Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Companions Details Revealed
MikeB
Community ManagerAdministrator RarePosts: 6,555
The full details of Star Wars: The Old Republic's companions feature are set to be revealed on the game's official website as part of tomorrow's Friday Update, but if you can't wait till then, IGN has a preview of tomorrow's reveal along with a short interview with SW:TOR's lead designer James Ohlen.
Much like Bioware's other RPG games, companions will tag along with you with all sorts of motivations, ranging from those who are simply loyal to the all mighty credit to those who are simply looking for adventure, and they'll consist of everything from "bizzare alien races" to droids, with each class to feature their own unique companion selection.
Again, just like the previous Bioware games such as Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and of course Knights of the Old Republic, companions will offer their own commentary during dialogue scenes and even try to influence you (as well as be open to influence themselves), there will even be opportunities to romance your companions, and some may actually choose to abandon you and become your enemy.
Below, James Ohlen describes how companions will affect a player's experience in Star Wars: The Old Republic:
IGNPC: Can you give us a few specific examples of how companions might impact a particular player's experience?
James Ohlen: Companion characters have a significant impact on the player's experience. They are integral to the player's storyline. They interject during conversation to give the player their view on things. They give commentary as the player explores the world. They are an important part of combat, providing extra DPS, healing, tanking abilities or even crowd control.
Be sure to read the full interview and get all details over at IGN.
[Thanks spookydom for the tip!]
Comments
Romancing the Droid?
"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse." - Henry Ford
I don't like RvR faction games (I assume SW:ToR will be one), but I love BioWare games. With this addition, I might as well give SW:ToR a try. MMOs where your companions can actually influence you, and thus (I guess) your standing in the force? This is awesome!
Don't think they meant Droid for the romance (have the Futurama Dating a Robot lunch special running through my head now, thanks...) Awesome, I plan on playing a JK which is suppoed to be more of a tank class (Tank or DPS) so hopefully get my hands on a healer companion to complement my tanking ^_^ as not many like to play a healer.
Why not? Xizor did.
So basically everyone will have NPC's to use and therefore wont need other players to group with which will turn swtor into a single player game with chat channels. Also, as far as a variety of NPC companions, you know just about every male player will just bring a slave princess companion wherever he goes.
Warp
But like I said, personally I think the companion system is cool. After all, who doesn't want their own Driod???
"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse." - Henry Ford
Well, I'm hoping to at least provided that she doesn't have any say.
I bet she has say though.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
It's all about the droid for me!!! It can hold my light sabre, AND if I get the right model, I can rest my beer on it's head while I fight enemies and not spill a drop!!!
"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse." - Henry Ford
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
But I thought people like you said there was only going to be voice acting and nothing else at all! Also, no one ever plays MMO's for the social aspect anymore, so this quoted post must be 143.235% right!
Oh, It also mentions that you can select from different types of companions to "Help out your group the most"...
That sounds like a single player quote to me dot dot dot
But again, since certain people know more then what is released, I guess I shouldn't post.
Do the people who do these interviews actually play games?
I find it hard to believe the most important question wasnt asked.
"If each set of companions are unique to each class, how wide is the varitey between them? Is there enough companion diversity were mostly everyone will have their own unique looking companion, or will it end up being like A typical MMO at endgame where every class has a best companion for each situation?"
This is a feature i want to look into but if every jedi is running around with a mirrior image apprentice or driod then id rather not have the feature at all.
Quotations Those Who make peaceful resolutions impossible, make violent resolutions inevitable. John F. Kennedy
Life... is the shit that happens while you wait for moments that never come - Lester Freeman
Lie to no one. If there 's somebody close to you, you'll ruin it with a lie. If they're a stranger, who the fuck are they you gotta lie to them? - Willy Nelson
You will be limited to one companion at a time, and I am sure in many respects human players will be a lot more intelligent then the companions. But instead of being sardonic about it, step back and think of it this way. You have a group full of people ready to go except for a healer, you don't need a hardcore healer, just a healer to pick up the slack... but you can't find one (how many times has this happened? LOTS) So someone adds their medic companion to the group, now the group is complete and good to go, not still waiting around for a healer they will probably never find.
This can either be a good thing or a very bad thing... I like the idea of having a companion droid as like a pet or something to that effect.. But If they are to powerful and reduces the need of a group 85% of your gaming life, then I believe this will be very bad..
I don't want TOR to be a solo grind Online Role Playing Game with chat channels.. Where is the MMOG in that?
It's already starting to look like a rollercoaster ride game similar to what WAR and AoC is.. The companion idea is starting to make me believe you will only need a group during end game raids, "if that will be in the game at launch."
