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I see a ton of people complaining about the current companions, not because of their class/stats, but because they are mean
sad

I mean, of course they are mean! (see what I did there?) They are completely different personalities tied together against their will, strangers to one another and forced to stay together for a "common goal". Oh, and that goal is to get rid of a BRAIN PARASITE WHO IS GOING TO EAT THEM IN A MATTER OF SECONDS for what they know. In their pants I will be a lot meaner to whoever would dear to breath too close to me, in fact, they are not even close to how mean and on the edge they should realistically be.
We are not playing a story where we should calmly cooperate and go to the adventure with a smile on our faces, we are playing a race against time, completely blind to whatever is happening to us. How can anyone expect to have a friendly and relaxed relationship in such conditions?

I think the characters are written exquisitely, even when they are edgy and/or disrespectful to one another. Not to mention that after no more than 15 hours, Gale and Wyll told me I'm a friend and that they respect and are grateful to me, Astarion started to be flirty, I kissed Shadowheart and even Lae'zel who sees my race as little more than monkey said she respect me as a warrior.

In this forum I have found lots of valid criticism to the game but sometimes it seems to me people just want to complain. Everyone is mean to me, female NPCs are not nice enough, male NPS are not rough enough, combat is too difficult because the AI does the most logical thing and target the lowest AC character as a priority.
C'mon guys, we are better than this.

I can understand someone not liking the personality of a character, fair enough, but not liking it without considering the context is a weak argumentation.


EDIT: I to have found Shadowheart talking to me like shit after our kiss, but remember that in this early access a lot of conversations are screwed up both in timing and context, they are going to fix it.

Last edited by Sharet; 20/10/20 12:30 AM.
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I'll try to be short.

Because of the constant conflict of interest and quarrels, the interaction with/among them feel like I'm inside some bad cheap Hollywood TV show, in which every character is arguing with each other instead of trying to help each other.

I hope the story will unfold as the main PC will be able to gather them in line by leadership or something, but I am quite skeptical for now.

This is why I hate them.

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OP got Shadowheart's kiss? Damn, I'm doing something very wrong. She won't even pretend to talk to me like that. LOL!

Astarion isn't just flirty. He's an outright horn dog that proposed sex during the Druid/Tiefling party. He needs to drink less. LOL! Gale claims he respects me, but I think he's just saying it because he wants me to steal the most powerful magic items I can get my hands on. Still not sure how to get the Idol of Silvanus as a wizard and not get caught. I even tried using Invisibility and the moment I took the idol, Invis got dropped...anyway.

I honestly don't think the NPCs are all that mean. Not to me, anyway. A bit shifty, but not mean. They may think I'm a bit goody-goodie...mainly because I'm trying to be. I'm trying to be Neutral or Lawful Good. It frankly looks like the game is pretty good with the effects of "Person Approves/Disapproves" comments.

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Originally Posted by Lumign
I'll try to be short.

Because of the constant conflict of interest and quarrels, the interaction with/among them feel like I'm inside some bad cheap Hollywood TV show, in which every character is arguing with each other instead of trying to help each other.

I hope the story will unfold as the main PC will be able to gather them in line by leadership or something, but I am quite skeptical for now.

This is why I hate them.


What quarrels? Lae'zel vs Sbadowheart? The rest of them don't quarrel.

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All is well with companions, those who complain just like to play on the good side. There really are no decent companions for a classic paladin now, but this will be fixed in release. I hope to see the Aasimar race, which is the complete opposite of tieflings.


Minthara is the best character and she NEEDS to be recruitable if you side with the grove!
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For me personally it's simply because they aren't companions. They are main characters (origin characters) that will eventually all be playable as the main protagonist. None of these characters are bit players.. they are all main protagonists jostling for position. I don't feel like this is my characters story or that my character is in any way cool or special because all the "companions" are cool and special. It makes me feel like I'm playing with someone elses perfect party and frankly I'm selfish and want to play with my perfect party.

