for a good align Tav though.

Astarion: I still like the old Gremlin a lot, but like Fylimar, I think he is overrated. Overall, I got the impression that his writing is far more concerned with portraying a character than giving the player a companion to interact with. Choosing him as my Avatar, however, has become my favourite way to play the game. Especially stepping away from the ritual is such a good scene in his origin because all of the other companions (apart from Minth and DJ Shart) do a much better job in talking him down than Tav.

Gale: Besti! He had me at “a helping hand” and I have only grown to love him better since. I like how he wants to be good, but is often distracted by his insecurities and so his greatest enemy is within himself. I love the banter he has with the other companions (especially the girls) and I think he is overall the best written companion in the game. His player-dialogue is always excellent. You can easily read it aloud or imagine in another character’s voice to create a cinematic scene, and I love how you are given great flexibility about in which direction you want to take a conversation. Again like Fylimar, I have come to appreciate how his writing uses dice-rolls too. In matters which relate to his decision making and mental health, no rolls are used, only what you say to him counts. It is so refreshing. I also discovered how many dialogue variations he has for Avatar-Origins and player classes, interacting with him as cleric-Shadowheart was quite different from rogue (or rogue/bard) Astarion in some places. 

Halsin: I like him as an NPC but think he is pretty lame and somewhat creepy as a companion. I do like that he was given a platonic route, which is nice, but otherwise my opinion hasn’t changed much: He stays in camp - or at the temple. 

Jaheira: Camp-Granny, I love her and I do really enjoy her quest and the interaction with her family. I maybe love her a little more since discovering her secret room.

Karlach: She is a bit of an up and down for me. I like her well enough, especially her banter with Gale is a delight, but when I noticed how badly the game wants me to like her and how much she derails some other quests, I got a bit resentful towards her. The resentment has simmered down again, so I enjoy her once more but still, there are a few things I am salty about.

Lae’zel: She’s a good one and her romance is funny. I liked her right from the moment when she offered to teach Gale secret fighting styles and not much has changed since then.

Minsc: I didn’t expect to like him but he and Boo are surprisingly good to be around. He may tag along some time. 

Minthara: I am so glad you can take her along now on a “good” run and was delighted to get to know her. I hope that her goodish recruitment gets smoothed out more, because I really don’t want to leave her behind anymore. 

Scratch & Cub: Such good boys, not much has changed.

Shadowheart: I initially hated how she was all sweet to my character and bitchy towards the rest, now I simply recruit her late and she is equally awful to all of us in act 1. Problem solved. Plus, I do like her low approval dialogue during the tiefling party. Apart from all this, she is fairly inoffensive as a character and has a bit of main character syndrome because of how often you have to drag her around for her quest. This makes her a very fun origin to play as avatar though. 

Tara: Always a delight! I wish her act 3 interactions for Avatar-Gale weren’t so easy to miss as they are quite essential. 

Wyll: I initially thought he was moralising and boring. Now I still think he is moralising but that saving Karlach completely derails his quest and the lack of content does the rest. I do like him much better when I allow him to kill Karlach than when he saves her and is basically reduced to being her sidekick.

Would you mind elaborating on that hype? I feel like there's some context or something I'm missing that's keeping me from understanding exactly what you mean.

I don't know, what you mean with elaborating? You just have to go to any social media about BG3 (this one included) and Shadowheart and Astarion will be front and center more often than not in lot of conversations and topics.

I see where you're coming from now, thanks.


On that note, I want to recommend playing a gith Tav and taking the hostile options! It's whole different experience, where Shadowheart and the gith are concerned.


Aw, you meant popular? That makes sense to me now, thanks.

I quite like when characters are judgemental or opposed to Tav or other people based on their personality and background. For me it makes me appreciate them more, because I am not looking for a cheerleader for my character, but a companion with their own personal views and agenda. Some conflicts and dynamics are good for storytelling.

For example, Astarion being a narcissist is often fitting, because in his life as a prisoner of Cazador he has been conditioned to look out for himself and that altruism never pays off (except when it just comes off as petty like it does sometimes in act 1 - I am just being polite because that is usually a better way to get what I want out of people than insulting them, you don't need to judge me Astarion).

