The Elder Scrolls Online Introduces New Companion, Isobel Veloise, Coming With High Isle | MMORPG.co

System · April 2022

The Elder Scrolls Online Introduces New Companion, Isobel Veloise, Coming With High Isle | MMORPG.com

Companions first arrived in Tamriel with last year's Blackwood chapter, and with this year's High Isle, the Elder Scrolls Online is adding even more. The team at ZeniMax Online Studios laid out a bit of information for one of those companions, Isobel, coming with the chapter update.

Read the full story here

Scot · April 2022

""Describes Isobel as "dedicated, fearless, and kind".""

Kindness. just what the world has always looked for in a knight, a barbarian, a dockworker, you name it as long as they are kind.

Alpius · April 2022

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

Scot · April 2022

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

That is the history of MMOs since WoW came out, ever easier. It often gets done as a "quality of life" change or some such nonsense. The games become less satisfying because you feel you are achieving less and the studios box themselves in design wise. The only next step you can take after making a game element easier is to make it even more easier, it is a race to the bottom.

Iselin · April 2022

I've played a bit on the PTS lately specifically to check out the new companions. I find Isobel kind of dull and just too lawful good for my taste.

Ember, OTOH, is IMO the best companion personality they've done with an interesting background, funny dialogue with great voice acting, and best of all, she's a chaotic good Khajiit.

She's made to cater to those who are not above sneaking around and looting locked strongboxes, pickpocketing or doing thieves' guild dailies. Her rapport with you even increases when you are caught by a guard and chose to flee and do it successfully

I'm currently leveling a thief, something I've neglected to do until now in ESO, just to have a character that is ultra compatible with her. That's not something you need to do since you can increase rapport with her as a less dodgy character, but it'll be more fun with that one I think.

Like all companions you can gear them and spec them to be any kind of build but Isobel's default is a melee templar and Ember's is a lightning sorc.

On a side note, it's good they've kept companions out of the cash shop which given ZOS' track record, is not something I expected.

KaliGold · April 2022

Nice to see ESO do something different and add companions.

They need a more interesting mount system, new 5-player dungeons AND a complex boat crafting system. So much water in the game and players cant do anything with it.

Iselin · April 2022

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

They are not powerful enough to make much of a difference. The pets from pet classes like the sorc and warden are much more powerful than the companions.

They are more about RP fluff than power. You're not even allowed to use them in difficult solo content like the two solo arenas. neither in normal nor vet mode. That's a clue that their purpose is not really to make you more powerful.

Scot · April 2022

Iselin said:

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

They are not powerful enough to make much of a difference. The pets from pet classes like the sorc and warden are much more powerful than the companions.

They are more about RP fluff than power. You're not even allowed to use them in difficult solo content like the two solo arenas. neither in normal nor vet mode. That's a clue that their purpose is not really to make you more powerful.

I had not realised this, that's good. But if they change them they will only get tougher of course, as soloing everything is the direction every MMO goes in.

Also I think your priorities are all wrong, the companion to go for is best babe, if she's a goody two shoes so be it.

Iselin · April 2022

Scot said:

Iselin said:

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

They are not powerful enough to make much of a difference. The pets from pet classes like the sorc and warden are much more powerful than the companions.

They are more about RP fluff than power. You're not even allowed to use them in difficult solo content like the two solo arenas. neither in normal nor vet mode. That's a clue that their purpose is not really to make you more powerful.

I had not realised this, that's good. But if they change them they will only get tougher of course, as soloing everything is the direction every MMO goes in.

There's no need to make them more powerful since there are already solo-focused Mythic items you get through the Antiquities system that do that for solo play. There's a ring, the Ring of the Pale Order that is relatively easy to get once you level up antiquities that gives you 20% healing off damage done. Any high damage build gets more than enough healing from that,

The downside of it is that the when you wear it no one can heal you other than yourself and it goes down by 5% per group mate and that includes companion. If you have one with you, you only get 15% healing from damage.

