Why are companions so ridiculously overpowered? : V - Skyrim

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:21 am

You think she's over powered? Wait until you get

Spoiler

Call of Valor

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:36 am

Lydia is supposed to be your bodyguard! She can't very well be a bodyguard if she's a newborn kitten compared to you now can she?

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:15 am

I had the exact opposite experience with Lydia. I got her a while ago and she just sat around my house forever. Then I decided that I would have her tag along to carry things for me if my inventory got full, so I made her a full set of dragonbone armor and gave her an enchanted weapon. We got to the bandit cave and 1 fireball cast by me at a bandit later, she was dead on the floor and I was trying to figure out how to carry all the stuff I just made for her back to my house. So she was even less than worthless for me.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:25 am

To be fair it is even on "Normal".

The first actual Companion Faction Quest is impossible for a low level character even with a companion.

There are many creatures that will stomp you flat and others that will stomp you and your companion flat as well.

Remember Lydia is more powerful because you have already adjusted the game settings before even trying them on normal.

If you dismiss her she will wait for you in the Jarl's Hall or if you have your house in Winterun she will wait there.

I do understand your complaint but the question you need to answer is "What are you going to do about it"?

I reckon you are looking at:

- Change difficulty to normal.

- Dismiss your companion.

- Keep playing as you are.

Certainly it's not worth throwing in the towel over.

Bethesda have been making games for a very long time and before you discount something just because it wasn't the way you would have done it you may be pleasantly surprised if you actually stick with it and give it a go.

Azrael
The Nord with the Sword

It sounds like companions don't get much stronger while you get multiple times stronger as you level, so fair enough. I guess I'll just not use her for now because when you're low level she is broken powerful. It's a shame because I was looking forward to having a companion fighting with me when I got her but I guess it'll have to wait.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:22 pm

I have the exact opposite problem. Lydia constantly dies. It's extremely annoying.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:55 am

I had the exact opposite experience with Lydia. I got her a while ago and she just sat around my house forever. Then I decided that I would have her tag along to carry things for me if my inventory got full, so I made her a full set of dragonbone armor and gave her an enchanted weapon. We got to the bandit cave and 1 fireball cast by me at a bandit later, she was dead on the floor and I was trying to figure out how to carry all the stuff I just made for her back to my house. So she was even less than worthless for me.

That's because while she does level with you-her stats do not change from when you first met her. So if you met her at level 10-she will have the stats of a level ten, You need to use the console to get her to where she should be stat wise. This is the case with all companions. Their stats are static from the moment you enter the cell the first time you encounter them. Thats why there are posts saying they are strong and others saying they are so weak.

This is a known bug and hopefully gets fixed in the next patch.

I tested the console workaround and it does fix the problem. If you want to fix her do the following.

1. Dismiss her
2. open the console
3. make sure she is selected and type "disable"
4. then type "enable"
5. invite her back

Now any companion will have their stats recalculated to match the current (your) level.

Until this is patched its a viable, if not annoying workaround.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:33 pm

That's because while she does level with you-her stats do not change from when you first met her. So if you met her at level 10-she will have the stats of a level ten, You need to use the console to get her to where she should be stat wise. This is the case with all companions. Their stats are static from the moment you enter the cell the first time you encounter them. Thats why there are posts saying they are strong and others saying they are so weak.

This is a known bug and hopefully gets fixed in the next patch.

I tested the console workaround and it does fix the problem. If you want to fix her do the following.

1. Dismiss her
2. open the console
3. make sure she is selected and type "disable"
4. then type "enable"
5. invite her back

Now any companion will have their stats recalculated to match the current (your) level.

Until this is patched its a viable, if not annoying workaround.

Annoying yes, but at least it's there. So given this option, for someone that wants their hireling to be scaled down, would lowering the difficulty and then using this console fix work to effectively nerf them?

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 6:47 pm

I like the power of the companions to be honest. As a Spellsword, I have times between my charged spells. And they help keep mobs off of me.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:23 am

If they are overpowered in some way, perhaps it's to balance their hilarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTMwjYgJsFQ... repeatedly. :rofl: That may be my favorite skyrim video to date

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:54 pm

If they are overpowered in some way, perhaps it's to balance their hilarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTMwjYgJsFQ... repeatedly. :rofl: That may be my favorite skyrim video to date

Lydia did that too. But to both of us. Ygnol Barrow. I saw the plate and stepped around, but no Lydia had to step on it. Multiple times.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:11 pm

Playing on my Master playthrough.

At lower levels, Lydia seemed to be able to soak up loads punishment, but I've now got to a point where in every fight she seems to get knocked down in about 3 hits by a bear or sabre cat.

The only reason I keep her around is to carry loot, plus she can serve as a useful distraction for enemies giving me vital seconds to conjure/cast.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:59 am

If they are overpowered in some way, perhaps it's to balance their hilarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTMwjYgJsFQ... repeatedly. :rofl: That may be my favorite skyrim video to date

Pressure plates nothing, try playing with companions as an Archer. :shakehead:

:gun: :dead: :mage:

:facepalm: :banghead:

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:06 am

Annoying yes, but at least it's there. So given this option, for someone that wants their hireling to be scaled down, would lowering the difficulty and then using this console fix work to effectively nerf them?

No it won't, because HP and DPS vary according to the slider. (DPS is really damage rather than damage per second, but I'm using it for shorthand.)

If you're on master, DPS & HP (especially HP) stats are high for enemies, summons, and companions. If you're on easy, DPS & HP stats are low for all of them. You can't gimp your companion without gimping the whole game.

