All companions equal? : V

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:37 pm

I know different companions utilize different combat techniques, but are there truly companions that are stronger than, say companions that use the same combat style? Such as Lydia and that Lady in the inn at Whiterun who you need to brawl with(forgot her name) both use heavy armor, shields and one handed weapons. Are they both equal if they were the same level, same equipment? This goes for any companion who has the basic similarities in combat styles.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:27 pm

Whatever level you meet a companion at thats the level they stay at.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:44 pm

I understand this, but if they were both equal level, would they both have the same stats or damage output?

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:22 pm

Whatever level you meet a companion at thats the level they stay at.

So pretty much they're a waste of time until Bethesda inevitably releases a DLC that makes them level with you as incentive to buy it like they did with Broken Steel. :down:

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:54 am

Don't do quests unless you're level 50. <_<

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:02 am

Some people here say they do level

:D

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:47 am

The followers all do level with the character,
but due to a bug, their stats aren't recalculated for each new level.

PC users can use the console to disable and then re-enable 'em and it recalculates their stats.

However not all companions are equal.
For some reason, about half of the companions are capped at Lv.30. And others go up to Lv.50 with you.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:57 pm

There's only a few who can dual-wield (Jenassa being one of them). Also, some may have perks (not 100% on that).

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:31 pm

Whatever level you meet a companion at thats the level they stay at.

What constitutes "meet" though? The first time you ask them to join you? The first time they get loaded in the game?
On my second play through, I rushed it and got the Whiterun house at Lv5, but never used Lydia as a companion. So if I ask her to join me when I'm Lv50, will she still be Lv5?

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:12 am

The followers all do level with the character,
but due to a bug, their stats aren't recalculated for each new level.

PC users can use the console to disable and then re-enable 'em and it recalculates their stats.

However not all companions are equal.
For some reason, about half of the companions are capped at Lv.30. And others go up to Lv.50 with you.

So its bugged? Hope they fix it soon

:D

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:42 am

It's my understanding that the follower's level is fixed the first time the game loads that character, so if you got the Whiterun house at level 5, Lydia will be level 5. If you buy another house at level 50, you could try taking Lydia to a fight, then reloading and taking the new (presumptively level 50) house carl: the difference should be pretty obvious it those really are their levels.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:09 am

This is from the Wiki:

Followers in Skyrim spawn at the player's level when the game first loads them, and do not increase in level, either with the player or otherwise.

In response to all followers being equal, this is also from the Wiki:

Note: For whatever reason, J'zargo is level 81 when the playable character is level 81 unlike other followers who have their level locked whenever they first spawn (Did not test whether he leveled as the playable character leveled, only noticed this when I was max level). This allows him to have quite high HP compared to other mages you can find, though he still only casts Sparks offensively.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:52 am

Ok, well does follower starting armor count towards their carry capacity? Followers like Lydia would be at a disadvantage (steel armor 40-ish weight) vs say Annekke who starts with clothes, gloves and boots (3wt) if it did.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:04 pm

Give Lydia staves and she's a beast with magic. She's fast with them too. She'll Reanimate something and call up a Frost Atronach and then zap the baddies with Chain Lightning. If she's armored and well-armed, she's not so weak.

:tes:

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:39 pm

So pretty much they're a waste of time until Bethesda inevitably releases a DLC that makes them level with you as incentive to buy it like they did with Broken Steel. :down:

Thats the spirit! Gotta keep it negative or someone might enjoy their game!

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 7:33 pm

Thats the spirit! Gotta keep it negative or someone might enjoy their game!

You've got to admit that it's either an amazing oversight or an unbeliveably weird design decision. You also have to admit that the prospect of the large number of potential companions actually being useful is quite an incentive to buy a DLC.

And finally, you have to admit that it wouldn't be the first time you'd need an expansion of some kind to fix a rather strange gamesas design choice. I vaguely recall Morrowind's journal being complete crap until Tribunal was released. Oh well, I suppose we might see some work-around come up in January, once the CK is released. Can't be that hard to add a leveling script to the companions.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:06 pm

I've had Lydia forever. If she's really level 5 then the enemies are lame and weak. I give her epic gear and weapons though, and she tears through bad guys pretty decent IMO. Only gets knocked down once in a blue moon. She did die once and I resurrected her in the console so maybe she re-leveled when I did that.

One thing totally lame though... if you send her away ALL the crap you gave her immediately disappears, as if she was spawned fresh. You tell her to follow again and all the crap you gave her is gone.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 5:19 pm

I think you do have to remember that levelling isn't actually that big a deal in Skyrim. I'm not sure how perks work for companions, but the difference between, say, 30 one-handed skill and 100 one-handed skill is pretty minor, especially compared with the difference between a steel sword and an epic daedric sword. Low level characters with powerful gear can be very effective, hence the problem (if it is a problem) with power-levelling smithing.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:09 am

unless power distribution has changed from Fallout 3 and NV, then no NPC's do not get Perks. but you know what, can someone try something for me I'm not near a comp that does Skyrim. can you use the Add perk command on a follower, something noticable and report what you've witnessed? I've done all sorts of things wit NPC"s with the Console but I never gave them perks, please give this a whirl.

a Decapitation perk or spell stagger should be the most noticeable or even better and much easier

give them a soul gem, then remove all their weapons and spells and give them Bound sword, give them the perk that steals souls through the Bound sword and see if it works

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 3:54 pm

Does anyone know about the levels of mercenaries that you hire from the taverns? Is it the same principle i.e. they match your level when you hire them?

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:57 pm

Here's everything you need to know about follower stats:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aly8njaU3H1adGJYTlJaUnRxRUN2RnM5MkxPaU1mQkE#gid=0

Looks like the housecarls are the best for sword and shield, save for Lydia who is a bit weaker.
Vilkas seems to be the best two-hander, and is nearly as good in archery, and decent at one-handed.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:35 am

Everyone is born equal!

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 11:48 pm

from: http://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/36380/how-can-i-find-my-followers-skills-and-stats

All followers have different stats that are determined by their level. Their level is fixed as soon as you enter the zone and the NPC is loaded. Once that happens, you cannot change their proficiencies without the console.

To find out exactly what the stats of the follower has, you have to perform a series of console commands:

Move up to the NPC you want to query.
Open up the console and click on them. There should be a small text string that shows up in the console, that is their unique ID.
Start querying their stats via the command getav. For example:
getav health shows you their health
getav sneak shows you their sneak ability
You can use the command: showinventory to see what their default armors are, even if it doesn't show up when you ask them to open their inventory in the dialog menu.
If you ever wish to 'level up' your follower since you have leveled after meeting them:

Remove all gear from their inventory (at least ones that you don't want to be blown away.)
Select them via the console again
use the console command: disable
use the console command: enable
After this, the follower should be scaled to what your character's level is.

On top of that, most npcs (including followers) are hard level capped at 30, 40, or 50. J'zargo is unique in that he has no cap (there may be others, but he is confirmed). He still, however, suffers from the skills bug. The only workaround for it is to disable/enable.

Eventually a mod will fix it, because if Bethesda tries to fix it, our followers will start running backwards and die in 2 seconds because of their -100% magic resistance.

» Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:12 pm

The UESP wiki is now saying, "Follower's level continues to increase along with the players levels, whether they travel with you or not," whereas previously it gave information similar to that quoted by Flounder. Possibly this issue has now been fixed. Incidentally, the answer to the original question would appear to be that Lydia is level capped at 50, while Uthgerd the Unbroken (the lady in the inn) is level capped at 30, so Lydia is stronger for characters above level 30.