That's what I use for soloing world bosses, group dungeons and solo arenas with my companion dismissed.

Still... some people whine in the ESO forums about needing to buff companions but then, they whine about everything there

Scot · April 2022

Iselin said:

Scot said:

Iselin said:

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

They are not powerful enough to make much of a difference. The pets from pet classes like the sorc and warden are much more powerful than the companions.

They are more about RP fluff than power. You're not even allowed to use them in difficult solo content like the two solo arenas. neither in normal nor vet mode. That's a clue that their purpose is not really to make you more powerful.

I had not realised this, that's good. But if they change them they will only get tougher of course, as soloing everything is the direction every MMO goes in.

There's no need to make them more powerful since there are already solo-focused Mythic items you get through the Antiquities system that do that for solo play. There's a ring, the Ring of the Pale Order that is relatively easy to get once you level up antiquities that gives you 20% healing off damage done. Any high damage build gets more than enough healing from that,

The downside of it is that the when you wear it no one can heal you other than yourself and it goes down by 5% per group mate and that includes companion. If you have one with you, you only get 15% healing from damage.

That's what I use for soloing world bosses, group dungeons and solo arenas with my companion dismissed.

Still... some people whine in the ESO forums about needing to buff companions but then, they whine about everything there

The problem for developers is that players constantly ask for the game to be easier, that is a tide they have to stand against which will never stop coming in. That direction of travel has allowed Dark Souls and Souls like games to become a phenomenon. If DS had released in say 1998 players would have just added it to the list of other difficult games out there.

I think the only way this can be balanced is if developers always add some difficulty somewhere whenever they take it away. That would be a truly horrendous exercise to get right and could build in unforeseen problems. Or they could add content at higher levels of difficulty, but that's expensive. It is a conundrum.

Well at least we never whine about anything on here.

flippingeck · April 2022

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

Yeah I agree . But I tailor the experience to suit myself . I don't wear any armor with the character I use for questing and I am very selective about where I put my skill points so as not to make my character too powerful . This makes questing far more difficult . I often have to use a potion to renew my health when taking on three mobs and if its an elite I have to be very careful . Not a perfect solution but it makes the game far more enjoyable for me while questing .

I have a separate character to do group content which I keep fully geared . I am not at the point where this character is very advanced in champion points and I find its quite a regular thing to wipe on some of the last bosses on the advanced mode dungeons .

Anyway it works for me but I kind of wish sometimes MMO's had a difficulty level setting similar to the one Lotro has introduced on its progression servers .

Scot · April 2022

flippingeck said:

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

Yeah I agree . But I tailor the experience to suit myself . I don't wear any armor with the character I use for questing and I am very selective about where I put my skill points so as not to make my character too powerful . This makes questing far more difficult . I often have to use a potion to renew my health when taking on three mobs and if its an elite I have to be very careful . Not a perfect solution but it makes the game far more enjoyable for me while questing .

I have a separate character to do group content which I keep fully geared . I am not at the point where this character is very advanced in champion points and I find its quite a regular thing to wipe on some of the last bosses on the advanced mode dungeons .

Anyway it works for me but I kind of wish sometimes MMO's had a difficulty level setting similar to the one Lotro has introduced on its progression servers .

Welcome to the forums!

Sovrath · April 2022

Iselin said:

I've played a bit on the PTS lately specifically to check out the new companions. I find Isobel kind of dull and just too lawful good for my taste.

I've always liked "lawful good" characters (no suprise there) but it's a shame the writers didn't do anything with her to make her less dull.

There can be a lawful good character with personality that, say, just gives the player a hard time while rolling their eyes.

It could have been very funny.

Iselin · April 2022

Sovrath said:

Iselin said:

I've played a bit on the PTS lately specifically to check out the new companions. I find Isobel kind of dull and just too lawful good for my taste.

I've always liked "lawful good" characters (no suprise there) but it's a shame the writers didn't do anything with her to make her less dull.

There can be a lawful good character with personality that, say, just gives the player a hard time while rolling their eyes.

