Companion Changes in KotFE

[Edge-]

http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...48#edit8407848

Originally Posted by SWTOR

Hey folks!

As mentioned before, he is a quick wrap-up of what was discussed on the livestream earlier this evening. First off, you can watch the archived version of the stream yourself, right here (part 1) (part 2).

We opened by showing the intro to Chapter 3, along with playing through portions of it to highlight some key choices that can be made, new environments, etc. After that we took on some of the more commonly asked questions around Companions in Knights of the Fallen Empire. Here they are:

What happens to my existing Companions in KotFE?
When Fallen Empire launches, all of your existing Companions remain accessible to you outside of the story Chapters. In the KotFE story there is a specific cast of characters that is a part of that ongoing storyline.

Is there more combat customization for Companions?
Absolutely, in fact every Companion can now choose any role you choose at any time; healer, tank, or DPS.

How does gear come into play here?
Starting in KotFE your Companion's power and stats scale with your level, regardless of the gear they are wearing. However, you can still use gear to determine exactly how your Companions will look. (note: this is not a part of Appearance Designer)

What about all of that Affection I farmed for my Companions?
We haven't forgotten the relationships you've built; the affection you earned will not be lost and the relationships you built will continue to be relevant.

If you have more Companion questions, feel free to ask them in this thread. We will work to answer them throughout the rest of the week. Keep in mind of course that we will not answer spoilery questions. Finally, we ended the stream with a video clip from Chapter 1 of Fallen Empire which shows an important decision made around one of the character's Companions. Sparing any spoilers, check out the archive for the clip.

-eric

This all pleases me greatly, especially companions gaining access to all roles and no longer needing gear. Yay for one fewer hassles!

[Katchii]

YAY! Loving the no gear and companion scaling part. That's amazing.

[Derah]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I hope the "companions can now be of any role" applies to pre-KOTFE content as well. I really dislike some of my companions in certain classes, and utterly loathe how I am forced to use them because the Tank and Healer companions are just so indispensable.

I'd love to be able to use Nadia on my Sage, or Jaessa on my Warrior, or Aric on my Trooper. But nooooooo I have to use the Healer/Tank companion (or worse yet, Treek, which is a mixture of both) in order to be able to do well enough. Pretty much the only characters in which I'm fine with the companions I use are my Bounty Hunter with Mako, Sorc with Xelec, and Agent with Kaliyo.

[derpkitteh]

YES! HEALER PADAWANS AND APPRENTICES!

omfg, that's awesome.

[Edge-]

I hope the "companions can now be of any role" applies to pre-KOTFE content as well.

They confirmed all companion changes are retroactive. So all old companions can now fulfill all roles : )

I hate that I'm getting mildly hyped for this expansion. It seems like, purely geared towards a filthy casual like me.

[Derah]

They confirmed all companion changes are retroactive. So all old companions can now fulfill all roles : )

I hate that I'm getting mildly hyped for this expansion. It seems like, purely geared towards a filthy casual like me.

Me too!!!!

Pretty much the only thing I'm sad about is that there's only 1 story rather than 8, but that's a small price to pay if its "quality over quantity" that they're going for apparently.

I'm sad about another thing they said about old companions. Since they will have almost no role on the new story (mechanically they'll still be there, but story-wise they wont be) that means my hopes of finally having same-sex romances for the old companions is over =(

I was SO hoping to get a few of those. Pair off my Smuggler with Korso, or my Female BH with Mako, etc. Some companions have really good chemistry with our characters, regardless of gender, and it always bugged me that there's a barrier preventing a romance in those cases. There's FAR more chemistry between Mako and the BH than there ever would be with that mandalorian brat. Ditto for the Warrior and Jaessa regardless of gender (Because honestly, TO HELL WITH QUINN, that bastard >_>). Ditto for the smuggler and Korso.

Despite the years passing by, I still kept hoping that one day they'd finally take the step forward, but it doesn't seem like its gonna happen =/

Best we can settle for apparently is Lana and Theron when it comes to same-sex romances.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

They confirmed all companion changes are retroactive. So all old companions can now fulfill all roles : )

I hate that I'm getting mildly hyped for this expansion. It seems like, purely geared towards a filthy casual like me.

Bloody casual.



<--Plays SWTOR to now but only because of a love for Star wars and Jedi stuff.

[quras]

YAY! Loving the no gear and companion scaling part. That's amazing.

I do like that.

No gear sets to carry for companions. Switch companions to tank, DPS or heals as you need it. Still be able to change their appearance as you used to but it seems to not be tied into costume designer just yet. If you had a companion in the past and it's not part of the new "cannon" story, you can still get them and use them.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Now you will be able to use any companion you want and not feel like you have to use one you don't care for. Master and padawan etc... Some nice changes coming out of this in a very laid back casual story.

