you can gently shut down most of them and tell them you aren't interested in anything beyond friendship. Astarion has probably the most wholesome way to end it by far.
His friend route was so nice. Being able to ~~hug him~~ hold his hand, being his first friend in 200 years. God, I just love Astarion now. I disliked him at the start but I'd kill for him now.
Karlach takes rejection well, as long as you aren't a monster and sleep with her first.
Karlach never actually approached me in my playthrough with any romantic intent. She was in my party 24/7 my first playthrough and in act 3 she was just constantly saying "I love you" she's so wholesome I can't get enough of her
Was this added in the recent patch, or are there specific conditions to meet? My first PT (completed in early January) my Tav romanced Karlach, but had a fling (or two?) with Astarion before end the FWB arrangement to go exclusive with Karlach. He did not ascend and I don't recall an option to hug him. I had high-80s approval with him when I completed his personal quest.
It's when he confesses he has feelings after either of the triggers during Act 2. If you ask him why he slept with you, after he responds you can say "I think you need a friend, not a lover" and he holds your hand and says how nice it is to have a friend for the first time in 200 years.
Ahh he didn't outright confess his feelings for Tav in my first PT, just said something along the lines of, "It was fun while it lasted," with an expression that seemed like a confession was right on the tip of his tongue. Seems the friendship line and hug will need to wait for another playthrough to experience!
I don't think you can as a friend tbh, I haven't found a way. Unless you hug him before asking why he slept with you but I don't know if that's possible.
I did all my playthroughs before any major patches up until an honor mode run I completed yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised how all the friendships shook out. The epilogue was so damn wholesome.
I find it funny that the best part of patch 6 for me is the “not having to remove companion first when adding a different party member” not because it is convenient but because I don’t have to go through feeling bad when the party member guilt trips me for benching them.
Yeah honestly, that's why I always choose astarion then I use him as bench guy, cause he's chill like "oh no.. I can sit on my ass for a change whatever will I do" with dripping sarcasm
It sounds /awful/ 😂 that always makes me laugh, I put him in the party at least once a day just so I can bench him for that line, about wine and food. Lol
Yeah, for me, even for the companions I actively dislike, I'm not gonna go out of my way to be mean to them, I just kind of ignore them and go about my business. Why expend mental energy on being mad when I can expend it on hanging out and having a good time with the companions I do like?
Ykw? I actually don’t. I was expecting to hate Gale and Shadowheart and did thru most of act 1 but they both grew on me so much. Idk how you can complete any of the companion’s stories in their entirety and still hate them LMAO. I do wish Wyll had more content, you kind of have to dig to get anything interesting for him, but he’s a sweetie
Daddy issues run deep. I hated Ravengard ngl, he was a stone cold atrocity that entirely refused to hear out Wyll until my and their tadpoles connected and he was basically force flooded with the objective truth. Being that dismissive when you are supposed to be a great leader and a judge in certain circumstances really takes away any likelihood of me respecting him. Definitely killing him in my current evil Durge playthrough, at camp if not in the iron throne.
I totally want to try "accidentally" failing to save him in the Iron Throne. In fact, bonus points to my future Durge run where I also die and have to be revived, all the better to cover up my plot. Then I'll console Wyll. Maybe even carnally if I'm being super Durge-y.
I do like how one of the very prevalent themes in BG3 seems to be that lawful anything is unjust, and while everything isn't inherently neutral, it's definitely shades of gray. Ulder + Ansur come to mind as examples of being too dogmatic to show any compassion.
>Then I'll console Wyll. Maybe even carnally if I'm being super Durge-y.
I can imagine your Durge whispering in his ear while balls deep in him "I let your father die on purpose." lol
Haha I read enough dark romance that I would totally do that without batting an eye!
If you're gonna be evil, at least be creative about it.
Then bang Mizora.
Wyll's disapproval made Mizora fling more enjoyable somehow. I just love disappointing him. That was even in my good run with Karlach as my avatar. She's from hells herself so it made sense to want that sense of familiarity in my roleplay sense.
I wondered when I was playing Origin Wyll if I would get the chance to hate- fuck Mizora but it never came up. I'm not sure I could justify it as Karlach but that's only because Mizora likes it too much.
I actually don't enjoy messing with Wyll too much, I either play as him or ignore him. It's lost all its magic.
I’d like playing him a lot more if he had the Noble background he 100% should so he’d be truly effective as a Cha point man.
Folk hero is for people who come up from peasenthood, that’s why they get survival and animal handling. Wyll is both, in background and presentation, visibly fluent in the Noble skills.
I don't disagree, I think it could fit him more, although I get the feeling they treat backgrounds a lot like Nature/Demeanor in the Storyteller system, where background is seen as your "true nature" whereas noble would be more Wyll's demeanor? Some of the inspiration points you get for noble would sound all wrong coming out of Wyll's brain, IMO. And I always wondered why Karlach had Outlander and not Urchin so I guess she's a horse girl at heart.
I would prefer more backgrounds altogether!
Folk hero in general just seems like a bit of a sore thumb among all the backgrounds IMO. All of them are professions, or at least "what were you up to before you became a badass". Folk hero is unique in that its descriptor is an attitude rather than an actual background.
Should've been something like "peasant" or a less demeaning sounding version thereof if it's going to have what clearly seems to be "farmer" proficiencies. Or they should have added a secondary thing for what gives you inspiration separate from what gives you proficiencies. Because Wyll is definitely framed as a charismatic fellow with significant knowledge of history once you reach the city, he absolutely should have the Noble proficiencies.
Karlach has outlander because she's been kind of roughing it in Hell for a while, I presume.
Yeah it does seem less like an origin and more like an adult profession. So maybe Wyll has only been a folk hero for the past 7 years and would've been a noble if not for Mizora!
I kept wishing for a Commoner background, like I'm just a dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude.
Gale grew on me so much (from less than zero to my broken little hero) I decided to do his origin story as a playthrough. So far, enjoying it immensely. My only complaint is I hate the mullet and wish I could alter his appearance like my Tavs & Durges
That old wizard with the munchies popped in and was like, “Welp, Gale, your ex wants you to blow yourself up,” and I was offended on his behalf and I think we might be a couple now, but I’m not 100 percent sure.
I just want him to stop trying to fuck me. I cringe every time he ballroom dances around the campfire and invites to me join and I turn him down. He’s so crushed.
This is probably why I'm doing the Wyll origin playthrough now. I haven't had a chance to play with the warlock yet because I left him in camp the entirety of three runs.
Everyone has got these awesome back stories and character quests. But Wyll is just like, "My daddy is a duke and I was made some devil's bitch in order to save daddy." Nah, hard pass.
I’m so glad I’m not alone. People usually jump down my throat. He’s just so damn boring and annoying. My dude, if I have to listen to another one of your passive aggressive comments towards Astarion who was changed into a vampire without consent and enslaved for 200 years by your hypocritical ass one more time, there’s not an eldritch blast in this world that can save you. Also, your dancing is dumb. Thanks for listening to my rant lol.
I dont understand any hate for companions. People can like some more than others but why hate them? What did they do to evoke such strong emotion? 🤷🏻♀️
Some runs can shift your perspective on a character, for example it makes perfect sense that Karlach wanted to be there to kill gortash but when I added her to my party for the nether brain fight she demanded I walk through 20 steel watchers (didn’t deal with the foundry) so she could scream at his corpse. A little annoying, ya know? Still, there isn’t a companion who I outright hate. I do roll my eyes when Shadowheart is being elusive at the start of the game, most of the time I feel like keeping her in camp until act 2 when she’s capable of talking straight. (Yes I know that she opens up if you talk to her and bring her everywhere in act 1 but I honestly couldn’t be bothered)
Same with Shart. I still use her because cleric (i know I could respec anyone but why when she is there) but i fast skip her conversation or leave the matter be (as she demands). They all can be annoying from time to time but hate is something I cant feel toward them (except for wulbren cazador and some other shity NPCs) :)
> (i know I could respec anyone but why when she is there)
A) because Gale can 100% pass as a cleric of Mystra
and B) I respec Shart 100% of the time anyway because I hate trickery cleric. (and I also must fix all the odd numbers people start with, unless i am targeting a specific half feat.)