It could have been very funny.

She's not THAT bad. She has some good lines and is pleasant enough. It's the contrast with the way they did Ember, the street kid sorcerer, where IMO, they just knocked it out of the park story and personality wise.

Companions in ESO have personal quests that you unlock by gaining rapport with them, similar to the way many other RPGs do it. On the test server they give you a rapport boosting item just so we can test those quests without grinding the rapport for weeks. (I did find a few bugs there and reported them.)

Spoilers about their personal quests below:

I did both of their story quest lines (multiple quests for each) and Isobel's was kind of pathetic helping her childhood love interest who is now her BFF, while Ember's was very engaging tracking down and rescuing her old crew, all of whom are interesting characters in their own right.

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ashiru_1978 · May 2022

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

It doesn't make any sense or have any appeal for a normal MMORPG player, but for ESO players it does. They are very casual and some even think that the game is already challenging as it is. They are the epitome of consumerism - they just love buying pets, costumes, houses and showing them off on Reddit and the forums for likes. That's the kind of audience that plays ESO and the developers know that very well and are milking it.

It started around 2014-2015 when all the Skyrim babies went to ESO and got their butts kicked by literally everything, because they were playing on Easy with mods that made it even easier or "tgm", who knows and ESO had some challenge - you had to know your class, your abilities, your strengths and weaknesses and how to pull mobs smartly, but they did not - they went in like Rambo and got murdered, started crying on the forums (you can see the threads in history:

"eso is too hard/game is too difficult/not fun because too hard/not as easy/fun as skyrim because too hard"

and eventually ZOS made it easier, removed levels and made everything scale. Before that even the combat felt good, because there was a challenge, but when the challenge was removed, everyone saw how piss poor the combat was. All the real MMORPG players left and only the casual consumers left, just watch them on Twitch - they are completely clueless and have absolutely no idea how to play the game and are still excelling at it, because it's so easy.

Sainguin · May 2022

ashiru_1978 said:

Alpius said:

I really dont understand the appeal of companions in this game. Nearly everything is already mind numbingly easy, why does it seem that everyone wants to make it even easier?

It doesn't make any sense or have any appeal for a normal MMORPG player, but for ESO players it does. They are very casual and some even think that the game is already challenging as it is. They are the epitome of consumerism - they just love buying pets, costumes, houses and showing them off on Reddit and the forums for likes. That's the kind of audience that plays ESO and the developers know that very well and are milking it.

It started around 2014-2015 when all the Skyrim babies went to ESO and got their butts kicked by literally everything, because they were playing on Easy with mods that made it even easier or "tgm", who knows and ESO had some challenge - you had to know your class, your abilities, your strengths and weaknesses and how to pull mobs smartly, but they did not - they went in like Rambo and got murdered, started crying on the forums (you can see the threads in history:

"eso is too hard/game is too difficult/not fun because too hard/not as easy/fun as skyrim because too hard"

and eventually ZOS made it easier, removed levels and made everything scale. Before that even the combat felt good, because there was a challenge, but when the challenge was removed, everyone saw how piss poor the combat was. All the real MMORPG players left and only the casual consumers left, just watch them on Twitch - they are completely clueless and have absolutely no idea how to play the game and are still excelling at it, because it's so easy.

I haven't posted in years and just logged in cause of this comment.

My dude, you take video games as a whole way too seriously. You really need to take a step back, get some perspective on video games as entertainment/hobby, and then figure out where you went wrong.

tl;dr: it's a video game, calm down

Uwakionna · May 2022

I still need a companion that doesn't mind when I vamp-out on civilians.
Bastian and Mirri were both rather vocal against that hobby.

Iselin · May 2022

Uwakionna said:

I still need a companion that doesn't mind when I vamp-out on civilians.
Bastian and Mirri were both rather vocal against that hobby.

Haven't played as a vamp with Ember but if any of them can shrug it off it would be she. My only doubt is because of the civilian part: she identifies strongly with the "little people."

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