I'm going to post it here because it really isn't a discussion topic, more of a clarification.


I know about the level match when you have a follower with you. They scale to your level when you pick them up. But, does this occur when you FIRST speak/talk/interact with them? Or is it when you actually INVITE them into a party?

For instance, Farkas/Aela/Various Companions are fighting the giant first time into Whiterun. They obviously talk to you as it just happens that way, unless of course you head into Whiterun via elsewhere... like the opposite side of the world. I personally think they'll still run to you but.. eh... what are you going to do about it. But I digress.....

I'm usually in the range of 6-8th level by the time I'm heading into Whiterun. Does this lock them into that during that conversation, or later on when I "invite" them to join me when I'm higher level (usually)? (Hypothetical situation here!!! No flames on the idiocy of the Companion Quests)

It's when you first enter the cell they're in. Basically the first time the game loads them sets their level.

So in other words, avoid the follower you really want like one of the plagues until you're ready. Or, wabbajack the cr*p out of them. Got it. Thanks!

You can Wabbajack them, so it's not too much of a problem unless you want an essential follower like Mjoll. It's pretty difficult to avoid entire cells when your leveling unless you do the Oghma Infinium exploit.

Really? That svcks. I waited until I was over lvl50 to pick up Aela, now I find out she is a level 5 or whatever.... Can't be - she is pretty darn tough. She holds her own, and I am at lvl77 now. She should be getting wiped by most of the leveled creeps.....

The gear you've given her is likely levelled to the content, making her a lowbie demi-god.

Alternatively:


And link: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Follower_(Skyrim)

Hope this helps!

So you're saying that Aela actually leveled up to where I was after I met her in the Underforge, and she was STILL useless at Gallows Rock?

I suppose so. Depends on your level and the gear she had, as well as your playstyle. But at that point of the game, she should be your level.

She had her default gear, because there's no way for her to have anything else at that point. I was in the high teens as far as level.

TBH it doesn't seem to matter though, I just haven't found her to be of any use as a follower at any level, I guess if I asked her to be one when it became possible and used UFO to "force level" her up and give her better gear it might be different, but the ones where I'm forced to have her along are just a nightmare. It always cracks me up when she says "we're" gonna wipe them all out, because I know it really means I'm gonna wipe them all out and die several times trying while she yells taunts and does next to no actual damage at all.

What a coincidence. I did that quest just last night and I don't think she finished off a single NPC. In the final room I killed everyone, the Skinner included and she was still battling it out with one of the Silverhands. I had to finish that one off too. So yeah, maybe with some good gear she'd more effective but without it the only thing she's probably good for is hunting elk.

I use followers for the inventory space and as a distraction, if they can fight then that just makes it easier. I wish there was an adapt/expert alteration spell which increases your inventory space.

OH EM GEE it's not just me then.

Do you want to know how I finished off about half of the hostiles in there, including the Skinner?

I had to engage their attention just long enough to make them want to chase me all the way back to the start of the dungeon, where you pull a chain and lower the spiked gate to get in. The first time I did that, I was just running for my life trying to find a place to let my health regenerate, or have time to "magic it back up" again if possible. I got all the way back and then realized I'd been followed, I pulled the chain and the gate went back up but the NPC got through. At least I was able to kill him without being attacked by any more NPCs at the same time, which got me to thinking. Because we were coming up on these baddies in groups of twos and threes at least, and my gear and archery are not good enough to guarantee a one shot stealth kill (altho I did get a couple, still a problem if there are more than two to begin with), and Aela was USELESS. She would engage for a fraction of a second before taking a knee and then I'd have multiple attackers on me and I'd... just... die. I had to use Battle Cry and a Storm Atronach scroll just to survive a third of the way through, and even that was after multiple attempts.

So anyway, after I remembered about the spiked gate and the dude chased me all the way back there, I had an idea, which was to just sneak up and put an arrow into the nearest baddie in the next group and then run like hell. Aela would go into combat mode and distract them all momentarily, and I could always get at least one to chase me. I would stay just far enough ahead (and not in Sneak) to keep them interested, then run like mad up the final set of steps, tear into the first chamber, and pull the chain. The gate would go up and the attacker would just stand there doing combat taunts and flailing at it with their weapon. And I would fire arrows into them between the spikes until they died. This took AGES.

I would finish them off, lower the gate, and head back down the dungeon, about halfway to where we left off Aela would come sauntering back to meet me, and we'd retrace our steps to wherever the last fight was. And then I'd repeat the process as needed until everyone in that area was dead, because not once while I was back in the first chamber shooting arrow after arrow into an enemy did she ever manage to kill any of them herself, until the end when I was able to one-shot a guy in the final chamber, then put an arrow into the second guy, then get the Skinner to chase me back to the gate where I killed him as described above. When I got back to the end, she had killed the guy that I wounded with my second arrow.

And it took me multiple attempts to get it to work for the final group of Silver Hand, the first few times I couldn't even run away fast enough to keep them all off me because Aela kept plowing into the chamber and blowing my cover before I could get a decent second shot off, then she'd take on 2-3 by herself and be down for the count almost immediately and I'd be toast.

Grrr. At least I think I'm done with the "forced follower" quests until I get Vilkas for the last Silver Hand mission, at least if he charges into a bunch of enemies he can do some decent damage in the process, not stand there firing crappy arrows from a crappy bow into them from two feet away while they're hacking you to bits.