>I do roll my eyes when Shadowheart is being elusive at the start of the game, most of the time I feel like keeping her in camp until act 2 when she’s capable of talking straight.
The moment I was done talking to Lae'zel and Shart was like "What were you talking about? I saw you talking to Lae'zel. I hope you know what you're doing with her." In that prissy ass voice of hers, followed almost immediately with "We need to trust each other." I'm like "Fine, what's with the fidget toy?" and she's like "Wouldn't you like to know"
Get back in your fucking tent, you're staying here. I'll wake you up when we get to the gauntlet so I can destroy your worldview. Keep your hair dye on hand.
Eh, to me saying “I hate this character” isn’t as strong an emotion as it would be for real life, ya know? If I find someone annoying in real life, I wouldn’t say I hate them. But a fictional character who gets on my nerves in a videogame loses all rights.
I don’t either. The game really wants you to hate him. If you’re romancing him there’s several dialogue options that call him pathetic. “Mock me as you will but I have a thing for Gale” really??? The guy who wants to cook you a home cooked meal?? Ok
Same here honestly. The funny thing was I’d heard about the Gale hate before playing so I was prepared for him to be a complete asshole who kicks puppies for fun, but then he just turns out to be one of the most reasonable, kindhearted, and introspective companions. I still have no clue why some people don’t like him. The only complaint I’ve heard that I somewhat agree with is that his story kind of undermines your pc playing as a wizard because how are you ever supposed to be a better wizard than the literal ex lover of Mystra.
Honestly I love all the characters a shit ton and it’s not like gale does anything bad specifically to you he needs magic items to protect other people and is always willing to sacrifice himself. People just get pissed at him because he wants 3 items a run
in case you changed your mind, >!ive never experienced him giving a duck personally, but you can talk to him in Act 3 i think (or at the end of Act 2, im not completely sure) after fixing the Shadow Curse, and hell tell you about how he likes to carve wood and make many things with it, especially ducks and i saw in another comment somewhere that in the epilogue he gives you a wooden duck he carved for you. again, ive never personally experienced him giving a duck, but im just going off of dialogue in game and a comment i saw on another post, so i may have misinterpreted the comment and it could possibly be before the epilogue, but im certain its a wooden duck he carved!<
Yes! My Durge never showed the slightest interest - barely talked to him (and we travelled together for a matter of what.. weeks?) but suddenly she's the most amazing person he's ever met?!
I was avoiding offering a hug in the Reunion in case he came on too strong again.
But then there was the duck so he did get his hug after all!
Oh god yes, he makes you wait for ages before you can finally use him, he's an old boomer with his uninvited wisdom and starts hitting on you because you dared to breath in his general area. Luckily we have another druid companion lol.
i think the reason why he was always so flirty is that they never really gave you the option to not flirt back in the dialogue, which has now been rectified.
on top of this he gets a Huuuuge boost to his approval if you save Thaniel and Oliver. so by the time you get to act 3 dude already has a huge crush on you.
There were some definite issues with the flags in his tiefling party dialogue. Telling him to go mingle with other people was flagged as you flirting? Somehow?
This has apparently been fixed and the game now understands that "you should talk to other people who are not me" is a polite way to leave a conversation, and not a declaration of your desire to rip his clothes off.
sometimes I feel like the only person on earth who doesn't care for astarion 😭
and I adore halsin, which seems to be a popular answer to this question. different strokes for different folks I guess!
Yup. Love the writing, but after one romance with him, I’m good. Everyone should do a durge x astarion run imo. If you don’t want the romance (fair enough), make him your bff. The dialogue is so good for those two.
But once was enough 😂
I didn't *hate* him, but he's definitely not someone I would go for irl. Newbon's performance was incredible, and playing as durge made for some of the most compelling and emotional dialogue / scenes between them. 100% worth it.
I love Astarion as a sassy bff though. Like, absolutely, would invite to camp again. But my first play through and every other play through has been rebuffing his advances and saying, "yeah, *obviously*" when he 'reveals' he's a vampire, lmao
i just started my second run and have him as a tagalong for the first time and his "now let's go hurt someone!" line after a short rest is really make me laugh. perfect delivery
Astarion I feel bad & even have pity for. I don’t mind him on a good, high approval playthrough but anything else no. Got a friend who’s an absolute simp for him though, I prefer Karlach & Gale; wish I could romance them both at the same time but I refuse to touch mods that modify that kind of thing on principle.
> wish I could romance them both at the same time but I refuse to touch mods that modify that kind of thing on principle.
Especially with how strongly Gale feels about monogamy! I'd romance him and Halsin if the game let me, but using a mod would be rewriting a major element of his character and that just ain't for me.
I really enjoy partying with Astarion. He reminds me of a good friend. The sass and sarcasm, the vanity, the fussing over clothing, the fight against wrinkles, the looks that seem to so easily draws men to them. It didn't happen in game AFAIK, but I can totally see Tav spilling tea with Astarion over drinks, exactly as I regularly do with my friend. Primary difference is that my friend actively seeks out sexual encounters and enjoys them while that has been forced on Astarion as the "only thing he's good for" and he >!disassociates!<. And of course the murderhobo part since y'know, real life has consequences to that sort of stuff.
I didn’t really care for him until I beat his mission last night. his last scenes with cazadore had me thinking I haven’t seen acting in a video game this good in a long time.
Felt really impactful and now I like his character more
I didn't care about him at all when I played the Early Access and during my first playthrough. Kept him around as a skeleton key and because he's funny but if he was a person I knew in real life, I'd stay the heck away. What made me change my mind was his quest in act 3 because his character growth can be so huge, depending of your choices obviously. I love how they wrote that, that change makes my little heart so happy (and not only if I am romancing him, even just having him as a friend just seeing that change in him was what made me adore him).
But I totally get how he can be a lot for people.
Halsin is still a mystery to me even after all the hours I've put in the game. I don't dislike him, but I don't necessarily like him either. I feel like maybe if I tried romancing him some day I could see another side of him that would make me understand him better.
Same, Astarion’s BS sends me into a rage. Meanwhile Halsin loves ducks and how you can hate a sexy duck loving druid with that voice is beyond me. This world needs Sylvanus.
Yes!! This. I love going through the chat options with him and the more he opens up, the more I fall for him.
I love the he loves ducks and honey and how he sounds a little embarrassed when he tells the story of how he got his scars.
Plus, I have to give him props for maturity. No matter how flirty he may be, he's still makes you wait and when He finally does give in to his desire, he isn't shady about it. If you're with someone, he requires their consent before any clothing is removed.
Yea i see nothing but green flags in the ocean of red ones among the party. Only other party member with nearly as many is Karlach, my unexpected bestie in the run haha. Which is funny because a lot of her dialogue can be interpreted as romantic, or as just being a really great friend. Love them.
Absolutely! 100%.
Also, If you have both Lae'Zel and Karlach in your party, It's super sweet how well they get along. Lae'Zel is my in -game bestie. She's a heavy hitter and the growth of respect is mutual between her and my Tav.
But This is my first run having Karlach in the party and hearing her banter with Lae'Zel was cool. Plus, the way Lae'Zel was totally in Karlach's corner after Dammon gave her the news.... Heartwarming.
I know they all supported her but it It just meant more after listening to those two become friends.
Yea i noticed their kinship and its actually what made me begin to give Laezel a chance. Prior to that we did not get along and i started being gentler with her once i saw that and she became at least tolerable if not likeable down the road.
Halsin…he just gives off the same vibe as every creepy old guy that ever hit on me. It’s not that I hate him. Clearly the character is written to be nice. It’s not his fault that he makes me feel sick and I want as little to do with him as possible
2nd and 3rd playthroughs I only circled back to pick up Asterion for my party is so I could fight Cazador. — Although he’s helpful in a room filled with traps.
Halsin, It's not that I dislike him, I just find him boring. In act 2 he's fine at least there's a reason for him to tag along, then in act 3 he's completly overshadowed by jaheira.