Another example is Karlach getting furious if you make a deal with Raphael, because she knows what is attached to those kinds of deals. Or Lae'zel scolding me for showing sympathy with the tieflings, because to her they are merely pieces to getting to the creche and achieving what she seeks. None of those occasions when the companions disagree with me, or disapprove of my decisions by being snarky, judgy or scolding bother me. It only bothers me when it seems out of place or there's no real reason for the character to react that way.

Suspicious boss lady Jaheira in act 2 is one of my favourite interactions, I just want to ask her to interrogate me some more (maybe I should go seek out the librarian in Sharess' Caress, too bad she is dead).

I agree with them being opposed to Tav. I don't mind it either. Actually I kind of like it. I love when they rub against Tav, like Shadowheart and Lea'zel in Act 1. Astarion even though he is my favorite don't always agree with my Tav. Something about Karlach though just don't work for me. She was just a constant nay-sayer at the back of the group.

Lae'zels and Jaheiras introductions are my favourites actually, because they are not friendly, but extremely practical. Lae'zel would never had even talked to us in a different situation, but she knows, she needs help and is honest enough to take it. And Jaheira was never someone beating around bushes, so that fits.

What I do like about both Lae'zel and Karlach is, that they are totally honest from the beginning. It's refreshing, since that is not do often the case with videogame companions and the others are not so forthcoming. Well the non origins are, but for them, there is no reason to lie. I'd probably not want to tell complete strangers, that I worship one of the most evil goddesses, being a vampire, having to consume magic or turn into an atomic bomb or being a fiendlock. Minthara and Halsin are already known to the group when we get them, though I did thought, we would find out, that Haldin is a werebear tbh, since he doesn't seem to have his bearshape under control, when even a level 2 druid can do that, and they scratched the werewolf origin.

In my experience Karlach was very much right in front and in my face whenever she disagreed, however the only real major disagreement I've seen with her is making a deal with Raphael as she is usually more on the same page as my characters (we like to swear and kick things).


I am always amused at how confident Lae'zel is in her superiority. Like she is literally caught in a cage about to get killed off by two tiefling commoners and yet she still acts like she is irreplacable. But I also have to hand it to her, that she backs that up. The standard solution to every challenging encounter is to simply apply Lae'zel.

When you play as Astarion, right after she tells you that controlling the tadpole isn't an option, you get dialogue options telling you how tasty she smells - and that was the end of Lae'zel in my first Astarion run. ^^

I do like adversity best, when it is used to learn more about the involved characters and helps to bring them closer together because their relationship gets stronger through the conflict. Gale has a great example of this: When he first asks you for magical items, you can push twice into his mind to find out why he is so cagey about the reason. If you succeed, you can simply go on without saying anything but you also are given the options to be terrified or to feel bad about your transgression and confess. Gale understandably gets angry and you have to persuade (or intimidate I think) him into seeing your side of the situation, if successful he relents and is happy about your support, if you botch too many of these rolls he might leave because they cause pretty strong disapprovals. It's such a good scene because I can understand both sides of the conflict, but I especially love it because it allows for more complex player emotions, you can be scared of the orb and you can feel bad for exploiting the tadpole and try to fix it.

Astarion: at first I was mildly annoyed by how mean he was all the time, but now he is one of my favorites. His arc with Cazador was beautiful.

Lae'zel: same as above. I do still get annoyed at her pushiness in act 1 (IE telling me she wants to taste my sweat within ten minutes of meeting me and then condescends when I say no... how the hell is Halsin the one that got labeled a creep by half the fanbase when Lae'zel does THIS?) but if I ignore that part I love her.

Gale: annoyed the shit out of me from early on, and this hasn't changed. His constant condescension is a bit too much for me and I tend to kind of ignore him once I've served up his last plate of shoes.

Karlach: loved her from the very start, and continue to do so. Her storyline is one of the most compelling, I just wish she got a happier ending.