[unfilteredJW]

I resubbed last night and man, I'm hyped for the expansion.

I do need to pick up the last expac still, but was excited to see like 2k cartel coins on my account.

So, I'm going to level up a sage with the new race this week and try and ease back into it. I logged on my guardian, looked at all the buttons and abilities, and just had ton say nope.

[Endus]

I resubbed about three weeks back, but these companion changes have me genuinely excited for the expansion. I was resubbing just to take advantage of 12x xp to see some class stories, but I may actually stick around and buy the expansion when it launches. Haven't bought the newest, though; figure I'll probably wait until KotFE launches so I get it for free.

[Treeba]

I resubbed about three weeks back, but these companion changes have me genuinely excited for the expansion. I was resubbing just to take advantage of 12x xp to see some class stories, but I may actually stick around and buy the expansion when it launches. Haven't bought the newest, though; figure I'll probably wait until KotFE launches so I get it for free.

You don't have to "buy" KotFE either! If you're subbed in October you'll get it free.

[unfilteredJW]

You don't have to "buy" KotFE either! If you're subbed in October you'll get it free.

...this is neat info to have.

Thanks!

[Treeba]

...this is neat info to have.

Thanks!

Uh np!

It's plastered all over their website as well. Also, you don't even need to sub in October. You can sub anytime after October and you'll get all the chapters that have been released up to that point. If you want you can wait and sub in July 2016 and you'll get all 16 chapters. Of course you won't be able to play KotFE until then, but if you're really patient/cheap you can pay a monthly sub once and get everything.

http://www.swtor.com/fallen-empire/overview

[Zephyr Storm]

This is awesome. One thing I never enjoyed about companions was trying to keep them geared while leveling so they would stay relevant. Completely removing gearing from companions (other than for cosmetics of course) is a huge boon if you ask me. It allows you to focus on just your character and story way more. Keep the good changes coming Bioware!

[Darth Belichick]

I love that I can actually use my apprentices and have them heal or tank or dps depending on what I want.

[Sills]

I love that I can actually use my apprentices and have them heal or tank or dps depending on what I want.

There is so much to be happy about with how they are doing companions. I don't have to worry about their itemization, I can dress them however I like and I can still bring any companion I want.. I really can't ask for anything more in regards to companions, but this is the change that has me the most pleased.

I always hated having to drag Quinn around wherever I went on my warrior just because I liked having a healer. I hate Quinn and every time he speaks I get irritated by him. This applies to other characters as well (Khem will always be a loyal servant of my sorc whether he likes it or not muahaha) but my the warrior will be the biggest improvement for me personally. GTFO Quinn.

[Deleted]

There is so much to be happy about with how they are doing companions. I don't have to worry about their itemization, I can dress them however I like and I can still bring any companion I want.. I really can't ask for anything more in regards to companions, but this is the change that has me the most pleased.

I always hated having to drag Quinn around wherever I went on my warrior just because I liked having a healer. I hate Quinn and every time he speaks I get irritated by him. This applies to other characters as well (Khem will always be a loyal servant of my sorc whether he likes it or not muahaha) but my the warrior will be the biggest improvement for me personally. GTFO Quinn.

So-much-this! I am leveling a sith warrior myself, and I despise Quinn too. But both female comps are squishy dps, and as a dps warr+dps comp we are simply taking too much dmg from mobs and have to recueparate after every third pull. Can't wait for Vette the healer or Jaessa the tank <3

[Katchii]

There is so much to be happy about with how they are doing companions. I don't have to worry about their itemization, I can dress them however I like and I can still bring any companion I want.. I really can't ask for anything more in regards to companions, but this is the change that has me the most pleased

So much this... I can finally use the companion I want to use, like my apprentice or love interest or whatever instead of the one I'm forced to use based on the role I am.

That said, with Treek being a good healer and tank I'm not sure I'll use anyone but her unless I myself am playing a healing role.

[Deleted]

So much this... I can finally use the companion I want to use, like my apprentice or love interest or whatever instead of the one I'm forced to use based on the role I am.

That said, with Treek being a good healer and tank I'm not sure I'll use anyone but her unless I myself am playing a healing role.

Heh, Treek... I bought her when she was on 50% sale in the cartel shop... And I use her pretty much only for crafting. I absolutely cannot stant the constant endless gibberish yelling that she does, all the time. After a few minutes I wanted to punch her through the monitor.

[Edge-]

Heh, Treek... I bought her when she was on 50% sale in the cartel shop... And I use her pretty much only for crafting. I absolutely cannot stant the constant endless gibberish yelling that she does, all the time. After a few minutes I wanted to punch her through the monitor.

Did you expect anything else from an ewok : P