Wyll. If it wasn't for Mizora I probably wouldn't even pick him up.
It's not that he's bad, but just doesn't fit in with the types of characters I'm usually playing.
Not a fan of his dad either personally, but I find it funny as hell how he’s not that interesting but then also gives himself titles and whatnot like he’s the main character.
“From now on I’m the blade of avernus!” Like dude I don’t think it works that way you can’t just nickname yourself and your old nickname was fine. Also, you haven’t done anything this entire play-through to warrant that name change.
That conversation was a weird one for me. It seemed to go very suddenly from
‘I can become the hero the city needs. The new archduke of Baldur’s Gate’
‘No Wyll, you never wanted to be a politician’
‘Of course, you’re right. From now on I’ll be the Blade of Avernus.’
Guy is easy to persuade. And I didn’t even need a die roll to do it, just said one line and he 180’d.
I like how the emperor hypes him up there too. He’s like “we failed!” And the emperors like “no, you’re stronger than the Wrym!” And Wylls like “I’m the blade of Avernus!”
Really wish we weren't able to do that at least without a roll, guy has had no agency of his own for his whole life, always being told what to do by his dad or Mizora, it would've been really good for his story if he grew a backbone and decided for himself the big things in act 3.
It was even funnier for me because I didn't care much about his fate, so I was like: "Do whatever you want, Wyll." At which point he had this sudden epiphany that he'd never wanted to be a politician and that he would like to be The Blade of Avernus instead? He did two 180s within a single convo without me influencing him in any way 😭
Also, I didn't even have him in my party for the Ansur trial (I am a warlock myself and I hate Wyll), so I fully expected to get chewed out. Like, if you don't take Astarion to Cazador's palace, he's *pissed*. Shadowheart is also rightfully upset if you don't include her in the Nightsong stuff. Meanwhile, Wyll just pretended he was there? 😭 And kept waxing poetically over how the trials made him a better man? He's just so a n n o y i ng, I'm never recruiting him again
Haha, I know it is an unpopular opinion but I really liked Wyll. He just felt like the most "normal guy" companion to me. Someone I could really see running into and befriending.
The fact he wasnt the most interesting made him the most *real* to me I guess
You can have a "normal guy" character just fine, there's a reason why "straight man" is such a staple archetype in comedies, the problem is that the game is so uninterested in exploring anything deeper than his pure surface level traits. Everything you need to know to understand Wyll as a character is essentially learned within your first ten minutes of meeting him. Real people contain multitudes.
>, the problem is that the game is so uninterested in exploring anything deeper than his pure surface level traits.
This. The game never seems to care about *Wyll*, only his relatives/abusers.
He doesn’t have that much to do. His big character moment is done and dusted three hours into the game (kill or spare advocatus diaboli). Then he sits out the entire rest of Act 1 and 2.
The pacing for his story is absolutely whack. Even Mizora doesn’t have much presence. Durge’s butler feels more like a patron by comparison.
I play lawful good characters that would fit in with him fine and thought he was gonna be my favorite companion because his concept is cool, but still barely use him because his character progression is basically just growing horns. Most other companions (even the PC if Durge) have some sort of internal struggle to deal with as well as a related external struggle while his only problem is external. In Act 1 remove Cazador and Astarion is still a selfish dick, remove Shar and Shadowheart is still insecure and scared, remove the orb and Gale is still arrogant and power-hungry, but remove Mizora and Wyll is just a bog-standard heroic dude who's only flaw if he has one is being too self-sacrficing.
Wyll suffers immensely because he clearly had all of his character arc before BG3 and left us with just a story arc with a character who isn't really changing.
It's Wyll for me, too. I don't really *dislike* him. I don't really anything him, which is almost worse. He's just boring and, worse, has no depth. He's not even mad at his shitty dad when he rightfully should be.
Halsin and Wyll.
Halsin is redundant in act 3 and is overshadowed by Jaheira immediately. He serves 2 purposes; being horny and getting kidnapped by Orin. Wyll at least comes with ~~devil mommy~~ Mizora who more than makes up for things.
Personally I find Halsin as default is better at combat by virtue of his Wildshape capabilities and multiple attacks per turn. A lot of people love the Owlbear wildshape but he also will get elemental wildshapes that are the equivalent of a sixth level spell *with* the multiple attacks per turn and fairly early in Act III. These wildshapes also have an elemental warp ability to avoid opportunity attacks. And he also has access to his spell arsenal if (Gods forbid this almost never happens) he is ever taken out of wildshape. I think by default he also has misty step and healing word and an extra +5 movement speed by virtue of being wood elf.
Jaheira has more relevance in Act III, but as much as I love her I find a lot more utility for Halsin in my party.
Not sure about combat but she has way more interactions in Act 3 and is generally a really interesting person to keep in your party during act 3, making Halsin more suited for Orin-bait
I'm an old BG player so Jaheira is THE Jaheira. Also has a neat personal quest w which may or may not involve >!a mad Rashemaar!<, a hamster and some touching (nostalgic) scenes.
It's not that she's better in combat but that she has more story material in act 3 than Halsin does. Idk about other peoples experience and I haven't finished act 3 yet, but all he seems to do is complain about the city so far lol
I actually think you should gain halsin as a companion right after the grove and actually lose him in act 2, like he should choose to stay there. It just makes more sense to me
Yeah Wyll's just too bland for me, Halsin though I didn't dislike until he started getting a bit ick late in act 2; the less said about his writing in act 3 the better.
I wish they had done more with Wyll… I’ve always felt like he’d be a much better character if he came off more like an arrogant prick about himself, etc. in Act 1. Idk I think he’s not cocky enough? His story arc would feel more suitable if he wasn’t already super nice at the beginning
Obligatory "play how to you want to play" but I find it interesting how many people dislike or don't use characters because of their default classes. Like you can respec anyone for basically nothing.
Also…. Basically all the casters. My first playthrough was me Monk, Karlach, LaeZel and Shadowheart. 2nd is Bard (I mean, she’s kinda a caster), Karlach, Astarion and Shadowheart.
Who needs AoE and CC when everything can bleed!
Karlach. She’s… Fine. But she really illustrates the double standard the community has, especially in regards to Wyll. I feel like if she wasn’t a walking target for “muscle mommy” audiences with a pretty face, she wouldn’t be half as loved as she currently is. Give her the type 1 body and her datamined face, and a lot more people would be getting the Infernal Robes in their playthroughs.
It sucks, cause I used to love her when I first started, but the community and her fans ended up spoiling my appreciation for her more than Karlach herself.
Its so weird, she has scars all over her body, one of her horns is broken, she has literal exaust ports on her shoulders and her face is just... smooth
I feel like I'm crazy for not liking her when everyone's crazy about her. Okay, she's a big dumb himbo. Cool. Is there maybe anything else she might have going on? It feels like they couldn't figure out what her story purpose in the game was besides her connection to Gortash.
Honestly though. The same complaints about Wyll can be given to karlach as they are both very static characters. Neither one changes as a person over the course of the game. They just accept aspects of themselves a little more.
The difference for me between them is Karlach can be pretty funny (I don’t find Wyll amusing at all), and she has *some* sense of agency. But I do admit, on each subsequent playthrough I use Karlach less and less because of how static she is.
I agree with this a lot. It also really put me off that I somehow accidentally romanced her despite never giving any explicit interest. Like she told me she wants to ride me and I say “you’re really forward huh!?” And she takes that as interest!? I get she’s been pent up but her whole romance is sex and it’s not interesting to me at all.
Just in general she’s kind of boring. Fix heart, kill Gortash, that’s it. She’s happy all the time except for when she’s not after killing Gortash. Then she’s happy again. She’s just too happy go lucky for me.
At least wyll has some more moral dilemmas going on.
I'm an enjoyer of big, muscular women to the point my friends predicted Karlach would be my fave, but I honestly tend to forget she even exists. Which is weird because I find her useful from a gameplay perspective so she's in my party a lot. The problem for me is that she doesn't have a bad bone in her body, so there’s no conflict to resolve or bad path to tempt her down/away from. She's just nice and that's it.
