Companion Issues

[go_rogue]

Eric,

 

Thanks for updating us on this. I noticed companions starting to have issues in 5.0 when they would just lag behind like they got distracted by something and then eventually catch up or suddenly appear at my side out of nowhere. So I'm glad that this is being looked at.

 

On a different note, however, are the GSI droids for SM Flashpoints. I usually just dismiss the droid anyway, but I had a low-level toon I was testing something else on for a separate bug report and was running Taral V. The GSI combat support droid wouldn't follow into some of the smaller one-room buildings, notably the Imperial Base - Living Quarters at Coordinate -501,575 where there are 3 Sith Dominators and the Command Center at -501,836 where the bonus boss is. The droid still pulls aggro of the Sith Dominators and the bonus boss but, because it's not in the room, causes them to evade since they are unable to see and hit the GSI droid. It seems that the GSI combat support droid is suffering from the same bug as the companions. Just thought I'd add this here since it seems to be a part of the same overall issue.

[nepochop]

I dunno I kinda liked Shae Vizla to have an OP attack, like no other companion or the amazing heals from Z3 R0. Too bad that will be removed.

[FlameYOL]

Well it's a shame that this issue has apparently been happening for ages, I cannot say I ever encountered it though but regardless of my own experiences it's good to know it's being worked on. Also good to know there is a possibility of the fix being deployed sooner than 6.0, as I believe that quantity of months has been too many for an issue that was only aggravated by patch 5.10. Regardless I appreciate the update Eric, looking forward to this fix.

[Sarova]

 

Companion Ineffectiveness / Imbalance

One of the other issues that we hear about is that some Companions are ineffective in specific roles or imbalanced compared to other Companions. For 6.0 the team is making a full pass across all Companions to make a variety of updates. Most notably to address this very imbalance, update abilities, and more.

 

Companions are a critical part of SWTOR and so we take issues with them very seriously. We know that sometimes changes don’t come as quick as you would like but know that we are working to get these types of issues resolved as fast as we can! We thank you for all of the reports around these issues as they were very helpful in isolating the root causes to work towards addressing them. And of course, thank you for your patience as we work to get them resolved.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

-eric

Good news all round. The above specifically relates to Cartel Market creature companions who are all utterly useless if you want to use them in damage roles. I'm glad the balance is being fixed for all companions. I personally do not like Shae Vizla but am forced into using her with my healer when doing solo stuff because she has by far the best damage output of all companions, I'd much rather use one of my creatures with my healer.

[HoloTweed]

Shae nerf 6.0. Fun while it lasted.

 

I just wish they'd give her less generic things to say. "Timber!" The new Mandalore is a LUMBERJACK?

[BenKatarn]

For 6.0 the team is making a full pass across all Companions to make a variety of updates. Most notably to address this very imbalance, update abilities, and more.

 

I would very much hope that this means you will take a good, hard look at Treek and especially HK-51, because some of their stances are just abysmal in performance. I made a thread years ago about how bad HK-51 is as a tank compared to other droid companions, so I would really appreciate it if you could bring him and Treek to the same level as all the others, HK-51 especially considering how long it takes to actually get him.

Edited May 17, 2019 by BenKatarn

[bncsmom]

Thanks for the info Eric. While we're on the topic of companions, any word on them getting their unique abilities back? i.e. Blizz's rocket launcher? There's a few others I just can't remember them off the top of my head.

 

This. I want HK-51's TERMINATE back!! It was the only reason to use him, aside from achievement unlocks.

[XhrisShan]

While we're on the subject:

• Companion AoE abilities are bugged; they deal the full damage per tick. This means that Shae is the strongest companion by far, since her AoE has 6 ticks, compared to 2 for most other companions, and 1 for the rest. That said, most AoEs feel like they do about the right amount of damage, so to fix this, I'd suggest buffing companion AoE DPS abilities by 100%-150% (or alternatively, just halve the cooldown), but then, actually make sure that that's the total damage dealt.
  
• Why are Tech-using companions' stuns 5 seconds long but Force-using companions' stuns are 4 seconds long? All companion stuns should be 4 seconds long.
  
• Why are some melee companions' executes cast but others are instant? I understand having the ranged executes be cast, but why melee? All melee executes should be instant.
  
• Why do healers act as though they're trying to attack before healing? It's especially bad with melee companions. If I'm trying to LoS a mob, and I take my companion off passive, instead of healing me they'll run up to the enemies as if they're going to attack them, then start healing. This makes no sense. Healers should pretty much ignore enemies outright, except for the situation described below.
  
