No need to say.

You can fix their level with wabbajack but they will still infuriate you by equipping hunting bows and not using the equipment/tactics you would like them to use.

Actually, at least cosmetically, followers do level with you. In the nitty gritty details...not so much.

I've had a chance to observe this in my game and figure it out. Erik the Slayer's been with my character since...around level 15 or so; she's now level 34. At every level up, if you check Erik's level in the console, it will always match whatever my character's level is. If she just hit level 20, he's now level 20, and so on and so forth. So it gives the impression that he's leveling correctly.

However. If you then check his health ("getAVinfo health"), as an example, you'll find that his actual health will be one number and computed base will be another, usually much higher, number. If you were to pick him up at a low level (as I did), his actual current health will probably be something really low...200 or so, let's say. The computed base, which is what his health actually should be for whatever his current level is, will be much higher.

If you "unstick" him--either with Wabbajack or with the console if you happen to be on PC--and then check his health again, actual health and computed base should be identical...at least until you level up again.

I think the trouble is that, on the surface, followers are leveling with you--but then their stats are not increasing accordingly, unless you wave Wabbajack or some console commands at them--so if you pick up a follower at level 15, by level 25 or so s/he's far squishier than s/he should be, because while their cosmetic level is 25, their actual stats are still stuck at level 15.

I don't think this was intentional on Bethesda's parts--the fact that followers level with you at all is indicative of the fact that they were intended to keep up with you stats-wise as well--and is probably an unintended consequence they didn't have time to fix by 11/11/11. The question remains of why they haven't fixed it yet, however.

Assuming your observations are correct, the lack of follower leveling has to be a bug/oversight. Why else would the game code change any of their level stats?

I haven't seen this setclass command mentioned before. I use enable/disable which seems to work. Getlevel shows that they update, anyway. It's important to note also that each NPC has his/her own max level. Most of them in the level 30-40 range.

The OP and I are in the same exact boat, left for 6 months randomly decided tonight to seach if this bug was fixed...still not fixed. Shocking even for a ES game. It kills it for me that the DE that you get really early on by ratting out Sven is level 1 and instantly falls in combat. I like followers and like him (name starts with an F i think) its a deal breaker for me, kills the immersion. Please fix this Bethesda

First of all........why does it say "0 Views" for this thread? And it doesn't list as having any posts, either. Odd.

UPDATE: Oh, it was moved....that's why.

No, the followers levelling up has not been fixed.

Using Lydia as an example, do the following:

(1) take everything that you've given her back (temporarily)
(2) Tell her "It's time for us to part ways" best to do this where she would be anyway at whatever home you have that she returns to
(3) With her in the screen, bring up the console and click on her so that her Actor Value number is showing
(4) Type "Setav health" and take note of the number it gives
(5) Type "disable"
(6) Type "enable" (you may have to get out of the console and go to where she respawns)
(7) When she reappears, open the console, and highlight her (so her Actor Value number shows)
(8) Type "setav Health" This should now be a larger health number, if you've levelled up at least once since she joined you

Have her follow you again, and giver her back all the stuff you took. You have to take her stuff, or it will not be there when you re-enable her. Doing this keeps her at maximum and a LOT tougher than if you don't do this.

There's a lot of unnecessary steps in that procedure. Simply dismissing, disabling and enabling her, then rehiring her (or any other follower) will do the trick. I do this every five levels with Erik to keep his stats mostly current (wait any longer and he gets too squishy; do it every level and I get annoyed by it).

If you want to check on a follower's health you should use "getAV health" as well. It will report their current health and a computed base, which is what their health should be for their current level, without any buffs or debuffs added in.

(You can also use the getAV console command to check on other stats as well, like magicka, stamina, and various skills. When checking for stuck follower stats though, health is probably the best one to check, especially for tank followers. You'll notice the biggest difference in actual vs. computed base there if you haven't "unstuck" their stats in a while.)

Also note that, unless you're on PC and have a mod that removes follower level caps, when you hit a follower's level cap they will stop leveling and their stats will stop increasing. If you have a follower who's gotten "stuck" at a certain level--typically 40 or 50 for most followers--that's why. They've hit their level cap. Without mods, J'zargo is the only follower who will level up to 81 with you.

And finally...if you're playing on XBox 360/PS3, since you don't have access to the console, the same method of unsticking follower stats can be accomplished via Wabbajack. Remove your follower's gear, take them to an isolated area, save, dismiss, and whack them with the Wabbajack. (Save beforehand just in case they turn into a Dremora as opposed to, say, a chicken. Isolated area is to avoid aggro'ing any NPCs nearby, who will interpret this as a hostile act/a crime.) Give them a quick punch to knock them back to their normal selves, then grab them, rehire them, and give them their stuff back.

Slightly trickier than the console method, since Wabbajacking is quite unpredictable in its results, but it will unstick their stats.

I would at least Save first before doing this as there is an off chance that inventories can be reset doing this. However, this is rare and I would rather save, then reload a couple of times rather than go through Lydia's whining when I am giving her equipment that will save her life.

I always take Erik's stuff away before I do any messing about with this procedure and then give it back afterwards. Of course, he's a lot more cheerful about trading stuff back and forth than Lydia is, so it's far less annoying to deal with.

Re: Unnecessary steps: Not really. I just specified the other steps, because if you don't take the stuff you have given Lydia, you probably won't get it back when your re-eable her. And, the Actor Health thing is just to show that yes, her health has increased, so that people who are new to the procedure can test it that it's worked. Yes, the GETav health etc. is probably better.

Just another quick related question:

1) Is the the wabbajock trick definitely confirmed? I'm on xbox

2) Are there any adverse effects?

I don't really want to read the wiki as I want to discover this wabberjock myself

I always empty the follower's inventory before dismiss disable/enable. Has anyone lost items when leveling their followers or am I being over-cautious?

Yes.
No.

Do it away from populated areas to prevent unpleasantries.

I've tried it myself in my game (I'm on PC) and yes, it works as advertised. It has the same effect as the console trickery, just without the console part. And with a random chance of turning your follower into something unpleasant.


There's a potential for adverse effects. Save before you try anything. Also, as I said in an earlier post, make sure you're in an isolated area. Using Wabbajack can be interpreted as an act of hostility, and NPCs may attack you and/or your follower.

There's also a random chance your follower may turn into something hostile, like a Dremora, and will attack you and can't really be changed back to their normal selves with just a quick punch upside the noggin. If this happens just reload and try again. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll turn into a goat instead.