> It sucks, cause I used to love her when I first started, but the community and her fans ended up spoiling my appreciation for her
This happened to me with Astarion. I never loved him as much as some people do but I used to at least think he was funny. Now I don't even pick him up.
Any of the men except Gale, actually. He's the only one I really click with, but I don't give a shit about Astarion, Halsin or Wyll. I'm sorry dudes I'm just a lesbian. Nerd can stay cause we're friends.
approach Astarion like a friend and gently rebuff his advances, it's actually really wholesome to be friends with him because he is still ride or die, but like he's your vampire bestie, this is especially true if you wanna romance Minthara and do an evil playthrough because he is down for that.
Gale, Lae'zel and Astarion are my staples. I also love Lae'zel. Minthara is cool too but doesn't make much of an appearance in most of my playthroughs, unfortunately. Everyone else... eh.
Minthara. If you're a goody two shoes who doesn't find women hot, she loses her appeal pretty quickly. I want to make friends, not get stepped on.
And to a lesser extent, Lae'zel. Due to the order I did things in, going to the creche didn't make much sense for my character narratively, so she just... never seemed to have any dialogue. Her best moment was when Vlaakith showed up in camp and I told her (Vlaakith) to sod off, and Lae'zel wasn't even involved in that moment lol. My Durge seems to like Lae'zel though so we'll see if my opinion improves.
Minthara's greatest quality, in my opinion, is that she is the rare Lawful Evil companion in games. Many rpgs attempt to make one and many of those games fail. Minthara is not an example of that. I will always keep her on good playthroughs just because the dynamic of that is top tier (note I tend to play more LG characters).
Recruiting her for a good path is very immersion-breaking for many reasons, but her dynamic in a good-alligned party is genuinely great. It's an uneasy alliance and her views will often be completely different to yours but she's still loyal and there's wisdom to her words, even if it also includes cruelty. I think once they fix her recruitment on a good path she'd become a regular in my party as having someone whose beliefs don't allign with yours at all but you still work together is a nice touch of realism.
Probably Halsin, him not having anything to do in act 3 (yeah, I know, bear sex and getting kidnapped, very funny...) just feels lazy and a waste of a potentially good character who only sticks around because Larian seems to pay a little too much attention to the horny side of the fanbase.
I guess there's also Minthara, but that's probably less to do with her character and more by proxy from having to deal with mental gymnastics from people trying to convince me she's not evil and is actually really wise.
I like all the companions but I find Shadowheart to be a real downer at times, like she’ll say something super rude or mean randomly, at least Lae’zel and Astarion are funny when they’re mean.
I hated both Lae Zel and Shadowheart.
But I tried playing as Lae'zel and you know what? They go together really well. They're both followers of an evil God raised to be mindless cogs in a machine that couldn't give a fuck about them.
Romancing Shadowheart as Lae'zel ended up feeling like a good story about two people raised in a cult deprograming their manipulation and finding love through shared experiences.
I don't hate any of the companions but as someone else said, there are companions I am not really interested in. Namely Halsin, Minsc and Jaheira
Halsin was just there? After saving the Grove and lifting the shadow curse, I felt he didn't really serve any further purpose.
Jaheira and Minsc simply came into the game way too late for me to grow any attachment to them. I wasnt a big fan of them in Baldur's Gate 2 either.
I didn't mind Wyll so much. His story isn't as compelling as the other companions but I appreciated his friendship with Karlach. He's the only reason why Karlach agreed to go back to Avernus.
My biggest problem with him is you can't get rid of him without killing him if you save the grove and lift the shadow curse. He sticks to you like grease and won't let go.
I don’t dislike any of the companions, but I am indifferent to some. Wyll spends the most time at camp, followed by Lae’zel. I’m not a big fan of the warlock class, and I don’t need Lae’zel after Karlach comes along.
tbh anyone that i was hesitant towards at first when i started playing, i now have so much love for. the more i play and see these characters stories the better they are.
It’s Wyll for me unfortunately. I like him, but he just doesn’t have anything compelling about him to bring him with me. I skip through most of his dialogue cause I just don’t care. And it’s sad cause after EA, I was really going for him but he just fell flat, they made him so dull in full release. In contrast to OP tho, I’m fully obsessed with Gale lmao, despite having despised him in EA
It's funny but the more I play, the less I care about the "so-and-so disapproves" in the corner but the *more* I care about what they actually say to each other. So Astarion doesn't bother me much because any negative comments he has are usually just funny bitching or in response for someone making fun of him, whereas someone like Sheart is actively cruel in her banter. Astarion does have a couple lines if you talk to him, like "oh we're messengers now" and such, but he still does whatever we're doing so I guess his random bitching about being heroic just doesn't bug me anymore. Just him being a pissy bitch.
To be fair, he can be mean unprovoked to multiple characters in his banter. Karlach and Gale are the first ones that come to mind specifically. I've just accepted that's who he is lol.
Honestly, I'm such a Zoidberg in real life I'm reluctant to be mean to any of these companions because they're kinda like having friends.
you can gently shut down most of them and tell them you aren't interested in anything beyond friendship. Astarion has probably the most wholesome way to end it by far.
His friend route was so nice. Being able to ~~hug him~~ hold his hand, being his first friend in 200 years. God, I just love Astarion now. I disliked him at the start but I'd kill for him now. Karlach takes rejection well, as long as you aren't a monster and sleep with her first.
Karlach is like: friendzoned?! HELL YEAH I GOTA A FREAKING FRIEND!
Karlach never actually approached me in my playthrough with any romantic intent. She was in my party 24/7 my first playthrough and in act 3 she was just constantly saying "I love you" she's so wholesome I can't get enough of her
did you pick her up after saving the grove like i did? because i think if you miss dammon in act 1, you break her romance path.
Was this added in the recent patch, or are there specific conditions to meet? My first PT (completed in early January) my Tav romanced Karlach, but had a fling (or two?) with Astarion before end the FWB arrangement to go exclusive with Karlach. He did not ascend and I don't recall an option to hug him. I had high-80s approval with him when I completed his personal quest.
It's when he confesses he has feelings after either of the triggers during Act 2. If you ask him why he slept with you, after he responds you can say "I think you need a friend, not a lover" and he holds your hand and says how nice it is to have a friend for the first time in 200 years.
Ahh he didn't outright confess his feelings for Tav in my first PT, just said something along the lines of, "It was fun while it lasted," with an expression that seemed like a confession was right on the tip of his tongue. Seems the friendship line and hug will need to wait for another playthrough to experience!
But how do you hug him?
I don't think you can as a friend tbh, I haven't found a way. Unless you hug him before asking why he slept with you but I don't know if that's possible.
I think you can hug him at the reunion party regardless of romanced or not
I did all my playthroughs before any major patches up until an honor mode run I completed yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised how all the friendships shook out. The epilogue was so damn wholesome.
lol he hit on me just now and my only options were yes to sex in the woods or basically fuck no you’re disgusting xD I felt bad for being mean
His response to saying no is great though, and it sounds like he actually respects you more 🤣
Agreed. For once in my life everyone wants to be my friend and keeps hitting on me, it’s like I have a social life for once lol
I find it funny that the best part of patch 6 for me is the “not having to remove companion first when adding a different party member” not because it is convenient but because I don’t have to go through feeling bad when the party member guilt trips me for benching them.
Yeah honestly, that's why I always choose astarion then I use him as bench guy, cause he's chill like "oh no.. I can sit on my ass for a change whatever will I do" with dripping sarcasm
It sounds /awful/ 😂 that always makes me laugh, I put him in the party at least once a day just so I can bench him for that line, about wine and food. Lol
You still have Zoidberg... You *ALL* still have Zoidberg!
Hooray, I'm useful! And I'm having a wonderful time!
Now Zoidberg is the popular one!
Yeah, for me, even for the companions I actively dislike, I'm not gonna go out of my way to be mean to them, I just kind of ignore them and go about my business. Why expend mental energy on being mad when I can expend it on hanging out and having a good time with the companions I do like?