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Its because the writing of the introduction of these characters is done insufficiently and it should be given another pass. The way you find them is hamfisted, uninteresting, crude, unsatisfying and their starting interactions are blunt and feel weird in a bad way.
Only later on this situation improves but the intro often leaves bad first impressions.

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I like them all.

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In my current run the companions warmed up to me really quick. I rolled ranger, went with Gale, Wyll, and Shadowheart. Gale and Wyll are super easy on the good path with Shadowheart as the only snarky one. And honestly all it takes for Shadowheart to like you is not crapping on her religion, asking about her life, and not being a brutish murderhobo.

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I agree, I've seen quite a few people complain about the companions. I think some people have a certain expectation of what they think their companions should be and how they should behave. I see a lot of resentment towards Shadowheart, saying how mean she is but once you get to know her, you realize why she is like that.

Another thing that is important when playing a video game that has companions and dialogue options is getting to know your companions through dialogue.

Larian did say that once the full game releases they will include an approval rating and also a romance indicator to show how much that companion may like or dislike you.

To use Shadowheart as an example again, the first time I played, I missed finding her on the ship and when I met her on the beach she was really mean.
The second time I played, I found her on the ship and tried to help her, when I found her on the beach, she was a lot nicer.

Also, I think your companions react to you based on what race you are. I notice with my human female both Shadowheart and Astarion were neutral but when I made a female elf, they seem more comfortable around me, especially Shadowheart. She was even nicer. I found that to be interesting.

At the end people liking or not liking their companions comes to their taste and we are all different.

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Shadowheart is the only character whom I still dislike with 70 hours into my gameplay atm.

I hope they work on her a bit more, she is still a moody teenager.
Gale is okay, I think he could be worked on a bit more to make his character less generic. Wyll could use work like Gale does.

Astarion is my favourite companion, he's much more fun than having Shadowheart following me around(it was especially funny when you go knocking on the shed door in the Blighted Village XD!) He is definitely one of the more fleshed out companions <3.
Lae'zel is also pretty good in terms of character development. She is not annoying like Shadowheart, I just hope she's okay with me
going into the Underdark instead of pursueing the creche XD!



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For me it's because the back stories are way over the top. I've played tons of RPGs in the last 30+ years, disliked some of my companions, but liked most of them. I find it fun to interact with the current bunch, but it's hard to actually like them. They are are either super outgoing and friendly (Gale, Wyll), or in the arrogant to obnoxious realm (Shadowheart, Astarion, Lae'zel). Because of the game mechanics (when we meet, we are level one or two), Wyll can't back up his bravado (Blade of the Frontier, Living Legend, yeah right), and Gale's backstory just isn't believable.
You can't have Astarion *not* having trying to drink your blood, and to me that's an immediate disqualification. Not to mention that when you meet him, he immediately puts a knife to your throat. Lae'zel treats you as if you are something she scraped off her boots. I can actually relate to Shadowheart, because a lot of what she is putting up seems to be a front.
I just can't see why the main character, e.g. me, would be running with this bunch. The way they are introduced, I wouldn't invite them to join me, with the possible exception of Shadowheart, and her only if I tried to rescue her beforehand on the ship.

Last edited by Nyelin; 20/10/20 06:28 AM.
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People generally come to forums to complain about something. The people who are happy with the companions are much less likely to post than people who have an axe to grind.

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I havent played an excessive amount as of yet but I kind of agree. To the arguement "well, they have a parasite in their brain! Ofcourse theyre on edge!" I just have to say; its a game. In the real world we would all be panicking and act out irrationally but I kinda dont want that aspect to be so present. But if that is essential to all companions then the set-up is a mistake? There are no fun-loving, quirky live-and-let-live characters because they're all terrified of turning into a grotesque monsters. They let you behave in a nonchalant, cheerful or easy-going way, but all your companions feel antagonistic.. perhaps not Gale but the rest of them seem to always look for a challange.

