Ok so companions. Do you use them?

I have to say I don't and I was a little disappointed to see they play a fairly large part in NV. I've used Grandma Lily just to do the 'Guess Who I Saw Today' quest - but apart from that I just can't bring myself. I'm a loner in the wasteland and like it that way.

I was the same way in FO3. I found that Companions more got in the way and were tough to keep alive, so they were more trouble than they were worth and I went it alone. The same goes for Fallout 1. Fallout 2 some of the companions were actually useful if you gave them the right guns so I let a couple follow me around, but dismissed them just prior to the final confrontation on the oil rig.

In New Vegas, I'm torn. Companions do a little better in a fight than they did in FO3, but they still often do dumb things I don't want them to. Plus, I play in hardcoe mode so they often eat up a lot of ammo that I don't want them to. And, of course, they can DIE in hardcoe mode. However, some of them have some pretty damn useful perks and fun side-quests. So what I often find myself doing is letting them join up, but telling them to wait in the Lucky 38 while I go off on my own. I sometimes bring one along with me, but only if I need a mule.

Yesh - I know what you mean. I'm a bit of a sneaker\ sniper\ thief - type character, and companions just don't fit with that way of playing the game - unless they are just used as pack mules which you leave lying around waiting for you all the time. I can see the usefulness in that, but I think I'd prefer my own Brahmin if I need a pack mule.

I've always wondered why I can't have my own Brahmin to look after - like the traders have. That would be fun.

:hubbahubba:

Voted yes but it depends on the game. For NV, I use them when I don't want to test actual gameplay difficulty or whatnot and mostly want to goof around. I know it may sound silly to some, but I've always found it amusing/enjoyable to watch the game play itself sometimes. AI vs AI. In strategy games I'd make silly maps that forced AI players against each other with extra advantages and the like, so I could sit and watch. Once I get the story/quest out of a NV companion, it's the same thing. Their idiocy make me laugh, which endears them to me, so I keep using them.

But definitely agree that if you're really into stealth/sneaky methods, want to rack up all the achievements/those extra perks from combat things yourself quickly, or want the game to actually be more challenging and/or predictable in combat, that they generally aren't the best thing to use. ps...Boone really is a good sniper, tho, and works well with another sniper...when he's not bugging out & trying to use his machete, that is. But (like most of the human companions) he'll kill 3/4 of the stuff for you, which takes away challenge.

My last playthrough was in hardcoe mode, and with the AI the way it is currently, I didnt use any companions until close to the end. Which means unfortunately, I blocked off most of their quests.

I've used them at least with my first character, they can be helpful in a fight, and while they can of course suffer from bad AI the fact that as long as I'm not playing in hardcoe mode, they can't die makes that less of a problem, the worst that could happen is that they get knocked out and I lose their help in the fight, and even that can be avoided if I can get to them and use stimpaks with the companion wheel in time. And yes, that has been quite helpful in making using companions more convenient. Of course, they still make good pack mules, and I'm glad that unlike in Fallout 3, even the dog companion can do that. Though it's kind of annoying that due to some really bizarre programming decisions, companions drop any faction armors they can't wear instead of, you know. Not wearing them, which is made even stranger by the fact that companions who can't wear armor to begin with still do this. It's like they're somehow offended that you're asking them to even carry armor from specific factions so they even drop it. Some of the companion perks are pretty useful too, and last but not least, I've enjoyed some of the companion quests, and I wouldn't want to miss out on those simply because I want to travel alone.

At first, I used ED-E due to being the first companion I found, then I also added Boone to my group, I replaced him after I found Lily and got her help for that quest in Jacobstown, though, and while I've since replaced her with Cassidy, I have no desire to go back to using Boone. He just seemed rather boring to me, and he was too overpowered, with him in my group, I could really just leave the fighting to him, the enemies just kept dying, sometimes I felt like Boone was stealing my kills, even though that doesn't stop me from getting the experience and rewards.

I've started with my second character though, and I'm not sure what I'll do yet, I'll probably use companions when I find them, but I don't know who I'll use, and I'll probably try some alternatives to their quests that I didn't take in the ones I've so far chosen.

Definitely can't use Boone if you want to Legion path. :laugh:
I consider all companions to be overpowered at higher levels. But that's probably because I don't consider the game very difficult in its vanilla state, even on Very Hard. I had to eventually alter a lot of little things via the editor to make it suit my own tastes.


omg, so true. "Dear REX, you can't wear that even if you wanted to, why won't you at least CARRY it on your back like a good doggy?"