• Could you please improve companions' AI so that they immediately leave enemy AoEs? I know that such programming wouldn't be new (at least not entirely) because there are enemy NPCs that leave player AoEs - one example is the mob in the Republic Taris Heroic "Fall of the Locust" encountered immediately after releasing and speaking to the prisoners. Soloing certain Master Mode Fallen Empire chapters is also virtually impossible (looking at you, GenoHaradan) because you have to fight your companion's stupidity in addition to the actual boss.
  
• Speaking of AI, I'd like to request the following modes, in addition to the current "attack the target" and "ignore enemies" modes:
  
  • Follow the player, but still use abilities (except leaps, and abilities that can't be used while moving) (On that note, the channelled healing ability and ranged execute should be usable while moving)
    
    
  • Move to, and remain at, the targeted location (or at least the player's
    exact
    current location, i.e. not 1m away like usual). Abilities should still be used unless they would require movement from the designated location.
    
    

  [*] Why does HK-51 not have an AoE ability, or an ability that Sunders the target? Because of this, HK-51 has gone from being the strongest to the weakest DPS companion. (Note that I have tested his DPS while my character applied Sundered to the target, and in that case his DPS was equal to the others'.) I'd say have his channelled ability do AoE damage centred on the primary target and Sunder the primary target. I think that's all that would be required.

  [*] Why is Shae's AoE marker so much smaller than the actual ability? Please fix this.

  [*] Please give each companion back 1 unique ability that can be used regardless of role. Many of us miss those abilities and, though I admit that balancing them so that each companion's overall effectiveness is equal won't be easy, it doesn't seem like it'd be impossible either - certainly not harder than balancing 24 disciplines in both PvP and PvE scenarios.

Please consider the points above. Cheers!

Edited May 17, 2019 by XhrisShan
Fixed typos

[XhrisShan]

Eric,

 

Thanks for updating us on this. I noticed companions starting to have issues in 5.0 when they would just lag behind like they got distracted by something and then eventually catch up or suddenly appear at my side out of nowhere. So I'm glad that this is being looked at.

 

On a different note, however, are the GSI droids for SM Flashpoints. I usually just dismiss the droid anyway, but I had a low-level toon I was testing something else on for a separate bug report and was running Taral V. The GSI combat support droid wouldn't follow into some of the smaller one-room buildings, notably the Imperial Base - Living Quarters at Coordinate -501,575 where there are 3 Sith Dominators and the Command Center at -501,836 where the bonus boss is. The droid still pulls aggro of the Sith Dominators and the bonus boss but, because it's not in the room, causes them to evade since they are unable to see and hit the GSI droid. It seems that the GSI combat support droid is suffering from the same bug as the companions. Just thought I'd add this here since it seems to be a part of the same overall issue.

 

Doorways are weird like that. It's linked to the fact that that doorway can be locked or unlocked (i.e. depending on whether you do the bonus) - most doorways are fine. Note that AoEs centred on one side also won't hit enemies on the other. While we wait for this to be fixed, a workaround would be to dismiss the companion, cross the doorway, then resummon (though I acknowledge that that's not always possible).

[XhrisShan]

By the way, here's a workaround for the "companions won't attack enemies/heal allies not already in range/LoS" thing:

Just tell them to use a specific ability (e.g. target self and use companion's burst heal, target enemy and use companion's stun). That will make them close the gap.

 

Also, for anyone wondering why Shae's DPS is so good, look at the first bullet point in the wall of text I posted above.

Edited May 17, 2019 by XhrisShan
Additional info

[Loadsamonie]

I still wonder why Doc has a healing ability not on the list (Kolto grenade), and one that no other companion has, even as a mirrored ability.

[snordoc]

I believe the issue became more noticeable because the companions are usually lagging behind. A long time ago when I was playing more regularly, companions would consistently be running by your side unless there was a latency spike. These days though I noticed they can't seem to keep up and just sporadically appear next to you.

 

Even if the companions weren't able to move since launch but because they were next to you when you start combat they would often also be in range so it didn't matter as much. Now, when combat is initiated, they could be several rooms and a hallway behind.

 

This ^^^^^. I am myself convinced that the bug was unnoticeable when companions were running by our side. Isn't it since 4.0 (or 5.0?) that they started lagging behind and, at the same time, not engaging in fights when they should? In any case, it would be good to have them running by our side again, at least not more than 1 or 2 meters behind, otherwise we don't even have the pleasure to see them on our screen as we run.

[PennyAnn]

Eric, thank you for the update but two sources of concern.

 

1) It was much more pronounced in 5.10 -- but why? You say the issue has been around since launch, but I didn't notice it before 5.10. Like Estelindis said above, why did it become so much more noticeable in 5.10?