Getting a little worried over this....
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
Especially if it's good beer.
edit: As far as people's concerns over the whole "group/solo" thing, they are spending a lot of money and time on a party conversation mechanic.
So why wouldn't grouping be enouraged?
As long as the rewards for grouping and soloing are kept the same (along with xp) then groupers should have no issues with finding other groupers and having at it.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Nothing like a good beer dispenser on wheels which can also provide light conversation. But on a side note it's most likely these companions will just be like a WoW Hunter or Warlock pet.
"Not meaning to anger anyone with this thread, though I know in these forums its quite impossible. You can say "I enjoy vanilla ice cream" and still have 50 posts of angry, hot-tempered people who have nothing better to do than argue with you." - Dirkzen
lets hope not
"HK-47 - Definition: 'Love' is making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope... Love is knowing your target, putting them in your targeting reticule, and together, achieving a singular purpose against statistically long odds."
anyway another interesting feature, if as interesting as in kotor/mass effect/dragon origins then Im all for it.. so long as theres a great output.. would suck having everyone getting the same guy/girl/hk47
So basically what you are doing is taking released information, extrapolating to theorize on the entire game based on some information and having a 2 year old fit about the incomplete (and most likely incorrect) conclusion that you came to?
It's amazing how many people take every single piece of information and immediately think how bad it can make the game based on face value of the text, rather than actually stop and think as to how something like this might actually BENEFIT a multi player game.
Somebody already posted about lack of a healer for a group.. 1-2 companion healers, problem solved.
What about extra umph for farming? I tend to play tanks, so being able to take a little healer with me when I'm out and about just trying to make some extra cash is sure welcome, and by no means some great violation of an unwritten MMO rule.
What about things that don't require a full group but maybe 1-2 people plus a companion or two can hammer out just fine?
Based on BioWares history of success with RPG's, once this game goes live, people are going to be way too busy having fun playing it to complain.
The way some of you people here complain, I doubt you could satisfy your needs even if you wrote the MMO yourself.. You'd still complain about it.
"If I'd asked my customers what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse." - Henry Ford
sounds painful
Here's to hoping they're not going to be interjecting every single opinion they have while I'm trying to converse with a quest giver.
/points at Dragon Age and Mass Effect
You can't encourage both. You are either grouped or playing solo. Anything that encourages soloing (and these pets certainly do that) will discourage grouping.
If they just wanted them to fill in a role slot in a group you could make them usable only in a group.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Since we don't know exactly how powerful these companions are in combat, we don't know how much they'll help soloers. What if your "healbot" only had 2 mediocre heals with cooldowns of 30 seconds each? Wouldn't do a hell of alot. If they perform anything like Skirmish soldiers in LotRO, all they're good for is 1) dying or 2) doing a little bit of damage before dying. Given the emphasis on developing companions as well, I doubt they'll be that weak, but it's still possible.
I see it as a constant multiplier, which means that it has no value on its own. Five people group in a traditional MMO, five people and their companions group in TOR. The company of the other MMO will balance for five people, BioWare will balance for five people and their companions so that the level of difficulty is the same. Furthermore, given the diversity of the companions' abilities, we may see new strategies and - GASP - teamwork opportunities arising.
I'm sure, to some extent, the companions will encourage soloing, yes. But don't go crying doom n' gloom for grouping in TOR yet.
Why would having a companion be a concern. Bioware has already stated that you will only be able to have only one companion out at a time. So It really is just an extra tool that can be used or not be used depending on your particular playing style. If you're a big solo lone wolf type, you will have a companion to help. The people that loves to group and play with others won't have to use it, even though it will come in handy when playing at odd hours and you just feel like doing some stuff alone.
From what we've seen grouping yields increased rewards vs soloing. Reason enough right there to group even if solo is an option.
Alltern8 Blog | Star Wars Space Combat and The Old Republic | Cryptic Studios - A Pre Post-Mortem | Klingon Preview, STO's Monster Play
I agree this has the possibility of encouraging soloing for some, but as someone else pointed out an NPC companion controlled by AI doesn't compare to having another actual player with you, especially good players who youre used to grouping with.
Other games have used similar systems in the past, and strangely those games seemed to have more people trying to group than in games ive played where you dont have companions yet everyone still tries to solo. It's really up to the player, if they want to solo, theyre going to solo regardless of if they have companions or not.
The devs have already stated that a) you will get more xp in groups and b) while you can solo your way through the game, there will be alot you will miss if you dont group. Sounds alot like they are trying to encourage grouping to me.....