I thought of this question when someone posted about how some games are just giving into silly marketing decisions and how it affects game play mechanics and experience

Here is a link to that post http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1527422-please-do-not-ruin-fallout-spirit/

Whether or not you agree or disagree with his opinion, it raised a question in my head and I'm curious how everyone else feels about this. So with that being said, do you guys think companions in F4 should be immortal?

Like previous times this topic has come up I personally welcome it, means I dont need to babysit them and can focus on the fun of exploration and discovery.

What he said

I think that they should be immortal solely because they will inevitably do something stupid and get themselves killed, and having them be immortal makes their stupidity stand out less.

My vote is I personally don't think they should be immortal, It's kind of giving you the win and takes the fear out of losing. It adds one big safety net for gamers and that ruins the illusion for my taste. I agree with you I hate baby sitting and I hate when they die, but that's the wasteland for you.

and if you are going to reload anyways at least you have that option if they aren't immortal. but for the people that want a more real/ironman experience, we can't change an option to turn it off...

actually that would be a great compromise. a setting in the options menu to turn immortality of companions on or off..... what do you guys think about that?

Definitely not, I want consistency in my gaming world and things that make sense.

There can be only one

at very least on lower diffculties they should be immortal maybe with an increasing chance of death up to 100% at hardcoe/impossible, in less there is a toggle for hardcoe mode like in FO: NV then keep it with that. I hate reloading cause A.I. had a moment and got itself killed. and I like companions storylines so I always reload if the die.

except you could easly have them become knocked out instead, gives a similar loss of support during combat, but if you pull through you can just keep going when they wake up, safetynet feeling solved.

yeah it seems that dumb AI mechanics are the sole reason most people want an immortal companion. I wonder how the results would be different if that factor didn't exists in F4

If I'm being honest about my own game play this is a great value. I save the game often and if a companion ever died in a fight or because of something buggy I would just reload from the last save point. With this option at least if I can get through the fight I can just keep playing without having to load up a save game. A welcome addition in my opinion.

yeah but it's still immortality. they get knocked out, then the player just hides until they wake back up. The player never has to retreat is the [censored] part. And if you leave the area your companion will instantly teleport to you. still ruins the experience and the feeling of mortality for me

Dogmeat in Fallout 3 cured me of any wish for a non-immortal dog companion.

It should be an option.

If I do my first playthrough I usually set them essential. This is to make sure I get as much out of the story as I can.

Also means Companion sidequests.

For any other playthrough I prefer them mortal. It adds some more depth to a hardcoe mode .

Yes. I don't have any confidence in their AI being any better from before.

I don't think it adds value but it saves me having to repeatedly reload when they do something stupid. Currently I have my companions wait in Goodsprings so they wont charge in to a mine field or the legion assassins and get killed while I'm trying to defuse/snipe them. Having them go down and need patching up so they get up with an injury and low health would help balance it out.

No. I mmortality makes companions indifferent and dulls the gameplay around them. It's cheap and it's boring.

the logic behind "it makes you reload anyway" is stupid. since when you die you also reload so what does that mean we have to be made immortal just so we can avoid having to reload?

I have mixed feelings, although I wouldn't say I'm indifferent.

I love companions and really do care about them enough to reload if they die, however I don't really want to the game to 'hold my hand' and make them immortal either.

What I do want is for them to have better AI so they don't need to be immortal. I would like them to fight with me, not for me. Let me take point and let them be backup in battles rather than them being the suicidal heroes they tend to be in Beth games.

"Yeah but it's still immortality. They get knocked out, then the player just hides until they wake back up. The player never has to retreat."

This. Having a companion shouldn't be a free boost to your DPS and an immortal meat shield with no drawbacks. Whenever I took on a companion in Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc, I was accepting a double edged sword; on the plus side, you're essentially doubling your damage and halving the amount of damage your character takes; on the down side, you're essentially accepting that there are now two ways to get sent back to last checkpoint; if you or if your companion dies. Removing all drawbacks to having a companion just seems to make the game way too easy in my opinion. And yes, the obvious counter argument is "well just reload checkpoint whenever they're knocked unconscious"- the issue is that you're no longer being forced to either reload or accept the loss of your companion. I can guarantee you there will be times when I'll have slogged through a hellhole of a dungeon, my companion will go down at the last minute, and I'll go "grah whatever, reloading is going to be too much of a pain." But I'll also feel like I cheated the dungeon, which will ultimately give me less of an enjoyable experience.

As many have already said, the solution to this whole issue is simple; instead of just having a "hardcoe mode,' give us all the different aspect of hardcoe mode as gameplay options, so I can just play with dehydration and companion mortality while my friend plays with just exhaustion and non-regenning health.

I practically always reload when a companion dies, so I am somewhat indifferent. I think having hardcoe mode and similarly having them be mortal with it enabled is a simple option.

They are knocked out in Fallout 3 / NV and Skyrim. In Skyrim they can die of friendly fire and traps nothing else.

An aggressive melee follower would have an short lifespan unless very OP.

Now an far more carious ranged follower might do well at least if skilled enough to avoid most traps (light step perk)

Using stimpacks but only then health get low, hanging back with you don't rush inn after enemies redraw to cover if under heavy fire or player redraw.

I think I should be able to have an option that I can turn on/off. Also, they need to not be too squishy when they can die.

I usually prefer immortal followers, but the option to choose is the only real option/solution.

As for people saying Companions make it too easy, it's not why I tend to have them. My Companions are there to carry my stuff 99% of the time. The main drawback is that Companions tend to svck at stealth, so I'll usually ditch them if I have a useful residence and my inventory sorted. Anybody using them to "make the game easier" is their choice (kinda need Fawkes later on to deal with the never-ending Deathclaws and Albinos Radscorpions), though I tend not to.

Indifferent, as I try to avoid companions if at all possible.

However, I ended up using them in FO:NV some, due to their attached quests. Which makes me want to say "Yes! Immortal!", because...

...holy god, did Veronica die constantly. I think she died on every single group of enemies in the final battle at the Dam, charging in at the Legion melee guys with her power fist. (and this was on Normal)

No. My 4 companions died at same time with a single rocket from a supermutant in fallout 1
Marcus always died in F2
Dogmeat in F3
In NV with diferents characters they all die in some point....

I like that way. If they die, its not the end of the world