One of the biggest yet overlook improvements companions

P.S. You can have 2 at one time Rex or ED-E with a Human for example also companions are immortal so you don't have to worry about em

Harlow wouldn't have made it without Boone and ED-E by her side. She's a great talker but not a great shot and I can't tell you how many times an attacker fell nearby before she even knew they were there. whew.

Yep, I use them. Constant nerd rage, ferocious loyalty, and, 10 charisma.

Better companions, that do not steal exp, help make charisma useful now.

So if you do not use companions you can totally dump charisma to make up for it.

I love using Boone and EDE together they own:)

I didn't use companions much in FO3, they were too fragile pre-Broken Steel and even if I set them essential they required a lot of babysitting. So far in FONV I've actually enjoyed them quite a lot, even with my first character who was playing in hardcoe. They still sometimes need babysitting but the companion wheel removes a lot of the hassle.

I tend to be a loner. I wouldn't mind a dog so long as it wasn't a ridiculous cyber-pet like Rex (seriously, who thought *that* would be a good idea?). I like having Cass around because: 1) I like Cass; 2) I like Whiskey.

In my experience these companions are all inept. You tell them Passive but they run into the fray like idiots and get cut down. There is no companion in this game that suits my stealthy style of play - every single one of them has given away my position every single time I've been in sneak mode and they do it regardless of the load-out they have.

It would be nice if companions would actually just remain passive until I told them explicitly to engage. It would also be nice if I told them to wait somewhere, and they would do it CROUCHING. But... can't have everything I guess.

So. I tend to be a loner. It's a lot less irritating that way.

just to clarify the only reason i have companions is so i can use em to carry all my loot

I just found they get in the way mostly, so I haven't used them yet. Just like in Fallout 3... they were more of a hinderance than anything.

I like having grandma Lily tag along with her K9. They were of great help to the end, although I do wish they were stronger! Great game!

I'm using ED-E because he fits my current character -- a Science! guy named Doc Salvage (anyone who knows Pulps will know exactly what the character is like), but in my previous games I only kept them around long enough to do the quests. That can be fun, but companions mostly just irritate me after awhile.

Bring back Sulik. That is all

They never act right. They are impossible to control, and since I play on hardcoe, they end up dying after only 1 or 2 battles. For that reason, I don't use them. I may recruit one and tell them to wait somewhere just to use their perk, but I don't enjoy having them with me.

I wish they worked better, though, because I would probably like using one if I didn't have to constantly babysit them.

I'm surprised at how much I like the companions in this game - in F:3 I used Charon once and really wasn't fussed. But I'm not playing on hardcoe, so if they are a bit rubbish in this game I know that they will get back up again at the end of it I think the companion quests (or at least the ones I've done so far) are great too.

Babysit them

Yes I think that sums up exactly why I don't have the time for them.

Nice idea - but I think I'll play The Sims if I want to babysit virtual characters.

I really like them. I get kind of sad when I have to run around the Mojave by myself.
They also make me feel a lot less uneasy when I'm in scary places, so if I'm planning on exploring a big building or some other dark area, I always make sure to force ask someone to come along. I'm a big scaredy-cat otherwise! :'(

First playthrough I used them because I didn't want to miss content They did make things a lot easier though. 2nd playthrough I was thinking about not using them, but it was a melee character, and good lord melee so much weaker I had to bring them along, Deathclaws/Cazadores/final battle would have been horrendously difficult without them (or rather, I would have had to use guns :shakehead: ).

Anyways, if you're not playing on hardcoe they really have no downside, since they can't die, and usually are extremely durable anyways. The only time they get KOd is if I crit them by accident (happens a lot in stupid chaotic melee battles :/ ) or if they get swarmed by deathclaws (or get one-shot by the Legendary Deathclaw, holy moly, I had to use a gun to kill that SOB).

Definitely understand wanting to be alone. In FO3 it was just me and my dog the first time through.

Unlike FO3, I like using companions in FONV. Each of them has their own uses and their sidequests are pretty fun. I collect and keep them in my Lucky 38 room until I have a mission that requires their talents. So I play the game about 60% with companions and 40% without them.

The first companion I had was Boon and he kept dying on me. We would constantly get ambushed by a Legion squad and he would always die. Finally I fast traveled to a spot far enough away to get rid of them, but I dismissed Boon when I went back to Novac. He was too much hassle to keep alive, maybe I don't play well with others...