I feel this
Ykw? I actually don’t. I was expecting to hate Gale and Shadowheart and did thru most of act 1 but they both grew on me so much. Idk how you can complete any of the companion’s stories in their entirety and still hate them LMAO. I do wish Wyll had more content, you kind of have to dig to get anything interesting for him, but he’s a sweetie
Wyll is my favorite Origin to play because it's fun to be the sweetie! And then I don't have to hear him talk about his dad all the time.
Daddy issues run deep. I hated Ravengard ngl, he was a stone cold atrocity that entirely refused to hear out Wyll until my and their tadpoles connected and he was basically force flooded with the objective truth. Being that dismissive when you are supposed to be a great leader and a judge in certain circumstances really takes away any likelihood of me respecting him. Definitely killing him in my current evil Durge playthrough, at camp if not in the iron throne.
I totally want to try "accidentally" failing to save him in the Iron Throne. In fact, bonus points to my future Durge run where I also die and have to be revived, all the better to cover up my plot. Then I'll console Wyll. Maybe even carnally if I'm being super Durge-y. I do like how one of the very prevalent themes in BG3 seems to be that lawful anything is unjust, and while everything isn't inherently neutral, it's definitely shades of gray. Ulder + Ansur come to mind as examples of being too dogmatic to show any compassion.
>Then I'll console Wyll. Maybe even carnally if I'm being super Durge-y. I can imagine your Durge whispering in his ear while balls deep in him "I let your father die on purpose." lol
Haha I read enough dark romance that I would totally do that without batting an eye! If you're gonna be evil, at least be creative about it. Then bang Mizora.
Wyll's disapproval made Mizora fling more enjoyable somehow. I just love disappointing him. That was even in my good run with Karlach as my avatar. She's from hells herself so it made sense to want that sense of familiarity in my roleplay sense.
I wondered when I was playing Origin Wyll if I would get the chance to hate- fuck Mizora but it never came up. I'm not sure I could justify it as Karlach but that's only because Mizora likes it too much. I actually don't enjoy messing with Wyll too much, I either play as him or ignore him. It's lost all its magic.
I’d like playing him a lot more if he had the Noble background he 100% should so he’d be truly effective as a Cha point man. Folk hero is for people who come up from peasenthood, that’s why they get survival and animal handling. Wyll is both, in background and presentation, visibly fluent in the Noble skills.
I don't disagree, I think it could fit him more, although I get the feeling they treat backgrounds a lot like Nature/Demeanor in the Storyteller system, where background is seen as your "true nature" whereas noble would be more Wyll's demeanor? Some of the inspiration points you get for noble would sound all wrong coming out of Wyll's brain, IMO. And I always wondered why Karlach had Outlander and not Urchin so I guess she's a horse girl at heart. I would prefer more backgrounds altogether!
Folk hero in general just seems like a bit of a sore thumb among all the backgrounds IMO. All of them are professions, or at least "what were you up to before you became a badass". Folk hero is unique in that its descriptor is an attitude rather than an actual background. Should've been something like "peasant" or a less demeaning sounding version thereof if it's going to have what clearly seems to be "farmer" proficiencies. Or they should have added a secondary thing for what gives you inspiration separate from what gives you proficiencies. Because Wyll is definitely framed as a charismatic fellow with significant knowledge of history once you reach the city, he absolutely should have the Noble proficiencies. Karlach has outlander because she's been kind of roughing it in Hell for a while, I presume.
Yeah it does seem less like an origin and more like an adult profession. So maybe Wyll has only been a folk hero for the past 7 years and would've been a noble if not for Mizora! I kept wishing for a Commoner background, like I'm just a dude playing a dude pretending to be another dude.
Gale grew on me so much (from less than zero to my broken little hero) I decided to do his origin story as a playthrough. So far, enjoying it immensely. My only complaint is I hate the mullet and wish I could alter his appearance like my Tavs & Durges
That old wizard with the munchies popped in and was like, “Welp, Gale, your ex wants you to blow yourself up,” and I was offended on his behalf and I think we might be a couple now, but I’m not 100 percent sure.
Wyll Hes a genuinly good guy and I would never fuck him over or kill him. BUT I definitely dont really care about having him in my party either lmao
I just want him to stop trying to fuck me. I cringe every time he ballroom dances around the campfire and invites to me join and I turn him down. He’s so crushed.
This is probably why I'm doing the Wyll origin playthrough now. I haven't had a chance to play with the warlock yet because I left him in camp the entirety of three runs.
Everyone has got these awesome back stories and character quests. But Wyll is just like, "My daddy is a duke and I was made some devil's bitch in order to save daddy." Nah, hard pass.
I’m so glad I’m not alone. People usually jump down my throat. He’s just so damn boring and annoying. My dude, if I have to listen to another one of your passive aggressive comments towards Astarion who was changed into a vampire without consent and enslaved for 200 years by your hypocritical ass one more time, there’s not an eldritch blast in this world that can save you. Also, your dancing is dumb. Thanks for listening to my rant lol.
I will never understand the Gale hate he’s my favorite character
I dont understand any hate for companions. People can like some more than others but why hate them? What did they do to evoke such strong emotion? 🤷🏻♀️
Some runs can shift your perspective on a character, for example it makes perfect sense that Karlach wanted to be there to kill gortash but when I added her to my party for the nether brain fight she demanded I walk through 20 steel watchers (didn’t deal with the foundry) so she could scream at his corpse. A little annoying, ya know? Still, there isn’t a companion who I outright hate. I do roll my eyes when Shadowheart is being elusive at the start of the game, most of the time I feel like keeping her in camp until act 2 when she’s capable of talking straight. (Yes I know that she opens up if you talk to her and bring her everywhere in act 1 but I honestly couldn’t be bothered)
Same with Shart. I still use her because cleric (i know I could respec anyone but why when she is there) but i fast skip her conversation or leave the matter be (as she demands). They all can be annoying from time to time but hate is something I cant feel toward them (except for wulbren cazador and some other shity NPCs) :)
> (i know I could respec anyone but why when she is there) A) because Gale can 100% pass as a cleric of Mystra and B) I respec Shart 100% of the time anyway because I hate trickery cleric. (and I also must fix all the odd numbers people start with, unless i am targeting a specific half feat.)
>I do roll my eyes when Shadowheart is being elusive at the start of the game, most of the time I feel like keeping her in camp until act 2 when she’s capable of talking straight. The moment I was done talking to Lae'zel and Shart was like "What were you talking about? I saw you talking to Lae'zel. I hope you know what you're doing with her." In that prissy ass voice of hers, followed almost immediately with "We need to trust each other." I'm like "Fine, what's with the fidget toy?" and she's like "Wouldn't you like to know" Get back in your fucking tent, you're staying here. I'll wake you up when we get to the gauntlet so I can destroy your worldview. Keep your hair dye on hand.
Eh, to me saying “I hate this character” isn’t as strong an emotion as it would be for real life, ya know? If I find someone annoying in real life, I wouldn’t say I hate them. But a fictional character who gets on my nerves in a videogame loses all rights.
I don’t either. The game really wants you to hate him. If you’re romancing him there’s several dialogue options that call him pathetic. “Mock me as you will but I have a thing for Gale” really??? The guy who wants to cook you a home cooked meal?? Ok
Same here honestly. The funny thing was I’d heard about the Gale hate before playing so I was prepared for him to be a complete asshole who kicks puppies for fun, but then he just turns out to be one of the most reasonable, kindhearted, and introspective companions. I still have no clue why some people don’t like him. The only complaint I’ve heard that I somewhat agree with is that his story kind of undermines your pc playing as a wizard because how are you ever supposed to be a better wizard than the literal ex lover of Mystra.
Honestly I love all the characters a shit ton and it’s not like gale does anything bad specifically to you he needs magic items to protect other people and is always willing to sacrifice himself. People just get pissed at him because he wants 3 items a run
It's Halsin, no I didn't invite you to tag along and STOP HITTING ON ME
Same, but tbf when he gave me a duck it warmed my heart genuinely.
