Most useless cRPG companions.

[notpl]

The "weakest" party member in wrath is probably greybor, because he bring nothing to the team and start with already 10 level, so not much build opportunity.
I guess a case could also be made for trever, but most people probably don't even know that he exist.

What really infuriated me about greybor is that despite being a professional murderer they made his alignment "neutral," preventing him from qualifying as an Assassin. Not that Assassin is an especially great class, mind you, but it would have been nice if the LITERAL ASSASSIN qualified.

 

[Sarathiour]

The "weakest" party member in wrath is probably greybor, because he bring nothing to the team and start with already 10 level, so not much build opportunity.
I guess a case could also be made for trever, but most people probably don't even know that he exist.

What really infuriated me about greybor is that despite being a professional murderer they made his alignment "neutral," preventing him from qualifying as an Assassin. Not that Assassin is an especially great class, mind you, but it would have been nice if the LITERAL ASSASSIN qualified.

Yeah, I already ranted about this in the wrath thread, absolutly hilarious that they can't see what's wrong with killing people only for money.

 

[plem]

Gotta be that fucking halfling bard in NWN2, Grobnnir or whatever he was called. Useless cunt (especially since I always play bards myself in D&D ).

he's a gnome actually. extremely annoying character but Bards are incapable of being useless in 3.5, unless of course you already have one.

the most useless NWN2 companion is Monk Khelgar. who would've thought a character with no DEX or WIS would be a shitty Monk? especially since he's already excellent as a Fighter.

 

[Daemongar]

My vote goes for Khalid in BG1 (and BG2, but for another reason). A fighter, but with a crappy 15 St. He's useless and I always had to figure out a way for him to die.

Second vote goes for Dak'kon in PS:T - he's an ok fighter and such, has that cool sword. But ... that's about it. Some interesting dialog and such, but whats the big deal about this guy? He follows Gerth, has that ring of Zerthimon that you can't touch, and his sword. Big deal! I always add him for a few quests then drop him for that little robot dude.

 

[Average Manatee]

My vote goes for Khalid in BG1 (and BG2, but for another reason). A fighter, but with a crappy 15 St. He's useless and I always had to figure out a way for him to die.

Better than Ajantis' stats (17 str only gains +1 thac0/damage), whose paladin class also does completely fuckall in BG1 except make you level slower. Khalid can put up to 4 pips in a weapon and any fighter that can wield a longbow is alright in BG1. Other companions with low exceptional strength don't compare much better, Kivan's 18/12 only gives him +1 thac0/+3 damage but 4 pips in a weapon will give Khalid a +2/+3 boost respectively, and Khalid can still take advantage of strength gloves or a potion for boss fights to get way ahead.

 

[Spukrian]

Garrick is pretty decent.

In BG1 Bards are able to backstab, not just just with thief weapons, but any melee weapon they can use, e.g. twohanded sword.* EDIT: Forgot to say that they have to be invisible first, of course.

*=Does not work in BGTUTU.

 

[perfectslumbers]

Pretty much any Pathfinder companion is good as long as you get them at a low level because of the retarded build faggotry you can pull off, especially Camellia who will run around with 90 ac lategame (unless they nerfed her in a later patch, haven't played WOTR in many months.)

The bg EE companions are all meh to terrible, with the exception of Neera who's.. you know... the worst character ever written. And Wilson because he's a bear and bears are cool. Cernd is pretty bad but he can cast the overpowered druid spells earlier than anyone else which makes him pretty strong for anyone who doesn't have a checklist of every quest in the game to get max xp. I find that non-d&d rpgs are usually much more balanced so you won't have useless companions nearly as often.

 

[Daemongar]

My vote goes for Khalid in BG1 (and BG2, but for another reason). A fighter, but with a crappy 15 St. He's useless and I always had to figure out a way for him to die.

Better than Ajantis' stats (17 str only gains +1 thac0/damage), whose paladin class also does completely fuckall in BG1 except make you level slower. Khalid can put up to 4 pips in a weapon and any fighter that can wield a longbow is alright in BG1. Other companions with low exceptional strength don't compare much better, Kivan's 18/12 only gives him +1 thac0/+3 damage but 4 pips in a weapon will give Khalid a +2/+3 boost respectively, and Khalid can still take advantage of strength gloves or a potion for boss fights to get way ahead.