Wyll: ditto, though I also wish in his case that he had more agency. He feels like he takes a back seat in his own story more than any of the other companions.

Shadowheart: eh on her at first, but once she became nicer and turned away from Shar I started to love her. I love how awkward she is underneath the goth exterior- the night orchid exchange is what really did it and made me adore her.

Minthara: I still kill her every time. I did watch some videos of her and she's kind of funny sometimes, I guess, so she has more redeeming qualities than I initially anticipated. I might recruit her in a future playthrough to be Orin bait since i'm tired of Gale and Lae'zel's scenes.

Halsin: was the first character I heard about, so I knew I'd love him before I started playing. First playthrough I fell in love with his respect for consent and healthy communication, his love for the defenseless like animals and children, and him being the literal only companion who doesn't guilt trip me for making party adjustments, and I've only loved him more every playthrough. My real only complaint is that he should have been recruitable right after the goblin party.

Jaheira: liked her sass at first. I do still love her, though I kind of soured on her a bit after 100 too many posts that complain excessively about Halsin being a Druid when she's there. I don't get the "too many Druids" complaint- if it's that annoying, isn't that what Withers is for? Jaheira being a Druid isn't relevant to the story at all, if you asked me to guess what class she was without knowing anything I would have guessed ranger or fighter (which makes sense given BG2/BG2). She can be reclassed without changing anything.

Minsc: eh. He's alright. I feel like his recruitment is far more trouble than he's worth (I guess I might feel differently if I was a big BG1/BG2 fan) especially for where it is in act 3, which makes it hard for me to get invested in him too much. I do love Boo, though, and some of his lines crack me up. I wish we could have recruited him at the end of act 2, but then I guess there are already too many recruitments happening and it might feel overwhelming.

I am guessing this is more of a rhetorical question since you have probably followed the many lengthy discussions about Halsin that have just been going around in circles. But if you are genuinely confused I think it mainly boils down to three groups of people.

1. The homophobic straight males who find it gross to be hit on by a man, but hot if a woman hits hits on them. They have the same issues with Gale and Wyll even though they have a far less blunt and aggressive approach than Karlach and Lae'zel.

2. Shadowheart and Astarion stans that are fiercely protective of their li and take dislike towards sharing the attention of their li with Halsin and are more neutral towards Lae'zel who they don't see as competing for that attention.

3. Women and queer people who have had negative experiences with uncomfortable interactions with older white men that sound a lot like Halsin. Even in my limited experience with dating apps and social media, I've had those weird interactions through DMs with random older men who approach you out of nowhere, and oddly I've never had that issue with young, brainwashed, fascist, alien frog girls. So Lae'zel just doesn't trigger that same ick reaction (Edit: Though, if I had had such experiences, I am sure Lae'zel would be equally triggering)

But, to be clear, our experiences with media are always personal and subjective. There's no absolute truth that we have to agree on. I am not trying to ruin anyone's positive impressions by trying to convince them that they are wrong. My mantra always is, other people are not in my game and I am not in theirs, so how they enjoy and play their game has no effect on me.

I just don't like Halsin, because he ads nothing to the story after his quest in act 2. So yes, Jaheira is my go to druid companion (since BG1, she is the best).
I'm not at all attracted to Halsin, so the romance is no argument to keep him either. If people like him - power to you. I just don't care about him, he is just the spare to get abducted in my games.

Yeah, I am firmly in group three there. Though a special honorary mention goes to the "carrion bird" comment and his whole behaviour when you take him and Gale to the drow. Admittedly this interaction made me feel disgusted of myself too. The revamp made it fine without Halsin, but I don't think anything has changed if he's involved. It's probably a little unfair to mention this again and again but the original scene deeply rattled me in how it turned both myself and Halsin into pretty horrible people.

I also feel that both Lae'zel and Gale's "fighting with you is hot" & "I like your musk" scenes are slightly played for humour (what they are saying in contrast to their highly poetic language) and in Gale's case come with enough awareness of maybe overstepping that he only gets into the full swing of things if you signal that you feel the same.

But yes, I also don't want to sour anyone's perception of their favourite charaster.