 

2) As others have pointed out -- it's not just range -- it impacts Melee LoS as well. In other words, even if they are 10m away, if an object or corner is between the companion and the bad monster, they will not respond to commands. As Yoda is my witness, that was not the case before 5.10.

 

I had not experienced (well, noticed) what one poster said about Vibrosword-using companions. Regardless, I'm happy you are doing a full review on companions for 6.0 so that there is some degree of equity (i.e., Treek not sucking and Shae not being overpowered).

 

Dasty

 

Dasty! Shhhh... I've been feeding too many Shae's on too many alts!

 

Bioware: Shae is fine. No need to adjust. Kthxbye

 

.

[HiddenPalm]

I must have written close to a dozen tickets about a different Companion bug not mentioned here, and I keep getting told that it will be fixed in a coming update. This was many, many, many updates ago. Yet I get the same response.

 

Ever since we were able to get our companions back through story, their mouths dont work. If I get a companion back through the Odessen alliance base, before they are released through story, their mouths work. But the second I get them back through story, their mouths no longer work.

 

Im pretty disillusioned to have read the update on companion issues with not a single mention about this. Responses to my countless tickets on this have assured me that the developers are aware of this and will fix it soon. But I have been told this for probably three years now. It's really been that long. Reading the post simply lets me know, there is no interest at all in fixing this issue ever in the new future.

 

So is this really the case for those of us with broken companion animations? Are we really not getting this fixed?

 

This really sucks. FYI.

[Nemmar]

Anything that is fixing core problems in the code for a more stable, bug free game gets a huge thumbs up from me.

 

Now hopefully the problems with movement abilities failing in pvp and player position detection is in the menu as well. Once that is finally adressed, the game will be a complete joy to play from a performance pov, outside 30m groups wich tank the fps. Have my fingers crossed for a 64bit client that may help these performance issues.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Nemmar

[JattaGin]

Thank you for the update, Eric. Appreciated.

 

Personally, I would have never guessed that the ranged companion issue has been there since start. I have never had it before 5.10. So, even if it was there, something must have changed in 5.10 to trigger it so noticeably. One poster mentioned that the companions are lagging behind a lot these days. I noticed that, too. Why is that? And could that really be the reason or is there something else?

 

I just wish they'd give her less generic things to say. "Timber!" The new Mandalore is a LUMBERJACK?

 

I believe you are mistaken. She screams TINDER and is just telling her holo watch (or whatever she is using) to open up the app and check for new matches.

[Mubrak]

While talking about companions, please consider overhauling the companion & contacts window. After KOTFEET or even just skipping to Ossus, we really need a way to group our favourite "main crew" companions and hide those we just have because there was no other way to get rid of that companion alert.

 

Personally, I would prefer the option to properly skip 4.0 and 5.0 content and jump to 6.0 with keeping just our original crew and the promo and cartel market companions, but making it easier to pick our favorite companions from the three dozen random dudes is a must, IMO.

Edited May 18, 2019 by Mubrak

[Magsel]

What about the issue with the wasted [Commander's Compendium] on Companions around December 14th, 2018?

I've written at least 2 tickets (33753127 and 33763435) about this and all I got is you guys are aware and keep checking patchnotes.

Well companions do take the [Commander's Compendium] again, but the companion I wasted one on is still level 10 and I did not get reimbursed for the wasted [Commander's Compendium].

So what do I do? Wait till hell freeze over for the reimbursement? Buy a new one?

[BRKMSN]

I would also appreciate it if Companions would talk less frequently during battle. I haven't used him in a long, long time (for the following reason), but Hemdil Tre, for example, uses what seems like paragraphs and is a real slow talker. So as you bounce from mob to mob, he never shuts up. That's probably the only reason to ever use the Sacrifice ability... to help the mobs kill him.

[Lakemine]

I must have written close to a dozen tickets about a different Companion bug not mentioned here, and I keep getting told that it will be fixed in a coming update. This was many, many, many updates ago. Yet I get the same response.

 

Ever since we were able to get our companions back through story, their mouths dont work. If I get a companion back through the Odessen alliance base, before they are released through story, their mouths work. But the second I get them back through story, their mouths no longer work.

 

Im pretty disillusioned to have read the update on companion issues with not a single mention about this. Responses to my countless tickets on this have assured me that the developers are aware of this and will fix it soon. But I have been told this for probably three years now. It's really been that long. Reading the post simply lets me know, there is no interest at all in fixing this issue ever in the new future.

 

So is this really the case for those of us with broken companion animations? Are we really not getting this fixed?

