Companion / Wanderer Stats in 1.6.1 : Misses the core problems

[anoddhermit]

I have ultimately found more "dud" companions after this change than before. I don't think this is the goal of the change.

What the changes does most noticeably is to give companions high attributes corresponding to their highest skills. This makes some sense, but results in many companions having very extreme attributes(more 1s and 10s, less in between). Companions aren't easy to level up and often getting perks you actually want means using "generalist" companions over high attribute ones.

I think first and foremost, the player should be able to pick a companion's perks. It is not interesting or fun, nor does it add any substantial challenge, to pick up a companion and find they took perks you don't want for the role you were hoping they would fill. It makes companions a chore to hire, dismiss, hire, dismiss until you find worthwhile ones. You can already pick your sibling's perks like this, and it's just a better experience.

Second, I think there should be more low level companions with more even spreads, to offer more flexible companion builds.

Third, some companion builds don't make a whole lot of sense the way their attributes and skills are organized in the first place. Having companions with focus points spent in Bow / Crossbow / Throwing for example is just a waste of potential, as you're not going to outfit them with more than one of these, let's get real here. And some companions with non-combat skills would be much better off with moderate attributes/focus points in a ranged skill than melee skills, as it's quite foolish to send your medic and trader in as melee or cavalry to die.

Fourth, if companions are to be as RNG as they are, maybe just add way more companions period. But we should be able to check their stats before hiring! This could be in addition to addressing the above, or just a way to just circumvent all of the hassle - if there were wanderers growing on trees it'd be less of an issue to have so many duds.

 

[Apocal]

Yeah, most of this is pretty much on point.

It might be more helpful to provide the suffixes which have je most screwed up stats though.

 

[Bannerman Man]

Something I've noticed that I don't believe I've ever seen mentioned is that companions (and I think npc lords too IIRC) have like 3 or 4 fewer attribute points and like 10 fewer focus points than the player does at an equivalent level. If that's not intentional, then maybe they should give them some or all of the missing points, but instead of applying them directly, leave them unused so that the player can allocate them as they see fit. That would help make companions more flexible and easier to level up, as well as give players an opportunity to steer them in a direction they want.

 

[Dabos37]

I really would love more customization options and control for companions because currently they feel pretty static. As people usually mention:

- Companions are really hard to level up. This is especially an issue in late game, because it is almost impossible to meet the quests requeriments for being completed by companions.
- Companions are usually behind elite troops in terms of battle performance. High tier equipment being extremely overpriced means that we cannot pay high tier equipment for our companions. Battle performance is mostly tied to equipment, and it is usually much more relevant than weapon skill. So, our companions always feels weaker than regular T5 and T6 units.

I personally would love to have some low level companions available, and being able to level up them and customize everything for them. This is something that I really love to do in Warband, and I feel it is totally missing in Bannerlord.

I think TW should changer its mind about the player could feel overwhelmed if give us more control. Characters, fiefs, clan, kingdom, et, customizations are one of the funniest things in videogames (think about crusader kings 3 which is all about this). Things like lacking messengers for recruiting clans and having to personally find lords are the things which should be addressed and could feel tiresome for the player, but giving us more customization options and more control is always welcome for the player.

 

[Askey]

Second, I think there should be more low level companions with more even spreads, to offer more flexible companion builds.

Was one of the main reasons I favoured Ymira in Warband.

 

[Spinozart1]

I have ultimately found more "dud" companions after this change than before. I don't think this is the goal of the change.

What the changes does most noticeably is to give companions high attributes corresponding to their highest skills. This makes some sense, but results in many companions having very extreme attributes(more 1s and 10s, less in between). Companions aren't easy to level up and often getting perks you actually want means using "generalist" companions over high attribute ones.

I think first and foremost, the player should be able to pick a companion's perks. It is not interesting or fun, nor does it add any substantial challenge, to pick up a companion and find they took perks you don't want for the role you were hoping they would fill. It makes companions a chore to hire, dismiss, hire, dismiss until you find worthwhile ones. You can already pick your sibling's perks like this, and it's just a better experience.

100% agree

Second, I think there should be more low level companions with more even spreads, to offer more flexible companion builds.

With current death rate of companions in battle it is almost impossible to get them to a decent level.

Third, some companion builds don't make a whole lot of sense the way their attributes and skills are organized in the first place. Having companions with focus points spent in Bow / Crossbow / Throwing for example is just a waste of potential, as you're not going to outfit them with more than one of these, let's get real here. And some companions with non-combat skills would be much better off with moderate attributes/focus points in a ranged skill than melee skills, as it's quite foolish to send your medic and trader in as melee or cavalry to die.

100% agree

Fourth, if companions are to be as RNG as they are, maybe just add way more companions period. But we should be able to check their stats before hiring! This could be in addition to addressing the above, or just a way to just circumvent all of the hassle - if there were wanderers growing on trees it'd be less of an issue to have so many duds.

Actually, you can check their stats by right clicking on their thumbnail image when you are in the tavern menu in town.
But you can't check the perks though.

 

[Iberian Wolf]

So much work to be done regarding the companions...one of the best features from Warband, but very underwhelming so far.

I definitely agree about the development speed and lower level companions, there should be quite a few more so that you can share them as you wish - although I also have fun letting them choose, it depends on the playthrough.

Skills and attributes distribution is quite off as well...to begin with our brother - I really think he should be severely nerfed, since he kicks ass pretty much in everything. I keep asking myself what am I aspiring to become...it should be him in charge!
All the others seem to have a random perk selection. That would be very time consuming to fix, but totally doable. I believe it's just not a priority at the moment.

One thing I really dislike in Bannerlord is how they move from one town to another. In Warband, they would move every week (or month?) to a new town instead of stalking you wherever you go.

I also wonder if one day, the wanderers will be recruited and help the other lords with their skill/perks where applicable.
It'd be so much more interesting to compete for the wanderers with the AI.

Last but not least, more companion positions could be created apart from quartermaster, surgeon... perhaps as you advance clan tiers, more of those could be created , like cupbearer, master of the horse, spymaster, etc

 

[Blood Gryphon]

Things like lacking messengers for recruiting clans and having to personally find lords are the things which should be addressed and could feel tiresome for the player, but giving us more customization options and more control is always welcome for the player.

This.

Let me send my damn companions as messengers. It would also be really nice to check mercenary contract prices without having to travel the entire world

 

[kopus]

We've actually suggested this a while back and got significant push back from 1-2 guys who insist the companions don't need rework. Their argument was that companions should not be customisable cause they're real people. My argument against that is real people wouldn't pick contradictory perks like "duelist" (I hate this particular perk the most) and 2 shield skills. Unless AIs are advanced enough to somehow optimise a single hand weapon with no shield then magically use his/her shield at the same time, this makes no sense.

 

[anoddhermit]

We've actually suggested this a while back and got significant push back from 1-2 guys who insist the companions don't need rework. Their argument was that companions should not be customisable cause they're real people. My argument against that is real people wouldn't pick contradictory perks like "duelist" (I hate this particular perk the most) and 2 shield skills. Unless AIs are advanced enough to somehow optimise a single hand weapon with no shield then magically use his/her shield at the same time, this makes no sense.

Yeah this is one of the things driving me nuts a bit as well. It makes little sense that someone would be trained in as random a way as focus/perks are currently spent. If they were to make them non-customizable, it'd be best to have presets that are less random at least.

 

[kopus]

I actually think the way they did siblings/children to be rather decent. Have some form of RNG (life events), but allow the players to still direct most of it.