An example of how you can behave in a way that isnt "This is super serious, OMG I have a parasite IM GOING TO DIE AAAAAAAH" and when I laughed out loud is when you first meet the devil and he keeps waxing about your soul or whatever... and one of the options is simply: *sit down and start eating*. I wish there were more of that, so far Larian has done alot to those who want to play a more carefree character (which is my favorite, the arrogant wizard who is autistically focused on some dumb detail instead of the overarching plot, or the fun-loving "Jack Sparrow" swashbuckling character where nothing is serious)

And I'm quite certain we wont see any more companions (as some suggest). As Larian has comfirmed, our group will be permanent once we leave Act 1 so I dont see them cramming in another 10 characters with equal dept, with voice acting ect. Maybe 1 or 2 more. This is by far the biggest detriment to the game in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by Nyelin
For me it's because the back stories are way over the top. I've played tons of RPGs in the last 30+ years, disliked some of my companions, but liked most of them. I find it fun to interact with the current bunch, but it's hard to actually like them. They are are either super outgoing and friendly (Gale, Wyll), or in the arrogant to obnoxious realm (Shadowheart, Astarion, Lae'zel). Because of the game mechanics (when we meet, we are level one or two), Wyll can't back up his bravado (Blade of the Frontier, Living Legend, yeah right), and Gale's backstory just isn't believable.
You can't have Astarion *not* having trying to drink your blood, and to me that's an immediate disqualification. Not to mention that when you meet him, he immediately puts a knife to your throat. Lae'zel treats you as if you are something she scraped off her boots. I can actually relate to Shadowheart, because a lot of what she is putting up seems to be a front.
I just can't see why the main character, e.g. me, would be running with this bunch. The way they are introduced, I wouldn't invite them to join me, with the possible exception of Shadowheart, and her only if I tried to rescue her beforehand on the ship.


This.

It's not that I don't understand that they're on edge and it'll take some time to establish a good rapport. It's that these NPC's in particular are just not well written. Their backstories are too wild. If I showed up to a gaming session and my co-players had written Wyll, Gale and Astarion I would be dumbfounded. Lae'zel and Shadowheart are better, but they're still unreasonably unfriendly, what with us trying to get out of this thing alive together.

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Originally Posted by Bossk_Hogg
In my current run the companions warmed up to me really quick. I rolled ranger, went with Gale, Wyll, and Shadowheart. Gale and Wyll are super easy on the good path with Shadowheart as the only snarky one. And honestly all it takes for Shadowheart to like you is not crapping on her religion, asking about her life, and not being a brutish murderhobo.


Exactly!


Originally Posted by Lady Avyna
Another thing that is important when playing a video game that has companions and dialogue options is getting to know your companions through dialogue.


This.


Originally Posted by Nyelin
Because of the game mechanics (when we meet, we are level one or two), Wyll can't back up his bravado (Blade of the Frontier, Living Legend, yeah right), and Gale's backstory just isn't believable.


On this point, I have to agree, they seem too accomplished already to be lvl ones. I think Larian should use an escamotage like "The tadpole is giving you telepathy, cool, but is weakening you for all the rest".

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For many of the reasons listed here and more I personally would rather not play with the set NPS'c. The main reason for me however is not the mindless dribble interactions, it's the combat piece. The makeup of the team is horrible and doesn't at all fit my playstyle. Using this link https://attackofthefanboy.com/guides/how-to-create-custom-party-members-in-baldurs-gate-3/ and creating my own party was 1000 times more enjoyable. I got rid of all the annoying NPC interactions and was able to focus on the mission at hand only having conversations where I felt necessary.

But the huge perk was making a combat tactical party that not only fit my playstyle, it allowed me to make short work of the enemy. Combat was extremely more enjoyable on the 2nd playthrough and I spent 100 times more time utilizing each character to stick and move while using stealth tactics.