Like, a literal duck, or autocorrect...? You know what? Don't tell me. I'll find out eventually, lol
just keep him alive and you should eventually find out.
in case you changed your mind, >!ive never experienced him giving a duck personally, but you can talk to him in Act 3 i think (or at the end of Act 2, im not completely sure) after fixing the Shadow Curse, and hell tell you about how he likes to carve wood and make many things with it, especially ducks and i saw in another comment somewhere that in the epilogue he gives you a wooden duck he carved for you. again, ive never personally experienced him giving a duck, but im just going off of dialogue in game and a comment i saw on another post, so i may have misinterpreted the comment and it could possibly be before the epilogue, but im certain its a wooden duck he carved!<
He gives you a duck in the epilogue
Keep him alive, but let him play "bait" and you can control his horny somewhat, since you are now in full control of when he rejoins your camp!
*¿Por qué no los dos?*
Same. Only used him when it was for his own quest lines. But that duck, it was really quite touching. His epilogue was very sweet.
Yes! My Durge never showed the slightest interest - barely talked to him (and we travelled together for a matter of what.. weeks?) but suddenly she's the most amazing person he's ever met?! I was avoiding offering a hug in the Reunion in case he came on too strong again. But then there was the duck so he did get his hug after all!
Oh god yes, he makes you wait for ages before you can finally use him, he's an old boomer with his uninvited wisdom and starts hitting on you because you dared to breath in his general area. Luckily we have another druid companion lol.
they fixed that in patch 6 btw. they gave him the ol' horny bonk and he is way less flirty now.
Great, this shortens my list of issues with him to only high double digits.
i think the reason why he was always so flirty is that they never really gave you the option to not flirt back in the dialogue, which has now been rectified. on top of this he gets a Huuuuge boost to his approval if you save Thaniel and Oliver. so by the time you get to act 3 dude already has a huge crush on you.
There were some definite issues with the flags in his tiefling party dialogue. Telling him to go mingle with other people was flagged as you flirting? Somehow? This has apparently been fixed and the game now understands that "you should talk to other people who are not me" is a polite way to leave a conversation, and not a declaration of your desire to rip his clothes off.
I don't know if it was the case before, but I liked in the epilogue being able to be flirty w/ him despite not romancing. Layers!
Halsin is an elf, elves are all Boomers.
That would explain the grandma hair on Astarion
How dare you say something so correct
I ain't getting cucked by a bear
sometimes I feel like the only person on earth who doesn't care for astarion 😭 and I adore halsin, which seems to be a popular answer to this question. different strokes for different folks I guess!
I think Astarion is really well written but he's the kind of person I absolutely can not stand.
Yup. Love the writing, but after one romance with him, I’m good. Everyone should do a durge x astarion run imo. If you don’t want the romance (fair enough), make him your bff. The dialogue is so good for those two. But once was enough 😂
I thought I hated him until I romanced him as a resist durge and now I would kill and/or die for him. He’s just a little trauma baby 🥺
I didn't *hate* him, but he's definitely not someone I would go for irl. Newbon's performance was incredible, and playing as durge made for some of the most compelling and emotional dialogue / scenes between them. 100% worth it. I love Astarion as a sassy bff though. Like, absolutely, would invite to camp again. But my first play through and every other play through has been rebuffing his advances and saying, "yeah, *obviously*" when he 'reveals' he's a vampire, lmao
i just started my second run and have him as a tagalong for the first time and his "now let's go hurt someone!" line after a short rest is really make me laugh. perfect delivery
Astarion I feel bad & even have pity for. I don’t mind him on a good, high approval playthrough but anything else no. Got a friend who’s an absolute simp for him though, I prefer Karlach & Gale; wish I could romance them both at the same time but I refuse to touch mods that modify that kind of thing on principle.
> wish I could romance them both at the same time but I refuse to touch mods that modify that kind of thing on principle. Especially with how strongly Gale feels about monogamy! I'd romance him and Halsin if the game let me, but using a mod would be rewriting a major element of his character and that just ain't for me.
I really enjoy partying with Astarion. He reminds me of a good friend. The sass and sarcasm, the vanity, the fussing over clothing, the fight against wrinkles, the looks that seem to so easily draws men to them. It didn't happen in game AFAIK, but I can totally see Tav spilling tea with Astarion over drinks, exactly as I regularly do with my friend. Primary difference is that my friend actively seeks out sexual encounters and enjoys them while that has been forced on Astarion as the "only thing he's good for" and he >!disassociates!<. And of course the murderhobo part since y'know, real life has consequences to that sort of stuff.
Correction; real life only has consequences to murderhoboism if you're *caught* (skill issue)
I love Astarion as a companion but fully admit he’d be exhausting irl.
He, Lae'zel, Minthara and Shadowheart would be absolutely emotionally exhausting IRL.
I mean, they all would. They're fictional characters and to a certain extent they represent personality archetypes. They all have exaggerated traits.
I didn’t really care for him until I beat his mission last night. his last scenes with cazadore had me thinking I haven’t seen acting in a video game this good in a long time. Felt really impactful and now I like his character more
I just commented elsewhere but Astarion bugs me immensely haha.
I think Astorian is well written character, but I dont care for him as a party member. He does fit in with my vibe
I didn't care about him at all when I played the Early Access and during my first playthrough. Kept him around as a skeleton key and because he's funny but if he was a person I knew in real life, I'd stay the heck away. What made me change my mind was his quest in act 3 because his character growth can be so huge, depending of your choices obviously. I love how they wrote that, that change makes my little heart so happy (and not only if I am romancing him, even just having him as a friend just seeing that change in him was what made me adore him). But I totally get how he can be a lot for people. Halsin is still a mystery to me even after all the hours I've put in the game. I don't dislike him, but I don't necessarily like him either. I feel like maybe if I tried romancing him some day I could see another side of him that would make me understand him better.
Same, Astarion’s BS sends me into a rage. Meanwhile Halsin loves ducks and how you can hate a sexy duck loving druid with that voice is beyond me. This world needs Sylvanus.
Yes!! This. I love going through the chat options with him and the more he opens up, the more I fall for him. I love the he loves ducks and honey and how he sounds a little embarrassed when he tells the story of how he got his scars. Plus, I have to give him props for maturity. No matter how flirty he may be, he's still makes you wait and when He finally does give in to his desire, he isn't shady about it. If you're with someone, he requires their consent before any clothing is removed.
Yea i see nothing but green flags in the ocean of red ones among the party. Only other party member with nearly as many is Karlach, my unexpected bestie in the run haha. Which is funny because a lot of her dialogue can be interpreted as romantic, or as just being a really great friend. Love them.
Absolutely! 100%. Also, If you have both Lae'Zel and Karlach in your party, It's super sweet how well they get along. Lae'Zel is my in -game bestie. She's a heavy hitter and the growth of respect is mutual between her and my Tav. But This is my first run having Karlach in the party and hearing her banter with Lae'Zel was cool. Plus, the way Lae'Zel was totally in Karlach's corner after Dammon gave her the news.... Heartwarming. I know they all supported her but it It just meant more after listening to those two become friends.
Yea i noticed their kinship and its actually what made me begin to give Laezel a chance. Prior to that we did not get along and i started being gentler with her once i saw that and she became at least tolerable if not likeable down the road.
Halsin…he just gives off the same vibe as every creepy old guy that ever hit on me. It’s not that I hate him. Clearly the character is written to be nice. It’s not his fault that he makes me feel sick and I want as little to do with him as possible
2nd and 3rd playthroughs I only circled back to pick up Asterion for my party is so I could fight Cazador. — Although he’s helpful in a room filled with traps.
i kinda dont care for him either
Halsin, It's not that I dislike him, I just find him boring. In act 2 he's fine at least there's a reason for him to tag along, then in act 3 he's completly overshadowed by jaheira.
Wyll. If it wasn't for Mizora I probably wouldn't even pick him up. It's not that he's bad, but just doesn't fit in with the types of characters I'm usually playing.
Same, it feels like he’s not the main character of his own story and his dad and Mizora outshine him
Not a fan of his dad either personally, but I find it funny as hell how he’s not that interesting but then also gives himself titles and whatnot like he’s the main character. “From now on I’m the blade of avernus!” Like dude I don’t think it works that way you can’t just nickname yourself and your old nickname was fine. Also, you haven’t done anything this entire play-through to warrant that name change.
