I Think skyrim would be Cooler with them,But thats only My Opinion.(Just Bet that People are Gonna Hate For This.)

They've said there will be more companions than fallout 3, but they probably won't have the same amount of depth and background.

Companions are in Skyrim. However, there will be more variety and choice in choosing companions instead of actual depth in terms of personality to companion characters.

Ah,I never Knew That.I Guess this Thread Is Useless Now...Unless People want to post their Ideas for Companions here.

I've always preferred to explore by myself in TES games,but having a companion like FNV's might be fun.

It really depends on your playstyle to determine if Companions are any good.

If you charge into battle head-on, companions are good for additional firepower.

But if you play a stealth character like me, companions would just get in the way. At best I would just tell them to wait for me at the exit of a dungeon and help me carry stuff, much like how I used Companions in Fallout 1 and 2.

Companions in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas just annoyed me. I thought they were cool at first but ended up getting in my way and irritating me with their repetitive banter. I'd want them in as "true companions" if they were scripted incredibly well and had a full data-bank of dialog. Since that would be incredibly difficult I'm glad they'll just be hired companions..... as long as I can chose not to hire them. I imagine they'll be similar to hired companions in Diablo 2, but with a tendency to walk right into your blizzard spell, and die.

So Mass Effect companions.

Exactly. They won't have the depth of BioWare companions. They also likely won't have the depth of New Vegas companions either. BGS is going for a different kind of companion and feel for the game. There is only one Dragonborn after all.

I think he was mocking Mass Effect for it's supposedly shallow companions in comparison to earlier BioWare games.

i would like hire able mercenaries that would be pretty cool

No. I find them an annoying distraction.

I think we all have to agree they do make good pack mules.

I'd give up anytime the numbers for deeper backstories and personal quest lines.

"Dog Meat" or as I like to call him "Cannon Fodda".

Companions used to annoy the heck out of me in FO3 and NV. Far too much micro managing going on with them to make them worth it IMO.
That said, you were not forced to ally with them and I hope that will be the same for Skyrim, so yes they should be in for people who want them.

I wonder if you'll get to recruit an army. I remember a Morrowind mod that let me hire up a contingent of guards and servants for my mod mobile fortress, and a cadre of personal body guard bowmen, it was pretty awesome.

It's not about how many or how deep their story is, if they act like idiots in a combat/stealth situation.

I always used to say I work alone, but having only recently played FO:NV, I spent most of the game with Rose of Sharon, and it added a lot to the RPing, she felt more like a drinking buddy than a hired gun. If there are one or two companions with a small bit of depth and backstory, I will remain open minded, but if they are all generic hired swordsmen/archers/battlemages/torch bearers, then no thanks, want all that glory to myself.

Good. I disliked getting stuck with those things in FO3 & OB, and avoided it. But in FO:NV they had so much stuff attached to them (quests, lore, etc) that I felt forced to take them even though I didn't want to. Shallow companions are much easier to ignore.


(Companions.... it's like an escort quest that never ends! :banghead:)

Whoever said that Mass Effect has shallow companions? :huh: It boggles the mind.

Deeper companions would be nice, but quite frankly? Bethesda has always kinda svcked at creating companions.

See, Bioware's games use their characters to tell the overarching story, necessitating the kind of personality depth that their characters are known for -- especially in Dragon Age and, to a lesser degree, its successor. Bethesda has historically focused on telling lesser stories through the world and its lore, while enabling the player to explore and make up their own story on the side. Bioware = people-based, Bethesda = world-based. These methods each have their pros and cons. Bioware tells a better story but constricts you, Bethesda gives you a large amount of free will and choice with less story. I love the RPGs made by both companies, but it's not really possible to combine the two and do both well -- at least, it's certainly not been done to date.

Bethesda has other priorities than further developing the personalities of it's companions. They would probably do it badly, and in doing so, they'd have less time to spend on ensuring that the player has the choices and opportunities that you expect from an Elder Scrolls game.

And that is why for a game like this, traveling with companions should be optional, not mandatory, and the game should be designed so that it can still be playable without companions, obviously, using them could make it easier, but it should be designed so that it's meant to be played with or without them, contrary to party based games, like the ones Bioware is prone to making, where having a full party can be essential for survival. As long as companions are fully optional in Skyrim, I think they will be a nice addition, although I probably would have preferred more of a quality over quantity approach with them.

The problem in Fallout 3 and even NV to a degree, was that the companions died so easily. Especially the dog. I got him to join me, I walked up the river a bit more then he's killed by supermutants. Pointless. They always charge headlong into a mass of enemies, either that or they keep getting in the way of my field of fire. Same thing in oblivion. Guess there must be some mods around that fixed it a bit, but didn't bother looking.

I miss Dogmeat. :sadvaultboy: Maybe I can get a more Nordic version to compensate......Bearmeat? :turtle:

when i read the thing about hiring i was also thinking about diablo 2
i rarely used a companion in that game kuz they kinda svcked...