So whether you want to play a magic heavy group or a stealthy rouge group, or just something in-between I strongly suggest using the link. Hopefully Larian will just make this an option at launch for people like me and I'm sure many others who would much rather play this way.

My experience is however, for some reason developers love to try and pigeon hole players into a play style "They" feel is fun? *Shrugs*

And ultimately some bootlicking fan boy is going to chime in on why I shouldn't play a game the way I enjoy playing it. =/


Last edited by Thrandarian; 20/10/20 08:39 AM.
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Originally Posted by Slapstick


This.

It's not that I don't understand that they're on edge and it'll take some time to establish a good rapport. It's that these NPC's in particular are just not well written. Their backstories are too wild. If I showed up to a gaming session and my co-players had written Wyll, Gale and Astarion I would be dumbfounded. Lae'zel and Shadowheart are better, but they're still unreasonably unfriendly, what with us trying to get out of this thing alive together.


I think it's on purpose. I believe what Larian is trying to say by giving all the companions unique, out of the ordinary backstories is that they were purposefully selected by the "Absolute" and that the abductions weren't random. The biggest question is, can they make the MC's backstory just as unique? I certainly don't want no God Chosen crap from DOS2. That's what's really missing right now, is the backstory of the MC. Without a backstory, the companions "outshine" your MC and I think that's what a lot of people don't like. That's what I believe anyway.

On the topic of the post though, the only character I don't really like is Shadowheart....and that's ok. Can't like them all. You're bound together through necessity, not because you want to travel together and I do think that comes across quite well. Unfortunately it seems a lot of people expect an adventure among friends experience. I actually like more stand-offish characters - at least in the beginning - because it just makes more sense in the world setting. Once you get to know them, they soften up. Though I do agree that the companions introductions could be done better. Lae'zels, Shadowhearts and Wylls were fine but Astarions is off especially when you approach him from the direction of the supposed "Intellect devourer" and Gales is just cringe.

The only thing I don't like is that the companions only really interact with your character if you travel with them rather than them being in the camp the whole time. Whilst it's realistic, it's not great from a game perspective because you miss out on content with those companions and they don't give you enough time/information in act 1 to make a good decision on who your final team will be. I'm sure that's something that will get cleaned up on early access.

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I have to say everyone is complaining about the characters I personally love. Wyll + Astarion are super cool. Shadowheart is already dead forever in my playthrough so in the end everyone has their own point of view.


My only problem is with the limited interactions between the characters random trash talks seem ....misplaced. There is too little interactions for strong emotions to make sense. Those who stay at the camp literally don't see you the whole day and then just behave like angry muppets when you come in. It's very silly after me.



Look at the relations in BG2 with even "evil " characters. Some people despised Khorgan or Edwin but they were consistent. They weren't mean because they were angry at you they were just as straightforward and egoistic as they humanly could. For those who don't know them you can find their voicelines on youtube. Some of them are hilarious. Mostly Edwin. And they always acted in consequence of this fact. Because that's how they were. Shadowheart isn't " strong and independent" or "egoistic". She's heavily retarded. She's not gaining anything from behaving like a muppet, she doesn't give much to your team and yet demands so much patience. It's a toxic relationship and she had to die for it.


Alt+ left click in the inventory on an item while the camp stash is opened transfers the item there. Make it a reality.
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Originally Posted by Thrandarian
And ultimately some bootlicking fan boy is going to chime in on why I shouldn't play a game the way I enjoy playing it. =/

Because only one of us can be right and it is obviously me.

I will create a huge post full of words but little content that you are unlikely actually read, I will confuse the issue and sidetrack so much that you forget what the argument was originally about.

I will use inflammatory and insulting words, but squeal 'foul' if I cam take one of your points out of context and say that it is an attack on me.

And I'll link to a string of irrelevant websites to prove, PROVE mind you, that I am right!







I believe that's how it is done.

Last edited by Sadurian; 20/10/20 12:46 PM.
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