 

Well its nice to know someone else has noticed this as well. And yeah, I noticed this about 3 days after 4.0 launched. The reason (this is all guesswork btw) why it most likely not be fixed is because when your character starts 4.0, the companions that get added to the storyline get their original coding deleted, which the reason why when you get the companion from the terminal the mouths still move, because its using the old companion coding. When they deleted the storyline flags so they could add <REDACTED> into the game, an then they copied over the companion coding, im guessing the companion coding for the mouths moving got deleted as well. So to fix it, they have to go back and either restore or redo all that coding, which could be a issue as it might effect the <REDACTED>, which would cause issues for some players. So sadly, I doubt this issue will be fixed. (But hey, if they do, BOOYAH! shows they can! )

[Lakemine]

It was active. I noticed a while back that ranged companions in heal mode (or pre-4.0 ranged heal companions like Elara, Tharan or Doc) would not follow me to heal if I went out of their heal range and there was an attackable foe within the companion's attack range.

 

For clarity: Doc is here. 25 metres from Doc (inside shooting range) there's a foe. I'm eight metres beyond the foe and I need healing. Doc would not move to heal me. If one of us kills that foe, and the next in-combat foe is two metres beyond me (so 35 from Doc) he would move in range of at least me.

 

What happened more recently is that they won't move even when there are no targets in range and line of sight.

 

Weird. I didn't start having these issues till after 4.0. But yes, the description here is accurate.

[Lakemine]

I would also appreciate it if Companions would talk less frequently during battle. I haven't used him in a long, long time (for the following reason), but Hemdil Tre, for example, uses what seems like paragraphs and is a real slow talker. So as you bounce from mob to mob, he never shuts up. That's probably the only reason to ever use the Sacrifice ability... to help the mobs kill him.

 

Have him get added to the storyline. Sadly Nadia doesn't talk anymore AT ALL since being added to Ossus. Please fix!

[Lakemine]

Also Eric? Companion color unify is STILL broken in cut scenes on our ships. It was added in late 2.0 era IIRC, and has been broken and fixed about 4 times sine then, but after 4.0 it broke for good and has NEVER been fixed since then. Please fix. (Mind you the companion color unify works in all other cut scenes, even in your SH, but NOT on your ship. Which is very sad and annoying since the ship is the only place for the RI cut scenes.)

[JediBoadicea]

Thanks for the update, Eric! As you said, companions are a very important part of the game, and I really want to be able to use the companion I want for that character and not be sacrificing anything because of that choice. If all companions are going to be made functionally the same (as was at least the goal since 4.0) then they should BE the same. I still do pick a RP/character preference over performance when deciding which companion to level to 50 for each character, because I'm a RP masochist. But it really sucks to know that my beautiful Akk Dog is not as effective as Shae in the same role and at the same influence.

 

So please do make sure companions are performing equally, and absolutely make sure that the Cartel Market companions are included in that work.

 

Now, that being said... if it's possible to have some unique abilities restored, that would be lovely, even if they're just purely cosmetic, doing the same mechanical duty as a standardized mirror power but just with a different skin. Maybe that just takes putting some thought into remapping abilities to the companion's new standard five bar. Many of the companions already do this, but any room for bringing back the nostalgia abilities would be great.

 

Also, just for *@$^s and giggles, it would sure be nice to see the CM companion customizations return and have at least one or two added for all the CM companion models. Granted there are tons of more important things out there to focus on, but just in case, you know, these were lying around and were just never released into the game for whatever reason.

[HaoZhao]

If you want to talk about companion balance, how about a huge nerf across the board? The only people who would complain are basically the people who want the game to play itself.

 

Since 4.0 (I think that's when they changed), companions have been built like gods. They're incredibly overpowered and they trivialize any content that doesn't have special mechanics. The final boss of Nathema Conspiracy vet mode is actually significantly easier with a companion than it is with four players. If you're ever in a PUG that's stuck at the end of that FP, wait for someone to leave and summon a melee companion instead of queuing for a replacement. It's nonsense.

 

Solo content has no challenge at all with companions in their current state. In the old days you needed a group to fight most planetary champions. Now they're not even a threat. You might want to make that content easy for newbies so they can just breeze through the story but you're hurting those players more than you're helping them. For example, in the old days, if you didn't interrupt the big attack from the boss at the end of Consular chapter 1, you got shredded. You had to learn to look at enemy cast bars and use interrupt at the right time to comfortably get through a fight like that. Now? Doesn't matter. Companions in any mode will trivialize all solo fights. Because these players never learn the basic skills in solo quests, they eventually move on to group content with no idea on how to play the game well and they end up being a burden on any group that ends up with them. It doesn't have to be this way.

 

Nerf companions, BioWare. Make people play the game as it was originally designed.

Edited May 19, 2019 by HaoZhao