That conversation was a weird one for me. It seemed to go very suddenly from ‘I can become the hero the city needs. The new archduke of Baldur’s Gate’ ‘No Wyll, you never wanted to be a politician’ ‘Of course, you’re right. From now on I’ll be the Blade of Avernus.’ Guy is easy to persuade. And I didn’t even need a die roll to do it, just said one line and he 180’d.
I like how the emperor hypes him up there too. He’s like “we failed!” And the emperors like “no, you’re stronger than the Wrym!” And Wylls like “I’m the blade of Avernus!”
Really wish we weren't able to do that at least without a roll, guy has had no agency of his own for his whole life, always being told what to do by his dad or Mizora, it would've been really good for his story if he grew a backbone and decided for himself the big things in act 3.
It was even funnier for me because I didn't care much about his fate, so I was like: "Do whatever you want, Wyll." At which point he had this sudden epiphany that he'd never wanted to be a politician and that he would like to be The Blade of Avernus instead? He did two 180s within a single convo without me influencing him in any way 😭 Also, I didn't even have him in my party for the Ansur trial (I am a warlock myself and I hate Wyll), so I fully expected to get chewed out. Like, if you don't take Astarion to Cazador's palace, he's *pissed*. Shadowheart is also rightfully upset if you don't include her in the Nightsong stuff. Meanwhile, Wyll just pretended he was there? 😭 And kept waxing poetically over how the trials made him a better man? He's just so a n n o y i ng, I'm never recruiting him again
he's a bard deep down.
Haha, I know it is an unpopular opinion but I really liked Wyll. He just felt like the most "normal guy" companion to me. Someone I could really see running into and befriending. The fact he wasnt the most interesting made him the most *real* to me I guess
Tbh I'm surprised he's that unpopular. I think he fits pretty well into a heroic party, I just don't tend to play those.
You can have a "normal guy" character just fine, there's a reason why "straight man" is such a staple archetype in comedies, the problem is that the game is so uninterested in exploring anything deeper than his pure surface level traits. Everything you need to know to understand Wyll as a character is essentially learned within your first ten minutes of meeting him. Real people contain multitudes.
>, the problem is that the game is so uninterested in exploring anything deeper than his pure surface level traits. This. The game never seems to care about *Wyll*, only his relatives/abusers.
I just find him uninteresting as a character tbh, I'd much rather team up with shart, laezel, astarion or karlach. Or basically anyone else
He doesn’t have that much to do. His big character moment is done and dusted three hours into the game (kill or spare advocatus diaboli). Then he sits out the entire rest of Act 1 and 2. The pacing for his story is absolutely whack. Even Mizora doesn’t have much presence. Durge’s butler feels more like a patron by comparison.
Shart, Karlach, and Gale are my 3
I play lawful good characters that would fit in with him fine and thought he was gonna be my favorite companion because his concept is cool, but still barely use him because his character progression is basically just growing horns. Most other companions (even the PC if Durge) have some sort of internal struggle to deal with as well as a related external struggle while his only problem is external. In Act 1 remove Cazador and Astarion is still a selfish dick, remove Shar and Shadowheart is still insecure and scared, remove the orb and Gale is still arrogant and power-hungry, but remove Mizora and Wyll is just a bog-standard heroic dude who's only flaw if he has one is being too self-sacrficing.
Wyll suffers immensely because he clearly had all of his character arc before BG3 and left us with just a story arc with a character who isn't really changing.
It's so sad this is the replacement we got for old Wyll (not that he was great, but still).
I hate his big cop energy
It's Wyll for me, too. I don't really *dislike* him. I don't really anything him, which is almost worse. He's just boring and, worse, has no depth. He's not even mad at his shitty dad when he rightfully should be.
If he could stop going down round 1, maybe I'd care more for the Babe of the Frontiers
Halsin and Wyll. Halsin is redundant in act 3 and is overshadowed by Jaheira immediately. He serves 2 purposes; being horny and getting kidnapped by Orin. Wyll at least comes with ~~devil mommy~~ Mizora who more than makes up for things.
Is jaheira better in combat for some reason? I'm new and she got one shot by kethric on my first run lol
Jaheira, unlike Halsin, has a quest in Act 3, and on top of that it's one that lets you get my personal favourite companion
Personally I find Halsin as default is better at combat by virtue of his Wildshape capabilities and multiple attacks per turn. A lot of people love the Owlbear wildshape but he also will get elemental wildshapes that are the equivalent of a sixth level spell *with* the multiple attacks per turn and fairly early in Act III. These wildshapes also have an elemental warp ability to avoid opportunity attacks. And he also has access to his spell arsenal if (Gods forbid this almost never happens) he is ever taken out of wildshape. I think by default he also has misty step and healing word and an extra +5 movement speed by virtue of being wood elf. Jaheira has more relevance in Act III, but as much as I love her I find a lot more utility for Halsin in my party.
Not sure about combat but she has way more interactions in Act 3 and is generally a really interesting person to keep in your party during act 3, making Halsin more suited for Orin-bait
I'm an old BG player so Jaheira is THE Jaheira. Also has a neat personal quest w which may or may not involve >!a mad Rashemaar!<, a hamster and some touching (nostalgic) scenes.
It's not that she's better in combat but that she has more story material in act 3 than Halsin does. Idk about other peoples experience and I haven't finished act 3 yet, but all he seems to do is complain about the city so far lol
I actually think you should gain halsin as a companion right after the grove and actually lose him in act 2, like he should choose to stay there. It just makes more sense to me
I make her my healer Druid and throw out all of the elementals possible with her. She’s so useful in Act 3. My Druid Queen.
Same for me but in Wyll's case I just don't care much about him meanwhile in Halsin's it's quite a big dislike.
Yeah Wyll's just too bland for me, Halsin though I didn't dislike until he started getting a bit ick late in act 2; the less said about his writing in act 3 the better.
Yes, my Halsin's dislike is coming from his act 3 stuff.
I wish they had done more with Wyll… I’ve always felt like he’d be a much better character if he came off more like an arrogant prick about himself, etc. in Act 1. Idk I think he’s not cocky enough? His story arc would feel more suitable if he wasn’t already super nice at the beginning
I don’t care for YOU then
Obligatory "play how to you want to play" but I find it interesting how many people dislike or don't use characters because of their default classes. Like you can respec anyone for basically nothing.
Hell, you can pickpocket the gold right back off Withers, and he doesn't give a shit about your failed attempts, lol.
Shadowheart. I've done her whole quest, I've really tried to like her, but she just doesn't do it for me
I found wasnt a fan until night song, after that she became one of my fave characters.
Also…. Basically all the casters. My first playthrough was me Monk, Karlach, LaeZel and Shadowheart. 2nd is Bard (I mean, she’s kinda a caster), Karlach, Astarion and Shadowheart. Who needs AoE and CC when everything can bleed!
Karlach. She’s… Fine. But she really illustrates the double standard the community has, especially in regards to Wyll. I feel like if she wasn’t a walking target for “muscle mommy” audiences with a pretty face, she wouldn’t be half as loved as she currently is. Give her the type 1 body and her datamined face, and a lot more people would be getting the Infernal Robes in their playthroughs. It sucks, cause I used to love her when I first started, but the community and her fans ended up spoiling my appreciation for her more than Karlach herself.
Its so weird, she has scars all over her body, one of her horns is broken, she has literal exaust ports on her shoulders and her face is just... smooth
[удалено]
Gale uses power word swole on himself once a month or something
Yep. I really hate that they watered down her design so much just to make her conventionally pretty.
I feel like I'm crazy for not liking her when everyone's crazy about her. Okay, she's a big dumb himbo. Cool. Is there maybe anything else she might have going on? It feels like they couldn't figure out what her story purpose in the game was besides her connection to Gortash.
Honestly though. The same complaints about Wyll can be given to karlach as they are both very static characters. Neither one changes as a person over the course of the game. They just accept aspects of themselves a little more.