Well, here is where we get into the area of encumbrance. A 15 st only allows for 70 lbs of max carried weight. Chain mail in BG weighs 40 lbs. Long sword 4 lbs. Shield 15 lbs (!). So hey, he can carry an extra 11 lbs of loot! Maybe if you run up and immediately get ankheg armor, he could be useful. He could also swing a 2 handed sword (15 lbs) and still have 15 whole pounds.

Of course, you add a helm, boots, and other crap - he's encumbered before he even gets started! Sure, a 17 St is only 100 lbs of max carried - but that extra 30 lbs really makes a difference!

 

[laclongquan]

My vote goes for Khalid in BG1 (and BG2, but for another reason). A fighter, but with a crappy 15 St. He's useless and I always had to figure out a way for him to die.

Second vote goes for Dak'kon in PS:T - he's an ok fighter and such, has that cool sword. But ... that's about it. Some interesting dialog and such, but whats the big deal about this guy? He follows Gerth, has that ring of Zerthimon that you can't touch, and his sword. Big deal! I always add him for a few quests then drop him for that little robot dude.

Yeah, Dakkon is the guy we kept for his role and story rather than abilities. Even though Nordom is quite useful, I always checkback and readd Dakkon later. The power of nostalgia in this guy in stronk.

Nordom is, overall, has better fighting capability than other companions. Unfortunately, we keep using those other guys than this little modron. Such, is the power of Planescape Torment~

The most useless companion is probabbly Vhailor. He's deep inside a one-time dungeon that if we leave companion here to make space for him, they would be gone forever. As such, to get him would need we specifically remember to leave companion before entering the prison. The whole charade feel too tiring that I would drop this sucker on the surface soonest.
+++ To get him back to Sigil for final battle role, a full roster of companion as it were, we would need to enter Ravel's Maze with one empty slot. Making the whole Curst expedition being quite tough indeed. But if we need him appearing as enemy only, then just drop him back in Curst, that should feel the lore itch.

 

[Average Manatee]

Well, here is where we get into the area of encumbrance. A 15 st only allows for 70 lbs of max carried weight. Chain mail in BG weighs 40 lbs. Long sword 4 lbs. Shield 15 lbs (!). So hey, he can carry an extra 11 lbs of loot! Maybe if you run up and immediately get ankheg armor, he could be useful. He could also swing a 2 handed sword (15 lbs) and still have 15 whole pounds.

Of course, you add a helm, boots, and other crap - he's encumbered before he even gets started! Sure, a 17 St is only 100 lbs of max carried - but that extra 30 lbs really makes a difference!

Ankheg plate mail is free to loot in Nashkel, and killing Ankhegs north of the friendly arm inn is really, really easy once you have a decent strategy for them (the bigger issue is paying for the armor to be crafted that early). So knock it down to 34 lbs. Rings are 0 weight, lets say the rest of the misc items average 3 weight. That's 18 more lbs, and throw on another 3 lbs for a longbow, bumping you up to 55/70 lbs total. Also the large shield is mostly optional in the early game, it's only +1/+2 vs. missiles compared to a medium/small shield. You can lower yourself another 7-12 lbs that way giving you 32-37 lbs to work with to carry things.

Funny enough the only time in BG1 you actually need a lot of carry weight in your party is if you want to haul 9 ankheg shells to the smithy so you can sell him 8 of them and you can afford to craft the armor. Hopefully your main character has 18 strength (there's really not much reason not to for most classes).

EDIT: you're wrong, 15 strength has an encumbrance limit of 120 lbs. Absolutely no problem at all even without Ankheg armor, Khalid can wear full plate if he wants. I checked both in the EE and the OG BG1 manual and both agree on 15 strength = 120 lbs.

Spoiler

 

[Wunderbar]

Virgil, if you play as a tech character.

Every fight starts with him screaming "aargh i'm seriously wounded, pls halp me", and after the fight he wastes his entire fatigue bar to unsuccessfully cast healing spells on you.