The console fix works to make a companion tougher (to catch up to you), not to nerf them.

Wait for mods, or don't use companions. Or maybe get a mage or somebody who's more fragile.

I've been in situations where Lydia, Joris, and Mjoll are near death, but it's rare, and usually only during boss fights, or with a large number of tough enemies.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:17 am

Why all these threads about this or that being "overpowered" or "underpowered" on Master level??? The game is not supposed to be balanced for Master level. It is supposed to be balanced for Adept (default). If you think Lydia is powerful on master level then it's not lame, in my opinion -- simply continue the game without a companion. And at Master level Lydia may not be overpowered to other enemies, it's appears that Master difficulty seriously unbalances the game against your character, including with you companion.

That's because while she does level with you-her stats do not change from when you first met her. ...

In my game Lydia levels with my character. I know because I've checked her level on the PC with the console. when my character was level 9 she was level 9. Now that my character is level 12 she is also level 12. I know the wiki says that she doesn't level but in my game she does. Maybe that was changed on the PC with with the release day patch? But in any case that is what my console commands tell me. I've also checked her stats, like health or blocking, and they are increasing too.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:52 pm

Companions are really just a cleverly disguised hand-holding feature.

Actually, companions are an integral part of the RPG experience that has been missing from TES until now. In fact, Skyrim doesn't let you have enough followers at one time: you need to have a party of at least four if you want to call yourself an Adventurer/Hero.

And the difficulty doesn't change enemy HP or damage output: It modifies the damage you deal, and the damage you are dealt. Lydia's overpowered because her stats are nearly identical to yours, but your attacks against her are nerfed, while the damage you take is multiplied.

Against monsters, she does the same damage she'd deal on Adept difficulty.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:45 pm

Noob question ... How do you rez companions if you are not a healer? Is there a resurrection scroll you can buy?

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:24 pm

Solution (PC):

1. Open console
2. Target companion
3. type 'removeallitems"
4. then give them crappy weapon and crappy armor

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:57 pm

yeah its cuz ur a milk drinker lvl 38 ill take on dragonlord lydias dies everytime

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:09 pm

Really?
Here, Lydia got one shot owned by a draugr scourge... lol

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:11 pm

Well, hearing some of your comments has me hopeful that this is a temporary problem in the early parts of the game. Hopefully as I get higher-level companions will just be marginal backup and support. Right now I'm pretty much Lydia's child.

Companions scale just like summons when you up the difficulty. She may as well be considered a level 30 character when you first get her on Master. If you keep her the entire time, you should *eventually* surpass her, but not for a very long time. Don't give her better gear either.

Also, hirelings/companions are your character level when you first meet them. Or at least that's how they are on Adept, so Lydia will svck later on, but then if you meet someone new and hire them, they will be MUCH stronger than she was. I don't know how they would scale this on Master, but if it's YOUR_LEVEL*DIFFICULTY_MODIFIER then you will probably end up right back to where you started.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:45 am

Again: She's actually equal to you. Unfortunately, your damage dealt gets run through a nerf-filter before it's applied to her, and her damage to you gets run through an amplifier before it's applied to you. That's how difficulty works in TES games.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:48 pm

I want the game to be a grating challenge, though.

If it were a normal enemy with 1000x my hp and damage I wouldn't care, but turning my companions into godless unstoppable killing machines is the opposite of what I wanted when I chose master difficulty. Having companions is fun and I want to use one, so just not playing with one isn't an option either. Maybe I'll take her sword and shield away and make her use her fists or something, but I don't get why bethesda would design companions to be so powerful they take all the challenge out of master.

You could try using a different follower, the housecarls (Lydia in particular) are the strongest followers you can have in the game. Go hire a mercenary or pick up Sven from RIverwood, both are very weak.

As someone else said, followers do not level with you, they have static level ranges so the higher you move up the ladder the less effective they become and the more effective your character becomes.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:51 pm

They're always weak or just strong enough for me, no idea what you're going on about

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 1:11 pm

And the difficulty doesn't change enemy HP or damage output: It modifies the damage you deal, and the damage you are dealt. Lydia's overpowered because her stats are nearly identical to yours, but your attacks against her are nerfed, while the damage you take is multiplied.

Against monsters, she does the same damage she'd deal on Adept difficulty.

You're right. (sorry about the misinformation) I was sure it effected HP as well, because of the number of hits it takes to kill an unarmored witch with no wards on master (with a char in the teen levels). Weird.

I can't wait to look in the CK and see the settings, because some of the stats are obviously crazy.

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 10:40 pm

That's because while she does level with you-her stats do not change from when you first met her. So if you met her at level 10-she will have the stats of a level ten, You need to use the console to get her to where she should be stat wise. This is the case with all companions. Their stats are static from the moment you enter the cell the first time you encounter them. Thats why there are posts saying they are strong and others saying they are so weak.

I'm not sure you are correct.

This might be applicable to certain loot in "Oblivion" but I don't think it applies to "Skyrim".

Janessa (the Dark Elf Mercenary you meet in the Drunken Huntsman in Whiterun) has followed me through giants, mammoths and dragons and I met her BEFORE I met Lydia.

I think if you delve into any game stats too deeply you're going to ruin your experience because you'll find yourself second guessing everything for the sake of it.

Companions can be killed but more often than not will drop to one knee and recover for the simple reason that most people enjoy having their companion or they wouldn't have asked them along in the first place.

The answer is less time fretting and more time playing.

Azrael
The Nord with the Sword