Too many companionq make the game too easy, suggestions?

[dieangel68]

I've found a couple unofficial followers i like quite a lot, but i can't help but feel that it makes the game too easy... Anyone having an idea on how to restore the game balance?

 

I'm trying to feel a bit of struggle in the game, and well it tend to feel lonely in a simgleplayer game like this so... i don't know, maybe each companion should require food and water... actually the whole food and water thing in new vegas seems to be an afterthought, as there is like... no way i'm going to run out of water and food with so much junk around...

 

Maybe they should require some kind of resting too... but i'm thinking in the lines of having a companion refuse to fight when tired ans the only way to make him recover is to dismiss him for a day or two... that or they could have a life of their own (i'm thinking about the sunny smile companion, she might demand to go back to goodspring to ensure things keep running)

 

ED-E ... I think that little guy should eat power cells, at least his laser pistol should.

 

Do companions level on their own? or is it only fixed/scale with player ?

 

A few mercenaries would probably be nice, they would be pretty much "gun holder all in one" don't let you meddle with their personal gears, cost a lot of caps to hire, and only stay with you for a certain duration, before they require more cash. (as an added bonus some of those could double as trader, letting you "buy back" some of the caps they costed you by giving them equipment instead, but at a low rate)

 

 

Right now with the following companions: Miria, Sunny Smile, Ed-E, Mongrel(dog) i can pretty much walk with my eyes closed in the wasteland as they will pretty much obliterate everything on my path. (yeah i know i'm complaining about a situation i created myself)

 

Just wondering if any of you thought of a smart idea on how to balance larger groups of followers.

[dieangel68]

Anyone care to add his two cents?

[Borch1d]

Play on Very Hard / Hardcore. If a companion dies it'll be gone for good. That should keep you on your toes ;)

[dieangel68]

I'm gonna have to patch my 3rd party companions for this then, two of them are marked essential.

 

And in this case i shouldn't even bother to use the dog :D can't tell it to "stay" and he dies against pretty much everything.

 

The more i think about it, the more it feels that the main issue i see on companions is that they are "all advantages, no inconvenients", and they are kind of impersonal too...

Edited November 22, 2010 by dieangel68

[Herculine]

I try to travel with no more than two or three companions. Anything more than that and I agree the game becomes too easy. Sometimes they do feel like cheats, and maybe until a mutant mod comes out for this one even limiting myself to a single follower might be appropriate.

[dieangel68]

Perosnally i'm kinda against mods like MMM simply because they modify way too many core elements and make conflicts resolution too complex.

 

I feel that if there is a balance problem with the player and his companions, maybe it's them that should be fixed, and not half the game world.

 

 

Right now i'm pondering about creating a set of companions that are balanced and more "human" (with their own little quirks, not on call 24/7 and maybe other things to make them more colored)

[Borch1d]

Perosnally i'm kinda against mods like MMM simply because they modify way too many core elements and make conflicts resolution too complex.

 

I feel that if there is a balance problem with the player and his companions, maybe it's them that should be fixed, and not half the game world.

 

 

Right now i'm pondering about creating a set of companions that are balanced and more "human" (with their own little quirks, not on call 24/7 and maybe other things to make them more colored)

 

Agreed. Even if they just went out of commission and you had to return to a doctor and pay to have them revived FF 1 style that would be preferable.

-Borch1d

[tamaneko]

Getting rid of their infinite ammo on their default weapons is the quickest and easiest way. They burn through it like butter if you give them another weapon, so you'll be on your toes a lot more and they'll rely on melee.

[dieangel68]

That's a good point, it's true that the infinite ammo is kind of overpowered, on my custom companions i usually end up giving them non automatic weapons because they chew through amunitions like there's no tomorrow.

 

On the other hand it kinda feels normal for Ed-E to have unlimited ammo as his gun is technically embedded into his shell.and should (in theory) feed on his internal generator/whatever is powering him.

 

So the possible ways i see to balance companion are the following:

 

SUMMARY

-Use amunitions.

-Copy player "needs" in hardcore mode (food/water where applicable)

-Require sleep?

-No regeneration after combat (this would probably rebalance them a LOT)

-No essential flag (alternative explained later)

-When a companion die, you could "pickup" their body (not sure how to do this, maybe simply a quest item their corpse carry) and bring the bodies to a doctor to get them patched up (for a price)

 

I don't know if npcs are actually sensible to radiations and other natural hazards...

[JohannesGunn]

 

 

I don't know if npcs are actually sensible to radiations and other natural hazards...

 

Oh, yes. If fact, you can make a custom weapon, and have it inflict 1 damage, and 2000 rad damage in the custom item effect, and kill things. You can add 2000 Fatigue Damage, and they'll fall unconscious for about fifteen to twenty-five seconds. That's how the tranquilizer gun I made works. Basically, if it can hurt YOU, it can hurt THEM.

Edited November 24, 2010 by JohannesGunn