 

[DemonKing]

Any NPC voiced by Raphael Sbarge is useless to me, because I find his voice acting so annoying and whiny I refuse to have him in my party.

Seriously though I remember a halfling you can pick up in Eye of the Beholder 2 who robbed you and left the party the first time you rested.

 

[Daemongar]

Ankheg plate mail is free to loot in Nashkel, and killing Ankhegs north of the friendly arm inn is really, really easy once you have a decent strategy for them (the bigger issue is paying for the armor to be crafted that early). So knock it down to 34 lbs. Rings are 0 weight, lets say the rest of the misc items average 3 weight. That's 18 more lbs, and throw on another 3 lbs for a longbow, bumping you up to 55/70 lbs total. Also the large shield is mostly optional in the early game, it's only +1/+2 vs. missiles compared to a medium/small shield. You can lower yourself another 7-12 lbs that way giving you 32-37 lbs to work with to carry things.

Come on. Saying encumbrance isn't a problem in this game is ridiculous. Metagamers get ankheg armor early, not normal people. Khalid stinks, and can't hold his own - unless as you said, you give him a longbow, then he's average - giving him no distinct advantage nor protecting the rest of the party like fighters should. As a sword and shield fighter he's awful. Also hes a terrible companion with whiny quotes. If you want to give a fighter a bow, recruit Yeslick who can use a bow and cast cleric spells as well - making him actually useful as a backline fighter.

Funny enough the only time in BG1 you actually need a lot of carry weight in your party is if you want to haul 9 ankheg shells to the smithy so you can sell him 8 of them and you can afford to craft the armor. Hopefully your main character has 18 strength (there's really not much reason not to for most classes).

Well there it is. Maybe if I had an 18 strength and could cast all kinds of buffs on Khalid, he'd be the greatest NPC ever! But I live in the real world! The developers agreed with me so much, the killed him off in BG2 rather than subject the player base to his overall crumminess!

EDIT: you're wrong, 15 strength has an encumbrance limit of 120 lbs. Absolutely no problem at all even without Ankheg armor, Khalid can wear full plate if he wants. I checked both in the EE and the OG BG1 manual and both agree on 15 strength = 120 lbs.

I was going off my knowledge of 1st Ed. You are correct.

Spoiler

[

 

[Desiderius]

whats the big deal about this guy?

Homage to best Magic Card ever

 

[Daemongar]

whats the big deal about this guy?

View attachment 28136

Homage to best Magic Card ever.

Wow man. I never saw that card before in my life until 3 days ago when someone at a Hobby store was showing one off. I still fail to understand the significance, but I was never much a Magic player. I did not know the NPC and the card are related.

 

[Desiderius]

I remember a halfling you can pick up in Eye of the Beholder 2 who robbed you and left the party the first time you rested.

I think we have our winner. Isn't there a Priest in EoB1 with like 10 WIS or something too?

 

[Average Manatee]

If you want to give a fighter a bow, recruit Yeslick who can use a bow and cast cleric spells as well - making him actually useful as a backline fighter.

#1 Clerics can only use slings
#2 If you're leaving cloakwood mines then you can go to baldur's gate to pick up the gloves that will set Khalid's strength to 18/00.

That said I agree that fighter/clerics are infinitely superior to fighters as a general thing.

 

[Desiderius]

whats the big deal about this guy?

View attachment 28136

Homage to best Magic Card ever.

Wow man. I never saw that card before in my life until 3 days ago when someone at a Hobby store was showing one off. I still fail to understand the significance, but I was never much a Magic player. I did not know the NPC and the card are related.

It's crap now mechanically. The significance is the aesthetics and how far WotC has departed from them.

 

[Daemongar]

If you want to give a fighter a bow, recruit Yeslick who can use a bow and cast cleric spells as well - making him actually useful as a backline fighter.

#1 Clerics can only use slings
#2 If you're leaving cloakwood mines then you can go to baldur's gate to pick up the gloves that will set Khalid's strength to 18/00.

That said I agree that fighter/clerics are infinitely superior to fighters as a general thing.