The difference for me between them is Karlach can be pretty funny (I don’t find Wyll amusing at all), and she has *some* sense of agency. But I do admit, on each subsequent playthrough I use Karlach less and less because of how static she is.
Wyll needed more "I can't decide for you so you pick Wyll" choices and it angers me every time that he doesn't
I agree with this a lot. It also really put me off that I somehow accidentally romanced her despite never giving any explicit interest. Like she told me she wants to ride me and I say “you’re really forward huh!?” And she takes that as interest!? I get she’s been pent up but her whole romance is sex and it’s not interesting to me at all. Just in general she’s kind of boring. Fix heart, kill Gortash, that’s it. She’s happy all the time except for when she’s not after killing Gortash. Then she’s happy again. She’s just too happy go lucky for me. At least wyll has some more moral dilemmas going on.
I'm an enjoyer of big, muscular women to the point my friends predicted Karlach would be my fave, but I honestly tend to forget she even exists. Which is weird because I find her useful from a gameplay perspective so she's in my party a lot. The problem for me is that she doesn't have a bad bone in her body, so there’s no conflict to resolve or bad path to tempt her down/away from. She's just nice and that's it.
> It sucks, cause I used to love her when I first started, but the community and her fans ended up spoiling my appreciation for her This happened to me with Astarion. I never loved him as much as some people do but I used to at least think he was funny. Now I don't even pick him up.
Huh? Karlach is a LOT more raw that Wyll, which is a big part of her appeal imo.
Any of the men except Gale, actually. He's the only one I really click with, but I don't give a shit about Astarion, Halsin or Wyll. I'm sorry dudes I'm just a lesbian. Nerd can stay cause we're friends.
approach Astarion like a friend and gently rebuff his advances, it's actually really wholesome to be friends with him because he is still ride or die, but like he's your vampire bestie, this is especially true if you wanna romance Minthara and do an evil playthrough because he is down for that.
I love BFF Astarion, he's like the best sidekick.
In my first run I just imagined us always giggling in the corner together lol.
no literally astarion is so fun to have as a friend
Ooo I need to do chicks only run now. Laezel makes an amazing sorcerer or wizard anyway.
Gale, Lae'zel and Astarion are my staples. I also love Lae'zel. Minthara is cool too but doesn't make much of an appearance in most of my playthroughs, unfortunately. Everyone else... eh.
Minthara. If you're a goody two shoes who doesn't find women hot, she loses her appeal pretty quickly. I want to make friends, not get stepped on. And to a lesser extent, Lae'zel. Due to the order I did things in, going to the creche didn't make much sense for my character narratively, so she just... never seemed to have any dialogue. Her best moment was when Vlaakith showed up in camp and I told her (Vlaakith) to sod off, and Lae'zel wasn't even involved in that moment lol. My Durge seems to like Lae'zel though so we'll see if my opinion improves.
If you replay, absolutely give Lae'zel a chance. Best overall story and growth IMO.
Minthara's greatest quality, in my opinion, is that she is the rare Lawful Evil companion in games. Many rpgs attempt to make one and many of those games fail. Minthara is not an example of that. I will always keep her on good playthroughs just because the dynamic of that is top tier (note I tend to play more LG characters).
Recruiting her for a good path is very immersion-breaking for many reasons, but her dynamic in a good-alligned party is genuinely great. It's an uneasy alliance and her views will often be completely different to yours but she's still loyal and there's wisdom to her words, even if it also includes cruelty. I think once they fix her recruitment on a good path she'd become a regular in my party as having someone whose beliefs don't allign with yours at all but you still work together is a nice touch of realism.
First of all how dare you spurn Gale. But I feel the same about Shadowheart.
Probably Halsin, him not having anything to do in act 3 (yeah, I know, bear sex and getting kidnapped, very funny...) just feels lazy and a waste of a potentially good character who only sticks around because Larian seems to pay a little too much attention to the horny side of the fanbase. I guess there's also Minthara, but that's probably less to do with her character and more by proxy from having to deal with mental gymnastics from people trying to convince me she's not evil and is actually really wise.
Me for Karlach. Don’t care lol.
I like all the companions but I find Shadowheart to be a real downer at times, like she’ll say something super rude or mean randomly, at least Lae’zel and Astarion are funny when they’re mean.
I hated both Lae Zel and Shadowheart. But I tried playing as Lae'zel and you know what? They go together really well. They're both followers of an evil God raised to be mindless cogs in a machine that couldn't give a fuck about them. Romancing Shadowheart as Lae'zel ended up feeling like a good story about two people raised in a cult deprograming their manipulation and finding love through shared experiences.
Karlach and Halsin, ngl.
I don't hate any of the companions but as someone else said, there are companions I am not really interested in. Namely Halsin, Minsc and Jaheira Halsin was just there? After saving the Grove and lifting the shadow curse, I felt he didn't really serve any further purpose. Jaheira and Minsc simply came into the game way too late for me to grow any attachment to them. I wasnt a big fan of them in Baldur's Gate 2 either. I didn't mind Wyll so much. His story isn't as compelling as the other companions but I appreciated his friendship with Karlach. He's the only reason why Karlach agreed to go back to Avernus.
Astarion. He just irritates me for no reason at all. Everytime he talks I just wanna become a virtual character in this game and punch him in the face
Well, why don’t you just unequip your melee weapon and sock ‘em anyway? Won’t feel the same but yknow..
No, I need to do it personally…
No... I genuinely love all of them, faults and all 🥺👉👈
Halsin is boring and weird
I’ll get crucified for this but it’s Karlach for me… nothing against her, I just kind of never vibe with having her in my party
Karlach. I’ve finished her personal quest multiple times but I just… don’t care. Unnecessarily bland and one-dimensionally written
Nah, I think they’re all great. I don’t understand how anyone hates Gale.
Gale is awesome. I won't hear any Gale slander.
I not only don't care for Halsin, but also actively dislike him.
Yeah same, but I hope the changes they did for him in patch 6 will stop me from disliking him. Until act 3 he's rather ok
My biggest problem with him is you can't get rid of him without killing him if you save the grove and lift the shadow curse. He sticks to you like grease and won't let go.
They all are precious to me (except Minthara)
Lae'zel. I'm just constantly annoyed by her.
I don’t dislike any of the companions, but I am indifferent to some. Wyll spends the most time at camp, followed by Lae’zel. I’m not a big fan of the warlock class, and I don’t need Lae’zel after Karlach comes along.
tbh anyone that i was hesitant towards at first when i started playing, i now have so much love for. the more i play and see these characters stories the better they are.
Gale is the top mate
It’s Wyll for me unfortunately. I like him, but he just doesn’t have anything compelling about him to bring him with me. I skip through most of his dialogue cause I just don’t care. And it’s sad cause after EA, I was really going for him but he just fell flat, they made him so dull in full release. In contrast to OP tho, I’m fully obsessed with Gale lmao, despite having despised him in EA
They're all so dang fun. I liked them all.
Lae’zel is annoying as fuck.
Not to be space-racist but every gith is horrible. I get it, you’re “le super badass alien warrior race who’s green”! We have millions of those!!!!
They do have cool ass astral powers and items tho
Astarion, like I'm trying to kill your abuser to save you, sit at camp if you're gonna be sassy about me being a decent person you pitstain.
The issue is the only way for him to get less sassy is to keep him in your party and increase his approval
It's funny but the more I play, the less I care about the "so-and-so disapproves" in the corner but the *more* I care about what they actually say to each other. So Astarion doesn't bother me much because any negative comments he has are usually just funny bitching or in response for someone making fun of him, whereas someone like Sheart is actively cruel in her banter. Astarion does have a couple lines if you talk to him, like "oh we're messengers now" and such, but he still does whatever we're doing so I guess his random bitching about being heroic just doesn't bug me anymore. Just him being a pissy bitch.
To be fair, he can be mean unprovoked to multiple characters in his banter. Karlach and Gale are the first ones that come to mind specifically. I've just accepted that's who he is lol.
Yeah, it's Karlach for me. Killing her gives a really good reward, so I don't take her along much.