Let's not let my long stream of incorrect statements cloud the issue: Khalid is bunk.

 

[NecroLord]

Jormund the dwarven mage in Arcanum. Let's see:
- Appears in the midgame (appearing after early game is always a point against a companion)
- Is a Dwarven Mage. For those who haven't played or don't remember, Dwarves in Arcanum spend double fatigue points per spell. Dwarven mage is the worst combo in Arcanum. So yeah, he will cast a few spells and then fall down tired
- Is in the same location as a far better and much more interesting companion.

You mean the elven waifu Raven?
Another interesting companion is Waromon,the Bedokaan.

Any NPC voiced by Raphael Sbarge is useless to me, because I find his voice acting so annoying and whiny I refuse to have him in my party.

Seriously though I remember a halfling you can pick up in Eye of the Beholder 2 who robbed you and left the party the first time you rested.

Carth "I don't wanna talk about it" Onasi?

 

[NecroLord]

You mean the elven waifu Raven?
Another interesting companion is Waromon,the Bedokaan.

Exactly. And she's far more important, plot and quest-wise.
If you are evil, you can even get Z'an not long after.
There's literally zero reason to get useless-ass Jormund.

I never used Waromon, is he cool?

He is. He is level 20,which probably means you are already of a higher level than him when you get to pick him up. He becomes Melee Master,has good Dodge,Bow Master,can only equip helmets,gauntlets and boots(no armor),also shields. He is magickally inclined,also knows Fire,Earth and Nature spells. Can become pretty powerful when he gains some more levels. You need to convince the Bedokaan chief to make peace with the elves to gain Waromon as a follower(this requires at least 3 points in Persuasion and the right dialogue choices).

 

[Humbaba]

1. Which is exactly my point, Eldritch Scoundrel is a terrible hybrid class with no useful synergies between rogue and wizard.

I believe I just pointed out the useful synergies vis-à-vis survivability, and the rogue isn't lacking in any other department. besides those I've mentioned, Greater False Life, Blink, Displacement and Stoneskin also help shore up defenses. if you want more, high INT has obvious synergy with skill monkeys and Animal Aspect is an even bigger buff to skills. so spellcasting compensates for the Rogue's weaknesses and piles on even more advantages where he's already strong.

2. Who gives a hoot about Archmage Armor, a regular high DEX rogue with the proper feats can have good AC as well

good AC =/= best AC. in a game where enemies have multiple attacks with gigantic bonus, some 10 points of AC make a good difference. besides, wasn't your argument that ES was *worse* than regular rogue? the fact that regular rogues can have good AC but not quite as good as ES with Archmage Armor is not an argument that regular rogue is *better* than ES.

besides when your rogue is being targeted you're doing it wrong

in Wrathfinder, survivability comes in the form of AC and Woljif has higher AC than most other companions. sure, it's nothing compared to a cheesy Sacred Fist / Oracle with Crane Style build, but we're talking about his merits as a companion so he should be compared to other companions and not the PC. compared to traditional "tanky" classed companions like Seelah, Woljif has way higher AC potential.

3. Let's pretend that's true

it is.

then there's still no reason for Eldritch Scoundrel to exist because any other old magic user can just cast blur etc

other magic users have better uses for spell slots. and ES also gets Shield, False Life, Vampiric Shield, etc among many other personal-range spells.

you're only losing out on mirror image, which isn't that good anyway

Mirror Image is better than Blur, and maybe the best defensive spell in the game for its level. it's a minute-per-level duration spell that can soak in multiple attacks regardless of attack modifiers. what's not to love?

4. Wasting a level just to give him proficiency with better weapons (like kukris, of which there are much better ones than daggers) just so you have access to redundant self buffs is a bad deal.

regular rogues don't have martial proficiency either. again, how is it *worse* than regular rogue? you can believe the buffs aren't that great (and you'd be wrong, but whatever) but how is a "bad deal" to have them instead of nothing?

1. "I believe I just blablabla" well you were wrong so next.

2. "in Wrathfinder, survivability comes in the form of AC" this statement proves that you have no idea what you're talking about.

3. You're still harping on about how great it is that a subclass needs to jump through extra hoops to buff itself just to compete with the base class, you should take some time and think on that.

"Mirror Image is better than Blur, and maybe the best defensive spell in the game for its level. it's a minute-per-level duration spell that can soak in multiple attacks regardless of attack modifiers. what's not to love?"

Another statement that proves you got no idea about anything, because any enemy beyond early game that's worth buffing for chops through those images in no time at all. And that's without repeating the fact that a rogue is not supposed to be tanking hits in the first place.

4. "regular rogues don't have martial proficiency either. again, how is it *worse* than regular rogue?" Because regular rogues have enough wiggle room to "waste" levels in order to get better weapons, as opposed to Eldritch Scoundrel which has to worry about getting decent spell related feats as well.

"you can believe the buffs aren't that great (and you'd be wrong, but whatever)" Actually I'd be right.

"but how is a "bad deal" to have them instead of nothing?" You actually don't get it do you? Point is that having a rogue with spells is completely redundant and unnecessary in any regular party especially since those spells only serve to put him on even footing with the base class at best. In any such party, you can get a full fledged rogue and just have your wizard cast the necessary buffs on him.

 

[Humbaba]

Woljif from Wrathfinder. Eldritch scoundrel is a terrible hybrid and he's both a shitty rogue and a shitty wizard because of it.

Woljif is a phenomenal wizard. Spell sneak attacks are outrageously powerful in pathfinder, and items which grant damage boosts to specific spells/schools stack with the precision damage of sneak attack, so for example Woljiff as a rogue/arcane trickster casting maximized force sphere while holding the edge of force and some caster level-boosting items can one-shot any boss in the game, barring the (surprisingly few!) who are immune to precision damage.

The mistake everyone makes with woljif is trying to use him like a rogue. He isn't - I never made a single melee attack with him. He's a spell cannon who does the highest possible single-action damage in the game. And he does so with ranged touch attacks and high dexterity, and arcane tricksters can make enemies flat-footed at will, meaning he can easily hit even the most inflated ACs.

Honestly, I'm blown away by your "no synergy" comment. Did you just not realize that spell sneak attacks exist in this system? I find it incredibly hard to theorycraft a mage who isn't at least part rogue; arcane trickster gets full sneak attack and spellcasting progression, there's simply no reason not to take it.

Woljif does not get anywhere near enough spell slots to utilise him as a pure nuker like Ember, who's just a better nuker overall.

 

[NJClaw]

Back on topic, the most useless companion would be faldorn in original bg1. Druid with shitty stat and no decent spell,and low hp to boot. Good luck salvaging that.

Iirc, with xp limit of BG 1 ToSC - 161 000, pure Druid was hitting lvl 10 and had an access to lvl 5 spells, when cleric stopped at lvl 8/lvl 4 spells. That is potentially huge advantage for Faldorn, although I don't remember if Insect Plague was in the game back then.

In OG, druid have two spell on level 5 : animal summoning 2 and cure critical wound.

Faldorn start with 22 hp at level 5, and does not bring anything on the table compared to jaheira or any cleric, even multi.
Entangle is nice before web, but extremly niche once you reached cloakwood.

By the end of the game, she can cast level 5 spells. I'm not going to argue that she's better than Jaheira or Branwen, but she does bring something unique to the table.

 

[Jason Liang]

Sengoku Rance has

who is worst class (miko), bad stats, doesn't get better *and* costs 5 national power (upkeep) which is the highest. At least her cousin Chousin

will eventually give you the Emperor's Ring.

In general, of Rance's regular companions, Kanami

Is synonymous with "useless ninja" first because she actually *is* kind of useless in Sengoku Rance, second because every other ninja Rance meets is super badass lore and mechanics-wise, and third she's often relied on to stun or asssassinate enemies at crucial moments and she will fail at the worst time and get everyone killed. She *does* save Rance from suicide in Rance Quest so there's that. Speaking of which, Rance always chooses Kanami first for suicide missions, and once sold her body to devils, since she's useless and the most expendable.

Ironically, she is consistently one of the most liked companions in the series overall, I think due to her being one of the best written.